“Are you ready for this Kage?

You’ve been crouched in one position for hours now,

When last have you slept?”

“I was trying to figure out why I’m doing this,” I look up, at Karina.

(After what happened in the desert, I promised myself, that I’d never find myself at deaths door again,

My face may have been fully healed, but my body wasn’t,

The burns, scars, they cover me like tattoos, forever to remind me to stay smart,

I can’t end up in that position ever again.)

“Then, have you figured it out?”

“Yes, it’s because I want to.”

****

“Boss, are you sure about this?” Tori complains, “they destroyed our business!

Why should any of us help them?”

Karina lets out a huge sigh,

“Would I reveal my face to you, any of you?

If this was not something important,

You all know me well enough to know that I am not a woman who is not driven by morals or self-righteousness,

I do what I desire, what benefits me,”

“I understand boss, but I cannot let that cheap shot from your friend,” she scowls at Apollo,

“Go un-reprimanded,”

“Hey, that wasn’t me who hit you,” Apollo protests,

“Quit lying,” Pinoki chimes in,

“You needn’t be afraid of her now, that you’re face to face, might as well accept the consequences of your actions like the hero you are.”

“You dishonest little-” Apollo starts

“-eh em, shouldn’t we be focusing on our current objective,” Pinoki cuts him off,

“Enough with these distractions,

Karina, are your people joining us topside, or not?”

“I don’t think are,” Karina replies watching Tori and others walk off in the distance,

“There is nothing for them to gain from this,”

“We don’t need them anyway,” I assure,

“We don’t need a large group of people to go searching all over the city, we only need to make a visit to the cathedral once more,

If the there’s one point, the diamond connects to the city it has to be in there,”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Karina counters, “didn’t the queen say she didn’t know where it was, if it was in the cathedral, she would have known,”

“How about we just go and find out?” Lyra yawns,

“I’m tired of standing around discussing everything, let’s get this over with.”

“You are the one with the main key,” Karina points out

“You can come and go as you please, what are you waiting for?”

Lyra feels around her neck then gasps,

“I don’t have it!

Where did it-”

“-You mean this?” I reveal a small pendant with a spiral insignia, I’d been keeping on me,

“When did you get that?”

“When we fought,

I didn’t challenge you for no reason,

Karina told me she gave you the key, I knew it had to be on you,

But didn’t know where, I aggravated you to use our fight as an opportunity to search you and take this, the spiral shape is similar to the one that the masks with the temporary seals have,

I figured this was the key,

“You’re worse than Pinoki!” she grabs the pendant back form me,

“You stole this from me, not to mention searched my body, pervert!

I went through a lot to get this you know,”

“No, you didn’t” Karina disputes,

“You kept coming by my club everyday begging Tori to join, until I eventually got annoyed and gave it to you,”

“I didn’t know it was you back then,” Lyra scowls,

“Now it makes sense that you would ban me.”

“I banned you to keep you away from what I do,” Karina retorts

“Keep me away from what you do, or keep me away from you?

Just admit it, Karina.”

“No, I di-”

Apollo facepalms.

Pinoki starts whistling to himself,

I fiddle with my bow, as the two girl begin to argue.

****

Birds chirp happily flying across the clear blue sky,

The wind blows barley, as the hot middays sun beams over the Holy City, formerly known as Soterra.

Five hooded figures discreetly make their way through the city

Karina at front, silently heading the group while Apollo follows at their rear,

“Good day to you” Someone greets as we move through the streets,

“Something feels off,” Pinoki whispers,

“Where are the guards?

After what happened the last time, we were here, I would have expected them to be on heavy alert,”

“Maybe they thought you got scared off, and won’t dare return anytime soon,” Lyra teases

“As if!” Karina, up head scoffs.

“I don’t think any of the guards are a match for me anyway,” Apollo boasts,

“What I am worried about is encountering the person Kage spoke of,

He sounds terrifying.”

~~

“Pinoki,” I nudge the little man,

“What is it?” he jumps,

“I’m on edge right now”

“I have to ask, now that we’ve made this far,

If you already have a plan of your own, why did you choose to follow mine?”

“Well,” he fidgets slowing his pace to let Apollo pass,

“My plan would have only benefited I and I alone,

The book, on dispelling magic, I was trying to learn it,

If could dispel all magic in the kingdom for even a few minutes, it would’ve been enough for I alone to escape,

Though, because, the entire function of our city, depends on magic, dispelling meant cutting off their life support,

That’s why I wouldn’t tell you.”

Pinoki picks up his pace again walking up, clearly not wanting to discuss this any further.

***

“This is it,” Lyra gazes up at the glorious cathedral,

“How sure are you again, about the diamond point being here Kage?”

“Is fifty five percent sure good enough for you?” I reply

She rolls her eyes,

“Apollo will stay here outside, I’ll enter from the back, you three can enter from the front with Pinoki’s stealing magic,”

“It’s not stealing,” Pinoki protests,

“Don’t care.” the girl says moving away without a sound,

Leaving Apollo by the entrance, the three of us make our way up to the doors,

“Ok !” Pinoki takes a deep breath

“Let’s g-”

Before he can continue the cathedral’s doors swing open,

There stood a smiling face, cold grey eyes, a face of human, but somehow,

I can’t tell if it is.

