Stiletto jumped down from the treetop and rushed over to the fallen varcolac. He covered his mouth and stifled vomit at the sight of the steaming entrails hanging out of Khopesh’s lower half.

“No way. No fucking way! You can fix this, right?” Stiletto asked. “You can bring him back like you can bring Naginata back!”

I shook my head, claws still extended, but feeling impotent and powerless.

“She was whole,” I said. “Khopesh… isn’t. I don’t know. Let me ask Balaur.”

I dropped to my knees and slammed my claws into the ground. I reached out to Balaur through his anima network, and he acknowledged me right away. A bright green bloomed as a circle of grass grew through the snow, which hissed as it melted. A ghostly image of Balaur as the tree-bearded old man rose from the circle.

“You have to help us,” Stiletto said. “You’re some kind of God, right? You can bring Khopesh back!”

Balaur shook his head. “I am sorry, young one. It is beyond my ability. I cannot restore him to life, but I may be able to preserve his spark.”

“What does that mean?” Xiphos asked.

“All that perish inside my web return to me. Their sparks – I believe you call them souls – live on,” Balaur said.

“God damn it!” Stiletto cried out and kicked a patch of snow.

Balaur raised his hands. Luminous vines and roots grew from the snow and wrapped Khopesh’s remains. They grew over the varcolac’s corpse as well, weaving in and out of its limbs before sinking into the flesh. Then, those bodies began to break down into pure anima.

We all watched in wonder as everything broke down and faded away into Balaur’s anima network, leaving only the bones behind.

“Ah, his spark was still there after all,” Balaur said. Another green ring appeared next to Balaur’s, and a vision of Khopesh arose.

This version of Khopesh was a faded, translucent green. He looked like an anima ghost.

“Well that didn’t go to plan,” Khopesh’s memory said.

“Yo, are you some kind of Force Ghost now?” Stiletto asked.

Khopesh cocked an eyebrow. “A what?”

“Star Wars? Like Obi Wan Kenobi after Darth Vader kills him? ‘Use the Force, Luke?’ You know Star Wars, right?” Stiletto asked.

Khopesh laughed. “I always meant to watch it, but never found the time.”

My horror writer brain did a flip inside my skull at the ramifications of what had just happened. Khopesh was dead and gone, but his spark – no, his soul – was still around long enough for Balaur to capture and absorb. The confirmation of the soul existing as some kind of lingering energy suddenly gave new credence to all kinds of things I wrote off as being bullshit.

Hauntings, astral projection, lingering presences, demonic possession, these were all tropes that we horror authors relied on to scare our audience. Finding out that it was not only possible in the world but arguably probable sent a shiver up my spine.

Xiphos approached Khopesh. “Is that really you?”

Khopesh shrugged. “Not sure who else I could be.”

“Prove it,” Xiphos said. “Tell me something that only I would know.”

Khopesh smiled. “The one thing I’m going to miss most is Claudia.”

“Who’s Claudia?” Stiletto asked.

“His cat,” Xiphos replied. “Khopesh, that really is you. I’m sorry we couldn’t save you. I should have been quicker, I-”

Khopesh shrugged. “There’s nothing you could have done. The moment it had me, it was over.” Then Khopesh changed his attention to Balaur. “How long am I going to stay like this? Conscious, I mean.”

“I cannot keep you in this form for much longer,” Balaur admitted. “I have only just awoken, and spent much of my strength to help you so far. Soon you will return to become a part of me forever.”

The image of Khopesh raised a hand to his chin in thought. “I don’t want to stay as part of your anima network, Balaur. My family are all waiting for me, and I have kept them waiting too long already.”

I reached out and put my hand on Khopesh’s shoulder. To my surprise, he had a physical presence, though it felt fuzzy and indistinct. “What happened to them?”

