<This is late, but still! I have some things I want to say/promote, but I'll do that after the story. So enjoy!>

Alastor walked the halls of the castle quietly. He wasn't trying to hide or anything, he just didn't want to draw attention to himself. Ever since he'd talked with Hills that fatefully night he hadn't been able to focus.

When he was informed about what had happened to Xenagoras he had immediately looked for something he could use to defeat Fallacy and free himself. And of-fucking-course there was no way to do that. Which meant that Alastor was stuck with that blasted serpent till the day he died!

He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed where he was going, and even if he wouldn't have been lost in thought he still wouldn't know where he was.

At first glance it looked like an ordinary cell hall, rooms with only heavy obsidian-fortified iron doors leading in. But as he walked farther in it started to change. Some cells now had pure obsidian doors, some with bars, and some just had glass. And as much as these things stood out, Alastor was more focused in the runes carved into the walls.

There were all sorts of them. Binding, magic binding, ones to keep someone awake with a keyword, some to give shocks if orders weren't followed... The list went on. Alastor could do nothing but gape at them all. To have carved these tunes so perfectly must have taken years, and many failed attempts too. It was honestly kind of impressive.

"Heh, you must be new." Chuckled a voice from behind the wolf. The blond quickly spun around to see who was behind him, only to find no one, "I'm in the glass cell child."

Alastor watched as a tall humanoid owl walked out of the shadows of the cell, talons clicking against the cold stone brick floor, "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I would be lying if I did."

The blond wolf blinked at the white and cream feathered being for a few minutes, trying to figure out why he felt something weird when he saw the owl, "Do I know you?"

The owl hummed a negative, "No, you don't. Though I do believe you've heard of me."

"I do believe I haven't, actually. So please do introduce yourself." Said Alastor, tone both snappy and sarcastic.

The avian laughed lightly at his demand, "I would, but you wouldn't believe me."

"If you don't want to tell me, just lie." Hissed Alastor, "That's what everyone here does, plus it would give me something to call you."

"Lie?" Asked the owl with a laugh, "I'm afraid I can't really do that, it's not my thing you see."

Alastor looked at them with calculating eyes, which were hidden from view by his mask still, "You can't lie? Like, at all?"

"Well I can." Explained the humanoid, "But I also can't, my own morals stop me from doing it."

Alastor walked to stand face to face with the owl, which meant he had to look up. With one swift moment he removed his mask, making his dark magenta eyes visible, "Why are you here?"

The blonde tone had been harsh and demanding, but the avian didn't seem to acknowledge that, "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean?" And the owl honestly didn't seem to know, which was a surprise, "Would you mind explaining?"

"What I meant is why you are so heavily locked in? Your cell has enough types of runes I'm sure Fallacy themselves would have a hard time breaking out." Explained Alastor, tracing the engraved runes on the wall, "What have you done to warrant such heavy magic?"

"It's not what I've done, child. It's what I can do."

The wolf raised an eyebrow at the other, "What? So Fallacy fears you or something?" It was said in a slightly cocky tone, but the genuine curiosity and shock seeped through.

The humanoid owl hummed, "Perhaps they did once, decades ago, but not any more." There was something more the bird wanted to add, but thought against it. Alastor saw this and asked them about it.

"What more do you have to say? I can tell there's clearly something more you'd like to add."

The cream owl tapped a finger quietly on the stone wall, "Fallacy's doing what they do best, but to themselves."

"Doing what they do best?" Quoted Alastor, "Do you mean lying?"

"I do indeed mean that."

The blond looked at the owl weirdly, "So your saying, that Fallacy's lying to themselves? About what? And why is this so important?"

The humanoid trapped in the cell sat down on the floor, and beckoned for Alastor to do the same on his side of the glass, "I'll answer in order. Yes. About nearly everything. And it's important for many reasons." They leaned in more towards the where the wolf was, probably to make sure they were heard properly, "But the biggest thing is one simple thing: Our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness."

The magenta eyed man looked at them with 'Do-you-realize-what-that-implies?' eyes. Though they ignored said stares and continue to talk, "Fallacy's lying to themselves about the fact that their unbeatable. In a way, with the current situation, their right. But there's a difference between losing and getting defeated, and Fallacy can lose."

"So we can't kill them, at all?" Growled Alastor, What little spark of hope he'd felt for a quick moment gone completely before it even fully registered, "How wonderful."

"You can't. Neither can anyone else. But the truth can." Said the owl, "That's why I'm locked up here, unable to escape."

"I'm done!" Hissed the blond wolf, fists banging against the glass, "Who the hell are you?!"

The cream colored humanoid chuckled at him, "Isn't it obvious? I am-"

————————————Scene change (>:3)————————————

Fallacy rested on their throne, absentmindedly twirling a sharp obsidian dagger. To anyone far away the dagger looked clean, but up close you could see the red stains on it. And if you looked even closer you could see small specks of purple stained to.

"Master, they're here." Called Hills, the shadow having just walked through the main doors.

Fallacy stopped twirling the dagger, and turned to the shadow, "Ah, finally. Go deal with them Hills, but do feel free to let them get away, I think we can do more than just kill them." They then turned to look into the shadows behind their throne, "Isn't that right, little bird?"

A pair of glowing eyes snapped open, the main part of them were ice blue but the pupils were a violet purple. A low growl left the hidden creature, the sound both ethereal and powerful.

Hills felt a shiver run down his spine. Even though he knew he was loyal to Fallacy, and knew he wouldn't be attacked, he was still afraid. And rightfully so. He almost felt sorry for the Hermits, almost.

He quickly shook himself out of that mindset and left, calling a few teams with him.

After all, the best way to avoid that thing was to follow orders, and to follow them right. So that was what he was going to do.

As Hills left, Fallacy couldn't help but feel pleased. Their most loyal and powerful was afraid of their little bird, and he was also going to deal with some of the only people who could put an end to them and their plans.

For everyone one thing was clear; Fallacy was winning, and winning fast.

<Alright! We are getting closer and closer to the end! Ohh, that's gonna be fun to do! Now onto a few things. Firstly here's a picture of the owl:

Secondly, I want to promote my own new Warriors Hermitcraft AU book called "New dawn"! I only have 2 real chapters (If prologues even count) of it, but still. So if you like both Warriors and Hermitcraft go check it out! Oh and here's the cover:

And that's all! Stay safe and have a wonderful time everyone!>