Ivy gasped for breath against the demon paladin’s gauntleted hand around her neck. The creature’s stare bored into her, and a new pain filled her head.

I̵̤̘̗̬̼͕̺̥̲̰̮͍̪͎̒͋̆͐̔̚̕͘͝͠͝ĺ̶̪̩̝̜͕͇̲̼͙̹̣͉̮̾̍̐́͐̿͊̿͝l̷̝͗̌̿̍'̵̡̨̢̡̭͇̗̫͈̖͓͖̼͂̈́͌͋́̑͌̆͗̀̎̕̚͝͝ͅḙ̵̢̙̩̯̤̗͓̜͓̦͍͚̭͖̍͒̂͆̐̓̈͘͝͠f̶̢̨̖̣̺̠̮͎̼̆,̷̜̙̘̗̗̉̑̀ ̴̧̢͚̩͎͙͓̯̈̆̎̐̈͊̍̈̂͛͛̀̓̿͝ņ̶̖̘̦̼̝̯̜̜͙̅̐̂̀́͋̍̚'̷̰̯͉́̈́̒̏̈́̍̅͒̏̓g̸̞̊̂̈̉̔̒o̴̡̩̞̹̩͎̐̑͗̎̐̀̈͜͝t̴̛̤̩̣͕͈̐̈́̇̍̈́̍̕͝.̸̠͚̘̣̯͉̦̦͕̦̪̬̍͒̍̓͜͜ ̸̨͍͖̗͙̥̼̠̪͐͘͜͝Ŵ̶̘̜͕͓̱̼͓̩̱͎͎̺̫̉̊̎̆́̊͆́́͛́̈́͘͝'̷̧̡̢̡͔̮̩͉̦̥̘͕͊̏̾͂́̈̚l̷̺̇͘ḽ̵̛͕̓̒ǵ̴̨̩̣͎͔̣̠͈̣͉͑͒̅̏̓̃͋̃̇y̷̧͔͎͔̰̜̑͊͋͗̊͂̄́͛͊͗͠͠n̷̺̰͇̯͔̜̺̱̫̖̺͎͇̄͛̈͑̿t̸͍̗̲̐̌͌͗̊̒͠ ̴̧͙͈̬̫͛̂͂͆̉̓r̵͍̼͎͓̍͑̕͠ÿ̵̝̖͚̪̻̱̙́̓̓̆̕m̵̨̡͎̬̗͖̳̲̟͈̍̈́̓̄͘ͅì̸͍͙̬̙͛͂͂̇̕͝t̸̨̝͖̰͓̹̰̙̝̣̹̮̔̅͑̐̉̆̇̇͛̿̈́̚ḩ̷̞̟̤͉̓̏͗̅͊?̶̡̢̡̛̻͍͇̜͇͈̭̞̜͋͆͆͐͒̉̅̐͌̀̅

She tried to force it—and its words away, but unlike the demon trapped beneath Atrican’s Cathedral, this one appeared to be at the height of its strength. Its message was undeniable.

You understand. You know who I am.

Its bottomless eyes—the only feature truly giving it away as something other than human—waited for an answer. But Ivy could not speak. She could not even breathe. The edges of her vision closed in on her like she was entering a dark tunnel.

Just before everything went black, the pressure disappeared, and she collapsed in a heap at the monster’s metal-plated feet. Every desperate gulp of air burned going down against her bruised throat.

“You are weak, little flower,” the demon said out loud, “Your petals are hardly formed, and yet you already crash headfirst into my pet watchdogs?” Cold alaricite-clad fingers lifted her chin until she was forced to once again look at the demon. “You are so much like her it pains me.”

Ivy couldn’t help but stare once again at the unbelievable beauty of the man, but soon caught herself and jerked away. On instinct she reached for the witch world and sprung forward, past him. Sometimes going forward in the witch world meant the opposite once she let go. But even if that wasn’t the case, she could at least give everyone else a chance to escape. Sure enough, when she emerged from the witch world, she found herself deeper into the church’s army. And…the demon was still standing over her.

“I was born during the formation of Qix’nerod,” it said, “bathed in the void of creation. Do you really believe you can run from me there?”

Ivy snarled up at it.

“You have power! You’re a demon! How can they not tell?!”

The thing laughed at her.

“Am I unable to deceive these sheep? Should the strength that I gave them surpass my own?”

