After taking down another wizard who had sneaked into the city, Camille jumped atop the medical camp site and observed her surroundings – there was no immediate trouble in sight. With closed eyes, she tried locating but could not sense any Demonic Ki traces in her vicinity either.

  Coming back down, the Sokidu observed the medical staff hard at work. Many injured soldiers of the Eye were being treated and many more were on their way. She felt the weight of the horrors of the war. There were men and women with severed limbs, broken bones, cut open wounds, and bloody clothes suffering in pain. Shaking her head she turned around and walked out again.

  Once outside, she sat on the ground resting against the wall of the building and closed her eyes. As she rested her head on the wall, a whisper escaped her lips, “Where are you bro?”

  She sensed through the battlefield. Camille was better than her peers when it came to sensing and locating targets in a small range of a few miles. But even she found it impossible to pinpoint anyone. All Ki had been marred with a Demonic stench. Neil, Master Mora, Master Bennett, and the hundreds of others engaged in combat with the wizards were lost in a cloud of contaminated Ki.

  So, she looked past that and tried to locate her eldest brother. A quick sweep of the forest and she felt the overwhelming Ki of the Basilisk first. Then she felt the White Bolt on the move.

  ‘Where is Hugo?’ the Sokidu thought.

  Try as she may, the youngest Baylis could not locate the waning Ki signature of her brother.

  ‘Has he returned to the warfront? But why?’

  War at the border raged on. The Eye was pushing back. The worst had been undone, but it was far from over. Mystics, Zaatsus, Sokidus, and even the academy students inside the city were all working hard to defeat the Devil’s Hearth and secure Ayn but casualties were piling up.

  After securing an area, Fiona noticed – the entire contingent stationed there had fallen. She nodded in respect to the ones who had laid their lives defending their city. Such was the price of victory.

  The Parliamentarian looked around, panting. “This will take hours!” she said, grinding her teeth. “I hope Master Hedish has what it takes to fight him off alone…”

  Mystic Master Hedish Norma, Seear’s personal counsel and the leader of the Parliament, was leading the Regal Palace’s defences personally. The Serpents of God were finding it hard to penetrate. Powered by Demonic charms, they had brought down two Zaatsus, three Mystics, and a handful of Sokidus, but Hedish’s resolve and his aides’ stand was formidable. They were not backing down.

  Ambris Ferrer arrived at the gate of the Regal Palace. With a deep breath he looked up at the twenty foot tall gate. The spell around Ayn and the Palace rendering them invisible and transparent had been bypassed. All that was left was to take down the limited nuisances – the Martial Artists retaliating from the inside.

  Two of his serpents greeted him there. They informed the Basilisk of the situation inside.

  “The bastard’s making it impossible to find a way through,” one of them explained. “We can’t even bring the walls down.”

  “Mm, yes,” Ambris nodded. “They are charmed that way.”

  “What’s our move then, my Lord?”

  “Casualties?”

  “A few of us are injured, but it’s nothing serious. We can keep pushing harder.”

  “No.” Ambris finally took his eyes off the gate and looked at his serpent. “I can’t sense them inside…”

  “Who?”

  “Those that I desire… the other two Xoitique Stones.”

  The other serpent stepped ahead. “No offense, my Lord,” she said, “but I can’t sense anything through these walls.”

  Ambris grinned. “Oh but I’m not you. I know the spells used to fortify this place. I used to be in charge of putting them up.” With a nod and a shake, he added, “The stones are no longer here.”

  “So, what should we do?”

  “Let’s go inside and ask our old Mystic friend…”

  The Serpents gave Ambris a remnant of the Xoitique Diamond – the one Derek had kept safe. The Basilisk used it once again to restore his Ki and heal himself. Then, he stepped ahead pushing a significant amount of Ki into his fist. The moment his consequent punch struck, the Palace’s wooden door shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

  The trio easily walked inside.

