Killing a king was not the end of his reign. Especially not a king who was used to being resurrected. A king’s position is supported by dozens of assistants, advisors, officials, and as Ryu’s group was finding out, guards. Now normally, these individuals were okay with Cloud being challenged, but for some reason, they were pretty pissed about it being done in such an underhanded manner. Who would’ve thought, right?

As Cloud died, a Kong ran into the room. “Milord, milord! A group of humans has gone rogue in attempts to upset the balance of the Tri...:” The Kong trailed off, his robes fluttering as he came to a sudden stop. He took in the corpse of his lord and turned to run.

“Get him,” Ryu shouted, but the guard was already gone. “We’ve gotta go.”

“Thanks for the wisdom, smartass,” Keira said. She held her staff over one shoulder, her battle robes of black and purple somehow both tight and loose on her frame.

“Now is not the time. We’re going to have to flee the way we came in. The other doors are locked,” Marshal said, running back from checking the rest of the room.

The group gathered the loot from the fight in a few quick swipes before running out of the challenge room. In the courtyard outside, dozens of armored Kongs were gathered. On the limbs of the giant tree above them, more Kongs sat, beating war drums that produced a fast tempo of deep thuds. That tempo matched Ryu’s heartbeat in quickness, and for a moment, he was lost in the sudden onslaught of noise. Marshal grabbed his shoulder. Ryu’s world snapped back into focus. The Kong stood still, round shields raised. He wondered why they were charging, but then he heard the noise from above. Without thinking, he burst into motion. Arrows rained down from the sky.

Ryu dodged the volley of steel-tipped death by inches. Somehow, Marshal had reacted just as quickly, raising his shield above him and the others. A Skill, one that cast a blue shine on Marshal’s arm, allowed him to move the shield with inhuman reflexes, and he had caught all the arrows about to pepper the team. Ryu could only spare them a glance, however. With the volley of arrows now complete, the Kong on the ground were free to charge. Ryu was caught in this mad onslaught, breaking down a Kong in front of him with quick strikes of his sword. Dimly, he felt a spike of pain as a spear pierced his side. Multiple Kong had surrounded him. He gritted his teeth. This was the wrong strategy. Even with the group, he couldn’t beat the whole force. The drums increased in tempo around him. Another spear stabbed in the meat of his thigh. He let out a shaky breath and moved.

Don’t stop moving. Don’t stop. Don’t, he chanted in his mind, ramming into a Kong. The primate monster grabbed him in return, but he brought his forehead down on the creature’s nose, breaking it with a sharp snap. Behind him, he heard the sounds of combat as his companions fought. He didn’t turn. He couldn’t. He had to keep moving. Had to survive.

His hand ripped the shield from the fallen Kong’s hands, and he pushed forward with the thick round shield. Holes riddled his worn leather armor. More appeared as he fought his way through. The Kong tried to box him in. They tried to grapple him. Some even used Skills to impede his way. It didn’t matter. He was like a wild animal, throwing his cultivated strength about without care of injury. Like emerging from deep water, he forced himself out of the group of Kongs with reckless abandon. He dashed into the trees without a look back.

---

Keira sucked a breath in. Around her, chaos unfolded in the courtyard of the Cloud’s palace. To her left, Marshal and Cynthia buckled under the onslaught of the Kongs’ attack. Ryu, the serpent that he was, was thrashing and cutting his way through the wave of guards, somehow managing a certain grace to his brutal, ugly movements. Her lip curled. If only the dryad had taken him instead of Tam. Tam… She missed the messy-haired fool, but those were emotions she couldn’t bring up right now.

As if sensing her distraction, an axe cut its way towards her head. She tried to dodge to the side, but she tripped, coming down in a tangle with a Kong to her right. The primate guard bucked her off before climbing on top of her. It raised a dagger, teeth bared. On instinct, she tried to block it with her hands.

Pain. It overwhelmed her senses, coating the outsides of her vision in darkness. The dagger was halted, its sharp edges cutting into the bones of her palm. The Kong yanked. She cried out, keeping a grip on the dagger. The fight continued on around them. A tear leaked from her eye. The Kong yanked again. This time she was too weak to fight it. The dagger came free, taking parts of her skin with it.

