The metal door opened with a loud screech echoing through the dark chamber. The Rebels hesitantly ventured in, keeping their weapons ready. Sam waved his hands, sending bright light spheres around the room, chasing away the shadows. The room was large and circular, with two smaller doors opposite the entrance. The air was heavy and felt oppressive. The stench of old blood and death filled the place with soundless pleads for mercy that was never given. But what captured the attention immediately was in the very centre of the room. The air flickered and glimmered as if something hung there, suspended halfway between the ground and the ceiling. Iris felt the cold sweat pearling at her back. The hair on her body stood up, and a nameless dread engulfed her. Something was lurking there, something ancient and malicious, looking right back at them.

'Isss it feeding time?' a voice hissed. It seemed that a chorus of tormented voices fused into one as it came from all around them.

Few people gasped in surprise, looking around the seemingly empty chamber.

'Do not fear,' Myrica said in a loud and assuring voice. 'It can't hurt you, not yet. Light up the torches. Set up fires. We'll need all the light we can get.'

Faced with her confident and resolute command, everyone moved. Mages lit up the torches on the walls, while others carried pieces of wood, they made by chopping down the table from the hall to start a fire.

Iris looked at the hustle, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. Far fewer Mages than they expected remained. From around twenty prisoners, only fifteen were well enough to fight. They left the rest back in the cell block. Few of them were too weak even to stand, and there was one other child except Cody, a girl no more than five. Iris closed her eyes and felt a throbbing pain in her heart at the thought that she had to leave her little brother behind again. He protested fiercely, saying he could fight. But he was so incredibly young and what they were going to do was too dangerous. Iris wouldn't focus, knowing Cody was right in the centre of this. He still wouldn't let it go, and only when Myr looked him in the eye and with a solemn voice asked him to protect those weak ones left behind did he agree to stay there.

'You...' hissed the voice again. 'You are one of the people.'

Myrica's head snapped in the direction of the tear, her golden eyes narrowed. 'That should make no difference to you, creature.'

'Oh, but it doesss. My feassst will be ssso much sssweeter when I devour your ignorant and foolish sssoul.'

'We'll see how you sing while we slay you, monster.'

The room suddenly burst with hysterical laughter, startling everyone and stopping them in their tracks. It sounded as if someone was scratching nails on the walls. 'You think you can ssslay me? I'm older than anything you can even imagine. I fed on the power of your god. Do you really think you can even ssscratch me?'

'Watch us,' said Jayden loudly, throwing more planks to the growing fire.

But then the smaller doors burst open with a loud thud revealing figures clad in black. They threw something inside the room, unsheathed the weapons, and rushed inside.

'Gas grenades! Melt them before they release the poison!' Jayden shouted over the commotion of clashing steel and fearful shouts. His hands were already moving to send the light at the small metal spheres that started leaking green smoke. Iris squared her shoulders, even though her legs felt wobbly with the fear rising inside. She raised her hands and joined Jayden in disabling the harmful devices. They couldn't let them dampen their magic, not when it was their only real weapon against Brath.

But there was simply too many Mage Hunters. They moved with terrifying efficiency, extinguishing torches and going right at Mages before they even managed to raise their defences. Even though they realised they walked right into the trap, the Mages and their allies fought on, knowing that right here was their last stand.

The Mages disabled all the grenades before a significant amount of dampening gas was released. However, the Mage Hunters were assaulting without a pause, adeptly knocking out one Mage after another. Iris focused on keeping the barrier she erected with two other Mages holding a bunch of their opponents cornered near the doors when she saw a dash of black in the corner of her eye. It was already too late to react. She turned to see the heavy club swinging toward her head. She closed her eyes, waiting for the blow, but nothing happened.

Iris gingerly opened her eyes. The Mage Hunter was still there, but he froze mid-movement. His pale face with black eyes was as blank as a statue, but his muscles were twitching as if he were straining against invisible power.

'Huh, would you look at that?' Sam appeared next to her, his hand with outstretched fingers raised toward the assailant. 'They are puppets filled to the brim with Shadow Magic.' He twisted his wrist rapidly and clenched his hand. The darkness erupted through the Mage Hunter's mouth and swirled like a serpent around Sam's hand. The limp body fell to the floor with a thud. 'Curious indeed,' Sam said, looking at the shadows coiling at his arm. Iris noticed dark veins were showing on his face that wasn't there before. 'Now, let's see what fun we can have with this little beauty.'

