“Where is my lil sis?” asks Annie in tears.

“I…don’t know.” I lift up the bodies to see if she’s somehow hiding beneath.

Not even a trace. She was taken by a RiftRipper. Must have been Betrayer!

My tendrils shoot out and slice the room.

White Knight grabs my bladed tentacles before they stab Racheal. “Your rage almost hurt this noble rose. Keep it together. We have what we need.”

I shiver as I hold back my rage. “Not everything.” I carve a portal. “Go on ahead. I’ll meet you there.”

White Knight takes the girls into the portal.

Gloom enters the room. “You waited for me.”

“It doesn’t have to be one of us. We can use Betrayer as the sacrifice to open the portal. It’s what we both want.”

“We’ll never be strong enough to overcome him. Consider this one last final exam.” His hooks come out from his back.

“Wait. I’ll leave a trail. We can end this at that place. Try to save as many heroes as you can.”

“I never cared about the heroes or the villagers. They’re all so privileged!” His claws pierce the bodies and throw them at me.

I am buried under the corpses.

Killed by their own friends. The cycle continues.

“That’s where you cowards ran off to!” Poppy zooms into the portal.

I sink into my own shadow and slide into the portal during the distraction.

I arrive at our forest meet up point.

White Knight’s shy girlfriend waves at us awkwardly. “Umm, was it a success?”

The Hero knight looks down. “Not exactly, my sweet flower. We weren’t able to save Tumble.”

“Oh no. I should have been there! It’s all my fault!” she pulls at her hair.

White Knight hugs her. “I would never put you in harm’s way.”

“Please blame me!” she cries, sobbing against his shoulder.

“Gloom will come after us. And I will cut him down.” I say, facing the portal with blades at the ready.

“But he’s your friend,” says Annie, tugging on my cloak.

“You’re my daughter. I want you to be safe too. You and your girlfriend have a chance to be free from the madness of this world. I’d give everything I have to make that journey home possible.”

“I honestly don’t see why I should help you,” says a voice in White Knight’s armor.

The knight’s girlfriend shrieks in surprise.

“Calm down, my sweet. This is what we were sent to retrieve. He opens up his armor and out pops a young boy.

“If this was Akashia you would be sentenced to death for your brutish behavior! Ugh! So uncivilized.” The boy glares at White Knight as he adjusts his glasses. “My name is Sir Henrich Von Edelgaurd. Prince of the Edelgaurd kingdom on Akashia.”

White Knight flicks the boy’s forehead. “If your sky world is so great, why did you come down here, little brat?”

“To track down a friend. And if I help you land dwellers, he will be handed back to me. Don’t think me weak with the sickness of charity. Charity is something only the guilty give. Akashia only became the grand world it is today because we let go of such illogical tripe.”

“You’re an empty person!” yells White Knight’s girlfriend.

“Exactly! We can only tap into the collective mindscape if we discard all emotional data. You’re rather astute for a Blink.”

The girl hides her face in embarrassment. “You shouldn’t tease me like that. Saying nice things in a two-faced way.”

The boy with the long arrogant name scoffs. “Sarcasm is strictly forbidden in Akashia. It’s a vulgar practice for cowards afraid of the truth.”

White Knight takes the glasses away from the boy. “You really love to talk, little brat. Just tell us where we need to go.”

The boy wanders around in a daze. “My eyes! Give them back to me!”

“Where are we headed?” asks White Knight, dangling the glasses just beyond the boy’s reach.

“The Great Chasm. The Barrier of Chrono Archai.”

“Chrono Archai. The Primordial of Time?” I ask.

“Congratulations, you can do basic translations.” The boy claps emotionlessly.

“That’s sarcasm!” yells White Knight.

The boy blushes. “Damn! Been stuck here so long my perfection has been poisoned.” He gags.

“Umm I’ve never been there. I can’t take us. Sorry everyone.” I bow in embarrassment.

The boy grins. “Never met an Archivos before, have you? We created history. Knowledge is our weapon!” He pulls words out from his head and flings them to me.