  Every step was signalling the Eye’s failure and every stride was screaming Derek and the Serpents’ victory. While the Eye remained preoccupied with a proxy attack at their home, the Serpents of God marched untamed inside the hallowed grounds of the Palace. The Basilisk’s terrifying Ki radiated through the empty halls. Every wall he touched was ripped off its defensive spells. And his bandits kept moving deeper and deeper.

  Led by the rejuvenated and recharged Ambris, the Serpents of God began to quickly round up the Martial Artists.

  Elsewhere, Marcus arrived at the medical camp with a few others carrying another contingent of injured soldiers. Resources were just starting to get overwhelmed.

  Walking out, the fire breathing Sokidu saw Camille standing alone at the edge of the alleyway next to the building. He walked over.

  “I can’t sense him, Marc,” Camille said, looking over at her approaching friend. “I can sense everyone else, but I can’t sense him.”

  “Woah, woah, slow down, Cami.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, “Who are you talking about?”

  She shook her head. He noticed her wet eyes. “I can’t find my brother. I can’t find Hugo.”

  “What?” He paused and stroked back his hair. “Come on, Cami. I can’t sense anyone at the border.” He took his hand off her shoulder and smiled. “It’s Master Baylis we’re talking about. I’m sure he’s fine, man.”

  Camille looked away in the direction of the war. She kept shaking her head and frowning. It was not Ki, it was something much deeper. She could feel there was something wrong. She could feel her brother was in trouble.

  “Marc,” she quietly said. “Can you do something for me?”

  Marcus leaned ahead. “What’s on your mind, Cam?”

  She looked at him. “Can you stay here?”

  “Here? At the camp?”

  “Yes. They’ll need one of us…”

  “What?” His gaze widened. “What about you?”

  She leaned closer, hands held close to the chest. “I have to go, Marc. I have to find him.”

  Marcus waited. He could see it in her eyes. Arguing was not going to help. He kept staring at her quietly for a few moments before slowly looking away.

  “Alright, Cami,” he said as he dropped his head. “I’ll take care of the camp.”

  Camille reached out and gripped his arms, fingers tightening as if anchoring herself. “Thank you so much.”

  He met her gaze and gave a single nod.

  She released him and straightened herself. Her expression already hardening, the Sokidu moved past her friend without another word, disappearing into the chaos beyond the camp.

  Marcus stood there longer than he meant to, listening to the sounds of the wounded behind him. Then he turned back to the camp.

  Deep inside the forest, near the Lake Baikal, Vincent had found a broken blade lying on the ground. Evading the Cerberus’s attacks, he ran towards Lee, the bandit lying on the ground. All it needed was one strike. He ran fast, faster than the beast could manage. It kept chasing but could not catch up to the White Bolt.

  Close enough, the bounty hunter leaped and landed right on top of the serpent. The broken sword went right through the crippled man’s face and got etched into the ground. Crackles of static rushed from Vincent’s hands into the blade and then into the bandit.

  “Die!” Vincent exclaimed.

  Lee’s head popped like a balloon. And just as quickly as he had attacked, the White Bolt ran off. The Cerberus kept chasing for a few more seconds, but then it stopped and slowly dropped to the ground and died.

  “Hugo!” the bounty hunter called as he saw the Zaatsu lying on the ground – defeated, hurt, and barely alive.

  He sat kneeling and placed a hand on Hugo’s chest. “Ah, shit!”

  “Hey,” the Zaatsu grunted. “Took you long…”

  “Ah, fuck! I need to get you to the city. They must have medics there.”

  “No…” Hugo coughed and grunted in pain. “No.”

  “What?! Don’t you wanna live, dammit?!”

  “What good am I if th-the Eye… if the Eye dead?”

  The Zaatsu mumbled and stumbled over his words. “Ambris… he’s heading… Palace…”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Ah, shit!” Vincent’s hands dropped to his side as he leaned back. Looking away, he changed posture and sat cross legged. He could tell – the Zaatsu was beyond saving now. He whispered, “What the hell have you done?”