A trumpet sounded in the courtyard, but to her, it seemed as if it came from far away. The blackness was still there. Unconsciousness was but a few breaths away, ready to hold her in its warm embrace. Blood spattered across her face. A weight settled across her. The Kong, dead now, shuddered in small, twitching movements. Its lifeforce drained out onto her chest. Strange. It was warm. Like a blanket. As she started to give in to the haze of pain, a hand pulled her out. Literally. Marshal, his broad features glistening with sweat, looked down upon her. He was like a hero. A guardian angel. She tried to smile, to show him she was okay, but the blackness was fading from her vision, leaving only pain. Marshal, her savior, slapped her.

“Stay with me, Keira. Please. We have to get out of here,” he said, pulling her to her feet. She looked around. The Kongs were fighting… other Kongs?

“W… what’s happening?” she asked as Marshal pulled her forward. Cynthia ran beside them.

“From what I can tell, Arun’s forces showed up to make peace for the events of the other day, but Cloud’s forces went ballistic,” he said, swinging wildly with his sword to fend off an approaching Kong. They made it out of the courtyard, and she pulled away from Marshal’s grasp. They weren’t children anymore. With the threat of unconsciousness gone, she would walk on her own.

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Shouts rang out from behind them. “The humans, they’re escaping. Lord Cloud’s murderers are escaping!”

“Shit, we have to move,” Marshal muttered. He reached back to grab Keira’s arm, but she stumbled. In the fall earlier, she had injured her ankle, and the pain was just catching up.

“Leave me,” she said. Cynthia looked at her with sad eyes, already having grasped the truth. If they wanted to live, they would have to leave Keira behind.

“No.” Marshal continued on, trying to carry her weight.

“Marshal, it’s fine. Save Tam and kill the Kings for me,” she said. She pulled away and stumbled into the trees away from her two friends. Behind them, the sounds of pursuit neared. Marshal tried to follow her, but Cynthia pulled him along. Keira looked back at them, saving that last image of her friends. She continued on.

---

Ryu slowed down, sliding behind a tree. He listened for pursuit. Nothing. He let out a small exhale and lowered himself to the ground. He heard a trumpet come from the direction of the courtyard, and his body jumped to run before logic returned. He was fine. He’d escaped. All was fine. Except for the others. The thought seemed to come from above, accusing him. His animal brain had been in complete control, and in that state of panic and instinct, he had abandoned the others. The pang of guilt he expected to feel did not come.

Minutes later, he was still under the tree, sword resting in his lap. His eyes were closed, but he was awake. His senses were strained, absorbing the information around him, so when he heard faint steps headed his way, he was up and ready. He didn’t peek around the tree, instead allowing his hearing to trace the sounds of pursuit. It was a group. He tensed for action. Coldness blossomed in his mind, while heat spread through his limbs.

The group neared his tree. A woman sprawled onto the ground beside him, purple and black robes spread around her. Behind her, Kongs closed the distance in loping strides. Ryu regarded the woman with distaste. Keira. Had his humanity disappeared so completely as to abandon the witch? He moved, making his decision.

---

Keira scrambled on the dirt floor of the forest, turning herself around to meet the charging Kongs. To her surprise, Ryu stood over her, his grey eyes flicking between the incoming enemies. His leather armor, now tattered and blood-stained, covered an equally worn shirt and pants, and he looked like nothing more than a dead man’s ghost with his severe, skeletal features and pale skin. The Kong warriors reached them in seconds. Ryu’s sword flashed in the dim light, separating a soul from its body. In the next movement, he exploded into another Kong, one whose skin was stretching under the effects of a transformation Skill. Before the Skill was complete, the Kong dropped to the ground, its body savaged by Ryu’s strength.

Like that, Ryu darted between the five Kongs, brutalizing them with a combination of skill and brute strength. He received cuts of his own, but for every blow by the Kongs, he paid them back double. Triple, she revised, watching a Kong’s mangled body fall to the ground. In moments, the brief battle ended. Ryu wiped his blade clean on one of the Kong’s bodies, sheathing it before he turned. He took a step towards her before stumbling. He fell. Blood pooled out from under him.