It was only then that she remembered where she had heard the name Saint Algramath before. When she was still living on the street as a petty thief, she had taken it upon herself a couple of times to visit a dockside church or two, praying for a better life. What a joke.

Yet one sermon came back to her. The story of the great saint who had founded the triumvirate church. It was said he gave his most devout followers three boons: the clarity of mind to not quake in fear of the witches’ dark power, the ability to sense their energy, and finally, immunity to their magic. In reality, he had just poisoned them with diluted alaricite.

Ivy could hardly believe it. The founder of the church was a demon. A demon. The literal antithesis of the organization had created it. And that very same creature now stood over her.

N̵̨̛̻͙̬̦̣̞̪̖̱͐a̴͈̰̦͎̤̱̖̘̺͔͂̊̆̆͒̉̎͑͋͝'̴̢̗̣̰͉̘̜͙̘̖̜̤́͛̀̓̔͆̿̎̋̉̅̇͝ǵ̷̡̲͇̱͓̼̏́͆̉̋́̈̑̑͠ͅọ̵͓̝͔̬̪̥̙̤̰͕̖͍̭̓̽̔̊̄̊͊̐̾̃͜͠t̶̛͙̻̤͓͓̞̟̲̄͆̂̌̕͝h̵̛̝̜̱̝͊̌͑̊͒̈́̈́̐̀͘͘͜͝,̸͇̖̜̘̞̗̮̰̠͆̓͐́̀̓̚̕̕͝ ̷̪̗̭̝̻̹͎͎͔͔̮̉̈̆̂͛̑̿̋͑͆̈̔͜͝c̶͖͈̮̻̙͇̏͂̈́͂̔̌͛̓̎͂͘͝ͅt̸̨̡̧̧͍͙̘̗͍̣̥͇̮̥̫͑̈̽̈́͂̉̍̋̌̽l̸̫̝̭̥͔̾̽̐̌̒̽͂̊͑͐̎͘̕ǫ̴̰̦͚͍͓͈̙̖̝̈́̾̋́͒l̴̡͓̫̪̠͕̝̭͐͒̌̑̏̇̌̊̅͆͝͠ȍ̸̻̥͎̮̯͎͓̍̈́͂̇̒̆̊m̷̡̯̞̟͍͗̉̓͒͗̔́o̷͕̖̳͚͋͆̏t̶̹́́̌h̷̤̗͕̟̝͓̝͈̞͗͂̽ ̵̡͚̦͛̍̐̃̍̀̾͒̆m̵̦̆̈e̵̢̬̝͔͂̉̈̒́̈r̸̛͕̖̣͒͗̿̈́̔̔̓͋̈́̍'̴̢̣̣̖͍͔̠͆̅̉͋͑͛̚͘͝ģ̸̙̫̙͇̮̩͒̋̀̽̋̑͐͂̀̿́ͅͅͅò̶̼̙̌̕̚s̵̥̜̠̗̏̉̆̓̅̀̐̔̓̌͋̊̀̎̕ḩ̴͕͈̻̝̳͖͗̎͊̍̏̑̋͐̇̎̚̕͜.̴̢̩͖̳̩̤̖̪̹͚̮̱̘͚̼̊

Another blast of searing pain coursed through Ivy’s head. She fell to her knees, gripping the sides of her head with both hands, screaming. It was a thousand times worse than the other demon. Ten thousand times worse than her awakening day. But the pain did not stop her from understanding the demon’s torturous words.

Finally, we begin again.

She heard the nonsensical statement—comprehended it—yet could not bring herself to care one bit of what the monster was talking about. Not when she was in so much pain.

“Get. Out,” her words little more than a grunt, her voice strangled against her constricted throat. Every muscle in her body was tensed to the point of breaking. “Of. My. HEAD!”

Her power washed over her without calling for it, and the witch world unfolded around her. The demon’s alaricite armor loomed just a step away, though he remained unmoving. Just as before, the lines of the witch world warped around the creature. But this time something else caught her eye. A tendril of pure black smoke connected the two of them. Without another thought, she gripped the handle of her dagger and slashed upward with whatever strength she had left.

Before her blade came into contact with the demon’s power, it—and Ivy’s pain—disappeared.

