"So, you have finally decided to return to me," Sal'kahnak purred, leaning back in his throne of black thorns while my crew tried to get as far away from him as possible.

As Vi'karac stood in front of me, I couldn't help but wonder how we got here. Well, for one, Vik was onto something: the black ships that appeared on either side of the Ravager came out of nowhere, so I'm guessing the Darka'ash still have some toys left at their disposal.

Once I had realized there was no way to get us out of this mess, I allowed the dark vessels to guide my ship toward the towering temple I remembered all-too-well. Much to my surprise, we were led into a dark stone hanger. It looked dusty as hell, but it was still in one piece. That much couldn't be said for the other Darka'ash outposts we visited.

After we left my ship, we were immediately surrounded by towering guards. Without a single word being uttered, we were escorted out of the hanger and taken straight to the Twilight King. I had hoped there was some way I could create a diversion long enough for us to come up with a plan of attack, but unfortunately, we didn't have that luxury. Sal'kahnak probably planned this out to a T...son of a bitch.

Back to the current moment, I tried to gauge how Vik was feeling and failed miserably. If the guy was feeling anything, he wasn't letting it show.

When the silence grew to be too much, the Twilight King loosed a dramatic sigh. "Have nothing to say?"

"To you, no," Vik snapped, turning to face Er'faniir, "I am wasting my time here."

"My, being with the Terrans truly has changed you," Sal'kahnak mused, cutting the other Darka'ash off before he even had a chance to speak, "You never let your emotions get the better of you."

Realizing what my friend was trying to do, I couldn't help but shudder. You are playing with fire, Vik...do be careful.

"I suppose you could say I learned a thing or two from my friends," he replied, his entire body rigid with agitation.

"Ah yes, How could I forget the glaring difference in you," Sal'kahank continued, disdain dripping from his voice, "You have assumed a human guise. I would have brought you here sooner, but my scouts had trouble finding you."

"Either that, or they have more loyalty to your guard captain than they do to you," Er'faniir fired off. In response, two javelins of dark energy were pointed at his neck.

"I should have kept a better eye on you, Er'faniir. Alas, I put too much faith in you," the Twilight King mused, picking at his nails, "No matter. It is time you learned your place."

Faster than anyone could react, Vi'karac had a twin set of blades in his hands and used them to bat away the guards' weapons.

"Harm my brother, and I will gut you," he breathed, reverting to his original form, "I did not come here to bow before you, Sal'kahnak."

"Yes yes, I know what you wish to do," the ancient sovereign replied, waving a hand in the air, "Took you long enough to figure out what was afoot."

"You cannot just butcher your own people to keep them in line!" Vik exploded, turning away from the shocked guards to fully focus on the Twilight King, "I will never forgive you for what you did to me–to Er'faniir–to Ki'aras."

Apparently, Sal'kahnak also knew what was my friend was playing at since the proud light in his eyes seemed to gutter for the briefest of moments. "What are you playing at, Vi'karac?"

A dark laugh escaped my friend as he incapacitated the guards who tried to harm Er'faniir–he delivered a quick slash to their legs without so much as a fleeting glance. "It is time you paid your dues, Sal'kahnak. You will enslave my people no longer."

Rather than facing his ex-captain with dignity, the Twilight king vanished. In the next instant, a shit ton of heavily-armed Darka'ash guards appeared in the throne room.

"God damn it!" Vi'karac roared, his entire form billowing like fire, "Listen to your captain: stand down and let us pass in peace."

"We cannot do that, Vi'karac," one of the guards answered, "Our liege has deemed you a traitor."

"I personally trained all of you," he growled, twirling one of his blades as he stalked toward his kinsmen, "Allow me to remind you all why you do not disobey your teacher."

I tried to fathom Vik's words, but my testicles promptly shot up to my throat when I witnessed my best friend launch into what could be considered the most violent rampage I have ever witnessed.

Vi'karac was...almost graceful in his fury: with every swing of his blades, another Darka'ash guard fell. At first, my friend aimed to disable, but he quickly started to lop off heads.

"Vi'karac!" I barked, drawing my handgun and training it on the nearest hostile, "Rein yourself in, damn it! I can't have you go down on me."

"I do not plan on dying!" he snapped, overpowering his latest enemy and bashing them into the ground. In the next instant, he picked up another Darka'ash off the ground and tossed them aside as if they were rubbish, "Help me deal with these fools, then we will pursue Sal'kahnak–he cannot get away."

I grunted in response and started blasting away. However, most of our enemies were already gone thanks to Vik's hard work. It didn't take long at all before the throne room was cleared out.

"Do not say anything Er'faniir," Vik breathed, allowing his blades to fall to the ground, "It had to be done."

"I understand...I am just...surprised at how quickly you did away with your ex-comrades..."

"I may have been their captain and teacher, but they questioned my competency day in and day out. They thought having a mind of your own was a curse–something to be frowned upon. Well, I am glad I did not succumb to their pressures," he muttered, cracking his knuckles, "We must be off, Cylus."

"Got it," I replied, putting away my pistol and drawing Sintel, "Everyone, try to follow close behind me and Vik. I have a feeling we're going to be hauling ass."

"Duly noted," Alannah drawled, "Just don't leave us in the dust."

"We won't," I promised her.

Well, I wasn't, at any rate. Just when everyone was ready to get moving, Vik was already off to the races.

"Vi'karac, hold your fucking horses!" I snapped, scrambling to keep up with him.

Unfortunately, he chose to not respond. Since we were linked together, I was able to follow where he was going. That...didn't exactly mean everyone else could do the same.

And so...I forced myself to go at a decent pace as I followed behind my enraged companion. It was more than a little difficult to follow Vi'karac, but I still managed to make up for the lead he had gained over me.

