The narrow entrance soon gives way to a large hall, looking almost like the one of the palace that stood on Mount Hilbeck. Most of the pillars are broken and collapsed, the stone tiles of the floor littered with cracks. The altar which holds the shining crystal that is the Horseman’s heart lies at the far end of the hall.

Ren is not going to lie—this setting looks rather ominous. If past experiences with video games are worth anything, the Horseman of War is going to appear from nowhere and—

The palace rumbles, hardly a fair enough warning before a quake rips through the building. Ren almost falls, flailing arms steadying himself in time. His friends are equally rattled, weapons drawn and glancing frantically about.

Then, crashing through the roof, in a splash of water, is the Horseman and his team of horses. Their snow-white bodies are drenched, shimmering in the light of the torches’ flame. The tension in the air thickens, and Ren tightens his grip on Ifrit’s shaft. That was so on point with his prediction, it was scary.

From the hole in the ceiling, though, he can still see it. The serpent, Triton, swimming about, its long body curling around the dome. It clearly is in the business of keeping outsiders away from the palace. And yet, here they are.

“Luminaries,” the Horseman says, voice so gravelly that it grates on Ren’s ears. “You have come at last.”

“Yeah,” Penny says. “We did. And we’re here to destroy that heart of yours.”

“You’ve caused enough calamity on this world,” Vane says, brandishing Claymore. “It’s time you release Ilecthia from your clutches.”

The Horseman chuckles. “My clutches? I was never directly involved in anything. I merely gave those creatures… a push. Sooner or later, with or without my influence, they would have killed each other.”

“Who are you to decide that, huh?” Penny stabs Mira in his direction. “If not for your presence, they’d never fall under the influence of war. They’d be able to patch things up amicably—”

The Horseman cackles, throwing his head back, and the sound reverberates through the hall. Ren narrows his eyes. What’s so funny?

“How naïve,” the Horseman says, and he holds out his blade. “If you truly believe what you say, then come. I will take you on, and I will prove, with your deaths, the futility of your crusade!”

He raises his sword, tip pointed to the ceiling. His team of horses whinny and neigh, bolting towards them. On instinct, Ren throws out an arm, conjuring a wreath of flames and lobbing it at the Horseman’s team. It crashes into one of the horses, sending it flying away from them and sprawling on the ground.

Penny stabs her sword into the flank of another horse, and Vane cuts yet another down. Bolts fly from Gridel’s crossbow, the arrows whizzing by their heads and hitting the horses in the side, the neck, wherever they may reach. Clemon fires his pistol, blood exploding as soon as they bury into the horses’ flesh.

Ren gasps at the sudden neigh from behind him. He turns, just in time to raise his staff and to summon a fireball. The fireball slams straight into the horse’s head, and the horse goes reeling, and whinnying as it topples. It kicks, screeching as the fire consumes it whole. Ren has no time to feel sorry for the murderous horse, because the next thing he knows, the Horseman’s directly in front of him. His blade is raised, the tip of his sword about to spear Ren through…

A larger blade meets the Horseman’s, and the force was almost enough to knock the rider clean off his steed. The stallion is quick, prancing of the way, so that the Horseman’s blade merely sings against Vane’s.

“Are you all right, Master Ren?” Vane grabs Ren’s arm.

Ren nods. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

The Horseman yanks on his horse’s reins, and the horse turns to face them once more. “So, you dare defy me again, Claymore? Know your place, servant of Terra!”

The Horseman steers his horse towards Vane, blade held high over his head. Vane lifts Claymore, meeting the Horseman’s swing with a grunt. Ren weaves a lariat of fire, slinging it at the Horseman. His adversary merely bats it away, and he makes for Vane instead.

“I will slay your companion where you stand,” the Horseman bellows.

