As soon as I close my eyes, I’m lost in a dream. I’m alone, floating in an endless void of nothing. But then, a large palace suddenly appears out of nowhere. It’s a beautiful castle of white brick and regal gold trimming, with giant, dark brown doors. It almost feels like it’s welcoming me home.

Pushing the doors open, I’m met with the grand foyer decorated in lustrous gold, royal azure, and elegant white. Illustrations paint the ceiling, depicting the silhouettes of warriors and kings, each holding a different weapon made of Vim. I notice a servant approaching me, carrying a small pot and a teacup. However, the servant has no face- only smooth skin and dents where his eyes would have been. But he still bows his head and silently offers me the cup.

I excuse myself through the foyer, but more figures start appearing, all dressed in the same royal garbs or outfitted with gray armor- none of them have faces. I just keep walking down the grand hall as the walls start stretching more and more with every step I take. Eventually, the walls slowly fade into a dark abyss, and I’m alone once again, but I just keep walking.

Suddenly, a lone man stands before me, making me stop. He towers over me like a great mountain. I know who he was without even seeing his face- the only man who made him feel so small.

“Father?”

The fog shifts away, making the man's intimidating image clear. His hair, pitch black, fashioned like the sun's rays- his eyes, twin pools of bright white, so faded that I always wondered if he was blind- his body layered with decades worth of battle scars.

In a split second, the giant swipes his right hand and unleashes his Vim sword. The blade is so long and bright that I quiver in fear, even though the same weapon hides in my chest.

I wake up in a panic. My Auryn just pulsed. I can hear feet squishing in the mud. I cautiously look at Ameline, curled up and snoring carelessly. Easing myself off the roof, I dread whatever sight lurks in the cabin as a pungent iron smell strikes me blindly. 

The cabin looks untouched, but Gus lies against the dark wall with his back turned. I take a deep breath and heave his corpse over, and there’s a cavity in Gus’ chest, his body painted red. He was murdered in cold blood.

As soon as I step out of the door, Fiends slink out of the shadows almost unanimously. Their red, beady eyes shine directly at me, and I drew my sword when I saw them. I start cutting them away as soon as they come near, my sword whizzing through the spirits and disintegrating them into puffs of black smoke. 

Out of nowhere, an abnormal scream echoes through the woods. The Fiends suddenly stop moving and slink away like they’re being dragged toward a lone figure. And right before my eyes stands the scarred man that was lying in Gus’ bed. He licks his lips before giving me a wicked grin.

His eyes are Fiendish red.

The Shadowheart marches toward me with a dagger already drawn and ready to attack him. He lunges at me, reaching for my neck. He swings and stabs in the air, forcing me to dodge around the blade's tip. Irritated, the cretin growls louder and thrashes his hand forward, launching me against the cabin’s wall with a large shadowy palm that appeared out of nowhere. The wall crumbles as I feel the giant fingers squeezing me.

Stabbing the slithering fingers, I manage to break free of his grip. I duel the Shadowheart just for a moment before I slash him deep in the gut, making the man kneel in pain. The dark figure raises his hand before letting out another scream. But instead, I slice his arm entirely off, and we watch it fly away.

The Shadowheart starts to panic, and his skin begins to bloat. Finally, he drops to his knees again and screams.

Soon, a black mass starts to rip out of his body from that fresh gash in his shoulder. I almost gagged at the grotesque sight before him. A Fiend is forming, and the man's body starts to wither away while it growls and gurgles in that familiar tone. The Fiend is getting larger and fatter the more it pulls itself out of the poor young man. Then, long arms appear from the mass of black, pointed talons and thrashing tendrils sprouting from its back. 

The Fiend finally abandons its vessel, letting the man’s body fall lifeless on the gravel. His body was like a leather sack, now empty and wrinkled. The Fiend wastes no time charging at me with its dozens of tiny feet marching simultaneously. It swings its claws and lashes its tendrils furiously. One of the tendrils bites me in the leg, making me wince. I drop to the ground, barely missing one of the creature's talons that pierced the earth instead.

Struggling to regain my bearings, I notice a small rock rolling right past him, and that’s when I see little Ameline picking up another stone and chucking it at the Fiend. The rocks phase through the Fiend’s body, only managing to turn its attention to her. Thinking fast, I stab the Fiend in its back, making it wriggle and scream even louder. I scramble over to her and I hoist her up on my shoulder, and we escape the dark creature. 

“What were you thinking?!” I shout. “You can’t fight that thing!”

“You were about to get killed!”

“Stay out of this! Run and hide somewhere!”

“But-” 

“RUN!”

I almost have to throw her, seeing that the Fiend has managed to catch up to us in no time. Instinctively, I clutch my sword and ready my left hand. 

PONDERO!

Releasing a burst of blue embers, I’m able to catch the Fiend off guard. I use this opportunity to riposte, and my blade rips through its body. Its tendrils lashed fiercely, making Ameline fall to the ground, holding her face in pain. I hurry to reach her, but the Fiend suddenly ensnares me using another two of its countless tendrils. The whips squeeze me tight as the Fiend’s head starts to creep towards me. A ghastly mouth opens within the black mass, revealing nasty, jagged teeth ready to chew my head off.

However, when everything seems lost, a force of light carrying a powerful gust of wind strikes the Fiend! It writhes in pain as its body degenerates- like its flesh was melting off its transparent bones. I see Ameline’s arms and palms extended as the light at her fingertips dims. Her dumbfounded expression doesn’t match her posture.

I’m just as stunned as she is, if not more.

Without missing a beat, I dash and plunge my flaming sword into the creature’s melting face, firmly pressing against it until it stops moving. Its skin becomes riddled in blinding cracks of light, and then its shell breaks apart, and what’s left is another orb of light, identical to my last encounter with a massive Fiend. The wisp flies into my chest, warming me up inside.

Ameline and I take long, winded breaths and drop to the ground. The morning sun is rising, showing Ameline’s new burn on her round cheek.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She held her cheek. “It stings a little….”

“I bet it does. So why did you get involved like that?”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Well,” I say, helping her to her feet. “That was brave of you. But we can’t afford to have you hurt like that anymore, and we’re both lucky your burn isn’t serious. You’re too small to be fighting anything that big or dangerous.”

I hold her shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with running away.”

“But if I keep running away, I’m just gonna be scared all the time. I don’t wanna be scared anymore.”

“Honestly, I’m a bit scared, too,” I said. “I don’t like to see you get hurt. So maybe you should learn how to protect yourself one of these days, huh? So that we may both feel a little better. You’re already off to a good start.” I say, playfully poking her in the belly with a smirk growing on my face. “You can use Vim.”

“J-Just a few chants!” she says, starting to blush. “I’m a beginner!”

“It’s not easy to learn how to use, especially for someone as young as yourself. You must be smart.”

“I guess.” She replies, shifting her gaze away.

Before we travel again, we both look at the lone cabin and decide to pay our respects to Gus for his kindness. We fill Ameline’s wicker basket with a few more vegetables, a bread roll, two pieces of dried meat, and a bottle of ale. I also find a traveling pack near his end table and a hunting knife under his bed. Ameline packs a blanket into the bag. Then we dig a hole in poor Gus’ backyard to serve as his grave. After I bury him, I salute him with a silent prayer while Ameline innocently copies his bow.

We then left without a word. I hope he can forgive us.