Khopesh reached a hand out and placed it on my shoulder in return. His touch crackled with something akin to static electricity. “They died. My mother, my father, my younger sister. A carjacking gone wrong. They shot me too, but I survived. I pretended to be dead in the back seat until they abandoned the car, then crawled out to seek help. I was only ten years old.” Khopesh took a breath. “My real name is Omar Enwar, and I spent my life fighting against the kind of people who took my family. But now… Now it is time I return to them.”

Balaur inclined his head. “If you wish to return to the great beyond, I will not hold you here.”

“Wait a damn second.” Stiletto rushed over and poked Balaur in the chest. “If you’re holding his spirit, can’t you make him a new body or something? Your power is all about healing, yeah? Make Khopesh a new body, damn it!”

“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work like that.” Balaur hung his head in despair. “I can heal, purify, and build things from stone and root, but creating a body for a soul to inhabit? It is beyond my abilities.”

“God damn it!” Stiletto stormed off swearing to himself, then quickly came back in front of Khopesh. “Tell me where Claudia is and I’ll make sure she lives out her days being spoiled like a god damned princess.”

Khopesh grinned. “Thank you my, friend.”

He gave Stiletto the name of a cattery on the outskirts of Mansoura, Egypt.

“I promise you, I’m going to take care of her,” Stiletto said, then took a step back from Khopesh.

The outline of our fallen friend’s silhouette started to fray, peeling away like burning paper reducing to embers as it was cast into a fire. He mouthed the words thank you as his form tattered into wisps of smoke. Piece by piece Khopesh faded until a hole appeared in his chest, which revealed a bright white light burning with internal force.

Khopesh – no, Omar Enwar’s spark – rose into the sky burning brilliant and bright but casting no light on the canopy around it. It disappeared into the boughs and then it was gone.

“Goodbye,” Naginata said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

I took a breath and tried to stop the tears that threatened to well up despite my best attempts. Kaiser nuzzled his wet nose into my hand and whined in a reassuring way. I knelt down next to him and threw my arms around his neck.

“It’s okay, buddy. We’re going to get through this. I promise.”

He gave a single low whuff. Yes.

“We are. We’re going to make it back to Lorelei and Seth. They love you, they love their Dad, and we’re not going to disappear on them like that.” This time I said it with more conviction.

“They are your kids?” Naginata asked.

Damn, I’d said that a lot louder than I expected.

“Yeah, I’ve got two of the crazy little buggers. Three if you count Kaiser.”

Kaiser promptly gave a little sneeze to show his disapproval.

I held my hands up in defence. “Okay, you’re the best behaved of the lot. Plus you’re housebroken, and the other two are debatable. You’ve smelled Seth’s room, right?”

Kaiser sneezed again, but this time he was playing it up for the audience.

Naginata smiled, but there was something sad in it that I couldn’t quite place. Maybe she was worried about making it back to her family too.

I wasn’t going to pry, and it certainly wasn’t the time. I stood back up and summoned both sets of claws.

“The varcolac taught me a new trick, and the anima I drained out of it shot me all the way up to Level 18. I’ve got 4 ability points to spend, and I bet the rest of you level up once or twice.”

Xiphos motioned in front of her, navigating through menus only she could see. “I’m only Level 15, but that’s better than a kick in the teeth. Stiletto, Naginata, are you up to 15 too?”

Naginata nodded.

“You bet your ass I am,” Stiletto said as he paced back and forth.

“If I may,” Balaur said. “I’ve learned much about how your bodies use anima, and I believe I can give you something that may help.”

Three bright stems lit up at Balaur’s feet as they grew in fast forward, like the magic beans in those old Jack and the Beanstalk cartoons I watched as a kid. A fat juicy looking fruit hung from each of these upshoots.

“You don’t need any help obtaining anima,” Balaur said with a warm smile. “The rest of you will need your strength in the fight to come. It is worse than I originally feared. Take these fruits, eat them, and I will tell you of what awaits you. But please, eat them slowly, as your body will slowly absorb the anima. You are frail things, and I do not want to kill you.”

