A horrified scream rang through the air as the sharp claws of an undead Demonkin ripped through the armor of a nearby soldier. Blood soaked the stone under my feet as the soldier’s steel breastplate was shredded like paper.

I cursed as my dagger sliced through the glyph on the back of the monstrous creature. The Demonkin fell limp, but not before its claws had torn the unfortunate soldier in half. I only spared a glance at the gore as light faded from the soldier’s eyes. Fear and desperation still masked on his face.

Nearby, other soldiers shared his fate. Fighting atop the wall had given us an advantage, but it was not enough. When we started this battle, nearly one hundred soldiers stood atop the walls. Most had been brave and met the enemy valiantly. Now, barely more than ten still stood. Corpses littered the wall. Blood made the stones slick. The smell was nauseating.

The soldiers had not been able to engage the creatures like the rest of my family, but their numbers allowed us to move freely. Now that the soldiers were falling, one after another, the pressure was mounting.

More and more Demonkin successfully scaled the wall while even more began to break through my dad’s blockade of the stairs. Despite all we had done, only half of Irene’s horde had fallen. More than a hundred of the vile creatures still remained. More than my family and I could face alone.

Yet my family and I continued the fight. Even as we were steadily pushed back into a small corner of the wall with the broken remains of the gatehouse at our back, we still struck down every undead attempting to rip us to shreds.

It was only thanks to my dad’s protection glyphs that we were still alive. My ears rang from the constant explosions of the suicidal creatures. I could feel the pressure building from overuse of my talent. We could retreat to the floating island. We would have to, but not yet.

The mountain-sized rat was still rampaging through the city while carefully keeping its distance from Nox’s flames. Unable to get close enough to attack my family and me, the rat seemed content drowning the streets in blood. Houses were trampled into rubble with every step it took. Desperate people were fleeing towards the keep in the center of the city, but only a few made it out of the rampage safely.

Whatever the reason for Irene’s attack on this city, I would not allow her to do it without consequence. Looking around at the state of the battlefield, a plan began to form.

I ducked through our defensive line, looking for what I needed. It was not hard with how many corpses littered the wall before I found one that died from a smaller injury. Kneeling down, I placed my hand on the soldier’s back so that my flames would not draw any attention. Green eyes sparked to life as the corpse began to stir. I did not wait for my soldier to rise before I quickly moved on to another corpse.

Within just a few seconds, three undead had stood among the defenders. I forcibly shook away the exhaustion bearing down on me as I issued my command.

Without hesitation, my undead leapt from the wall. They completely ignored the slashing claws of the undead Demonkin as they sprinted with all the force they could muster. One of my new soldiers was ripped apart before he could breach the horde of Demonkin. His eyes stared back at me as he lay unmoving among the teeming mass.

The remaining two undead managed to escape the encirclement. One was missing an arm, but it was still better than I had expected. While they dashed deeper into the city, my family and I were being pushed back by the horde.

A particularly large Demonkin that looked like a massive scorpion That ate five or six horses managed to get up the wall. It immediately self-destructed as soon as it got close, shattering the dome of silver light protecting us.

My dad grunted and his face paled as our protection collapsed. I could see his hands trembling from exhaustion as he reached for another glyph. My mom and Donte did not look much better. Having already used as much of their innate talents as they could, they were barely managing to hold on through sheer determination.

I looked down at the streets below. Most of the civilians had managed to escape further into the city. Esben and what remained of his mercenaries were flanking Nox as golden flames burned another Demonkin trying to scale the wall. Even his flames seemed smaller than before and less imposing.

“We have done all we can,” I said through gritted teeth, “Fall back to the ruin.”

My dad nodded and his bracer began to shine as a thick wall of ice formed between us and the undead. “Everyone, move!” he shouted as he practically tossed one of the injured soldiers over the wall. The soldier landed on the floating island. His comrades were close behind. I leapt over onto the island just in time as my dad’s wall of ice shattered from a self-destructing Demonkin.

Acting quickly, Donte began to raise the island away from the wall. A few of the Demonkin tried to leap after us, but only one was able to cling to the rock. That one was quickly knocked free by the remaining soldiers, plummeting to the ground below.

Finally, out of danger, exhaustion washed over everyone. The soldiers collapsed. Their eyes stared at their fallen comrades littering the crumbling wall. Unable to attack us any further, the remaining undead turned their attention back towards the city.

My mom placed a hand on my shoulder as she looked out at the remains of the undead horde. “There is nothing more we can do. We gave the city time. We can only pray that will be enough.”

