Amara was finishing his last job of the day, a cleaning robot with a clogged filter. He was focused on trying to remove a rusty screw when he heard the door slam.

— Hey brat! The batch of cables and gears you ordered has arrived, along with a gossip.

— Good afternoon, Jean. You can put the cables there. — Amara pointed to a corner without taking his eyes off his work. — But I don't need the gossip.

— Oh, c'mon? It's about your world-destroying little friend.

— He is not my friend! I already told you to stop this nonsense.

— Hmm, okay, I'll pretend to believe it. He came here every single day and he wasn't your friend, yes. You even said once that he wasn't that bad and that you were worried because he hadn't been around for a while.

— I was drunk.

— Which means it was honest.

— I don't care what he does or doesn't do. And don't tell anyone he was here!

Jean chuckled, amused. She had known Amara for as long as she could remember, and since the Unpronounceable appeared in that small village it was as if the mechanic had come out of a catharsis. He used to be as automatic as possible, and many said he was as much a machine as the robots and vehicles he repaired. Unfortunately, this behavior threatened to return now that the Unpronounceable was being sought and had not visited his friend for a few weeks.

— You know, Amara... You should be more honest. — Jean sat at the counter next to him, smiling. — Life is too short for you to keep lying, especially to yourself.

— You definitely don't need to teach me that lesson, Jean.

— I'm just worried. Both with you and with the rest of the world, okay? I believe your judgment because you actually met the Unpronounceable and said he was a nice person, but now you say he isn't. I need to know whether to prepare for the apocalypse or not!

— Don't put this decision on me! Do what you want.

Jean watched Amara for a few seconds, thinking.

— Okay, then. I'll believe your drunk self.

✰★✰★✰

— I can't believe it, Darka.

A very sullen Darka turned his face away, avoiding looking at the door in a pose as childish as the situation allowed. Daena looked at him with her hands on her hips, in disbelief at the tantrum of what should be the most dangerous individual in the world at the moment.

— You shot me! — Darka complained. — Again!

— I was trying to save your life! And I didn't aim at you!

— But you shot anyway! I trusted you, I tried to save you and I get this in return!

—Stop crying, you big baby! It was necessary!

Miko burst out from behind Daena, running towards their trapped friend. The action caused the argument to stop, and Darka felt the luziwurm's tight embrace. A little awkwardly, he reciprocated by hugging back.

— Lord Darka, you are not dead!

— Obviously not, Miko! — He squeezed his cheeks. — If I die, it's probably game over.

— Game over?

A noise coming from the corridor startled the three and Daena hurried towards the chains that held Darka, holding a rusty key.

— We need to get out of here as quickly as possible. Aunt Katarina is on the brink of taking your head off.

— But what about the trial? She says you got a trial for me.

— It was just to save us time! Until they prepare everything, you better be two leagues away. It's kind of obvious that you're going to be convicted, it's not like there's anything to exonerate you.

Daena's skillful hands unlocked all the handcuffs in a few seconds. Miko helped as much as they could, returning the confiscated things to Darka.

— Do we have any plans?

— Let's try to leave without being seen.

— So we don't have a plan. — Darka sighed. — If I really die this time, Miko, I will leave my cloak to you. It's fireproof. Daena, you can have... let me think... my hair accessory.

— Why would I want your hair accessory? Is it also fireproof?

— No, but it would look nice on you, I think.

Daena just rolled her eyes and shook her head, taking both of them by the hands and pulling them out of there.

The hallway was empty and the noise from before sounded like a door slamming, which made her conclude that the guard had left. The three followed through the corridors trying not to make noise, soon realizing that they didn't need to worry too much since the castle was apparently empty.

— Daena, I'm not one to brag or anything... but shouldn't a place that is arresting the supposed herald of doom in person have more guards? I remember Talphen was full of them.

— That's true... when I came down it wasn't that quiet.

— Are you listening? — Miko interrupted. — It sounds like screams... Coming from above.

— There's something wrong. — Daena changed the direction they were going and headed towards the source of the noise.

