Art: UnlimitedCrazy
Song: Escape the Temple by Machinima Sound
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"I've certainly had better days."
-Drake, The Haunted, episode 6: Sunken Treasure

***

Lalea's point of view-

I always found it odd whenever Drake was not able to help around at the school, I suppose it was because it was one of the few times we could spend together as a family when he was not at the palace worried about the war, or training his soldiers. While I did miss having him around, it did not push away the anger I was feeling towards him for using blood magic and...from what I could tell, torturing prisoners. A soft growl vibrated in the back of my throat. I love him, but he can be an idiot, and in this context, not in a cute way.

As Endy walked home with Landen and I, I discussed my concerns with her, I could tell that she was disturbed as much as I was, the two of us trying to hush our conversation when Landen grew curious of the topic.

  "What will you do about it?" She asked, almost whispered to Landen would not hear

I sighed and lowered my head. "I don't even know. I'm his wife, not his mother. Still...I suppose that if I can, I'll try to talk him and Grayson about Drake's...job, and I'll discuss the blood I found to Drake and his therapist.

She nodded and we grew quiet, in fact it was a bit too quiet for comfort. I ignored it at first, focusing on the stars beginning to reveal themselves in the dusk sky. As we continued forward the dread of the streets desolation increased. Landen slowed her pace to walk between us, looking between the two of us and the streets.

  "Where is everyone?" I could hear the worry in my daughter's voice. I took her hand, bringing up that perhaps Emmit was making an announcement. There was distant sound of what I assumed was shouting

Endy shook her head. "I think we would have known if that were the case, however, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a riot...that shouting doesn't sound of goodwill."

I looked around, my eyes being attracted to the glow to the northern west, noticing darkened smoke lifting into the sky where the sound was coming from. Smoke, right where own home should be. My breath caught in my throat, forgetting to breath, a pain filling up my chest as my heart seemed to freeze up.

  "Endy..."

Landen tugged at my dress, her voice trembling. "Mommy? Is that at home?"

I held Landen against my chest, telling Endy to follow as I ran, struggling to keep Landen against me while also avoiding tripping on my dress. I could not answer as my child repeatedly asked what was wrong and if everything was okay. I had to focus on getting home. If I was correct with my assumption of what was going on, then I had to get home as soon as I possibly could.

As we turned the corner close to our home, my feet dug into the ground and stopped me in my place, once again having my breath taken away, vision blurred from forming tears, as I stared at the building I had spent the last eight years of my life in, where I raised my daughter, the entrance up in burning amber flames.

  "Endy! Lalea, Landen!" Our attention turned to Jane who ran up beside us, tears covering her rosy cheeks. "Please tell me that you guys are okay."

Endy answered. "We're fine. Where's you father?"

Her gaze followed into the crowd, and our eyes followed, it was soon evident where the spy was. Xavier was on the ground, guards trying to defuse the situation but held back from the fight as others push them and kept them at bay.

  "He tried to help put the fire out but the crowd started attacking him. Other people started joining in, now I don't know what's going on." Jane's voice shook, filled with worry and fear for her father.

We looked back to the crowd, two sides fighting one another, which I could only assume were those of the sides of people who viewed Drake as the devil and the other as a god. I growled, sick of this petty dispute.

  "Endy, you help Xavier, I'm going to try to put out the fire. Jane, stay here with Landen and don't let anyone try to hurt her." Jane nodded, taking Landen by the shoulders as I set her down, keeping her close.

I quickly turned and dashed for the house, needing to put out the flames before it destroyed not only our belongings, but spread to the homes around it as well.

...

Xavier's point of view-

When Jane and I had arrived home, the fire had just started at the doorway. I had told Jane to stay back and ran in front  of the crowd, running inside to get a pale of water, anything to put out the flames. It was not working, the flames getting higher until it was no longer safe for me to stay inside. The entire doorway was left ablaze, thought thankfully the fire was not spreading inward too fast. I turned back to the mob, a single man holding a touch who began the blaze.

  "What the h*ll is wrong with all of you?!" I haven't said that word in a long time.

The man, who seemed to be the primary agitator of the pack, spat back. "The demon needs to be stopped! He and his family need to know that we do not fear them, that we can stand up against them!"

Some of the people behind him mumbled and chanted in agreement.

  "Drake and his family are not demons! You have no right to do any of this!"

My fists balled, my head jerking sideways from a twitch as I tried to resist throwing a punch. "I have connections to the emperor. Let's see, destruction of property, threats to a high ranking imperial officer, treason to the emperor. You're lucky that the emperor isn't fond of execution."

The man growled, hesitant. "The emperor is a fool for allowing the demon to stay in the empire, let alone live at all!"

  "Drake has done more for you than you'll ever know!"

The crowd began to more riled up, tossing threats and accusations that my friends, family and I were all devils, that the kingdom was being run by legions of demons. This is ridiculous! The people began to get closer, suddenly other pedestrians from the streets began to get involved, attacking one of the members of the crowd, encouraging others to join and begin a full blown riot.

The leader of the group swung his torch at me, though I could feel the heat burning against me, I moved fast enough to avoid the flames contact. I twisted his wrist, moving him arm behind his back and forcing the torch out of his hand as he was forced to the ground.

With the amount of people around me and everything I already had my focus on, I did not have time to react when a boot collided with my torso. I fell over, winded, gasping for breath, a few others taking my vulnerability to their advantage to kick me while I was down. Another even grabbed the fallen touch, embers still burning, and pressed it against my arm. I tried not to scream, focused on using my forearms to protect my face. Guards began to arrive, pulling people away, the kicking growing less frequent. I then heard what sounded like a blast, worried that I would be kicked in the face if I lifted my head.

  "Xavier!"

I could finally cough and regain my breath as the beating stopped. Hearing that angelic voice, I gained the courage to lift my head, my vision blurred but easily recognizing her figure.

  "Xavier, I hope we didn't start that." Her voice was littered with concern as she brought me to my feet, helping me stay up straight. "Please tell me that you're okay."

I placed a kiss on her head before we both wrapped each other in our arms, my body flinching in pain. I chuckled as I assured her that I was okay, just sore and aching. She pulled away, in tears as she begged me never to do anything so brash as to step in front of an angry mob alone ever again. I laughed and hissed through my teeth, groaning from feeling the bruising forming on my skin.

  "I apologize, dear, but I had to do something."

My eyes looked back, the people now being held back by Endy's shield, many of them knocked over from what I had assumed was one of Endy's non lethal magic attacks. Lalea was putting the fire out and the kids were standing on the sidelines away from the chaotic drama. The crowd began to disburse, people running to avoid being caught by the patrolling guards and street officers. I hissed as I looked to the burn on my arm, no blood from the flames burning skin against the wound and sealing itself but...da*m did it hurt.

We turned our attention to Lalea as she finished putting out the flames with a water spell, a majority of the central front wall blacked and beyond repair. She walked inside to look around at the damage which, thank God, was minimal despite the damage to the wall.

  "I'm sorry about this, Lalea." Endy walked up from behind and put a hand on her shoulder to offer comfort.

Lalea cast her gaze down, a weakened, forced smile. "At least Xavier is okay and Landen and I weren't in the house. Mostly everything is still intact other than the rug and tables I had against the wall." I could see the tears welling in her eyes, a drop soon breaking free to slide down her rosy cheek.

I knew that it was not the fact that her house was burned that had her emotional, it was the persecution, it was because of the hate that she and her family suffered that lead to outcomes such as this. I know that Lalea is strong, and even I would break down if the world had turned on me just because I fell in love.

The children came in slowly, harrowed. Jane kept Landen close, trying to keep her comforted as she began to cry silently. Landen, even for her age, was incredibly smart and quickly caught on to what was happening.

  "Did they do this because of me and daddy?" God, even just seeing her in tears made me want to cry. "Where are we going to stay until daddy gets back?"

Lalea came over and picked her up in her arms, bouncing her up and down gently like an infant and she held the back of her head with care to soothe her daughter. "It's okay" Was all Lalea could force up.

Looking around at the damage, and still filled with anger at those vile human beings, I did not trust from them to stay in this house for the night, nor any other night until this place was repaired, which would be awhile until then.

  "You can stay with Endy and I, if that's okay with you dear. It may be safer than staying here."

Endy nodded, turning back to the two. "Of course. You're always welcomed at our place for as long as you need."

Landen gasped, the sorrow and worry clouded with a spark of joy. "Does that mean I can have a sleepover with Jane?" She jumped up and down with excitement.

Lalea smiled, hugging her daughter. "Yes, If Jane is okay with you staying in her room."

  "She's more than welcome."

Landen pulled away, turning back towards Endy and I. She once again looked around at the carnage, sighing as she wiped her eyes. I could see in her eyes how she felt, weak and helpless to have not stopped this predicament from occurring.

  "We will have to tell Emmit about this. I'll ask if he can increase patrol down here to avoid this problem for awhile."

  "It...happened again?"

We turned our heads, one of the imperial messengers stepping over the burn remains of the door.

  "Unfortunately." Lalea spoke softly.

The messenger sighed. "I'm sorry. Sir Xavier, I came next door to find you but saw this...I am glad to find you. Emmit has ordered your arrival to the palace immediately."

I was concerned about being called out at this time of day.

Endy and Lalea gave one another concerned glances. "Why does he need to go to the palace?"

  "Sir Xavier has been summoned by the stand in emperor Emmit for issues regarding the western territory war. All other information must be discussed with him directly."

Endy took a step forward. "May we come with you two?"

The messenger was hesitant, sighing as he caved in. "Very well, however please do not interfere with any discussion that may take place unless you are given permission."

I rolled my eyes. Endy gave a nod, then we were escorted to the palace. As we walked along, I could hear Lalea and Endy making guesses as to why I was called to speak with Emmit, or more so, what involving the war did we need to discuss. I knew that soon I was going to be sent out to the battlefield, but that was not going to be for another week I had assumed. Was this related to that? Was the mission cancelled or postponed? We would have to see.

We arrived in front of the palace, guards standing outside the doors, immediately opening them up upon recognizing who we all were.

We were escorted inside of the palace where Emmit stood, accompanied by the rest of the imperial spies that were under my command.

Emmit smiled, greeting us as we closed the distance between us and the long stretch of hall. "Glad you could make it in such short notice, Xavier." We shook hands before doing the same with the girls. "It's nice for you girls to come along as well."

My team began asking why I looked so ruffled up, flinching as one even touched the burn on my arm.

I sighed. "We were not too far. Lalea's house was attacked again. The front door was destroyed and a large portion of the front wall was burned, along with a few personal belongings. We did not have time to search around the house to see if anything else was destroyed or stolen before I was called here."

Somber expressions found their way around the room, along with looks of anger from a few individuals as they thought of bringing punishment to those responsible for it. I felt angered with the fact as well. Emmit nodded, responding that a few of the people caught had already been brought before him and he had decided to have them wait in the dungeons for sentencing.

  "Emmit," Lalea stepped forward. "This has happened twice now, and who knows what they will try next time! Landen and I could be hurt. We need more officers around the area."

The stand-in emperor scratched the back of his head with a long breath. "Emerald city is the capital, one of the largest cities in the imperial territories. Crime is going on constantly so I can't seclude officers to patrol a specific, small area, especially with all of these refugees that are winding up on the streets and causing crimes of their own to sustain themselves. However I will see what I can do, though I can not promise anything beyond my limits."He turned and stepped away from us, walking back enough so that when he turned around once more, everyone was in view. "My next point, why I called the best of the spy guild to my presence. Iron mere is preparing for war, the enemy is right at their doorstep, recently attacking another city and getting closer to our ally. We have to keep them from reaching Iron Port."

  "I know that Iron mere has been a target for some time now," I commented. "But why are they deciding to advance now of all times?"

Emmit shook his head, raven bangs swaying. "We don't exactly know, but Emperor Grayson and I have discussed it and we believe that it is being targeted because of the artifacts that Iron mere has, those being items essential to the War of Minecraftia."

Right. I recalled Grayson discussing it with us in private awhile back, how those artifacts had to be protected at all costs. I puffed out my chest, taking in a deep breath of air before speaking.

  "Those artifacts are preserved in the museum, everything is guarded by the strongest soldiers and guards that Iron mere has, including guards that we have sent there. Grayson has told me of his suspicions that the enemy is somehow linked to Herobrine. If that is the case, then why are they after the very artifacts that stopped Herobrine in the war?"

Emmit continued. "Well, as you know, Drake has Herobrine's powers, and that Iron mere holds many of the artifacts that destroyed Herobrine's army and banished him. If the enemy managed to get these artifacts, there is a possibility that they could kill Drake and perhaps even Dracey with the army's amount of strength."

  "I didn't think of it that way." I commented, my shoulder lurching up slightly. "Thinking of it, Drake and the others are close to enemy territory. If the enemy manage to get those artifacts and ambush them..."

For a few moments I did not feel the pain from my injuries. If they stayed out there for too long, could the enemy find them? Could they kill them? I suppose that it is unlikely, as they have not even made it to Iron mere, which means they are still a few hundredths of miles away.

I shook my head. "No, not possible. At least they should be heading home, and as soon as Grayson returns and we discuss a plan of action, we will need to go get information from the inside of enemy territory." I smiled, asking the squad if they could be ready in such short notice.

Daniel, my second in command, nodded. "I believe so. We have made preparations beforehand so we should be prepared by tomorrow if we are to leave then."

  "Emperor Grayson and the others should return within a day or two, until then, we all need to remain alert." I stated, a concentrated gaze staring back at everyone.