“Cute,” its cool voice said. Her skin tingled as she felt an invisible door form, open, and then close. The demon hadn’t moved an inch, yet its form had changed. Instead of the witch world bending for the demon as though it might be an obstacle to its never-ending pathways, now it seemed to be actively working against it. The very atmosphere thickened and pushed against the demon, forcing it out of its domain. She paused, studying the phenomenon. It was the first time she had seen another being enter this world without her help, but still, she knew something wasn’t right. The creature itself had said it was born in this place. So why—

There was no time to find an answer as the demon’s hand clasped around her wrist that held her dagger. She hadn’t seen it so much as twitch, yet once again she was at its mercy. As soon as they made contact, the world pushed against her as well. Just like that, she lost all control of her strength and both of them were back on the battlefield, surrounded by paladins.

“An interesting toy, Serathil,” it said, looking down at her restrained hand, “beautiful, really. Like you, it is in perfect harmony between both worlds.”

More nonsense. She yanked her arm, which was—of course—pointless other than to worsen the already forming bruise.

“You’re toying with me,” she said, the words forming faster than she could think.

“Perhaps.” It smiled. It was having fun.

“You could have killed me a dozen times over by now! You’re a demon, but the church bows to you! Your own world rejects you. It embraces me yet can’t stand your presence. Everything about you is wrong.”

It laughed. “All true.”

“So, what do you want?!”

It let her go and backed away a step, watching her. Ivy kept her weapon raised despite the futility of her resistance.

“What do I want?” The creature shook its head. “I am afraid to tell you. I see your sister in you.”

Would anything it said ever make sense?

“Just get it over with already!”

“Get what—”

The sounds of steel against steel from behind her interrupted their conversation. If you could call it that. The demon raised an eyebrow at her. Such a human expression on its intensely beautiful human face only added to its wrongness. She much preferred the grotesque monster demon from below the cathedral.

“Friends of yours?” it asked.

Ivy squeezed her eyes shut. What kind of idiot—

“Ivy!”

Her heart sank. Virian’s voice. She spun on her heel and sure enough, he, Armond, and a group of Atrican soldiers were fighting their way through. And…was that Rose?

A contingent of paladins broke away from those encircling her and the demon, moving to intercept Ivy’s would-be saviors, but the demon held up a hand, and they halted at once.

“Ah, I see,” the demon said, “the love those three have for you must be strong for them to throw away their lives like this.”

No. No. It couldn’t get any worse. Run you morons! She had to do something. Say something.

“What would a monster like you know about love?” For some reason, her plea for her friends came out as an insult to the demon.

The grin it wore did make the situation that much worse.

“More than you.”

Before she could respond, Armond’s warhammer flattened the last of the defenders in his way and he emerged into the circle occupied by Ivy and the demon. Virian and Rose were right behind.

“Ivy!” Virian called out again.

“Get out of here!” she screamed back. Nobody moved. “What are you doing? Run!”

The demon stepped past Ivy and gave up its back to her. She jumped at the opportunity—literally jumping—to plunge her dagger into its exposed neck.

“No,” it said, and an invisible force crashed into her, throwing her into the air a dozen paces back. She hit the ground hard, one arm twisted behind her back. Her cry of pain could not drown out the resounding snap of her forearm. But this was nothing compared to what she had done to herself in the cathedral a year ago.

She rolled to a crouch, ignoring the throbbing in her arm as she tightened her grip on the hilt of her blade.

“Get away from them!” she screamed, running after the demon stalking up to Virian, Armond, and Rose.

So much passion.

Ivy stumbled as the creature invaded her mind again. When she recovered, it had stopped within arm’s reach of her friends, Ivy a few paces behind. Rose stood as pale as a ghost, her sword arm trembling, but still holding her weapon out in front of her. Her eyes flicked past the demon to Ivy. It was impossible not to see the pleading message in that glance. Despite all their problems, Ivy wanted to say the same thing back to her: run.

Armond, for what it was worth, tried to step in front of Rose, but the demon moved first, taking Rose’s chin in its gauntleted hand. The ancient witch froze under its scrutiny, her eyes still focused on Ivy.

“The blood is thick in you,” it said, “but what happened here?” He waved his hand over the burn scar on her face, and it…vanished.

Rose gasped and stumbled backward, her sword falling to the dirt as she clutched her face with both hands. The demon only laughed, causing Ivy and Armond to both move at once, seeing another gap in its defenses. The huge man swung his hammer in a wide, yet blindingly fast arc aimed at the demon’s chest. Simultaneously, Ivy once again jumped for the back of its neck.

