I opened my eyes to a familiar sight of darkness with a sigil hanging high over my head. I was in my 'eye'. I was standing and at my feet were Katie and Dusk while Mugen stood tall in front of me.

"Why am I here?" I asked impatiently.

"Prr-prr rrprrprrr." said Katie, circling my feet.

"I'm grateful that you guys want to protect me, I really am, but we can't waste time like this." I bent down and picked her up.

"My last master sacrificed himself for what he believed in," said Dusk, "If I was to allow you to follow this self-destructive path, I don't think I could look him in the eye whenever we meet again."

"Well..." I was sure of what I wanted, but he made too much sense to argue. I shifted my gaze to Mugen, looking down at me. "What more can you do as a summon?"

"Gaze into my eyes and you shall see." He lowered his head to my height.

I stared into the yellow orbs and saw more than I could describe at once. "Wow. That's a lot." I paused and thought back on what I saw. "You have a human form?"

"We all do," said Dusk, "But you haven't seen into my eyes yet, have you?"

I stooped down and stared into his eyes as I have with Mugen. He was right. There was a world of magic I didn't know existed. I looked down at Katie in my arms and she stared starry-eyed into mine. Unlike the other two, there wasn't much to her, but she was new to being a summoned creature.

Looking around, I saw that some were missing. "Where are Meo and Sandra?"

"They're outside keeping an eye on you," said Dusk.

"Where am I? I mean, my body, I guess."

Dusk looked up toward the sigil above us. "We're at an inn, don't worry. You're being taken care of by a doctor. Hopefully, the surgery is a success."

"Surgery?" I looked down at my feet. I had no idea that my condition was so bad. "For what?"

"You have a deep cut dangerously close to your heart and your arms are riddled with fractures. Not to mention cuts and bruises across your body. You're lucky none of your wounds have been infected."

"How long do I have to be here?" I asked, now solemnly aware of my fragility.

"As long as you want until you awaken."

"Then I should leave here now." I closed my eyes.

My eyes flickered open as a blindingly bright streak of pain raced from my shoulder across my chest and down both my arms. I dared not make any quick movements, so I sat up slowly. Everything ached and I could feel my blood rush with every pulse. There was a series of bandages across my chest and around my arms. I was in a bed in an inn.

A familiar woman in all white sat by my side in a wooden chair. She was sound asleep and lightly snoring with a silver harp leaning on a wall at her side. Meo was asleep in her lap and Sandra was staring at me from her shoulder.

"She's the doctor?" I asked between pained groans.

"We had no choice," said Sandra, "When you lost consciousness, it was like all your wounds reopened at once and she offered to help." She fluttered down to my lap. "It was either accept her help or watch you die." I lifted Sandra and stared into her eyes. "Is there a problem?" She tilted her head.

"Huh, It's not working with you."

"When we formed our contract, it was on the basis of equality. That's why it won't work." She looked up and down my right arm, coated in a rainbow of color. "That's also why you don't have a green tattoo."

"So, we're equals, what does that mean?"

"It means I can act completely independently of you and even summon the others without your permission."

"That was you?"

"Well, they summoned themselves last time, but yeah, this time, it was me."

I sighed. "Alright, how long have I been out?"

"Not long. A little more than a day."

"Oh, Scarlet, you're awake, meo." Meo was now up and energetic. He leaped into the air and began prancing around me.

I reached toward him with both hands and calmly pinched both of his cheeks. I knew it hurt because I felt it. He stared at me silently while I looked deeply into his eyes, seeing all I needed to see. He told the truth about not being controlled anymore.

"Why didn't you tell me I can do this?" I pinched harder and strained my arms. Meo's onyx eyes became glassy, reflecting my disheveled face.

"I'm sorry, meo!" He cried. "It's just so many things happened and I couldn't warn you and then it all happened so fast that I... I... Meo!" Blue tears fell and singed the yellow blanket covering my legs.

"I'm sorry." I let go and rubbed my cheeks. "You must have endured this whole time for me, and I just got mad at you."

"It's ok, meo," he said, between sniffles, "It's my fault all of this happened, meo."

"None of this is your fault." I cradled him in my arms. "You did your best."

"Does that sound like someone we know?" Sandra pecked my cheek softly.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I can't be too hard on myself, but there's no time."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm glad to see you awake." I didn't notice that the woman asleep next to me had awoken.

"Uh... Thanks, um..."

"Alice." She smiled. "I'm a healer." She stood and examined my bandages. "How do you feel?"

"Like I fell a mile after a run-in with a speeding dragon."

"Based on your wounds, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened. Frankly, I'm surprised you survived so long with injuries like that. Magic alone won't keep injuries like that at bay unless you were healed by someone with considerable power or talent."

"Well, I'm surprised we'd meet a second time."

She quickly put up her hands in defense. "Oh, I wasn't following you or anything, I just happened to be nearby when you landed."

"I know. I came here by dragon and I'd have noticed if you followed me through the air."

"Oh... Yeah. So, what are you going to do now?"

"You want to know about your brother, right?"

"Yes, I mean, if you'd tell me..." She looked around awkwardly.

"I don't know where I'm going, but wherever it is, I'm sure he's there."

"You met him before, right? What's he like? I haven't seen him in years." She looked at me with sparkles in her eyes.

"Well, your brother... He uh..." I couldn't look her in the eye, so I looked out the nearby window. "I can't even..."

"I see," she said, solemnly, "I'm sorry for whatever he did to you, but if you ever see him again, tell him his sister's coming for him and that she's disappointed."

"Sure..."

"Also tell him to stay right where he is. I'll hear all of his transgressions straight from his mouth." Her voice now carried righteous fury.

"Yeah, sure..." I looked out the window a little longer. The sun was high in the sky and starting to fall. "I should get going now."

"I was wondering how long it'd be before I heard those words. You adventurers are all the same." I looked back at her and she was holding out a red ribbon in her hand. "Take this. It's a miracle ribbon. It's imbued with healing magic so you don't have to rest as long to heal up completely. Your horns also look really dull compared to how vibrant they were before. My guess is that they have a sort of healing factor. Hopefully, the ribbon takes some of the strain off of them. Don't want them breaking."

