Avalon got away and burnt off the feeble restraints they put on her arms and legs. It was easy now that her target was screaming in agony.

Mari let go of Avalon once she burst into flames, but it was too late.

The top half of her body was on fire and the smell of burning meat wafted in the air. All of them were in too much shock to do anything except for Aster.

He dumped open his backpack and unscrewed all his water bottles. Next, he took control of the water inside of them. Streams of water flew through the air, and the water put out the fire but Mari was badly burned. Some of the fabric had melted into her skin and pieces of her flesh lay exposed to the elements.

They all came to her rescue and Aster looked into her eyes. Her bright blue eyes screamed for help but not a word escaped her lips. Her hair was gone, her lips cracked and one of her ears seemed to be falling off.

Aster leaned over, and cried, his tears hitting her face.

"I was too late," he cried. "Too late."

"Yeah you were," Avalon mocked him. "I needed to send a message. Especially when I heard the rumors."

"Rumors!?! What rumors!?"

"That she's The Stormweaver. There can only be one. And if she's dead, there's a chance I could be The Stormweaver."

"You're insane. Absolutely mad."

"Don't listen to her," Eric said. "Mari's still alive."

Eric's right eye was grey and he saw her spirit when he looked into the aether. Weak, but still alive. Eric tried to come up with a plan and took in the situation at hand. His left arm was badly damaged, and some of his circuits were exposed. The five other recruits were terrified and Aster was having a mental break.

Eric decided now was the time to teach them a lesson about power.

"Aster, stay with her," Eric commanded. "The rest of you guys. Listen up. Don't let her mess with you. She knows she's outnumbered and is panicking."

"You're outnumbered," Avalon replied.

The recruits looked at each other after hearing her irrational response and understood that Eric was right. They were now on board with whatever plan he had.

"Okay. Ignore her. Just think really hard, deep inside your soul."

Avalon saw Eric giving the beginning of his inspirational speech and started dashing towards them. Another orb of fire surrounded her, and everyone fought the urge to run. Her manic eyes made every cell in their body want to fight or fight, and they weren't sure if there was any more fight left in them.

"Listen to me," Eric shouted. "Think of something that hurts. Your worst memory. Now imagine...imagine you're pushing it all out!"

"Eric now is not the time to teach them," Aster shouted.

"It's now or never!"

The recruits all braced for impact for another burst of flames. Instead, a giant gust of wind knocked most of them over. Aster shielded Mari from the wind and the sand while Eric fought back, trying to take back control of the wind from Avalon.

Two Weavers were attempting to use the same stream of energy from the same Path, and a Tegilo began.

Their energy fed off the other as they attempted to use the same stream, causing both of their powers to intensify. The horrible gusts of wind were now creating a vortex that they were all trapped inside. The sand started sinking, and deeper they fell as Eric and Avalon fought for dominance.

As they sunk deeper into the sand, a foot appeared, then a leg. In creeping horror, Aster realized it was the corpses of recruits who had managed to leave the outpost in a previous test, but never escaped the desert.

Eric and Avalon continued their Tegilo, screaming and shouting obscenities at the other, trying to force one of them to break focus. He rushed over and used his broken arm as a weapon, swinging it in her direction, but he was too slow, too tired. He felt himself about to give in, but he didn't once electricity crackled through the storm.

Mari on death's doorstep was still trying. Even when Aster begged her to stop, she did not listen. Mari no longer cared if she died, but she wanted to make sure everyone returned home. She didn't want to see more desperate people climbing roofs, or jumping off platforms ever again.

Avalon cried in pain as her soul was being torn to shreds.

The Tegilo now had three Weavers and even though the more that entered made her stronger, they were still trying to take the stream away from her. However, Avalon never caved in.

She fell to her knees and opened her mouth. A giant plume of fire flew forth, and a fire started around all of them. It mixed in with the vortex, and Avalon intended that if she were to die, they would die with her.

"There can only be one," she screamed. "Give it back! Give it to ME!"

With the words me the sound of the earth below them came to the surface. She became even stronger, as more Weavers joined in. She laughed hysterically and she rose to her feet, only to be pushed back down by an invisible force.

She lost her focus.

The flames dissipated from the vortex, and Avalon started crying and screaming. She looked around for what other Weavers there could be but couldn't find any. She was too preoccupied with Eric that she never noticed his comrades from afar.

The other recruits, those who could use the Paths and never knew until the opportunity brought itself were the ones that defeated her.

It did not matter how much suffering they had been through since they started boot camp. They always knew they would come out on the other side, somehow, until the last few days. Knowing Mari would not return, seeing her suffer, and watching her never give up, even when all hope was lost was painful. It was traumatizing to see the corpses and skeletons of those who came before them, and together they had found their true strength.

They saw into the aether, the other side, and the spirits of their dead comrades rose from the afterlife and tore Avalon to shreds.

One spirit yanked her by the hair, the next shoved her to the ground. Ghastly hands reached up through the ground and pierced the veil, each one latching onto her very soul.

"Don't do this," she screamed. "Don't you dare!"

"Thought you wanted to be powerful," Eric mocked her. "Power requires sacrifice."

With the words sacrifice, Eric's right eye turned grey and he joined in, gleefully, taking his revenge on Avalon.

With every piece of her soul taken by one of the spirits, Avalon's pain intensified until all she could do was scream. She screamed and looked towards the dark sky, and the last thing she saw was the Three Sisters deciding her fate.

They cut her thread from the fabric of life.

She froze in place and turned into a statue. She could feel what little parts of her body that were still hers after the numerous years of cybernetic additions no longer function. Her entire body turned into sand.

And with one last gust of wind, she scattered across the golden sea, never to be seen again.