It took some time to gather everyone in that same command room where they first met Syster. Seeing Goslin and Emeryn walking hand in hand and smiling filled Sarien with warmth. He recalled the conversation he had with Goslin by the campfire when he confessed to having feelings for Emeryn. He was glad they found each other.

Daisy somehow found out where they were meeting and barreled through the open door to leap up at Sarien. They fell to the floor together, and he couldn’t help but laugh at the big animal’s excitement.

Introducing his father to Goslin and Emeryn brought a sense of accomplishment. Sarien had finished what he set out to. His quest was done. They still had plenty of dangers to overcome, of course, but at least he had found his father.

He didn’t mention the part about his father being Ein the Godslayer, one of the legendary heroes. There would be too many questions and they needed focus on defeating the pyromancers, the rhinn, and the Xzxyth. Goslin shared news of Hart’s death and of his battle with the kozimuz up on the city wall. They all shared a silent moment to honor their fallen friend.

Syster joined them a few minutes later. Excitement shone in her eyes. “They’re leaving the city,” she announced. “We can see pyromancers doing something in their camp. A whole lot of fire. Dawn will soon be here. The time to strike back is imminent! I had that foul-mouthed aeromancer scout from the air and he said he noticed something big moving in the water, but he couldn’t see what.”

When Sarien explained the Xzxyth’s presence in the tunnels and now in the rhinn camp, the commander’s face grew serious. “We’ll make sure the water is turned off. Can you stop the monster?” she asked.

Ein placed a hand on Sarien’s shoulder. “It’s up to my son here. We can’t kill it. Our only option is to send it away.” Then he frowned. “Wait. Did you say scout from the air?”

“Wade,” Lana said. “That little shit always said he’d fly one day. Is he here?”

“He’s sleeping,” Syster said. “He spent all day repelling invaders then most of the night in the air. Don’t think you could wake him if you tried.”

Lana’s expression softened a little. “Sounds like he hasn’t changed much.”

“Who is this man?” Goslin asked. “A friend from childhood?”

“Something like that,” Lana answered. “I’ll introduce you after we deal with the monster god who will devour us all if Sarien can’t,” she waved her hands around in the air, “make it go away.”

“This is it then,” Goslin said. “Syster, are your troops ready to reclaim their city?”

“They are,” she said with a sharp nod.

“Then we should move out immediately.”

“Right,” Syster said, turning to one of her aides. “Convey the order to our captains. Strike out at once.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The aide, a young woman in a brown messenger’s uniform, said, before taking off at a full sprint.

Syster waved her hand at the door. “You should go do whatever it is you’re planning. I’ll join you by the guard towers at the south gate when we’ve reclaimed Tyralien.”

“Hold on,” Emeryn said, holding up her hand. “Where’s the king in all this? Where’s Caelin?”

Syster laughed, but it sounded hollow. “He’s sulking.”

“Why?” Goslin asked.

“He wanted to lead the defenders in a glorious charge against the rhinn invaders. This was before we learned of them pulling back, mind you.”

“But that would have been suicide,” Goslin said, astounded.

“That’s what I told him,” she replied. “And that’s why he’s sulking in his rooms.”

“That’s royalty for you,” Heylien said.

“We’ll focus on this new beast. If you see Kax out there, be sure to rein him in. Can’t have him getting hurt out there,” Goslin said.

Everyone started filing out of the room. Sarien followed behind Emeryn, but stopped when he felt a tugging at his sleeve.

“Hold on a moment, son. I need to talk to you.”

Goslin stopped, and Sarien waved for him to go on. “I’ll catch up.”

When they were alone in the room, except for Daisy who lounged by the door, Ein turned to face Sarien, then wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug, squeezing him hard enough to make Sarien wheeze.

“What was that about?” Sarien asked once he was freed from the embrace.