"Thanks." I took it from her hand and stared at it. There was a thread through the center that was a deeper red than the rest of it.

"Put it on. You might feel a little more fatigued than normal, but you won't have to worry as much about your wounds reopening."

I wrapped it around my left wrist to contrast it against my rainbow-painted right arm.

"Now that's settled, I'll be leaving so you can get dressed." She stood with her harp and turned towards the door.

"Wait, have you heard of a lady named Rita Flaherty?" The thought crossed my mind and I had to ask.

She stopped and responded, "No, can't say I have."

"She's a doctor from Settentrione. She lives in Miridiona now."

"No, sorry, I'm from Azuma."

"Oh, ok."

"Take care. I already paid for our stay." She opened the door. "The reward you got for that bounty helped a lot." She closed it behind her.

It hurt to put my shirt on and all of my joints popped while doing so. I noticed that all of the tears were stitched up much like I was, but my clothes still retained their magical qualities. I could also no longer see the colors around my arm between the tears in my sleeve, but I could see them whenever they'd start to glow.

It wasn't long before I was back outside. I sent Meo away, then summoned Dusk and Mugen. Climbing on the back of a dragon for the second time, I felt more comfortable as I felt for a spot that was more gentle on my bottom. We soared into the air quickly and covered a day's travel in what felt like a handful of minutes.

With Dusk silently guiding Mugen from my shadow, it took only a few hours to find an archipelago far to the north covered in forestry. The deep green stretched in every direction and as we climbed out of the sky, I got a sinking feeling that only got worse once we landed.

Dusk hopped out of my shadow onto solid ground. "She's directly below us."

"Go to her, We'll find a way down to meet you." I kissed his forehead, temporarily giving him the ability to act independently.

"Be careful." He sank into a black puddle and disappeared.

I called out Meo and fused with him. My heightened senses helped me find a familiar scent trail that led to a cave entrance. Outside it paced around five people in the same gray cloaks and armor as before.

Summoning Katie, I had her spray a volley of spines at them. Some made contact and three fell immediately. The other two were heavily armored and unaffected. They both drew weapons. One, a spear, and the other, a sword.

I took aim with a piercing shot and it exploded inside the helmet of the one with a spear. The other one turned and ran into the cave, but he wasn't fast enough to outrun my next arrow.

Leaving cover, I cast 'extrasensory' and entered the mouth of the cave with Katie following close behind. The walls were smooth, rounded, and empty.

I followed the scent to a long staircase and at the base of it was a large room. In the middle was a pillar wrapped with a wide staircase. At the base of it, two people were dancing around each other surrounded by flashes of color. Murcury and a short woman in blue were flinging spells back and forth. The woman stayed at a distance while Murcury attempted to close in on her. By the look of it, they were fighting to the death.

There was a creeping coldness that emanated from the room, making a border that I wasn't sure I wanted to cross so readily. Even so, I stepped across that line in a heartbeat.

Both combatants stopped and looked my way instantly. It was almost uncanny how unnatural it felt for their attention to fall on me so sharply. Had there not already been a chill, their stares would have frozen me in place.

Murcury was in his blue and white uniform as always, but then more than ever could I see how much wear it had gone through. The blue had begun to fade and the white had begun to pale. He looked just as tired as his uniform. As if he'd been fighting a constant battle without reprieve. His opponent, on the other hand, was only marked by light scratches and scuffs across her tunic and her long hair was kempt.

Upon seeing me, Murcury moved slowly; tiredly. The temperature dropped even further in an instant as he readied his sword. Sluggishly, he turned toward me. "You're here sooner than expected." His tone of voice was more down-to-earth than before and he spoke slowly.

I scoffed. "Yeah, and by the looks of it, I'm not the only girl to give you a beating."

Unexpectedly, the woman snapped at me. "Shut your mouth, girl! I would never hurt my General! He's just not himself right now, go away!"

"Pay him no mind," said Murcury, in a ragged voice. "He's only here to pester me."

Confused, I said, "Him?"

The woman spoke up in a harsher tone than the first time. "Yeah, I'm a guy, got a problem? I swear, I hate women." He folded his arms.

"I don't have time for this." I took a bold step forward, drawing my swords. If I had to fight both of them, so be it. "I met your sister, Alice,"

"Alice?" said Murcury, as if unsure of himself.

The guy in blue looked back and forth at me and Murcury with a confused look on his face.

"She said to stay where you are because she's coming for you."

"She is?" Murcury placed his palm on his forehead. "That woman..." Grunting, he dropped his sword and fell to his knees. "She'll- damn... No- yes-..." He began slamming his head on the ground until he bled. "I'll die- she's far worse than death..." He stopped suddenly after that statement. A moment later, he sat up, panting, and looked upward. "I can't let her find me." Ice started forming below him before shooting straight upward with him on top and he went up to where the staircase descended from.

Just as surprised as I was, the guy in blue watched the whole scene play out then, coated leaped upward, coated in blue energy while giving me the finger on the way.

"Any idea what that was about?" I asked.

Meo answered my rhetorical question. "He might have been mind-controlled, meo. I think the thought of his sister shocked him out of it, meo."

"I wonder what she did to him to make him so afraid of her?"

I looked between the open halls and stairways that led from the room. Sniffing around brought me nothing. This must have been either a main entry point or a hub because there were so many different smells that I couldn't differentiate any of them.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on my surroundings, extending the area of my spell a little. There were a lot of people moving from below coming up to meet me and I was ready.

I watched and waited for them to reach me. Many of them looked bewildered as if they didn't know what they were walking into. As soon as they saw me, most of them drew weapons while only a few turned and ran. They were probably unarmed messengers.

