Night had crept in by the time I found myself wandering alone through the rubble-strewn streets of the second floor’s ruined city and a few hours had passed since we’d found out that Magebloods had breached the academy.
I kept wracking my brain with questions.
—How did they get in, wasn’t the barrier supposed to keep all Magebloods out? Did my actions cause this to happen? Was everyone ok? Of course not…but was everyone alive?
—‘Calm down, you’re spiraling again,’ Fern said calmly.
I took a deep breath and dug my fingernail into the side of my thumb. He was right. But I couldn’t help getting frustrated. So far, every known route that could’ve led us back down to the first floor—and eventually the Academy—was sealed shut by some spell none of us could break. Even Major Philip, in his full Grootslang form, couldn’t punch through.
The tension back at the camp was stifling. I had to leave to get away from the worry. Miners huddled in small circles, whispering about Magebloods and wondering if the town of Ash was ok. Laska paced around the plaza, muttering different possibilities to get back down to the Academy. Waelid kept saying we should bust a hole through the pillar wall and climb down, which Major Phillip showed him was impossible no matter how much strength you had. We couldn’t go down the Mouth, the water from the canals made it impossible to climb down that way. We would fall and die the second we hit the floor two miles below. At one point in the night, Laska suggested we gather all the rope we could and make a new elevator only to find we had no new rope left, and all the rope found around the city, crumbled to dust when we picked it up.
—It has to be because of the spy, I thought for the hundredth time. Damnit, why couldn’t we have taken him out in the archives?
I clenched my fists at the memory of Al and Bartholomew going missing, the blood-smeared beetle crawling into camp afterward. How could those two not make it back to report to us? Weren’t we all trained to fight Magebloods?
When I asked the Major about that he shook his head.
“We are trained to fight brutally with our blood infusions. Magebloods can’t be infused, they already have magic, so we are a surprise attack force for any foreign countries that our leaders deem worthy of attacking. Whoever they send must be expertly trained. Don’t get it confused, you and those who have achieved the third stage of blood infusions, the contract stage, are incredibly strong, but a trained royal mageblood is stronger. If we want to take them down we need to be smart. Start thinking.”
Needing space to do that, I left camp behind and wandered down a deserted avenue. Buildings rose on either side like dark skeletons. My gaze drifted to the faded murals painted across crumbling walls—images of the same girl with raven-black hair and a regal stance. Even in the chipped paint, I recognized her as Lunafreya, the same mysterious girl I’d met on the first floor.
—Was she just a descendant of some ancient bloodline? Was she really just hundreds of years old? I thought quietly.
As I moved deeper into the silent streets, I spotted another statue depicting her: tall, elegant, holding a scepter in one hand and a book in the other. The eyes of the statue were chipped away, leaving only hollow pits that felt like they were staring back at me. The question continued to gnaw at me: Who is she, really?
A faint melancholic melody drifted through the night air just then, pulling me from my thoughts. My ears perked up—I recognized those notes. The last time I’d heard that same tune was weeks ago when Waelid and the Major shrugged it off. Before then, I heard it on the first floor during the trial. Quickly, I walked toward the sound, weaving through piles of rubble and collapsed arches. The song was soft, almost haunting, beckoning me forward like a siren call.
—Fern... you hear that? I thought.
—‘Yeah, I do. It’s him!’
----------------------------------------
I wound my way through the labyrinth of alleys, the music growing clearer with each step. A low, mournful string tune reverberated off cracked walls and arches, coaxing me onward. Whenever I paused, the song pulsed just ahead, almost as if it were deliberately drawing me in.
Before long, I stumbled into a small hidden courtyard. A small bench was pressed up against the side of a building and two small pots were on the other side of the clearing, creating a warped amphitheater of sorts. At the far end of it all stood a quaint, two-story house built right in the wall between the backs of the surrounding buildings. The windows glowed a ghostly white, and I realized that the courtyard was packed with figures—spectral shapes standing still around in hushed silence, listening.
They were ghosts. Scores of them. I stiffened, a cold prickle racing down my spine. But they seemed oddly peaceful, swaying slightly to the music drifting from the open doorway. Whatever melody was playing soothed them, like they were a captive audience in some afterlife concert hall.
—‘This is weird…’ I thought, forcing my breath to stay calm. I skirted around the edges of the courtyard, keeping my distance from the spirits, and slipped into the small house’s foyer.
Inside, I found an empty old living room. The only pieces of furniture in the room were a small fire pit and an extremely large bathtub-sized metal pot. A figure I recognized sat in the center, calmly strumming a three-stringed instrument. Dog. He had no shirt…again…and wore only a loincloth. His long white hair draped down his back as he played for the dead. The ghosts were gathered around him, in awe as if he were a master performer.
