"Are you beyond insane? Do you have any idea where you just sent her?"

Wherever Keel intended to send Rez was the exact opposite of where she'd end up. Those were the consequences of brute-forcing magic to work. Whatever idiotic thought was running through Keel's head would misshape reality. If he thought West, the spell would read East. If he wanted to stick Rez inside a giant boulder, she'd currently be careening somewhere in the stratosphere.

Keel understood none of this as he stretched to his full height, flexing his fists in revelry. The leathery red skin and corded muscles made him feel unstoppable. Powerful energies swam through his leylines like raging rapids, ready to answer his every whim. Sighting his next target, this time he willed himself to teleport.

The intention was to have an arm sticking through the Speaker's chest. Instead, he found himself next to a translucent barrier and staring into Veneo's colorful eyes. His mentor's lips spoke enlightened words.

"You do not control what you do not know."

Cursing, Keel tried again. This time he teleported into the middle of the battered acolytes. Their frozen fear transformed into a stumbling scurry to get away from the demonic figure. Watching with exasperation, Lizzy dismissed her magic weapon. She pressed her hands together and addressed her partner in crime.

"I'm going after Rez. Take care of whatever... this, is."

After acquiring Rez's rough spatial coordinates, Lizzy separated Space and created a shimmering portal. A brief glimpse chilled anyone who saw it's depths, for it was a place of endless ice and waste. Lizzy didn't wait for permission before charging forth into the mysterious realm.

There was a mild itch at the back of Ellie's neck as she watched Lizzy go. Not able to reach it, she rolled her neck so it rubbed against her neckplate. The action had the side effect of releasing a satisfying crackle. It was probably because she neglected to stretch before the fight. However, it wasn't like Ellie would have stretched if she had the time. Stubbornness was in her genes.

As it was in Keel's. The stubborn child started using an unfortunate acolyte as a kickball to release his pent-up anger.

"I suppose it takes a Queen to clean up."

The remaining acolytes shivered, forewarned by their toppled leader, and wary of the demonic hellspawn using their compatriot as a glorified stressball. The balance of power shifted entirely and it was clear they were the scrap to be swept away. Those that were still capable of fleeing already did so.

Once again, Keel teleported and found himself staring back into Veneo's enlightened eyes, Keel raked his clawed fingers down the barrier.

Veneo mocked him. They all mocked him. His power was righteous, and soon... limitless.

He aimed to teleport inside the barrier. Instead, he ended up next to the Speaker. Seeing the flicker of fear in the Speaker's eyes was intoxicating. A devilish grin smeared across his face as Keel reached a claw for the incapacitated woman, ready to crush her windpipe like a paper bag.

The sound of rushing air preluded a mighty blow straight to Keel's abdomen; a heavy maul cracked his brand-new demonic shell. The blow lifted Keel for a brief instant before ragdolling his body across the burnt grass to impact Veneo's shimmering barrier. The Speaker blinked in bafflement at her savior.

Queen Eliza planted her feet and leaned on her weapon.

"You are a toy that boy wants to play with. I am denying him access until he learns proper manners."

The battered boy got up quickly, dripping in frustration. Looking down at his cracked armor caused him to rage, nostrils flaring as he teleported once again.

Then again.

And again.

Each teleport led him to a different side of the battlefield. One brought him back to the desecrated monument. Hot fury made his hair stand on end. The magic wouldn't heed his command as it did the first time. The first time had been easy. Why was it so difficult now?

He pounded the ground like a raging infant angry with the meal he'd been served. The ground tore up, melting under his heat.

Fire was destruction. Destruction was punishment. Punishment was what his enemies deserved! Power was a tool for destruction and tools obeyed their wielder.

His heart thrummed.

The pulse was tangible.

Like a rowdy infant kicking from inside the womb.

Space magic was always misunderstood. However, Fire was universally recognized. The warmth of a mother. The danger of the stove. The beating waves of a summer sun. The throbbing passion of love.

And red-hot fury.

"All adults do is take. My power; Taken from me at birth. My right to live a long life; stripped away. My chance to roam the forests without plants withering in my fingers; stolen."

It beat in his heart. The raging fury of being denied what should of been his.

"I took this power from the Speaker. I took this power from the forest. And I will take whatever I desire from now on!"