"Mugen." I summoned the dragon and he appeared with a clap of thunder next to me. "I'll be after the messengers." I ran forward and hopped into the air while Mugen opened his mouth and hurled a ball of lightning; giving the people in gray no choice but to clear the way and allowing me to pass.

All of the messengers went down the same staircase, so I figured that'd be my best bet at finding Millie, Muriel, or both of them. It didn't take me long to catch up to the sound of rapid footsteps. The three of them were sprinting for their lives. I raced to them and knocked one out with a fist to the back of their head and swung another into a wall by their arm. I caught the last one by the back of the neck and pinned them to the ground.

I said, "Where are we going?"

"Don't kill me, I have a family!" They were deathly afraid and panicking. They were right to be. I also had a family and whose fault was it that they were gone?

I let go of their neck and punched the middle of their back to the sound of a yelp. "I won't if you take me to your boss."

"Ok- ok- I- I'll take you." I let them stand and they began walking with a bit of a limp.

"Run there. You don't want me to catch you again before we get there," I threatened.

On cue, they picked up the pace and ran like their life depended on it. They led me down a staircase that doubled back and into a hall that led to a large chamber of sorts. It was well-lit with a series of chandeliers.

Inside the room sat a large, square, black gate decorated with two crossed swords; one red and one purple. In front of that gate was Muriel, surrounded by a veil of darkness. He was looking at the gate and next to him stood Millie.

"Looks like you made it." Muriel turned around and the darkness surrounding him faded. "A little soon for my liking, but you're here."

"You can go," I said to the terrified messenger, who promptly ran back the way we came.

"I didn't think you'd gather enough power to cause this big a ruckus so soon, but you can never underestimate someone seeking vengeance."

I took baroness and threw it blade-first at Muriel. He lifted a finger and Millie lifted from the ground into the space between him and my blade.

I summoned it back and ran forward. My mission was clear: get Millie back no matter what.

As soon as I stepped into the center of the room, a blue array of lines and circles lit up under my feet. I jumped with both swords ready.

Muriel reached his hand out and something went flying toward him from where I just was. It was Katie. He was dragging her towards him. I called her back and she disappeared in a golden light.

I fell no faster than I rose with both of my swords ready. Landing close enough to touch both of them, I was torn between grabbing Millie or striking the man behind her. I dropped Baroness and reached for my cousin.

Before I knew it, something made contact with my nose fast and hard. My vision went black and I was propelled backward. I was back on my feet in an instant with my sword back in my hand. I was now being stared down by Dusk. His soft blue eyes were now bright red and glazed over.

Angered by his intervention, I dashed at the wolf. He ducked down and lunged forward with his fangs bared. With a shout, I hopped and rammed my head downward, making full contact with his skull and causing him to slam into the ground. As soon as I landed, I looked into his eyes again to see that they were back to normal. I placed my hand on his head and he evaporated in darkness, returning to me.

The ground started glowing brighter and I put my hand on the stone surface, casting 'inferno' and causing bright red flames to cover the deep blue.

I bolted forward with my swords at the ready. Before I got within reach of them, I saw a gray slab of stone heading toward me and I had no choice but to lean into a back handspring before it flashed by me.

"Scarlet." I heard Sandra's voice from inside my head.

"What is it?"

"We're being watched. I don't think you've noticed because It's your cousin."

"Watched how?"

"According to Dusk, she can see the future, and right now, she's looking into ours."

"Got a solution?"

"A theory. Run back in like you just did."

Taking off, I closed the distance once again. This time, a slab of stone fell from the ceiling and forced me back again. At that moment, Sandra appeared over my shoulder in mid-flight. She soared forward like a green lightning bolt and struck Muriel in the forehead.

The impact seemed to shock him more than anything. He was distracted long enough for me to get close again. I wrapped my arm around Millie and swiped Reaver at Muriel. As the purple blade reached the beard of my sister's kidnapper, he was gone and my arms were empty. Millie was gone as well.

I clenched my fist. She was right there. All I had to do was hold onto her and she was gone.

Sandra vanished in a puff of green and she spoke again. "That trick won't work twice, we'll have to get creative."

"Extrasensory." That spell had long since ended and I had to make sure no one was there before I left the room. I felt the presence of both Muriel and Millie nearby Just like I expected, but they were close to the entrance.

I took only a few steps toward them before I noticed more stone slabs coming from different directions. They were all moving rapidly, gliding past each other toward me. I dodged one, then two, and jumped on top of another before dodging one that crashed into the one I was standing on.

By now, the flames on the ground were gone and the blue light filled the room in place of the torches that were knocked out from pieces of the walls breaking away and careening toward me. I sent blade waves at some of them and they only broke apart with an unchanged trajectory.

"Mugen!" I called him and he appeared by my side, blocking debris that would have otherwise crushed me. He stood proudly, taking the hits and not being phased. I was under his wing preparing to dart out as soon as I saw an opening, but I couldn't see one.

Sandra soon appeared again over my shoulder with a solution. "I'll fly out there, you shoot me with one of your blast shots, alright?" Before I could protest, she fluttered between the debris and mostly out of sight.

Trusting her, I drew back my string and let one loose the second I saw her emerald body between the gray. The flames flickered through the rubble and scattered the stone, creating a clear path.

I took my chance and sprinted through the room to the hallway on the other side. Before I realized it, I was face-to-face with a slab of stone that blew apart following a bolt of lightning from behind me.

Brushing past the still air-borne debris, I stepped into the hall and everything changed. There was a sudden pressure on my shoulders that almost flattened me to the ground immediately and my throat tightened so much it hurt. I couldn't move or breathe.

"There we go," said Muriel, walking toward me with Millie levitating in front of him, "You walked right into my trap and even ignored the spell below your feet. Now, I can touch you." His face lit up with glee as he casually closed the distance. Stopping right in front of me, he reached forward and placed his hand in the space between my horns. "Takeover."

I blinked and everything went black. At my sides stood Dusk shrouded in black armor, Katie in her manticore form, Meo coated in azure flames, and Mugen with his wings flared and blue electricity coating him. Sandra was sticking to my shoulder with her talons.