He finished the last haunting chord, and the ghosts silently applauded by bobbing their heads and clapping translucent hands. Then, one by one, they drifted away through the walls, disappearing like a wispy tide receding into the night.
I stepped forward, clearing my throat. “Dog,” I began. “I—”
A sudden crack on my shins shut me up. Dog had whacked me with a long, gnarled walking stick.
“You idiot pup,” he huffed. “Took you long enough to follow my music.”
I winced, rubbing my leg. “Hey, that’s no way to greet someone.”
“Consider it your own fault,” he said, eyes narrowing. “I’ve been playing for days, waiting for you to come find me. Then, only when your whole school is going up in flames, you finally show up.” He scoffed. “You’re lucky you didn’t get your soul sucked away by the sword. Good thing Fern called me.”
“Fern called you?”
—‘I didn’t…?’
“Oh, yes you did boy,” Dog said as if he heard Fern in my mind. “You called me either consciously or subconsciously. This is what happens when you dabble in the art of spiritualization. You start doing things you never intended.”
I recalled the cryptic letter I’d received weeks ago asking me to meet him regarding the cursed sword. I’d dismissed it in all the chaos… apparently to Dog’s great annoyance. “Right, the letter,” I muttered. “Things got busy, okay?”
“Busy nearly getting yourself killed.” He tapped his foot, glaring. “Now, I suppose you want some grand explanation for the sword?”
I crossed my arms. “I mean the sword is gone out of my hands, I should be good now right?”
Dog sighed and shook his head. “You boys really know how to ruin the fun. This is why I should never have given a Twin-soul any sort of help. I didn’t even get a chance to turn you into an old man!” He huffed and slapped his hands on the ground. A puff of dust flew up and irritated my eye.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
“Excuse me? Turn me into a what?” I said in a panicked voice.
“Your sword was cursed with a high-pitched resonance—a slicing note that could shear through nearly any defense. A lethal weapon, indeed. But…it also siphons off your life source. Even now the short time you used it, your current body aged two years.”
Fern stirred restlessly inside me.
—‘You what??’
“Oh don’t worry boy, you’re skipping the worst of the puberty years! No one likes the growing aches and body changes at this time of your life anyways.” Dog said.
I couldn’t argue with Dog, puberty sucked. Voice-changing and raging hormones? No, thank you. I was not wanting to experience them again. However, I can tell Fern was upset. His body and his life were taken from him more and more as he stayed inside me.
“So, you said he called you…Fern saved my neck?” I asked.
“Precisely! I was here on the second floor already playing my songs when I heard him call out for help. ‘Anyone! Please! Help!’ he shouted so much I had to put down my instrument, apologize to my specter spectators, and went and got the blade and brought it to him. By taking the blade into his own spirit, he removed the curse and took it into his soul. Clever creature.” Dog tapped his nose, then eyed me.
I must have looked dumbfounded because he tilted his head.
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re confused. Must I explain everything?”
I nodded my head. “Uh yes, what do you mean you just decided to go do a spirit walk and deliver a sword to the boy trapped inside my mind? What the hell are you talking about? Is that magic or what?”
Dog laughed and I was getting impatient.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Why do I even bother? Every time I think I’ll get a straight answer from you, you tell me to do more homework. And what is with you appearing all the time randomly? Are you doing this on purpose? Who is pulling the strings? What are the rules of this whole damn thing?!”
“Welcome to this world’s mysteries, pup,” Dog said dryly. “You’re not the only piece on the board.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You talk like you’re pulling strings or SOMEONE is—like some puppet master. Are you working with the Magebloods? The ones in the kingdom above? You say you are a traveler a towerhopper or whatever that is. What…are you? Are you like a god or something? Were you one of the ones who brought me here?”
Dog’s grin spread wider. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. The question is: does it really matter? And another question is: Why did you follow? You aren’t supposed to be here,” He said quietly and more intimidating than I have ever heard him speak.
I froze. A cold sweat flushed over me. It was that voice…the one I heard when I came here. I stuttered to speak and then Dog laughed…again.
“Bah! You should see your face boy. Did I do a good impression of that old grouch? Aye, I saw you step into the portal, but let’s just say I’m not with that crowd that you met before they rearranged you and sent you off into good little Fern’s body.”
Before I could argue, he jabbed his stick toward a dusty portrait resting against the far wall. The image showed a regal woman with jet-black hair. “Your next question, pup, should be: how does she fit in?”
I stepped closer to the painting. The woman looked exactly like Lunafreya, down to the graceful arch of her brow and her jet-black hair. My heart thumped. “You know who that is?”
