There was something heavy in the Vitross air today. It was a cold that burned the lungs, where it was difficult to breathe so Kaid would suck in his breath even more to pain himself. A substantial burden felt like a weight pressed on his backside, aching his shoulders and most of all putting strain on his heart. He could end it all today. He could not only right his wrongs, but right the wrongs from years ago. He hadn't seen Jessamine in weeks, her absence felt like both a blessing and a burden. Part of him felt he couldn't push this limit without her, and the other part felt the limit existed because of her.

Whatever his destiny was, he knew he had to follow his heart. And he wouldn't know what that felt like until he laid his eyes on her once more. The fate of the world fell in his hands, but that wasn't the burden. The burden was his own power. Kaid knew how far he took it to destroy Caladin. He knew how easy it felt, how guiltless it seemed. He could also destroy the world, or save it. He felt so alone, despite the presence of his friends. He missed the comfort of that curved emerald blade, oddly enough. To know it was a relic perhaps his mother once held, gave to him with her dying breath...he wanted it back.

What would his cornerstone be? Did it already exist and he was ignoring his truth, his prophecy?

A knock on the supply door awoke him from his cramped thoughts, Kaid opening it slightly to see Bridger there, standing unimpressed. If anything, he too looked stressed this early afternoon, as if there was something he had overlooked and couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Bridger, I-" Kaid was ready to apologize, knowing Bridger had done nothing wrong. He had stuck to protocol, and Kaid's demands had been well beyond his reach as Lord Protector. And threatening the portalist with a blade to his throat certainly would take time to forgive, if Bridger could forgive him.

The portalist, who always looked an occasional distant mess, looked different today.

"Save it, Kaid. I'm fucking done with this place and once all of this is under control, I'm leaving," he frowned, "what do you want?"

"Can you portal me to the throne room?" he asked, "I need to speak to Jessamine."

"It's a five minute walk from here, what a waste of my resources," Bridger scoffed. He had gotten too tired of the job he signed up for. The pay of course had been good, very good, but he had done things well beyond his job description that inherited a good vacation and pay out. He had seen too much. He had done things he regretted.

"Bridger, please, you know we can't just have Kaid walking down these halls," Christine begged, sighing at his defiance.

"I have other things to do, other things to worry about-"

"Like what?" Kassandra demanded, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Every single turbine is reporting their systems offline, the one's here, abroad, all of them. And you, Kassandra, are supposed to be handling such matters. Instead it gets sent to my desk, for whatever reason. This palace is about to go dark, very quickly I might add."

"You think it's a sign of an attack?" Christine gasped slightly, a scared expression on her face. Given her reaction, Kaid assumed going 'dark' wasn't exactly part of the escape plan.

"Then Jessamine needs every fighter by her side, all the more reason to take me to her," Kaid reasoned.

"Why? So you can wrap your hands around her throat again?" Bridger accused, seeing Kaid grow angry. Kaid lunged at him, but luckily the two women around him were capable of stepping between to instill reason.

"Not helpful, Bridger," Kassandra scowled at him, "we need your help, please. We need to be working together here."

"Do we? We're all just tools to be discarded, to waste our usefulness and then be cast aside. That's what's happening to Kaid, he's served his time. You should've listened to your friends and hopped on that boat with Mara and sailed far, far away from here. It would've saved us all this trouble," Bridger shook his head, stepping back to begin the process of opening that portal.

"Mara? What is she doing here?" Kaid asked, glancing at his friends.

"I thought the same, Mara hates Jessamine just as much as Lungor does. Now we have two enemies at our doorsteps," Bridger laughed, finding this whole thing ridiculous as the pearly white portal began to form, "to think, I thought this job would be sitting on the beach and soaking up the sun. Fuck Vitross."

"Well the Empress didn't see her as a threat if she's the one who requested her to help," Christine blurted out.

Something in Bridger's expression changed, the portal almost fading slightly from a lapse in his concentration. It was all the loose ends tying together, everything growing to make sense, the masterpiece now visible. It wasn't a revelation that made him happy, though. For once, he felt the one in the dark now. Kaid's escape wasn't orchestrated by his friends, but by the Empress herself. Christine's words only confirmed it all.