  Hugo had third degree burns all over his body and even on the right side of his face. His Ki networks had been severed from hundreds of different points and the clusters were breaking apart. He was losing Ki fast.

  He coughed. Blood dripped down from his mouth. “No matter how hard we try,” he whispered with a grunt, “We can’t ignore the w-wisdom… of our pre-predecessors…”

  “Nor can we hope to surpass it,” the bounty hunter completed his sentence and nodded just once still looking down.

  “Your father… he used to say that.”

  “Hmm. I know.”

  “He also told me…”

  “What?”

  “Never use time-trap in battle…”

  He tried to chuckle but the pain was too much. All he could do was grunt.

  Vincent shook his head. “I’m not good with healing.”

  “I don’t need healing.” Hugo smiled.

  “Now look at you.” He looked at the Zaatsu. “This was never your mission, clown.”

  “Was it yours?”

  The White Bolt chuckled. “Well…” he slowly looked away, smiling. “I was out to keep this from happening. I was helping them along to keep it from happening.” He giggled. “Fuck… it sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”

  “I’m dying, Vin-Vincent junior… a little closure would be n-nice…”

  “I was given information.” Vincent took a deep breath and sighed. “Ah, the remnants were being gathered. I was supposedly trying to gather them all in one place to destroy them.”

  Hugo opened his eyes. With some effort, he turned his head and looked at the bounty hunter. “Destroy… how?”

  “The Scriptures of Dark Arts. Dark Ki… remember?”

  “Makes sense.” Hugo smiled. “So, finish w-what you start…”

  “Finish what I started?” The White Bolt looked at the Zaatsu. “Yeah. That’s what I should be doing, right?” He chuckled. “Not too sure if I’ll be able to get the job done…”

  “One of us had to do it…”

  Vincent stood up. “Maybe not,” he said. “I was somewhat responsible for this mess, so maybe I should clean it up. Past that I feel maybe it’s time we moved on and let the world deal with its own shit.”

  “Evil will engulf them…”

  “Oh, they’ve always cherished the comfort of evil’s cradle…”

  “L-lead them out.”

  “Come on, Hugo.” The bounty hunter shook his head. “They’re fantasizing about darkness and flames, mistaking lust for love, and making God-awful decisions. Spirituality died, clown, and I am not about to waste my time on these bastards floating on a sea of sin and the blood of the poor. Let them sink in and find their false Gods. Let them eat the flesh of their own and drink wine from the cursed cellars. I don’t want anything to do with any of them!”

  “Do one favour regardless.” Hugo closed his eyes once more.

  “What?” asked Vincent.

  “Camille… Pro-promise you’ll look after her.”

  The White Bolt nodded once then said, “You lived an exemplary life, Hugo Baylis. And you’ve trained some righteous and soulful Martial Artists. Know this – you’re life, nor your death was in vain.”

  He ran away as Hugo smiled and prayed in silence – ‘Oh God, please let him live. They’ll need him.’

  At the Regal Palace, Ambris Ferrer pushed open the doors of the Seear’s Hall. The large empty interior greeted him. Three Serpents joined him as he walked inside.

  Looking over his shoulder, the Basilisk asked, “Did you send someone to the Atramentum?”

  “Yes, my Lord,” one of them replied. “The place feels deserted. Hardly any prisoners there and definitely no one we could use.”

  Another one smiled. “It’s strange how pathetic and afraid this Mystic is,” she said. “He was engaging us from the shadows, but since you’ve joined us, my Lord, he’s fucked off.”

  Ambris scoffed. “Oh, he’s here.”

  Suddenly, a bright light flashed in front of Ambris – Hedish appeared. With a loud cry he rushed at and punched the brute cleanly in the face. The Basilisk leaned back, but his feet remained firmly planted on the ground.

  With closed eyes, the fist still pushing against his cheek, he began to laugh.

  Hedish realised… he couldn’t move.