“I have it. It’s almost like I’ve been there!” I exclaim.

Colors. I see colors. It has such a brilliant purple hue.

“Indeed. That is the Archivos’ Gift. Used only for scientific ventures of course. And not those childish Memshroom experiments. Damn traitor turned so many of us into Dims.” He clenches his fist. “But enough of that. Bring us there, KuroKira. That’s the scientific term for a RiftRipper by the way.”

I carve a portal to the Barrier of Chrono Archai.

I come out in a daze. We’re all disoriented from the massive distance traveled.

The air feels heavy in this place. The chasm before us is emitting a radiant light that breaches the sky.

White Knight holds his lover close to him. “Romantic, isn’t it?”

Annie wakes up Racheal with a gentle kiss. “Morning, Rachie.”

“Oh hey, morning. Where are we?”

The kid with the glasses speaks before I can explain. “We are at the end of the world! The barrier of time cleaved in the ancient battle of…”

“Nobody cares,” says White Knight, taking away the kid’s glasses again. “Here’s what you need to hear, fair maiden.” He offers her a hand.

Racheal takes it and hoists herself up. “I’m listening.”

“This is your chance to return home to the life you had before. Take your time and think over this decision.”

Racheal turns to Annie. “What about you?”

“Do you want me to come along?” asks Annie, fiddling with her fingers.

Racheal picks up my little angel and holds her like a loving big sister.

“Are you all quite done yet?” asks the kid with the glasses, rolling his eyes. “We can’t open a Pure Portal without a worthy sacrifice.”

“I will kill Gloom when he arrives.” I nod.

Racheal looks over at me. “Hey, I don’t want to go back if it costs him his life. He’s a friend, kinda. Look, Gloom is just messed up in the head. He’s not evil…well at least not always. The point is that we’re not killing him, okay? I’m not sure I even want to leave.” She turns away. “Sure I miss my mom and my fans and well everything there. But I’ll miss this place too. Braven needs me and so does the militia! Plus Annie needs to find her sister Tumble.”

I bow to my sweetie’s sweetheart. “I’ll send Tumble your way as soon as I retrieve her. I promise you.”

“And die in the process, right?” Nasuke rushes up to me and punches me in the face. “Stop being an idiot! I refuse to sacrifice anyone!”

“When did you show up?” asks the Archivos to Nasuke.

“Been here the whole time. Learned to hide my presence from a true professional.” Nasuke smiles at White Knight’s girlfriend.

“Please don’t compliment me. I don’t know how to respond.” She sobs in embarrassment.

Nasuke glares at us. “All I see are a bunch of cowards. This place is dangerous and miserable, but that’s what makes it a playground for heroes. Yeah, we might die. Our friends and loved ones might die. But we can’t just send them away to safety! That peril, that loss is what drives a true hero forward. Let’s just forget this whole dumb mission. We got the Archivos. We don’t need anything else!”

“Yeah. I don’t want to run away. I have an obligation to fight.” Racheal raises her fist.

“That obligation was forced on you by ISEKAI!” I shake her in a frenzy. “Keep my daughter safe by getting out of this place! Betrayer wants her for some wicked plan. You’re a hero by running away!”

Nasuke looks at me curiously and shrugs. “Well in that case, get moving. Let’s just kick Gloom’s ass and open the portal!”

The Archivos climbs atop the firm shell of a wandering Sturtle. “Gloom can’t open the portal. A Pure Portal needs at least a hundred souls to open. Their mental energy stabilizes it. It’s not magic! It’s science! Got it!” He sends information to the Sturtle to have it slowly crawl up to me. “How many kills do you have? At least a hundred, right?”

“Yeah. Guess I’m a pretty good assassin, aren’t I?” I scratch my head.

