“The light will come soon, my brother.

And darkness shall be slain.

It will be a long fight,

that will take more than a night.

But fear not!

For light makes darkness shiver.

So before you say another word

I will pull an arrow out of my quiver.

I will shoot towards the enemy with no remorse or fear,

For they have abandoned humanity and we shall domineer.”

Trip’s eyes were cold and intense as he recited the poem.

Mabel watched from a couple metres away. She looked at Trip fearfully. Somehow the second he had begun reciting the poem the entire atmosphere had gotten colder. However, her heart beat uncontrollably at the intensity of the poem.

In an attempt to break the cold she spoke.

“Where did you learn that poem?” She asked.

Trip looked at her, his eyes remaining cold and intense.

“It was the poem the Levis family recited as they wiped out a branch of dark magic users.” Trip said “Apparently the dark magic users had captured several members of the Levis family and had been torturing them for information.”

Mabel gulped at how dark the story was.

“The poem was created by my grandfather.” Trip continued “My Uncle told me that his heart flooded with determination whenever he heard the poem.”

Mabel connected the dots.

“Do you think we’ll have to fight anyone?” She asked.

However, Trip did not need to respond. She knew the answer to that question, she just hoped that Trip was strong enough to rescue Alex.

Trip turned and faced Emer.

“I’m going to need you to stay here when we enter the capital.” He said.

Mabel jumped up in protest.

“Absolutely not! Can’t you see how powerful he is!” She shouted “He could help us!”

Trip smiled lightly. However, his eyes showed annoyance.

“Interesting, a professional assassin with no concept of stealth.” He said “Maybe I would like to remind you that while we will not go by unnoticed, it would not help if we had a massive snake with us!”

Trip’s voice was full of anger towards the end of the sentence.

Mabel looked down on the ground. His cold words had pierced her like ice picks, and worst of all: she could not retaliate.

‘Stay calm! Stay calm!’ She told herself.

She knew if she annoyed Trip any more now then he would send her on her way. She tried her best to understand his situation, he was probably incredibly stressed about only having a week’s time limit to save his best friend. She knew as well as anyone that if something went wrong everything would fall apart.

“When do we leave?” Mabel asked after calming down.

“At nightfall.” Trip replied.

Mabel nodded.

She lied down on the floor and closed her eyes.

‘I have 3 hours of sleep… That should be able to get me to peak condition.’ She thought.

The time passed quickly, and so did the setting of the sun. The night had already come.

A warm hand touched Mabel’s shoulder.

“Alex…” She mumbled in her sleep.

Her eyes opened, but rather than Alex she was greeted by the numbing eyes of Trip.

“Wake up.” He said.

She reluctantly stood up.

“Were you watching me sleep?” She teased Trip.

He didn’t react.

“You say that as if you wanted me to.” He said as he walked towards the capital.

Her face got bright red with anger.

“Idiot.” She mumbled under her breath as she ran to catch up to him.

They ran until they reached the outside wall of the capital.

“Well, we’re lucky they’re not expecting us.” Trip said.

He looked up at the city wall and saw that the guards were asleep.

Mabel had told him previously that they documented all people entering and leaving the city. Trip preferred to enter with no difficulties, and he wasn’t in the mood to explain why he didn’t have any documents.

Luckily, the guards did not pose any threat and they quickly entered the city, completely unnoticed.

So far Trip hadn’t been particularly impressed by the capital. The walls were not high, and the guards obviously amateurs. Getting in had been simple. However, when he entered the city his initial impression changed.

There was so much light, almost as if it was daytime. There were lanterns everywhere, lighting up the bustling crowd. There were people drinking, laughing, and playing games. Trip smiled at the sight, he was almost tempted to go and join in with the fun.

However, before any of those thoughts took fruition, he felt a leer come from behind him.

“You do know that’s the red lights district, right?” Mabel asked, unimpressed by Trip’s infatuation.

Trip looked at her, confused, he asked “What is a red lights district.”

Mabel couldn’t be bothered explaining she grabbed him by the ear and dragged him into an alley.

“Is this the way to the headquarters?” Trip asked.

“See those signs.” Mabel said as she pointed to a sign on the wall.

Trip looked at the sign intently. It was an M with a Y merged into it.

“What does it mean?” Trip asked, curiously.

“It is one of the symbols Daethia uses.” She said “The Y and M represent what the victim asks before they die.”

“What do they normally say before they die?” Trip asked.

Mabel walked over and pushed her hand against the imprint. A twisted smile appeared on her face.

“They say: Why me?” She said “Isn’t it funny. It’s as if they don’t even recognised their own sins before they die.”

Trip looked at her, somehow she seemed a lot more dangerous than normal when she looked like this. He had figured she must have a strange and horrible past. Why else would such a young child join an assassin organisation?

Mabel’s twisted smile faded.

“Trip, can you figure out exactly where Alex is?” She asked “I’d prefer to not go through the headquarters.”

She knew they wouldn’t just be able to waltz into the headquarters of Daethia, and she had seen some of his light magic before, so she thought that he might be able to find his exact location.