  In a flash, Ambris unleashed a barrage of punches – some struck the Mystic on his body, others struck cleanly on his face. The last one had much more Ki behind it. It smacked into Hedish’s face! He flew back, spinning, and broke through the wall, falling inside the Seear’s personal office.

  Ambris walked through the hole in the wall and arrived inside as well.

  “You were never the strongest, Hedish, but that was just stupid.” The brute smirked. “You were better off using your little Mysticism tricks.”

  Hedish’s body, lying motionless in the rubble, slowly faded and vanished.

  Ambris chuckled. “Atta boy…”

  Streams of Ki rushed at him from all around. They grabbed at his body, his arms, and his legs – and went taut. He was caught. When his aides attempted to help, a forcefield erupted at the edge of the room and kept them from entering.

  Hedish’s voice echoed in the room. “I’m afraid this is the end of the line for you, demon worshipper. My Ki chains will force all your Demonic Ki out.”

  The entire room began to shake and soon the tremors grew strong enough to shake the entire Palace. The streams chaining Ambris in place kept breaking but Hedish kept reinstating them continuously. The Basilisk’s Demonic charged Ki was being ripped out of him.

  Other Martial Artists engaged the Serpents of God and made sure they would not intervene.

  The Mystic’s plan was working. Ambris was in trouble. His Ki was leaking. But where was it going?

  Hedish noticed – the Basilisk was smiling.

  He realised. But it was too late.

  Ambris let out a cry and the entire area erupted. All the Demonic Ki came rushing out of the ground and tore a hole through the Regal Palace nearly ten meters in diameter!

  When the dust settled, the Martial Artists stared in horror. The release of Ki was so strong that even those inside the City of Ayn, behind the Ki clouds of war, felt it and were horrified by its sheer destructive power.

  The defensive force of the Palace realised just how powerless they were against the might of the Basilisk. They braved on but only because there was no other choice.

  Ambris stood looking up at the sky through the hole he had just created. Hedish and another Mystic, accompanied by a Zaatsu, rushed at him. But he simply vanished. Two Ki blasts then struck and immobilized the Mystic and Zaatsu throwing them away.

  Hedish lost control of his Ki as Ambris resurfaced behind him and firmly grabbed his neck. He slowly picked up the hapless Mystic.

  Ambris chuckled. “What a sorry state you’re in…”

  The Mystic’s legs dangled in the air.

  “You’ve got balls though, I’ll give you that.” Ambris’s Demonic Ki surged into Hedish’s body. He shrieked and coughed blood. Even his eyes, nose, and ears began to trickle blood.

  “Instead of joining the Baylis boy to defeat me, you snuck in here. Loyal to the very end.” The Basilisk shook his head. “Hugo was a nuisance to all your plans as well, wasn’t he? He must’ve been one of the last Outsiders. Had you joined him against me, he would’ve had a much better chance. I’m rusty. I could only forge two basilisks. But you used me to get rid of him. You opportunistic bastard!”

  He threw Hedish into the hall again. Addressing the Serpents of God, he said, “Gather them around. I have to end what I started back in ‘96…”

  All 15 defenders of the Palace, skilled Zaatsus, Mystics, and Sokidus of the Eye, were rounded up, tied, and thrown on the ground. Hedish Norma was then tied by his waist and hung from the ceiling, naked and powerless.

  Ambris threw a tiny Ki blast at him. It struck and made the Mystic oscillate like a pendulum.

  The brute tilted his head as a quiet, derisive laugh slipped from him. His aides joined him in laughing at the helpless leader of the Parliament.

  The ropes tying their wrists and ankles behind their backs were also stopping the Martial Artists from using any Ki Manipulation. They tried their best but could not free themselves.

  Ambris leaned back against the broken wall, hips resting against the jagged stone as he observed them struggling. “It’s futile,” he said, crossing his arms. “Stop resisting and look up at your elder… the man who is solely responsible for your current predicament.”

  He looked up at Hedish defeated, wounded, bleeding, and sweating profusely.

  “You cannot win this war,” the Mystic said, panting. “We will defend the city no matter what!”