This seems somewhat familiar. Hadn’t the previous Horseman recognised one of the spirits in their weapons before? It was Mira, wasn’t it, that the Horseman of Death had a vengeance against? And this one…

Could it be that Claymore—

“Ren! You moron!” Penny slams into his shoulder, snapping him from his thoughts. He raises his staff just in time to parry the stomp of a horse. He screams as he falls onto his butt, fingers curled so tight around Ifrit that his knuckles turn white. The horse growls, baring its teeth as it stares him down with milky eyes. Ren squeezes his eyes shut, but flames burst from the staff’s orb and coils around its shaft. The horse neighs and bucks, an instant before a bolt rams into its neck.

Black blood spurts from the wound and the horse collapses onto its side with hardly a breathy neigh. Penny slashes at another horse, keeping it at bay while Ren scrambles to his feet. They’ve thinned the horde, but the Horseman is still going strong, slamming his blade to meet Vane’s Claymore. Metal screeches, and Vane leaps away from the deadlock before the Horseman could exert his full force.

A bullet smashes into the Horseman’s back, thrusting the man forward. However, he remains steady on his stallion, and if Ren could see through his helmet, he’d probably be looking at an extremely furious sneer.

“You meddling… I suppose I should deal with you first.” The Horseman yanks on the reins, and his horse begins its gallop towards Clemon. Clemon cries, darting out of the way and throwing himself to the ground. The stallion screeches to a halt, and the Horseman throws an arm out. White energy gathers around his palm.

“He’s preparing something! Watch out!” Isla shouts.

But it was no use. Before anyone can react, the Horseman launches his attack. The beam of light cuts through the air, flying straight towards Clemon. The boy, trying to pick himself up, has no chance to defend himself, nothing but a sitting duck for the Horseman’s spell—

“No!” Penny cries. She lunges between the Horseman’s beam and Clemon, screaming as it strikes her across the chest. She is tossed back like a rag doll, sailing over Clemon’s body and crashing into the wall. Ren rushes to her side, sidestepping a fallen horse’s body. He hears shouts and screams, but he does not know if any of them are his.

Ren kneels beside her, joined by Isla. Penny’s convulsing, her body jerking like she’s the victim of a demonic possession. Her skin glows with a white cloak, and her eyes are wide, pupils blown. However, she does not appear hurt in the slightest. No blood, no obvious wound… what’s happened—

“Get back!” Isla grabs Ren’s wrist and drags him away. His eyes widen, muscles tensing as a blade whips by his face. A splash of water accompanies the slice, drenching Ren’s legs as he topples back onto his rear. Penny rises from where she lay, almost like a zombie. She stares them down, her sclera stained with red, and her skin still emanates that white glow.

“Penny?” Ren gapes.

“She’s not herself,” Isla says, her hand still on Ren’s arm. “She’s under the influence of the Horseman!”

The influence of the Horseman. Does that mean she’s been infected with the need for war? Against her own friends?

Unlike the bumbling Penny they all know and love, this Penny moves fast. It’s as if she’s grown more nimble, much more agile. She darts forward, swinging Mira across in a clean slash. Ren barely lifts Ifrit in time to block it partially, but her blade cuts right into his arm and draws blood. The shock of the pain is enough to force him to drop Ifrit, the staff clattering to the ground beside him. Penny stands over him, the veins in her neck bulging as she watches him with glassy eyes.

Someone barrels full force into Penny, sending the both of them careening to the ground. Ren hisses in pain as he staggers to his feet, hugging his arm to his chest. It throbs, the ache pulsating like a steady heartbeat. His saviour was Clemon, who is currently tussling with Penny, Mira dropped from her grip and having spun to a corner of the hall.

A hand on his shoulder has Ren jolting, and he glances over to find Isla beside him. Her lips move, singing a song that sends relaxing wave through him. His arm mends, his skin knitting back together, his blood flowing back into his system. The fog in his mind and vision clears, the rush of blood in his ears fading away.

“There, all better now,” Isla says. She scoops Ifrit from the ground and hands it back to him. “Please, help your friends.”