Before either could make contact, Ivy felt the pull of the witch world, but not of her own doing. Shit! The demon disappeared, putting her chest in the direct path of Armond’s swing. A hit from that would certainly kill her.

Armond stumbled over himself to alter the path of his swing just in time to only push the air above her head. But the feat knocked him off balance, and as Ivy landed in a crouch from her jump, the demon reappeared behind Armond. Its foot landed square on Armond’s back, sending him sprawling.

Ivy got to her feet, ready to rush forward, but Virian was suddenly at her side, pulling her away. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear it and yanked her arm free. A part of her knew that if she didn’t act now, it would be too late.

Armond rolled to the side after being knocked flat and got to his feet, weapon still in hand. With a half step into the witch world, only lasting a fraction of a second, Ivy put herself between Armond and the demon.

“It’s me you want,” she said, “let them go.”

The demon stayed silent, unmoving, but Armond pressed forward.

“Step aside, Iveriani,” he said.

“No. This isn’t your fight.”

“I’ve been preparing for this fight most of my life. I’ll take care of this. Now step aside.”

He took out a finger-length vial of near-black fluid and downed the entire thing. The anger in his face seemed to fade into cold indifference, but he did not back down.

So dramatic.

Ivy clenched her teeth against the pain in her head from the demon’s taunting, managing to avoid crying out.

“Armond, don’t do this,” she said.

Rose stepped up to face Armond as well, her face no different than when they had first met.

“You cannot win this, Armond. Even I do not know what is happening, but this is the wrong decision. Do you understand?”

“Move,” he said, his voice like ice.

Rose shook her head and grabbed Ivy’s arm.

“Take us away now,” she whispered, “his death may give us a moment.”

“What?” Ivy nearly shouted. “I’m not leaving him and Virian!”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve gotten us into?” Rose kept her voice low. “We’re alive merely at the whims of the creature who eradicated the witches two thousand years ago.”

A heavy footfall sounded directly behind them.

“This one likes to pretend he is your father,” the demon said. Ivy spun and eyed the monster with an incredulous look. Father? Who? Armond? She almost laughed. “But I will not allow that.” What? No.

The demon began to take a step forward, and Rose almost tripped in her haste to get out of its way. Armond raised his weapon high. At a glance, it might be judged as a fair duel. Armond was the tallest and biggest man Ivy had ever known. If anyone could stand up to the demon’s size, it would be him. But she knew in her heart it to be hopeless. Even dosed against magic, how could Armond defeat an immortal creature who had felled an empire?

Again, she tried to strike at the demon’s back, but both Rose and Virian held her back.

“Leave me if you must,” Rose said, “take Virian and go! Now!”

Ivy couldn’t comprehend Rose offering to sacrifice herself to convince Ivy to run. Not now. Not when—

Armond dropped his hammer and reached over his head to retrieve a spear he had stashed in a back-mounted harness. Its narrow tip stood out as black as night.

“A demon slayer, are you?” it asked. “Come then.”

Ivy strained against her captors, her broken arm screaming at her to give up, but she could not budge them.

“Let me go or I’ll kill you both in your sleep! I swear I will!” Virian’s grip loosened, but he did not let go. “Virian, LET GO!”

“No,” he said, “I can’t. I won’t lose you, too.” Ivy flinched, letting up for a moment. She had forgotten about his sister. “He’s lost his mind, Ivy. He may already be dead just from how much alaricite he’s dosed himself with. Please. Just run.”

She knew he was right. She knew she had no means to save Armond. The demon had already proven them to be mere flies it could swat away at any time. But still, she redoubled her efforts against his grip.

She watched in vain as Armond thrust his spear forward at the demon’s exposed throat. It was strange the way the demon responded. Its movements seemed to have almost no urgency about them, yet it was by no means slow, either. Almost as if deflecting Armond’s attack was an afterthought. It simply batted the spear away with a lazy flick of its wrist and then plunged its own weapon forward. The wicked black blade cut through Armond’s chest plate like it wasn’t even there, its length protruding out high in the center of his back.

In another almost bored-looking gesture, the demon pulled out his sword, leaving Armond to slump to the ground, unmoving. Ivy thrashed at Virian and Rose’s grips, kicking at their legs with both feet. Anything to get them to let go.

The demon turned back around to face them and sighed.

“Why do humans always think themselves better than they truly are?”

