“Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.”

Ralph woke to a stinging pain, gradually opening his eyes to the sight of Repo, who was crouched over him and repeatedly slapping him. “Ow…ow…..QUIT IT!” Ralph caught Repo’s wrist and shoved the man’s hand away, sitting up.

“Finally, you’re awake. I was getting bored, waiting for you to wake up.” Repo said, backing away from Ralph and leaning against the wall. They were in a small room with scarce furnishings besides a small wooden bench, and beside it, a pair of handcuffs linked to the wall.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t of almost killed me, asshole.” Ralph muttered, and then promptly realized that he was completely unscathed. All his wounds from the battle prior were completely gone; in fact, he felt invigorated, and stronger than ever. “What the hell?”

“While I was trying to heal you, magic energy suddenly exploded from your entire body, and you transformed into a human.” Repo explained.

“Then that means Urn must have awakened!” Ralph deduced. His grandfather made me so that I am connected to him on a spiritual level. When he gets hurt, I get hurt, and when he gets stronger, I get stronger. “I bet that kid's shitting himself with joy! C’mon, tell me where he is!”

“Find him yourself. I don’t really want to talk to you anymore.” Repo replied, shrugging his shoulders and leaving without another word.

Jeez, what’s his problem? Ralph thought, leaping onto his feet and kicking open the door without a shred of hesitation, embracing the warm sunlight. It felt like he hadn’t been outside in months, after being cooped up in Urn’s tiny room in his tiny glass bowl for so long. Stepping out into the courtyard, he noticed that there was some kind of commotion; a mass of hooded warriors, all gathered around Urn.

“URN!” Ralph grinned, running over to urn and immediately halting as the hooded warriors all at once unsheathed their spears, 20 blades poised inches away from his throat. “WOAH WOAH WOAH!”

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ve decided to keep that one around! You guys can chill out!” Abrax called out to the hooded warriors, who slowly sheathed their spears, though they didn’t seem to be exactly happy about it, eying Ralph with great suspicion. “Sorry about that Ralph!”

“You-” Ralph glared daggers at Abrax, barely keeping his wildly twitching hands from slugging the man in the face. “...”

“Ralph, look, look!” Urn held out his hands excitedly, his Debt Sharks diving through the air and landing on his palms by their tails, the two bowing at Ralph daintily. “I HAVE MAGIC!”

“REALLY? LET ME SEE, LET ME SEE!” Ralph barked, looking around rapidly. “Where’s the magic?” He turned towards Urn, who lowered his head with a sigh.

“This is magic.” Urn held up the sharks higher, and Ralph blinked rapidly before laughing nervously.

“Oh..that’s…so cool!” Ralph lied, and Urn shooed the sharks off his palms and into the air, slapping his forehead in unison with the hooded warriors behind him.

“Forget about it.” Urn groaned, and then smirked up at Ralph. “Glad you finally got out though. I was starting to think I’d have to drag you out myself.”

“Speaking of drag, Abrax, the next time you pull that shit I’ll drag you by your tongue into a bear’s mouth.” Ralph threatened, and Abrax waved Ralph off dismissively.

“Eh, the past is the past. What’s more important is the future, right Urn? I’ve taught you a few things; now it’s time for you to leave Maze Temple and start your own-” Abrax paused, realizing that the courtyard was suddenly eerily quiet, all the hooded warriors suddenly standing up straight with their arms glued to their sides. Clasping his hands together, he turned around and faced Repo with a nervous smile. “Well, hi Repo. Long time no see!”

“‘Leave Maze Temple’? You’re going to let the locket bearer just walk out of our grasp?” Repo asked coldly. “That’s out of the question. I will decide when he is ready to leave. And I can assure you, you aren’t ready to leave.”

“When I leave or not isn’t up for debate.” Urn asserted, crossing his arms. “I’ve made it clear I’ve no interest in sticking around with you people. So piss off.”

“Sorry, but we don’t need your ‘help’ anymore. Urn and I have it all figured out!” Ralph grinned, standing his ground beside Urn. The hooded warriors littering the courtyard watched in awe, almost forgetting to breathe as they waited for Repo to speak.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Alright, everyone, I bet we can find some sorta middle ground!” Abrax chimed in.

“That’s impossible.” Repo replied. “If you’re so sure you can stand on your own two feet, how exactly do you manage to survive outside without our help?”

“Huh? The fuck do you mean? I grew up fine and I never needed a bunch of hooded freaks to protect me.” Ralph retorted.

“He’s talking about the locket, idiot! Everyone in the Northern Lands will be able to recognize it; and once they do, they’ll alert the Magic Council. Millions of people have a vendetta against your grandfather you know; that locket is basically walking proof of his grandson!” Abrax explained, and Repo nodded his head in agreement.