“Maybe,” I mumbled, “but I still have one last card I want to play. Donte, move us closer to the oversized rodent.”

Donte nodded and began to shift the island deeper into the city. While we were drifting over the horde of Demonkin, the mercenary Habil stormed out of the mansion.

“What are you doing? Esben is still down there! You need to go help him.” The mercenary shouted as he stormed over.

I glared at the mercenary before looking back towards the mansion. “I do not abandon my allies. Nox is covering their retreat as best he can. The real question is, what are you doing? Your captain and friends are fighting for their life while you cower inside the ruin?”

“I…”

“He was talking with Irene,” Donte interrupted, “While everyone else was fighting, he was negotiating with the corpse we have locked up.”

My mom and dad immediately turned their blades towards the mercenary as the man’s face went pale.

“Lies!” Habil shouted furiously, “You were on the wall with everyone else. Better not make up slanders kid or I will cut out your tongue.”

A small orb of light opened up in Donte’s forehead, looking even more like a third eye than it had when he first received control of the ruin. “I see everything inside Dragon’s Nest… always. Every wall, every pillar, every door, it is all a part of me, no different than my own skin. Did you really think I would not notice you sneaking through it?”

My dad’s blade rested on Habil’s throat as he spoke with a low growl. “I hate you Kalan’s but I always respected them. Fearless above all, that is what I thought. How could you betray your captain?”

Habil laughed as he looked at me with rage. “Our entire life we have been told stories of the Raddare. We fight knowing that we will rise again but when I finally meet the legend, it is nothing more than a helpless child. All the stories are nothing more than lies. You are no savior. There is no second chance at life. Can you blame me for refusing to fight for a lie?”

“No,” I replied with a sigh. I walked to the edge of the island to look down at the city. Many people had fled with the time we have made, but not all. blood had once again started to run through the streets and I was too weak to stop it. “I do not blame you at all. Your people have been used as pawns in a game we cannot even see. However, that does not mean you are innocent. Irene will lead this world to ruin. You only need to look at her actions now to know that. I may not be a savior, but she is no better than a Demon. Do you really want this for your people as well?”

Habil looked down at the chaos we were unable to prevent. His words were barely a whisper. “Will it be any different than our fate following you?

I shook my head. “Maybe not, but when I face death, I will do so knowing I have done all I could.”

Habil fell silent as the floating island neared the giant rat rampaging through the city. I saw my two undead sprinting through the streets and smiled.

“Also, I may be a child, but I am far from helpless,” I said as I motioned Donte to lower the island closer to the oversized rodent.

The creature did not even notice my two undead until they latched themselves onto its fur. Immediately the rat moved to shake them off and crush the puny undead under its weight, but it was too late for that.

“Thanks for the inspiration, Irene!” I shouted with a wide smile as the power in my right eye flared to life. Blue flames roared with all the strength I could muster and the two undead turned to look back at me.

There was a moment of pause as I felt the blue flame flow into the undead. Green and blue clashed and a golden flame was born. The sound was a deafening boom that shook my bones. The shockwave nearly knocked me off my feet as the two undead exploded into a brilliant cataclysm of golden light.

“Now, that was an explosion!” Charly cried out with childish joy that reminded me a little too much of one of the calamities.

I shook my head as I peered through the dust cloud. There was a roar of rage as what remained of the enormous rat came into view. It was a charred mess of exposed flesh and organs. Two of the massive legs were completely missing on one side of its body. The creature was still alive, but only barely. Golden flames were quickly spreading across its body, seeping through its flesh. It was only a matter of time now.

All the remaining Demonkin of Irene’s horde roared in fury and rage. The giant rat snarled furiously and I smiled back proudly. This was the first time I had really made Irene suffer but it would not be the last.

The rat glared at me with hatred for a moment as the flames continued to spread across its body. Then, it closed its eyes.

I had a moment of foreboding before the entire body of the creature began to glow with an amber light.

“Donte, move us away!”

The Island immediately shifted direction away from the suicidal creature but there was no time for us to gain any distance before the world was engulfed in a fire that nearly covered the entire city.

A gentle blue light radiated from the ruin as Donte tilted the entire island to protect us from the blast. The entire Preateritum ruin was sent tumbling through the air before careening into the city wall. Everyone was sent flying as we were thrown by the force of the explosion.

We had survived the explosion, somehow, but before anyone could rejoice, a shadow leapt towards me. The traitorous mercenary Habil tackled me, pulling me over the edge of the island and into the burning ruins of the city below.