Lalea looked over her shoulder back to the door, surly anxious about what was happening around us, scared that the crowd could return to her home at any given moment to finish what they had started.

She remained looking away as she spoke to Endy and I. "I don't want to be a bother to your family. If this is the last day you are here before you are deployed, then you should be spending it having fun with your loved ones."

Endy quickly objected, assuring her that we were all family and could never burden each other, especially at a time like this. I agreed, letting her know that I would be thrilled to spend time with all of them. Lalea smiled, however weak.

  "Say," Jane joined in. "Why not go do something fun and kind of relaxing too? Like...like a picnic!"

I smiled, agreeing to the idea, as long of she didn't bring her boyfriend. She pouted and snapped back that she wasn't planning on it, making me laugh. Emmit told Lalea, who still looked worried, that he would make sure her home would be safe and would sent guards back home with us to guard the perimeter while we prepared to go out. She thanked him, nodding her head.

  "Okay. We can having it at the Lavender Gardens! I've always loved that place, as long as it is alright with you."

I giggled at her modesty. I remembered that back in the day, she was not as bashful as she is now, if fact she was quite a jump straight into it person. I suppose having a family changed that. Endy quickly said that that it was fine and to stop worrying; that we would be okay with whatever we did. Jane and Landen laughed as the girls began heading to the door. I was about to go with them, stopping when I was taken by the arm.

"Xavier," I turned my head to Emmit his grip tight, digging into sore skin. I gently pulled my arm out of his grasp, listening as he continued, looking to all of us spies. "All of you, while you are out on the field, search for prisoners of war but be cautious. We can't be sure who has been brainwashed or not."

  "We know. We will keep a close eye out and keep our guards up." Daniel held his arms behind his back, chin up.

  "And you, Xavier," Emmit placed all of his attention on me. "If you keep getting into fights like you did, you may be arrested and one day Grayson and I won't be able to help you out."

A smile came onto my lips as I bowed, slowly walking away from him. "I did not instigate the fight, nor did I allow there to be injustice when I was able to prevent it. I am justified in my actions. I am sure that my case will withstand."

I turned around and marched off to join with the girls, conversation growing amongst the rest in the higher up spy guild on the topic of those just arrested. The doors opened, Lalea grabbing Landen and pulling her close as a man was dragged in by an officer I recognized from Emerald city. I could see the uneasiness in the girls as they passed by, quickly realizing why. Our gazes locked in spiteful glares, holding back the spitfire of my thoughts behind my teeth. The man who had burned Lalea's home. We said nothing as we passed by one another, yet it was like an electric shock of loathing.

  "God have mercy of your ungrateful soul."

...

Drake's point of view-

It did not take long for us to reach our next destination within this chaotic labyrinth. These feelings I had buried inside of me were closing in on the surface of my being...or was it that my emotions were being drained? One moment I would feel an intense anxiety and anger, then the next, I would feel nothing at all. I wanted to be scared of what I was feeling, to be worried about the thoughts flashing through my mind, but I was not.

I looked up, spotting a wall, as I could see more clearly in the dark then the others. I twitched, an excessive worry and shock rising, slowing my pace. A statue stood erect before us, it's head hexagonal and black with purple ancient carvings, eyes a dreary white. I could not keep myself looking at those eyes for long, only feeling my depressive state setting in.

The statue itself resemble that of a cobra's head, it's closed jaw acting as the door from this camber to the next.

As the emotions slipped from my being, I found myself able to look at the statue, to take in the entirety it's architectural design. I then realized how familiar it was. Familiarity I was so used to that I often brushed it off as myself being crazy, yet this was different. It was not dejavu, but true familiarity to another subject I had experienced. It resembled the statues at the magic library.

Grayson pointed out that fact, his voice uneven.

  "If this was also in the magic library, which was created by the Order, then does that mean that...the Order built this place?"

I could hear Eleanor a ways behind me, her voice tight and brittle. "I can't take this." It sound as if she were on the brink of crying. "This room...I feel so scared. The...the black magic, i-it..." She trailed off into hiccups and choking.

Cecile's voice shook, "My magic...it feels...weird."

Every sound then became nothing but a distant static.

"Ít's Grays̵oņ's fául҉t҉...he̡ ̀is ͝th̛e҉ ҉rea̸s̢o̷n͠ ̨that ͡the͏ ̧cu̵lt ͟i̕s ̶s̕t͠ilļ ou̶t ̧t̛h̷ere͢, killi̶ńg ͠anḑ e̴n͠slàv͞in̕g͢ ͘innocen҉t̕ pe̷ople."

I grabbed my ears, trying to block it out, yet every word made into my skull. And I began to believe every lie. No...they are no lies...

  "Y̕ou͠ c̛o̕ul̕d͢ ̀h̡ave s҉av̀e͢d͜ śo͜ mány͝ ̀ìnno̷c̶e̵n͡t͟ ͏a͏nd ́y͜e͡t͟ h͝e͜re ͜yo̶u ̴are,̶ ̶yo͏ur ̛frie̛nd͘s͘ bei͘ng̷ h͠ur̕t̨ and͢ dyi͟n͝g ͢for pla̕y҉ whe̶n̢ ̕y̵ǫu͏ co̷u͞ld͜ ͏b́e͜ ͜s̸avi͘n̕g li͏ve͏s͟."

Something snapped in my head, an inexplicable desire, a pestering need to...to kill.

I was hit by the rush of emotions, or rather, the lack of. The nothingness had claimed me yet again, like I was gripped by death. I suddenly could not care less about anything, my actions, what the voices were whispering in my brain. I knew that I should have been feeling something; apprehension, hatred, curiosity, joy from the excess of adrenaline that I had not felt in years, but no. Everything had become a blank slate. I felt empty, I felt a need to fill the void. I felt the need for justice, for blood.

  "Drake?" His voice filled the void with an inferno of anger. I could not stand the thought of him doing all of this without any guilt for his actions.

  "Drake?...Buddy?" The next thing I knew, I was above Grayson, pain in his eyes, gasping and squirming to get away as I choked him, squeezing the life out of my best friend. I had done this before and hated myself so much for it, yet at that moment... I enjoyed it. For some reason, I felt like hearing his gasps go silent, to see him fall limp would make me feel something beside this rage.

Strangling him with one hand, I readied to blast open his head with the other, voices screaming in my brain, clashing for dominance. Do it, don't do it...why should I stop?

I was suddenly knocked away from Grayson as Cecile ran and slammed his shoulder into me. It only made me angrier. As I rolled over and looked at him, I could see tears covering his face past the crimson that now enveloped the brim of my vision. As he stood with a magic ready to attack, I could tell that the blue of his magic was mixing with black and white.

Before I could attack him, Markus and Kyle were holding my arms behind my back, Victor forcing my face to press against the floor.

  "Sire, are you alright?" Victor asked as Grayson coughed with harsh intakes of breath.

"It's not his fault!" Cecile defended me. Why would he be stupid enough to do that? "It might be affecting him the most because he's used black magic before."

It was almost humorous to me at the time as I watched him bite his lip, holding his arm, bending his fingers as if they were cramping up. Fear and sorrow was plastered in his eyes, tears bringing out the bright blue in his eyes like polished diamonds.

  "I can feel it too....I can hear the voices from that statue...the lies and the urgency to kill...is this how Drake feels?" He can't possibly know how I feel...no one can.

Yet something in the back of my mind kept me from killing everyone in one fair go, as I was more than capable of doing. Was it the apathy setting in or were my morals being retained deep down? It doesn't f**king matter...

  "I've read about all different types of magic." Eleanor explained. "Black magic is very dangerous, as you can see, it effects emotional wellbeing, especially in that of magi. It corrupts thoughts and feelings, making one weak or strong depending on the person, and make you unable to think clearly; basically wiping the moral compass clean,even more so in a person affected by it unwillingly."

  "Get off of me!" I screamed and thrashed, a burning feeling inside of me until there was a bright flash, and weight holding me down was gone.

I picked myself up, watching the guards laying and kneeling on the ground, groaning in pain. Cecile had his shield cast up, protecting himself and the others from the blast that could have killed them. My ears rung, filling with voices of temptation. A part of me knew that I was in the wrong. I had voices in my head for years, so why is this any different? Why now do I feel such a need to give into the voices desires? My eyes fixated on Grayson, my blood boiling hot.

  "͟It̡'̛s ͘his faųlt.̷..̧ever͘ythi̴n̕g ͜is͡ his f҉au̡l͡t.͏"͝

I no longer saw the point in resistance, could not understand why everyone was struggling so hard to resist the voices. My own thoughts were completely cast aside. The voices had replaced them entirely.

  "T͢h̕eir b̢l͢ood̀ ̕w͘ill f҉i̶ll͝ ̢t͠h̸e͏ ͞vo͠įd̕."

I could see the white light of my power from the corner of my eyes, energy flaring upon my hand, rushing up and down my arm while I drew and held my sword with my other hand, a need to see it glitter in liquid red.

Before I could kill Grayson, I felt pain surge through my side. The pain felt good, and though I turned to attack, it was not in defense. Self preservation was gone, moral was gone. Everything was gone.

My eyes met with Dante's, a blank stare gazing back at me as he took another slash at my torso. That sword was not his, it belonged to one of the guards; the one laying motionless just a few feet away.

I did not shield myself; my only instinct to make the emptiness go away. I had almost forgotten how used to the pain, how use to the emotionless void I was. How easily this void that I once called home could force me into submission.

I attacked with my sword, cutting deep into his arm to render it paralyzed under my blades enchantment. I slashed at his shoulder in attempt to get his neck, his limp fingers dropping his weapon. Dante collapsed, my foot stomping into his sword before he could scurry to grasp the handle.

The whispers continued to fade into my ears, begging me to kill him. At this point I believed the voices to be my own, my thoughts and the demons one in the same. I readied myself and prepared for the kill with an energy strike, but before I could manage it, I was hit from the front with multiple purple blasts of fire fading into orange.

I toppled over, the flames eating at my clothing viciously, but I did not bother to put it out as I stood back up in the flames. Why bother when I can't feel pain..? I can't feel pain. I can't feel anything.

Grayson's point of view-

Dante scampered back to cover, hiding behind the shield that Cecile put up. I grabbed and pulled him, asking why he would do something so stupid, but I saw something in his eyes, something similar to what I had seen in Drake's moments ago, an anger. He struggled to pull away from me, Angie grabbing him and holding his arms down, telling him to calm down. He seemed to be relaxing, Drake on the other hand had an expression that...how do I even describe it? His face was devoid of emotion yet his eyes screamed rage, even when his body currently in flames, dying out fast. And those eyes like death were directed straight toward myself.

  "We need to stop the statue." Jeremiah concluded. "If that's what's amplifying the effects on him, then we need to destroy it or something. Maybe that will calm him down."

Cecile set up another layer to his shield as Drake suddenly attacked it, pushing his heels back on the ground. I could see that the first layer was turning black, quickly shattering under the force of Drake's power. My eyes moved around to see my guards picking themselves up, surly preparing to get Drake's attention off of us, more specifically me.

With Drake slipping away from sanity, I could not deny that I myself could feel my emotions slipping away, leaving only anger remaining. I was struggling to hold myself together. I found my hand slipping over my sword, thinking all of those times Drake had lashed out at me, sometimes even getting physical. All of those times he lied to me! He has the audacity to call me a hypocrite? Why am I so reliant on him; that selfish b**tard?! ...What am I saying?

"̡He̸'s͞ holdin͠g͜ ́y̴ou doẁn.̶.̛.you h́av̶ȩ mo̵r͞e ͢p̡o̸t̵en͡tiál than͡ tḩat͟;̸ c͝on҉st̛an͢tly w̶a̕t͘ch͢i͏n̸g over͏ him, b͢ei͞ng s͏ca̸r̷éd̀ a͢b҉ou̸t͡ ͢h̶im͘.͘ A ļi̸ar̶, be͏tray̛s y҉ou̕r̛ tr̷us͟t wit̡h̸òut ́ỳo͠u e͡v͢eņ ͢k͞nowi͘ng, b̕eatś yo̶u̴. Wha͞t ̴f̕rie͞ǹd̷ ́ìs t̡hat͟? ͝Whý ̶s͟ho͘ul͘d̡ y̨oú ͝c͞a̢r͢e͝?"͘

I kept thinking of rushing out there and attacking him. The thought of my sword thrusting into his chest, the light in his eyes going out, it made me feel somber and yet...satisfied. The images filled me with the same pleasure I had the moment I chopped off Alduin's head. I...No! Grayson, stop it!

"I'm not killing him! Stop!" I screamed, holding the sides of my head, plugging my ears to block it out.

  "Grayson, tune it out!" Mia called. I counted, I talked to myself, telling myself that Drake was the reason I was alive...thinking about that helped me to relax. The voices tones down, but I could still hear the faint whispers in the back of my head.

I looked back up as Drake continued attacking the shield, Cecile screaming with the amount of mana he was expelling, struggling to put up layer of layer of energy and each shield before it was shattered. It was blinding as well, Drake's power being pure light. Eleanor helped Cecile, combining their magic to make the shields stronger.

  "Sire, Mia, you two have seen these before you say? At the magic library? How do we stop him?" Angie asked, shaking with fear, tears welled in her eyes. "Open the door? Destroy the statute?"

I shook my head, watching Drake now standing there, holding his head, screaming to himself. I knew the sight like no other, the scene of him fighting to come back to his senses. I knew what it was like when he was fighting off urges and voices in his head, twitching involuntary as if to shake out sinful, blood lusting thoughts. I knew what was needed to be done; he needed to find the strength in his own mind to combat this.

