Putting her hand to her head, Tessa slowly came back to reality. Everything was blurry and her ears rang with a sharp, high-pitched sound droned on for a couple of seconds before fading away. Getting back on her feet, Tessa’s vision refocused and she could now see she was in the alleyway between some destroyed buildings.

What happened? I… remember the giant monster… and a bright light… Agh! My head!

Her head throbbed, pain emitting from a point on the side of it. Putting her hand to where it hurt, she felt something wet and warm. Moving it in front of her, Tessa had a bit of blood on her hand. Looking around to see what might've caused it, she saw a pile of junk, wooden boxes, and a couple loose bricks where she wast just lying down.

That makes a bit of sense… I guess?

Tessa looked around for her staff now. Thankfully, it wasn’t far from her this time. Picking it up, she noticed it was a bit chipped and covered in dirt. The symbol of Aeon in the center had a piece missing, but she found it.

Somberly, she thought, You got pretty damaged too, it seems.

Pocketing the broken piece, she was about to cast a healing spell. Then she remembered the vials at her side.

They’re probably broken, but at least that dwarf prepared me for situations like this.

To her surprise, the remaining two were still there and full. Pulling them out, she saw one had a crack running down from the top, but that was it.

What kind of glass did he use?! No. That’s not important right now, and praising him is the last thing I want to do.

Popping the top on one of them and drinking it, Tessa noticed it had a ridiculously sweet taste to it. It was almost as if someone took a handful of cherries, dumped several tons of sugar on top, and added enough water to make it into a syrup. She shivered after getting it down.

Ugh… I wonder what’s worse. That bitter medicine that gave me cat ears, or this potion that makes me think I’m swallowing a sugary slug?

Immediately, the wound on her head closed, and the pain subsided.

It’s annoying how good Torgrak is at his craft…

Now patched up, Tessa made her way towards the end of the alleyway. Peering out to see if things were still as bad as before. Unfortunately, they were. The roar of the avatar wasn’t close by, but definitely still in Crimsonvale. Tessa watched as it tore through the city. Collapsing buildings with a swipe of its hand and letting out its breath attack all over the place, reigniting already-burnt-down buildings as it wandered about.

At least it’s not over here.

Moving out into the street, Tessa saw a destroyed well. Walking over to it, she took a moment to both get a quick drink of water and clean her face. And the moment she stared into the well, she saw cuts up and down her hands and face. Dirt in her hair, with some ends frayed out. Tessa couldn’t help but give a pained laugh. It had all gone so horribly and in such a fantastically surreal way.

A short time ago, she was attending classes, doing homework, taking tests, and hanging out with her friends. But now? Her dreams have been crushed, she’s nearly died multiple times, and now she’s stranded in the middle of a dead town as a giant monster rampages in the background.

Why… Why did this all have to happen?

Then she remembered her ‘mentors’. The two that promised to make her into a Hero, yet dragged her into fighting a cult. She’d hoped they would’ve been some kind of shortcut or bypass that would allow her to get around every obstacle that stood in her path. That, maybe, she could gain some kind of unique power or something that would differentiate her from everyone else. Something that would make her special. But all she’s gotten so far is a dwarven lecture on preparation, some meditation practice, and enough cuts and bruises to last a lifetime.

Tessa splashed water on her face, silently cursing her mentors. But then something hit her.

Why did Hei jump in front of me when the monster attacked? And why did Torgrak carry Tolan all the way out of the cavern? They could have left us both to die. It would’ve been easy for them to leave unscathed. They could probably have just left us there and ran for the hills, but…! But they didn’t. Why?

It didn’t make a lick of sense to her. They could’ve let Fate close the book on her life, and yet they never let it. Taking in a deep breath, she let it go. At least for now.

Standing back up, Tessa wandered through the destroyed town. Peeking around corners and inside buildings for any signs of life, though her only companions proved to be the distant roars and some creaking wood.

Eventually, she came across the street where Hei defended her from the avatar’s breath attack. The cobblestone road was mostly gone. A tapered section of gouged earth was all that remained now. And as Tessa’s eyes followed the attacks’ path, she noticed a house at the far end with something odd inside it.

No…

Narrowing her eyes, it looked like a conveniently person-shaped outline embedded in the house's inner wall.

Don’t tell me Hei’s still alive?! Its attack literally erased the street!

