“This is ridiculous. You cannot possibly think that you can complete this mission on your own?” Laurence rumbled in disbelief. Jane’s pillar crumbled, and she left the shared space without answering.

“Damn it!” the golden eyed man roared, and his sisters’ Astral bodies appeared behind him. “We must take matters into our own hands. I will reposition my forces to the north and Raymond will can take my place to the west.” Gloria suggested, and Laurence laughed.

“I should have paid closer attention to their mental states. He will not listen. I have already suggested that and he…he showed me what he had foreseen.” The golden eyed Candidate said to his sisters.

Gloria and Mei saw what Raymond had hidden. They watched from a distance as a black sphere expanded instantly and swallowed the island. The glittery black ball became paper white, before it grew gradually and erased everything within hundreds of thousands of kilometres.

The glittery white bubble contracted and revealed a dent in the world. The island was gone. The air and the seawater rushed to fill in the vacuum and the vision ended as suddenly as it had begun.

“What is this? What happens?” Mei asked, and Gloria’s shoulders dropped. “You are too young to know it yet, sister. Have you deduced when it happens?” she asked, and Laurence shook his head. “What is it?” the youngest of the golden eyed sisters asked, with a hint of irritation. They explained what it was to her, and she covered her mouth with her hands.

“Did you know?” Gloria asked Duke, and the Demons turned around and ran. Many of the warriors and gunners inside of the two barriers awakened and their energy signatures grew exponentially. The heat and light emanating from their silhouettes were nowhere near as bright and hot as that produced by the pirates and the Candidates. However, the tiny bright lights in the darkness grouped up and exuded a formidable presence together.

“No, but we had our suspicions.” Duke replied honestly. “And you did not think to share them?” Gloria asked angrily. “Would you if it were Laurence?” the stoic Candidate snapped. He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly and calmed down.

“My apologies.” Duke said sincerely. “No, you are right. I would not have said anything either.” The golden eyed woman replied. “Still, your brother was quite the surprise. Did Raymond know he would play such a vital role in this mission?” Laurence asked, as he descended gracefully.

“No.” Duke replied concisely, while the Yokai fled at a snail’s pace. Suddenly, the mood was lifted with a single message. A map appeared in the top right corner of their fields of view and beams of light shot up into the sky. Kagiso and the pirates had scouted the island and marked every location.

Raymond clicked on the northernmost question mark and photographs of three pitch black barriers appeared before him. He scrolled down and memorised everything the pirates had discovered.

“Laboratories, military bases, factories and villages. How long has our enemy been hiding right under our noses? How much time have they had to study us and prepare? Do you think understanding how we die will change anything? What is your answer to this scenario?” the three-horned man wondered, and he waved the monitors away. “Sir? Should we call back our forces?” the bridge commander wondered, and Raymond saw flashes of naked bodies being torn apart violently.

“Should I wait? Should I act? What if waiting is the answer? What if more variables are presented? What if? What if? What if?” the two-horned man wondered, but nothing came to mind. The bridge crew gawked at Raymond as his eyes pulsed, and he stared vacantly into the distance.

“No. We hold this position until the mountain is destroyed and the barrier around the island falls.” The three-horned man answered, and he masked his uncertainty. His presence lacked its usual gravitas, and his answer did not ease his subordinates' doubts.

*

Crane and his shore party disembarked the Miliana. They dropped onto the Demons' heads and plunged their swords through their skulls. Powerful jolts of glittery lightning coursed through the monsters’ bodies and eradicated the nano-portals in their cells.

The Yokai’s energy output dropped drastically, with each glittery dome that was destroyed, and their flesh burned. The hundreds of monsters felt the heat emanating from the intruders and their sensors picked up the spike in their energy signatures. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the bright flashes of light grew dimmer.

The White-Haired pirate took off his glasses. His hair became statically charged and his grey eyes darted from left to right. Crane scanned the holes in the rusty fence around the courtyard. The grass was knee high, and the jungle had crept right up to the front gate.

