Coralie appeared inside the teleportation room within her mother’s villa, lying on the floor and sobbing. She had failed. Worse, she had failed, and killed the woman she loved in the process. Slamming her fists against the floor, she wailed. Why had Kiri done that? Why!?! It wasn’t fair! The only good thing she’d had in her life in years. The only thing that had been hers, and not something granted and molded by her mother, and she had helped to kill it. She despised herself. Hated what she was and what she had done, with every fibre of her being. If she had defied her Mother, just this once, Kiri would still be alive.

  Her wailing had garnered the attention of the villa’s occupants and a minute later her mother, Prefect Allais, swept into the room, wearing a hastily tied on loose silk robe that probably cost as much as an Uncommon Orb. The open door revealed a shirtless man wearing loose pants that also looked hastily pulled on. Portos Jamison, a Platinum of the Guild, Coralie noted through blurry eyes still stained with tears.

  “Well?” demanded her Mother imperiously.

  “I failed,” Coralie answered, her eyes drifting to the floor as she refused to meet her Mother’s gaze.

  She knew her mother heard that she had failed in her task, and while that was true, it was not what Coralie had meant. She had failed herself, and Kiri had paid the price. She was a failure.

  “Stupid girl,” muttered Evelynn Allais, angrily before spinning to face her paramour. “Get ready, and inform your sisters. We will have to take this a step further to prove our worth to him. He is not known for tolerating failure, so our success must overshadow my daughter’s…inadequacy.”

  Portos nodded, vanishing in a blur of movement.

  “Get up,” her Mother demanded, turning her eyes back on Coralie. “You may have failed once. You best not do so again. Meet me at the gates in ten minutes.”

  “Where are we going?” Coralie asked.

  Evelynn Allais' mouth twisted in distaste. “We march on the Guild, to bring it to heel for the new ruler of Etrua.”

  Coralie felt a pit form in her stomach as her Mother gave voice to her own betrayal, the breaking of oaths with the Adventurer’s Guild. What had she done?

  *************

  Bordain slumped down onto the throne that was now his, the wreckage of the palace around him. Dead Swords, the Royal Guard, were strewn throughout the room. Some of them had even been his own adherents, loyal to him through Malachite. Those that remained leaned against the walls or slumped on the floor, recovering from being forced to kill the men and women they served with. Bordain had known his Father was strong. The man had free use of the tool that had made the Etruan Royal family what they were. For over forty years his Father had been able to make use of that tool. Even with the lengthy recharging periods, the Legendary Dungeon had seen his Father over halfway to the Fourth Evolution at level one-hundred-and-eighty. The man had possessed a Mythic Class, after his Third evolution, and even though Bordain had achieved such at his Second Evolution, the level and Skill disparity would’ve seen him dead without his preparations and vassals.

  Garnet lay in a corner recovering from having her body shredded by sand. Obsidian was splayed out as well, with Verian healing the man after he had been asphyxiated. Verian himself had come through better than most of them, but the old Headmaster had been languishing at level one-hundred-and-twenty for years. His Skills, however, had not, and while he was still at a disadvantage against Bordain’s Father, the Elementalist had fared better defending himself against the spells of Sand and Wind. As for the two Dungeon Cores that had suppressed the Concepts and Skills of his Father, they had dissolved towards the end of the battle. That moment was when his Father had struck and almost erased Bordain and his vassals. The castle had no such protections and a full third had been ripped apart and was nothing but ruins of scoured and shattered furniture and people. Any of the lesser servants too close to the battle were dead.

  But, Bordain had won. His victory thrummed through him as he felt the universe agree with him. This was right. Only the powerful deserved to rule and the world echoed his opinion. He could feel it. The sense of completeness was fading, but he had touched upon it again. His path forward was clear.

  Verian interrupted his thoughts, the Headmaster approaching and kneeling before the throne.

  “Speak,” Bordain intoned, acknowledging his vassal.

  “My reward, my King?” asked Verian, unable to hide the eagerness in his voice.

  Bordain wanted to make use of Verian’s reward himself, but he didn’t have the time. With his actions he had started a civil war while in the midst of a war with Asmuisil. He needed to confirm that his brother and sister were both dead, bring any of the Houses that didn’t support him to heel, all while defending his lands from Asmuisil and taking control of the Capital. He wanted to push towards his Third Evolution, but it would need to wait. Though, perhaps, not as long as previously.