  "I believe that we need to bring him back to his senses, to make him reject the thoughts he's having. We have to be quick, otherwise we too may fall victim to the same fate."

Angie looked to the magi. "Do you two know any spells that could calm him?"

Cecile collapsed, breathing heavily as if he were exhausted. "I know sleeping magic. I still have mana left so if I cast a brief spell to its lowest potential, it may calm him rather than put him to sleep."

Jeremiah joined in. "How are you going to use that spell without him trying to kill you?"

As Cecile hesitated with thought, I turned back to the sound of clashing blades, a wave of air exiting my lungs to see Drake fighting with the three of my bodyguards, all four thankfully armed with swords rather than Drake killing them with one fair swipe of his hand. He must have been feeling weak...the poison. I had forgotten about that factor. It was definitely showing in his melee combat, even when he was slashing at my top guards like a butcher chopping meat. It bought us time, and at that moment that was what we needed, yet we still could not have Cecile go out there, to vulnerable to go it alone.

  "Someone needs to distract him." Cecile thought up, just as I had.

  "I can do it." I offered, watching my best friend past the semi-transparent shield. "He seems to be targeting me more than anyone else."

I watched as Drake began to assault Markus, aiming for his weak points from when we were attacked up above. His shoulder pad was missing, leaving Drake an open window. With a single lunge of his weapon, Drake struck him there. I flinched to hear my most loyal guard screaming in agony, his arm falling limp either from where the strike was located or from the paralysis enchantment on Drake's sword. I could hear Drake cackling, yanking out his blade with a sickening pop and grinding sound of bone. I had to do this quickly.

The guards now all laid on the floor, alive but gravely injured. Drake turned back to us with a snarl and a mist of white escaping from past his bared teeth.

I glance around at everyone, nodding to signal that I was moving out. With that done, I bolted out from behind the shield, chanting to get his attention off of Cecile and onto me.

There was a factor I had forgotten to account for.

My breath hitched when Drake had suddenly vanished, and in a near instant, he was right in front of me, eyes burning into my corneas. The next thing my brain could process was the fact that I could not breathe. Drake's hands clasped painfully around my neck, yet I was not as scared as I felt I should have been, after all I have gone through this multiple times, yet my heart was still racing, pulsating in my ears and neck, his fingers digging into the midline, closing off my throat, thus my airways being locked.

I felt my own feet be lifted from the ground, dangling as I kicked at his knees in hopes he would buckle or loosen his grip. I could feel his fingers and palm shifting, as if contemplating rather or not to just snap my neck. Purple spots began to flutter across my vision, darkness closing in. I could not see past tears, my hands that were clawing at him soon to fall limp as my limbs tingle and go numb.

I could see the blur of light blue as Cecile stepped out from behind the shield, as quick as he slipped into view, a blue light grew as his cast spell came speeding towards us. It exploded as it struck Drake's back, his tight grip releasing me to allow me to fall, gasping and coughing in attempt to get oxygen back into my lungs and up to my brain. My face burned, tears on my cheeks, my chest aching. I laid there recovering, Drake collapsing to his knees in front of me. My vision began to clear, Cecile charging up to us, falling to his knees next to me.

  "My lord, are you alright?" He asked, his voice shaking, crying at the thought that I could have been killed.

I groaned as he helped me to sit up, assuring him that I was fine. My attention averted to Drake, his eyes partially open as the spell pulled him into a state of drowsiness. "G-Grayson..?"

His eyes then opened fully, gasping at the realization of what he had done. His eyes teared up, asking if I was okay, pushing himself away from me as he repeatedly apologized. I could tell by the way he was shaking and stuttering that a panic attack was near to setting in. I pushed myself towards him and forced his arms down to his sides, keeping a stern expression to look confident in my words.

  "Drake, it's fine! The black magic was making you think ill things, you just need to deny whatever that statute is telling you! We can get through this."

The others were walking to the guards, being sure that they were okay as they were helped up Kyle, however the others remained laying on the floor, either unconscious or dead. I kept hoping for the first option.

Pulling Drake to his feet, I continued to feel my heart race, the adrenaline pumping throughout my body. Drake looked over his shoulder, asking if they were okay, turning to slowly make his way toward them. I kept my eyes on him, however he seemed to be controlling himself at much more stable level, though I could see that he was terrified. Drake was odd, given that he was once a vessel, death and injury rarely bothered him these days, yet now it was if he had never seen these types of situations. Perhaps because it was done by his own hands, the fact that he was barely conscious of what he was doing hitting too close to home.

  "Drake, are you okay?" Mia asked, she and the others stepping back as he approached.

Drake stayed silent, instead reversing the question and asking if she and the others were okay. Thankfully, she clarified that Markus and Victor were only unconscious, however noted that they were bleeding profusely. Drake nodded, shaking while holding his arm as he approached Markus, kneeling down and placing a hand on his shoulder, the bone surly shattered. Markus whimpered and flinched in his unconscious state, groaning in pain as Drake healed up his wounds, doing the same with Victor. He did not bother to heal himself.

Kyle stepped away, hitting me with surprise. I had never seen Kyle appear so...scared. Drake muttered apologizes, just loud enough for him to hear. I assured him that all was okay and Drake was aware of his actions now. He continued to be hesitant, and I was sure that he only listened because we out ranked him.

Drake healed Kyle, turning around and picking up Victor with little problem despite his armor adding about one hundred pounds minimum. Drake sighed in relief, trembling. "Good...Kyle, you grab Markus. I'll carry Victor. We need to get to the next room before anything else goes wrong."

I placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling as I asked him to calm down, assuring him that it was going to be okay. He looked down, avoiding eye contact as he said nothing, instead changing the subject back to our issue with the door.

He turned, marching to the demon door. "Maybe I could destroy this thing. We'd be able to get through."

  "We don't know how to open it, you can give it a shot and destroy it." Dante suggests, seeming better than before.

Third person point of view-

Drake nodded and set Victor down, blocking his unconscious body with a force field before firing a powerful blast of magic at the statue in the doorway, completely obliterating it to reveal another room behind it, blue light pouring in.

  "Wow...what is that blue light?" Cecile says as he starts to walk into the room.

Mia looked in awe. "It's so pretty!"

Eleanor shook her head. "I don't know but it's powerful."

She walked into the room, a large doorway covered in blue and purple light. Behind it was another, the first with an inscription above it.

  "There are two of them. This one we need to transfer magic into it to take it down and pass through."

The guards began to regain consciousness, relieving the others as they regained their footing on the ground, asking what had happened and if everyone was okay. The others hesitated to tell them that Drake had attacked them, Grayson only telling them that everything was okay now and that no one was hurt. Victor and Markus were not left satisfied with the answer but did not question their emperor.

Attention was turned back to the doorway. The magi placed their hands against the barrier of blue light, their own magic becoming visible around their hands, the colors merging into the barrier and fading off into the Sistine blue. The amount of mana it was draining became was quick to become worrying, Cecile and Eleanor feeling their mana decreasing within their own bodies, close to tapping out. Drake could see the power on his hand flickering, the barrier unsure of rather to accept it or not as Drake's mana was not pure, in more ways than one, as he could not control rather he was transferring mana or pure energy. It accepted the amount that Drake was able to give, the process feeling elongated, the magi feeling weakened. The barrier slowly faded from top to bottom, rising once again when one of the magi took a break for only a second.

  "How much will it need?" Cecile asked in concern to no one in particular.

  "I am not sure, but after this there better not be any more tests involving magic because I don't think I will have enough to use." Eleanor huffed.

While the process seemed long lived, it was only a minute after they began to transfer mana did the barrier fade entirely. A simple minute felt like an eternity, especially with the essence of black magic continuing to linger, riling emotions and negativity in their heads. They pulled their hands away as the barrier sank beneath the level of their waists, the light fading, another barrier a few yards away.

  "There. I don't think that I could use any more of my abilities. I don't exactly feel as strong as usual." Drake exclaimed, watching the light dancing, then fading against his frail fingertips.

  "What about this second one?" Cecile wondered as he approached the second barrier, Eleanor following. "We don't have enough mana to pass through it."

Eleanor lifted an arm, placing a hand gently against the barrier, only for it to phase straight through to the other side. A single pant slipped from her lungs, taken by surprise. The raven haired and the blonde exchanged glances before the girl turned back, inhaling to brace herself as she passed through the doorway. As she walked through, it was as if the air itself had thinned. Her lungs sucked in a breath of air like a pressure had lifted from her chest, the oxygen tasting as fresh as that in a luscious forest flourishing with vegetation. Her racing thoughts slowed to steady, healthy pace, the anxieties and sorrows growing dim. Her body itself felt lighter, the atmosphere washing away the fear clawing and biting ferociously at her thoughts.

"Guys, get in here! This is...it feels wonderful!" She laughed and rejoiced in these feelings she feared she would be forever deprived of in this h**lish death trap of a crypt.

Cecile and Angie looked to one another nervously, Angie cautiously put her arm through, surprised by how light her limbs now felt, how it no longer ached. The two passed over, happily laughing on the other side as they were swept away in relief, almost in tears of happiness. The others passed through as well, their minds suddenly feeling less cluttered, less darkened.

  "Drake, come on!" Jeremiah ushered him to pass, following behind Dante.

Dante passed through the barrier of light with ease, however as Drake pressed a hand against it, worried to even touch the door despite knowing that it would supposedly abolish these terrible thoughts and feelings he was having.

When his hand pressed against the light, he froze as his fingertips, instead of phasing through, came into contact with a solid force.

"What the-?"

Grayson looked back, barely visible on the other side of the doorway, noticing Drake with his hands against the light, a brow lowered. He went back and asked Drake what the issue was, Drake staring at his hands as he continued to push to get through to no avail.

  "I...I can't get through."

He pushed with more force, quickly stepping back as he realized that he was not going to make it. Frustration rose in his system, amplifying the negativity that was already inside of him.

  "Why can't I get through?!"

Grayson flinched, stepping back as Drake's power flared around his clenched fists, the light of his eyes and in the back of his throat like a burning fire. Drake's body flickered like a spirit, ender particles and light flaring.

  "I can't teleport in there either." He growled.

Grayson straightened his back and informed him that he would talk about it with the others, telling him to relax and that they would figure it out. He passed back through to the other side with the rest of their companions, asking Cecile and Eleanor if they knew why Drake could not get passed the barrier.

Cecile's gaze shifted between the two, hesitant to go back out there where anxiety and sorrow could grip him once more. He sucked in a breath, getting the relatively clean air into his lungs, not even the taste of dust upon his tongue.

  "I'm not sure why he can't get passed. Perhaps it's because of his Enderman half or...maybe even his powers."

Drake grabbed his head, releasing a hiss with a sudden pain spiking in his head. The others noticed his sound of pain, Mia asking if he was okay. Drake lowered his hand, a soft growl behind chapped lips, staring at the wall with eyes open wide as he recalled the memories before looking up.

  "I'm fine, just remembered something. Grayson, do you remember the imperial forge back at Iron mere? It was protected by barriers like this that kept out Him."

Grayson nodded slowly, eyes shifting down I recollection. "Yes, I remember. Do you think it's because of the essence of Herobrine's power that you can't get through the door?"

  "I believe so..." Drake thought back to those days, remembering the fear and panic the trio had suffered as Herobrine broke down the defense of the forge. How did he do that again?

He could almost feel the ground quaking beneath his feet as his feeble mind recalled the onslaught of Herobrine's attack upon the forge until the magic protection was forced down, like that of a magi's shield.

  "What if...What if I destroy this barrier? He was able to destroy the one at the forge so I should be able to do the same!...However, I may end up hurting you guys if I am not careful."

The others instinctively backed away in fear upon hearing his words. Cecile quickly spoke in protest, claiming that if the barrier were to go down, then the darkness lingering in the chamber Drake found himself trapped within would overtake their sanctuary, as well as bringing up that there would be no telling the other consequences, such as the doorway collapsing on itself and hurting the rest of them if he managed to lose control over himself once more.

There was hesitation within Drake as he weighed his options. His hand lowered, a grimace washing across his facial features.

  "Perhaps you're right."

  "No!" Grayson objected. "What if something happens and we can't get back to you? We came all this way together so we are not leaving you out there in that h**l for that magic to drive you nuts

Grayson commanded everyone to step back, telling Drake to do whatever he felt needed to be done.

Drake nodded as he lifted his hand, trying to push the darkness in his head aside and concentrate for the sake of his friends. Trying to attempt so was easier to do as a thought, while the action of controlling himself was like pushing against a force crushing his head on every side. One second his thoughts would be clean, then the next they'd be drenched in blood.

Drake fired blasts of energy rapidly against the barrier, his friends ducking and covering themselves on the other side in fear that they would be struck, hiding behind corners that were the beginning of separate corridors. Grayson looked back, squinting from the blinding light.

  "Drake, do not overexert yourself! Be careful!"

Grayson watched, Drake's attacks becoming less frequent as he grew more tired and weakened for using his abilities as much as he was. With a shout, Drake exerted enough power to break the wall of light down, the blue hue dissolving with Drake able to hold himself back before his power struck a comrade. The group shuttered, a few tears shed as the black magic hit them once more, the sickening presence enveloping them in malevolent intent once more.

Cecile slowly approached the hybrid with caution, concerned but not daring to touch him until he was sure that Drake would not lash at him. Drake collapsed to his knees, shaking with a absence of gasping and panting.

  "Are you alright?" He asked, ambivalent. "I can tell that you're exhausted."