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In front of us was something I couldn't describe. It had numerous eyes across its multi-colored body with wings, legs, and tails numbering too many to count. It was furry, scaly, and feathery all at the same time. It wasn't a blob, but it took many shapes at once.

"What the hell is that?" I looked up to see the sigil that sat atop my 'eye'

"Quiche," said Dusk, "That's what it called itself. It got me while I was trying to save Millie and put me under mind control."

"Wel-come." The creature spoke and changed shape anywhere between fifteen and twenty times. "To-my dom-ain."

"Sorry, but this is my place." I reached for my weapons and none of them were there. Of course, they weren't there, we were in my mind. With that thought, I charged forward and sank my fist into the creature. The moment I made contact with it, my fist felt like it was on fire as part of it stuck to me and singed my knuckle.

With the pain came insight. The image of a blurry silhouette of a man standing against a hoard of creatures bathed in flame with two swords in his hands flashed through my sight. There were other figures, but that one was most familiar.

Before I could back away, I felt something grab the collar of my shirt and pull me backward. The sound of rapidly flapping wings told me it was Sandra. I followed her lead and hopped backward just before a myriad of spikes took my place. They were all different colors spawning from Quiche.

"Be careful," said Sandra, "If you get harmed in here, it's your soul that takes damage."

"Thanks for telling me. I guess that means I can't touch that thing." I continued to back up.

"My... our domain." The creature began to morph and stretch before splitting in two and then three until there were six entities that all took different shapes. There were three four-legged creatures, two winged creatures, and a snake-like creature. They all varied in size and a rainbow of colors swam across their bodies.

"We can't be separated, then we'll have a repeat of what happened to me earlier." Dusk brushed his head against my hand. "I'll be your armor." He morphed into smoke and covered my body before solidifying into a shiny, black suit of light armor.

I felt Meo's paws on my head and suddenly I was coated in blue flames under the armor. Katie hopped in front of me in a golden glow and she changed form to resemble a golden version of Reaver. I took hold of her.

While this was happening, a large ball of lightning was descending on the creatures that split from each other. The resulting explosion didn't seem to do much. This display of resilience showed me just how much work was cut out for me.

Mugen let down his wing and I climbed onto his back before he took off into the air. The space was much bigger than I thought.

The two winged creatures followed us into the air. One looked like a bird of prey while the other looked more amphibious. The bird opened its beak and inside it was a swirling ball of fire.

"Lightning!" I called out and Mugen spat a blue bolt of electricity into the flames which erupted and ricocheted the bird back to the ground, trailing feathers all the way.

The other creature looked like a flying stingray as it began rapidly closing in on us. A second lightning bolt just bounced off it, so Mugen soared farther upward.

"It's too fast. It'll catch up soon."

"Nosedive," I said, "We'll have to hit it real hard."

On command Mugen turned and dived toward our pursuer, picking up speed with a blue lightning ball in his mouth. I readied Katie as a weapon in case I needed to strike. Mugen released the lightning ball as we came within reach of the flying amphibian.

I found myself spiraling toward the ground as I was thrown off Mugen mid-air. Trying not to panic, I looked back at where I was falling from to see my dragon falling farther away. He didn't seem to be conscious and the thing we crashed into was turning back in my direction.

I concentrated to begin casting 'dance of the fireflies' and a mix of blue and red embers began trailing off of the sword that was my cat. Casting 'blade wave', I scattered the small orbs above me as they trailed behind an attack that missed my target as I waited for it to dive between the mist-like debris.

It dove toward me like I wanted it to, but instead of going through the field of red and blue, it swerved around and came up from below me. I swung my leg and turned downward to strike it with Katie, but it was too fast. I didn't feel much from the hit, but whiplash from impact threw me for a loop.

At that moment, I saw that man again. This time, I could see more detail. He was dressed in black armor and his swords were bright red and deep purple. His short hair was topped with a pair of horns that shone many different colors at once and he stood inside what looked like a rip in space. The monsters and flames were descending upon him and the other figures seemed to be reaching out to him.

My vision snapped back and before I knew it, I was falling into the open maw of the creature that just rammed into me.

"Dance of the fireflies." I traced my fingertips across the surface of Katie's blade and stabbed her upward, hoping none of my companions would be hurt by my spell.

A bright flash of light and heat saw me falling once again. The creature that swallowed me was now gone, but the others were still there. The serpent was coiled and ready to strike as it waited for me to fall within its range. The other four creatures re-converged into the formless mass from before.

I continued falling while keeping eye contact with the serpent and when it struck, I reached out my hand, unwilling to put Katie in danger, and cast 'burn'. The moment I did, it flashed red and caught fire just before the shape of a feathery dragon tackled it and caught me on its back.

"Are you okay?" Mugen carried me upwards.

I looked down at the serpent thrashing about still coated in flames. "I can hurt them even though you can't.

"Does that mean you have a plan that isn't reckless?" Sandra was still latched onto the back of my collar as she spoke.

"Drop me right on top of that thing," I said, confidently as I watched the serpent thrashing about until it was no longer in flames.

"Are you sure about this?" Both Sandra and Mugen spoke at the same time.

I scoffed. "Have some faith in me, come on. Both of you."

"That idea is unsafe, to say the least," said Mugen.

"One of your more reckless ideas," Sandra agreed.

"We don't have many other choices, ok?"

Sandra sighed. "I hate to admit it, but I agree with you."

"Same here," agreed Mugen.

"Cool, so drop me." I watched as the serpent re-integrated itself with the rest of the creature.

"No, 'not many', doesn't mean 'no other'. We can glide down and attack them that way." Sandra was adamant and Mugen agreed, so I had no choice.

"Okay, but if any of you guys get hurt, I'm hopping off."

"Don't worry about us, we're here to protect you." Sandra sounded like I had just disrespected her.

"You know what?" I stood quickly and hopped off, falling voluntarily.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sandra's wings were flapping like her life depended on it. Despite her small size, she was able to slow my descent.