After a few more moments of deliberation, I decided to test our bond. Almost as if I had somehow managed to wrap my hands around it, I tugged on the invisible tether that bounded us together.

I heard Vik snarl in frustration. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I told you to hold your fucking horses, prissy pants," I snapped, "You don't run off without me."

Vi'karac manifested before me, and I couldn't help but note the malevolent air that surrounded him.

"You are allowing Sal'kahnak to get away. Do you not understand that?" he hissed.

"Oh, I understand that perfectly. What I don't get is why you're being such a dick to me. Get the stick out of your ass and get moving–if you won't wait for my crew, we'll go together. Sorry Ali, but I have to compromise with Vik somehow. Alex, Raina: if a Darka'ash gets anywhere near Alannah, kill them."

"O-Okay," Raina stammered.

"I still have a bit of Vik's powers, right?" my son inquired.

"I haven't taken them back yet, so yes you do," I answered, turning to address my friend with a cocked eyebrow, "Ready to roll?"

Vik sighed. "Yes..."

With that, we got moving once again. Along the way, I laid into my best friend.

"Look: I get that you're trying to use your anger against Sal'kahnak. However, don't let it get that better of you–you will regret it sorely. You've spent a fair bit of time in my head, so don't give me the bullshit response of 'you do not understand the burden I am carrying.' I understand damn well, and you know that. More than anything, I fucking care about you, man. Call me a soft-hearted twat, but the last thing I want to see is you dying. The Twilight King has done enough to you for several lifetimes, so please let me help you."

"I...understand, and I apologize for my actions," Vik breathed, "It's just...Ki'aras is still alive...there is no telling what Sal'kahnak will do to her–what he has already done to her."

"I'd be pretty damn mad too, but that's beyond the point. I'll be by your side, mate–just lead the way."

A partial twinkle illuminated his eyes. "Gladly."

Thankfully, Vik seemed to get himself under control while we ran through the dark halls.

"Are you guys managing to keep up with me and Vik?" I asked into my commset.

"Yep. Boreas got the tracker on your suit to work, so we're going off that right now."

Motherfucker. "After we get out of here, I'm going to have to remove that damn thing."

"Hey, it's helping up track where you're going, bitchboy. Don't get salty because you don't want a tracker on you."

"Alright...For now, I'll allow it. Just...please be careful."

"We'll be fine–still not happy with you running off, but it is what it is," Alannah chimed in, "Make sure Vik won't do anything stupid–he's mimicked you in more ways than one. That much is for certain."

I will never live this down..."I'll see what I can do, love."

Thankfully, I was able to focus on following Vik after that. I couldn't stop worrying about my crew, but I had to trust them to be careful. They've been on hunts with me before–they know how to take care of themselves. Still doesn't stop me from worrying about them...

"It shows you care," Vik said, interrupting my thoughts, "Yes, you may have all been on hunts before, but each bounty is different from the last. As a result, they are frightening in their own way."

"You aren't wrong there..." I breathed, "Alright, enough of this. Let's focus on getting to the Twilight King."

"Yes, let's."

With that, our conversation halted. We then spent the next thirty or so minutes running through dark corridors before Vik stopped us before a pitch black metal door. The instant I laid a hand on its surface, I immediately recoiled.

"Wh-What the fuck?" I hissed, looking at Vi'karac in confusion, "The damn thing was freezing cold."

"Sal'Kahnak's doing," he muttered, laying his hands on the frigid slab of metal before us "He imbued this door with dark magic–just trying to get a sense of what he did freezes to the touch."

"Are you going to be okay?" I prompted him.

"Yes, I will be fine. This was meant to deter other Darka'ash from snooping around, but that matters not–we will continue forth in a few moments."

With that, he fell silent. True to his word, Vik pushed the door open after a brief span of silence.

"T-There," he stammered, "Now, as we were."

"Hold it," I replied, "Show me your arms."

"That is unnecessary–."

"Show me your arms," I repeated.

Reluctantly, he did as I asked. While yes, he was in his traditional armor, I couldn't help but notice the frost that had crawled up the length of his forearms.

"Did this seep through to your skin?" I prompted him.

"Sl-Slightly," he breathed, "Not to the point of causing irreversible damage, but enough to hurt."

"Fuck," I hissed, "Will you be okay?"

"F-For now, yes. Do not worry about me–we must continue onward."

Seeing his point, I sighed and nodded in agreement. "Alright...Let's see what Sal'kahnak is hiding down here."

And so we stepped through the open doorway and began our descent down a rough stone staircase. Even with my night vision, I was hard-pressed to figure out just where the hell we were going. Regardless, I kept my head up and followed Vik through the darkness.

Just when I thought we were going to spend the rest of eternity going down this infernal set of stairs, we finally reached the bottom.

"What..." was all I could get out.

"And so the rumors were true..." Vi'karac rumbled, slowly spinning round in a circle in an attempt to take in the sights around us, "The Twilight King's dissenters are sent down here to...wither away."

"That is where you are wrong, my dear Vi'karac," Sal'kahnak cut in, "I always wondered what happens to someone who dies and goes to the Void. I have never been there myself, so the Darka'ash who are brought down to my dungeon are used as...willing test subjects."

In the next instant, I spotted the Twilight King dwelling in a nearby corner of this...dungeon. Getting past that, I realized he appeared to have someone by the neck...

Wait.

"You...son of a bitch," Vik growled, coming to the same realization I had reached, "...Ki'aras?"

"My, aren't you perceptive," the damn bastard purred, tossing the gaunt individual in front of him, "Bear witness to your greatest mistake, Vi'karac. Because of you, one of my greatest sentinels is now little more than my concubine–what a curious concept you Terrans came up with."