Before she even reached the courtyard, she felt hot air being blown into her face. As soon as they stepped into the place they saw the hell that had formed, with flames engulfing almost half of the castle's central courtyard while people ran trying to put out the fire. Somewhere you could hear Katarina's voice giving orders, directing some of the guards to evacuate people while others would control the situation. The governor himself was among those trying to put out the flames.

— Fire. — Darka rolled his eyes. — Again. The devs of this game are too lazy, honestly... Or just pyromaniacs.

Daena ignored the boy's nonsense speech and began to devise a plan. The fire was a big enough distraction for them to flee, but she was still worried about the people there. Her thought was interrupted by Darka pushing Miko to her side and placing the cloak around them.

— What do you think you're doing?!

— Up there. — He pointed to the top of one of the towers that surrounded the courtyard. Two hooded figures stood on top of it, watching the commotion. They didn't seem to have noticed the three standing at the edge of the sea of ​​flames.

— Those are...

— They're the kids you mentioned before, right? If it's them, they probably started the fire because of me. I have to resolve this otherwise Amara will think I'm a psychopath who likes to set things on fire.

Before even hearing Daena's response, he ran through the flames towards the tower where he saw the two culprits. His head was already going into battle mode, going over all his skills that could be useful now.

"Okay, I had an ability that absorbed things, didn't I? But then I release the energy that I absorbed... but if I do that, it will end up exploding and it will be worse than everything catching on fire. Maybe I can absorb it and direct it somewhere, but where? If Katarina was in front of me I could direct it to her, ahahahaha... ha... better not."

— The Unpronounceable has escaped! Look for him! He's trying to kill us in revenge!

The voices of the paladin and guards resounded, now shouting orders to look for him as well. Darka started to get irritated that they were going after him instead of focusing on putting out the fire and he quickened his pace to climb the roof, doing the best parkour that being a magical heir and protagonist of the world allowed him. Lara Croft would be proud. Up above, the two masked figures still seemed oblivious to his presence as he approached.

— Hey, you pests!

They both turned to him, apparently surprised. Darka's markings began to glow as he prepared to absorb the flames.

— Milord?! It's him! Look, Noite, he's here! — Dia turned to his brother.

— What the hell are you doing?

— It's a pleasure to finally exchange words with you. — Noite bowed, being copied by Dia. — We are happy to see you free.

— So it was you two who bothered me from the beginning of the game and made everyone mad at me, right?! I should rip your ears off and shove them down your throats!

— Noite, look at how he emanates the power of Lady Yrina... — Dia jumped up and down in admiration, completely ignoring the threats. — I'm having goosebumps!

Darka just huffed in anger and ran towards them, pushing them into the burning courtyard. Surprised by the attack, they barely managed to avoid hitting into the rubble-strewn ground, spinning in the air and landing elegantly like cats that always land on their feet. Without wasting time, Darka jumped right behind, activating his magic and absorbing the flames around him like water being sucked into a sink drain, forming a fire tornado where he himself was the center.

— You two... You... — Darka's eyes shone.

— I don't understand, Noite. — The girl whispered to the other. — Is he mad at us?

— I believe so, Dia. Probably because we didn't do the job right.

Darka felt the heat of the flames that were almost completely absorbed by his stigmata, but beyond that, there was something more. The fire caused by the two was of magical origin, and all this magic was now being stored in the young man's body, making his eyes shine as bright as the flames that were sucked into him.

"This load of magic... I don't think I can hold it for long. If I fight them, maybe I can relieve some of the pressure..."

In the blink of an eye he charged at the duo, who dodged just in time to escape a blow from Darka's fist. He continued trying to hit them, slowly releasing small bursts of the energy absorbed by his body through his movements. The attacks seemed faster and stronger than before, but also more tiring. He knew he wouldn't be able to take much longer.

— My lord, calm down! Tell us what we did wrong to invoke your fury! — Noite tried to talk to Darka, but this time he was the one ignoring what they were saying.

A volley of screams caught Daena's attention, who was watching Darka's fight without knowing what to do. Her father appeared in the courtyard with some soldiers, wielding a saber and a determined expression, ready to cut in half anyone who got in his way.

— You won't pass today, Unpronounceable! I'll wipe out your damn race myself!