"Let me go, I wanna hit it as hard as I can."

"Not on your life." I could hear the struggle in her voice.

I reached back and yanked at her legs, pulling myself away from her and speeding back up as I spiraled down. This whole time, my target far below had been sprouting wings by shifting all of its feathers onto outstretched limbs on its backside.

I held Katie in both of my hands. "This had better work or I'm going to hate myself," I said, as the red and blue particles began forming across my sword and up my arms. As I fell, I became surrounded by a spray of ruby and sapphire.

The creature below me took flight, straight up toward me, and soon, we made contact. I was snatched out of the air and thrown to the ground. Ignoring the burn of just being grabbed by the thing and the impact of slamming into the ground, I was able to cast one more spell as the mist of embers scattered in all directions as far as I could see.

My vision went blurry as the bubbles of light expanded to fill my field of view once again.

My eyes shot open and I was short of breath. Gasping, I fell to the ground. Sitting up, I looked around to find that I was back underground. I wasn't fused with Meo anymore and both Sandra and Mugen were gone. Muriel was on his back and Millie was just standing there with a blank stare.

"Ow." I couldn't name any one thing that didn't hurt. "Millie." I stood wearily and staggered toward her past the man on the ground. I reached her, hugged her, and resisted the urge to cry.

"Qing Umbra Ino Carmine Harris Eden." The words came from the man on the ground and a sudden pressure rose from him. Something was coming.

"Mugen." I attempted to summon the dragon but he didn't appear while I picked up Millie and dashed upstairs.

Sprinting up as fast as I could, I carried my cousin upward. Every step I took added to the aches and pains, starting from my legs and rising. Not too far up, a rumble sounded from below followed by shaking as I was thrown into the nearest wall. I continued up, protecting Millie.

"This isn't looking good, meo." I could feel Meo's paws on top of my head and he sounded tired.

"What's wrong?" The words flew out of my mouth unconsciously.

"The names, meo... Those were the names of the summons that your grandfather took with him when he closed the gate to the underworld, meo. That's what Quiche is, meo. What I don't get is why they're doing all of this... meo..."

"Doesn't matter. Let's fuse, I need speed."

"Alright, but we won't have much time, meo." The walls glowed from the dim flames sprouting sparsely from my body.

I was slowly running low on stamina and fatigue was pulling me closer to the ground as I traveled between the halls, following the flow of fresh air to find a way out. Millie was still unresponsive, but I was sure it was her. Either Dusk or Meo would have said something about it... Right? Now was not the time for doubt. I just had to get out alive with the little girl.

"We're not going as fast as normal, what's going on?" I was becoming increasingly concerned with how things were going. My muscles were screaming and it was becoming increasingly hard to focus.

"You're running low on mana, meo." Meo's voice was choppy and fading.

"You can run out?" This was the worst time to find out such a thing.

"You used your strongest spell twice and not only summoned us repeatedly but kept us out for extended periods, so I'm not surprised, meo."

Thinking back, it made sense. I had Dusk and Mugen summoned for hours, then summoned Meo and Katie, then Mugen again, then there were all of the spells I cast and the magic arrows. Even assuming Sandra used her own mana to summon herself, I put myself in a pickle. There was also the realization that The mana I used while fighting that thing in my 'eye' had also taken a real toll and assuming all of that was real, I'd have a lot of bruises to look forward to if I survived.

I reached the end of a hall to find that I was back in the room with the spiral stairway in the center and just barely reached the stairs when the ground shook hard enough for my feet to leave the ground. I hurried up the steps before the shaking could cause them to fall. Halfway up, the ground fell away, revealing a pitch-black abyss below. the whole place was collapsing from the bottom up.

Wide-eyed, I peered down and continued as fast as I could, reaching the top and following the first tunnel out. The woods were close by, so I made a mad dash for it, hoping the ground wouldn't fall away below me.

Once I stumbled into the tree line, I almost collapsed with Millie still in my arms. I leaned against a tree and took another look at the little girl's face. The little nubs on her temple were visible now and her light brown eyes were almost black while her gaze was still static.

"Millie... Millie, can you hear me? Say something." I lightly tapped her cheeks to get her to respond. "Millie." Desperately, I slapped her to no response.

"She's still under mind control." Sandra appeared in front of my face. "Allow me." She fluttered onto Millie's shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"No..." Millie's eyes shifted from nearly black to their normal brown before closing. She suddenly became slightly heavier.

"What did you just do?" I asked, gazing upon the girl in my arms. Since I was last able to get a good look at her, she had grown at least a foot.

"I cast 'whispering winds', it's an illusionary spell, so it should interfere with the mind control, but that's up to her. There is another problem."

"That is?"

"Muriel's still alive. We need to get out of here, can you move?"

"I think so." I stood to aches and pains, noticing that the sparse flames that covered me were gone. "Can't summon them on my own anymore, can I?"

"If you try, I'll have to drag the both of you away on my own."

"Noted." I sighed, sprinting as fast as I could.

The forest was extensive and branches constantly whipped my face and limbs since my arms were preoccupied with protecting Millie. We'd gotten pretty far, at least I thought we did until I heard a familiar voice from above.

"Stop right there."

I didn't stop, instead, the surprise made me hop as I continued forward. Barely a couple of seconds after, he landed in front of me. His black beard was stained with red that dripped onto his clothes and trickled down to the ground.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Nearly crippled already, would I be able to fight back? I'd have to. There was no other way. He must have been injured from the tunnels collapsing on top of him, but he could still use magic. Even if he wasn't hurt, I'd fight even if it killed me.

He looked me dead in the eye and said, "Kill me."

I nearly tripped over myself in shock. "What?" All of my killing intent had already left me. All I wanted at this point was survival.

"I'm holding it back. It invaded your mind and you weakened it. They may call me 'the betrayer', but I only betrayed the demons. I never intended to betray the humans as well. I can't let this thing out. It won't let me kill myself. Kill me and it'll die too." His hands were twitching as if reaching for something and he staggered back and forth restlessly.