  “And you shall have it, Headmaster Verian,” Bordain acknowledged, motioning to two of the Swords. “Take the Headmaster to the Etruan Gate. He is to be given sole access. No one else is to enter. Am I understood?”

  The Etruan Gate, Bordain mused, was the name for the room that housed the entrance to the Legendary-tier Dungeon. It was kept within the bowels of the palace and Bordain once more suppressed his urge to make use of it to advance himself.

  “Yes, your Highness!”

  “Leave the communication tomes,” Bordain commanded, eyes flicking back to Verian.

  The man who had functioned as his spymaster for over a decade placed a pile of six tomes on the floor, extracted from a spatial storage, before hurrying after the Swords.

  Bordain watched as Verian left the room, noting the curious gaze of Obsidian.

  “He goes in alone?” asked Obsidian from the scoured floor of the throne room.

  Bordain nodded, “He hopes to gain a reward that will let him bridge the gap to Mythic. At his level, only the final Challenge will do and even so he must complete it alone. Check the communication tomes for updates. I want to know if there is word from Amethyst, Topaz or Sapphire.”

  With his orders given and ignoring how Obsidian started flipping through the pages of the enchanted books, Bordain stood and marched towards Malachite.

  “Stand,” he demanded, not caring if the man could. Either he had the power to follow his orders, or the old swordsman had reached the end of his use. Without power, he was a tool not worth keeping.

  Malachite slapped away an offered hand from a Sword bearing two blades on his dented armour and roughly climbed to his feet.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “What would you have of me, my King?” asked the First Sword.

  “Gather whatever forces you need and lock down the Noble and Merchants’ quarters. Spread the word that there is a new King and that the Nobles are required to make their way to the palace to swear fealty.”

  “Why the merchants?” asked Malachite.

  “Because we still have a war to win and their coffers will help fund it, as will any Nobles that refuse to bend the knee.”

  Bordain turned, heading for Garnet and ignoring the First Sword’s salute as he gathered his forces and marched from the rubble that had once been the throne room.

  “What now, my King?” asked Garnet, pushing off the wall and leaving blood stains behind her.

  “Find the Royal Chamberlain. I want my palace fixed. Tell him to spend whatever is necessary to make it happen.”

  Bordain didn’t turn to watch as Garnet walked out of the room, now empty except for himself and Obsidian who had moved up to his side.

  “Well?” Bordain demanded.

  “Your brother is dead, though it cost more of his forces than anticipated. The enchanted Dungeon Cores suppressed him as planned and your payments to the Asmuisillan Commander made sure that their Champions acted accordingly. However, they appear to have used the chaos to demolish your brother’s forces, rather than pull back as agreed. Sapphire is moving to intercept and is confident he can hold off the Asmuisillan army with the remnants Amethyst is gathering.”

  “And Topaz?”

  “Failed. Your sister lives. The details are scarce, but as planned Topaz managed to get close to Morgane using House Landin. A failed poisoning attempt was the cover she used to initiate her attack on the Princess. She was very clear, that as planned, the form she used was a perfect counter for your sister’s capabilities and that she was moments from victory when she was interfered with by two members of the Adventurer’s Guild.”

  “Platinums?” Bordain asked, his anger at Topaz’s failure simmering for the moment.

  “She didn’t say.”

  Bordain snorted at the cowardice.

  “Is she on her way here?” he asked.

  “So she says…” replied Obsidian.

  “Good. She can explain her failure to me herself. Any word from House Landin on Morgane’s forces or the Asmuisillan Third Army?”

  “None.”

  Bordain clenched a fist in annoyance, “Get me the details then. I need to know if we still have one or two Asmuisillan armies advancing on the Capital.”

  “As you command, my King,” replied Obsidian, before space warped and the man vanished.

  Returning to the golden throne, Bordain sat down, his bulk filling the current symbol of his family's authority, as he waited for the Nobility to come forth and pledge their allegiance to him — to the power he rightfully possessed. All the while his thoughts stewed on the part of his plan that had failed.

  “Slippery as ever, little sister. What will you do now, I wonder?”

  *************

  Nate knelt over the Unseen, Kiri at his side. He had refused to wake them. Flash hovered nearby, the Edgedancer’s eyes locked on Helena-Celeste, refusing to move away from her but abiding Aisling’s command to not interfere.

  “What do you think?” he asked Kiri.

  His sense could tell him that there was something going on with their soul energy, but his ability with the power of the soul paled in comparison to his sisters.

