The Warden just stared into my eyes with that sinister smile on his face. Failing to get his hands loose from my throat I felt myself beginning to slip away.

  He leaned up and put all his weight into it and I quickly blinked three times opening up my menu screen. A message popped up.

  Spear Mastery increased to level 4 to reach level 5 kill 10 enemies within 30 seconds.

  I exited out of the prompt and scrolled to the fire magic skill. It read new ability unlocked please choose new ability.

  I quickly scrolled down and selected Flame breath. The menu closed and I felt a warm feeling inside my chest. I opened my mouth and shot a stream of fire into the Warden. He yelled and fell back onto the ground holding his hands to his face.

  I quickly got to my feet and shot a bolt of lightning into him. The impact struck him hard and he rolled a bit before jumping to his feet, still holding his hands to his face.

  "I'm going to fucking kill you!" He yelled as he drew his sword and began quickly slashing wildly. I kept my distance and kept hurling lightning bolts at him in quick succession. He raised his sword blocking them as they impacted one after another.

  He kept backing up as they hit and I ran in close hitting him over and over again with my sword. He kept one of his hands on his face while he raised his sword with the other. Blow after blow hit his sword and he stumbled back again and again.

  Soon he was very close to the woodline of the forest and vines shot out of the ground trapping him in place. He slashed at the vines trying to break free. I hit him again with another bolt of lightning and he shook violently for a moment before cutting at the vines again.

  This time I aimed carefully and shot a bolt of lightning directly at his sword arm, the blast causing him to lose his grip and his sword to fall to the ground. He still clawed at the vines and broke free for a moment desperately trying to grab his sword before more vines shot up trapping him in place again.

  This time he just remained still.

  I walked over to him, he still had his hand over his face and as I approached, he dropped it and looked at me. Half his face was burnt off while the other half was a bright red and swollen.

  We just stared at each other for a moment before he spoke.

  "I tried to build something great here. Before I showed up, the humans were all living in small settlements. There were wars between villages—it was a lawless land." He coughed and spat out some blood before continuing. "I unified them, I gave them structure and community. I gave them purpose and kept them safe."

  I shook my head. "You lost your way."

  He just laughed and turned his head toward the forest behind him.

  "The elves have a power that could change everything. Instead of surviving, we could be thriving." He coughed again, this time more intensely, as he seemed to be growing weaker. "I tried to play nice, but they refused to help us." He then looked back at me. "So I decided, what's the point of having power if you don't use it? If they didn't want to play nice, then I wouldn't either."

  I looked over his shoulder and saw several shadowy figures lined up along the woodline. I nodded in their direction and started to make my way over to Elysia. She was unconscious but still breathing. I picked her up and started making my way back toward the castle.

  "Hey," the Warden yelled as I walked away. I turned around, and he simply said, "I was trying to make this world a better place."

  I watched as a volley of arrows shot out from the forest, high into the air. They came down and struck the Warden, impacting him several times. He shook violently as hundreds of arrows peirced through his armor.

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  There was a short pause and then the vines that held him shot back into the earth. The Warden collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

  I turned back toward the castle and continued walking.

  "Ryker," I heard Elysia say, and I quickly set her down on the ground.

  "Hey," I said, "are you okay?"

  She rubbed her head and looked around. "What happened? The Warden... where is he?"

  I quickly stopped her. "It's over. We won. The Warden’s dead."

  She laid her head back onto the ground and closed her eyes. "Thank goodness," she said, sitting up and trying to get to her feet. I helped her stand. She was a bit wobbly at first but quickly regained her composure.

  "What about the others?" she asked.

  "I was on my way to check on them."

  We started toward the castle and, as we neared the place where we left the battle, we could make out six figures. As we got closer, we were able to identify Varek and his squad.

  As we approached, Draken threw his hands in the air.

  "Did you kick the Warden’s ass or what?"

  I smiled and just nodded. He turned to the rest of the group, and they all raised their fists in a celebratory manner. Elysia looked around at the several bodies strewn across the area. She looked back up at Varek, who simply shook his head.

  "We're all that's left," he said.

  She nodded and turned to me. "Well, we did it." I nodded in agreement. "Thank you, all of you. I couldn’t have done it alone." Draken quickly spoke up. "Damn right you couldn't have done it alone."

  I turned back toward the battlefield and noticed four people making their way across toward our position.

  I squinted my eyes a bit before realizing it was Harald and his family. I ran toward them, and as I approached, I heard Alyndra's voice, "There he is, it’s Ryker." As we met, I was greeted by hugs from Alyndra and Lirael. They held me tight, and as they let go, Eldrick grabbed my hand and shook it.

  They were all speaking at once and stopped when Harald approached. He just smiled and lifted his arms. We hugged briefly, and he looked me over. "I knew ye could do it, brother." I smiled and simply said, "I had a lot of help." I turned to see Elysia and the others approaching. Elysia spoke first. "These must be your friends you insisted needed our help." They all shook hands and greeted each other.

  "Well, what are ye going to do now?"

  I looked at him a bit puzzled. "I haven’t really thought about it too much. I wasn’t sure I’d survive to this point."

  Harald looked at the forest and then back to me. "I forgot to tell ye, the elves wanted to thank ye for your help."

  I just nodded, and Orin and Seris spoke up. "We’ve got a lot of people approaching from the castle."

  I turned to see hundreds of people making their way out of the castle walls and into the field next to us, looking around, talking, and pointing. One of them yelled, "That’s him, he killed the Warden, it’s another chosen."

  The group of people started cheering and then grew silent, as if waiting for me to speak. I turned to Harald. He shrugged his shoulders. "They need a new leader."

  I nodded and cleared my throat. I made my way toward them, stopping just in front of the crowd. I cleared my throat one final time and spoke as loudly as I could.

  "I am a chosen. However, I did not do this alone. I had a lot of help from the elves and from the Stormkin, whom the Warden had taught you to fear. But… though I stand here, proud of what we’ve accomplished, I will not be the one to lead you into the future. That is not my place."

  The crowd murmured in confusion.

  "My role, the role I’ve played, was to break the bonds that held you. But leading — truly leading — is something different. It’s not about power, not about glory, or even about victory. It’s about the heart of the people, about shaping a future built on unity, fairness, and justice."

  "We need someone who will guide us with wisdom, someone who knows how to listen and understand, someone who will stand for all people, not just the few. We need a leader who has always been with us, who has fought beside us, and who knows what it means to sacrifice for the greater good."

  I turned to face Harald. He looked at me, confused, and then glanced at Alyndra.

  "That is why I am choosing Harald to be your new leader. Everything I did to get here was made possible because I followed his guidance. He is the reason you are free today, and I can’t think of anyone else more qualified."

  The group chattered amongst each other for a bit and then erupted in loud applause. Harald hesitantly stepped up and raised his hands in the air, signaling for everyone to quiet down. The applause continued, and he just looked at me shaking his head. I was clapping as well along with his family and the Stormkin.

  Eventually the clapping stopped and Harald spoke. "This is a great honor and I will do my best to stay worthy of this status." The crowd cheered and then quickly made their way to Harald greeting him and shaking his hand.

  I walked back over to Elysia. "We are going to head back to Stormpeak. I was wondering if you were going to come with us. You know there is always a place for you there."

  I shook my head. "I appreciate the offer, but I cannot."

  She nodded and hugged me tightly. We embraced for a bit, and she asked, "So what will you do now?"

  The sun was setting at this point, and I looked out onto the field. The different-colored fireflies were glowing with intensity all around. I just stared for a moment before turning back to her.

  "I will travel and use my strength to be of service, wherever it’s needed most."