Bridger stared at the portal as if it were a mirror, trying to see himself inside of it. Portals were not just doors into places he's been, but also memories. Memories of the places he'd been, the emotions he had there. Everything he had done in life was leading to this moment. He stepped aside only slightly, letting Kaid walk through, close enough to be out of the reach of the two women. It was enough. Taking a deep breath, Kaid peered his head through the portal, seeing nothing but stone.

With a quick shove at his back, Bridger had pushed him inside, jumping along with him, closing it immediately behind him.

Kassandra and Christine stood there, their hearts dropping as they realized their mistake, staring at the empty black Vitross walls before looking at each other. The portal was gone, and Kaid and Bridger along with it. Footsteps were heard running down the tile floors, both girls still staring at the empty space in horror before Kiev turned the corner, too late to bring bad news.

"Kiev, I think we fucked up..." Christine whispered.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaid felt almost forced out of the ending portal with the same force shoved in, almost landing straight into an ash barren wall. Glancing around, he noticed a disheveled house, unoccupied and for what appeared like years with all its broken furniture and dust. Bridger stood on the other side, his eyes almost just as wide as if he wasn't expecting this to be the place for his portal. His last portal, that is. No doubt after what had happened, Kaid wouldn't react too fondly.

Yet, the curious Guardian still observed the home, which essentially was one building with a few dividers, just enough room in one corner for a kitchen, the other corner possessing a table, and the area behind him just enough space for a bed or two. It was small. It was homely. It was certainly destitute. Kaid felt a sense in his Oblivion, as if the portal had revealed a wave of emotions. Kaid almost thought for a moment if this was what Jessamine felt when peering into thoughts. It wasn't that though. Kaid was feeling the residual energy trapped here with his sense of time.

"This was your home," Kaid hummed, glancing at Bridger who seemed even more surprised.

"I...I was supposed to send you to Lungor," Bridger shook his head, "I don't know what happened."

"You lost concentration. It happens to the best of portalists. Sometimes they portal to the place that means the most to them," Kaid observed, politely. He thought he would be angry. After all, shouldn't he be? Clearly Bridger had meant to stall, meant to send him to Lungor. Bridger was clearly on Payne's side, at least from initial observation. But he had also felt his usefulness come to an end, per his own words. He was used, and he knew that.

"Welcome to Blackrock Island, just due west of the main Skale continent. Yes, this was my home," Bridger nodded, his voice quiet. He was afraid. He was afraid he messed up, and most of all, his actions perhaps doomed them both.

"You lived here with your mother," Kaid glanced at the old torn fabrics of what appeared to be wool around the place. She liked to knit. He got that observation from the mess around him. It looked like it grew cold here, even colder than Vitross.

"How do you know that?"

"I can hear the remnants of her laughter, a peculiar accent," Kaid's soft brown eyes glanced at the man across from him, who looked like a scared little boy in a home like this. It was how Kaid had felt in Caladin.

"You can't know that," he shook his head.

"You're right, I can't. Yet, I do," Kaid agreed, finding it odd. But it was definitely Oblivion. He supposed ever since Vyper revealed the purpose of Caladin, the way it was meant to test and grow, he knew Oblivion wasn't set in a box. Even Jessamine had said that herself.

This kind of magic doesn't just exist in a contained box. If you learn to break the limits, it can do a lot more than you think.

And that wasn't just about Magic, or Oblivion, whatever it would be called a hundred years from now or more. It was about people. Both Kaid and Bridger were examples of such.

"Bridger, it's not too late, I hope you know that," Kaid moved to sit at one of the chairs, but it fell apart the second he moved it with his hands due to the rot. He should feel anxious, he should feel angry, he should feel impatient being stuck here. But he didn't. He felt more intune with himself, with reality, than he had at any point in his life. It was as if someone in here, from whatever residual energy this place held, was trying to tell him that. And not just him, but Bridger more specifically.

"You know how impatient I was to leave this place? The second I learned how to portal, I went straight to my mother and told her how I would help her leave this place. We wouldn't have to spend all our time with our hands plunged beneath the earth for stupid potatoes, even in the frozen winter. We wouldn't have to have the same stew over and over again. She wouldn't have to knit wool sweaters for me every winter. I could help her get out, find a new place to live, somewhere warm and with a bigger space. I could find a job, portaling some rich aristocrat around..." Bridger trailed off for a moment.