Jeremiah was the next to step forward, helping Drake back up to his feet. Markus pointed out how now that the barrier was gone, that dreadful feeling caused by the black magic had returned, and now it seemed that there would be no getting rid of it. Drake growled, pushing Jeremiah away, shaking from fear. Without warning, the hybrid began screaming, shouting at an unseen force to get away from him. With his arms flashing white, Cecile grabbed him from behind, forcing Drake's ands down to his sides.

"Drake, stop!"

The guards held Grayson back, stepping in front of him in preparation to fight back to protect the emperor if needed. Cecile panicked internally, knowing that without magic to calm his friend down, he and Jeremiah would be the first down in a wake of destruction if Drake were to have a psychotic breakdown.
Drake thrashed around, on the bring of forcing himself to use his abilities until a glint of gold shimmered against his chest, slipping out from an opening of his button up grey vest. His movement became less frantic until he was nearly still, continuous shaking in his arms and legs as he stared at his locket that Lalea and Landen had given him.

  "No...how could I do this? What would they think of me if they saw me doing this right now?" He thought, pushing away the homicidal images and urges tingling against his fingertips. "I can't betray them...I can't be like Him...not anymore."

Cecile loosened his grip as sensed Drake's anxiety lower. He repeated another few times for him to relax and that everything was okay. Drake apologized softly, Cecile relaxing enough to let him go. Grayson felt relieved, releasing a breath he had not even known he had been holding in. Mia did the same before feeling a light tap against her shoulder.

Her mood immediately lifted as she turned around to Angie gesturing to the three different corridors separating east, west, and north. Each one appeared to be leading off into separate rooms.

The others noticed as well as the tension died down, a few glimmers of faint smiles and breaths of awe.

  "Should we split up? You know, to cover more ground?" Jeremiah suggested as he approached, jittery as he held himself from sprinting for exploration.

  "I don't see why not. We can cover more ground that way but we should go in groups just to be sure." Mia turned on the heels of her heavy boots, looking back to the others.

Jeremiah looked to Drake a gentle smile hiding enthusiasm. "I could go with Drake! If that's okay with you, commander." Drake nodded, noting how the boy referred to him by his military title, as if scared to impose on any arrangement Drake.

  "It is fine."

Cecile kept close to Drake, watching as he continued to sway. "I will be going with him as well."

The guards arranged to accompany Grayson, Angie and Mia joined together, giggling, Eleanor and Samantha grouping up, leaving Dante as last pick as it was obvious he was currently moody, or moody for not being picked. Whatever the cause, the black magic lingering in his mind caused him to growl, a soft gasp with fleeting anger as Jeremiah took his hand.

  "Come with us!" Dante smiled as he walked forward and joined the other three, he and Drake exchanging mildly annoyed glances as they were already distasted of one another, however willing to cooperate with one another.

A smile came to Grayson's face, ponytail falling over his shoulder as he glanced down. "Fair enough." He glanced back up having pushed his worries aside. "We will head northern, if anyone manages to find anything of importance, report back to me."

Angie giggle, taking Mia's hand, dragging her down the right corridor as she cheered and wondered what glories and histories they could find. What could they find that had been lost throughout the ages? Lost magic or fallen empires? They were soon to discover. The magi looked to one another, uneasiness in their features.

Eleanor glanced around before turning back to her friends. "Be careful, the black magic is definitely masking a force far more powerful. There is something malevolent in here."

They agreed to proceed with caution and to stay alert. As they exchanged hopes of good luck, the two groups parted, the girls heading to the east, leaving the boys to travel to the left. Jeremiah grabbed Drake by the sleeve and piled him along, a wide smile overtaking his cheeks, the other two walking behind.

They were soon to enter a larger room filled with vines and various shelves with books and artifacts, including tablets with shrouds over is, brilliant red colors with golden embroidery.

Cecile and Jeremiah immediately bolted inside, Jeremiah scavenging through artifacts, Cecile flipping through the pages of books. "This is amazing!" Cecile's blue eyes glimmered in fascination.

Dante and Drake took a more cautious and vigilant routine, looking around the room as they moved slowly. Drake took in the likeliness of the magic library and the hatchery that this place so closely.

Drake looked around at the small artifacts laying around, small statues like dolls and charms. Murals made of tattered fabric hung of the walls, the corners gently swaying as he walked by.

  "I had assumed that the Order had built this place..." Drake began, picking up a small statue of a familiar figure with a blank face, eyes forever blank.

He continued. "Yet why do they have so many artifacts that relate to...to Him?"

Dante took the statue from him, keeping it away as to prevent another outburst. "Perhaps, if what you said about the barrier being used to keep Him out is true, the Order used this place to study him in safety."

  "I suppose." Drake still appeared uncomfortable, watching as Dante set the statue down back onto the cloth.

Cecile grabbed their attention from the other side of the room, calling for them to come see what he had found. He held an old book, the clasps in it broken, the leather now thick rags. The pages were deteriorating, yellow and wrinkled with slightest begging for a gentle hand.

  "Check out this book. It's falling apart of pieces of it are still legible." He handed it off to Drake.

Jeremiah looked over Cecile's shoulder to see what it was, followed by Drake looking over at the page, then Dante.

  "It appears to be a series of journalistic logs but...it's in Bargelian. Isn't that the language of the cult?"

Jeremiah pondered. "Yes, but if dark magic was meant to be kept out, then why are there journals written in the same language of the cult, the ones who primarily use black magic?"

Drake took another glance at the artifacts across the room, taking in the variety of weapons and magical items.

  "Perhaps...the Order collected it. If that is the case then that would mean that the cult of...Herobrine, and the Order have fought before in the past, if the cult did make this. The question is, who won?" Saying the name of that demon left a sour taste on his tongue.

  "I'm not sure. Perhaps we can learn more of it in these books." Jeremiah smiled before looking through more of the gallery of books.

Drake gently took the journal from Cecile's hand, glancing over a page to decipher its wording. He told the others to look around while attempted to figure out what it said, or at least bits and pieces of what was available.

  "Cecile." Dante brought Cecile's attention to himself. "Let's go look around and see what we can find. Jeremiah and Drake, you guys have this room covered, right?"

Jeremiah smiled and nodded. "All covered. You guys go see what else you can find."

The two wandered off, leaving Drake in his studies and Jeremiah in his fascination. As the two went down the hallway, the contents in the pockets of Dante's coat clinked against the metal buckle of his belt, a metallic and glasslike echo.

  "What's in your pockets?" Asked the blonde, a curious yet nervous gaze. "What did you take?"

Dante smiled with a light giggle, moving a hand to an inner pocket in his coat, removing a small glass jar containing a sand-like blue pounder. Cecile lowered a brow.

  "What is that?"

Dante did not look up at him as he unscrewed the cap, his lips in a flat line. "Don't you remember? Awhile back I said I was having issues sleeping and meditation wasn't working."

The blonde nodded in recollection. "Right." A soft smile came to his smooth cheeks. "I made that, didn't I?"

Dante nodded. "Yep! You've always been a master a sleeping magic."

Cecile felt his cheeks go warm, bashful as he thanked him for the compliment. The boy was then stopped in his tracks as Dante forced himself before him in their path. The mage asked the archeologist what he was doing, taking a step back as his heart pounded against his chest.

  "Thing is, I lied about being an insomniac." With that, Dante blew a handful of the powder into Cecile's direction.

Dante held his breath, watching Cecile cough and lean against the wall to keep himself up. As Dante closed the jar, slipping it back into his thick jacket, Cecile could only look up into the dark eyes of whom he had called a friend, breathing out his name before keeling over, unconscious.

The archeologist sighed before dragging the mage into a another room, leaving him there in the dark so no one would stumble upon him.

...

Jeremiah lifted his head from a book as Drake tapped on his shoulder, grabbing his attention.

  "Jeremiah," Drake began, "The journal, apparently it was written by a member of the Order. It seems that they were drawn here by some powerful magic that none of them had felt before, and unfortunately it seems that Hero and the early cultists were drawn to it as well, prompting an attack on this place. Perhaps that is why the demons are here and the barriers are set up."

  "It would make sense I suppose. It is possible that the Order put up those barriers to keep Him out, and it would explain why there are demons on the island, they're trying to get whatever is here! Should we tell emperor Grayson?"

  "I believe that we should."

Footsteps came from down the hallway, only a single pair approaching, which raised alarm as their groups were all a minimum of two. They looked over to the doorway, Dante entering their view.

  "Where's Cecile?" Drake asked, an uneasy tension at the back of his head. "Find anything of use?"

Dante smiled with a nod, only for a brief moment. "We think we might have, a journal of sorts. Cecile is still looking it over, it's in the magi language but I still don't know much on it. Jeremiah, while they finish reading, lets go look into some other rooms! I saw a few interesting ones." He hid a small smirk as he turned away, stopping to Drake's voice.

  "I finished with what I had. There is still more to go through in here but I don't want to leave you guys alone. I still have a bit of power incase I need to protect you."

The traitor struggled to hold back a growl but quickly painted on a smile. "Fine."

Dante grabbed Jeremiah by the sleeve of his chiffon sweater and pulled him along, a dread settling in Dante's chest. Up ahead they could see it, a massive door almost similar to the door outside which Drake had destroyed. The difference being that the opening into the next room was much bigger than the previous and instead was covered in runes. Drake determined that it needed mana in order to enter, of which he only had a little left. He twitched, feeling the energy from whatever laid beyond it.

  "That malevolent energy that the other magi and I had felt. It is behind this door."

Jeremiah instantly stepped back, sick to his stomach. "We should get the others. If you don't have enough power left then it may be dangerous."

Dante shook his head. "No, not yet. If the others come, then they may be affected by the black magic this room has in it. I may be human but even I can feel it. Drake, I know that you can resist it, especially since you've already broken from its influence before." He lied and tricked passed his white teeth.

Drake hesitated, knowing that he had little power left, then again he did not want to see his other friends get hurt. He put on a stern expression and told the others to step back as he placed his hand on the door, getting dizzy as he began to transfer what little mana he had left, finally feeling as his power reached a minimum level just near the edge unconsciousness. As Jeremiah watched, shaking with his fear, Dante opened his hand and turned to the boy with a blue powder in his hand, Drake hearing his friend make a small sound before coughing. He turned and watched Jeremiah collapse.

  "Jeremiah?"

A smirk grew on Dante's lips, extra powder falling from his hand onto the floor, moving quickly as the door behind Drake began to open. He swiftly moved, reaching into his coat to extract the second item he had hidden, unclipping a hidden latch where he hid a small gladius sword, more so the size of a dagger with exemption of an extra two inches or so, just big enough to have been in his jacket undetected. His shirt was torn from the blade brushing against him all this time, revealing a thin layer of tight chainmail. The blade gleams red against the purple and gold metal, Drake recognizing the material immediately.

The hybrid suddenly felt wide awake. Drake took a stance to attack, Dante chuckling.

  "We both know that you can't do anything against me. You're weak."

Drake snarled, no time to draw his weapon before Dante rushed him, only able to move just in time to avoid a fatal stab to the abdomen, instead receiving a deep gash on the left of his body close to the liver.

He hissed in pain, taking the spilt moment Dante used to turn around to draw his own diamond sword and parry his enemy's next attack. As Drake turned around, he froze, his eyes growing in disbelief. Levitating in the center of the room was a large red slit cutting straight through the air. The rift itself was a ruby red, radiating a bright amber hue. The outskirts of the circular room was covered in runes, as was the floor with strange small pits surrounding the odd rift which secreted a malevolent aura, thousands of screams muffled within.

In his moment of distraction, Dante rushed forward and slashed a long gash across his chest. Drake quickly held up his sword and pushed Dante's away, numbness spreading from his injuries across his torso. Their swords set off sparks, Dante chuckling as Drake hissed a demand to know why he was doing this. The traitor only laughed.

Drake swiftly pushed Dante away and slashed at him with force strong enough to break through the armor beneath his shirt, cutting through skin. Dante stumbled back with a growl, holding a hand over the wound, a glare of utter spite.

  "You'll pay for that!"

He ran straight towards Drake, watching him prepare defensive maneuvers. At the last moment, he shifted tactics and pushed himself off to the side, gaining him a clean hit to Drake's right side, gaining satisfaction to feel the blade shatter the edges of his bottom two ribs and slice flesh and muscle. Drake screamed, Dante moving fast to slice at the back of Drake's legs to make him collapse. Dante stomped on the hybrid's boney hand, forcing him to let go of his sword for him to kick it across the room.

Dante put a pout of his lips. "Honestly, I'm disappointed. Even though you don't have much magic or whatever, I expected more of a fight, you being a great commander and all." He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, makes my job easier."

Drake tried to lift himself up, shaking on his hands and knees. His hands flicked in a white light, yet his power refused to work.

  "This rift, you see, opens up to great power. All the power you could ever want, and you had it all once. Don't you remember it?" His smile was sickening, looking to the rift and back to his prey. "Wouldn't you like to see Him again? To have all of that power back?" He kneeled down, a faint giggle in the back of his throat.

Drake growled and tried to lunge at him, only for Dante to swing his weapon and cut Drake's arm and his face, his ender side bleeding a pinkish red. He fell once more, Dante kicked him, forced him onto his back. Dante laughed over him at his vulnerability, delight glimmering in those darkened eyes. He crouched over Drake, stabbing his shoulders then just above his knees, each strike bringing out a pain filled scream.

Drake opened his mouth to scream for help, his upper body becoming numb. He forced out Grayson's name, calling for him to help. He cried in weakness, he tried to move, to do anything to stop this. It had been long since he felt this helpless.