Fire set him alight like a roaring geyser spouted from hell. It fed him. It nourished his desire and grew with each second. The stalk of fire continued to grow until it's peak blossomed into a molten orb of lava, roiling as it was held aloft by a demon's fingers, gyrating ominously. Sulfur and ash singed the air. The trees shied away as the hidden critters stared fixedly into the light.

Ellie rested her weapon on the Speaker's knee. Connie whimpered and tried to escape the weight but the black iron wouldn't budge. The armor adorning Ellie shrank back into dimensional storage, letting her pink hair cascade down her back. Gauntlets removed, she rolled her wrists.

"Did you know that my first color was red?"

The words were an open secret spilled casually. It was a rhetoric that preluded a story.

"It was frustrating being called hothead. The words of adults pricked at my ego."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Ellie remembered an old tutor showing her how to take a proper stance. As if demonstrating she remembered those old lessons, Ellie's feet spread slowly and evenly as her center of gravity shifted downward. Toes pointing towards her opponent as they dug into the dirt. Bringing one fist close to cheek, warm breath bounced off her knuckles.

"I beat up anyone who called me names. Even adults and elders were forced to shave their heads in shame. Can you imagine? Bald diplomats scowling at a 14-year-old red-haired child."

The culmination of Keel's massing mana created an intense and dazzling heat. It tinted Ellie's bubblegum hair and made her pink eyes twinkle brightly.

"You should have seen their faces when I learned to teleport."

She appeared above the massive collection of mana, hair whipping in the wind. A fist aimed at the spell's northern pole. The force of the impact caused the magic to cave inward and implode, dispersing the intense heat into harmless sparks of light, revealing a very shaken teenage demon.

Keel collected the dissipating remnants of the broken spell and formed two curved swords. He readied himself for Ellie's descent, but she never landed.

A kick to his side sent him sprawling. Ellie supplied the attack with four physical enhancements.

"Power is more than destruction. It is about control."

Keel swung his flaming scimitars behind him. A hand caught his wrist and plucked the weapon away. Keel swung the second sword and found the arm pinned behind his back. Grunting in pain he was forced to drop it before his bones broke.

"Unfamiliar weapons are useless in untrained hands."

He stumbled as Ellie pushed him. Rounding on her, Keel prepared for a savage brawl. Stepping forward he threw an arcing hook that brushed past her cheek. He doubled over from a punch to his ribs. The next haphazard jab he threw was deflected and countered. Ellie's response was a clean bodyblow. A knee-kick elicited a sharp crack as Keel's leg bent out of shape. His pained scream was quenched by a quick knock-out punch.

Spit dribbled onto the ground. Keel's consciousness vaguely recognized Ellie's lecturing tone.

"Engaging a superior fighter on their terms is foolhardy at best."

Keel's red eyes refocused by pure power of will. Sneering, he teleported away. Before he could recognize his surroundings, a foot broke his nose. Bouncing off the ground, Keel saw stars.

"And using magic you don't comprehend is deadly."

Snarling, Keel teleported again. Ellie followed. Again, she appeared directly in his path and delivered an unrestrained blow that was meant to cripple. No matter where he fled Ellie pummeled him into mush using nothing but brutish strength. She tore off his stolen hide and laid his soul bare. The demonic appearance fell away and all that was left was a broken boy too hotheaded to understand when to quit.

A cut on his forehead delivered blood into his eyes. Keel's tinted vision somehow registered the pinned form of Speaker Connie, separated by only a few yards and looking almost as terrible as he did. Ellie strode between the two, leaving Keel to figure out how to breathe again.

"You can be strong if you choose to. However, strength must be taught. What have you understood from the power you've stolen? Hmph. I don't blame you for ignorance. I was the same way as a child. Words don't work on us, it needs to be beaten into our bones."

Keel clawed at the ground, unable to do anything. All that power; wasted. All his emotions and desires were nothing before a brighter candle. There was no way to win. If only he had more power. More Qwaver... He would finally win.

A final desperate teleport led him away from his ruthless assailant. Away from the pain and somewhere he wouldn't have to confront himself.

"Curious."

Veneo stared down at Keel's crumpled form. Other Remnants popped up like meerkats curiously looking over the shoulders of others.

"Is the boy dead?"

"Nope. He's knackered."

"When will he realize?"

"Power stands before him."

"The choice is obvious."

"He sees it."

Pain splashed over Keel's vision. He gazed at the Queen looming over him. There was no pity, only determination. The only thing standing in her way was shimmering forcefield.

"Veneo, remove the barrier."