"She was so happy I was happy. And the day came when I got a letter for my first job back in the Continent, she was so happy with me, or rather for me. I promised I would hone in my training, come back here, help her escape," Bridger felt the swelling of his throat, the weight of his decisions, "but I got lost in the world. I got lost with all this knowledge, things I had never known before. I got sucked into the wine, the pleasures of life, the warmth of women and...I forgot. I forgot my mother, who taught me to treat all animals with kindness. I used to hate her stupid little lessons. What I wouldn't give to hear one, one last time. By the time I realized my errors, I came straight back here, and she was nearing death itself from a terrible fever. Yet, she smiled, as if she was always waiting for my return."

Stolen novel; please report.

"I wronged her, I know I had. She forgave me anyway. What kind of love is that? The kind of love I threw away so easily. I told her I could get help, I could still send her away, but she didn't want to. This place was her home, and it wasn't until now that I realized it was always her home. Even if I had kept my promise, returned when I could, she wouldn't have wanted to leave. The day she died, I thought I'd change. I didn't. I got sucked further into the despair of good wine and good company, I numbed myself with this belief that going to new places and seeing the world would change where I stood. It doesn't change anything. I've used it for myself, and I've used it to do terrible, terrible things."

"You've also used it for good things," Kaid pointed out, "You did something no portalist has ever done in history: gone to a place you've never been."

"That was because of the Empress-"

"It was remarkable nonetheless. Not every beautiful thing we do needs to be done alone. It just needs to be done with the right person. You've done things you regret, but you weren't at the forefront of it. Payne used you. You know that he has a chain around your neck and he thought you wouldn't break free from it. Payne wasn't even the one holding the key, you are. Only you can unlock yourself, break yourself free, he thought you were too weak to do it yourself. That love your mother had for you, it still exists in this very home I can feel it. And I know you can feel it too, the chance to do right."

Bridger almost laughed, but not out of fear or pity. He laughed because Kaid was right, and he couldn't believe it.

"Ironic you can feel that. When Jessamine used me to open that portal, or rather, when I opened myself up to her, it was almost as if I could feel her own Oblivion too, working in tandem. I felt her love for you. It wasn't this numbed, passionate sensation you get from a whore or bottles of wine. It felt so much like the love of my mother: belief. Belief is a drug, it's the most powerful thing we as humans possess yet disregard every day. We remove belief so much because we fear something worse: disappointment. But I know now, it's wrong," Bridger smiled, a tear escaping his eyes, "belief is still here. The amount of disappointment I've given, I can still feel the belief, the love. And I know Jessamine still does for you."

"One act of love can remove a lifetime of hate, just like one ray from the sun can still shine through a cloud," Kaid nodded.

"I thought you'd want to kill me," Bridger shook his head.

"Hm, that was an option, but then I'd kill my only way out of here," Kaid teased, only slightly, knowing he was under duress, "Bridger, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you. I..."

"No, you did what you had to. Payne nearly killed me when he found out I sent you there. I wasn't afraid of you, I wasn't angry at you. I was...I still am afraid of him. I am afraid of him. There's things I wish I could have done differently."

"I know, me too. But...it just means we have to learn from it, to ensure we make a better decision in the future," Kaid agreed, "you don't have to be afraid of him. You don't have to face him. I do. I do, and so does Jess."

"You know, I was always jealous of you. I think everyone was. How strong you looked despite everything, how you reverted Jessamine from being a mind controlled tyrant to...well, you just have this ability that reaches beyond Oblivion-"

"Everyone does, Bridger. We know the power people have on ourselves. Every word used against us, every joke told to us out of spite to give us guilt, every compliment we remember even years later...our minds will remember the things said to us, the impact we had. We know this and still think our own worth has diminished, when we could very well make an impact on others. That's what that love is. It's about making mistakes, it's about forgiveness, and most of all, it's about doing what is right, no matter how hard it is. If I'm considered special, or a rarity, so are you."