Iris watched in awe and horror as Sam sent the tendrils of darkness toward two charging Mage Hunters. The shadows twisted around their legs like vines, tripping them. Sam raised his hand again, and even more darkness sailed toward his hand, leaving only empty husks of unmoving bodies behind. But the more he manipulated the shadows, the more black veins showed on his pale skin, and he started panting with effort, his arms trembling while he attacked more Mage Hunters.

'Sam! You must stop it! It's killing you!' Kara screamed from the other side of the room, where she was fending off two other attackers.

'I don't have much choice, darling!' he shouted back. 'I don't know if you noticed, but we are not exactly on the winning side!' Though his voice was cheerful, a hoarse strain in it was evident.

Suddenly there was thumps or heavy foot behind them at the entrance. Iris turned just in time to see another division, with regular knights this time. They formed a line and readied the crossbows.

'Kill the Shadow Mage,' sounded the cold order when the Grand Inquisitor entered the chamber with a sword ready in hand.

'No!' Kara shouted, but she was too far away.

Sam threw his hand at the newly arrived Inquisitors, the swirling darkness wooshed towards them, but the Grand Inquisitor also raised his gloved hand, and the shadows sailed toward him, like a lost dog that found their rightful owner. Sam cursed.

'You are no match for me, you fool,' Grand Inquisitor spat. 'Fire!'

Iris quickly fortified Sam's light barrier, but it was not enough. The third bolt shattered the wall, sending her tumbling at the floor. She raised her head to watch in horror as another three arrows pierce through Sam's chest, spraying blood around.

Iris was too shocked even to move, watching everything as if it were in slow motion. Someone was screaming - a terrible ear-piercing sound broke through all other clamours. When she blinked, Kara was already on the floor, holding bloodied Sam, her face wet with tears, and her body trembled with sobs.

Then someone grabbed Iris and pushed her to the cold floor while tying her hands at her back. When her mind finally shook the daze after the crushed barrier, she looked around in despair. The fight was already over. The Mage Hunters already managed to round and bound most of the Mages. Iris looked towards her friends. Arlo was kneeling on the floor, a bolt sticking out of his thigh, two knights were holding blades at his neck. Next to him stand Myrica, disarmed and with a sword at her throat too, but she looked otherwise unharmed. Kara was still sitting on the floor sobbing and holding on to Sam's lifeless body. Three knights encircled her, ready to strike any time.

Iris was pushed toward the other Mages, next to Jayden. He had a black and purple bruise on his face, his left eye almost completely closed and swollen.

'Did you think you could just march into the Inquisition Headquarters and do as you please?' Grand Inquisitor said, strolling towards them. He didn't show any signs of corruption, unlike Sam. He looked perfectly normal, his back straight, head held high, the cold, grey eyes alert and cunning. Iris shivered. This was a man who condemned all the Mages, she thought. Sacrificed them for his gain. He didn't look particularly evil, but he had this aura of danger around him as if he were ready to strike at any moment, without a second thought.

He looked around and sheathed his sword with a frown. 'I can't see your leader. Did we kill him along the way? Shame, I was hoping to talk to him one last time before he is executed. He was a worthy adversary.'

'You are despicable,' Myrica growled, ignoring a blade at her throat. 'How could you ally yourself with this thing? Can't you feel how evil and foul it is?'

The Grand Inquisitor looked at her and cocked his head. 'So, you're the renegade of the forest people that made us run in circles all this time. That was a neat trick. Shame your elders sold you out.' He looked around, scanning their faces. There was no hatred on his face, no repulsion. Just a cold calculation and annoyance, as one may feel for a stubborn pest. 'You all think you are heroes, don't you? Came here to defeat me, the evil villain? The truth is, the loud and annoying people like you are just yapping little dogs, who couldn't care less about anything else but saving your skin.'

'How dare you!' Kara growled from her place on the floor. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and her face contorted in anger. 'Have you ever looked outside your precious church? Have you seen what you've done to the people of this city?'

'They are alive, they are not starving, and they have a safe place to stay. What else could they want?' Cassius replied calmly.

'Your magic is brainwashing them!' Kara spat. 'This isn't life! It's just some pathetic imitation. And for what? So you can have more power? You want to become a king?'

Cassius laughed mirthlessly. 'You are more foolish than I thought. Do you really think I did all this just for the position? I don't care about that! The only reason I seized power is that those who rule this kingdom are ill-fitted to do it. They are weak fools, and if I let them stay in their ways, our nation would fall.'

'So what, are you supposed to be a saviour?' Jayden growled. 'Should we fall to our knees and thank you for killing our family and friends?'

