“You didn’t actually believe I was dead, did you?” Oktai guffawed, getting onto his feet. “You would be so lucky.”

“And you would be so unlucky,” I said. “You won’t get off as easy this time.”

“Easy?” Oktai shook his head. “I opened a portal to the Spirit Realm inside my body. Not easy. It took me years to learn what I needed.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “And I’m not about to let some arrogant upstart stomp on my plans.”

I tried to dash for Oktai, but my body felt too heavy for the movement. I shifted forward more like I’d been pushed than taken a step.

“Oh that?” Oktai raised his arms. “I would say you’ll get used to it, but when I’m done with you, you won’t have the chance to.”

A misting screeched from inside the mist. Oktai grinned. Another misting screeched. Another. Another. They screeched in unison, like a flock of birds whistling together. The first misting came running from the mist, and a second came hot on its heels. I got my guard up, but they weren’t running at me.

They were running at Oktai.

“You thought these were just mindless beasts, bent on attacking you?” Oktai said. “I am their mind.”

Mistings emerged from the mist, like dogs returning at their master’s call. Hundreds of them brushed past me and leapt at Oktai. They piled on top of him and the mound swirled together into one black mass. The mound burst with a whoosh of black fire and sunk down – into Oktai. His flesh crawled. He clenched his fists and his skin ignited with black fire. It seemed more alive this time.

He grinned. “And I am the mist.” He raised a hand and clenched his fist. It felt like gravity suddenly got stronger. The ground cracked beneath me. I fell to a knee, gritting my teeth.

“But I’m merciful.” Oktai strode towards me. “I’ll spare you… if you give her to me.”

I craned my neck up to look at him. It felt like fighting a hand that pressed my head down. “Khulan… stays… with—”

“Khulan?” Oktai shook his head. “Your witch. Your sorceress. The Seer of the Split-Skull Forest.”

“Give her to… you?”

Oktai nodded. “Or I could squash you like a grape and go find her, but I—”

“You need me.” I smiled.

He clenched his fist again. I spat blood.

“This mist is bound to my blood, my will,” he said. “But it’s unstable. It has to be contained, controlled. I have to control it, but I don’t have a container. I destroyed most of my body to gain control over the mist. She’s going to fix it.”

“And then you’ll walk off into the sunset and spend the rest of your days living off the land?”

“I’ll spend the rest of my days in my rightful place.” Oktai stepped forward. “On the throne of this realm.”

“Unfortunately…” I looked up at him, grinning. “That’s my seat.”

He scowled and raised his hand, but hesitated. “You insufferable—”

I breathed and dug deep. The ground split beneath me. I lifted my hand against the force of Oktai holding me down. My arm shuddered, my muscles stretched to their limits. I lifted my other leg and Oktai took a step back. I pushed and got my back up straight.

“That’s… not possible…” he muttered.

“That’s why you don’t belong on the throne of this realm,” I said. “You pay too much attention to what’s possible.”

Oktai clenched his fist over and over. I felt it weigh heavy on my shoulders, but I resisted, setting my will against Oktai’s. He scowled and held out a hand. Mist streamed into the shape of a black sword, its blade gleaming like obsidian and diamond.

“Fine,” Oktai said. “Old fashioned way.”

We dashed for one another at the same time. He swung his blade, but this was my arena. I’d spent years learning swordplay. He hacked and slashed like a novice. He struck left, I slipped right; he struck right, I darted left and punched his ribs.

He raised the blade over his head and brought it down. I grabbed his wrists mid-swing and kicked his chest. He flew back ten feet.

“You should have stuck with those spheres,” I said.

“Who said I didn’t?” Mist streamed around him, condensing into three spheres behind him. They fired at me as soon as they were ready.

I dove and rolled to avoid the first. The second streamed over my shoulder, burning my ear as it did. The third came for my chest, but I caught it with both my hands.

“You’re not… the only one who’s empowered by the mist,” I growled.

“What are you—”

The sphere shivered between my fingers, like I was holding a beehive. I squeezed it, condensing it further. I smiled at Oktai, and threw.

My sphere was smaller, so it shot through the air like an arrow. Mist leaked from it as it sped at Oktai’s chest. He froze and it could him in the chest. He flew back, tearing through a tree and crashing into house. Bricks fell onto him. Plates shattered. Everything went silent.

Bricks shifted. Oktai stumbled out the house.

He dashed for me, but I was ready. He led with his blade. I ducked, but he was getting better; he followed through with a low strike. I jabbed his wrist and drove his blow off course. He—

“My lord!” Eeluk raced towards me. His uniform was splattered with other people’s blood. He clung to a broken sword.

Oktai went for Eeluk. I kicked Oktai’s thigh, but it wasn’t enough to stop him. Eeluk put up a shaky guard. His broken sword quivered in his two-handed grip.

I chased Oktai, but he got to Eeluk first. Oktai batted away Eeluk’s sword and slipped behind me, holding his black blade over Eeluk’s throat.