His father grinned. “I’ve missed you. Wanted to say I’m sorry for leaving and not telling you more about, you know, everything. Though it is no excuse, I felt that I needed to see if the manifestation of your wayfaring powers would result in gateways opening between worlds once again.”

“I understand,” Sarien said. “You were looking for one that would take you to mother, weren’t you?”

“W-what?” Ein stammered. “How did you know?”

“The look on your face when you spoke of her,” Sarien answered. “And the fact you never said she died, just that she disappeared.”

His father nodded. “You’re not wrong. I miss her terribly, but there are more reasons for finding her. First, you need her to teach you about your abilities. Some of the things you’ve done with your white flame sound like they’re well beyond what should be possible. Same with the slaying, honestly.”

Sarien’s cheeks grew warm. “Okay, what else?”

“The gates. They’re opening for a reason and not just because you manifested your power. Something is wrong with the Gatekeepers. I can feel it in my gut.”

Sarien frowned. “Who are the Gatekeepers again? You mentioned that mom is one.”

“They oversee world traveling on a grand scale.”

“That did not make this any clearer,” Sarien said.

“It can’t be helped. Your mother wouldn’t tell me what she did with the Gatekeepers,” Ein admitted. “But I have a request to make of you.”

“You’re going to leave again,” Sarien said.

Ein winced, like Sarien’s words had slapped him across the face. “You could come. We’ll go see your mother together, but we’d need to go now.”

“Why now?” Sarien asked. “Can’t it wait until we’ve dealt with the Xzxyth once and for all? You said it would destroy this world!”

“Not right away,” his father answered. “I’ve got this feeling that it’s connected to all these gates opening between worlds. Something could be wrong with the wayfarers, perhaps even the Gatekeepers. I have to go. You’d better stay and deal with the Xzxyth, and I’ll go search for your mother. I’m sure you’ll defeat it easily now that it’s out in the open. You can follow once you’re done here.” He gave Sarien an awkward smile.

Sarien sighed. “Can’t believe you’re leaving again.”

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“I’m sorry, son.”

Was his father sorry? Leaving was all he’d done for as long as Sarien could remember. His father was always anxious to leave the estate, sometimes simply for a hunt or an errand, but other times for unspecified reason. Now that he knew his father wore many disguises, Sarien wondered what his father did whenever he left the estate on those mysterious trips.

“Where do you need to go?” Sarien asked, resigned.

Ein excitedly rummaged through his pockets and came away with two items. “This book is your mother’s. It’s all I have left of her, except for you, of course.” He handed it over. “Hold on to it and concentrate on your mother while you open a gateway to a world beyond worlds.”

Now the man was speaking in riddles. “What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know,” Ein admitted. “But ponder that question when you open the gate. There might be some,” he looked around, searching for a word, “resistance, but just power through it.”

“I’ll try.” Sarien pointed to his father’s other hand. “And what’s that?” It looked like a cube standing on its corner. It fit in the palm of his father’s hand and the sides looked to be made of yellow glass. There was something inside of it, but trying to look at that object made his head spin and his eyes hurt.

“I’m not sure about this artefact’s original purpose, but I have another one. With mine, I can make this one glow. See?” He put his free hand in a pocket, and sure enough, the one he showed Sarien glowed a faint yellow. “I used it to signal your mother from time to time, when she had to leave on Gatekeeper business. I’ll signal you if I need you to get me and your mother out of wherever she is.”

Sarien accepted the cube, and it immediately lost its glow. “This works between worlds?”

“It does,” Ein confirmed.

Sarien put it in the pocket of his tunic. Earlier, he had swapped the pyromancer’s robes for one of the plain brown uniforms the Tyriu messengers wore, only his didn’t have Tyralien’s emblem stitched on its chest.

“I have to say, you’re not really who I expected you to be.”

“A hero?” Ein asked, bracing for Sarien’s answer.

“Just different, I guess. Not like you used to be. Feels like I don’t really know you.”

“I promise we’ll fix that when we have the time. I’ll tell you anything I know once I bring your mother home with me, deal?”