'That is your own doing,' Cassius countered, pointing the finger at the gathered Mages. 'You conducted the blasted Ritual that brought us nothing but chaos. I say the punishment is fitting.'

'That's not true! None of us did it!' Iris protested, feeling her anger rising. She couldn't believe he was justifying his horrible deeds. 'All those who did are long dead already! You can't blame us for what other people did. You have no right! What you are doing is genocide!'

'Magic is a curse. It always has been,' Grand Inquisitor replied coldly. 'It's so easy to let yourself rely on it. To use it to resolve every problem, no matter how trivial. And yet, people never consider the consequences, and innocents usually pay the price. This land would be better off without magic.'

'You are such a hypocrite,' Myrica scoffed. 'If you hate magic so much, how can you resort to using it yourself? And the foulest kind of magic there is!'

'This is only a necessary business transaction,' Cassius said. 'I admit, I didn't think it would affect the city this much, but then again, it's not long now. As you kindly all come to me, we can just finalise our deal and get to the other phase of the plan.'

'You talk too much, Inquisssitor,' hissed the voice from the tear suddenly. 'Ssso much deliciousss light. Feed me already.'

'Silence, creature,' Cassius growled, narrowing his eyes. For the first time, his composure slipped, and anger showed on his face. It was clear he didn't take pleasure in dealing with Brath. 'You will be fed when I say so.'

'I'll bite,' Arlo said with a tired sigh. 'What's the great plan? You kill us all here, and then what? You're going to rule as a tyrant unopposed?'

'You are all fools.' Cassius scoffed. 'Do you have any idea what is happening on our borders?'

The silence was his only answer.

'I thought so. You were too busy wallowing in your own miserable life even to consider looking at a big picture here. Let me tell you then. Every day the army supported by Inquisition is engaging in skirmishes with Egraria. They were ready to invade us eight years ago, but thanks to that bloody Ritual of yours, they got scared. But now, they are back at it. And they found out that the damaged sun is our fault, so they are even more cross than before. They don't want to assimilate the weaker nation. They want to punish us for what we did. So, once they are here, they will raze our cities and slaughter our people. Maybe some of us would be fortunate enough to be enslaved. Although, I don't know if you can call that luck.'

'And how exactly wiping out all the Mages help us?' Kara asked bitterly.

'Well, that's where our shadow bastard is coming in,' Cassius explained. 'Once he feeds on enough light, he will be powerful enough to walk in our realm in his true form, with all his power intact.'

'You want to let him loose in our world?' Myr asked with disbelief. 'You are out of your mind!'

'I'm not just letting him loose here.' Grand Inquisitor scoffed like he tried to explain something to not very smart students. 'I will send him off to Egraria. With him and his minions running wild in their borders, they will be far too busy to invade us.'

'And Ancient Foressst. Don't forget you promisssed me free reign in Ancient Forest,' hissed Brath.

'Yes, you can have the Forest. I don't care. It's not part of our kingdom.'

'You can't be serious!' Myrica protested.

'It's a small price to pay for the safety of the whole kingdom, don't you think?'

'What makes you think this monster would honour the agreement?' Kara asked.

'The pact between inhabitants of different realms is forged by soul binding. You cannot break the terms of a deal without damaging your existence,' Cassius explained patiently. 'Besides, the creature has no reason to bail on me. His only demand was the Ancient Forest, and with Egraria, he will have more than enough hunting grounds for ages. No reason to stay in our small kingdom.'

'Enough talk already!' the Shadow hissed, sending shivers down Iris' spine. 'Feed me the ressst of the Magesss, and we will sssee our deal concluded.'

'I hate to agree with you, but you're right. That's enough talk. Let's finish what we started.' He turned to the knights stationed next to the doors. 'Bring the rest of prisoners here.'

Iris felt her heart sink at those words. She kept harbouring an impossible hope that maybe Cody managed to escape, to slip away from the cell block. But here he was, dragged by the knights, kicking and screaming in protest. The Inquisitor holding him punched him in the guts and threw his crumpled little body towards the rest o them.

'Cody!' Iris kneeled on the floor next to him. But with her hands bound behind her back, she couldn't even touch him.

'I'm sorry, Iris,' the boy whispered in a pained voice. 'I tried to stop them, but they were too strong.' His little face was dirty, his lips bloodied. Someone must have hit him. Iris tried to stop the helpless tears that stung her eyes, but it was futile. That's it then. That's where they were going to die. At least they were together. Cody got up to his knees and huddled to her, looking for reassurance of her warmth.

'Are you sure it would be enough?' Grand Inquisitor asked.

'Yesss. We were waiting a long time for thisss moment. We are almossst complete. They will sssufice.'