“Smash his core and the portal will be purified. Oh, but firsts you’re gonna have to kill everyone that isn’t gonna cross over. Pure Portals are kept in the mythic section at libraries for a reason. They have the potential to throw everything into chaos if used by those with ill intent. By chaos I mean war! Do you have any idea how many books have been lost to wars? Such an imbecilic way of solving problems! Barbarians are pathetically insipid problem solvers.” He scratches his head. “Oh, well not to seem hypocritical, but umm…violence is sometimes a good option.” He speaks into his cupped hands. “Info Overwrite!” He flicks the new information into my head.

I look over my team with a new understanding.

Slaves of ISEKAI! All of them! Taking them down will bring me one step closer to ending that corrupted organization.

I shoot my tendrils out at White Knight.

Nasuke unsheathes her katana and slices my tendrils before they can cut him.

Annie rams into the Archivos. “What did you do to my papa!?”

“Just gave him a bit of refresher. Nothing false. Just data.” He shrugs.

My body contorts into a scythe and clashes against Nasuke’s swords.

Hero’s are just soldiers for ISEKAI.

I will my tendrils to come out to stab Nasuke’s arms and legs.

“You’ll pay for seeking to harm my fair prince!” yells White Knight, getting cut in her stead.

The Archivos sits on the Sturtle. “I used to hate watching morons fight. But it’s actually kind of entertaining. Maybe I should go to the Grand Olympuseum when I return home.”

Annie grabs on to me. “Daddy stop! They’re our friends!”

“They work for ISEKAI. They can’t be trusted!” I yell, bringing White Knight to his knees.

Racheal grabs my head and plays a soothing lullaby in my head.

Can’t focus.

My blades dull and White Knight slams into me. “This brave assassin is trying to get us to kill him to open the gateway. Otherwise he would have ended me in an instant. You’re a true hero.”

No I’m not! It’s just hard to focus when my mind is screaming at me.

Nasuke looks down at me and gives me a toothy grin. “I guess I judged you wrong. You’re a hero! Believe it!”

I feel so misunderstood.

The Archivos points at a portal behind us. “Can we cut out the sappy speeches? Enemies are coming and fighting is at least fourteen point six five three two four kilometers beneath me.”

Goopy followed my trail. I’ll need him to kill me and have to convince him to help Tumble cross-over too. This won’t be easy.

A beaten and bloodied bird angel is the first thing to come out from the portal.

“You monster!” yells White Knight, rushing toward the portal to punch the culprit.

Braven’s hand grows out from the portal and grabs White Knight. He slams him to the ground and tosses him aside. “That thing is the monster.” He glares at the Archivos. “Why are you helping them?”

“You ever tried explaining the origin of the universe to a wall?” asks the Archivos.

“What?”

“Of course you haven’t. It’s a complete waste of energy. Explaining things to people about to die is equally superfluous. Well, approximately equally. True equality only exists in the hallowed grounds of mathematical equations.”

Racheal grabs Poppy’s wing. “You’ll live. We’ll get you to a healer!”

Poppy pulls away. “I don’t want help from a blackmailing boyfriend stealer! Or a traitor!” The bird angel coughs up blood.

“Braven, there’s no need to fight. These are Annie’s friends.”

“The hell I am!” yells Poppy.

“Her friends made our people slaughter each other. The Sunbleached Island branch is done for. I’m just here to take my wife.”

The Archivos claps. “Okay! I’m only going to explain this once so everyone pay attention.”

The Static Huntress comes out from the portal. “Am here! Got left behind but here now.” She lowers her head in shame.

Another rebel hero comes out from the portal. “I’m only here so this puta frees my little brother. Hey everyone, Matador Muchacho. We need the sheep angel and the ginger. Then we’ll be on our way.” He tips his sombrero to us.

“Great! Everyone is here. I’m going to explain this very simply but if you hear it, then you’re going to have to die later too. But pay attention anyway. The True Portal which can bring you home to Earth. That can only open if a RiftRipper with at least one-hundred souls has its core smashed. So let’s focus on that, alright?”

Braven turns to Matador Muchacho. “You heard him. Bring down that monster. I want my wife to return home safely.”

My shadow releases hooks that tear at my cloak.

If I die, then she’s safe. Why even bother resisting anymore?