Wordlessly, I unsheathed Reaver and plunged the violet blade into his heart in one swift motion. He took a sharp breath as a river of red started to spill from his chest, but the light in his eye didn't fade.

"Remember: you're not cursed, you are the curse." He said it as if the warning had nothing to do with the current situation. "Now run. You just have to escape for as long as you can. it can't survive long in this world without a vessel."

On that note, I strafed around him and took off. My sense of urgency had never been so strong. Every step was taken with the thought of the possibility that It could be my last.

After a moment, Millie's eyes opened suddenly. Either she broke out of mind control with Sandra's help or Muriel died. Either way, I wasn't slowing down.

"Scarlet, where are we-" She was silenced by an inhuman screech coming from where we just were. It was as if a shadow fell over us. there was nothing but bad feelings coming from it.

I didn't think I could pick up the pace any more than I had, but I still went faster. Sandra struggled to keep up and disappeared. I couldn't feel anything anymore and everything before me became a blur.

"There you are." The voice of that thing came from everywhere at once. It rattled my bones and sent shivers down my spine. It was deafening and layered with dark intent.

"Millie, can you still see the future?" I asked out of desperation.

She responded, "No, all I see is dark."

"That thing's going to catch up with us. When it does, I need you to call out Sazah with as much passion as you can. A little monkey will come out and help you get away. I'll stay and deal with this, okay?"

Desperately, Millie said, "I don't wanna leave you."

"Listen to me. I can't fight while protecting you. I'll be fine, I have my own little critters to help me. I just need you to get away. okay?"

"Okay." She sounded like she was going to cry.

Soon, I heard the sound of large wings flapping behind us.

"Are you ready?" I said, staring Millie in the eye.

"No," she said. Me too, kid.

"Well, you have to be." I stopped and stood her up. "Go and don't look back."

She turned around and ran as fast as her little legs could take her.

I turned around and faced the multi-colored thing hovering above me. It wasn't so scary now that it was in front of me. It looked the same as before except now it was in better lighting; like a mix of different animals stitched together.

"So, this is it, huh?" Sandra appeared by my side.

"I hope." Drawing my bow, I took aim, looking for an opening.

"Don't let your guard down now. Survive this and we can all go home." A hand landed on my shoulder.

Looking over, I saw Sandra. Not the bird, her. She was like emerald glass and ethereal in form. I could see through her and her figure wavered ever so slightly like ripples in a pond. Her skeletal wings were spread proudly like obsidian on her back.

"I'll lend you my magic, but I won't be able to come out for a while." She faded and disappeared, leaving behind what felt like a bolt of electricity that ran through my body, energizing me.

"Thanks," I said, looking back at the thing preparing to descend on us.

Its wings folded back in mid-air and it began falling. I released my arrow and it soared directly into the center of the thing on the way down before exploding. It took no damage and landed with a deafening thump.

Using a nearby tree as a springboard, I leaped into the air and summoned Mugen. Instead of a dragon, a ball of electricity appeared below me. Out of the ball, appeared a man covered in thick yellow scales with dark highlights, long dark blue feather-like hair with yellow highlights, and a snake-like tail. Some of the scales and feathers hung off of him and acted like clothing to create a sort of skirt and a poncho. The feathery poncho opened as a pair of wings on his back and I landed feet first on them.

He said, "Jump," and I did. Continuing up higher, he followed, flying past me and grabbing my hand on the way up.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Back in the day, I was called 'Lightning God Mugen'. I want to show you why and kill this thing in one shot."

"Okay, let's do it."

"I'll toss you up and you hit me with as much fire as you can. There are no clouds, so you'll have to do."

"Okay, Meo." I summoned the fox and he appeared clinging to my waist; a boy half my size with short hair the same color as his fur, blonde fading to red at the tips. His eyes were mismatched red and yellow and he wore a tunic of his own fur. "You too?"

"It's ok, we used our own power to take these forms so we can be at our strongest, meo." After his short explanation, he melted into an azure flame that coated my body completely.

"Mugen, toss me."

He twisted around and threw me upward. I spiraled through the air and found myself looking down at the dragon-man and the amalgamate creature flying up at him. I cast 'inferno' and since there were no surfaces nearby, I had to focus the spell between my hands. It wasn't the most powerful, but it made more flames than I would normally need.

I aimed it down and released a concentrated ball of fire that trailed a wisp of flame behind it. Mugen had one hand up that met my fireball and absorbed it as blue electricity ran from his palm around the rest of his body. He grabbed his wrist with his other hand and pointed it down.

"Hand of god." The lightning formed a shape resembling a giant, blue fist and struck down at the rapidly approaching pursuer below.

The impact resulted in a brilliant flash that blinded me for a second. When the light faded, I saw Mugen spiraling down and Quiche still soaring up toward me with nearly a quarter of its mass blasted away. I blocked it by slashing at it with my swords, but then I heard something pop and I was thrown to the side.

I didn't fall long as Mugen caught me in his arms and dodged Quiche as it turned back to strike us again. We stayed in the air and continued moving just well enough to avoid direct impact as the thing only increased in speed.

At some point, Mugen released one of his arms and reached for mine. He squeezed a certain part and I heard another cracking sound followed by a sharp pain that raced from where he gripped outward.

"Ah! What the hell was that?" I cradled my arm and the pain faded rapidly.

"Your arm's broken. You can't take another impact like that." He raced toward the ground with me and dashed to the side just as quickly as Quiche crashed down where we just were.

A thought crossed my mind. "Meo, you said that thing's made of my grandfather's summons, right?"

"They were with him when he closed the portal to hell, meo."

"Can you talk to them or something?"

"I can't, meo. Their minds and bodies have been corrupted, meo. If what Muriel said is true, we just have to stay out of their reach until they die from the corruption that's taken over them, meo."

"Not to make it seem harder than it sounds, but I can't keep avoiding this thing forever." Mugen barely dodged a strike that would have clipped one of his wings.

