On a quiet meadow stood a small cottage. Around it were fields of blue and white flowers, they swayed and softly danced as the gentle wind blew past. To the east was a small stream that fed the flowers their much needed water. Right behind the cottage was a lone apple tree, and a small farmland that bears wheat.

Inside, the cottage was as simple as the outside. Beyond the door was a small living room, enough to fit three or four guests. A small wooden table sits right at the center surrounded by two long sofas made from animal leather and fur. From the door, past the living room, is a window that views the apple tree, and a rocking chair. To the right of the window is a one-person bedroom and to its left, a small kitchen. Facing the bedroom to its right is a bathroom that contains a large tub of water and some pails.

"Hm~Hmhm~"

There is a woman on the rocking chair, humming along as the day goes on. In her hands is a book. As time flows, the pages turn. Slowly and carefully until the final page. Finishing the book, the woman placed it by the window sill and she stood up. The sunlight peering through the window illuminated her silky silver hair that reaches down to her waist.

*Knock* *Knock* Knocks on the door caused her to turn, and allowed her amethyst eyes to be seen. Her face can remind one of a beautiful mother to a young child, and her lips are as clear as the pure white snow.

"Who is it?" she asked the visitor with her gentle voice that can sooth one's soul.

"It's me, I've come to visit." a man's voice came from behind the door. The woman went to and opened the door to allow him entry, and welcomed him.

A young man with a basket of fruits was at the entrance

"Welcome, have a seat." she said as she led him inside.

The two of them went to the living room, and the young man placed the basket on the table as he sat on a sofa. "Gifts, for you." he told her as he pushed the basket her way.

The woman smiled and said, "Thank you." and accepted it. After a while, she asked him,

"How's life?"

...

..

.

---

Cavaron and Shamira blazed through the corridor annihilating every undead they came across. Cavaron, with the blessing > that he received from Shamira, plowed through even against the toughest undead. Occasionally, they would come across a Death Knight commanding a larger unit of undead, yet it wasn't able to do anything against Shamira's holy attacks. So far, they have eliminated 432 Skeleton Soldiers, 65 Skeleton Magi, 87 Ghouls, and five Death Knights.

Just as Cavaron finished the last undead blocking their way, they arrived at a massive door emblazoned people being killed, and their souls being fed to a gigantic undead monstrosity. A Death Titan.

"Ugh, not.those things again." Cavaron said as he grimaced at the sight of it causing Shamira to turn to where he was looking.

"A Death Titan? Thou hast encountered it, no?" Shamira asked him as she remembered the events twenty years ago.

"I hated those things. They're similar to golems, except they run on the souls of the dead." he said as he was reminded as well. "Hard to kill unless you find where the > is, and it's usually behind something that needs to be hit numerous times to be penetrated."

"Thankfully, thou hast mastered > from thy >." she added. "Thy abilities were able to cut through any defense thou may go against."

"Heh, that went without saying that I had to go and hug the damned things." Cavaron's grimace became worse as he thought about it. "Ugh, the stench of rotten flesh nearly knocked me out, the bony ones were fine, but the fleshy titans? Ugh, I'd rather have Culverin finish them off."

"Why didn't thou summoned him, then?" Shamira asked.

Cavaron looked at her with a frown, "Because I already summoned you and I had to conserve my mana since we were up against a massive undead army numbering to near three million." Shamira just smiled at him and said no more.

"Hm, now then... let us see what's behind door number one." he said. However, instead of immediately opening the door, he intensified the concentration of mana in his eyes and strengthened > to see beyond the door. Behind it, what he saw made his jaw drop. Shamira, noticing it, had to ask, "What is it? What didst thou see?"

Cavaron slowly turned his head to the Elemental and spoke, "I don't know why, but I see a MASSIVE congregation of souls behind this very door."

"Spread out or in one area?" she followed up.

"... One... Area..." he replied. "Damn, if what we see emblazoned on this damned door is in actuality the thing behind it..." Cavaron then looked back, "Shamira, did you notice any other way around this?"

Shamira shook her head and replied, "No, This One found no other passages aside from the corridor we went through."

Cavaron groaned, "Ahhh! Dammit all!" and slapped himself. *PAK*"Alright. This is for Wynn, and nothing will stop me from saving her." He then faced Shamira and ordered her, "Shamira. Give me a run down of all of your abilities and their effects."