The Magic Council. Urn thought. They’re right; the Council rules the Northern Lands with an iron grip. Once I step out of this temple, if anyone sees this locket they’ll instantly recognize it, and then report me.

“He can just take it off, duh!” Ralph stuck his tongue out at Abrax, who snorted at Ralph’s stupidity. “What?”

“And also.” Repo continued. “This temple exists within a separate space from the rest of the world. Once you leave, you’ll be instantly transported to the Epe Forest, home to hundreds of magical beasts who all despise your grandfather for trapping them there.”

Of course he managed to make everyone on the continent his enemy. Of course. Even the animals. Even the fucking animals. Urn rubbed his forehead tentatively and sighed. “I see your point. But-”

“We’re still gonna do our own thing, so screw off. Urn’s his own man and he doesn’t need a bunch of hooded weirdos telling him what to do. He started this journey for himself.” Ralph barked, ruffling Urn’s hair as he spoke and then taking a step towards Repo. “You got an issue with that?”

The courtyard becomes eerily quiet once again, the hooded warriors nervously staring at Repo. No one had ever defied Repo like that; not without facing major repercussions, they didn’t. Repo stared coldly at Ralph, and tilted his head as if conflicted over something.

“Repo-” Abrax started, but was quickly silenced by Repo, who raised a hand. A vibrant purple aura burst from Repo’s body, sending a great gust of wind through the courtyard. As his robe fluttered in the wind, he outstretched a hand, and narrowed his eyes at Ralph, who slid into a fighting stance.

“Skip.” The aura vibrating from Repo’s body intensified, and Urn narrowed his eyes and held a hand out in front of Ralph.

“WAIT! I have a prepositi-'' Urn's eyes widened in shock as he realized that Repo was gone. Ralph stood idly by, searching the courtyard frantically to try and guess which angle from which Repo would attack; yet he could not bring himself to move. It was like a great invisible boulder was pressing down on him, and despite the great danger that loomed, Ralph could not wiggle free.

And then, Repo reappeared behind Ralph, pulling at his gloves casually.

“Alright, I’ll hear you out.” The aura shrouding him vanished just as suddenly as it had come, and Ralph collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. It was like all the air had been knocked out of his body; what was that?

This guy’s on another level…he was really going to kill Ralph. Urn closed his eyes and reopened them, trying to get ahold of himself. “Ralph, are you alright?”

“I’m…fine. Man…this is embarrassing.” Ralph glanced at the hooded warriors crowded among them who began to laugh nervously.

“Wow, Repo. I almost thought you were going to kill him there!” Qan muttered; usually, once Repo had activated his magic skill, within the next moment his opponent would be dead. He wasn’t exactly sure how it worked, but he knew that it started with Repo saying ‘skip’, and ended with the complete and utter defeat of his foe.

“Well, what’s your proposition, Urn? I get the feeling that if it isn’t good, your pet fish might end up dying.” Abrax warned.

“It’s simple enough. I’ll prove to you that I don’t need your help; we’ll go out into the forest, and you’ll give us a week to get out of the forest. If we don’t get out within a week, or end up being seriously injured, then we fail and I’ll stay here until you say I can leave.” Urn’s eyes narrowed to slits as he then added. “But we get through, you’ll never bother me again. How about it?”

“I see.” Repo murmured, weighing the pros and cons silently. “...It doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Once you end up failing, it’ll be a good wakeup call.”

“Already assuming they’d fail? You’d make a horrible gambler, Repo.” Asha joked, before being sharply elbowed by Qan.

“Well, of course. You two realize I merely paraphrased the danger of the Epe Forest? Not only are there magical beasts, but you’ll also have to avoid the Epe Tribe, who are even more dangerous.” Repo said matter-of-factly. “But I don’t see the harm in it. Your proposition is accepted.”

“Hey, this isn’t just something you get to decide for yourself!” Abrax protested, and Repo sighed.

“Okay. Do you accept it or not?” Repo asked with a sigh.

Abrax put a finger to his chin, as if thinking deeply, and then grinned at Urn. “I accept your proposition, Urn! We’ll give you two days to get ready, since throwing you in without any knowledge would be like murder!” Abrax laughed.

“...He’s so creepy.” Asha whispered to Qan, who nodded back.

“Sounds good to me! We’ll clear this without any trouble.” Ralph said, and then whispered to Urn: “No, seriously, let’s clear this. If we have to crawl back to these bastards I’m going to kill myself.”

“Trust me, pal, I feel the same way you do.” Urn groaned at the thought of crawling back for help. If they really wanted to do this, they’d need a plan, and as much information on the Epe Forest as they could gather. I’ll need to ask a few questions, and get a map. And then I’ll also have to test out the limits of this ability; it’s not gonna be easy. But I’m sure as hell not staying with these freaks for a moment longer.