Bridger smiled even wider, glancing down at his feet before sucking in a deep breath, "It won't be easy, removing Payne. Even if it's right, he knows everything. He's planned for every result possible. I suppose the news of this morning threw him off guard, but nonetheless, in every alternative in his mind, he wins. In every choice made, somehow he always ends up on top."

"Do you know what Jessamine could have found in his office, anything that might help us?" Kaid asked, moving closer. It was time to go. That feeling of love in this home was fading, disappearing. Not because it no longer existed, but because it had served its purpose.

"You..." Bridger stammered, realizing it all clicked. Mara. Jessamine brought Mara here. It would've distracted Payne, and it had done so until they received news this morning about the turbines. And the reason all turbines were turned off was because she had found out. She found out the one leverage she had needed, the one thing that she could use against Payne. And somehow, she had convinced the world to believe her. Bridger immediately began opening another portal, a bewildered, shocked, winning grin on his face.

"You two still don't cease to amaze me...I apologize for my comment earlier about her neck-"

"Apology accepted. What I did was wrong, I know that. I think...sometimes we hurt the people we love. Sometimes it almost feels necessary to do what is right. When you love someone, you understand that."

"Kaid, I think we have a chance. How did you- nevermind. I suppose the details won't matter in the end," Bridger shook his head, finalizing that portal, "thank you, for believing in me. Now, it's time I believe in you, that we can stop this. If anyone can stop this, it's you."

The Blade of the Usurper. The ritual was one to enact vengeance for our people. It is a blade to right wrongs, to enact with wrathful retribution. In our culture, the emerald green represents life. This knife will take a life to save the lives of others and for no other purpose.

"Kaid Al-Yami, you know your purpose..." Kaid whispered a prayer to himself, closing his eyes before stepping back into the portal, this time with no push necessary. He knew what had to be done.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jessamine didn't smile as the lights faded, leaving nothing but the stormy clouds to provide light into the throne room. She only exhaled a sigh of relief. Vrah had followed through and so had she. If she had been wrong, well, it wasn't anything beyond repair. What was beyond repair was her relationship with Kaid. He had fallen for the lie so hard, and so had she believing he'd never find out. The only thing she could do is wish him a better life, one where her influence didn't taint or poison his very existence.

By now, he should be at the harbor awaiting his new life. Mara agreed, because Jessamine was capable of buying her freedom. Vrah hadn't known anything about her and had promised not to hunt either of them down. And it was better to sever connections now.

A strike of lightning moved her away from her thoughts, her blue eyes gazing at the portrait she had lost thought in. Emperor Kristoff. How he would have loved this moment in time, where there was no fire to warm the place, no light to shine the way. His greed could go unnoticed. His influence was powerful in the dark. Jessamine shivered slightly upon his gaze before smiling softly.

"Oh, how I hope you're rolling in your grave right now, father..." she whispered to herself. She remembered the days she always wanted to please him, how it was easier to just do whatever he wanted rather than to fight it. Despite his want for piano lessons, she had grown to love playing it, and that was not because of him but because of Kaid. The things she had grown to hate, this man had come in here and repaired the things she thought irredeemable. Jessamine had been a dampened fire pit for so long, and Kaid had been this warm, beautiful spark of flint. Unfortunately, an explosion had to arise at some point, and she hoped not to burn the people she loved around her.

The doors to her throne room opened, surprising Jessamine as she wasn't expecting company. And her entire demeanor shrunk upon seeing who it was. She stood there, blinking, wondering what reality she witnessed.

"Kaid? What are you doing here?" she asked, her pitch high with surprise and most of all, concern.

Kaid proceeded closer to her, his heaving breath visible from the very coldness of the stone and tile room. His eyes looked at her with almost like a smile, as if happy to see her. She would've felt the same, if not for the fact he shouldn't be here.

"I needed to see you," he finally spoke, calming his breath as if he had run down these very halls himself to find her here.

"Kaid, you can't be here," Jessamine urged.

"Forget about that, Jess. I'm here now, everything is going to be okay," he assured her.

"You were never one for following the plan," she scoffed, although she couldn't hide the smile from her face. Damn this man. Damn him and his stubborn will to want to help her. He could be a good nautical mile away from this place, but no, he was here to be back with her. And it gave her more hope than anything.

