"We need your help!"Miranda said to the shadow who froze at that instant. Miranda's breath was trembling, and her eyes shut as she anticipated something dark and painful to grab her hair. But the hand never came.She slowly opened her eyes and found the shadow frozen before her, hand still outstretched. She arched a brow as she stood up, gazing at the shadow from head to toe. She took a step closer and touched the shadow, however, the moment she did that, the Shadow turned into smoke.And so did the vines that held the guards and Henry down."What just happened?" Lord Henry asked her as he approached, dusting off the dirt off his shirt. He winced as he did and Miranda gazed at him."I have no idea. Are you alright?" She asked him."I am fine." He replied but she caught his bluff."You are not fine. I can hear the pain in your voice." She said to him and tried touching the part of his thorax he was holding.He did not allow her to do so."Let us focus on the task at hand, please?" He
"What do you mean, Hama? What are you talking about?"Miranda asked the sorcerer who just kept standing. She glared at her, and then looked at lord Henry who just stood at a side, watching the both of them."Come. Let's leave this place." Hama said to them and she walked out of that part of the cave. She took a detour and soon got to a part of the cave with a thicker wall than others. Then she slapped the wall, twice before she took a step back and muttered another thing in old Elderien tongue.The wall shook and suddenly, it produced an opening. Miranda was amazed. Hama walked through the door and entered a dark room with incense burning from all sides. She took a deep breath in, moaning as she inhaled the scent of the incense."Aren't they lovely?" She asked Miranda and smiled."Please, Hama, my brother does not have much time left. He needs your help to wake up.""What makes you think I am even capable of such a feat? "Then you should at least try. Please!" Miranda begged."I can
Her horse snorted. That was the first thing Miranda heard when she began to regain consciousness."Hey, easy. Take it easy."She could hear lord Henry's voice comforting her. His voice actually brought her comfort. She opened her eyes slowly and managed to sit up, feeling Lord Henry's hand around her body as she did.She sighed, shaking her head lightly before turning to face him."What happened?" She asked him."What do you remember?" Lord Henry asked her. She racked her mind, trying to see if she can remember but she could not. Her memory was fuzzy at first, but by then, it began to come back to her."I remember trying to get her to stay. She did something to me...I don't, I can't...Ah!"She exclaimed, holding her head as she winced in pain. It felt like her head was burning and as she strained her mind more, the pain continued to radiate down. Henry quickly helped her lay down, but she still felt so much pain.But then, she remembered what had happened."She blew this thing on my
"We're under attack!"Lord Henry said and Hela quickly jumped up. Miranda was alarmed as well. What was going on?"What's happening? Who's attacking us?" Miranda asked Lord Henry.As he was about to reply, someone charged at him from behind. He quickly ducked, dodged the attack, and slammed the person onto the ground. Just before the person could stand up again, lord Henry dug his sword into its gut.Miranda walked closer to the assailant and observed its outfit. Meanwhile, Kevin was getting out of the bed and the healer, same with Hela were both approaching Miranda as well. She looked at the assailant who had already bled to death."Mintoval!"She exclaimed. Lord Henry nodded his head."Yes. They seem to have found their way into the kingdom. What should we do now?" He asked her and she thought for a moment."I need to take back the throne. That is the only way I can truly protect the people. I do not have an army at my command and no one else outside this place knows what is going o
Miranda led Hela and Kevin out of the room after Lord Henry had rushed to join the rest of the guards in fighting off the attackers. She was careful and stealthy, stepping on the ground like she was a leaf falling from a tree. That impressed Kevin and after a time, he couldn't keep it to himself anymore."When did you get so good?" He asked her. She looked at him before she continued walking."You taught me well. It's only natural for the student to surpass the teacher." She replied and Kevin scoffed."You didn't just receive lessons from me alone, did you?" He asked her."No. I don't want to break your heart Kevin but most of what I learned, I taught myself. I read various texts, I solicited various persons behind closed doors. You gave me the basics, I advanced all by myself."She said to him and Hela chuckled at Kevin who at that moment, was no longer pompous. He'd been humbled by her simple declaration."You're still not superior to me though." He added and Hela scoffed."Can we n
The whispers continued as she slowly approached the door. Like someone possessed by a force she could not understand, Miranda walked closer to the door. She could feel her heart beating heavily in her chest, her breath raspy and her entire body seemed like it was on fire. Her lips parted slowly and she shuddered.The voices persisted, the pull was so great that she could not resist it. It was too powerful, too strong. She stretched out her hand to touch the door, a strange aura enveloping her in the process. Just as she was about to touch the door, Kevin grasped her hand, bringing her back to her right State of mind. "What are you doing?" He asked her. She blinked twice and could not find an answer to the question."I...I heard something. I felt something pulling me, calling to me behind those doors. It was like a compulsion." She managed to say."What was it?" Hela asked her, confused."Wait a minute, you did not hear anything?" She asked Hela who shook her head dismissively."Why
