For eight years, the kingdom of Lamyria was peaceful.
But there is no such thing as "they lived happily ever after".
Even though the great ravine cut off the Blighted Lands, still the darkness gathers over the Capital.
Skylar and Gawyn must face...
Skylar watched as Zephyr flew out the window with Ayah on his back. Then she turned her eyes to Gawyn's as he almost lazily strolled towards awaiting force of far too many sorcerers. She tried to get up several times already, but she knew it was futile. Her body was dying, and there was no way around it now.
She had to hold on for now.
Just a bit longer.
She forced herself to tear her eyes off Gawyn, who was fighting a hopeless battle against magic and glued her eyes to the Emperor.
He looked as if nothing had happened to him at all. No wound nor exhaustion marred his twisted features. He was watched his minions toying with Gawyn as if he was a mouse caught by the pack of cats. Skylar clenched her teeth. Let's see how long he will keep that smile.
Gawyn screamed, and she couldn't resist looking at him. He fell to his knees, a handle of the dagger sticking out of his back. She stifled a sob shaking her body. She knew they were both dying but seeing it happening was tearing her heart apart.
Mustering an impossible strength, she slowly heaved herself to her feet. She didn't have a weapon – the dagger was far too heavy now, but she didn't care. Skylar focused all her remaining strength to shuffle one foot after another. She would reach Gawyn and kill those bastards, even if she had to do it with her bare hands.
But even though her spirit was unbreakable, her body wasn't. She stumbled and fell. The pain exploded with a force to almost make her almost blackout again. The glass vial slipped out of her fingers and clattered to the ground, rolling away from her.
"No!" she gasped.
The sorcerers finally noticed her, and two of them started in her direction. They also spotted the shining vial.
Skylar cursed and crawled towards it, leaving a bloody smear on the floor, but she knew she would never reach it before the sorcerers.
And then the Emperor shrieked in pain.
The sound was so unexpected and inhuman that everyone turned to look at him.
The Emperor had his hands pressed tightly to his head. His twisted fingers clawed at his skin, leaving long bloody gashes. It looked like he tried to cut something out of his head.
"Alarat," Skylar gasped, and the word sounded like a thankful prayer.
The sorcerers rushed to their master, and she slowly crawled the rest of the way to the vial.
She grabbed it with her bloody fingers and smiled.
"Time to set you free," she said.
And then smashed the vial at the ground.
***
The Spirit's consciousness was suddenly pulled to one specific place. It was dark and cold, and she felt very faint as if her connection with this place was highly fragile. It wondered what called for her attention here, as she was pretty confident there was nothing to do for her in this wasteland, as no life was left here.
And then she heard a voice.
It was feeble but oddly familiar.
"Go. Free the rest."
The spark of light flickered in the air.
It recognised the voice. It was its beacon. The one it used once already and strangely prevailed against all the odds. But the Spirit did not understand what was expected of her.
"Come on! I'm sure you can sense it," Skylar urged desperately. "There's a whole lot of magic bound in place beneath us. You must set it free! Otherwise, all will be lost."
The Spirit was confused. It couldn't understand what the beacon meant. It could not sense any magic in this cursed place. It was a wonder that it could be even here. Unless...
"Look into my head!" Skylar insisted, raising her bloody hand towards the light.
The Spirit hummed and floated to her, entering her mind as easily as if it was its own. And then it saw. Twisted spells bounded the great iron container. That was the reason it couldn't feel that part of itself. But the beacon─the human─saw it and took a part of her out. It was just a speck of light.
But it was enough.
The Spirit saw what Skylar was planning, and its consciousness hummed with appreciation. It was such a neat and oddly satisfying solution. It was a novel feeling for the Spirit, but some of Skylar's personality must have brushed off to this part of its being.
"Consider it done," it said and zipped down.
The Spirit made its way through the small, irregular cracks in the stones and entered the dark laboratory below. It floated in front of the colossal iron vast, considering the best approach. It did not have much strength in this form, so it had to pick the weakest point.
The Spirit hummed contentedly and dived at the small valve.
***
Skylar watched as the light disappeared into the stone floor and sighed with relief. It was out of her hands now. She'd done everything she could. Hopefully, in the next few moments, everything will be over.
She raised her head to look up at the Emperor. He thrashed wildly on his throne, clawing at his body while the panicked sorcerers were at a complete loss. No one could help him now until he triumphed over the other soul.
Skylar turned her gaze to where Gawyn fell. He was slowly crawling toward her, with blood on his lips and wheezing breath. The tears flooded her eyes and her vision blurred, but she slowly and painfully dragged her body towards him.
It felt like an eternity passed before their hands finally touched, and they laced their fingers together.
There was no regret lingering in their soul. Just relief and hope that the world would be a better place once it is all over.
They both smiled, and it was the most beautiful sight.
And then, everything around them exploded with a burning white light.
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