"What do we do about Payne?" he asked, glancing around wearily as if fearful he was here, or even amidst this conversation right now. The air still felt as heavy as before, if not heavier from the cold alone.

"I suppose we wait, he will come eventually. Once he realizes the turbine was my doing, once he realizes Lungor has gone dark as well, he will know we entered his office. He will realize we know the truth, and he will have to face it one way or another," she shrugged slightly, knowing Payne would confront her. He always would every time she made a mistake. This mistake wouldn't be met with a scolding as usual though. She knew this would result in something only deadlier.

Jessamine glanced over and saw worry in his eyes, as if he was realizing how grave the situation was too. She didn't give him the details for his own safety, but surely now he must be smart enough to put the ideas together. Payne was trying to create a calamity, one that couldn't be stopped once it started. They had fortunately been on top of it, however, that didn't mean the fight was over. Yet his worry didn't fade, only grew. Maybe he didn't trust her, maybe he believed this to be her idea as well and only now was she backtracking from it. Maybe he thought her deserving of the same fate as Payne.

"My love, what is it? What's wrong?" Jess whispered, moving close to place her hands on his arms, rubbing the tense muscles. Her hands draped down to his hands, feeling the emptiness on his left wrist where that gift of a golden watch would be. His hands felt much colder than her own, as if frozen in fear.

"It's...it's nothing," he shook his head, forcing a smile before moving closer. His hand moved up, stroking a loose red strand behind her ear. Despite his affirmation, Jessamine still didn't believe him.

"Talk to me, why are you having these thoughts? It's not like you," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his. He was worried. And not the kind that strengthened his resolve, but the kind that froze it like ice. He was slipping, and she had to be here to ground him. It was all she could do as her lover. If he refused to leave, she had to be here for him, even if it ruined everything with Lungor. As long as Payne was defeated, that was it. The rest they could figure out later, together.

"I just wish we had more time..." he spoke, his voice softer than a whisper, a vein appearing on his forehead due to the strain.

Jessamine's eyes immediately darted up to his, her posture straightening, her hands slowly slipping away from his.

Vitross bells rang violently across the halls. The sound of a realized doom reverberated through her ears. Soon the room would be flooded with Guards, meant to protect her.

They were too late.

Jessamine breathed out what she thought was a blow to her stomach, but she soon felt the wetness pool around her torso. Her eyes remained upon the muddy pupils of his, seeing them dilate, seeing them curve with a smile. When she finally glanced down to view her affliction, she saw his hand firmly hold that damned emerald blade, digging it right into her spleen.

"Kaid-" she shook, feeling her about to collapse on her knees. Kaid grabbed her by the shoulders, making sure she would not fall before pulling the blade out. And then, he plunged it back in.

Again.

Again.

And again.

He watched and relished as life was taken from her, as if he had waited his entire moment for this. All the hate, all the rage, everything he had saved up had been for this moment. He almost thought he couldn't do it. He thought he didn't have the strength to rise above his profound goodness. He had killed before, but never did it ever feel as good as this. Usurping was better than any kill to protect, better than any murder formed from passion. He was breaking apart the roots, tearing away everything she held dear. He finally took what was his, and it was a long time coming, over thirty years of suffering and now this to be the end of it.

To usurp was chaos, and he very much loved chaos.

Jessamine's body finally fell limp, Kaid stepping back to let it slump to those beautiful polished floors for her blood to seep into. Her blue frightened eyes remained open, gazing directly at the stone throne far away from her, the very symbols of what unwound her, what broke her - the one thing she never wanted. Kaid tossed the blade down, watching it hit the pool of blood with a delicious splatter. He turned and walked towards that throne, thinking for just a moment before sitting in it.

He found it entirely uncomfortable.

Time was the world's greatest enemy. It was the constant promise of dark obliteration. It was the one thing nobody could escape, the rich or poor, the powerful or the weak. It destroyed everything, even what could be considered the everlasting of loves, the bonds of friendship. Time was neither good or evil, neither forward or backward. It merely existed, same as both dark and light did. It was an instrument for the symphony of life, and only time could determine when a life was done playing its game.