  "We don't want the others to know, now do we?" Annoyed, but smiling, he tore cloth away from Drake's own hood, tying it around his head and into his mouth to keep him quiet.

"Witches blood, like poison to you...demons. Can block your power, making you feel sick and weak, and Manulian, well, you explained it yourself." Dante explained, holding the blade over Drake's Ender eye, waving from side to side.

Past his gag, Drake screamed swears, trying to push Dante off of him. Indeed, he felt ill, such so that his arms went limp, forehead soon covered in sweat.

Dante looked up to the rift and approached it, holding a hand up high as he began to chant. The intense power from the rift was growing stronger with each word sputtered from Dante's mouth, the screeching growing louder, the dark magic thickening the blood scented air in the room. Drake could not see what was happening, but he knew that it was no good. He had to fight back this poison in his system and move.

The voices in the rift grew louder, Drake's glowing eyes flickering. It took nearly every ounce of will to flip himself over onto his knees. He felt his consciousness being forcefully pushed back, panic growing at the familiar feeling of Herobrine's presence.
The darkness, this malevolent energy that encased everything of the atmosphere around him was almost too heavy to bare. His vision repeatedly flashing white, gripping his head to fight back a familiar sensation. He kept his consciousness from being pushed back; he had to remain in control.
Inhuman, unholy sounds chanted in his ears, getting louder until he screamed. It all grew silent then
...

Grayson's point of view-

I smiled as Kyle and Victor argued over what the object in their hands were, fighting over who would get to wear it and what it's purpose was. They pulled on the old, withering mask until Victor pulled it out of Kyle's grasp and put it onto his own head, Kyle sticking out his tongue. I had to laugh. I rarely ever had the pleasure to watch the two of them act so childish, a part of me could not help but to think that they picked it up from me over the years.
It was odd seeing a gas mask after so long. If that is still here, then it confirms that this place was built before the name of Herobrine became widespread. I suppose it explains how this fraction of the Order fell to the cult so easily. They were not prepared to face a demon god.

  "What is the purpose of this mask?" Kyle looked to me for an answer as he put his helmet back on, knowing that I came from a time where those masks were common.

  "It's a gas mask. It keeps you from breathing in toxic fumes, but that one is in bad shape. I'm not sure how useful it would be."

The lens were broken and the cloth was in bad shape, definitely serving no purpose after years of neglect in this isolation. Victor took it off and set it aside, looking almost disappointed that it was in such ware.

I turned my attention back to the shelves with various items scattered about, one in particular catching my eyes. I picked up an old stone tablet, a clock with Roman numerals painted onto the stone, cracked down the middle but not enough to cut the piece in two. It seemed almost deliberate. Looking at it closer, it reminded me of the painting in that cathedral-like chamber before we faced those gargoyles; the same clock with the same crack running through it.

  "I've seen this in the chamber with those paintings on the walls. Why is this image so important?"

It was then that a shadow loomed in the doorway, it's skeletal features accompanied with two massive horns with glowing red tips and a reptilian tail swinging from side to side, attached to thin skin that wrapped around its bones like decay. It's forked tongue flick out from behind jagged teeth that connects to its chin. It's deep eye sockets held a crimson glow.

We felt frozen once we saw it, even the smell in the air becoming putrid. I was close to gagging just from looking upon its grotesque features.

The creature lunged towards me before I could prepare myself, Markus sliding in front me with his sword held out, slicing an arch across the creature until it dissolved into smoke. The guards surrounded me, holding weapons out for my protection. I withdrew my own weapon from the scabbard on my back, ordering the guards that we all had to find the others.

...

Angie's point of view-

Mia attacked the creatures, the demons, with her sword, myself falling back from the fight as I had no weapons to defend myself with. I could hear Mia scream in pain as I frantically searched for anything to help us, tears in my eyes. I knocked items from their shelves, completely abandoning every instinct inside of me to preserve the history of this place and instead focused on my own and Mia's preservation. I knew that we were becoming outnumbered, I could see the shadows speeding from the hall and to our doorway out of the corner of my eyes, watching Mia fighting for our lives. I knew that she was getting hurt, and I knew that since Drake was low on power, he might not have been able to heal her.

My breathing grew unsteady, each breath painfully forced in and out of my lungs. I could not stop shaking, my body burning in it's own heat.

  "Calm down, Angie." I told myself repeatedly. "Calm down."

I knew that these creatures were weak to light, so finding an item that could give off light was my objective. It was difficult to tell what would be of use as some items looked mundane at first glance, but finding nothing, I had grown desperate. I opened books, which was idiotic as I can not read magi. I used wands but had no mana to conduct, as was the issue with many items I had tried. Finally I left with a worn pair of gauntlets, three orange gems on the metal plate at the knuckles. I could barely hear a sound past the ringing in my ears aside from the screaming from those demons. This was my last resort besides bolting it down the corridor to the others.

After I put them on, I jumped when the knuckles burst into flames. I shook my hands to extinguish it, but I noticed that the flames were not burning through the fabric, nor did my hands become filled with burning pain. I flexed my fingers, a moment of calm setting in. Fire...it produces light. Will this be effective? Only one way to find out.

I looked out to the doorway, a trail of cotton from Mia's jacket, and a trail of blood from Mia's wounds. Mia ran back in, holding her arm which was covered in deep gashes, her shoulder appearing to have bite marks which dug deep into her flesh. I could see her crying, telling me that she tried and she was sorry. I knew that it was not because she was injured, it was because she felt weak against these vile vermin.

  "We have to go find the others." Mia lt out harsh breaths. "They're better prepared."

I agreed. More creatures accumulated around the doorway, scrapping their claws against the stone, almost laughing at us. My anger boiled and I charged with no regard to my own safety. I pulled my arm back, staring back at the skull-like head and swung my fist. As my hand moved through the air, the knuckles burst into flames and I pounded my fist into the side of its head.

The vibrations traveled through my body as it screamed then disappeared in a burst of orange light. I gave no restraint as I fought with the rest, receiving deep cuts across my body. Afterward, I found myself laughing and cheering with adrenaline, the sense of helplessness fleeting.

  "Mia, lets go!" I called out. She left the room, the both of sprinting to find our friends.

...

Drake's point of view-

I recognized the spell he was using. The cultists had used it on me once before, back in the day when Grayson, Mia, and I had been captured and brought to the Red Keep by cultists. I covered my ears despite the massive pain in my shoulders, trying to block out all of the noise until the witches blood enchantment caused my arms to fall limp and numb. Dark figures surrounded me, staring down at me with a multitude of different colored eyes, screaming their vulgar chant. What they were saying conflicted with what Dante was chanting.

Dante smiled down at me as the demons around us continued their sick ritual. "You of all people should understand. I'm doing this for the greater good."

The rift began to flicker, the demons suddenly growing silent as a powerful energy filled the room. My body twitched, trying to push myself back, trying to use my power but all efforts were in vain. I tried to stand only to fall, I tried to scream, only for it to be drowned out by the gag that my arms could not longer move to rip away. Once again I was crying...I don't want it to happen again...please.

Dante suddenly turned around, his face expressing that he was taken by surprise. I shook, feeling like passing out. The familiar energy I had felt was dying down oddly, yet it still lingered strong, like it was still around but not a part of me. No, it was still a part of myself, but another similar energy had shown its presence. Even with my vision fading in and out, impaired by tears, I saw a dark figure step out from the rift, looming over Dante and I. I forced myself to look into those eyes, and while I had seen them in dreams and hallucinations, this time it made me want to throw up.

Dante bowed to the darkened mist, which stood tall, morphing between a humanoid and demonic form.

  "Just as you requested, my league." I noted the slight quiver in his voice, as if scared of this being.

The dark figure stepped towards me, and even without the hyperventilating and racing heart, I felt like I was having a panic attack. Get away...please, get away!

Suddenly, I was grabbed and forced to my feet, looking over my shoulder to see Jeremiah, whom appeared to still be dazed from whatever Dante had done to him. He pulled the gag from my mouth, asking me if I was okay before his eyes grew. He then pushed me away before the creature lunged at me, Jeremiah getting in the way of the creature. I hit the ground, looking back up as I laid on the floor, slowly gaining feeling in my limbs once more. I watched with horror as he screamed, as that monster phased into his body.

  "J-Jeremiah?!"

Jeremiah let out a deep laughter, his voice reverberated with another. He turned around to face me, one eye a white faded into red along the sides, the other Jeremiah's glistening brown eye with tears slipping from beneath his eyelid.

The rift suddenly imploded upon itself, vanishing in a bright golden flash, rattling the entire room to cause rubble to chip and fall from the stone ceiling. I stepped forward to grab him, hoping to get my friend to regain control, only to have a pain from my wounds shoot up within my body, tripping to my knees, unable to heal my injuries.

Dante laughed "Didn't go exactly as planned, but it worked. Can you hear His voice?... Who is truly God? The one who once ruled this world, or the one that rules the abyss?"

What the h**l is he talking about? "If you die...Drake...what happens? Will you rot in h**l? Will you fade into nothing? Will He return?...Will He die with you? Show me who God truly is, because it is not you."

...

Grayson's point of view-

We ran down the hall, the guards slicing down whatever demon stood in our way. Already my face was drenched in sweat, thoughts of the worse to come running rapidly across my mind. Was it because of the black magic or because I truly was frightened, even when I had been wars in my past. Why was this experience so terrifying?

  "Grayson!" I could hear the girls calling, demons screeching as they went in for the kill, then were killed themselves. They must have found a weapon, as I could not recall either having a weapon capable of taking out demons. I was a fool for not considering that fact before we split up to separate groups.

My heels but into the ground as Mia and Angie came into view, Markus and Mia running into each other but not with enough force to knock one another over. I asked if they were okay, only making it halfway through my sentence before I noticed the blood on Mia's arm and shoulder. I bit my lip, frustrated with myself as I felt that it was my fault.

Mia held her shoulder for a moment, wincing in pain. "It's nothing fatal, we can deal with it later. We need to find the others."

I nodded, still bothered by her injuries but I knew that we had more to focus on. "Which way did the others head?"

  "The boys went left," Angie answered, panting. "Eleanor and Samantha went right with us but I didn't see them."

Before I could get another word out of my mouth, Kyle pointed out to me that he saw a light blue flash down the left corridor which he faced. If we were lucky for once, my bet was that the sources was Cecile. I turned back to the girls, looking from them to my guards.

  "Victor, Kyle, go with the girls and find Eleanor and Samantha. Markus and I will find the others." I instructed them, Victor and Kyle giving no objection as they nodded and took the girls back down the corridor, the four fighting off whatever malevolent creatures that crossed their path.

I turned, Markus and I sprinting down the left corridor to locate out friends. As we turned the corner, slicing demons left and right, we could see the grey and blue of Cecile's clothing and the blonde of his head. The closer we got, the less of those monsters thanks to his magic.

  "Cecile! Where-?" I stopped, watching stumbling yet remain standing, bleeding scars on his face down his neck a part of his upper chest.

  "My lord!" He called out, getting to us as fast as he could with a terror contaminating the blue of his eyes. He was breathing heavily, shaken.

  "Dante, he used a used a sleeping medicine I made awhile back to knock me out. He has to be the one that has summoned these beasts!"

I was in disbelief, even stepping back as the news left me temporarily discombobulated. Dante? Why would he, an archeologist of all professions, do this? He never liked myself nor Drake...Drake. Something in my head told me that he was after Drake. I didn't know how, I just knew.
...

Third person point of view-

  "What have you done?!" Drake screamed to Dante with a new ever burning fury.

He laughed, staring with an excitement in his eyes, as if this situation was some game. "You should ask yourself that. Why did you do it? Did want us all to suffer your eternal punishment for you?!"

Drake froze to the response, though continuing to shake with his wounds. "How the h**l do you know about that? What do you mean anyway?" His deep voice was low, still processing the accusation.

Jeremiah, in Drake's moment of distraction, forced a boot of the hybrid's chest, pinning him to the wall. A growl found its way up, the Enderman half of him making that growl reverberate in a high pitch. His hand reached out in attempt to use basic telekinetic magic to get back his sword. Upon feeling Drake's rise in energy, the demon tossed Drake onto the floor, stomping on his hand.

  "Your humanity...that is what makes you so weak. Pathetic."

Dante took out his sword once more as Drake persisted in struggling, eventually using telekinesis to retrieve his sword. As Drake flipped over and swung, his attack was deflected by Dante's bloodied sword. Drake continued to stare into the half lidded eyes of his former friend, pleading, a weak call of his name. The body of Jeremiah stepped back, allowing it's little pawn to take control of the situation.

  "You are no god."

The spy grabbed Drake's hair, yanking it up, staring at Drake's left eye with a smile. "Yes...perfect. Back to the question, if you die, what happens? Let's find out."

Dante plunged the blade into Drake's body, Drake just able to shift his body enough to avoid a clean stab to the heart. Pain flared, an intense agony sinking its teeth into his flesh with the blade chipping at the bones of his rib cage. Tears slipped from Drake's eyes as he screamed, as did they leave Dante's, his expression losing its amused features, tainted with a grim stare, his smile remaining with the corners shaking, tears dripping off his lips.

  "Kathrine...Victoria...I lost them because of you, because of your selfish actions." He whispered, a low voice spitting its spite.

  "What the h**l are you talking about?" Drake snarled, moving his arm regaining feeling, wrapping his hand around the blade cutting his fingers, trying to pull it out of his chest.

  "Quit playing dumb with me!" He pulled out the blade, lifting it high. Drake lifted up his arms so soon as he could, one grabbing the arm holding the weapon, the other blocking Drake's chest while the blade struck him a final time through the right forearm.