"I need you to set me free."The statue said to Miranda. She was not so sure about doing that. And besides, she did not know how to. "I, um, do not think I can do that. I do not even have any idea how even if I wanted to." She said to the statue."You are capable of so much more, Miranda. It was not a coincidence that you were at this very moment. It was fated to happen. Do you not believe in fate?", The statue asked.At that time, Kevin and Hela had already gotten tired of being excluded from the conversation. They walked towards her and stood by her side. "What's it saying?", Kevin asked Miranda."It wants me to set it free," Miranda replied him and Kevin scoffed."I hope you are not going to do that. We have no idea what kind of danger that poses to us. Do not be so reckless." He said to her and she nodded."I know what I am doing, so do not worry too much. Okay?" She said to him and smiled softly. Then, she turned her attention to the statue."What are you, exactly? I do not kno
Miranda followed the gargoyle outside as it cut through the first set of sorcerers it encountered. At first, Miranda had lost the gargoyle along the way but the screams of the sorcerers pointed her in the right direction. She ran towards the place and she figured he was not kidding.Ther on the ground were sorcerers that were once alive. Their bodies were butchered on the ground without any form of remorse. She shuddered at the sight of that, blood pouring out from every cut they had in their bodies. She could feel the fear in Hela's breath and for a moment, she wondered if she had done the right thing setting the gargoyle free. It was a beast after all, and beasts needed to be tamed. Perhaps that was why the old King kept them locked up."No!"She quickly shook her head and cast away the thoughts. She banished them as far as she could. She did not want to think like her ancestor. She was better than that. If truly fate was involved in all of it, then, perhaps she needed to trust in
***Final Chapter***The monster hurled at the ship with a force so great that its punch pushed the ship backward. They were lucky not to have sustained a tear because Alastair and Blaize had formed a shield to block the punch. The shield, however, shattered immediately upon impact.The ship groaned and tilted from side to side, and what came next were screams from the crew as they fell into the sea. The captain struggled to find her balance, however, that was proving difficult. The ship groaned again and tilted to another side, shaking the captain's grip off her sword with which she had stabbed the deck.She screamed as she glided towards the sea, which at that time was already being occupied by monsters that looked like snakes. There was a multitude of them, and their hisses could be heard. They had killed the members of the crew that fell into the sea.As the captain was about to fall overboard, Blaize created a shield that blocked her path and pulled her back into the ship. She exch
"Set sail!"The captain's voice rang through the entire ship as men busied themselves with their jobs. The crew members ran Helter skelter as they tried to get the ship running, and in no time, they did. The ship roared as it sailed on the sea, a sight that sent shivers down Cara's body For Alastair, he just stood beside her and watched other members of the crew as they worked tirelessly. The captain was no longer with them. She was busy shouting orders, screaming at the men, and cursing them as they worked. Considering the fact that she was much smaller than most of the men on the ship, it was a funny sight to see.She soon sent Alastair a gaze and nodded to him. Alastair returned the gesture. As soon as the captain looked away, Alastair smiled softly. The time was finally approaching, and there was nothing to stop destiny from unfolding. He was still lost in thoughts when he suddenly began to feel like there was a pair of eyes looking at him.It was the same feeling he had gotten b
"Stand firm. Widen your stance and fix yourself to the ground. Strike with intent."Alastair instructed Cara as she sparred against him. Her moves had gotten better already but they still needed some more work. She groaned and struck Alastair, putting in so much of her energy that she tripped and fell down when Alastair made a false move."Predict where I will be. It will be what you need most of the time. You need to see the bigger picture when you are dealing with an opponent. Stand up and come at me again."Alastair instructed and Cara obeyed. She was past the stage of grumbling. She knew she needed to become stronger for what was coming.She charged and did her best to predict Alastair's moves. But they were too advanced for her. However, Alastair did not hold back. If she was to fulfill her destiny, she needed to become better than he was. Alastair decided to do a move to throw her off balance but Cara suddenly blocked it.Alastair was surprised. He pushed a bit further and intro
