“That assassin isn’t here for Walden— he’s here for you!” the white-haired boy shouted.

  Aria blinked, processing those words. A dozen questions immediately raced through her mind. Just who is this white-haired boy? Why is he here? Is he even telling the truth? And if he is, how does he know this? So many questions.

  But so little time to react. The Lady of Light couldn’t dwell on her thoughts, instead snapping her gaze back down at the assassin before her. He clicked his tongue as she stared at him for a moment.

  “Tsk. Annoying brat. But it’s too late. I’ve got you now—”

  The assassin cackled as he unhinged his jaw. Aria tried to leap back, but he was already grabbing onto her forearms with his clawing hands. His mouth opened wider and wider, before distorting and twisting into itself.

  “Alina, get back!” Aria shouted as the other woman on the assassin’s back looked on in confusion.

  A crimson rift began to open up there. A portal that led somewhere else. Aria took a forceful step back, ripping herself free from the assassin’s grip and putting some distance between her and this forming hole in space.

  But Alina was too slow. She tried to back away, but only found herself suddenly floating in the air as she was pulled towards this forming rift. The assassin’s body was practically gone now, completely ripped apart to create whatever this trap was to capture Aria.

  And now, it was pulling in Alina as the Lady of Light could only watch.

  “Archmage Malik!” Aria spun around and called out to the watching Archmage of Ice.

  He nodded as he began to conjure up more ice chains, sending them to yank Alina out of the pull of the rift. But even as the Archmage of Ice pulled as hard as he could, the young Commander of the Templars was only further drawn towards the portal.

  “I can’t… whatever this spell is… its gravitational pull is too strong!” Malik exclaimed as he gritted his teeth.

  What can I do? The Lady of Light swept her gaze over her surroundings. The gathering Royal Guards could only come to a halt from a distance and watch, completely helpless in this situation. The white-haired boy pursed his lips, standing alongside them, unable to do a thing as well. There were more folks who seemed to be arriving at the scene, but none of them were capable of stopping this.

  And Aria’s gaze drifted back towards Alina. Malik continued to pull as hard as he could to get the other woman out from the rift’s radius—

  Only for the archmage’s ice chains to shatter, and for him to fly back from the momentum.

  Alina began to freefall into the rift as nothing was holding her back any longer. She screamed in terror, and Aria acted before she could even think.

  The Lady of Light dashed forward and grabbed the other woman before she could fall into the rift. With a heavy push, Aria threw Alina straight into the group of the Royal Guards. They caught her, and Aria sighed in relief, seeing the other woman safe.

  But there was no time to relax. Because, now, it was Aria herself who was caught in the radius of the rift.

  She tried to pull herself out of it. Unfortunately, even as she dug her feet into the ground, the marble rooftop of the royal palace gave way, and she was slowly dragged into the portal.

  “Just what is this—” Aria cursed as she slid her way closer and closer to the edge of the rift.

  She heard the shouting voices of those who were watching the scene unfold, but they were just as helpless as before. Only she could save herself now. But what could she even do to escape?

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  Aria desperately began to conjure up a barrier, hoping it would stop the rift from fully forming. Perhaps even contain it to save herself. However, right as her spell started to form around the edge of the rift, her eyes suddenly went wide.

  Earlier, as she peered into this forming voice, all she saw was a darkness tinted with red. But now, the image within shifted, and she saw what was truly on the other side of that rift.

  There, through the hole in space, was a familiar figure. An elderly man with pale purple skin. He had a crooked smile on his face, waiting with his starry eyes meeting her gaze.

  The Master of Fate.

  Hyperius sat there, on the other side of the portal. In the middle of a vast broken terrain. Chunks of rocks floated in the sky like flying islands, and waterfalls fell upside down. It was both day and night at the same time, but there was no moon nor sun in the sky.

  “You can’t escape your destiny,” his voice echoed all around her.

  Aria wasn’t sure if it was something she was hearing only in her head, or if those around her could hear it as well. But all she knew was that she needed to escape this trap— she couldn’t be sucked into the portal. Because what was waiting for her on the other side was…

  Death.

  And right as the thought crossed her mind, the world suddenly flashed. Aria blinked as she found herself staring up at a dome of ice overhead, masking the night sky. The portal was no longer in front of her— no longer pulling her in towards her demise.

  Instead, a familiar face greeted her, giving her a look of relief.

  “Gracious Goddess… I made it in time,” Archbishop Walden panted as he lowered his staff.

  Sitting up, Aria quickly regained her bearings. She was now behind the group of Royal Guards, a hundred or so feet away from the spinning portal in the distance. Walden must have rushed over to the fight to see what was going on, before summoning her to him when he saw the portal.

  The portal continued to spin and turn in the distance for a moment longer, before it began to twist into itself. Aria, Alina, Malik, Walden, the white-haired boy, the Royal Guards, and a few other folks who had rushed over as well just watched as the rift’s figure flickered one last time.

  And then it dissipated, vanishing into nothing.

  Leaving behind not a single trace of its existence, besides the hole on the ground where the assassin had once been.

  Seeing this, Aria could only sigh in relief as she realized she escaped Hyperius once again.

  “Thanks, Walden,” she said as she turned to the archbishop with a grateful look on her face.

  ***

  It was one of Hyperius’s puppets. But it had not been just any ordinary puppet. In that brief moment where I stared into its soul, I knew it was one of his specialized puppets.

  Those that couldn’t just be designed in a few days. Those that had the power to rival even the strongest individuals in the world. It had to have taken the Master of Fate at least a month to create this puppet. Maybe even months too.

  And that attempt at Walden’s life? The puppet had barely been trying.

  After all, if it had truly wanted to kill him, it would’ve jumped on him, continuing to attack him, regardless of the wounds it sustained. Even if it died, nothing else mattered except for accomplishing its task.

  So why would it have run if it failed its mission?

  The answer was simple: that its mission hadn’t been to kill Walden.

  That it had a different target.

  And there was only person I knew of who would have been targeted by the Master of Fate.

  So when I saw Aria giving chase to the assassin, I knew I had to intervene. I knew I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. That was why I broke away from Claudius, joining the Royal Guards of the Sanctus Empire as they tried to keep up with Aria and the assassin.

  And fortunately for me, I had arrived just in time to warn the Lady of Light of the trap that had been prepared for her. However, I had done all this instinctively, my body acting on its own, not considering the consequences of my actions.

  Because I just needed to save Aria. I couldn’t let her die.

  Not only because it would lead to Hannah being discovered, and my cover being blown. Not only because Aria would be a useful ally for me against Hyperius.

  But also because… because…

  My thoughts trailed off as I watched both Aria and Walden turn my way. The pair made their way towards me, and I looked up at them. They came to a halt right before me as I pursed my lips.

  “You,” the Lady of Light said as she met my gaze. “Just who exactly are you?”

  She questioned me as Walden also eyed me curiously. The Royal Guards turned towards me suspiciously as well, while the other powerful figures gathered here exchanged confused glances.

  “Right… about that…” I scratched the back of my head as I swept my gaze over my surroundings, seeing how I was completely surrounded and out of my depth.

  Now how am I going to talk my way out of this predicament? I wondered to myself.

  And I didn’t have an answer to that.