  “The city? I don’t give a shit about the city. I’m here for you, Hedish Norma.” Looking back at the ones lying on the ground, the Basilisk added, “Do you guys know that this man was actually a supporter of the Outsiders once? But wait a minute…” He paused for a second. “He also helped us.”

  “No one is going to believe your bullshit, Ambris,” Hedish said. “They know all about you.”

  “Hmm, all it will take is one peek at the mission records. Or maybe I should make your letters public… the ones you used to send me.”

  The Basilisk once again looked up. This time, the senior Parliamentarian found himself lost for words. So, he pointed. “You, Hedish… you sent me to Marion.”

  “Yes, I did!” Hedish exclaimed. “I fooled you into believing me! And your battle against Marion proved to be the turning point! Everyone knows this. I saved us all with that move.”

  “Hmm…” Ambris smirked. “But do they also know how you told me about the kids and you lured her away to let me abduct them?”

  The Mystic was once again silenced.

  “You hypocrite.” The Basilisk shook his head in contempt. “I remember a time when you used to debate against Renekom on political matters. We loved listening to you preach the old spirituality. But once Master Von Bergen died, you started yapping against the Outsiders. And by the time I took over the Indian Cults, you and Renekom had banded together.”

  He laughed and added, “And now I hear you get paid by the Order to leak information! Bravo! What hypocrisy! Even the devil must look at you and be amazed at your treachery, you fucking bastard!”

  As the Serpents of God giggled and laughed, Hedish was forced to listen. Wide-eyed, he kept staring at Ambris. He had no answers, no responses to his taunts. He mumbled, “I- I- I didn’t… that’s not true. I never debated…”

  “Oh really?” Ambris pushed himself off the wall. Standing arms akimbo, he asked, “What about the famous debates of 1990, where you were given the charge by Master Von Bergen and you dismantled the Purist Theory? They called the Outsiders ‘fractures in Spirituality’ and you said ‘Spiritual purity comes from the soul within, not the practices and doctrines we follow’… oh we cheered like a bunch of fools at a festival!”

  Dumbfounded once again, Hedish could not respond.

  “Or what about the ‘97 fractures lecture series?” Ambris continued. “You must proudly talk about that one now. You spoke against the Outsiders there. Half a decade and such a massive U-turn in your political stance.” He looked at his Serpents asking, “Is this man for real?”

  He waited. The Mystic could not come up with a response.

  The Martial Artists stuck on the ground were perhaps even more surprised. Claims of an antagonist held no weight, but the specificity and the detailed descriptions made them wonder. What was the actual role of Outsiders? What was the role of the Eye? And who brought down Ambris Ferrer? Their thoughts raced and their hearts beat heavily inside their chests. Their beliefs were being tested – or perhaps, they were being dusted.

  “This is boring me now,” the Basilisk eventually said. “Let’s just get a move on… oh by the way, Hedish. Do you happen to know where the other Xoitique Stones are?”

  Wide-eyed he stared but did not respond.

  “No? Alright then… Serpents, peel his skin off and paste it on the wall over there. Then put a tiny hole through the aorta and let him bleed to death.”

  As he began walking away, Hedish finally spoke. “Wai-wait, wait, wait a minute, Ambris!” he stuttered. “Wait a minute, dammit!”

  The Serpents moved closer. “I can help you,” the Mystic added. “I can help you, Ambris. J- just, just hear me out.”

  Ambris stopped and glanced up at him. “So pathetic and weak,” he said, then looked at the hall full of arcanists. “This is what’s become of the best of the Mystics – the supposed spiritual elites of the Eye. Pathetic!”

  As the Basilisk began walking away once more, one of the bandits asked, “My Lord! What about these trapped ones?”

  “Let the poor bastards live,” he replied. “Someone needs to tell everyone else about this. Let them sow the seeds of doubt…”

  Saying that, the Basilisk jumped over the rubble of the Seear’s office and left to fetch his prize.