Thinking fast, I said, "Mugen, do you think you can take a hit from it?"

"I can take anything," He said, proudly.

"Good." I opened my palms. "Katie." Instead of the little kitten I was expecting, a toddler with flowing hair the same color appeared, sitting on my gut. She was staring into my eyes intently with her gold saucers, ears pointed straight up, her tail waving wildly, and an eager smile.

"Meow?" she asked, excitedly.

"Can you still use your spines in that form?" I asked, holding her so she wouldn't fall while we were still in motion.

In response, she straightened out her tail and long barbs protruded from all sides. Some of them bounced off of Mugen's armored scales.

"Careful," said Mugen, "You don't want to accidentally poke one of us with those."

She retracted the barbs and purred an apology.

I said, "Okay, Mugen, put us down and hit it head-on. Stop it from moving. We'll take care of the rest with these poison spines."

He did exactly as he was told. He sat us down and rushed straight toward Quiche. They collided and despite his diminished size, he halted it entirely, planting his feet into the ground and forcing it back.

Katie raised her tail and aimed it at Quiche, firing a volley of spines. I grabbed a few before she shot them and took aim with one in my bow. At that moment, Quiche split in three. The bulk of the creature stayed in front of Mugen while a winged creature split off and took the impact from the spines and a spear-headed serpent-like creature dashed up and over in our direction.

I shot at the one coming my way and I missed. By then, it was too close to dodge. At that moment, everything went black.

My eyes were still open and adjusted momentarily. In front of me stood a man clad in heavy gray clothes holding up a shield of darkness. Dusk summoned himself to protect me. The only problem was that there was a hole in the shield and I was pinned to a tree by the thing that made the hole.

I couldn't feel anything, but that made the realization worse. It was definitely a serpent of some kind with brown and black scales, but the spike that was where its head was supposed to be was the most concerning as it was the thing that pierced my abdomen.

"Dusk?" I couldn't think of anything else to say in my state of shock.

"I'm sorry," he said, seemingly surprised that he could talk. The same thing that pinned me to a tree had also pierced his chest. Not a moment later, he vanished, and with him, so did the darkness.

"Join with us." There were many different voices speaking in my head at once. "Become our vessel or die."

Realizing it was Quiche speaking, I responded, "Easy choice." Grabbing one of the spines I took from Katie, I plunged it between the scales of the serpent. The voices screamed so loud my head hurt and it began writhing, ripping the tree off of the ground with me still pinned on it and flailing about until it came loose and flew off with me soon after.

I landed on the tree as it crashed down. I could feel my strength leaving me and I became dizzy. Subconsciously, I reached for my wound. It was warm and wet and I nearly dropped my fingers into the new opening.

"Sandra," I called her with what felt like my last breath and waited a moment. "Oh yeah, you can't come out. Guess I'll go to you." Closing my eyes, I focused inward and concentrated.

I opened my eyes and looked around. Dusk, Meo, and Katie were in front of me in their normal forms. Dusk had his snout turned down, Meo was lying on his side with his eyes closed and Katie was walking in a small circle. The only ones that were missing were Mugen and Sandra.

"Where are the other two?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.

"Mugen's on a rampage against what's left of Quiche," said dusk, avoiding my gaze.

"What about Sandra?" I hoped the first answer that crossed my mind wasn't right.

"She gave you all of her power, did she not?"

"Are you telling me she's gone?" My heart sank. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye, and she just left like that; just fading to nothing without even saying anything. "Damn it!" I fell to my knees and slammed my fist on the ground, causing the smooth, obsidian-like surface to shatter in all directions like glass. I felt the stirrings of a headache and the shards returned to their place, reforming the smooth ground below me.

"I apologize." Dusk rubbed his head against my arm. "I wasn't able to protect you."

"It's fine," I said, sobbing. "Don't apologize." I started petting him. "You're a good boy, you know that?"

He let out a whimper as he sat by my side. His fur felt nice in my hands and tickled my arms.

"Meo, Katie, come here." I gestured to them both. Katie stopped walking in circles and bound for me. She hopped onto my lap and got comfortable as I started petting her too. Meo got up and ran too, but he was much slower and had a limp. "Meo, what's wrong?" I examined myself and found nothing wrong. Whatever was bothering him, I couldn't feel it.

"Nothing, meo." He picked up the pace and made it to me before collapsing next to Katie. "I'm fine... meo."

I picked up the little fox in both my hands. "I need to know what's wrong."

No answer.

"Dusk, do you know what's wrong?" I looked at the wolf, concerned.

"You may as well drop the act, little fox." Dusk put his snout over Meo's face and licked him.

"Meo..." What looked like a layer of mist evaporated from Meo as the illusion was undone and I was taken aback by what I saw. His fur was a deep red and there was a hole clean through his body.

"Oh, Meo. I forgot we share wounds." I kissed his forehead. "I'm sorry."

"That's not all," said Dusk, "He's been taking most of your pain onto himself."

"Shut it, mutt, meo."

"That explains a lot." I stood with Meo still in my arms. "It's about time I go back out there."

I opened my eyes to an unexpected sight. The sky was clouded over and I heard thunder in the distance, but there was no rain. Mugen was hanging in the sky still in his human form and surrounded by red lightning. A stream of energy was barreling from his chest at Quiche which was half the size it was before and being pushed across the ground.

It took me a moment to notice someone was at my side. Millie was beside me with my hand in hers. Tears were streaming down her puffed-up face and she was trembling uncontrollably. There was also a warm feeling coming from where the hole in my gut was.

"Millie? Why are you here?"

"I don't want you to go." she whimpered.

"I'm not going anywhere, you're supposed to be far away from here."

"Still a liar." She gripped my hand harder. "I'm staying here with you."

"Where's the monkey?" I darted my eyes around and spotted golden fur barely within my field of view. I'd have thought it was Katie if I didn't know better.

"I'm here." A female voice came from where the fur was. There were layers of sass to everything she said. "You're lucky. If it wasn't for your cousin here, you'd be past-tense."

