Chapter Fourteen

Year 2875, 8th Sun

Vicinity Three, Duke's Capital.

Days passed. Weeks passed.

Count Muhammad was pronounced dead, and the Duke of Vicinity Three could not act.

Aradag knew he couldn't babysit the little girl forever. He had to do something about it. When he heard that all the islands were secured and guarded by the TDI, he decided to take the wide-eyed Aya back to the island.

He managed to reach the far edge of the island where he found a family, a middle aged man and his wife. They had no children of their own, so he left the little girl at their door while she was asleep. He had no other option but to leave her somewhere safe until she turned eighteen because he could not take her with him.

He had to help the magicians.

He tried to reach Countess Nicho's island, but an impenetrable fog prevented his ship from getting any closer. Anyone who had tried to traverse the fog never returned, so he heard.

That left Countess Rica as the only other Countess he was familiar with. But would she agree to see him after what happened to her daughter? Aradag had no time to ask such questions. He had to get to her castle as soon as possible.

Days later, Aradag managed to creep into the Countess' office, where she stood still with her back to him.

"Your Excellency, I have returned with grave news," he started. The Countess did not so much as shift. "Your Excellency? Are you well?"

Aradag dared to reach a hand to her shoulder. Cold! Why was her body so cold? And her eyes were no longer the warm brown he remembered. They were black and unblinking, with a dead gaze aimed at an empty corner in the office. A corner that erupted into flames as soon as Aradag crept towards it.

"You who escaped from Krazoth?" a voice echoed in the office.

Aradag had had enough. "Show yourself, you demon, or I will hunt you down myself!"

The darkness, alive as it seemed, morphed into the shape of a man. "Shadow, I'm Shadow. What did I do? Your Countess had a weak heart. Just one surprise, and I control her soul now."

"You will pay for this," Aradag gritted his teeth.

"Your daughter said the same before I cut off her tongue." Aradag gasped, his blood boiling. "Not today will I pay for anything, child. I already took what I came here for. You're lucky I don't feel like killing you at the moment. I still have Horton to kill, so until next time."

Shadow faded into nothing, leaving a bitter trail of ice in the room.

Countess Rica was dead. Slowly her body started to age and crumble to dust.

"I couldn't save her, and now only Count Horton and Countess Nicho are left. I must help them somehow..." Aradag trailed off as his thoughts centered on one action: reach Count Horton's castle in one piece.

Without wasting any time, Aradag left for Count Horton's island, which was next to Countess Rica's. Docking his ship, he began running towards the center of the island.

Once he saw the castle gate, a waterfall emerged from the walls to block his path. The Count had to be alive, then. "Count Horton, Your Excellency! I am no foe!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Aradag was pulled into a vortex. He couldn't breath thanks to the sheer force beating against his chest, but it ended fast with him crashing into dry ground. Aradag groaned in pain.

"Captain Aradag, what a relief." From the echoing pattern of this voice, Aradag learned he was in a cave with Count Horton himself, hopefully.

Aradag gasped for air and struggled to speak, to warn the Count of the danger he was in. "Your Excellency! A villain is targeting the five magicians, and you are his current objective!"

"Yes, I know. He can sense our powers; that is how he is able to find us. He is heading towards us now. I have tried my best to shield myself as you can see." The Count sighed.

"I assume our safety is limited, then?"

"Precisely. I can see him but I haven't an idea what he is capable of. We cannot hide here for too long lest he find us."

"How are you able to see him?"

"Wherever there is water, my vision expands, but my limits are that of the Vicinity. I can see everything whenever I wish."

The biting cold was getting to Aradag. "Your Excellency, it is quite cold here..."

"I cannot increase the temperature, young lad. Any sudden changes to the temperature might alert him to our current position." That did not sound appealing. Nor did his next cry. "Oh no..."

"Have we been compromised?" Aradag asked.

"No, worse." Count Horton shook his head. "He knows that I can see and hear him, so he sent me a message. Lad, he is threatening to kill everyone on the island if I do not reveal myself before him."

"Your Excellency, you need not listen to such an order. There is hope yet, I am sure!" Aradag tried to think of strategies while the Count weighed his options.

"I shall fight him, but I must evacuate the civilians first. The battle may be devastating."

The Count took them above using the same vortex Aradag descended in. When they broke through the surface, the buildings surrounding the castle teetered on the edge of collapse along with their inhabitants. Scattered along the streets were bodies clad in the distinct TDI uniforms Aradag and Count Horton knew too well.

"Poor men... they must have fought bravely but were no match for this devil. Follow me, Aradag, we need to finish this."

"What is the plan, Your Excellency?"

"I cannot tell you yet, son." The Count smiled apologetically as he led Aradag to the market square. "I suspect that he can read minds. He may be reading yours but cannot reach mine."

Shadow awaited them in the square, long chains erupting from his back and around the necks of innocent civilians.

"Looks like your great Count has given up on his people! I'll have to kill you all now... Is that the human escapee? Is it your only hope?"

"I did not come alone, you foul creature," Aradag called out, pulling himself together.

Count Horton made his move. A massive wave towered hundreds of meters over Aradag, momentarily stunning him before he regained control of himself.

"Do you intend to kill your own people?" Shadow's voice boomed throughout the square.

"Not exactly!" the Count yelled, letting the wave fall on the island. The water washed everything away with it, including the rubble. The flow of water receded, leaving the island dry. Only Count Horton and Aradag remained with Shadow, who was trapped in a big water bubble. "I transported my people away safely. Your threats will never again affect us. How pitiful for you to be caught in such an avoidable trap."

Shadow, with a gnarly face void of weakness, raised a hand before the bubble blackened and exploded.

"I cannot read your mind, it seems. I'll have to fight you in a different way." Shadow vanished.

"He is planning more atrocities, son," Count Horton whispered to Aradag. "I want you to look for leftover civilians before he finds them. Hurry, now! I will distract that beast for you."

"You truly think you stand a chance against me."

Count Horton sucked in a breath then turned to face Shadow. "I do."

"A fool! You sent the experiment off and cornered yourself before me, just as I expected. Now, behold! Witness my power!" Shadow leapt at the Count, beginning their fight.

Down below, Aradag searched through the decimated land for survivors. He found a crying child. No amount of reassurement could calm him down; his tears streamed down his face endlessly.

Somehow, the tears formed words. Run. All hope is gone.

Count Horton! He had to be struggling, but he could not abandon the child here. Sighing, Aradag carried the child to the safe zone that the Count informed him about. As soon as he was united with his family, the child ran back to Aradag and handed him a letter.

"From His Excellency the Count, sir!"

The tears had all but stopped falling by then.

The letter confirmed Aradag's fears.

Count Horton knew that Shadow was impossible to defeat and that Aradag would defy the inevitable. He instructed Aradag to build a durable ship on which he would carry the remains of his will.

"He sacrificed himself to save us, and left everything to me?" Aradag wondered. When he glanced in the direction of the Count's island, he gasped at the darkness that engulfed it. "No more waiting, then. I must take action now."