Ren doesn’t need telling twice. Clemon’s keeping Penny pinned down and away from them. They’re two men down, and the Horseman remains as strong and deft as ever. The rest of the horse team is already dead, giving them at least some sort of breathing room.

Ren swings Ifrit, firing a stream of flames at the Horseman. The Horseman bats it away easily, its steed neighing and leaping over Vane and Gridel. And straight towards Ren.

“Master Ren!” Vane shouts.

But Ren is prepared. He summons a fireball, smacking it with Ifrit and sending it crashing into the Horseman’s head. Mid-flight, the Horseman is unable to manoeuvre himself in time, and the fireball throws him off his steed.

The horse lands on the ground, on its side, and Gridel wastes no time in spearing it through with an arrow to its neck. Blood oozes from the wound, evolving into a gush as Gridel pulls the implement from it. Meanwhile, Vane faces down the Horseman, who has his back pushed against the wall. All of a sudden, a piercing scream echoes in his ears.

“No! Stop it!” Clemon shouts.

Ren turns to the source of the voice, only to see a blur of colours as someone rushes by him. Penny, with her head dipped, dashes towards Vane, dagger raised.

“Vane!” Ren calls. Vane turns back, pivoting on his heel and meeting her blade. At her failed assassination, Penny pushes back and leaps away. Ren sprints forward, boots pounding against the floor. She spins on her heels, quick enough to make a daring slash. But Ren lifts Ifrit in the nick of time, Mira’s tip catching his orb and chipping it.

Clemon pounces on her and grabs her waist, the both of them tumbling to the ground once more. Penny makes haphazard slices at him, but Clemon ducks and swerves to avoid them. Then, a scream echoes in the halls, and Ren turns to where Vane and the Horseman were squaring off.

That is, they would be, if Vane has not just been stabbed through the chest.

The blade punctures his torso, emerging from his back, covered in blood. Vane hangs by the Horseman’s blade for a good second, mouth agape, blood leaking from the corner of his lips. He drops Claymore, the sword clanging as it hits the ground. The Horseman doesn’t get to gloat, because the next second, an arrow pierces his arm and the sword falls, taking Vane with it.

Ren is there to catch his friend, with the Horseman’s sword still in his chest. A few more bolts zing through the air, but Ren doesn’t see whether they reach their target. All he sees is Vane coughing up copious amounts of blood—and holy damn, that is a lot of blood. Did the sword puncture a lung? Ren looks up, prepared to call for Isla, but she’s fast on her feet, already hurrying over to them and kneeling by his side.

Without missing a beat, she grabs the hilt of the Horseman’s sword and pulls it out in one clean move. Vane gasps, a scream tearing from his throat as his blood splashes onto his breastplate. Isla tosses the sword aside, and she begins to sing again. Ren glances over at Gridel’s cry. It only takes one look at her quiver to realise that she’s running out of ammunition.

Ren gently hands Vane over to Isla, and leaps to his feet. He aims Ifrit at the Horseman, who is now disarmed, and fires. The fireball shoots right at him, but the Horseman has predicted his actions, and hurls himself to the side. The fireball crashes into a pillar of the temple and fizzles away.

It was a small flame, Ren would say. Just a sliver of what he was capable of. Unfortunately, it was enough for the pillar to crack and shudder. Don’t tell him…

The roof trembles and the ground shakes. Debris rains down around them in clouds of dust, and Ren almost topples where he stands. Gridel offers him a hand, and Ren takes it. Even Penny is stunned in light of this development, head lifted and staring at the crumbling ceiling.

“The heart!” Gridel cries.

The jewel remains on the altar, still so far out of reach. But they cannot stay here. If they do, they’re going to be buried alive! There’s only one way they’re getting it, and that’s if Ren can—

No, it’s not a matter of whether he can or cannot. He has to. That’s the only option.

Ren thrusts his staff forward, the rope of fire soaring towards the jewel. It zips by the falling chunks of marble and plaster, almost as though it has a mind of its own. As soon as it curls around the jewel, Ren draws his arm, whipping it back and taking the jewel with him.