“My lord…”

“Isn’t that just precious?” Oktai said. “He’s pining for you, like a puppy.”

I darted, but Oktai dug the edge of the blade into Eeluk’s throat, drawing blood.

“Don’t. Move.” Oktai put his arm around Eeluk’s shoulders.

“My lord, I was coming to your aide…”

“I know, Eeluk,” I said. “I’ll get you out of this.”

“There’s only one way you’ll get my blade off his throat,” Oktai said. “Take me to the seer.”

“That’s another reason you won’t ever sit on the throne.” I inched forward. I made eye contact with Eeluk. “You only ever see one way to solve a problem.” I nodded at Eeluk slightly, and Eeluk nodded back. Oktai didn’t notice. “And you always work alone.”

I ran at Oktai. He moved to cut Eeluk’s throat, but Eeluk elbowed him in the gut. Eeluk threw his head back into Oktai’s nose. I slid through the dirt and got to them as Eeluk slipped out from Oktai’s blade. I slammed my fist into Oktai’s skull and he dropped the black blade. My next blow sent him flying back.

“Eeluk, get out of here,” I said. “I’ll handle this.”

Eeluk knew better than to argue with me. He nodded and ran off.

Mist spun around Oktai, lifting him up from the ground. He wiped the blood from his broken nose. I didn’t let up, but neither did he. He swiped mist at me. It lashed at me, cutting my arm. I dipped underneath the two whips of mist coming me for my head. Oktai threw another. I dove for his black sword he’d abandoned. The mist went for my back, but I spun and crashed into it with the black blade.

I got back onto my feet. Oktai disapproved. He screeched, like a misting, and threw as much mist as he could at me. Pillars of it gushed at me, but it only served to push me back. I dug my feet into the ground and pushed back. Mist broke off, splashing around me as I resisted its current.

“Just die!” Oktai screamed. “I’ll find her myself and—”

I tore through his stream of mist. Black blade still in hand I leapt at Oktai. He tried to whip me out of the air with mist, but I swiped them away. He put up his arms to defend himself as I brought the blade down. It bit into his forearm.

I pressed down, but he wasn’t giving in so easily. He held out his free hand. Mist streamed into his palm, forming into a second blade. He clashed his against mine. They didn’t clang; when they met, it sounded like a clap of thunder. Sparks flew when his blade grinded on mine. I put both hands on my sword, bearing down even harder.

He almost buckled under my weight. His leg gave in, but he pulled mist into it and turned the tide. He pressed down onto me, bearing his teeth like an enraged wolf. I kicked his abdomen, putting some distance between us.

I followed up immediately, charging at him. His blade blocked mine, and he tried to swipe at me, but I beat him to it. I brought my elbow across his chin. He wasn’t shaken. He swung his blade up from below, but I batted it off course. Each time our blades met, the sound reverberated through Karakhorum. The ground shook with each blow. Houses crumbled. Our blades sung like rolling thunder and shone like bolts of black lightning.

Oktai jumped back, breathing heavily. I didn’t need to recover. I dashed for him, thrusting with my blade. I caught him in the side. Blood gushed from his wound. Oktai returned a few strikes. One came near my neck, but I pulled my head back just in time. I swung at his thigh. He blocked the blow with his arm, my blade cutting a gash in his wrist.

Blood streamed from Oktai’s arm. “Don’t you see how futile this is?” Oktai held up his injured hand, and mist burrowed into his wounds, covering them like bandages. “You can hurt me and hurt me, but as long as there’s mist…”

“I’ll just have to keep going until you run out of mist, then.”

I used my blade to distract him. He blocked with his blade, but he couldn’t block the knee I sent into his gut. Oktai groaned as he shot upward. He arced down after a moment, and I dashed to meet him. He was one foot off the ground I crashed into him.

Oktai grinded against the dirt, leaving a trail of burnt stone in his wake. I stepped over, but he was already back on his feet.

“I’ll never run out of mist. The portal to the Spirit Realm is inside my body.” Oktai said. “As long as the mist calls me its master, it will heed my orders.”

Mist circled him like a hurricane, setting his broken bones straight with a series of clacks. I couldn’t let him heal, so I charged at him. The mist pushed me back, throwing me off into the stairs leading up to the courthouse. I reached around for shards of granite and flung them at Oktai.

The mist settled into six tendrils coming out of his back, stretching out from him like six arms. They moved quickly, knocking the stones I’d thrown out of the air. He smiled… until one of the mist arms snapped at him and hit him across the jaw. His black fire flickered, as it someone had blown on it.

He was losing control of the mist.

I wouldn’t waste the opportunity. I jumped off the stairs, black blade ready to do some damage. His mist tendrils darted, snapping at me like six snakes. I slapped one, sending it crashing into another. Another one snapped at me, but I cut through it with my blade. The rest stumbled over one another, tangling themselves.