"Why don't you put down the crossbow and we can talk this through like adults?" Alastair said to the captain who scoffed at his guts. Her eyes were blaring with anger, and the only thing in her eyes other than anger was turmoil, pain, and regret.She steadied the crossbow in her hand and fixed her gaze upon Cara. Her eyes never left her. It seemed like she could remember what happened that day, the fire that suddenly blasted them all apart. She could remember the smell of burnt flesh which filled the air, saturating every part of the house. She could remember the smell of her own flesh and the moment that hit her, her face twitched a little. She took a deep breath and pointed the crossbow at Cara. Alastair did not want to use his magic against her for he knew they would be needing her help if they were to get to the isle of mists. But how the captain survived was still a mystery. He was certain she had died."You! You did this to me!", The captain said and pointed to the scarred part
"You didn't even ask for her name." Cara said to Alastair as they walked down the busy road. Their short time at the pub had not turned out the way Alastair hoped. He just kept walking in silence, and the silence was what made Cara uncomfortable."I did not need to," Alastair replied and she scoffed."Why not? She was clearly into you and you liked her as well. What is stopping you?" Cara asked, but then she realized how insensitive her statement was. She should not say such things about Alastair's relationship."Is it because of Miranda?" She asked but he was silent."How do you know she is still waiting for you?" Cara asked again but Alastair still said nothing. She was right. He did not know. But the thing bothering him was that he might not live to find out. "I... I do not want to forget her. I want to cherish our memories together until there is nothing left of me. That is why I cannot look at another woman. But what do you know? You are just a child.".Alastair said and scoff
The night still ravaged on as Alastair and Cara kept walking down the streets. Alastair got the chance to see more of the town, like he had secretly desired. The town was a beautiful place, quite exotic as well.He did not know if it were the decorations, or the thrill in the air but he was certain that that town had seen alot of bad days in the past and they were trying to make out the future as best as they can. He could see a young woman and two kids which looked like they were hers.The woman glanced at him and smiled, a smile which melted Alastair's heart. He saw that she had twin boys, and the imagination of the kind of life he would have been living if he grew up with his mother and brother was vivid.One of the twin boys ran towards him and gave him a popsicle. Alastair smiled as he took the popsicle from the boy, and giving their mother a nod, she quickly led her eager boys toward a candy shop. Alastair sighed as he watched them. He did not even hear Cara stepping up before h
The journey was quiet, and although the moonlight shone upon them like the ever glowing beam of light that it is, Cara was not feeling it. She just kept walking, a step behind Alastair. Her head was bowed, her fists were clenched. Her nails were digging into her palms, although not enough to give her an injury, it still hurt.Maybe she wanted it to hurt. Maybe she just wanted to feel something at the end of the day. She had been so hollow ever since the fight. She could feel Asmodeus crawling around in her mind. She could feel the Phoenix slowly regressing. She could feel the terror that was coming, very one that she was destined to bring upon the world."Are you alright?" Alastair asked her, snapping her out of it. She nodded quickly and looked at him for a moment. "You look disturbed. Is there anything you would like to talk about?" Alastair asked her again but she shook her head. He decided not to press her. If she was ready to talk, she would."Do you miss it? Everything else bef
An energy blast escaped from cara's body and hit all those that were in close proximity to her, James and Denise included. The force of the blast was so powerful that it took them off their feet and crashed them onto the ground. Cara let out a guttural growl as energy began to radiate from her body. The red, hot, energy began to gush out even more as her powers levitated her slowly. The growls continued, and so did the fear on lord Karl's face. He has never seen anything like that. He and his followers were not sure of what to do at that point. They slowly stood to their feet and watched as she stretched out her hand toward them. Her yellow eyes fell on them and with a sudden spark, her energy surged again. This time, it did not hit James and Denise. Both were surprised that the energy phased right through them to hit a sorcerer standing behind them and when they turned around, their eyes beheld a horror unlike what they knew before.The sorcerer's body froze. His eyes stretched out
"Cara... Cara, are you alright?"Cara could hear Fristborn's voice call out to her. She opened her eyes slowly and what she saw was someone she never knew she could see any more. Was she dead, or was she dreaming? She gazed at Fristborn's face and in that split second, she reached out to touch him.But someone else quickly grabbed her hand and she turned and saw Denise standing there. Her eyes roamed back to 'fristborn' but was actually James that was kneeling beside her. She blushed in embarrassment as she quickly say up. They were no longer in the house. From what Cara could see, they were some distance away from the house and it was not too quiet. She could still hear the sounds of guards running around, trying to look for them. The three of them remained silent for a while."What happened?" Cara asked as she rubbed her eyes. It felt like she slept for a long time."You fainted," Denise replied to her. Cara tried to recall what had happened after she felt the surge in her magic b