The teleportation spell took only but an instant to perform. Zenvix and Misaki, now with the addition of Novita Tenebrae, stood outside the door that would lead eventually to the prayer hall in the Palace of Esheria. Looking once at his companions, the prince took a deep breath and opened the door warily.

The entrance opened up to an antechamber. From the ceiling, an ornately designed chandelier carrying numerous candles hung from its peg, and arranged neatly along the sides of the chamber were rows of chairs and divans for the guests. Aside from these, however, emptiness reigned. Emptiness and normality. There was not a sign of disturbance within the spacious room.

As Zenvix took one step into the chamber, he was stopped by a hand held to his chest. Novita regarded the expanse within with a solemn eye. Drawing intricate symbols in thin air, the prime sorceress muttered a short incantation before making a cutting motion with her right hand. A brilliant line of aureate followed her gesture, cutting across the drawn symbols and setting them ablaze in fiery sparks.

"Trust not what you see with the naked eye," she said. In the short space of a second, where emptiness once reigned, now the floor across was sprawled with the bodies of soldiers and attendants. The chandelier laid smashed and broken on top of an armoured guard; its candles spilled chaotically across the ground amidst shattered glass pieces.

"That was a high-ranked illusion spell," Novita said, as Zenvix stepped into the chamber, a pained look on his face. "Probably similar to the one you faced on the battlefield just now. The perpetrator obviously wanted to keep up the pretense of normalcy."

Misaki bent down to inspect the bodies within the chamber. She shook her head. The blood had dried completely; there was no saving them.

Zenvix paused some distance behind the double-sided door that should lead to the internal chamber, his expression doubtful. "If I open that door, would I also not behold the true reality I should actually see?" he said.

Joining the prince, Novita narrowed her eyes. "You were prudent not to touch that door. Once opened and you have stepped in, you would need to break the spell from the inside, which would have been much tougher," she said.

"What spell is that?" Zenvix asked.

"From the place where I previously came from called The Guild, mages liked to name it The Endless Loop. Once cast, the spell takes a snapshot of the surroundings you were in, and repeats that environment endlessly within a set space. Basically, the moment you entered that door, you would arrive back in this same antechamber. You open the door in that second chamber, you arrive back in the same space again. It endlessly traps you, and drives you insane in due time," Novita said.

"The key is to stay vigilant, and break it from the outside," the sorceress continued, as she intoned a series of syllables from the old tongue. The door glowed subtly for a moment, increasing in intensity, before returning to the status quo once again. Novita calmed herself, beads of perspiration rolling down her cheeks. Looking once at Zenvix, she nodded her head in affirmation.

The prince opened the door, which led to a huge expanse filled with golden statues of Esheria and other deities of Ceil's religion - the prayer hall. Seated right before the Goddess, was a cloaked figure whose back was turned to the group. When they filed in, a gasp of shock escaped from Novita as she glimpsed the sightless eyes of Minister Zila staring right back at her; her head arched forwards in the direction of the door and her body splayed with dried crimson across the ground.

A loud sigh came from the cloaked man. "I didn't want to kill her, but the woman refused to hand over the artifact of souls," the man uttered. "Our ancestors, protected under the Goddess's light, were the reason Ceil stood tall for decades," she said. I had to laugh. Her religious folly amused me to no end."

There was a pause, as the enigmatic male gazed at something held within his hand.

"I thought this would be easy, but well done helping the prince get here, Novita Tenebrae. I had the pleasure of being acquainted with your mother, Iffea Tenebrae, during my stint at the Guild. She taught me a few tricks I know. A talented woman; a pity she is no longer of this world. But it appears you have inherited her talent."

The man stood up. As he turned to face the group, the prince's eyes widened, a look of shock and betrayal written across the lines of his face.

"Hello Zenvix, allow me to formally introduce myself once again," the cloaked figure said, "I am Alvaro Ulius, a former Master of Poison at The Guild."