Sarien nodded. “Before you leave, there was a woman in the tower, Kendra. Do you know her?”

“She’s a friend,” his father confirmed. “One of the few trustworthy pyromancers.”

“She’s dead,” Sarien said. “Madge killed her.”

Ein’s eyes grew hard. “I’ll make her pay for that.”

“No need. I killed Madge.”

“You killed her?”

“She tortured Kendra and then she did the same to me. Would have done worse if I didn’t get out of there.”

“That woman had it coming. Just surprised you had it in you.”

“I’m not the boy you left back at the estate,” Sarien said with finality. “Ready to go?”

Ein nodded sharply. “I’m ready.”

Sarien clutched the book tight and thought of a world beyond worlds, and the ridiculousness of that concept. He thought of the mother he’d never known and the father who once again wanted to leave him. His eyes burned before he even accessed his white flame.

Sarien drew from the well of power inside him and made it one with the world he lived in. He didn’t have to look to know that a bright line appeared in the air before him. Drawing on more power, he widened the tear into a gateway leading somewhere unfathomable. Just as his father had said, there was some resistance, but he overcame it by sheer force of will.

When he had been connected to the gateways before, his white flame had given him an indication of what lay beyond. This time, however, that was not the case. He caught a glimpse, then his mind reeled, unable to comprehend the swirling images, and went blank.

“I’ll be seeing you, son,” his father said. Then he stepped through.

Sarien didn’t open his eyes again until his father was gone and the gate closed behind him. Tears streamed down his face. Abandoned again. His father’s reasoning might have been sound, but that did not lessen the pain. He wiped his face with the discarded pyromancer’s robe. Something itched around his neck and he pulled at the leather string, remembering the pyromancer’s guild emblem. He pulled it free in disgust and tossed it into the corner.

“Daisy, come here,” he said, his voice thick. “It’s time we join the others.”

Sarien pocketed his mother’s book, grabbed his spear, and hurried after the others. Daisy followed at his heels.

Daylight shone through the windows of the keep, showing the slowly brightening dawn sky. The others had disappeared, but Daisy barked and jogged ahead, prompting Sarien to follow. They found a door that led to a set of stairs that opened up to a guard tower in the corner between the north and western city walls. A guard waited by another heavy metal door that took him out onto the western part of Tyralien’s protective wall. In the distance, he saw the others staring southward toward the rhinn camp.

Sarien felt a weight settle in his gut. The Xzxyth. It was enormous. Much larger than when they’d fought it down in the tunnels. Despite being far off in the distance, he could see enormous tentacles lashing out and sweeping across the ground to crush the rhinn soldiers who scurried back and forth like tiny specks trying to escape it.

“It got much bigger,” Lana said matter-of-factly. She turned to Sarien and looked past him. “Where’s your father? Looks like we’re going to need one of the legendary heroes to deal with this.”

“Sorry,” Sarien mumbled, not able to take his eyes off the monstrous creature. “He’s gone. It’s just us.”

Heylien fiddled with his new bow, most likely just to keep his hands busy. “What do we do?”

Goslin turned away from the beast. “What can we expect?”

Tomford added a few questions of his own. “How did it get so big?”

Lana held up a dagger. “Normal weapons won’t hurt it.”

“Arrows won’t either, not really,” Heylien said, patting the quiver attached to his belt.

“Fire hurts it, but it’s not enough to kill it,” Sarien said. “It grows by consuming people. It was down in the tunnels for quite some time, snatching men, women, and children while staying hidden. Now that it’s out in the open, it doesn’t need to be stealthy. It must have eaten thousands of rhinn by now, and it’s all my fault.”

“This is war, and they are the invaders,” Syster began. “You’ve single-handedly saved us, Sarken, was it? You’ll be rewarded for this.”

“My friend’s name is Sarien,” Goslin answered. “You’re right about them being invaders, Syster, but what will happen once there are no more rhinn soldiers for it to consume? It’ll come straight here.”