For a moment, Keira thought of leaving the man there. He was selfish and cruel. He fought like a beast with no hesitancy or restraint. She had known men like him on the Second Ring. They were all bloodthirsty, no better than the monsters they killed. Still, she didn’t walk away. Beast or not, this man was her ticket to surviving. Her ankle was wounded, but a restoration pill wouldn’t fix it. For Ryu, however, a restoration pill would stabilize his condition and stop the bleeding. He would not be healed completely, but she did not think that would hold the man back much. She had seen the cunning in his mind, the viciousness in his movements. Somehow, he would find a way to survive, to win free of this Trial. She would use him to find Marshal and save Tam. She slipped one of her last healing pills between the man’s lips, and his unconscious body did the rest.

---

Ryu woke with a splutter. He shot to his feet, surveying the area around him with bleary eyes. Keira looked up at him from her spot on the root of a tree, one eyebrow raised. He sat back down with a grumble. Right. He’d saved the dark-skinned woman from a group of low-levelled Kongs.

He could feel the injuries all over his body, painful reminders of his previous recklessness. Right away, he could tell they’d been healed somewhat, and since there was no sign of Cynthia, he knew it was the work of a healing pill. Which meant Keira had tended to him. Keira. He was surprised she hadn’t simply left his body there. After all, she had not been his biggest fan even before he’d abandoned the group. Maybe it was a practical choice. Like his decision to escape the Kongs’ trap, saving his life was a choice for survival on her part. If so, he could understand that. Respect it, even. Survival in such a place did not require or benefit from having morals. It required logic and resources. In this case, Keira was using one to get the other. He nodded to himself. So be it. Having a partner in this Trial was a benefit.

“We have to find Marshal and Cynthia,” Keira said, interrupting his thoughts.

He looked up at her. The sun was setting, and in the afternoon light, he could just see the determined look on her face. “We?” he asked.

“Did you cut ties with our group so quickly?”

“I wasn’t aware I had any ties in the first place beyond the need to survive. At the time, staying in a group was necessary for survival. That doesn’t seem to be the case, anymore,” he said coldly. His emotions were in turmoil. On one hand, he felt clearing the Trial was the smart decision. On the other, he wasn’t sure how he could live with giving up on Tam. He had given up on being a good person, not a decent one.

“So you’re telling me your time with us meant nothing? Come on. You’re still the same kid who got upset after your first fight with the banshees. I know you’re not that cold.”

He snorted. If only that were the case. Things might be simpler then. Still, he supposed she had a point. He wouldn’t give up on them, not yet. He would try. Out of respect for Marshal, if nothing else. He had to repay the debt he owed the warrior and his group, and then they would part ways. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Fine. We’ll look for them in the morning. How much ground do you think you can cover before needing to rest tonight?” he asked, trying to see the sky between the gigantic branches above. Idly, he wondered how quickly he would die if one of the monstrous limbs fell. Probably instantly, he guessed.

“Enough. What do you have in mind?” Keira said after a pause.

“Nothing crazy. I just don’t like being so close to Cloud’s place. He won’t revive until we leave the Trial or the other kings are killed, but his subordinates will be searching for us. It’s a wonder more haven’t found us, actually,” he said, looking at Keira out of the side of his eye.

She nodded, not catching his look. “I agree. So, where to?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, I’m afraid,” he sighed. Some Classes, like Hunters and Nomads, had Skills to navigate in any place, and if he understood it correctly, his own Class, Ronin, could develop similarly. One day. Which meant they were pretty much lost for now.

She pointed in one direction. “That is where Cloud’s palace is,” she said, moving her finger, “And that is where the Kong city we saw was. So, I say we head past there and skirt Arun’s territory. That’s where Marshal and Cynthia would head. I hope.”

He gave her a look of respect. It was a more competent choice than he might have made, if he was honest. “Alright, off we go then,” he said. He grabbed his pack from the ground beside him, trying to ignore the holes scoring the cloth and leather bag. Keira gathered her own gear, and the two started walking, both sore and beaten from the previous fights.