When everything came into focus again, Kazius was once again at the temple. Slowly he could hear Alice’s voice come into focus, the sound of her concerned words slowly making sense.

“Kazius! Damon! Please wake up! What’s wrong?! Snap out of it!” Alice exclaimed in concern, her eyes beginning to water. They likely had been out of it for a while for her to be this panicked. Once she saw that Kazius was looking at her and moving, she quickly had relief wash over her face.

Upon seeing her though, Kazius felt overwhelmed, unable to contain himself. He hugged her, pulling her close. Kazius shook a bit as he held her, grasping her as if she would slip away if he didn’t hold her. Managing to calm himself down, he tried to gather his thoughts.

“K-Kazius?” Alice questioned in a confused manner, her face growing flushed at his sudden affection and closeness.

Kazius would not respond to her though. Instead, he would just breathe deeply, feeling like the world was returning beneath him. She was here.

“G-Geez… You know, I should be the one worried… You both suddenly were out of it when you looked at the mirror, I was worried sick… What happened? Are you okay? What has gotten into you?” Alice questioned, trying to move back so she could look into his face.

Kazius would allow her to do so, pulling back as well, gently cupping her face before then gently holding a strand of her hair.

‘She’s here. She’s okay, she is alive right now… It is okay.’

Kazius would move back, staring into her violet eyes before letting her go. He still felt so overwhelmed, but he managed to fight back despair. He needed to access the situation, he needed to think. Perking up though, he would turn and look at Damon. Alice did mention he had been out of it too.

“Kazius?” Alice questioned, clearly thinking he was acting strange. She then would look at Damon again. “He is still not out of it.” She would speak up again in concern.

“Damon…” Kazius trailed off, about to attempt to shake him when he then would begin to stir, seeming to snap out of it on his own.

Damon would look around, confused, looking at them both once he seemed to gather himself. He had an unreadable expression on his face, but the sadness in his eyes when he looked at Alice… Kazius knew, he may had not seen him inside the vision… but Damon had likely also been there. He knew…

“Damon?” Alice questioned in confusion only to then have the werewolf give his goofy smile, the expression reminding Kazius of his forced smiles from back when he first met him… “Buahaha! I’m okay!.” He reassured.

Kazius didn’t know where to even begin. He felt the urge to apologize for the orders he gave, or that he would give… To assure him he isn’t like his father, but he didn’t want to talk about any of this in front of Alice. He hated the thought of her getting hurt, much less dying. He didn’t want that fate for her, he refused. He wouldn’t make her think about something like that happening to her. He wouldn’t.

“What happened to the two of you?” Alice would question in concern.

‘My Alice… So beautiful and strong… I don’t want to worry her anymore. She will be okay… I… I will make sure she will be… I will talk about this with Damon later… But not with her… I can’t.’ Kazius would think to himself, the vision helping him realize something.

“I saw a vision of myself as king.” Kazius admitted, “Vargstam becomes quite the large city… And apparently, I have a talent for necromancy.”

“So, you had a vision like with The Oracle? Maybe The Oracle really is a sham. This place is so much more advanced than The Orb of The Oracle. It even showed us the past… What about you, Damon?” Alice questioned curiously.

“I saw the same thing, Kazius as king… I… I was… I looked strong. I was his general, his right hand.” Damon admitted, clearly struggling to find the right words. That certainly confirmed it though, he had been there. He seemed to be following Kazius’ lead and not telling Alice about her fate.

“That sounds amazing! That must have been great!” Alice exclaimed eagerly, beaming at the thought of their success it seems. She did begin to grow a bit pouty after something seemed to occur to her. “That is not fair though, I want to see too, but the mirror didn’t show me anything…” She trailed off, looking into it.

The mirror currently was indistinguishable from any other mirror. It was no longer glowing, as if it had fulfilled it’s purpose or was simply out of power… Maybe it needed time in between uses? This was an abandoned temple with no new magic being supplied to it… It was incredible it was even functional, lost technology most likely behind it.

“That is what I get for trailing behind and trying to cover up that mirror… I probably looked at it too late.” Alice sighed out in dismay.

Kazius was honestly relieved at her reasoning, it would make her not dwell on why she saw no future… The reason behind it was obvious to Kazius. There was no future for her to see, as things were, she had none. The thought itself making Kazius’ heart grow heavy. He found himself heavy with regrets for things that had not happened, that he hasn’t even done. For the sakes of Alice, Damon, and his people.

Kazius would find himself continue to stare at Alice, her hair and face alike, the image of her dead body burned into his mind. Fear, pain, and even a cool rage towards whoever would be responsible for such a thing. The latter being the source of a lot of fear, knowing now where such a rage could take him.

It wasn’t like he could run from his fate though. He would be The Monster King… And be there to oppose The Demon King. Of course, there was always the option to do nothing, but if he did nothing… Either The Church or The Demon King would likely destroy all he loved.

He wouldn’t surrender though; he would save Alice. That was easier said than done though, he had no idea what he was even going to save her from.

He was deep in thought, staring deeply at the upset princess that seemed to be feeling left out. She seemed to be looking down, toying with her hair while she seemed to remain pouty when the two didn’t respond to her words.

“Well… Next time… Maybe we will be able to come back and you will see something. I don’t think we will see anymore right now though.” Kazius assured, patting her on her head.

Alice seemed to stare at him, likely able to tell he was being more touchy, “Okay…”

“Buahaha! Good, being sad like that suits you less than me, you know?” Damon admitted, seeming to be trying hard to keep it together in front of her too.

Alice seemed to smile at this, hopefully this would keep her from dwelling on their behavior too much. “Alright.” She agreed contently, cheering up some.

“Anyway, that thing is still outside… I think we should step out and the moment we do, jump off the mountain. We should all be fine if we do, but we need to get off the mountain as fast as possible. I am sure The Guardian won’t be happy we came in here…” Kazius stated, remembering their predicament. Getting out of here first took priority.

“Good plan. I will ready my sword. No way I want to try our luck climbing to the top.” Alice agreed, the group having nearly died were it not for the temple.

Damon nodded, giving a thumbs up. “Let’s get out of here.” He agreed, being surprisingly quiet, not shouting per usual.

With that, the 3 would indeed make it out of the temple. Damon would open the large doors, the group making a run for it. Despite the scenery change, they indeed headed off straight off the mountain, jumping off. Good thing too since they were already hearing jingling. As the jumped off, an explosion could be heard, stones falling off the mountain.

Thankfully between Damon’s wind, Alice’s sword riding, and Kazius’ fall being broken by shadows, they were just fine.

Sighing, Kazius was relieved to be away from Mount Ulf. “Seems we made it… We should probably take care of that thing at some point… It will only get stronger...” He admitted.

“Agreed… That place was scary.” Alice admitted, not knowing just how right she was.

Kazius and Damon would exchange uneasy looks. Their upcoming conversation an uncomfortable one.

“Let’s go home.” Kazius stated, walking off with the two only to look back at Mount Ulf. The Temple and The Guardian… They were less terrifying than the future, in his opinion. As he stared, he realized he saw somethings staring at them from the cliff they jumped off from. It was a white Kudu Bull. It’s fur had silver accents, the horns seeming to have something resembling windchimes hanging off each horn, an orb floating right in the middle between the two horns. The orb resembling The Oracle Orb. It would seem to stare at Kazius, the two making eye contact. It’s eyes glowing the same color as the temple, no irises, but instead just golden pure light. The two would exchange stares, The Guardian eventually slowly turning away, walking back further into the mountain.