“Heal him!” Ivy shouted the first thing that came to her mind. She had seen the demon do it with Rose. Maybe…

“Why should I?”

“I’ll kill you! Do you hear me?! You, your church, everything! I won’t stop until there’s nothing left!”

“Tempting, but I am afraid I can do nothing for the dead.”

Ivy’s shriek rattled the foundation of Atrican’s walls with the sheer weight of its ferocity. Her power flared to a previously unseen height, the heat of it threatening to burn a hole through her chest and burst forth into the world. The demon’s grin grew as her discomfort reached its maximum, where it felt as though she might burst at the seams. The feeling was not unlike the night she had slaughtered a dozen paladins. The night she had cut through steel and stone with a single swipe.

Her power began to leak out, funneled into two points on her body: her right hand that held her dagger, and the opposite wrist where she wore her bracelet. The weapon’s edge elongated, taking on an ethereal, dark gray aura that bent the light around it.

“Ivy,” Rose said, “this—”

Ivy didn’t hear the rest. She didn’t need to. It was obvious what was coming next. She had even helped Rose give Armond the same speech. But Ivy was not Armond.

She thought back to all the bullshit the ancient witches had been telling her since she had awakened. About how invaluable and special she supposedly was. Of how Rose needed her for some ages-long scheme. They could go to hell for all she cared, but there had to be something behind all their blabbering.

This wasn’t what Rose had in mind, clearly, but maybe for Ivy, this is what it would all amount to. If nothing else, she did understand one thing. Her power was not just a means to move quickly and unseen. It took her to another world. She glared at the unmoving demon. Their world. Her world.

Power surged deep within her, and her bracelet began to vibrate, drawing in the immense flow of magic. A bubble of hazy grayscale burst forth, enveloping not only her but Rose and Virian as well. A pocket of the witch world. At her feet, a single, darkly glowing path led straight ahead, past the boundary between worlds. Ivy didn’t give it a second glance. She wasn’t here for pathways.

Rose was yelling something at Virian, covering his face with a piece of ripped cloth. Their frantic movements and voices seemed so far away. Ivy could only focus on the demon’s dark stare. It just stood there, watching. Waiting.

The creature’s eyes gleamed with interest as she gathered her strength. Almost as if this was what it had been waiting for all along. Yet it did not join her in the witch world as it had before. Would it be possible to escape this time? The witch world for some reason hated the demon and loved her. Its control could not be as absolute as it wanted her to believe.

She shook her head. No. The sight of Armond’s body discarded as trash at her feet fueled a rage that could not be tempered. She raised her hand, fingers tightening around the hilt of her dagger, broken arm throbbing, and cut the world.

Except, unlike last time in the cathedral, the demon did not get cut. No one did. The boundary of her witch-bubble flickered instead. The path leading to safety became not a path, but a location. She had cut the distance between the two points. Her bubble popped, and the world around them flashed, becoming something else. Atrican’s dock district slums surrounded them, miles from where they stood a second ago.

“No!” Ivy screamed. A hand touched her shoulder, and she threw it off. “I have to go back!”

“Ivy,” A voice said. She was too enraged to discern who it came from.

“Shut up!”

“Ivy.”

“No!”

“IVY!”

She did recognize that as a new voice that shouldn’t be here. Her eyes found Raenin, the body of a small woman slumped over his shoulder.

“Ivy,” it was Virian this time, “please. I don’t know how you did it, but some unconscious part of you brought us back to Cammy. Raenin’s wife is a healer. I asked him to take my sister to the ship she’s on after you disappeared. You can get her there faster than anyone. Every second may make a difference. Please. I’m begging you.”

Ivy dared to look at Virian, his eyes wet with tears and fell apart. Her gaze drifted to Raenin, carrying Camellia, and her composure fell that much further. She let out another howling scream that no doubt the entire army heard, and pushed power into her bracelet.

“My lord,” one of the humans with the pointy hats said, kneeling before Algramath.

“Yes?” Algramath said.

“Forgive me, but the witch and her companions are nowhere to be found. The city is more or less ours. We will continue the search.”

Algramath waved the insect away. He didn’t need to be told the obvious. No one would be able to chase the little flower through Qix’nerod. So young, and able to wield Serathil with such precision. A smile formed on his face. Where would she lead him? Those of the blood always gathered around his little flowers. For the first time in a very long time, he had hope.