Drake screamed once more, his assailant retracting the weapon once more with force, breaking bone, his chest and face coated in the splatters of ichor and blood, the aroma of iron present in the air and the taste in his mouth as he laughed. The black magic amplified his indulged anger and feelings of insanity.

The screams echoed down the hall, Grayson's blood chilled as the sound waves danced in his ears. Immediately he pushed ahead of the others, tripping on his mangled artificial leg, pushing himself up and continued with cutting down any demons in his way.

Drake twisted Dante's wrist until it snapped, the darker skinned screaming, giving Drake the advantage to shove him off, the blade being pulled out of his arm with dreadful agony. He instinctively grabbed onto it, giving the demon enough time to stop its foot onto his chest, not close enough to broken bones to disrupt their misalignment.

  "They all trust you to make the right choices. Their faith in you is blind."

Death had not scared Drake for years, but as Jeremiah lifted his arm, magic of a multitude of colors flaring like a blaze across his arm, its brightness increasing each moment, Drake felt a glimpse of fear. Not from death itself; but from his best friend under the control of a monster being the last thing he would see.

  "Jeremiah..." Drake forced from his dry throat, hush and shaking with pain. "Please."

The red and white of the demons eyes faded back to their original bright brown, though faded. They teared up, Jeremiah biting his lip, twitching to remain in control. "H-help..."

Grayson swiftly turned the corner, freezing with the moment that his eyes met with that of Drake pinned down in a growing puddle of blood. Anger grew and seethed, only seeing his best friend in need, and an enemy in need of eradication. He released a scream and charged with his sword pulled firmly to his side, nothing but a boiling anger in that fiery gaze.

  "Don't!" Drake yelled, seeing that Jeremiah was currently in control.

Grayson could barely hear Drake's call yet he understood it, unable to stop in his movements but he shifted his body in the nick of time, ramming his body into Jeremiah to knock him down rather than stab him.

Drake shakily rolled himself over, lifting himself up despite pulsating pain tearing through his shoulder from broken bone. Markus and Cecile soon ran in, paying no attention to Dante who stood to the side, waiting. The demons lurking in the shadows filled the room with their growls and inhuman murmurs. Cecile helped up the demigod, Drake hissing through his teeth.

  "Get Dante!"

Markus held his sword with a firm grip tight enough to form blisters if not for the gloves and calyces on his hands from years of engaging in melee battle. He rushed Dante, whom held up his sword to deflect an attack. He stepped to the side to avoid the blunt force of the attack, taking the minimal end of force as only the tip of the guards sword clashed into his own.

The demons remained blended into the darkness began to show themselves, joining the fight.

Jeremiah kicked Grayson off of him as the begin inside of him regain control over his mind and limbs. Grayson yelled in pain, the wind knocked out of him from the blunt force, his body pushed far enough to slam against the wall. Mia helped him back to his feet, stumbling with what was left on his prosthetic, slipping when he tried to run. Behind Mia stood Samantha, Eleanor, Angie and the guards, prepared for a fight, charging in with only the knowledge that they needed to vanquish these ethereal beasts.

The others began to deal with the demon onslaught, Drake telling Cecile to go fight and that he could handle himself. With hesitation and reluctance, the blonde left Drake to stand alone, getting and bringing him his sword before engaging in his own battles.

Dante swung at Drake as he joined the fray, blocked by Markus. A red eyed demon stared at the three with a blank gaze before teleporting behind Markus, it's claws strong enough to slice through armor. Markus cried out before being pushed over, his heavy armor clanging against the ground, sword falling from his grasp. The demon screeched, lunging to attack Drake until a ball of violent fire collided into it's unhinged jaw, the monsters body dispersing into black particles. Drake looked over his shoulder, Eleanor with her arm outstretched.

  "Dante, stop!" She screamed, calling Drake's attack back to his original opponent.

Dante pulled his arm up to swipe, freezing up as Eleanor ensnared him in a telekinetic spell and flung him across the room. His body skidded across the ground, tearing the skin on his head, a trail of blood leading from it, though nonfatal. Drake helped Markus back to his feet, the guard wincing in pain.

  "Thank you."

Jeremiah growled watching Drake as the demons faced off with the others. He rose his arm upward, levitating everyone with the exemption of Dante and Drake up into the air. The traitor picked himself, growling after touching his head to feel the warmth of blood. He looked up, watching as two demons rushed and grabbed Drake's arms and legs, digging claws into his skin as they yanked his limbs like a game of tug of war. The vessel of the young archeologist prepared to end the beloved hybrid, only to stop midway through its prepared attack, hunching over and twitching violently, its eyes flickering from white and red to brown. It screamed, trying to keep the human conscious inside of it contained.

Dante growled as he watched his partner struggle, reaching over and grabbing his fallen sword firmly in his shaky hands. He bolted up to his feet, sword pulled to his side with one target locked in sight.

Drake struggled against his restraints, Dante moving with such speed that he had not noticed him rushing towards him with a blurred sprint, noticing milliseconds before a stabbing pain erupted throughout his lower torso. It caused him to reel, like an electric shock running up his spine, a blinding white enveloping his vision. It was searing; yet it felt good however crippling.

  "Drake!" Grayson screamed as he thrashed around, tears filling his eyes.

Drake starred at Dante's shaking hands, blood slowly pouring from behind his bottom lip. His eyes flickered, their light going in and out, the sword in his stomach causing blood to pour, the witches blood enchantment making his veins ice cold, his body growing weaker and weaker. As Dante pulled out the sword, Drake's wound spurting blood as the demons dropped him. He fell to his side, eyes diminishing as they continued to flicker.

The demon pushed back Jeremiah into the dark corners of his own mind, looking up to see the hybrid laying on the floor, frozen in his own writhing agony. It quickly teleported behind Dante, grabbing his shoulder before the two of them vanished together. The demon, too, faded one by one, dropping the mortals onto the floor with blood scattered about on the old stone.

Drake could only lay there, staring at the ceiling as he bled profusely, fingers twitching ever so slightly as his wounds glowed white...yet they weren't healing. He could only focus on the sensation of blood pouring into his stomach that had been sliced open, spitting it up weakly as it filled his throat.

Grayson groaned as he lifted himself from the floor, quickly getting to his feet to run to his friend's side.

  "Drake, no!" Grayson dropped down beside him, grabbing his shoulders to lift his head onto his lap. "No, no. Drake, come one, heal yourself!"

Drake attempted to push himself up, rolling over off of Grayson, instead grabbing his shoulder, obviously struggling and needing Grayson to stay upright. "Is...is everyone okay?"

  "Scratched up but...we're okay." Cecile answered, tears forming against the blue of his eyes.

Drake nodded, looking down as his hand and wounds glowed in his attempt to heal them, the quickly fading with a hiss flowing past his teeth. He hunched over, groaning. "I-I can't...I can't heal myself." His eyes flickered and fluttered, struggling to stay conscious. "My powers aren't working."

Mia went around and helped him up as well, telling him to calm down with tears in her eyes, watching his eyes going in and out slowly. Drake spat up blood and continued. "Dante's sword was enchanted with witches blood...along with that and...and using my abilities so much," he closed his eyes and paused, gripping to the awakened world by a thread. "I..."

Grayson and Mia sprung to catch him as he fell backwards. Cecile finished Drake's thoughts for him. "He couldn't defend himself. Witches blood is like poison for him, isn't it? That could keep his powers from regenerating and..." He did not want to say it out loud, but they all knew his point.

  "We need to get out of this place and tend to his injuries as soon as possible." Kyle said as he peered out from behind the door into the now desolate corridor, demonic sounds echoing from the distance. "I don't think this place will be safe to help him in."

  "Is there another way out?" Angie asked with fear tainting her voice, tears in her eyes from the loss of two comrades, nearing three.

She looked down as shapes upon the floor caught her eyes, bringing the others attention towards it. Rectangular shapes were placed in the formation on a circle, all connected with lines to the center, each surrounded by runes, able to place an object within each space. A shape was present within each rectangular space, only a single one filled in by a tablet with the image of a dragon head.

  "These are familiar." Samantha said past the trembling in her voice, fear, anxiety and grief blocking out the curiosity and excitement she would have felt if not for the tragic events that had taken place. "A tablet?"

  "When Samantha and I were in a room, we found stone tablets just like this one. We must have to collect them and bring them here."

Cecile looked to Grayson, Drake leaning against him on the verge of passing out. "We need to move fast. We don't have much time."

  "Got it." Eleanor nodded, offering to get the one that she had seen previously before she ran down the hallway, footsteps soon disappearing.

Grayson looked to his guards, tears in his eyes and anger in his features. "Everyone, go to the other rooms and find these tablets! Kyle and Victor, you two find the one of the clock in the previous room we were in. Cecile, go with Markus and go to the rooms you were in with Drake."

The anger melted from his face, taken by worry and grief. He set the hybrid on his knees, sitting with him. "I'm staying here with Drake."

Markus stepped forward, wary. "Sire, you shouldn't be left alone!"

  "I'll be fine...the rest of you, find any weapons to defend yourself but do not go off alone. At least one of each of you should be capable of fighting these things. Go!"

The guards nodded, drawing their weapons, the and Cecile leaving as fast as the could. The others showed hesitation, staring at Drake, fearing for him before they too left, Mia wishing them luck and telling Drake to hold on before she and Angie went to find a tablet. When they were alone, Grayson turned back to his wounded friend, struggling to breathe and to hold back his tears that ran down his red cheeks.

  "We'll find a way to help you, just hold on."

Drake closed his eyes with a groan, holding his arm over the fatal wound, his other injuries stinging, burning like flames. Grayson pressed his hand on the wound, pushing Drake's aside to keep him from bleeding too profusely, knowing that he had already bled out an alarming amount.

Looking at him in this state, it brought back memories from the temple of Armageddon all those years ago, stabbed through the stomach, blood pooling, holding him while pleading silently that this was not the end; that he did not fail him yet again.

Grayson snapped away from his dreadful thoughts and memories, turning to the doorway as unsettling groans and other inhuman sounds drew nearer, demons lingering just beyond the doorway. Their screeching, scratching and clawing echoed, Grayson snarling and set Drake down to lay on the floor. The blonde stood up with a tight grip on his weapon, rage flaring through his veins. He took a stance before his friend, holding his sword out with both hands, the weapon shaking vigorously as Grayson's body trembled, his vision clouded with tears.

Drake reached out, grabbing Grayson's leg. "You...you to...told me to n-never fight I-in pure rage..." His voice was nearly a whisper, littered with pain before he retracted his hand, coughing up the blood filling his organ.

Grayson fixed his grip on the hilt, taking in a deep breath among his shallow gasping. His eyes closed, clearing them up and stopping the burning momentarily as he calmed his nerves. The king felt his body relax, however his arms remained stiff. His eyes stared straight ahead, watching the lurking shadows turn the corner with their grotesque bodies, horns glowing numerous colors with eyes like beacons of light.

Grayson released the air in his lungs, trying to stay focused on protecting his comrade. "I know."

Drake gave a weak smile, watching as Grayson rushed their foes. The demon's body of skin and bone swung it's claws, Grayson slicing them off with one swift move before plunging his blade into it's gaunt chest. Kyle and Victor turned the corner, armor scratch and dented, areas broken through to show chainmail and blood. Immediate alarm coursed through their systems as they heard their lord scream in pain, running as fast as they could to his aid.

Victor was the first to slice at a golden eyed demon, Kyle cutting one down before slipping into the room where Drake laid, a tablet beneath his hand. The others began to return as well, Markus and Cecile the next to arrive with a single stone tablet in tout. Markus joined in the fight with Grayson, protecting Cecile as he bolted into the room. With the demons slowly clearing out, the others returned, Grayson and the royal guards standing outside in case another attack were to come.

Mia froze for a split moment in the doorway, eyes locked onto Drake laying on his side, eyes closed and in a puddle of his own blood. His body shook, telling her that he was still alive for now. She forced herself not to pay attention to him, placing in the final tablet after the others had inserted the rest.

  "We're still missing one." Her eyes darted in a panic.

  "Which one is it?" Grayson asked loudly as he limped next to her, his eyes scanning to find which one himself.

A single empty space held the painting of a crescent moon, the others depicting time, sun, and other elements.

Eleanor spoke with a shaken tone. "Where could that one be?"

Markus looked around, asking if they had left any room unchecked. Cecile immediately grew wide eyed, looking to Drake, his eyes slightly cracked open.

  "There were a few more rooms Dante and I were supposed to check before I passed out..." He said no more, racing off with Eleanor following behind.

The others stayed behind, tending to injuries and defending from further attacks, however with Drake's natural lack of breathing nor a beating heart, it was impossible to tell rather or not he was alive when he had briefly lost consciousness without the magi to sense his energy.

Cecile soon grew closer to the rooms which had been left unsearched, a hoard of demon in his way. He growled in his stride, increasing speed before one locked it's eyes on him, its jaws opening to release an ungodly howl. It's poised claws sliced through the thickened air, the boy swiftly acted, sliding beneath the beast as he manifested a sword of blue energy with his regenerated mana, cutting the foe down.

His eyes met the hoard before him, barely spotting a demon in the back, standing taller than the rest, its body more friendly in appearance with canine-like features, pointed ears and twisted horns going backwards like a ram, and eyes glowing purple. Down its elongated arms, in its clawed hand, was a tablet with the image of a crescent moon. As he took in details, he was left vulnerable to the swift movements of the h*llish creations. With a swipe of a enlarges paws with claws like talons, the mage was sent hurtling through the air into a near room, releasing a scream to the burning that now traveled through his side.