“No!”

The Horseman roars, leaping at the jewel, arms outstretched. For a moment, Ren was certain that he would reach it. His heart stops, and it’s as if time slows. If he manages to get a hold of the—

A giant lump of concrete crashes into the Horseman, followed by a mountain more. The jewel continues its trajectory towards Ren, and it slams into his palm with a resounding smack. He hugs it to his chest and turns towards the entranceway, the same time Gridel grabs his arm and drags him along.

The rest have already crowded around the exit, and they’re all waiting for them. Even Clemon and Isla have subdued Penny, her arms thrown around their shoulders as she slumped forward.

“Hurry!” Isla shouts.

Adrenaline pumps through his veins, keeping Ren light on his feet. He runs like he’s never run before, jumping over fallen pillars, ducking under low concrete overhangs as he keeps up with Gridel’s swift steps. Clouds of dust rain over him, obscuring his view, forcing him to squint. He’s almost there… Just a little… more…

Ren and Gridel launch themselves out of the collapsing palace, seconds before the roof comes down on them. He hits the ground hard, scraping his knees on the rugged floor and wincing at the sting. However, the jewel that is the Horseman’s heart is safe in his hands. And he doubts that the heap of concrete is going to keep the creature down for long.

“Quick.” Ren lays the jewel on the ground, and Gridel reaches for a bolt. With a fluid thrust, she plunges the arrowhead into its jagged surface.

The jewel chips, then splinters, then, with a resounding crack, it shatters. The pieces go flying every which way, stabbing into the ground, smashing into the watery dome. At a sudden yell, Ren whips his head around. It’s that of the Horseman, crying out in agony from under the rubble.

And then, as suddenly as it came, the scream ceases. Suddenly interrupted, as the Horseman perishes. Ren sighs, the sound long and low. The tension leaves his muscles, and he lays with his back flat against the floor, spread-eagled.

“That’s it, then,” Isla says. “The Horseman has been slain.”

“It has,” Vane says. He seems to have recovered well, no longer spewing blood from his mouth and collapsed with a hole in his chest. The song of the Selkies truly has unimaginable power.

Clemon grins. “And now, we can go home.”

A pang of jealousy racks Rens’ chest. Home, huh? It’s been a very long time since he’s seen home.

“Um, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… how are we supposed to leave?” Gridel asks. “The only settlement for miles must be that of the Selkies’, and we aren’t exactly on good terms with them.”

“And there are no ships in sight,” Ren mumbles. “And the Hippocampi swam off.”

They’re stranded down here, in this watery dome. They’ve beaten the Horseman, but the path forward is less than clear.

“Allow me to be of service.”

Appearing before them, in a flash of green, is none other than Triton. The sea serpent greets them from outside the dome, its body relaxed and floating loosely in the water. Ren steels himself, sitting up and grabbing Ifrit.

“You! You tried to kill us!” Clemon cries.

Triton bows its head, as far as it can in the water, anyway. If it harboured “I apologise for that. The Horseman, he had forced me to do his bidding, and to protect his palace from potential intruders. He caught me off guard. I could not resist.”

“Do you know how to get to Calysso?” Vane asks.

“The town by the water? I do know it,” Triton says. “It is where my king resides, after all.”

“Your king?” Ren asks.

“Aquarius. He is my king. And I am his first general.”

Interesting. There are many questions that Ren has in store for this serpent. Whoever, or whatever, Triton is.

“To repay my debt, I would offer you a ride back to the waterfront town, if you are willing,” Triton says.

Well, it’s not like they have any other option. Ren can only hope that Triton is telling the truth, and that he isn’t leading them straight into a trap. With Penny out cold, it falls on him to make the decisions.

Ren turns to Triton. “We accept the offer. And we offer our most heartfelt thanks.”

It’s time they head back to Calysso and plan their next move. Their next destination, the next Horseman to eradicate.