'Let's get on with it then.'

'No! You can't do this!' Myrica protested, but another knight raised his sword threateningly.

'You can't agree with this!' Arlo roared towards the Inquisitors that were holding him. 'You are decent people. How sacrificing innocent human beings, children even, could be the right thing?! Don't you have families? What if one of them turns out to be a Mage? Will you sacrifice them too?!'

The knights exchanged troubled looks. Their weapons lowered slightly.

'Shut up!' Cassius growled, turning to Arlo. The shadows in the room flickered, and the knight's faces returned to unmoving masks, swords raised again. Any trace of doubt was gone. 'Next time he speaks, kill him. I planned to use them all as an example in a public execution, but I can easily do with one less.'

Arlo growled, but Myrica only shook her head, looking at him intently.

Grand Inquisitor turned back to the Mages, looking at them all in turns as if he were looking for something. When their eyes met, Iris trembled. There was something odd in his gaze as if he could look inside of her, see every thought and every dream she ever had. She felt the dark despair rising in her soul. There is no way out. There is no point to resist any longer and pretending we have any chance to succeed. How foolish we were even to attempt to fight against such a formidable foe. The thoughts were her own, but at the same time, sounded wrong.

'He's using Shadow Magic on us,' Jayden growled next to her. 'Don't let him break you, Iris.'

And then she saw it. A subtle movement of Cassius' fingers as if he were manipulating something. She felt a cold, dark touch in her mind. Unfamiliar. Hostile. She gritted her teeth and pushed the wave of darkness back, closing her mind behind an imagined wall of light. That was the only thing she could half-decently procure.

'There is no point in struggling,' Grand Inquisitor growled, clearly annoyed that the Mages were still resisting his powers. 'You have nowhere to run now. So, who wants to go first? Any volunteers?'

'The girl!' Brath hissed. 'The girl hasss the brightessst light. Ssstart with her!'

Cassius nodded to the Mage Hunters, and Iris felt strong arms lifting her to her feet.

'No! Let go of me!' she protested, but the men held her in an iron grasp, dragging her toward Grand Inquisitor.

'Leave my sister alone!' cried Cody, lunging forward, but he was held in place immediately.

'There's no point in resisting,' Cassius repeated when Iris was pushed in front of him. Before she could recoil, his heavy hand in mailed glove clasped on her shoulder, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh. The Mage Hunters let go of her and took a few steps back.

Iris wanted to fight, shout, and do anything, but her body froze in panic. Grand Inquisitor's eyes turned black, and swirling tendrils of darkness raised from his hand, making their way on Iris' exposed skin towards her face. She shook in disgust and dread. The shadows felt cold and slithery.

'No!' she protested weakly. A shadow tendril touched her face, and she closed her eyes. She couldn't breathe. All her insides were clenched, expecting the incoming attack. Once again, she found herself helpless and useless. After what she's been through, after all she suffered, she still ended up waiting passively for her end, unable to resist.

And then something broke inside of her. She was not the same frightened little girl anymore. She thought about all those brave people she met along the way. Those courageous souls resisted injustice even if they didn't possess any power or strength to fight back. She thought about Marcus, always patient and kind, ready to sacrifice his own life for even the slightest chance for them to succeed. She thought about Sam and the determination written all over his face when he chose to fight, even though using the Shadow Magic was physically killing him.

So many people gave their lives so they could go on. So many precious lives were lost because one man decided that he had a right to determine who deserved to live or die. The rage inside of her pushed the panic away and cleared her mind.

I will not surrender and won't die on my knees.

Iris turned her head away from coiling shadows to gain precious seconds. Her hands were bound, and she could not draw any light. She could not use her magic to fight, to push the Grand Inquisitor away from her.

But then Iris realised she didn't need any of it. With his hand clasped firmly on her shoulder, Cassius was right where she wanted him.

Iris closed her eyes again and looked inside of her. She ignored all the sounds. The panicked screams. The desperate wails. The protests. The cold, slimy feeling of darkness on her skin, inches from her mouth. And then she found her light. Bright, pulsing steadily and surely with warmth. It was right there, and all she needed to do now was reach for it. She never managed to do this without an external light source, but there it was. Easy. Simple. That was her real power.

I am not helpless anymore. I might not be as talented Mage as Jayden or as brave as Kara. But I am the Realmfarer. The moment the idea formed in her mind, she felt the warmth spreading from her inner Light reaching all the corners of her body.

Iris opened her eyes and looked right at the Grand Inquisitor.

She smiled.

And then, she crossed.