Then Tessa remembered that she’s still alive. Next, she realized that her survival was because of Hei protecting her. And as much as she hated that fact, she forced herself to accept it. Furious, she grabbed her head before running towards the house. But then she heard someone else.

“Where are you, you filthy half-blooded lotus eater?!”

It was Korlos. Tessa ducked behind some buildings, hoping he didn’t see her.

He’s still alive?! Wasn’t he buried along with the body of the Archbishop?!

“Come out so I can shove my sword down your throat!”

Quietly and slowly, Tessa looked around the corner. And, unfortunately, it was Korlos. Blood fell from cuts on his face, armor shredded to pieces, and hair completely disheveled. But it was without a doubt him. Or, at least Tessa could tell because of the still-frozen chunks of ice embedded in his body.

Thankfully, he stormed off elsewhere. Limp-walking as he searched for Hei. Once Tessa couldn’t see him anymore, she resumed running for where Hei appeared to be. And knowing that Korlos was searching for him, she went in a side door.

Now inside, she saw the sorry state of the house. A collapsed staircase lead to a freshly renovated second story where you could now stargaze to your heart’s content. The kitchen was now buried under bricks, roof tiles, and some wooden planks. And in the dining room was a table set for a meal never to be eaten.

It wasn’t long before she found Hei, though. The home’s fireplace had replaced with a scorched crater, with Hei at its center. His hair was singed and covered in soot. A few streaks of blood fell down his face from his hairline. And the gilded black armor he wore had cracks and scratches all over the front. Tessa couldn’t tell what Hei’s current condition was, but it didn’t look good. And she doubted what miracles she could cast would do enough.

Then, like an icy chill on the back of her neck, she remembered all the horrible things about him.

I should turn away before he notices and leave him to rot! I should! I…! I should, but…

In the end, she deemed it too horrible to do. For as much as she hated Hei, he was the reason she was still alive right now. Taking the last potion she had on hand, she removed the top and splashed it over Hei. Secretly hoping he’d be unconscious as she helped him.

To Tessa’s dismay, he woke up.

Hei chuckled painfully, “Well. You sure took your sweet time getting here.”

Tessa asked, “Why did you save me?”

“Hm? Oh, that. Why? Not satisfied with me doing a good deed?”

Tessa grit her teeth. It took everything Tessa had to keep herself from slapping Hei right now.

“After everything I’ve seen and experienced, you and Torgrak don’t do ‘good deeds’.”

“Careful now, child. You don’t want your tongue to get too sharp, or you might end up saying something you don’t mean. But fair enough, I’ll tell you why.”

Hei looked Tessa in the eyes.

“It’s my job as your mentor. Torgrak and I are to protect you so long as you’re under our apprentice.”

Liar! You must have some other reason!

“And what of Torgrak? Is he also ‘protecting’ me?”

“In his own way, yes. Or do you think he would give something so potent to just anyone?”

Why do you have to be so infuriatingly confusing?! You gave me straight answers when you were training me, but you can’t now?!

Tessa’s hands scrambled through her hair. Questions filling her head as she tried to make sense of Hei and Torgrak, but couldn’t come up with something to ask that would give her a straight answer.

Fine! If Hei and Torgrak are so dedicated to protecting me, I’ll get my answers eventually.

Giving up for now, she huffed.

Hopefully…

Hei chuckled.

Tessa looked down at Hei as her contempt for him grew.

“Something funny about my suffering?”

“No, no, nothing like that.”

“Then what is it?”

“Just finding it funny that, for as much as you want to, you can’t bring yourself to leave me here to die.”

How does he always see through me?!

Tessa turned away from him, hoping any surface thoughts wouldn’t show on her face.

“Got any evidence to back up your claim?”

“Just some observations. First, you’re too nice for your own good, and not knowing why Torgrak and I are protecting you is eating away at you. You want answers, and me saving you earlier makes it all the more confusing. Also, when you awoke in the infirmary, the first thing you asked about was your new friends’ wellbeing. Which tells me you can’t help but care about those you make connections with.”

“How did you learn about that?”

“Clarice can get a bit loose lipped with some good wine, but let’s keep me from kissing and telling. Alright?”

Tessa shivered in disgust as his words slithered into her ears.

You are insufferable!

“And what of your other ‘observations’?”

