This is awkward. I'm staring at a computer screen. A computer screen that shows three Assassins pointing their Steelies at a guy who is looking at a computer screen.

One of the Assassins laughed. 'You shall die a pitiful death, young magician. No one shall disturb the slumber of our master, the Black Wizard.' In a few seconds, I shall be killed by the Assassin. I am going to die and I cannot do anything to stop my death. Unless…

I notice a turret above me. I press the ON button and activate it instantly.

The turret rumbles to life, killing two Assassins immediately. The last one hides behind a crumbling ruin. He's safe, which means I'm not. I'm stuck looking at this damn screen.

You might wonder why I'm here. I'm in this huge temple to find and destroy the Black Wizard. I was sent here by the request of the Empress, Cygnus. I have to accomplish this mission, for the Maple World, for the safety of all who inhabit this world…. Once I entered this place, I was cornered by the Assassins when I was trying to activate the portals.

Back to my story. I can't escape, as my Teleport skill had been disabled as soon as I entered this stupid temple. If I run, the remaining Assassin will kill me. I look at the screen. Hey, you can control all the portals through this control panel! Now, that doesn't seem useful now, unless I told you that my would-be killer is crouching right on top of it.

I activate the portal.

'AIIIIEEEE…………….' The assassin disappears into the portal. At last, I shut down the screen and look up.

Hundreds of portals have been activated. Hordes of monsters emerge from the portals. Oops. I may have activated ALL of the portals at once. My bad. I am cornered. I just kicked my own butt.

The monsters smirk and advance towards me. I fumble for my staff and shout 'METEOR!!!'

Hundreds of meteors appear out of nowhere and rain down on the monsters. A few went down, but many more were approaching. 'Foolish mortal… your puny skills shall not affect us…'

I cannot escape my doom. Doom. DOOM!

'DOOM!!!!' I shout. Immediately, the monsters turn into snails.

'What the he-' exclaim the snails/monsters. I leap over the now harmless snails and enter the portal to the Black Wizard's chamber.

A dark void. That was all I saw when I entered the portal. Suddenly, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared. The eyes were full of hatred, full of anger, full of battle lust….

The Black Wizard. The name floated into my mind instantly. 'He who incurs the wrath of the Black Wizard shall face eternal doom….' says the Black Wizard, voice dripping with hatred. I grip my staff tightly and mutter the word of a spell.

'GENESIS!!' A holy beam of light shone down upon the Black Wizard, revealing its true form. A robed figure, with a dark aura surrounding it. The wizard flinches. 'Fool! Those puny spells cannot defeat me! Eclipse Bolt!'

A black lightning bolt, the same as the Crimson Balrogs', zapped me with such energy, I was knocked off my feet. I feel sick. That kind of power…it's madness…

'Don't worry, Ember! We're here to help!'

I spin around. Mihail, Hawkeye, Ickhart, Irina and Oz. 'Hey, Ember! You go heal up! We'll handle him!'shouts Mihail, taking out his sword. Oz tosses a few Elixirs to me. 'Take these,' she says. I gulped them down readily.

Weakened by that first strike, I can only watch helplessly as my comrades were beat up by the Black Wizard. One by one, they fell, leaving only me. I was alone. No one could save me now.

The Black Wizard laughed. 'Foolish.' he muttered, before turning his attention to me. He smirked. 'Face death, pitiful being.'

I gasp as the power of darkness gathers at the palm of the Black Wizard. I raise my staff. If this fails, the Maple World will lose five guardians. This is the last stand. Sparks form at the tip of my staff. This is the forbidden attack, so dangerous that Cygnus sealed it away.

The Black Wizard launches his attack. 'SHADOW BURST!!!'

I use my attack too… 'CHAOS NOVA!!!'

A gigantic explosion rattled the entire void. Exhausted by the final spell, I white out. I never remembered hitting the floor.

I wake up in a strange place. I was lying down on a bed in a small room. Many thoughts crossed my mind – Am I in heaven? Am I dreaming? Where am I? Was the Black Wizard defeated? Where are the Instructors?

The door creaks open. The Empress steps in. She is grinning ear to ear. I have never seen her smile before. Not since I agreed to fight the Black Wizard. 'Congratulations, Ember! You have defeated the Black Wizard! The Maple World is now safe! I am in your debt.' she says, bowing down. 'You are the hero of the Maple World. As we speak, my best carvers are making a statue of you out of gold.' She chuckles at the last remark.

'Where are the Cygnus Knight Instructors?' I ask. Cygnus's happy smile turned into a frown. 'We…We were unable to save them.' she said in a barely audible voice. 'They died from heavy injuries… so sorry, Ember…'

I should have been feeling happy. As I left the room, I reflected that I had beaten the most powerful bad guy in the Maple World, saved millions of Maplers, and didn't get killed during the fight. So what was there to be unhappy about? The answer was simple. Cygnus had forced him into this. In the old days, it was a question of loyalty. But he didn't have a choice.

I left Erev, feeling sad. My comrades were gone. The biggest threat to the world was gone. My reason to exist was gone.

PS: I know it's horrible, because it was kinda rushed…. I finished it in an hour. Sorry guys.