"You...." Zenvix uttered. At the sight of his once-thought ally, the prince was at a loss for words. He finally shouted, his voice having risen to a guttural cry. "You tricked me!"

"I did." Alvaro said simply, with a tone absent of emotion.

"Right from our encounter at Merchant's Hill, what you said about you being the Qosh'Rah's key guardian, how you would help me to destroy the schemes of Aderis, all those...they were all lies?" Zenvix said.

"They were. I acted my role well so that you would fulfil yours in my plan to destroy the Third Key within Ceil. Feeding you with information back at Merchant's Hill was to build trust, even if that information was to lead you into thinking that a full-blown invasion was imminent. Saving your life after you collapsed from fighting my demon, was to cement that trust."

"You summoned that demon and planted it within Giselle? Then those bandits, they-"

"Took their orders from me to kidnap the demon girl," Alvaro said, completing the prince's sentence calmly. "I set the battle up in the hopes of getting rid of you, but alas, the power of your Warlock's Hand was stronger than I thought. Even as I fought alongside you, I had to reduce my arcane output to a mere ten percent of my original to put up a convincing front. If I killed the girl accidentally, it would have ruined my plan."

Zenvix stumbled back, the enormity of the situation sinking within his mind. "So in Ceil...your letter, and the so-called invasion," he stammered.

Alvaro laughed, though it was one that's devoid of any lingering mirth. "Come on Zenvix, need I say more? Manipulating a few beastmen tribes to attack Ceil was easy; there still wasn't a clear Alpha after all, what with the Frostfire War that killed Maagros decades ago."

"The only unexpected hitch in my plan was you guessing the true goal of my scheme. I thought you would still be trapped in the Perfect Cube, and even if you managed to escape, you should still be miles away from the artifact of souls, with no inkling about its place in the Ritual of Keys. But here you are," the sorcerer continued.

"You have not answered one thing though," Zenvix said, as he fought to suppress his emotions. "Why, why would you help Aderis? Don't you understand that he is dooming the world by fulfilling the Ritual?"

A moment of silence ensued from the master sorcerer. He stared at the prince, his eyes inscrutable. "My kinsman is not dooming the world, Zenvix. He, and those behind him, are saving it. And in doing so, he will also save the world we both lost. In time, you would understand. When once again you could see King Arcturius in the eye and speak to him, when once again the fallen brethren of Nox would rise within an eternal uthopia, you would thank me. Of that, I am certain," Alvaro uttered with absolute conviction.

"But for now, we need to continue playing our roles, you and I," Alvaro said, holding aloft a gleaming ball-like object that seemed to contain innumerable swirls of wispy smoke. "The time I have gained from stalling you was long enough. I had drawn the countless souls of Ceil from the ancient urn into this spherical holder, so that now at long last, the final act can be done."

The sorcerer rose slowly into the air as crackles of arcane energy began to sizzle all around him.

"Damn you, Alvaro," Zenvix bellowed, "damn you and Aderis to the depths of hell! I trusted you. How much of what you told us is real? Or are they all lies meant to derail us?" Drawing his bow, he imbued his arrows with mystical energy and released them at the floating sorcerer, while beside him Novita fired a frizzling bolt of amethyst lightning and Misaki propelled forth from her position.

Alvaro surveyed the incoming onslaught, a smile of melancholy forming on his lips. I regret it. The things I had to do. But the world will be a better place for it. You will see, young prince. You will see.

With a final caress, the master sorcerer crushed the ball within his palm. There was a muted silence, then the pent-up energy within the sphere exploded in an enveloping halo of white light, engulfing the prayer hall in blinding radiance. As Zenvix and his companions were blown backwards by the forceful expulsion of compressed energy, he thought he saw what looked like human spirits circling a beam of yellow light which ascended towards the heavens. That was the last scene he saw, before his vision was brutally engulfed in a screen of white.

I have failed. The Third Key...had been destroyed. The prince thought as the last of his consciousness left him.