Syster’s face paled. “Right, of course. So how do we deal with it?”

In the distance, fire leapt from the ground and crashed into the Xzxyth. From that far off, it was impossible to gauge its effectiveness, but Sarien knew it wouldn’t amount to much.

“Our best bet is for me to transport it somewhere else,” he said. “I’ll have to get close.”

“But it’s gigantic,” Emeryn protested. “Can you make a gateway that big?”

It truly was enormous. The main mass was tall enough to reach the top of Tyralien’s walls, and Sarien hadn’t taken into consideration the massive tentacles.

“I don’t know,” Sarien admitted. He looked up at his friends. “But we’ll have to try. There’s no other way.”

“The defenders are taking back the city as we speak. You’ll have all our support in a few hours,” Syster said.

Sarien shook his head. “It’s best if we go alone. The Xzxyth is able to control the ones it kills. Your troops could be turned against us in mere moments. And a few hours might be too late.”

“What do you suggest, Sarien?” Goslin asked.

“All I know is that I would have to get close enough to touch it.”

“At least it’s so large the lake you created is gone,” Emeryn said. “Won’t have to swim out to it.”

“It’ll be mud from the castle walls and all the way out to the rhinn camp,” Tomford said. “That won’t be fun either.”

“I assume the black blades can cut it?” Goslin asked.

Sarien nodded. “That’s what we used to slice through its tentacles.”

“We’ll need to find Kax then.” Goslin narrowed his eyes, a pensive air about him. “I think I have an idea on how to approach this problem.”

“Hey!” The shout came from below, inside the wall. They all peered down. Kax stood on one of the taller roofs, looking up at them. “How do I get up to where you are?” Even with him being so far below, Sarien could still see the mischievous grin plastered on his face. He held the swords over his head, waving them around. “I’ve named my lovely swords! Meet Darkbrand and Bandit!”

Sarien blinked. The obsidian coloring had spread further along his skin until it covered half of his forearms. Sarien didn’t like it, and now his father wasn’t around anymore to take a good look at what ailed Kax. He just hoped he hadn’t doomed his friend.

“Kax! Good to see you, friend!” Goslin shouted. “Meet us by the southern gate! We’ve got work to do!”

“You’ve got it, Princeling!” Kax shouted back, then jumped off the roof, landed on the stone ground, and set off at top speed without missing a beat.

“Could he always do that?” Emeryn asked.

“No,” Goslin said. He gave Sarien a worried glance, then turned to face the long stretch of wall going south. “Let’s move. We’ll go through the plan when Kax is with us.”

“Good luck. Let me know if you need our assistance in any way,” Syster said.

After meeting up with Kax, they were ready to hear Goslin’s plan. They couldn’t wait any longer. The more rhinn the Xzxyth consumed, the larger it grew. The city was empty of rhinn, many returning to their camp to fight the monster during the night. The Tyriu soldiers manned the wall, along with the gaping hole where the gate used to be. The group stood just inside the wall, peering out at the Xzxyth as it devoured everything within reach.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Goslin began. “We’ll need to move fast to reach it. Em, can you give us sure footing if the mud becomes too much to traverse on our own?”

She nodded. “I think I can do that.”

“Great. Sarien, you said you need to touch it. Is a tentacle enough, or does it have to be the body itself?”

Sarien thought for a moment, then replied, “I think it would be best if I could get to the main body.” Better to not risk having the Xzxyth stay behind with only one of its many arms disappearing.

Sarien couldn’t help but admire Goslin as he directed the group with such natural ease. He’d come a long way from the leader who choked against those bandits back when they were starting out.

The group listened intently to Goslin. When he was finished, Sarien sat back on his heels. It was a simple plan, in truth, but simplicity meant everyone knew their part. Everything depended on Sarien being able to follow through on his end. Failure was not an option. It was time he showed everyone what he’d learned over the course of their journey.