Hei scoffed, “Second is that you’re a follower of Aeon, and that avatar of Nencog is looking for you. It can smell that you follow one of the Good Six, but it’s having trouble finding you because of all the dead souls in the area. But give it enough time and I’ll be on your trail.”

Is that true? I bet he’s bluffing… but I don’t know anything that can contradict him.

“And my third observation is that Korlos is alive and looking for me. And if he finds you, he’ll kill you.”

“Why would he go after me?”

“I killed his Archbishop, and he knows you’re associated with me. Especially after I got you out of that area underneath the cathedral. To him, you’re someone I have a positive relationship with. Which means he’ll either use you to get to me, or kill you outright just to get even.”

“So I’m stuck with no way out of this town that doesn’t result in me getting killed?!”

Hei turned coy.

“Not exactly.”

“Don’t feel like telling me?”

“You make it sound like I’m hiding the solution from you. You already know the answer to your problem, but you don’t want to resort to it.”

“Would you stop being so cryptic?!”

Hei rolled his eyes.

“Alright, alright. But first, how did Korlos look? Assuming you saw him, that is.”

Tessa sighed, “His armor looked beaten up and the damage he took from Torgrak was still there. He was limping about, but in good enough shape to kill me without a second thought.”

“How interesting…”

“What is?”

“Nothing. I was just talking to myself there. Anyway, that’s all I needed to know to make sure you win.”

“You want me to kill him?!”

Hei laughed, “No, no, no! You don’t have the strength to kill him, let alone the resolve! We’re going to do something else.”

“That is…?”

Hei smirked, “I’ll tell you, but first you have to trust me.”

Tessa’s anger immediately flared up at hearing Hei say ‘trust’.

“I should ‘trust you’?! After everything that’s happened, trusting you is the thing farthest from my mind!”

“That’s fair. But let me remind you. You can either trust me and we both live, or not and we both die. Your choice.”

Tessa growled, “Fine!”

Hei smiled, “Congratulations! You’ve made the correct choice!”

“So, what do you need me to do? And remember, I won’t kill him.”

“I haven’t forgotten. First, grab my shield. It’s over in the corner.”

Hei roughly gestured with his left hand at the general area where it was. Cautiously, Tessa approached where he pointed to and found it. Holding it in her hands, she noticed it was barely more than scrap metal at this point. The handle was missing and entire chunks of the shield were gone.

Tessa asked, “Is this even useful?”

Hei laughed, “Obviously not! But if that trigger-happy dwarf taught you about his favorite pastime, you probably know of some way to use it.”

Looking back at the piece of black scrap metal, she thought for a moment before something came to mind. Though now there was another issue.

If only I had some of that ink he used…

Hei called out to her.

“Catch this!”

Tessa turned and noticed a small pot of something being tossed at her. Catching it, it was a satchel filled with stuff. Opening it, she noticed it was an assortment of plants, metals, and other things. Along with three vials of red ink and a quill.

This is…

Hei clarified, “Torgrak forgot to put that on you when he was making his preparations back at the inn.”

“I guess even you two make mistakes.”

With what she needed now at her disposal, she went over to the dining room table. Seeing it as the only usable and flat surface, she apologized to whatever family used to live here.

Sorry…

Using one arm, she pushed everything to the floor and began planning out what she could do.

Let’s see… Hei’s shield is too banged up to use, but I think I can use its metal to reinforce something.

Popping her head out the side door she came in, Tessa quickly looked around for something that had a shield-like shape. It took a bit of digging through piles of trash and rubble, but she came across a tavern ripped away from where it belonged. The sign was similar in shape to a heater shield, and would probably do a good enough job after Tessa used a bit of alchemy.

Now to find a means of holding it…

Scrounging around a bit more, she found some thin, braided rope used in packaging.

It’s not perfect, but it’ll work.

Having found what she needed, Tessa ran back to the house and began. First, she put the sign down and used the rope to strap it to her arm for a moment. Once that was done, she pulled her arm out and took out the quill, ink, and a piece of paper.

Hopefully this works the way I think it does…

Mimicking what she saw Torgrak do, she drew a circle on Hei’s shield, a triangle on her makeshift one, and a square on the paper. Pulling her hands away, she waited for things to work.

C’mon, c’mon! Please work…!

As expected, the ink moved and changed, but sunk into the objects Tessa had painted the symbols on.