“Of course I do,” Dog chuckled. “She—”
A soft sound drew my attention to the shadowy corner of the room. Emerging from the gloom was a towering figure, at least eight feet tall, half-woman and half-fox, with nine swishing tails. My breath caught in my throat. It was the fox woman who left the note for me telling me to leave the academy. The one I met before we went up to the second floor. Her fur gleamed white under the dim lantern light, save for eight red-tipped tails and one purely white tail.
Without breaking eye contact, she changed shape, shrinking until she stood as a human girl with black hair and pale blue, solemn eyes. The very image of the portrait. The very image of the girl who switched hoses with me, the one who I saved on the second floor and who showed me Waelid’s dark side. The one who helped me kill the Guardian. Lunafreya.
“Erik,” she said softly. “It’s time we properly met. And it’s time you listen to me. You keep messing up my plans.”
And my entire body tensed as if I’d just stepped off the edge of a cliff. Whatever this was, it went deeper than I’d ever imagined.
----------------------------------------
“I am Queen Lunafreya of Dust,” she said, her voice surprisingly gentle. “But I’ve borne many names, across many lifetimes. You might call me Freya, Gumiho, or simply… a cursed soul.”
I felt my heart thudding in my chest. “You’re Lunafreya! You’re my classmate. We fought together. You’re telling me…you’ve been THIS, the whole time? And the murals I’ve seen all over these ruins? You… you existed centuries ago?”
She gave a short nod. “I did. And I have, repeatedly. In my first life, I ruled Dust as its queen. A savior of her people fleeing from a conquest of mages below on the surface. I came here without magic, without powers, and without my curse. When I died my first death, I discovered the Gumiho’s true curse: a cycle of rebirth. Nine times. Nine times to do everything right and stop the bastards from destroying the planet.
“Every time I died, I woke in my infancy, memories intact, forced to relive events from birth to death. It’s happened eight times now, each spanning hundreds of years.” Her voice hitched. “So yes, I’ve lived over three millennia. This is my ninth and final life.”
I stared in disbelief. “Final… does that mean if you die this time, you don’t come back?”
“That’s correct,” she said quietly. “The Gumiho gift—if you can call it that—grants nine lives. This is my last chance to change the fate I’ve been trying to change every lifetime.”
“Fate,” I repeated under my breath. My eyes flicked to Dog, whose expression was unreadable.
—Is he in on this too? I wondered.
Lunafreya stepped forward. Although before I always saw her as a teen, now, she looked aged and exhausted. She raised her hand and pointed her finger at me.
“The difference in this final lifetime is you. You weren’t here before, in any of my previous cycles. When I discovered your existence—something or someone rewriting the threads of time—it changed everything.” Her gaze locked on mine. “I prayed it might be the key to saving this world.”
“From what?” I managed, though I already suspected the answer.
She exhaled slowly. “From Noah Starbringer. Your brother.”
My stomach dropped. “You… you know Noah? Where is he?”
Her eyes tightened with sorrow. “In every life I’ve lived, he appears eventually. And every time, he’s the one who ushers in an end to everything, destroying the thirteen pillars around Mourne. When they collapse, chaos follows. The threads of magic unravel, and the world plunges into ruin.”
I shook my head. “I don’t believe Noah would do that. I just have to get to him. If I can just talk to him—”
She cut me off. “He kills me in every timeline. Every death Erik, is on his hands. I have tried, Erik. Tried reasoning with him in one life, tried subduing him, tried appealing to his humanity.” Her lips pressed thin. “Always the same result: Whatever twin soul inherited your brother’s body, it has mastery over Noah’s soul. The twin soul inside him becomes unstoppable, and snuffs out my life—along with countless others.”
“So it’s confirmed, he has a twin-soul as well. And you still don’t know who that soul is? Maybe if we can—“
She cut me off again. “I’ve TRIED Erik. I’ve tried it all. In this last life, everything was looking worse. I was out of options. But then, I saw you. A new…variable. You are either the key to helping me stop this apocalypse, or I die knowing the world will soon follow.
A tremor rippled through my limbs. I thought back to the memory of the car crash.
—Was the other soul truly entering him then? I thought.
Dog cleared his throat, clearly enjoying my stunned reaction. “Some men just want to see the world burn. Or in this case, crumble.”
I shot him a glare. “You’re not helping. You know who the other soul is don’t you?”
Dog nodded his head, “Sure do!”
Lunafreya snapped her head towards him. “What. Do. You. Mean. Yes?”
“You never asked?”
“I did ask. I asked five lifetimes in a row!” She clenched her fists and her body transformed again into her Gumiho form. “Why do you play games, Jester?!”