Shamira nodded, "Alright, thou hast already known about >, >, and >..."

Shamira listed down all of her available abilities as succintly as possible.

> coats the weapon/s with holy energy and intensifies with the owner's vitality. When the blessed owner loses enough blood, a powerful blast of holy power explodes from the weapons fatally damaging dark enemies and knocks them back. The range decreases over time while it is active. It disappears when it runs out of power.

> is a last resort revitalizing elixir that comes from a Shamira's eyes. Revival is possible as long as the soul has not left too far from the body. If the soul is in a container, as long as the body is intact, revival is also possible.

> is a massive AOE healing and offensive ability that is used as a last resort as it automatically dismisses the contract because it wholly uses up the >'s energy. Upon invocation, all targeted friendlies are fully healed and all targeted enemies receive substantial damage in proportion to the >'s remaining energy.

> envelops the target with a holy barrier that hinders any attack that may come. The intensity of the barrier depends on the amount of mana poured into it. That said, a large amount of mana can be given to it and be left alone allowing the > to focus on other tasks.

> is a binding ability that immobilizes the target. Its strength also depends on the amount of mana poured into it. However, it should also take note of the target's inherent strength as it can break free if the mana is not enough. If the target is a follower of the dark arts, it also takes damage from the chains.

> is sung by the > and provides any ally that hears it increased strength, speed, and vitality but leaves the singer immobile until the song stops. If it fully finishes, an additional effect is gained giving the audience a blessing similar to > albeit at a lower intensity making it effective in many vs. many battles.

> is the most basic holy attack and the most versatile. Like the other abilities, it increases in intensity with the amount of mana but a large amount can be cast at one time. This allows a salvo of low power bolts or just one tightly packed missile to be fired at the targets.

Aside from magic, Shamira is also adept in close physical combat as it can be seen from her spear and shield. If the situation is in need of it, she well dive down and engage an enemy in personal combat.

"And that is all This One can tell thou." Shamira concluded her explanation.

Cavaron was listening attentively and nodded as he thought of a plan. "Everything varies according to the mana given..." He murmured from time to time as he walked around in front of the door. "Okay, this is how we'll do it."

Shamira went closer to hear his plan. "When we open the door..."

Basically, Cavaron and Shamira have two plans. Plan A involves a Death Titan, and Plan B involves an ordinary congregation of undead. If the opponent is a Death Titan, Shamira will bind it with > and will bombard it with medium strength > after Cavaron zeroes in onto the location of the > with his >. Afterwards, when the core is exposed, Cavaron will rush in to break it with >. If it's not a Death Titan, Shamira will just fire a volley of low-power > and Cavaron will finish off the stragglers.

"Ready?" Cavaron asked Shamira.

"Yes, This One is ready to deliver judgment." she replied.

With one mana-infused kick, the massive door shattered, and what greeted them left the two of them stunned.

"Um, Cavaron. Dost thou have a Plan C?" the Elemental asked the Champion.

"Plan C? What Plan C? I didn't see the others so I only made Plans A and B, so why not combine them both?" he replied to her.

Cavaron's > let's him see not only the flow of mana, but also the locations of souls. Thus, he is unable to see concrete materials and other things behind another object. What greeted them was indeed a Death Titan... if you ignore the 25 Death Knights, 600 Ghouls, and over a thousand Skeleton Soldiers accompanying the Death Titan.

"Okay... hopefully the big lunk over there is slow enough..." Cavaron said as his mind raced through other alternatives. "Eh, do you think you can bombard them all with low-power bolts to soften them up? After that, I'll cut them down two by two."

"Seeing as This One has enough mana, it is possible." Shamira replied as she began casting over a thousand > shaped like a piercer to increase efficiency. "> should hold for a while longer."

While they were conversing, a Death Knight commanded his battalion to attack the two.

"Well, see you on the other side!!" Cavaron yelled as he plunged into battle. At the same time, Shamira release a volley of over a thousand piercing bolts thay flew faster than Cavaron cutting down a large number of undead.

---------------

Don't you hate it when things don't go your way?

This chapter was inspired by a game called Tales of Maj'Eyal and its room full of high leveled dragons that nearly raped my party if I hadn't closed the door and ran.