'Master, will we really die if we kill the witch?' I asked, unable to let go of my revenge.

'Yes Ryan. Lucas told me he explained everything to you. But he probably didn't want to go into details since the way i discovered it left me with a twisted fate.' Eldric answered grimly.

He paused for a few seconds then continued, 'You know i am a strong warlock before being a dream-walker Ryan... Well, when the witch came to my abode to challenge me to a duel i couldn't resist her offer. I have always been prideful of my abilities, you see... The prospect of a duel with a witch of her caliber was too enticing to pass up.

As the duel began, I quickly realized she was unlike any opponent I had faced before. Her magic was dark and insidious. It fed off my life force like one of these abominable bloodsuckers from the northern continent. I fought with all my might, but she was always one step ahead.

Eventually, I managed to land a decisive blow with fire magic, and for a moment, I thought I had won. But then, something unimaginable happened. When her life force began to wane, a tendril of her magic latched onto me, binding our fates together. At that moment, I felt a part of my own life force being linked to her own.

"Kill me," she said with a twisted smile, "and you will join me in death. We are bound now, warlock. Our lives and death are intertwined."

I had no choice but to let her go. Since that day, I've been searching for a way to break the curse, but to no avail. The only thing I know for certain is that if she dies by our hands, we will die as well. The curse she used on me bound our fate together so she can't kill me. But the one she used on the other prisoners is different. Mine goes both ways while yours is unilateral. If she dies all the people she cursed will follow her in the afterlife. I saw it in her dreams before she cut my connection to god.'

'This... Then what happened to you afterward master? How did you end-up becoming a prisoner if you won the fight?' I asked, uneasy.

'Well, a few years after her defeat the witch knocked on my door again. Only she didn't come back empty ended... She came back with my youngest son and threatened me with his life. You see, she had a strong ego and didn't accept defeat. So she made a deal with me: if i let her seal most of my abilities and follow her back home, she would spare my son's life. Since then i have been living in a small hut in her garden. She comes to see me from time to time to spit me and brag about her new prisoners. Fortunately, she didn't dare to torture me, fearing It might cause her own death.'

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'This, she is worse than a devil...' I said out loud shocked by my master revelations. 'How could she do something like that???'

'Well it's partly my fault for not taking preventive measures after defeating her. I was overconfident.' replied my master wryly.

'So there is really no hope to kill her?' I asked with a heavy heart.

After a moment of silence, master Eldric answered. 'Yes and no. If we manage to make her lift the curse we could kill her with a well devised plan. But most of the prisoners have lost parts of their body, the number of sacrifices would be far too great.'

'So it might be possible right?' I asked with lingering hope.

'Yes It might....' He paused again for a while, then continued with an aged voice, 'but i won't survive it. the curse she put on me can't be lifted.'

'I am old now. Even if our race has a long lifespan, I don't have much time left to live. Probably a year or two at most. If we don't manage to find a good plan after making her lift the curse, i will kill myself to free the world from this demon. Actually, this is quite a good bargain. An old life for hundreds of young ones.'

His words made my heart ache strongly. Even though i hadn't known my new master for long, I was deeply grateful to him for accepting me as a disciple and opening up to me, a total stranger. Contrary to humans, a master-disciple relationship was sacred for goblins. It was a bond as strong as family or tribe affiliation.

'Master, I ... I didn't know.... I am sorry for asking this question...' I muttered under my breath.

'Don't sweat it, i didn't share my story with you to get your sympathy. I just wanted to let my last disciple know, that's all.'

'But Master,' I began hesitantly, 'there must be another way.'

'Ryan, I've spent years searching for another way. Every path leads to the same conclusion. The witch's magic is too powerful. We don't have the luxury of time anymore. The upcoming games will probably be the last, from the conversation i overheard between the witch and her coven.'

'What if... what if we sought help from other continents? There must be someone, somewhere, who knows how to break her curse,' I suggested, grasping at straws.

'I've consulted with the most powerful sorcerers of the five continents. No one has an answer. The witch curse defies all conventional magic. My friends and me even dabbled in forbidden magic but none of us managed to find a clue.'

A silence settled between us. I knew he was right, yet I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something we were missing.

'Enough regressing, let's concentrate on your training. You need to become a full-fledged dream-walker before the next death games.'

'Alright master.' I said knowing that insisting would be pointless.