Ragna’s hand reached for her seax when her tail grew out of her and parried Clockwork’s knife.

“You should pay attention.” Clockwork flipped his knife and drew an arc.

Ragna jumped back outside the blade’s reach. Skyfrost drew another dagger and slammed the blade at Ragna’s face. Ragna activated her gravity manipulator. She double jumped and Skyfrost hit the air.

But while Ragna levitated in the sky, the music intensified. The organ slowed down, the artificial tunes sped up, and tears ripped apart the atmosphere as it experienced the contradiction.

Ragna clutched her fingers against her temple and plummeted to the ground. Music boomed in her ears, penetrating her brain.

Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.

It drilled and drilled and drilled through every lobe and every nerve. Up and down merged; left and right switched. What was in front and what was behind distanced themselves both further from her. Her eyes burned; her throat dried up.

Ragna screamed, and in front of her, Clockwork’s figure distorted. He lost his attributes, transforming into a white shadow that towered over her. His head lacked features besides a black grin and his top hat.

Fire spread across the sky, and crosses shot into the ground. Imitations of herself hung from them. As the blood drooped to the ground, they started to sing.

Words slithered out of Clockwork’s mouth, but Ragna couldn’t comprehend their meaning. He crept toward her, reflecting the tip of the knife in her eye.

“Nightmare requiem.” A voice appeared, the music stopped, and her pain vanished.

Ragna breathed repeatedly. Her body was trembling as it remembered the sensation. She managed to get on her knees and look up. The streets and the sky had returned to normal. The distortions were gone; Clockwork had returned to his human appearance, and next to her stood Jareth.

“Are you okay?” His mask was shimmering like a rainbow, and he offered her his hand.

“Thank you.” Ragna took it, and swinging his arm, Jareth shot Ragna in the air.

Ragna shrieked as she landed in Jareth’s arm. He rotated in a half-circle, and icicles swooshed past her.

“Who the fuck are you?” Skyfrost growled.

“And what did you do to my Fylgja?” Clockwork joined Skyfrost. Both had drawn out their weapons and pointed them at Jareth.

“I apologize for my drastic actions.” He lowered his arms, allowing Ragna to jump down. “I believe this was a misconduct in proper behavior.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Ragna blushed. “But next time, warn me, please.”

“I figured out that the time needed to warn you would have allowed the enemy to strike. That would be counterproductive to my attempt to save your life. Perhaps next time, we should ask the enemy to slow down their attempts to kill us, so we have the appropriate time for banter.”

Ragna tilted her head.

Was Jareth sincere or using sarcasm?

“Speaking of which.” His mask faced Skyfrost and Clockwork. “I wish to thank you for giving us said opportunity, though I believe this is merely due to the fact that you tried to analyze me.”

“Great.” Skyfrost groaned. “Another weirdo.”

“So, let me answer your questions. One.” He raised his index finger. “My name is Jareth Stardust. I could go with many kennings. But right now, you can call me Ragna Griffin’s sidekick. Two.” He raised another finger. “I didn’t do anything to your Fylgja. I merely resynchronized your minds with the reality of this realm.”

“What the…?” Clockwork narrowed his eyes. “Do you speak human?”

“I hope so.” Jareth’s face turned back to Ragna. “Grendel is currently occupied in personal business. He won’t be able to help us, I’m afraid. Just based on my observations, I think my abilities are more suited to fight the man with the top hat.”

“Sounds good to me.” Ragna grinned and looked at Skyfrost.

“So, what? You’ve gotten some allies, and now you think you’re a big shot?” Skyfrost blew their nose and chuckled. “Don’t get cocky and forget where you belong.” Their voice dropped several octaves, and their eyes glared their poison at her. “You’re just a weak girl who couldn’t get anywhere without riding Drake’s dick.”

“You’re right. I’m weak.” Ragna took a deep breath and activated her Fylgja. Scale armor covered her arms like opera gloves and formed a corset on her chest. Out of her body, wings and a tail grew. The gravity manipulator’s light raced over her skin. “But I don’t need to be strong to beat you.”

Before Skyfrost could react, Ragna had grabbed their head. She jetted into the sky and slammed her opponent against the nearest building’s wall. Skyfrost’s face chaffed across the façade until Ragna couldn’t hold them anymore.

She released the Vice-captain from her hold and removed her claws. Skyfrost dropped to the ground.

A pillar of ice manifested and caught Skyfrost. It ascended until further until they faced Ragna eye-to-eye. An obsidian metal covered their head, and seconds later, their face reformed to their original form.

“You got a Fylgja?” Skyfrost fletched their teeth.

In response, Ragna grinned. “Its name is “Nibelungenlied Völsungsaga”. The name’s a handful, but I like it.”

Ragna beat her wings and flew away.

“Don’t think you can escape me.” The ice from the pillar extended, creating a ramp on which Skyfrost jumped. It continued to grow, and the Fehu rune on Skyfrost’s ear jewelry flickered. Their feet skied over the ice, pursuing Ragna.

Ragna turned her head, reached for her phone, and scrolled down her contact list.

More enemies might be lurking if Skyfrost had teamed up with Clockwork. She had to warn her friends.

֎

Jareth crossed his arms.

What should he use to defeat this man? He had yet to test most of his arsenal. Come to think of it. He knew neither the identity nor the reason for his enmity with Ragna Griffin.

“Can you answer me these questions three?” Jareth raised his fingers.

“What?” The man narrowed his eyes and clutched his knife.

“I’m asking these questions. What is your name?”

The man sighed. “Fine. I’m Cyrus Clockwork, maestro of the Clockwork Coterie.”

“Nice to meet you, Cyrus Clockwork. I’m Jareth Stardust. What is your quest?”

“To kill Ragna Griffin. Isn’t that obvious? What are you going to ask next? What my favorite color is?”

“Why do you wish to kill her?”

“To avenge my friends’ death and to quell my pain until the flames of vengeance turn my soul to ashes.”

Jareth tilted his head.

So, revenge motivated Cyrus Clockwork. He could understand him, and perhaps he was right to seek it. But he had yet to hear both sides of the events, and his loyalty lay with Ragna Griffin. Unless she came in conflict with those he already had pledged his oath to, he would follow her to the end of the world.

“So, if I understood this correctly. You two saw Ragna fight in the arena and ambushed her here because you knew she would exchange currencies.”

“More or less.” Cyrus clicked his tongue. “I wanted to see the fight, but Skyfrost insisted on preparing for the ambush. And thanks to that, we failed. It’s bad enough that I’ve to team up with Skyfrost. And now this brat has new allies.” He pressed his hand against his face and sighed. “Well, whatever. I abandoned my dream of a utopia of the weak when I decided to kill Ragna Griffin. Let’s see if you can dispel my Orchestra if you’re caught in it.”

The sound of an organ thundered. Slowly played the tunes of the instrument, piping to each stanza with every second, and to them, the buildings started to distort. Their edges’ lines bent to curves like snakes as if they were dancing. It boomed. The organ’s music exploded in volume; the sky’s colors mixed and merged until one couldn’t distinguish them anymore.

Cyrus laughed. “You should try to escape, or you’ll go mad.”

“I’ve to say this is a formidable ability. It distorts the borders of the conscious and subconscious, dream and reality. I can assure you that I won’t go mad. After all, I am perfectly sane, which is why I won’t have to hold back.” Tears drew through Jareth’s mask. It crumbled to dust, and Clockwork’s eyes widened.

“Wh…What are you?”