Cecile's point of view-

I groaned, flinching after I blacked out, becoming aware of the pain across my body with every attempt I made to move. My world was plagued with darkness, only a ringing in my ears and a pulsating pain throughout the rest of my body telling me that I was awake, as well as the pounding of my heart against my ribs. My breathing came out heavy and shallow, my chest tight and winded. I slowly opened my eyes, going in and out of focus, the back of my head throbbing, a moist, warm feeling covering the back of my scalp. My hand covered the gashes along my side, hissing at the stinging pain and inflammation.

My legs were covered in the contents that had fallen from the shelf I had been flung into, including a long staff which was rested up against the shelf. It was constructed of a fine mahogany with gold wrapped around it like the tail of a dragon, the head biting down on a bright amethyst orb. The demon beyond the doorway, its claws dripping with my own blood, screeching, bought an agony to my already pounding head. For a moment I lost sight of the beast, until it was right in front of me. I reconstructed the first thought of action that formed in my head, reaching down and taking the staff in my hands, holding it up so that the orb was pointed out towards my enemy. I channeled whatever mana was left in my body, the staff only using an amount appropriate for the attack, not wasting any of the excess cells. A beam of purple light fired, the color fading into the blue coloration of my own magic and struck the monster.

As it screamed and vanished to the unknown, the others went in for the kill, the one with the tablet keeping its distance. I defended myself as best I could, using the staff to kill all of the demons I was able to, until my mana dried out. The staff seized to glow, around four of the blackened beast still waiting for the right moment, taking my weakness to their advantage.

A darkness began to encase my vision, voices and screaming growing louder. My heart began to race as I saw Grayson the floor, blood sliding from his mouth and eyes frosted over in death. Eleanor and Mia laid with scars across their faces, scarred on various parts of their bodies, Lalea, Landen, and Endy all clawed and burned. I screamed, however knowing that this was not true, it did not make it any less horrific, no less scarring to the mind.

  "Cecile!"

My lungs took in a heavy gasp, as I was broken away from the illusion, vision clearing to see purple light flying through the air. Demons screeching, dying in magical light. Eleanor ran to my aid, grabbing my hand and pulling me back up to my feet. Once back up, my eyes spotted the demon holding the tablet, it's jaw unhinged with the ends stretching all the way to the ears just below it's horns. It's long tongue swung with a bright pink saliva, steaming like acid.

Eleanor took a stance in front on me, gasping when she too noticed the tablet. It was if the creature was aware that we were searching for it, intentionally hindering our goal of acquiring it. She and I both knew that we had no time for it's games.

She lifted her arm, a purple light swirling around the creature from her magic, stopping once it vanished. My blood ran cold as a dark shadow covered us from the side, turning to see the burning eyes of the monster as it swung am arm.

I had to push her out of the way, willing to take the blow of the attack. I screamed from the stabbing pain that flared within my left shoulder, burning like flames, immediately pulling the moisture from my eyes. I looked down, a long claw clean through my shoulder. I stared into Eleanor's eyes as she was covered with my own blood, screaming with me at my pain before once again lifting her arms, forming needles of light around the demon, piercing the demon all around until it did burst in a thick cloud of fading light and darkness, dropping the tablet and chipping the stone but leaving it in relatively good condition. The girl did not bother to grab it, nor did her eyes follow it as it began to plummet, all focus on her comrades injury.

Despite hating curse words, feeling inferior from the word itself simply for the lack of eloquent diction, I found myself muttering one beneath my breath.

Eleanor pulled my down to my knees to examine the afflicted injury. My arm was limp and slowly becoming numb, biting into my lip from the agony. "I can't move it." I hissed through clenched teeth.

Eleanor told me to relax as she tore off the entirety of my left sleeve, tearing it down the middle on one side so that cylindrical fabric would instead form a rectangle when layer out flat. I could noir feel it as she moved my arm around, cradling it in the makeshift sling that she tied around my neck after wrapping the wound in whatever dressing she could scrap, which was barely enough to cover both sides of the would, only staying on my shoulder because of the stickiness of blood.

Reaching down, she snatched up the tablet, grabbing my good arm and pulling me down the hall to quickly return to the others.

Demons came in in low numbers, having run out of mana, I entrusted Eleanor to defend us both, giving her my newly acquired staff.

She aimed it and fired an arc of energy towards them, obliterating the pack in a show of purple light fading into a bright violent and dissipating pastel black. Their howls faded to the abyss, leaving an eerie silence aside from our heavy breathing and distant sound of demons wandering through barren hallways.

I grabbed Eleanor's hand with my right hand, pulling her behind me as he dashed down the hallway with intent to return to our other comrades as soon as humanly possible. My body screamed in pain, but if Grayson and Drake could endure so much, so would I.

...

Third person point of view-

  "What's taking so long?!" Grayson screamed as his nerves got the better of him, once again having to relive his past living nightmares by watching his best friend bleed out before him.

He had enough, taking the last of the medical supplies they had left to tend to Drake's opened injuries. Grayson stopped at the wound on his stomach, the scar nowhere near the appearance it should have been with the single straight blade that had injured him. From the stab wound, which glowed a faint white as Drake's body struggled to heal itself, were what resembled cracks forming the hybrids own body like broken glass. For a moment Grayson was in awe and confused over the odd pattern, but quickly disregarded it to finish his job. Afterwards, he searched for health potions frantically, not even listening until the fifth time it was shouted that they were all out of potions. Drake's eyes opened partially, his eyes dim while continuing to flicker.

  "Grayson...it's okay." Drake forced himself to speak, his words so hushed that they were barely legible. "They'll be here."

Grayson felt himself reach the edge when Drake gave a weak smile. Once again he found himself letting out tears, thinking back at how frustrated he was with Drake for all of his fake smiles throughout the last eight years that he was back, how he was giving something genuine in what could have been his final moments. As Drake closed his eyes once more, the blonde calmly spoke his name, receiving no reaction which terrified him even further, only receiving knowledge that he was still alive by his body's shaking and faint glow in the back of his partially open mouth, a glow in which was also losing its luminosity.

Grayson turned to the others, after wiping the moisture from his eyes and cheeks. "What do you suppose will happen once we put the last tablet in place?"

  "We are not sure," Victor clarified, "however with the pattern, we might need to go into the circle once it is complete. Perhaps teleportation?"

Their focus shifted to increasing volume of quickly approaching footsteps from the corridor. Cecile and Eleanor ran, bolting for the open space within the floor. Cecile took the tablet from Eleanor, falling down and putting it into place. After doing so, he pushed himself back, Kyle helping him back to his feet, a fast paced voice asking what had happened upon seeing the sling crafted from his own sleeve and his blue clothing drenched in blood on his upper left.

The question was ignored, Cecile, along with the rest, soon mesmerized by a blue and white light that encaptivated each and everyone of them, with the exemption of the poor demigod whom had lost consciousness. The tablets turned blue one by one, beams of bright light stretching from floor to ceiling, joining together.

Grayson picked up Drake with a grunt, nearly falling due to his damaged prosthetic and weakness from his poor emotional state, kept upright as Markus held his shoulder for a few moments until he regained balance. His glistening emerald eyes looked to his comrades with a moment of hesitance, before he went into the blue light alone.

He stumbled, nauseous and dizzy as the ground shifting beneath his feet, the very air becoming lighter and easier to breathe within, though taken by a vile smell that he was used to, almost like that of blood which he was soaked in. Grayson opened up his eyes, finding himself at the entrance of the crypt above ground, the circle and its runes surrounding him with the pedestal that had Drake's blood frozen to it from the chilled air. It felt nice to see daylight, even when then sun rays were blocked out from the darkened clouds overhead. The other began to appear beside him, stumbling and tripping over their own feet, dizzy.

Grayson gently shook Drake in attempt to wake him, a sense of panic setting in when Drake remained limp with his eyes closed. He turned to the magi, screaming at them to tell him if he was alive while tears fell from his eyes. Cecile wanted to smile as he assured Grayson that he was in fact alive, however it was difficult concerning the circumstances.

  "However, we need to hurry. His energy is alarmingly low." Cecile looks to Drake, a somber and worried expression.

Grayson adjusted Drake, nodding. He turned to his guards and ordered everyone to take the same formation that had when they arrived, of course fractured from the loss of multiple people to take positions. They followed orders, everyone with a weapon capable of injuring demons drawing them with readiness for battle. And so they began the long quest of getting back to the airship, unharmed, unlikely, but like h*ll was Grayson going to let anymore of his friends be taken from him.

...
Grayson's point of view-

We arrived back at the airship, putting Drake over my shoulder as the people on board that had waited for us all this time lowered the ladder. We climbed up one by one, the captain and his small crew asking questions in a frenzy about what happened and of Drake's condition. I could not afford to pay attention to any of it, my primary focus on getting Drake and the rest of my injured comrades to the medical barracks of the ship. We did not bring doctors or anyone of the sorts considering that Drake could heal any injury and we had not expected anything to occur the way we did. Another idiotic mistake on my part.

Once down there, I set Drake down on a bed, his blood immediately staining the moderately white sheets, even when a majority of the blood had already dried. We could have slept in here the night before instead of sleeping on the floor, however this part of the ship, no matter if it was involved in war or not, was cursed with an eternal iron scent like blood.

It had been around an hour, perhaps longer since we left the crypt, or whatever that place was intended for. I had finally stopped shaking, tears running dry long ago, however my body felt weak and ached. I wanted to rest but I could not, not when my friends needed help. Along with that, I can not rest when my mind is filled with all of these worries.

I limped over to get supplies from the built in shelves, the supplies locked behind a door like a cabinet. I grabbed the keys that hung from the wall, unlocking it as I listened to the footsteps and voices entering the room.

  "Since it's numb, it shouldn't hurt too much when we stitch the muscles and ligaments back together," I turned around, going back to Drake as Mia, Markus, Cecile, and Eleanor came in.

Cecile sat down on the bed to my right, Markus taking off his armor to fix up his injuries. Eleanor removed Cecile's sling, his arm falling limp, blood spurting from the wound that went straight through his arm. The entire way here he had been gagging and needing support to stay up, normal for the amount of blood loss he was facing. Eleanor got supplies for him, struggling to stitch everything just right without piercing blood vessels or further damaging the nerves in that area.

I started to shake again as the nerves rose and consumed. The others around me gasped when I removed Drake's bandages covered in blood, I did too. The crack-like scars had branched from every wound, covering his lower arm, shoulders, below the knee pads, left bicep, chest, and around his stomach. It was difficult to see the detail past the glowing, but when I saw the skin surrounding the scars, I knew what it resembled; decay.

  "Oh my..." Mia gasped, tearing up.

  "What Drake was stabbed with," I explained. "Was created with intent to turn Herobrine mortal...so what effect does that have on Drake?"

We room went quiet aside from the occasional creek, as the airship was now in the clouds. Cecile turned his head, looking away from Drake. "Perhaps once he's better, he will heal himself and it will be fine?" I could hear his lack of confidence.

  "How are we supposed to cure the witches blood enchantment?" Markus asked, removing his shirt, the dripping blood adding to the blackish red already present of the floorboards.

  "As far as we know," Cecile flinched and bit his lip as Eleanor fixed him as best she could. "There is no cure. We'll have to do more research."

A spike of anger hit me. I could not control my emotions. It was bound to happen. "We don't have time!"

He yelped as my outburst caused him to flinch, Eleanor accidentally stabbing him with the needle and repeatedly apologizing afterwards. I turned to Mia as she told me to relax, myself apologizing. Markus called and asked Mia to help him with the dressing to cover the scars on his back. As she walked away, I turned my attention back to Drake and Cecile, listening as he mumbled an apology.

  "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted...I..." I bit my lip. "I should have known that this was going to happen. I should have..." I pulled at my own hair, ripping off my crown and tossing it to the floor.

  "I shouldn't have allowed anyone to come. I knew that it was going to be dangerous but I was too stubborn. What did we even accomplish? Nothing. I only got people killed and hurt. We don't know anything about what took Jeremiah, and Dante, he...who knows how much information that b***ard could slip to the enemy." Tears slipped from my eyes, just when I thought they had finally dried out.

  "Grayson, none of us knew what was going to happen. We couldn't have predicted any of it, but it wasn't in vain." Mia attempted to comfort me, however I could tell that she blamed herself just as much as I had with myself. "We discovered more of the enemy forces plan, right? That they're going to use that monster that took Jeremiah as a weapon, and other demonic forces it seems. With that knowledge we can be prepared."

I tried to calm my breathing. When I offered for the magi to transfer a bit of life force into him, they refused, saying it would not work as Drake had no life force to replenish. It was only Herobrine's energy he had stuck within him that he was even alive, and what had happened was draining that energy...

...

Third person point of view-

Dante stumbled forward as his feet touched the ground, nearly throwing up from the nausea that caused his mind and vision to swirl. He collapsed to his knees, taking a few moments to recover. After feeling relatively better, he looked down to his wrist with a growl, a burning pain running up and down from his wrist, his hand limp and bending unnaturally. That d**m hybrid...

He screamed as his wrist was forcefully grabbed, soon filled with odd sensations of his bones themselves tingling as they were mended. The demon let go, Dante moving around his wrist, now good as new. His dark eyes glanced back up as his acquaintance walked around him, gazing out at the nearly barren landscape that was only composed of rocky mountains, fungi, snow and the occasional patch of dried dirt or dirt barely able sustain the small patches of grass it harbored. The clouds were thick overhead, blocking out all sunlight. It appeared that they were still on the island, on the opposite end from the airship and a ways away from his former colleagues.