Dog beamed a grin. “I won’t say who of course.” He kept smiling.
It was my turn now to yell at him. “Why? Just what kind of demon-man are you? You truly are no help at all. Why even hang around here?” I clenched my fists.
Dog shook his head.“Kids these days, are so rude. They are from the Kingdom Above,” He said pointing upwards. “But, I can’t say who. To do so would summon them here, can’t have that here no, no, no.”
I let out an annoyed sigh. Then, to Lunafreya: “I don’t have to be a genius to know what you want to do but… I can’t just let you kill my brother. There has to be another way.”
She sighed. “That’s the problem. In every life, I’ve concluded there is none. Once a twin soul tastes real power, they—”
“Stop,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “I’ve already merged with Fern. It hasn’t turned me evil. Maybe Noah can be saved if we separate him from his other soul. I’ve done some mind-link stuff with myself and Fern. If I could get Noah pinned down, maybe I could… go inside his mind. Try to break the bond from within.”
Dog barked a short laugh. “That trick is reserved for gods, pup. You’re aiming high. I admire that one.”
“No, I’ve done it,” I insisted. “It’s not easy, but it’s possible.”
Lunafreya crossed her arms. “If you fail, he’ll kill you like he’s killed me eight times. And he’ll bring destruction to everyone else.”
“I’ll take that risk,” I said firmly. “I can’t just surrender him to your blade. He’s my family.”
For a moment, she regarded me with anger.
“You may be a new variable but I will not uproot my cause for you. There is no way you can take down Noah Starbringer. No Cinder did it before. I have lived thousands of years Erik, you do not know as I know.”
“Trust me, I’m empathetic to your life. That sucks, thousands of years? Losing loved ones and friends over and over? That is awful. But, I will not let you kill Noah without me trying to save him first.” I stood my ground and stared into her fox face.
Finally, she nodded. “Very well. I’ll give you a chance to save him if you can. But know this, Erik: if you falter, or if I see an opening, I will end him myself. I have to, for the greater good.”
I swallowed down a knot of fear. “Agreed.”
Dog clapped once, a smug grin on his face. “Ah, the sweet tang of an alliance born out of desperation. Glorious!”
Lunafreya gave him a side-eye. “Don’t push it.” Then she turned to me again. “As for how the Magebloods reached the Academy… someone, smuggled pillar dust out of the tower’s protected zones. The Magebloods used it to create cloaks that shield them from the barrier. I discovered traces in the archives, but by then, it was too late.”
“Any idea who the traitor might be?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I was too busy searching for a way to destroy the twin soul bond permanently. In the past…this event doesn't happen for a few more years. I hate to say this but…your snooping may have caused the spy to jump the gun. You may have caused deaths to the students down there.”
I felt my stomach twist and then shook my head. No, I can’t think like that. That will distract me. I did what I thought was best. I didn’t have foresight, I haven't relived this life multiple times, I only have my gut.
“I did what I thought was right.” A prickling sense of urgency skittered along my spine. My friends, my teachers—they could already be facing Noah’s wrath, or…the wrath of whoever controlled him. “I will save them.”
“Them too?” Lunafreya said with disbelief. “You’ll save your brother, the country’s strongest mage from his twin-soul, you’ll save your classmates and teachers from said mage’s wrath, and who else? Will you try to save them all?”
“Shut up! Damn, I didn’t realize you became an asshole with more age.”
I saw Lunafreya’s eye twitch at that comment.
“I will save them. Everyone who can be saved.”
Dog tapped a single note on his three-stringed instrument. A shimmering light flickered across the far wall, unveiling a door where none had existed. “This will take you near your friends,” he said. “I suggest you hurry. Lunafreya will rejoin you at the ground level, provided you’re still alive.”
“What about you, you lazy geezer?” Lunafreya asked with her hands on her hips.
Dog laughed, “You should know by now, not once in all your lifetimes have I gotten involved directly, see you, boys! Take good care of the sword Fern.” He stood up picked up the giant pot and walked out the door, hardly making a sound.
I took a deep breath in, steeling myself. “I can…I can save them all,” I said with not as much confidence as I had hoped.
The door creaked open, a swirl of cool wind rushing through. Lunafreya gave me one last, solemn look. “Then this is goodbye, for now, Erik. If your plan fails, know that I’ll do what must be done.”
I nodded curtly, stepping away toward the entrance to the room. “I understand.”
Lunafreya hopped out the door into the outside air and disappeared.
I walked outside and pulled out a small tube. A green flare that Major Philip had given me. I raised it towards the sky and pulled the string below it. It was time everyone left the second floor and we took back the Academy.