Oktai’s eyes widened when I cut through the last tendril. He pulled them back into himself and charged with his blade in hand. I struck. The force of my blow collapsed his weak guard, sending his blade flying out of his hand, and cleaved across his face. He pulled back just in time, but a gash opened on his forehead.

He wiped the blood out of his eyes, but as soon as he did, more streamed down. The mist crawled over the wound, stitching it back together.

Oktai laughed. “I told you. The portal’s inside me. I’ll never run out of mist.”

“I’m not trying to get you to run out,” I said. “I’m trying to get the mist to realize that you’re not worthy of being called master.”

“Hah.” His laughter died. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“But I know what I’m doing.” I held out my free hand and called to the mist in my mind. Come. Nothing happened. Come! The mist around me seemed to twitch. Come! The mist eddied towards my hand, like a stray approaching a stranger.

Oktai’s eyes widened. He charged at me before the mist reached my palm. I put up a guard against his blade. He swung overhead, but I stepped to the left and thrusted at his chest. He didn’t move, and my blade pierced near his heart.

He spat blood.

“It’s over, Oktai,” I said.

“Over?” Oktai looked at me and stepped forward, driving my blade deeper into his chest. “It’s not over until I’m on the throne.”

Black fire climbed over the blade, racing up until it reached the hilt. I pulled my hand back, letting the blade go. Black fire covered it, then it sunk into Oktai’s chest like he was consuming it. He wiped the blood from his mouth.

“I made that blade,” he said. “I can destroy it.”

“I’ll just have to make my own.” I stuck out a hand. Come! The mist responded, brushing up against my legs. Come!

Oktai guffawed. “It took me eight years to learn how to control the mist, and you think you can—”

“Come!” I tensed my hand. Mist shot at my palm. It hit me hard, threatening to throw my hand off, but I wouldn’t let it. I steadied my hand. Come! More streamed in from below. The form of it, however, was more an uneven club than a sword. It shuddered and broke. The mist sunk out of my hand and dissolved.

“See?” Oktai held up his blade. “Eight years! And you just think you can show up one day and do it? Please. I had to destroy my body to become the master of the mists.” He shook his head and raised his hand. Mist streamed between his fingers, condensing into the shape of a spear.

He launched. I tried to dodge, but it caught me in the shoulder, pinning me to the ground. I tugged at it, but every time I moved, pain shot through my chest.

Oktai loomed over me, body flickering. He was still losing control. His black fire moved wildly over him, like a sea in a storm. He stumbled and tried to hide it, but I saw him lose his balance and regain it. I held out my left hand.

“Again? Really?” Oktai shook his head. “You should learn when to quit. Well, it doesn’t matter now anyway.”

He had to destroy his body, I thought, to conquer the mists. I slipped my hand into my satchel. So be it. I couldn’t let him force Erhi to do his bidding, nor could I let the mists run rampant over the continent. “I think it matters now more than ever. Now is hardly the time to quit.”

Oktai rolled his eyes. “It’s time you went away.”

I smiled, opening the map with my right hand. “I agree.”

I couldn’t tell where I’d pressed, but the blue light tore me from Oktai’s spear. It streamed into me, cracking what remained of my skin like old clay. Mist tore through my bones, boiling my marrow. My heart beat irregularly, stopping and starting. I clutched at my chest. My gut twisted. Blood streamed from my mouth and eyes.

I landed in a rice paddy. As soon as I touched the water, it started boiling. Steam drifted upwards. Water bubbled around my legs, but I didn’t feel it. The heat spread out, racing towards two rice farmers. They looked at me, then each other. They hopped in the water, their feet burning, and ran away.

I heaved. I lifted the map, but my hands shuddered too much. The little picture of Karakhorum looked blurry, but as I breathed and focused, it became clearer. I paused. I could feel the mist, twisting my kidneys and crushing my spine. Spiritual energy pierced my veins, eating at my flesh like a plague. Using the map again would kill me – I needed it to destroy me. For once, my toughness got in the way.

I pressed on Karakhorum, just off the courthouse. The blue light took me, and my body unraveled like paper in water. I couldn’t feel my limbs anymore, but I needed more. I clawed at the Spirit Realm.

It spat me out. The ground burned underneath me, like it had when Oktai first arrived in Karakhorum. Violet mist and blue light streamed from me. My vision was blurry, but I could see Oktai walking off in the distance.

“Oh?” Oktai turned. “You… don’t look well. Finally taken too much for—”

I spat. “Too… much? Just… enough.” I fell back. My muscle flaked off, drifting off like kindling in a hearth.

Oktai walked closer, shaking his head. “Fool.”

My hands melted into the ground and my bones felt like they went through my flesh. My eyes felt heavy. I tried to speak, but my throat was too damaged. All that came out was a low croak. Finally, my bones cracked and melted. Oktai stood over me, grinning.

Everything went black.