“The priest!” Pinoki and I exclaim in unison, he draws his and daggers and I extend my bow while Lyra steps back preparing her magic.

“Oh, there no need for that,” the ‘Priest’ still smiling,

“I knew you’d come back, so I ordered all the guards to let you move freely,

As a matter fact, I’m allowing you to roam this cathedral freely to your liking,”

“What do you want from us in return?” Pinoki asks slightly lowering his guard,

“Oh, nothing of course, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot, “

Pinoki gives me a questioning look,

“You and Lyra go inside,” I order,

“Karina’s probably inside already, you can meet up with her there, I’ll keep this one busy.”

“Are you sure?” Lyra inquiries hesitantly

“Yes, now go,”

The Priest moves out the way to let the two pass, still with an eerie smile on his face.

“Ah, I remember you as the one who overheard me the last time,

Your heart, I sense is unfettered, briming with such potential, yet disgustingly neutral,

Ughh, what do you want from this life that still you are on the fence?”

“What do you want from this city, that you destroyed their entire government, killed and traumatized many,” I counter

“You like asking questions but not answering them, don’t you?

Very well, I shall indulge you.

I never did any of those things you accused, I just showed them way,

Thought them to dedicate themselves, so that they can be happy,

And well,

Are they not?”

“Brainwashed seems like a more fitting word, you are saying people willingly betrayed, murdered, their family members, friends for your god?” I snort

“I had nothing to do what that, I just showed them the way,” he repeats,

“And the god they worship isn’t my god,

I am the God.”

(God? This cant be right, the more I look at him, I don’t get the feeling of another human, and he doesn’t exactly look like a beastman either,

Is he really a God?)

“Mmgh,” the ‘God’ frowns, “I expected you to have a more surprised reaction, your face’s still the same, you really are an interesting fellow,

When I told to the King, he immediately fell to his knees, and dedicated his life to me,

Will you do the same?” he says, passive-aggressively,

Immediately, I raise my bow, on my guard,

“You are certainly not human, but a God?

Nah,” I say disbelievingly,

“I’ve suffered a lot, and through it all I kept hoping and praying-”

“-That you would survive,” he finishes for me, “yet here you are standing in front of the one who made it all possible.”

“Your wrong, I kept hoping and praying that I’d die, I wanted out, yet here I am, standing in front the one who claims to be the one who made it possible,

I don’t know why,

Or what my purpose may be,

For now, I’ll settle for giving people a chance,

I may not be able to save them,

But with just a chance they may be able to save themselves,”

“Your dumb,” he says childishly

“Those people are going to become one with me,

I am going to absorb their magic, into me,

Do you not understand!

There only ‘chance’ you have is to become dedicated,

The ones who are will painlessly become one with me,

It will in fact feel euphoric,

If you refuse, you’re just going to have to feel every single drop of magic leaving your very soul,

Excruciatingly painful it is

That is your choice,

Huuh,” he sighs

“I only did this to make up for overreacting and attacking you the other night,”

“What if I kill you right here, right now then?” I bluff pulling back an arrow on the bow string.

…..

Behind the ‘god’ Karina approaches, soundlessly thanks to her magic,

“Threating me is crazy, are you trying to waste your life?”

“No, but you are.”

“Wa-urghh!” A dagger pierces the back of his throat, blood gushes from his mouth

His cocky demeanor replaced by panic as he frantically directs his hands to his throat, trying to stop the bleeding

Two more daggers appear form the shadows beneath his feet stabbing behind his knees,

The ‘god’ falls to his knees,

Pinoki and Lyra come running up behind Karina

“Did you find the point?” I ask,

“Yes,” Karina replies, “the center tower,”

“Freeze dry!”

Lyra blasts the struggling ‘god’ on the ground,

With one last spurt of blood, the body stops moving,

“Was that i-”

Clap Clap Clap

A figure approaches,

“That was really good teamwork from you,” a voice patronizes

“The priest!?

I thought we just…”Lyra starts,

“You what?

Killed me?

Girl with your pathetic ice magic,” don’t make laugh

“You, over there,” he points at Pinoki, get your shadows any closer to me and I’ll have your head in my hands,

Same goes for you soundless girl.

Don’t be alarmed any of you all, I’m not going to kill you, for now at least,

Leave here now, and you can keep your lives for a while longer,

My objective is already complete.” The figure turns its back to us walking away,

“I think he gave us a pretty good choice,” Pinoki quips

“I second that,” Karina adds

Lyra says nothing. The four of us hurry back out, meeting back up with Apollo at the entrance

“Did you find it?” He asks

“Yes, but something was off about this Karina explains,

The cathedral was empty besides a few harmless priests, there were no guards, the King, who is supposed to be the head priest wasn’t there either,

The tower that the diamond connects to was also filled with an abundance of magic circles,

It was all so peculiar,

I think we should head back for now and re-assess this.”

“Then what are we waiting for!” Apollo gushes,

****

****

Smoke,

Thick black smoke

It fills the air,

Screams,

Screams of fear,

Screams of agony,

Screams,

“What!?” Lyra gasps,

“The city!” Apollo gasps,

“Oh no,” Pinoki stares,

“Shit!” Karina exclaims

The unholy city is engulfed in flames.

“I am not ready for this.”