The Demons burst out of the bushes around the dilapidated property, and they charged across the tall lawn. The monstrous bodies flailed their arms around erratically above their heads, and they sprinted towards the men and women gathered in front of the one-storey buildings on the other side of the courtyard.

Crane stepped forward and vanished. He appeared before the Yokai and became a blur. His sabre’s blade edge became white hot, and his eyes spewed a bright light that illuminated the path before him.

“The darker it gets, the stronger they become. It won’t be long until this entire island is pitch black.” Jean said as he twirled his moustache and watched his captain enviously.

“We only have one more destination left after this lab, right?” Rose asked, and she scrolled through the horrific images of mutilated corpses on bloody operating tables and vats of malformed still bodies.

“Yes. The densest section of the barrier. Then we just need to focus on staying alive.” Crane assured her and he held the Demons back by himself. The White-Haired pirate shot, dashed, thrust, dodged and slashed at incredible speed. The pirates increased their energy output and their feet sunk deeper into the dark green grass.

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*

Raymond received Kagiso’ final report, and he clenched his fist angrily. The three-horned man stood up and vanished. He appeared on the deck and stared at the criss-crossing streaks of light far below.

Raymond watched as the shadowy bodies charged at the glittery bubbles. He blinked, and the long line of Candidates had obliterated and incinerated them. Waves of ravenous monsters charged to their doom, only for more to emerge from the jungle.

“They think I have betrayed them, that The Council has forsaken them...and yet, look. Look at how they struggle against such a weak enemy, and you think they can defeat a demi-god?” the three-horned man asked and Kagiso’s ghost appeared beside him.

“They deserve a chance to try.” The two-horned man replied, and his brother laughed. “Have you not read your own report?” he asked, and Kagiso’s eyes glowed furiously. “I have!” he shouted. “This island is in another dimension. The only reason we were able to breach the barrier, is due to the absence of the one that created it.” Raymond said, loud enough for every Candidate in the vicinity to hear.

“Then fortune smiles upon us. What traps us here could be our salvation, as well. Priya, Regius, Laurence, Mei and I are all more than capable of uncovering the rules that govern this world. With that knowledge, we could turn this dimension against our enemies. You saw the annihilation of the island, but from whose perspective? What if that was a vision from your own eyes?” Kagiso asked, and Raymond stared at him.

“There can be no victory without sacrifice. Your plan has too many uncertainties. No, besides that. Greater minds have revealed our destinies to me, and my interpretation is correct. We were sent here to spark the flames of war, and to make certain that the enemy dies with us.” The three-horned man rumbled stoically, and the Candidates’ shoulders dropped. They shook their heads in disbelief, and a few even stopped fighting. Kagiso landed a right straight, and his newfound strength shocked Raymond.

“No one decides when I die. Not even The Council.” The two-horned man rumbled, and the three-horned man's eyes glowed furiously. “Do you think you know better than the founders of our society? Do you think you know better than the most powerful of our kind?” he rumbled, and Kagiso punched him again. Duke snarled and looked back at the scene.

“No! Just you!” the two-horned man replied, and he let loose a third thundering blow. “Fight! Coward!” Kagiso bellowed, and he launched his brother towards the battlefield with a sidekick to the abdomen.

“Enough!” Raymond roared, and his energy output skyrocketed. The three-horned man stopped abruptly a hundred metres above the ground. The two-horned man flew at mach speeds. He threw another heavy kick and Raymond’s eyes flashed purple. He drifted to the side, grabbed his brother’s leg and spun like a top.

The three-horned man let go, and he sent Kagiso crashing into the ocean. The two-horned man skipped on the water and slammed into the barrier. The ripples rolled halfway up and disappeared mysteriously.