"What?"

"Thanks to her, I can heal you. Even with a hole this big in your gut."

"Really?"

"Yep, but it's costing her her sight, so be grateful."

Quickly, I reached over and pulled Millie closer. Her light brown eyes were slowly fading to silver. I just stared for a moment in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry." I wrapped my arms around her and held on until she spoke.

"I can't see anymore. It's all dark."

"It's ok, I still got you," I said, rubbing her hair.

"On that note, I'm done here." Sazah stood and I got a good look at her. She had bright gold fur that shimmered in the light and eyes like sapphire beacons and a long prehensile tail with three gold rings on it. "Also, her sight wasn't the only cost. You lost somewhere around ten to twenty years off your life."

"Uh... ok."

"Okay, I gotta rest now, bye-bye." She disappeared in a golden flash.

By now, Mugen had returned and was standing close by. "I wasn't able to kill it, but that thing's much too weakened to pursue anyone. It should die soon."

"Well, if I knew you had that kind of power, I'd have gotten wounded earlier." My remark was met with a small fist planted squarely on my cheek. "Bad joke, sorry."

"Well, using power like that comes at a cost..." He sounded uneasy. "I thought you were going to die and..."

"And?"

"I took a few years off your natural life span."

I sighed. "That's fine. At least I'm alive for now." Sitting up, I felt for the hole in my clothes and made sure my pants still had a belt before standing. I also found a green pendant shaped like a pair of horns in my pocket. "Can you go back to being big so we can get out of here?"

Mugen glowed bright yellow and when the light faded he stood tall on all-fours with his wings lowered to climb on. I grabbed Mille by the hand and led her onto the back of the dragon. I guided her hands to a couple of feathers to hold onto and we took off.

"I can not stay out here for too much longer. My presence at this time might further affect your lifespan."

"In that case, it's fine if you can fly us as close to Bridgeport as possible if you know where that is."

"I will make haste-" He paused suddenly and his head turned upward. "Something is rapidly approaching us from behind."

I looked back and saw a burned mass with featherless wings soaring toward us. it was a little smaller than Mugen at this point, but Quiche was still highly mobile. If it could catch up with us, why couldn't it just go after any number of people? We weren't in flight for long, but we had to have passed someone at our speed.

Retrieving my bow, I took aim to find that my broken arm was unstable. I knew that Meo would be suffering much more than I could realize, but I still readied my shot. As I released the string, it snapped. My arrow fell harmlessly to the side and my bow was now useless.

I let go of the feathers in my hands and stood carefully. A blade wave wouldn't be accurate or strong enough, so I had only one choice that I could see clearly. It already worked once.

"What are you doing?" said Mugen, eyeing my movement.

"What I did last time." Before another word could be said, I jumped.

My calculations weren't perfect and I almost went clear past my target. Luckily I was also a target and it changed direction to meet me. I drew Reaver with my intact arm and got ready to cast a spell.

It opened its mouth. Full of teeth of drastically different sizes, the mouth overtook most of the front of its body. For a moment, I thought I would be eaten and instead, it blew a stream of red liquid mixed with something foul-smelling at me. It hit my forehead and caused me to flip backward.

I lost consciousness for a second and by the time I realized what happened, I was between its jaws. There was only enough pressure for me to feel the sharpness of its teeth, but I couldn't move. I felt weak as if it was draining my strength.

"Dance of the fireflies." I cast the spell unaware of where my sword was and a bright light flashed before my eyes

Before I knew it, I was spiraling down still in the mouth of a creature that was slowly losing its color. Pieces of it began breaking off and rising upward, catching the wind. I tried to free myself unsuccessfully until part of its jaw broke off and released me.

I was in free-fall for less than a second until I was caught on a yellow and blue scaled body with wings.

"That was more reckless than last time," said Mugen, disappointedly.

"But I took care of it, didn't I?" I said, exhausted.

"Yes, but I don't think Millie is happy about it."

"Is that right Millie? Your big cousin went adventuring and beat the bad guy to save you. Are you at least a little happy?"

She huffed and made no other sound.

"Alright, maybe I could have been a little more careful, but we're fine now."

A few hours later we were back at Bridgeport on the mainland at the base of a giant bridge. The second we dismounted, Mugen disappeared. The first thing we did was head over to the shack on the outskirts of town. No one was there and the door was missing.

After that, we headed to an inn and stayed a few nights. It took some convincing to get meo to stop taking all of my pain. When he did, I was bedridden for three days.

Broken limbs are no joke.

I thought I was going to die from that alone and that was just the tip of the iceberg. My screams made the inn staff rush to my room. They thought I was being murdered. They called a doctor who turned out to be Alice and it took her around five hours to get me to calm down.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," I said, trying to ignore the uncanny feeling of having a broken arm. I couldn't feel the pain anymore thanks to anesthetics.

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon." She was examining my arm to see if it could be fixed. "You're lucky. I thought I'd need to amputate based on how you were screaming, but it looks like it was a straight snap. It should heal fine.

"I saw your brother again."

"Oh?"

"I think he's scared of you."

"Really?"

"Enough that it snapped him out of mind control."

"Ha ha, I don't think so. It'd be nice if he did. Then he wouldn't go off and get himself in so much trouble... So, is he still alive?"

"What if I told you I killed him?" I don't know why I said that. There'd be no point trying to provoke the person tending to my wounds.

"I'd say he brought it upon himself, but I'd still be sad." Her expression didn't change.

"He's still alive." My statement was followed by a flick to my forehead. "Okay, that's fair."

"Please don't do that. You don't want your injuries to get worse."

"Ehe heh... okay," I said, awkwardly. "I'm going to pass out now." I closed my eyes and let my exhaustion take me.

I woke up a couple of days later, but while I was asleep, Alice took a look at Millie's eyes and found that nothing could be done about it. Even though my wounds weren't completely healed, I summoned Mugen and we flew home. It took a few stops to find the right direction, but we got there eventually.