Trip smiled.

“We’re so close.” He said “I can already feel his soul.”

Trip guided Mabel a couple hundred meters to an even darker alleway. Then he stopped.

“Here we are.” He said.

“What do you mean?” Mabel asked.

She could only see the corners of a dark alleyway.

“He’s underground.” Trip said.

Mabel nodded in understanding.

“So, how are we going to get down there?” She asked.

“We can’t.” Trip said.

Mabel started getting a little bit annoyed.

“What do you mean?” She asked, trying her best not to reveal any anger.

“But we can go through here.” He said.

Immediately after he said that he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. Suddenly, his eyes opened, they seemed even more blue than normal.

Mabel blushed a bit as he looked at her.

“Hand me that.” He said while pointing at the water satchel she was holding.

She threw it to him.

He emptied the water onto a large metal plate stuck to the dark alleyway wall. While the metal plate was still covered with water Trip snapped his fingers. All the water immediately turned into ice.

Mabel was impressed, but she didn’t show any emotion. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

Trip suddenly snapped his fingers again. The metal plate covered with ice shattered into hundreds of pieces. Behind the plate there was a small tunnel.

Trip entered, and signaled for the shocked Mabel to follow him.

“You just that did that to show off, didn’t you?” She asked.

Trip laughed a bit.

“Maybe.” He said mysteriously.

Mabel was slightly surprised by the change in behaviour. Just a couple hours ago Trip had been intense and cold, but now he was laughing and even teasing her. She wondered what was going on inside his head.

In reality Trip was just getting more and more excited. In his mind he would grab Alex, maybe fight a few people, and then he’d be out of there. Then he could finally speak with his friend. It was something he was very excited for. He just hoped it wouldn’t be too much trouble fetching Alex.

The tunnel got darker and darker, but Trip used a bit of light to illuminate everything.

The tunnel eventually merged with what appeared to be an even larger tunnel, however, this one at least looked professionally built.

“This seems like the dungeon.” Mabel said.

“They put Alex in a dungeon!?” Trip exclaimed in shock “He’s not that dangerous.”

Mabel smiled.

“Maybe not compared to you, but to us… he is amongst the strongest in the younger generation.” Mabel explained.

They traversed their way through countless turns and stairs. It was dark, and there were no lanterns or torches on the walls. However, Trip could feel they were getting closer, and his heart began to beat faster and faster. Suddenly, he felt something. He felt as if he was being pulled forward. He looked at his chest and saw a light shining through his clothing. He was perplexed by what was happening, but the light seemed to pull him towards Alex at an even faster pace.

Mabel struggled to just keep up.

“Trip!” She shouted “Slow down!”

However, it was not necessary. They had reached Alex.

Trip stood faced in front of a large metal gate. It was at least 5 metres tall and 4 metres wide. Trip looked tiny in comparison to the large gate. However, that did not stop his entry.

In one movement he used shot light and water at the gate, decimating it completely. He jumped into the room, followed by a sweating and exhausted Mabel.

The second Trip and Mabel had entered the room they felt heat. It was unbearably hot. A bunch of torches suddenly lit up. It revealed the room in its entirety.

The room was absolutely massive. In very centre sat a charred teenager. His hair was black and his eyes green. His eyes were dull and unresponsive, but his face still looked incredibly guilty. He wore no clothes other than some undergarments. It was Alex.

Trip’s heart filled with pain as when he saw his best friend in such a state. However, he knew he could not rush over recklessly. There had to be some sort of trap, otherwise Alex would have already escaped.

A woman suddenly appeared out of a dark spot in the room. She smiled seductively at Trip.

“Are you the friend I’ve heard so much about over the last couple days?” She asked.

“Boss!” Mabel screamed in shock “Why are you here?”

“I’m his prison guard.” She said.

Mabel could only look confused. What reaction could she have? Her boss was the only one who cared about her before Alex came. Why on earth was she his guard

The Boss smiled at Mabel.

“Look, Mabel.” She said “Alex will be fine, he got out of hand and he’s getting what he deserves.”

Trip looked at the seductive woman standing by Alex.

“I don’t care what your reasoning is, but I suggest you move out of the way.” He said.

His voice was cold and emotionless. His eyes shone with intent to kill. He would not let her block his way.

“Ooh, those eyes could kill.” She said “Unfortunately, if you want to take Alex then you’re going to have to come and get him.”

A smirk appeared on Trip’s face.

“Well then.” He said as he threw off his top layer of clothing “It looks like someone overestimated their own ability.”

She frowned.

“Typical child.” She said “It seems that you do not understand that you are out of your depth here.”

Trip’s face revealed a twisted smile. His teeth bared as he whole-heartedly laughed.

“Say that to me again…” He began “When you are lying on the floor. When all your bones are broken. When your entire soul has been destroyed and decimated. Only then will you understand that you are out of your depth.”

Slight worry appeared on her face.

“Do not worry brother. For the light has come.”