Stiletto was the first to snatch one of the anima fruits from Balaur’s vines. He looked at it with reverence as it glowed green in his hand, then bit into the flesh. Luminescent juice flowed down over his lips and chin as his eyes rolled back in his head.

“This is delicious!” He made a sound of audible pleasure as he chewed the flesh of the fruit.

While Naginata and Xiphos ate their fruit, Balaur spilled the beans on just how bad things were.

“Somehow, another entity such as myself has managed to infiltrate this sacred place,” Balaur said. “I believe it may be one whose essence does the complete opposite of my own. Where I heal, they destroy. Where I purify, they corrupt. I do not know their aim, but they have struck while I slept, so they must know they lack the strength to corrupt me when fully awake.”

“You’re not fully awake?” Stiletto asked as he chewed on the fruit.

“I am shaking off the sleep of ages,” Balaur said as though it answered everything we needed to know.

“What kind of resistance are we going to face?” Xiphos asked.

“The easiest and most direct path to the corrupted obelisk is through this underground city.” Balaur summoned forth a map of the local area like some kind of Tony Stark hologram made of anima.

We were in the middle of the valley in between two great ridges in the Carpathian Mountains. A peak in the distance was illuminated in red.

Balaur pointed to that crimson peak. “There is a tunnel system that delves beneath this mountain. It was once used by ancient humans as a way to commune with me, though their faith waned after I fell into sleep. The obelisk is here, and there is something else… something not even I understand.” Balaur furrowed his brow at this comment. “It is a place of power, I think. That is what drew me to this place, and why the dragonslayer has placed his resistance here and focused on fortifying it. The entity that controls him is searching for something here, I think, but I cannot see beyond the borders of its corruption.”

Xiphos chewed on the flesh of the anima fruit and swallowed. “You said there is heavy resistance?”

“Yes. My leshen sentinels are watching Botezatu Castle, but you will not be alone in this fight. The others you faced are attacking the same location from the sky.”

“Edgebreaker are there?” I asked.

Balaur nodded. “They possess greater firepower and greater numbers then you, but if you seek the obelisk through the hidden paths I will highlight for you, then you will beat them to it. Cleanse the corruption from the obelisk just as you have done to this varcolac, and I will be able to send me own construct reinforcements to bolster you in battle.”

“Without them, I dare say we will not triumph,” Xiphos said.

“Our bosses, an organisation called EDGE Force, they want to make contact with you,” I said to Balaur. “They’re worried about the same thing that you are. The ending of time itself, of this universe. They call it the reality crash. With your help, we might be able to figure out how to stop it.”

Balaur considered this, but only for a moment. “The entire reason I came here and became stuck in your flow of time was to prevent that very eventuality. I will be happy to talk with them.”

Stiletto grinned at that. “If your magic is like some kind of purification thing, you know, removing corruption and shit, then maybe you’re the missing piece of the puzzle.”

“I hope that is true,” Balaur said. “I don’t have a map of the internal layout of the old city, but I can guide you directly to its entrance.”

I nodded. “Soon. We need to prepare for the battle to come. How’s that anima fruit working for you?”

Naginata held a hand in front of her and squeezed it into a fist. “I feel more powerful already. My experience points are rising steadily even though I’m not doing anything.”

“The fruit’s energy is integrating with your system,” Balaur explained. “I’ve purified the energy flow and synced it to a compatible form that your bodies can absorb. It is not much, but three is the best I can do for now.”

“If you can, try and make some more leshen for our assault on the underground city and Botezatu Castle. We’re going to need all the help we can get,” Xiphos said.

I opened my skills screen and figured the best way to allocate the 4 points I had left. I only needed to spend one more in the third tier of skills to unlock the fourth tier, and the obvious choice was to give myself a higher bleed damage.