I… guess that means it worked.

Then she piled the objects on top of the paper with a square. Thankfully, this time it acted much more similar to what she saw. The metal of Hei’s shield melted and dragged itself over the one she made from wood and rope. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough material to coat the entire thing. But it did cover the entire front side. Tessa’s new shield wouldn’t last very long, but it could at least take one hit for her.

Well, better than I expected for my first try. And I’ll admit it, it was kind of cool.

Tessa cursed Torgrak for showing her something so interesting in her mind, but quickly remembered what she was doing and put her new shield on. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing, and she swore she’d just gotten a splinter, but it worked.

Going back over to Hei, she showed him her creation.

“Alright. I made use of your old shield, what next?”

“Heh. Torgrak would be proud of you, child.”

Tessa suppressed it, but she was genuinely happy and flattered to be praised. Her face blushed lightly, but made a fist and covered her mouth with it. Hoping Hei wouldn’t notice.

“Can we focus on the matter at hand?”

“Very well. Do you remember what I taught you about vision?”

“Yes, but how is that going to… Never mind, I’ll be right back.”

Hei teased, “Use a cloth so you don’t cut yourself.”

Going back to the table, she looked for the things she threw on the ground and found a cloth napkin. Shaking it up and down for a moment, Tessa then went over to one of the home’s windows. Looking below it, she saw a mix of dirt, broken glass, and tiny bits of rock. Using the napkin, she gathered the smallest bits of the mix into her napkin and lightly packaged it into something she could throw that would burst open on impact. It was crude, but would definitely work.

Why is it the most practical skills I’ve learned so far are from two deranged lunatics with too much power and time on their hands?

Going back to Hei, she wondered what was next.

“Okay. I’ve got that prepared for. What now?”

“Now you need to figure out your plan of attack. That, and I think Korlos spotted me. I can see him down the way and limping in our direction.”

“WHAT?!”

“Keep your voice down, child. You don’t want him knowing you’re here.”

“Ah. Yes. Sorry about that.”

Hei narrowed his eyes before relaxing.

“Alright, doesn’t seem he heard you. So you’ve got some time.”

Tessa began panicking, but kept her voice down this time.

“But… where should I hide?! I’ve never done anything like this before!”

“That’s for you to figure out. But I’ll give you some advice. Since he’ll be focused on me, you can predict where he’ll be looking. With that in mind, hide outside of his field of vision.”

“And what about timing my attack?!”

“That’s for you to figure out. I can’t tell you everything.”

Tessa looked around her, trying to figure out some place to hide.

Hei chuckled, “May want to hurry. He can definitely see me now.”

She looked around, trying to find the perfect hiding place. Then noticed a wooden cabinet in the dining room. It wasn’t very tall, but she could hide behind it while maintaining vision on the front entrance. Quickly, she crouched down behind it and waited for Korlos to appear.

Moments of silence passed, and Tessa wondered if Korlos was even there. Then she heard his footsteps. One of his legs was still walking normally, but the other was being dragged along. And soon enough, he was just outside the front entrance.

“Finally found you,” stated Korlos.

His words dripping with hatred.

Hei joked, “You certainly took your time, didn’t you? So, what now? Shall I sing some tunes to quell your anger? Or maybe you’re a gambling man. I’m always up for a round of cards. Though I can’t hold a hand right now, so guess I all I could do is fold.”

Tessa nervously sweat as the two talked. Waiting for Korlos to take a couple of steps closer.

Korlos humored Hei for a moment.

“If not for you killing his Holiness, I might actually be in the mood for a joke or two.”

“Juvi did always have that effect on people. How sad that he’s gone now. I’m going to miss him.”

Tessa’s heartbeat began pounding in her head. She feared Korlos would hear it. How she hoped Korlos would just take a step closer and make the floorboards creak.

“Yes, it is quite sad. But thankfully, he gave me the chance to get vengeance in his place. I’ll make sure to take my time carving you up.”

“I prefer filleting, myself. But to each their own.”

Then it happened. Korlos walked into the house, the floorboards creaking loudly under his weight. Carefully looking around the cabinet, Tessa watched and waited for the best moment to strike.

Korlos put the tip of his sword at Hei’s chin.

“Any last prayers? I can at least listen to them before you die.”

