He clung close to Elika's body as she channeled Wings of Ormazd, carrying him across the Royal Palace ruins, from one power plate to another, avoiding the Corrupted terrain as she maneuvered in the air.
Despite Prince's numerous run-ins with supernatural and outright magical, the wondrous feeling of flying through the beautiful night sky never failed to amaze him.
He had his fair share of using powers to traverse the environment during his journey through Izdihar, but it was never as freeing as this.
Do you really have to reach so far back into your forgotten youth?
Ignoring the mocking jab of his alter ego, Prince carefully hopped off Elika's back as they finally reached their destination, the Palace Rooms spire towering over them.
"Careful", Elika warned cautiously as Prince flexed his tired arms, "The Concubine is bound to have prepared an unwelcome surprise for us. Be on guard."
With a curt nod, they moved forward with silence, their eyes darting around, scanning the area for the shimmers of the Concubine's illusions. But it was all for naught.
"How confident these moths are, walking straight into my web", the warped voice startled Prince, as he managed to unsheathe his blade just in time to block the metal staff aimed straight for his heart.
Oh joy, the pompous witch returns.
"Well, you're not the only one who isn't thrilled", Prince muttered in response to the sarcastic outburst of the voice in his head, as he fought for his life, using his blade and gauntlet alike to deflect the vicious attacks.
Minutes passed as metal clashed against metal, and Prince felt like something was amiss. He was a seasoned warrior, taught by the best blademasters of Babylon and his own unfortunate experiences alike, and he recognized all the signs. It was as if the Concubine was merely humoring him, like their fight was nothing but a simple distraction...
"Elika!", he shouted, his gaze snapping around him, but there was no one to be found. The witch's onslaught had ceased too as she disappeared, leaving Prince standing alone in the Palace Rooms, his back covered in sweat and his breath heavy.
Well, it seems like she tricked you. Again.
The remark of Prince's alter ego was merciless, but not unwarranted.
"So gullible and full of hate", the Concubine's voice flowed from above as she taunted Prince. "Tut-tut, you need to learn to compose yourself. I'm waiting at the top of the spire. If you wish to see your precious princess again, you better get moving."
"You will regret this", Prince forced out the response, his voice oozing with poison.
He scrambled upwards frantically, accompanied by the echo of his footsteps and the screeching noise of his gauntlet scraping against the walls, hanging on ledges and using his wit, strength and nimbleness to ascend the spire, up to its very top.
Prince thought he was prepared for anything. Prepared for yet another game of illusions the witch was so fond of, of cat-and-mouse chase while she would toy verbally with him. He wasn't prepared for Concubine to merely stand in the center, her head inclined, waiting patiently for him.
"Oh, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?", the Concubine said cruelly, her tone whimsical. "You've refused my generous offer time and time again, little man, thinking yourself to be a hero, a knight in shining armor. Well, now is your chance to reconsider that notion."
The man's glance followed her gesture, as the witch pointed with her staff in the direction of the edge of the spire, where the Corruption tentacles were holding the unconscious princess in the air, over the sheer drop and the dark abyss of the jagged rocks that lain below.
His eyes narrowed as his gaze returned to the Concubine, his eyes full of barely restrained anger and hatred.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so rash if I were you, little man", the Concubine drawled in a bored tone, stopping Prince right in his tracks. "After all, a small lapse in concentration, and I just might drop the little princess. But if you take her place and sacrifice yourself in her stead, I just might consider sparing her. In fact, I'm feeling generous", she added almost thoughtfully. "If you die in her stead, I promise that the girl won't be harmed. All you have to do is take a single step off the edge."
Prince stood silent. He would've felt angry and powerless if he wasn't too busy thinking of a way out of this situation, coming up just short. No matter how he confronted the situation, mulling it over repeatedly in his thoughts, the Concubine would simply be too quick to react and Elika too far out of his reach.
He walked towards the opposing edge of the tower, eyeing the witch suspiciously as he tried not to think of the abyss lying just a step behind him.
"How do I know I can trust you?", the man asked, careful to keep his tone calm.
"You don't", the witch drawled triumphantly, the smirk almost audible in her words. "But then again, what reason would I have to lie to you if I have already won?"
You can't be seriously considering this, the Dark Prince's voice rang through the Prince's mind, snapping him out of his trance.
"I just might be. But you'll have to trust me", Prince whispered, barely concealing his surprise as the obvious solution presented itself, before raising his voice towards the Concubine. "It's a deal then."
Spreading his arms, he stepped backwards and... took a leap of faith.
"You'll have to trust me", Prince repeated, feeling the air rushing around his body as he fell.
The metal gauntlet scraped and cracked, as the golden scars on the man's left arm burst with light, sending Prince into short-lived agony as he transformed, as he became something both more and less than human.
"And I guess, I'll have to trust you", Prince shared his last words as his consciousness slipped away.