Then I thought back to the Houndmaster’s Jacket I’d received from the supply drop. It had a bonus to the Pack Dynamics skill which would only activate if I sunk one point into it. A single point investment would yield a plus three point bonus.

XIphos was agreeable, so I sunk the point. That point plus the two bonus from my jacket gave Kaiser and I 6% health regeneration rate and 15% movement speed boost while we moved together. Standing still or moving while separated would nullify the effects, but me and my bud were never far away.

This point opened up the fourth tier of skills, which really gave me some options to work with.

As I’d told the others before, Wanderer’s Wisdom decreased my experience gains but increased theirs. I would invest in that, of course, but two other abilities were more pressing.

Stabilised Portal did exactly as the name suggested. When I opened a portal to command Kaiser to attack an enemy, the portal would remain open and stable for 30 seconds, allowing anything small enough to pass through it.

Then there was Guard Dog, which increased Kaiser’s enemy detection range by 15% per rank. The same bonus from my Houndmaster’s Jacket applied here as it did with Pack Dynamics. A single point would give me the effects of three points thanks to the gear bonus, so it was basically more power for free.

But it wasn’t really even the most appealing of the options. Ankle Biter slowed bad guys when Kaiser attacked them, which would be good for controlling the battlefield and Seeing Red made enemies take more damage from Kaiser and I while they were bleeding, which would give great synergy with my increased chance to cause bleeds effects on enemies.

After much discussion, the team and I decided to prioritise Stabilised Portal and Wanderer’s Wisdom. I invested one point in the former, and two in the latter.

Stiletto’s deadliness was getting a crazy, and I could tell he was itching to take out his frustrations at losing Khopesh on the Trajan Cel Tradat’s forces. He now had the ability to disappear in a puff of smoke while in combat, which dropped him straight into stealth and all the bonuses it brought.

That wasn’t the coolest thing – he unlocked a new ability called Cloak of Night which allowed him to conceal everything in a four metre diameter around him, shrouding it from enemy detection.

“It specifically says here that enemies that can sense anima sources or have keen vision or smell might see through it the shroud, but it’s nice to add to the toolkit,” Stiletto explained.

Naginata gained a couple of new mobility options. She could now use her weapon as a kind of anima-powered vaulting tool, and another that let her disengage from battle, moving her out of harm’s way. Combined with an increased chance at staggering enemies and breaking thick armour, Naginata was turning into a powerhouse.

Xiphos focused on abilities which increased the efficacy of the whole team, which one exception. One key ability unlocked a light but incredibly strong shield for Xiphos to use with her edged weapon, which could also stagger and knock down enemies in battle.

By the time we were finished allocating our skill points and strategizing our next move, we were all yawning and in desperate need of a meal.

If this next conflict was going to be against the entire might of the Dragonslayer, then we needed rest. We needed to go into the fight with clear heads and well-rested bodies.

So we ate what supplies we’d collected from the ski lodge castle and took turns at watch for an hour apiece while the others slept. Initially the thought of passing hours asleep in the freezing snow didn’t sound that great, but once we had a fire going it wasn’t so bad. It reminded me of better times, camping with mates as a young man. Not in the mountains, but near the beach.

“I’ll take first watch,” Naginata said, then turned to me. “You need your beauty sleep.”

“I know right? Kaiser fell out of the ugly tree and hit every tree on the way down.”

Kaiser looked up at me, then let out an unimpressed sneeze, which elicited a laugh from everyone.

“Okay, okay, I’m the one that needs my beauty sleep,” I relented.

“I was only kidding,” Naginata said, but was that blush rising on her cheeks?

She looked away before I could make a smart-arse comment. She was right, though. We did need a rest.

Kaiser curled up next to me, and I put my arm around him. We took what sleep we could until it was our turn to keep watch, and that hour passed without incident. I shook the other three awake at just before three in the morning.

We had another quick bite to eat before starting up the snowmobiles, then we set out for our final confrontation with Trajan Cel Tradat.