“Let me think… Maybe I’ll miss my one-night stands, or that I won’t be able to drink another glass of my favorite strawberry champagne.”

Hei paused, his smile going wide.

“Or maybe it’ll be your shocked face when you die.”

Korlos grit his teeth and gripped his sword with both hands. And just as he was about to thrust it through Hei’s heart, Tessa called out.

“Hey! Over here!”

Korlos turned his attention to her.

“What?!”

Tessa threw the bag of dirt, dust, and glass at Korlos’s face. Hitting it square on and covering his eyes in the mixture. It was immediately effective as Korlos dropped his sword and put his hands up to his face. Trying to clear his eyes as he cried in pain.

“DAMMIT!!! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”

Not letting the chance get away, Tessa attacked.

“Sanct bel Sacred Light!”

A spear of light appeared before Tessa and she shot it straight at Korlos’s left shoulder. It hit, shredding whatever armor and cloth was there before piercing it and leaving a fairly large hole for the small projectile.

“Where are you?! Show yourself!”

Korlos still couldn’t see. His eyes tearing up, but it hurt ridiculously whenever he tried to blink away what was in his eyes.

Tessa pressed her advantage and attacked again.

“Sanct bel Sacred Light!”

Another spear of light shot itself into Korlos’s body, this time hitting one of the chunks of ice in his body. To Tessa’s surprise, it was enough to force the one in his lower abdomen the rest of the way through and out the back. It wasn’t a fatal wound, but definitely debilitating.

However, Tessa’s window for a surprise attack was up. And now, having regained enough vision, Korlos picked up his sword and charged at Tessa.

“Don’t get in my way!”

Korlos raised his sword and swung at Tessa. She tried to dodge, but tripped on one of the dishes she pushed to the ground and Korlos cut down her chest. Tessa cried in pain, but the adrenaline of the fight kept her standing for the moment. Holding up her staff, she attacked again.

“Sanct ard Radiant Light!”

A bright and burning light emanated from Tessa, lightly singing the floor and walls, but Korlos dodges back enough to avoid it. Seeing an opening, Korlos went in for a finishing blow. This time, however, Tessa blocked it with her shield. Upon impact, the shield worked, but broke at the same time. The thin bindings and flimsy construction shattering upon impact and falling to the ground. Yet it was enough for Tessa to attack again.

“Sanct bel Sacred Light!”

She fired another spear at Korlos, piercing his right arm and disabling it for the moment. But he still wasn’t done. With his left hand, Korlos pulled a dagger out from the back of his belt and ran at her. Raising his hand and stabbing downward. Tessa tried to block, but it wasn’t enough and the blade sunk into her chest. With a gasp, she fell to the ground. Critically wounded with a hole in her chainmail.

Korlos stood over her body, panting and bleeding. Tessa looked up at him, vision blurring from the corners of her eyes.

“At least that’s one less to hunt down.”

Korlos turned around and put his sword in his left hand, dragging himself over to Hei.

Dammit! Why?! Why can’t I win for once? I’ve tried my hardest, so let me be the hero of my own story!

Tessa channeled every last bit of power she had and began casting a spell before her body gave out. And while she wasn’t used to the spell she was casting, it was something she remembered one of her professors casting.

Please! Make this one count! Alsanct bel Holy Flame!

However, the spell she cast in her head differed from the one she cast out loud.

Tessa chanted, “Begrym bel Force Blast!”

Korlos began to turn around, surprised Tessa was still kicking, when a bolt of force energy smashed into his back.

“What the?!”

It was enough, and he collapsed. His armor loudly crumpling with him. But Tessa barely had the time to celebrate as her conscious faded.

“I… I won. This time, I… won…”

And as Tessa fainted, Hei pulled himself from the wall and smirked. He stood up and groaned while his joints popped.

Hei joked, “If I kept in that position any longer, I might have become some farmer’s scarecrow.”

With his body now stretched and functioning as it did before, Hei drew forth his sword and stood over Korlos’s body. Kicking it, Korlos flinched but was out like a light.

“I’m not one for kill stealing, but I can’t have you coming back in the future.”

With a quick stab to the back, Hei finished Korlos off. The final cultist’s body fading to dust as he put his sword back in its pocket dimension and walked over to student’s unconscious body.

“You finally did it, Tessa. You won. Now to get you back to Torgrak before you bleed out.”