  “It’s like an infection. It’s soul energy, but it isn’t theirs. And it’s behaving weirdly,” Kiri muttered.

  “In what way?”

  “There is a normal exchange of soul energy between the Spirit Realm and your body. Some of yours leaves and is replaced. It happens naturally, even when you’re not actively spending soul energy. The spot it happens in is around the same place as the Class Core. But this…infection…avoids that area. It’s like it is being guided by…”

  “An Intent,” Nate finished for her.

  “Exactly. The infection isn’t all the same either from what I can see. It reminds me a little of your runes actually. Like different parts are doing different things but all working together, if that makes sense?”

  “Sounds like a spell,” Nate offered.

  “Could be,” Kiri acknowledged. “What do you want to do about it?”

  “The same thing you do with any infection, I guess. Cleanse it.”

  Kiri glanced at him then gave a nod.

  “Do you need me for it?”

  “Yes. I need you to make sure I isolate all the right parts. I’ll tell you when I am ready.”

  Kiri stepped away, going to speak with Aisling as the Guildies watched the Princess speak with the Nobles.

  Hildi had vanished, however Nate could sense her near the Princess. Where before Hildi had been shorter, her body now felt like a perfect match for Morgane and Nate paused to wonder which was her real form as he got to work.

  The idea he had was simple enough. The Sigils for Soul, Target and Release brought together should let him target the foreign soul energy within the Unseen and release it from their bodies. With his ability to alter Subconcepts, he intended to change Release more towards the Concepts of remove or extract. He ignored the many eyes on his back as he worked and it didn’t take him too long to construct the simplified rune. Getting the targeting right with his Intents took longer as he had Kiri double-checking his work as he made sure that every single piece of foreign soul energy within Helena-Celeste was accounted for. Finally confident he was ready, he motioned to the Guild members nearby. They moved in and held the would-be-assassin down, each one taking a limb. Waking the Unseen only took a few seconds as he removed the effects of the Sleeping Rune he had used on her, noting her lack of resistance to the soul energy manipulation.

  The Unseen immediately tried to sit up, only to find herself pinned down. Helena-Celeste’s eyes flicked to her fellow Unseen before drifting up to Nate’s. If he was any judge, he thought the look in one of them was acceptance and peace.

  “Ask whatever you want. I can’t answer. Just kill us and be done with it,” whispered the Unseen with a calmness that supported his thoughts on the look in her eyes.

  “I did wonder about that,” Nate acknowledged. “If the Soul Spell on you would prevent you telling us what you know. I’m about to remove it.”

  He had expected anger or maybe more acceptance in response to his statement. Instead the Unseen started bucking and screaming as she tried to escape from the Guild members holding her down.

  “Nooo!!! You’ll kill her!”

  Nate waited a moment for the failed attempt to reach its foregone conclusion before demanding an answer. He pointedly ignored the eyes of the Nobles and the Princess who had paused their discussion to glance at the outburst.

  “Explain,” he demanded.

  “The spell, it connects us. We’re tied together. If it thinks I am dead it will kill her. Don’t kill my sister! I don’t want to be free if it means being alone. Just kill us both, please,” begged the Unseen, sobbing.

  “Kiri?” Nate asked.

  “She could be right. If it is, it's through the spiritual realm. Maybe the spell connects them on the other side? I can’t sense a connection here.”

  “Very well,” Nate responded, beginning to extend his rune and his Intents.

  “What?” mumbled the Unseen.

  “You’ll either die together, or live together,” Nate replied, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice. He couldn’t imagine being shackled the way these two were, and though he knew they might die if he failed at removing the Soul Spell afflicting them, he also didn’t think they would be allowed to live as they were.

  “Can you check?” he asked Kiri, as he felt his mind strained with the number of Intents he was using to target the Soul Spell within the two Unseen.

  Kiri moved forward and after a few minutes grunted, “I think you got them all.”

  He looked up and Aisling gave him an encouraging nod. With his mentor's silent support, he activated his rune and sensed as soul energy was released into the air. Untethered from a sentient being, the soul energy quickly vanished, returning to the Spirit Realm and Nate watched as Helena-Celeste clenched her fists, ready to die. That death never came and she turned her head to look at her gently breathing sister, still asleep. Her eyes finally returned to look at Nate and tears decorated the corners of them, bubbling up before falling down her cheeks.

  “We’re free….” she whispered, before she began to cry in earnest.

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