Kagiso appeared in front of Raymond, with his arm drawn back. He threw a powerful punch and Duke appeared between them. He raised his arms, secreted and three-dimensionally printed two sparkly bronze walls. The stoic two-horned man clapped his hands and the bronze slabs of metal shaped themselves into two glittery gongs.

The two-horned man’s fist collided with the sparkly metal, and it didn't budge. An invisible force shook his bones violently, before it repelled him hundreds of metres back. The second gong was struck by an invisible force, and it vibrated violently. The glittery sound waves shattered the three-horned man’s invisible spell and blasted the bright white shards at him.

“We have been invaded. Our home. Our people. Are in danger. This war base must be destroyed, but not like this. Not by sacrificing who we are.” Kagiso rumbled defiantly in between breaths and Raymond clenched his fist. “The men and women on my ship are my people as well. If given the chance to, would you not save the ones you love from suffering?” he asked, and Duke inhaled sharply.

“I would…by taking their suffering upon myself. Even if I had to carry my ship on my back, while they gnawed on my body. Do not give in to despair.” the stoic two-horned man rumbled calmly. “I know, and you do not get far when you do.” The three-horned man rumbled proudly, and Duke opened his eyes.

“What? You…Then how far does he get?” Kagiso asked, and Raymond clenched his fist angrily. “Have you not been listening? There is no future where we get within a thousand kilometres of that mountain. Jane and her brothers are about to find out why very quickly.” He replied, and the two-horned man’s eyes glowed.

“Have your pirates confirmed as much?” Raymond asked and the stoic two-horned man glanced at him. “Jabu’s and Hugo’s ships have been downed by some pulse.” Kagiso said, with disbelief. “See? It is futile. If you want the most humane death, while completing our mission, then look no further than this battlefield.” The three-horned man said, and Kagiso chuckled.

“Then why are my ships still sailing freely?” the two-horned man wondered and Raymond’s eyes glowed. “I…I do not know. An anomaly that will correct itself, when this island is annihilated. No matter. They were never in my plans to begin with. What could mortal hands change now?” He replied, before his eyes pulsed again.

Raymond’s voice reached the ears of every Candidate on the battlefield. Duke, Gloria and Laurence felt the fears and sunken hearts of everyone under their command. The three-horned man’s harsh words had reached their ears as well.

“Something and possibly everything.” Kagiso replied, and their spirits were lifted. Raymond looked around, when he noticed the surge. With a few words, the mortals’ spirits shone brighter. The two-horned man steeled himself and stepped forward, with an unshakable resolve.

“We need to rely on the strength of others more. We need to place our hopes and beliefs in their mortal hands. We need to remember how precious life is and we need to find our own way out of this scenario. It has become abundantly clear. The Council is no longer invincible.” Kagiso rumbled, and his defiance shocked Raymond.

“Rebellion? No. Evolution. Mortals and immortals. Humans and Dragons. The rules are meant to…no. There aren’t any rules here... What you speak of has never been done before. They cannot slay a demi-god.” The three-horned man replied after giving it some more thought.

“They do not need to. We will slay the demi-god. Can they get us to that mountain?” Kagiso asked and Raymond’s eyes glowed yet again, before they bulged. The three-horned man strained his eyes to see the probabilities.

“How? What…what does this mean? How can…I was told the Dragon King does not make mistakes though.” Raymond whispered in disbelief. “Have you ever met a Council member?” Kagiso asked curiously.

“The Lord of Space and Time is All-Seeing. His gaze stretches to the ends of The Universe and beyond. The Master of Fate-” “-Raymond, do you know what they look like?” the two-horned man asked and the image of a child hiding behind a tree flashed into their minds. Duke frowned and the three-horned man gasped, before he tilted his head back and stared at the gloomy sky.

“Never mind. Can they ferry us to our destination?” the two-horned man asked, and Raymond snapped out of his trance. “Barely, but we must leave now.” He replied, with a reinvigorated resolve, and the stoic two-horned man noticed the change in his demeanour. His eyes were bolder, and his shoulders were raised.