  "It has been quite a long time since I've seen a sight like this. I had forgotten how beautiful earth could be."

Dante glanced around, taking in a fresh breath of air, truly taking in how appealing it was. His body felt lighter and the air did not feel nor taste polluted. In a sense, it was peaceful, but the thoughts of his deeds, and the one standing beside him, kept his mind far from peace.

  "So you're the one the commander needed? I must say, you're almost as powerful as Herobrine."

The creature scoffed, now shifting its gaze into the sky. Dante shook, looking off to side, scared of the creature and not wanting to see Jeremiah is this state. His fingers were fidgety, looking down at his bloodstained body, making himself feel sick to his stomach. Something ate at him, he did not know what exactly it was.

  "We need to be sure that the hybrid is dead. They should be leaving for the empire soon. We could attack them before they reach the airship and kill both Drake and the leader of our enemies."

  "No, we can't afford it yet."

Dante lowered a brow. "Why not?"

The demon turned, Dante feeling the breath be stripped from his lungs to see the faint brown eye of Jeremiah leaking tears. "For one, none of my attacks will be enough to kill the hybrid, not in this state. Which brings another issue, the last attack you made against the hybrid should have destroyed his vessel completely. Something is keeping his body intact,"

It let out a deep growl. "We need to figure out an alternative."

Dante nodded, and assured him that once he was at full strength, they would get rid of the hybrid and transfer his power to this being. The demon nodded, his eyes twitching as he let out yet another low growl, though this one slightly louder. He asked Dante if he had any spare weapons on him, preferably iron.

The human once again gave a nod, pulling one from his belt with a dull blade, old and dark. "Of course. What for?"

The demon twitched, as if fighting against himself, or rather the two souls inside of that single body fighting for dominance. "Good."

He stepped closer to Dante, who flinched as it grabbed his arms, one hand grabbing his shoulder while he forced the other place the tip of the blade against his chest. "We can not afford distraction. This human can not interfere, but I can't fix it myself since nothing can harm the body I take, so, when I leave this vessel, I need you to exterminate our little parasite."

Dante looked to the blade, then back to the faint brown eye frozen with a gaze of sorrow, terror... and betrayal. He hesitated, thinking of the good times he had spent with the new archeologist recruit. He wanted the bloodshed to stop, he wanted revenge...he did not want to kill those he actually cared about, unlike with Drake whom he despised. He slowly nodded, swallowing the tight pressure in his throat.

His legs buckled as the demon left it's vessel, holding him up by the shoulder as he went limp. Jeremiah groaned as he regained consciousness, slowly opening his eyes.

  "D-Dante?"

The spy felt sick, his heart pounding, breathing becoming increasingly difficult with pressure weighing down his chest, shaking uncontrollably with sweat slowly forming in his pores. He did not want to do this.

  "I-I thought we were going to use the hybrid as a vessel until we completed our goal."

  "It won't be safe to try any time soon, considering that you nearly destroyed it. In the meantime, I'd prefer not to have another voice screaming in my head." His disembodied voice echoes through Dante's ears. He sounded annoyed yet amused.

The human stared at his friend, still dazed and confused. He let out a small whimper as Dante unintentionally pressed the blade slightly his chest, only puncturing skin. The feeling of guilt made him want to hurl, this internal conflict messing with his thoughts.

  "Can't we just weaken him? He won't be a problem then."

The demon persisted. "He'll only regain strength, besides, all humans die anyway. Better to have a friend be the last thing he sees."

Dante continued to hesitate, flinching as Jeremiah's eyes widened, saying his name as the boy became aware of what was around him. He pushed Dante away, trembling as he took in all of the blood he was covered in, how his old friend was just pressing a dagger against his chest. The two locked eyes, both pairs teared up.

The demon growled and lunged back into Jeremiah's body, hunching and twitching. He straightened up, a single eye becoming a white surrounded by red, more so a jam coloration if the glow was ignored. He rushed his human pawn, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground with his feet. Dante gasped and coughed, winded from behind pinned so quickly. He looked up at his superior, shocked to see his body flicker like a glitch in a computer program, his true form becoming visible for a few milliseconds before it returned to normal.

  "What else could I expect from a human? You care too much and lead to your own downfall." He lifted his foot, allowing Dante to breathe.

  "I...I apologize..." He lowered his head in shame, coughing.

  "No matter. You will learn in time. We should be ready anyhow by the time the hybrid gets home. According to this boy's memories, they are two days or so from returning to their kingdom. In the meantime, I'd like to speak with your commander. We have much to discuss."

He roughly grabbed Dante's arm as he pulled him up, searching through his memories to find the approximate location of the army. Dante panted harsh breaths after the demon got the information he needed, his vision filling with spots, a throbbing headache. He found himself stuttering, asking what it was he should refer to him as. The demon hesitated, looking down with his expression blank.

Before disappearing in a flash of white, he answered. "...Entity...you will call me Entity."

.

.

.

.

.

.

Drake's point of view-

I could not feel anything, not even the pain from my injuries. It was a familiar numb sensation...like when I had died. I was so scared to even think of opening my eyes, fearing what I would see. Eventually, I knew that I had to face whatever awaited me, opening my eyes to see darkness. Did I die? No, I can see walls out of the corner of my eyes. Once I finally found that I could move, I pushed myself up, struggling from weakness across my body. It took a few minutes to even sit up.

When up, I felt more frustrated than anything, however dread was a close second to dominate. The glossy obsession floors, the white walls like a maze and sky like a blackened night without the glittering of stars. I felt sick to my stomach, shaking without control.

  "You shouldn't be here." The memory of then came to my head from the familiar surroundings. "You're going to wake them."

Could I stand here until I wake up? Could I stay in this one place and avoid listening to those phrases? I gathered the courage to move my feet forward, jumping as I became startled, the scenery around me shifting into another. The darkness became a bright blue, the obsidian floors became lush green grass, however it was only the pathway itself that changed to grass, the rest plummeting into an ever shifting, distorted ocean surface that twisted wildly from the ground, to the sky and around. The dream world Armen and I were in... up head on the twisted pathway, a bit below my level, I saw a pillar of red, a pit dropping in my stomach to see the familiar shades of brunette and blue.

  "Keep moving Drake."

Once again the scene shifted to walls of ice, a floor covered in a thick blanket of snow, icicles hanging from long abandoned stone buildings and a sky of dark grey crying flakes of snow. The arctic base. I could see the pillar, Herobrine sitting on top, staring into the sky. There were no diamonds in the pillar like before, most likely because we destroyed the sacred diamonds. I saw the burial ground beneath our house filled with the statues of everyone we had come to know on our journey...

Suddenly, everything morphed back to the original setting of darkness as I stood before Herobrine, his back towards me as he sat on the pillar. He appeared relaxed to the naked eye. I had my suspicions. My body stiff, ready for any unexpected attack he may attempt.

  "You know," my body twitched. His mouth never moved with his echoing words. "It's rather draining keeping you alive, but you've done worse to yourself."

What could I have possibly done worse to myself? I am nearly dead, I have never tried to kill myself before, minus a few times back in the day I suppose, but I never came to near death from them. My body tensed, stepping back as he jumped down. Instinctively, my muscles clenched in readiness to fight, but my powers would not work, so I braced myself mentally for anything he would throw my way. I could feel his frustration, not just radiating from him...but from within myself. I could feel his emotions. The anger, the irritation. I felt it all. Was that my fear...or his? As he turned around, I found myself backing up. I could see it in his expression, the fury. I could tell by how I felt, by the intense glow in his eyes joined by a sight red gleam that accompanied his negative moods.

  "This is because of you...you always let grief and loneliness take over and you restart everything!" I stepped back as he stepped forward in a rage, causing me to fall over and push myself back into a wall to cower. What was he talking about? Why did I feel scared now of all times? Once more, I felt weak, useless.

He paused, taking a single step forward, causing me to panic inside, telling myself that I was just unconscious, that this illusion was all in my head. The devil laughed, taking another step forward, his body morphing into Armen's burned and torn body, then my own covered in blood. It had no effect of me, even when between phasing I could see his towering true form.

  "I tried to change it, to bend the world to MY will!" His hand clasped around my neck and squeezed, pinning me to the wall, but I did not feel anything beside a slight pressure. He snarled. "I killed that mistake, Grayson. I destroyed that portal. I slaughtered all of them!" With each sentence he would slam my head into the wall, but I still did not physically  feel a thing. "Yet every time I tried to change it..." He let go of my neck, the pressure fading as he stood up straight. The anger slowly faded from his voice, though frustration remained apparent.

  "It would all revert back to the beginning. Back to that house. I always ended up with you as a vessel. There's something about your soul, every timeline it grows stronger...and I get weaker. Of the billions, trillions of souls I have come across, you and your two parasite friends are always the ones I need to rely on."

While I was riddled with confusion, I knew that whatever he was saying about my soul was important. Our souls once powered the sacred diamonds, I knew how powerful they were, yet he seemed to emphasize their impotence beyond just that. At least the usage of them. He then began to laugh once more, the red portion in his eyes fading to their usual pure white.

  "So what? Did you just decide to show up to vent about your selfish, nonsensical problems? Get to the point, because I can't understand any of the sh*t you're trying to pass off!"

I screamed as my head pounded, throbbing. I hunched over, watching the blood drip down once I could finally open my eyes. I cried from the pain, the headache so intense that it caused my nose to bleed. For a moment I felt incapacitated, frozen, unable to think if anything but the horrendous pain pulsing through my head. Then just like that, it died down to a minor pressure. I had not felt like that in years.

Afterward, I wiped away the blood, trying to calm myself down. Even after that, he was acting far too permissive for comfort. A few minutes passed by as I recovered, neither of us moving a muscle.

I waited for him to lash out. I waited for pain...for anything, yet was meant with an unsettling calm demeanor. Why was he acting so calm, for his standards at least? By now, I expected myself to be in flames, my skin melting off, or my limbs being ripped off one by one, or seeing my loved ones being murdered slowly. None of that occurred this time around. Even when I tried to make the first move, dreading this prolonged wait for the suffering, nothing happened. Could neither of us use our power, or was he simply holding himself back? If so, then why?

He read my thoughts like an open book. "At the moment, our powers are suppressed, you from your wound and myself from trying to heal it. I don't intend on hurting you either way. I just want to talk."

  "Say that to the massive migraine you just gave me."

  "Just talk? Yeah right." I kept my guard up. I have to keep my guard up. He lowered his head, leaning against the pillar as if he were weakened. The fact that he was so talkative made me confused as to rather to be suspicious of it or not.

  "You recall the eternal punishment you chose, no?" I asked why he wanted to know, growling, receiving a scoff in return. "The plan seems to have backfired. The timeline is collapsing in on itself."

  "What?" I stumbled back, suddenly feeling overwhelmed, like I could not process another word. How could an entire timeline destroy itself, and what did it have to do with my deal? Why would he even care?

He looked up, turning his head as if looking to me out of the corner of his eye. "You're deja vu, these paradoxes. Admittedly, I caused a few anomalies myself that I could never get rid of, and like those, resetting time will only make it worse."

I was still in the dark as to what was going on, only understanding something about restarting time. "Restarting time? You restarted time?" I paused, taking his silence as a yes. I felt a chill run across the entirety of my body. How and why? "That's...that's impossible! What does it have to do with me anyway?"

  "This is just a bizarre dream. Not as bizarre as the British dream, but this is definitely up there with it."

The world around us changed, the otherworldly terrain filling with grass and mountains, the sky a dark blue of night sky, stars sprinkled about. I turned my head, the terrain filling with snow and spruce trees, then behind me, a barren desert. The three biomes.

  "After everything, you still don't remember?" That laughter made me feel sickened. "Everything is changing."

  "Remember what, da*m it?" I was growing increasingly frustrated, bringing out my offensive vocabulary. "What's changing?!"

That spike of pain erupted in my head, and for another instance I was laying on the ground in agony, screaming as if my head was about to explode. My nose began to bleed, then just as before, the pain was gone.

  "Everything! I can't stop it! It will never stop! It's too late!" He screamed, the entire hellscape rattling like an earthquake, his true form seeping past his human disguise for a short instance.

His tensed body relaxed after twitching, arms falling slack with his head to the side. "It's too late...the timelines are already collapsing one by one, and this one is next. And it's all because of y- because of us. This war was never supposed to happen! That thing..." The demon spat, now leaning against a tree instead of netherrack, still appearing weakened.

  "That thing is a paradox...that we caused. Dante wanted that thing to possess you and kill you, taking your power to make itself stronger. I suppose when that didn't work out, he tried killing you instead."

I held my head from pain. Was it because of his power or just because of how confused I was, too scared to ask all of the questions swarming my brain?

  "A paradox? Please just tell me what the h**l you're talking about! What is that thing that took my friend?! Why??"

  "All you need to know is that I'm still here and that creature you released needs to go. For not just my sake, but for you and your precious family. I will tell you more later on. Patience is key." Patience my a**, coming from the monster who invented lack of patience.

I stumbled as the ground began to quake, the scenery around broke apart like glass, rising and fading into the blackness. A sensation slowly rose across my upper body, at first an irritation, then stinging, then pain that caused me to hiss through my teeth. I began to feel ill, collapsing to my knees as I crossed my arms over my stomach where the pain was the most intense.

  "Solve the issue with our new 'friend'," I looked up, staring into those dead white orbs before my own vision was consumed in white. "Or I will have to make you."

...

"Apqpz qfme hzq vxqump"

~End Act One