The Skyguard had been hurt that day.

Kayden had seen Bakor return to life and die again. Haroken had undergone extreme wounds that Merdilen was able to close but not fully heal. Tham had lost his sight.

Everyone was silent as they crossed the countryside on Haroken’s weak back –who was still faster than the fastest horse. North. Towards the last rumored location of the rebel cell known worldwide as the Libertatum Brotherhood. Hassah would occasionally mention landscape features to Tham, but he was still so shocked he only partly replied to her casual conversation attempts.

Kayden didn’t know what they’d do about it –about any of it– yet, but he knew one thing. Answers lay on Bakor’s book. Some of them, at least. Haroken’s slowed pace meant it would take about a day and a half to get to rebel territory, from what they collectively knew. Plenty of time to read. And to understand.

‘The Oath of Megalo.’

‘The Timewatcher couldn’t allow that, so he reset the timeline.’

There was something going on, Kayden knew as he opened Bakor’s book.

Kayden soon understood it as Bakor’s journal, started about midway through their first adventure with the original Skyguard, centuries ago. Reading it felt oddly familiar. He was in a way reading his own story, except he couldn’t directly recall most of it.

But, that way, he understood. Though he still didn’t remember all of it, he slowly started assimilating what had happened. The pieces started coming together.

Thank you, Bakor, Kayden thought. He didn’t know if Bakor had realized from wherever he was that Kayden had no recollection of his past. But Kayden was grateful nonetheless. His adventure with Bakor had been one to remember. He was glad to at least be learning about it now.

It was a long story. Kayden wished he could tell his friends, but it was probably a tale for another day. Right now, he needed to find out about what mattered most –and that was the Oath of Megalo, whatever it was. He continued reading.

Bakor’s alleged death threw everything downhill –that much Kayden remembered. But, from Bakor’s perspective… he never died.

He got to the Echo. What Bakor called in his book ‘the realm of power.’ A fourth dimension, from where every unexplainable thing in the world –including Lawbending– drew its energy. And Bakor arrived there because of the sudden discharge of power released during the battle that led to his ‘death.’

And there Bakor learned stuff. A lot of stuff. He could go anywhere and not be seen or heard. He could spy in on whatever he wanted. But he’d never escape –or so he thought. Doomed to forever traverse the world as an infinite and solitary observer.

That’s how he learned about the Oath of Megalo. A sword. A sword so powerful it could cut through anything, absolutely anything. A sword so legendary it was the most sought-after object in the multiverse. A sword so reality-shattering it could erase anyone whose blood it made contact with from time and space, as if that person had never, ever existed.

Bakor had found that sword. It was in the Echo. But his consciousness had eventually given up, after about a century of wandering, and he drifted into an eternal sleep. Until Kayden woke up, that is, for some reason releasing such a pure power that he woke up Bakor as well. When Bakor returned to consciousness, the sword was gone. Forever? Who knew.

And then there was the World Energy Factor. The reason certain individuals were traveling between worlds. The reason Bakor had been able to return. The Echo was overloading with too much of its own power, channelled back and forth. Soon enough, it would explode. What would happen then? No one knew. But it had started to throw entities trapped in the Echo back to the surface reality. The situation was bad. But Bakor had hoped that it would help him return.

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That was exactly what had happened. Except, Bakor hadn’t known that he’d return in the state he was before –damaged, broken, about to die.

And that was in part why the Skylands were going down. The Permabenders that held them high in the sky were failing. And the Everbender was rushing that doom to her own twisted ends. Lauren Lerahen was lost, Bakor had written –there was nothing left.

Kayden didn’t know what to think. There was so much going on, he didn’t know where to start. But he had a hunch: the Oath of Megalo was the key to everything. The Everbender hadn’t mentioned the Echo, or the World Energy Factor. She had mentioned the Oath of Megalo.

That night was dark.

“I was recalling the night we went to the Field of Memories,” Tham told Kayden as they lay down to rest, in the middle of a densely vegetated forest, their sleeping bags a newfound luxury Merdilen had Transmutated for them. “I guess I’ll never see stars again.”

Kayden winced. He remained silent for a while. He had had to help Tham through everything ever since they stopped for the night, and he could see Tham was hurting.

“...I’m sorry, Tham,” he finally said. “I… I should have done something. I should have realized that monster of a man was still alive. Heck, I should have regressed time on you as soon as your eyes were slashed. I could have healed you, man.”

“It’s fine,” Tham whispered. “You didn’t know. None of us did.”

“Tham, I got to thinking,” Kayden started, “and I think there’s a way for you to perceive the world around you. Not through sight, but…”

“It’s not your fault,” Tham said. “Don’t worry about me.”

“No, no,” Kayden said. “Listen to me. You know how you feel stuff when using your Lawbending, right? It’s like a sort of advanced perception. You know what lies around you, and that’s how you use your powers at short and medium range. Besides, you personally can feel Hassah’s… presence, existence, or however we may call it. We need to overcharge that skill. Make it passive, so you can feel your surroundings at all times. Extend it. Make you see more with your Lawbending than anyone else with their physical sight. An ‘Echosense,’ so to speak.”

Tham paused.

“That…” he started, “that may actually even work.”

“Yes.” Kayden was determined. “I never truly trained you beyond a few dagger strikes. I promise I’ll now help you unlock your full potential. We all will make you see again, Tham. Better than anyone else. That’s a promise.”

“...Thank you. I need to get stronger,” Tham then said with an edge to his voice. “I need to fight better. Because I need to kill her. The Everbender.”

“Huh?” Kayden asked.

“Saving my father and my village won’t be enough,” Tham continued. “I need to help you topple the Skyfall Empire. And that means killing the Everbender. She has dealt too much damage already.”

Kayden paused. “I see. But you need to know that it’s fine if you want to try to return to your life. It wouldn’t be easy, but…” He winced. “You’re fifteen years old, Tham. You should be in school right now, having fun, relaxing, having hobbies, hanging out with friends, falling in love. You shouldn’t be forced to become a soldier to feel at peace with yourself.”

Tham sighed. “I think I’m a little past all that already. I… I won’t rest easy until I know the Everbender is dead and the Skyfall Empire has fallen.”

Kayden knew the feeling. But he personally didn’t know how to feel about the Everbender anymore. She was a monster. But she hadn’t always been.

Reading Bakor’s journal had changed something in him. He remembered Lauren Lerahen. After all, looking back, one of his first thoughts after returning from his time loop, back in his imprisonment had been concerning his love for Lauren. Not his hate for the Everbender.

Kayden knew he’d have to make the choice. Soon. To kill or not to kill. Would he choose to believe that Lauren still existed somewhere beneath the imperial mantle? He didn’t know. He genuinely didn’t know.

Nightmares plagued Kayden’s mind as he stumbled into sleep. Bakor struggling with an imperial army, fighting to protect Kayden, who couldn’t move. Bakor falling from the tower in Anthalopus, eternally dropping through the sky as Kayden watched. The Everbender stabbing Tham in his face, in his eyes.

The Everbender killing them all.