Veneo shook his head sadly. The remnants copied him.

"I cannot do that."

"We cannot."

"He is a child. Inside, and inside"

"He sees power."

"And he has chosen."

"The others have come to choose too."

Ellie looked at the gathered remnant audience with annoyance. Veneo was vaguely familiar and entirely corporeal, but the rest were all ethereal blue embodiments. Their features twisted with their words as if to personify how they stretched words of truth.

"Veneo. I am going to take this child and teach him a better way. You've seen the negative influence this environment has been on him and the rest of the kids. You died trying to change his mind. Allow me to finish the job. Then perhaps you may finally find your peace."

The Elden monk listened to his cousin's words with a measure of melancholy.

"Dear cousin. There is so much I wish to tell you but am bound to keep secret. I am afraid that you will have to trust in me to complete my mission, just as I will trust you to do the right thing when the time comes. Look, now. The end is about to begin."

Veneo directed Ellie's gaze to the treeline.

"Leader!"

A gaggle of children ran out of the forest. Ignoring the destruction around them, they ran past the downed acolytes, focused solely on their Leader. Their gaits differed, making Sean the first to arrive at the bubble. He passed through the barrier like it wasn't there.

"Leader, what happened?"

Agatha was next.

"Where is the Sub-Commander?"

Dewie, Bip and Ji all made it inside unabated. They registered their old teacher Veneo being present, but were focused on the state of their Leader.

"Your leg is twisted."

"What happened? Does it hurt?"

"Who did this?"

"Where is Rez?"

"Leader."

Keel ignored them and continued glaring at Ellie like she was the bane of his existence. The children followed his gaze.

"You did this?"

"Ellie? Like the Queen. Why would you hurt Keel? Where is Rez?"

"Is she a mean lady?"

Ellie mentally chided herself for not stopping them from entering the barrier. Seeing as she didn't want to play the villian she tried to explain things as gently as she could.

"Your Leader and Sub-Commander had a fight and Rez stormed off. My partner Lizzy went to bring her back. They will join us shortly, I'm sure."

Agatha calmed visibly. The others did too, but they were more focused on poking Keel's wounds to see if it hurt. He tried to bat them off but that hurt even more.

Then the kids all stared at Veneo like was a ghost. And he was. A literal ghost, that is...

Then more questions came flooding out of the children in a way only children can do. Veneo nodded sagely and answered each of them in turn.

"It's lovely to see you all again. I'm back for a little while. Yes, I suppose I am technically a remnant. No, I don't particularly like turnips, but I'll gladly accept the one you're offering Ji.

Ellie narrowed her eyes at the strange scene. Discretely, she examined the barrier and began to deconstruct a portion of it to allow herself passage. Rewriting it would take forever, but forcibly tearing chunks out of the code may give her the in she needs without destroying all of Veneo's hard work.

Ellie watched the way they clung to him fondly. The way they interacted was so pleasant and warm that it gave Ellie doubts. She supposed she could potentially leave things like this. The process of moving the capital here could still be accomplished after she disposed of the Eben fanatics. Keel would require specialized attention. Hurting him more would be counterproductive. Now that she'd broken him down, maybe Veneo was the better person to build him back up.

Veneo led the children through the crowd of remnants towards the Primal Node. They seemed to magically forget about their leader at the promise of being shown something interesting. Keel stumbled to his feet, smirking at Ellie like he won. Cradling himself, he hobbled after them. Watching them walk away gave her an uneasy feeling. Pushing at the barrier, she tried to force her way past the lock; the code was taking too much time to dismantle.

That was when a fire coalesced in Keel's grip.

Shouting, she tried to warn Veneo, but it seemed that her tampering caused sound to no longer travel within. The remnants stared at her.

Watching.

Judging.

Pounding once on the barrier, Ellie called her maul back to her hands. With a powerful swing, she smacked it against the barrier. It rang like a grandfather clock.

Keel looked back, frightened by the large crack in the barrier. He hobbled quicker towards his quarry.

The ringing came faster, booming with foreshadowing. More cracks splintered under the might of a Queen.

The children stared up in wonder at the artifact. Veneo directed them to place their hands on it.

Veneo looked back at her, smiling as if he already accepted that this was how it was going to end.

Ellie's vision of the children... that of her dear cousin... fractured.

The shield shattered just as Keel's spear impaled Veneo. The shocked children called out in horror as Keel touched the Primal Node, whispering a word of truth.

"Power."