Rahkim set in silence for a long time after he had come to understand some of the flaws he had been causing when actually using magic in an attempt to think of any other flaws he displayed. However just as he began to find a thread of inquiry to follow the sound of bones clattering against cobblestones, and of metal scraping against metal began to overshadow all other sounds.

Feeling confused, Rahkim stood up and glanced out from the side of a window into the alleyway only to see a sight that shocked him beyond belief. From the alleys connecting to the main street skeletons in rusty chain-mail, and wielding corroded swords and iron shields began to pour in towards the building Rahkim was hiding in.

A hint of confusion flitted through his mind before he realized just how they found him,

'Dammit, how could I be so stupid to have cast magic without confirming if they could detect it!? I can't escape from those alleyways without fighting my way through them, there has to be a way to escape from the higher levels surely …'

In a flurry of movement Rahkim charged over to the bed and crammed the books into the bag along with the rope before taking up the sword lying against the wall. He didn't have the time to care for anything else as he turned back to the window with one hand covered in black light as he roared at the skeletons below,

“Ice!”

The moment the magic circle began to activate Rahkim released his control over it and turned to flee up the stairs with all his might as he took the stone steps two at a time. After a minute he had managed to run up five flights of stairs before the wooden door leading to the room came into sight, and forgoing any attempt to open it directly Rahkim grasped his sword in two hands. Charging forward he struck downwards at the door's lock causing the blade to shear through the bolt and straight through the rotting wood in one stroke.

Pulling the sword back with his right arm Rahkim turned his left towards the door and slammed into with out missing a step. As his arm crashed against the door it began to screech open, but the brutal impact was met with the sound of bones cracking and he quickly felt his ability to control it fade somewhat. Bursting out onto the roof Rahkim felt the desire to grin as he laid sight on the floor across from the entrance being open to the air as it's top half had collapsed long ago.

All that separated him from the far side was a gap a few feet wide between the buildings and then he could escape dow-

Before he could finish the thought he jerked to a halt as he heard a series of soft twangs, and almost instantly a hail of arrows tore through the space he would've been had he not tried to stop. Confused, Rahkim turned in the direction the arrows came from only to freeze as a familiar figure glared down at him from the roof nearby.

Staring down at him from above was the same hulking skeletal knight as he had met in the tower ruins flanked to either side by four archers wielding bows that were nearly as tall as them. The grinning knight's eyes seemed to flare brighter as he looked down upon Rahkim before laughter broke the silence.

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“Kekeke, what did I tell you little mage? In this city there is nowhere that you can hide from the Master especially with you constantly casting magic to lead us straight to you this entire time. Of course your small attempt at escaping has changed the Master's mind, he said he's quite find with letting me inflict as much harm as I wish so long as your soul remains intact.

I wonder how long you'll last when the Master begins to pry into your soul to see its secrets, ah I can still remember the last people the Master did that to. Those humans from the surface, their screams of pain were so refreshing after so long of having nothing to play with but beasts, and rogue trolls. Now little mage why don't we play a game, you fight against my minions and we see how long it takes for your fledgling little soul to give out.”

As the grinning knight finished he began to laugh again and skeletal soldiers began to pour out onto the roof of Rahkim's would-be escape route followed by yet more pouring from the stairwell near him. Seeing all of this Rahkim suddenly let out a long sigh and dropped his sword letting it clatter t the floor without a care in the world. Seeing the sight the grinning knight's laughter cut off as he watched the skeletal mage before him take out a pitch black stone that could easily fit in one's palm.

The black stone seemed completely ordinary, but as Rahkim held it and began to channel his Life Energy into it the surrounding undead suddenly paused there advance as a sense of dread seemed to spread outwards. At the same time Rahkim's wounded left arm tore open his robe at the chest as the black light covered his hand once again as it stretched towards the flickering flame in his ribcage.

As the grinning knight saw this he suddenly yelled out in alarm,

“Stop him you imbeciles! The damned fool is trying to destroy his own soul!”

However the knight's words came a step to late as Rahkim's hand grasped that weak looking flame and began to devour it, funneling every last bit of his power into that seemingly harmless stone. As his vision began to fade he turned towards the grinning knight and laughed as a thought ran through his mind,

'When death comes you might as well take it with you right? At least allow me to leave you this small parting gift, Void Stone take this power and destroy them for me.'

With that thought Rahkim connected with the power he called the Void within that small stone, and suddenly a scorching pain spread seemed to encompass his entire being like he was being torn apart bit by bit. The pain pressed down on Rahkim's mind forcing his vision to fade even faster and his thoughts to become sluggish, but he clearly saw his blurry skeletal arm beginning to crumble along with everything around him as the Void Stone began its work.

A final thought came to Rahkim as he fell into the embrace of death,

'It looks like maybe I won't be getting revenge for you my master, sorry about how pathetic your apprentice has become. Perhaps we will meet in another life, if there even is such a thing for me ...'