The winds rose, sweeping the snow off the lighthouse aerie as Isaac lay face down on the floor with snowflakes gathering under his hair and face.

Damn that kid. Isaac just told him to stay out of the way! Why wouldn't he listen?

Isaac groaned. He was hurting everywhere. He could barely move without shaking. That lightningbolt… How could Ivan miss like that? Opening his eyes he saw Garet lying in a pool of his own blood and bleeding out. The priestess lay two paces away from him; face down with a huge gash on her back. Her hand twitched as she tried reaching for her staff, her aura of Psynergy glowing bright as she desperately healed herself.

The light from the beacon prevented Isaac from seeing clearly, but he saw the warlock's silhouette chase Ivan's to the other side of the tower. The winds grew stronger again and he saw lightning flash. Even though the sound was faint in the roaring wind, he still heard Ivan desperately call out for him:

"I-Isaac! Isaac!"

The thief kept approaching Ivan in his slow pace with his sword lowered. Lightning crashed around him but never hit. He tapped his sword against his boot in mockery, dragging out the fight.

This bastard, Isaac cursed inwardly. Ivan was just a child! This bastard. He fed off terror, didn't he? Ivan was so afraid he couldn't even hit him point-blank! This bastard…

Isaac shifted around in his miserable position, pressing his palms against the cold wet floor as the winds swept more snow under his hair and to the side of his face.

"Kill him…" Isaac gasped, propping himself up on his hands with difficulty.

Ivan, kill him, he begged inwardly, hoping that Ivan somehow was still using Mindread. Save yourself, Ivan. Strike him down! He doesn't care if you live or die; don't give him mercy. He heard Ivan scream his name again, and once again lightning flashed in the fight's direction.

"Ivan… Ivan, please," said Isaac, clawing at the floor as he struggled to get up despite that every part of his body protested against the labour. "Be safe."

How? How could this happen? How did it come down to this?

He saw the thief closing in on the boy, slowly raising his blade. Isaac couldn't see the final strike in the light and the flickering shadows, but the shadow play did show Ivan dropping to the floor.

No.

The enemy was victorious. He stood over Ivan's fallen form.

No…

Ivan—Isaac promised he'd protect him.

Ivan… Isaac promised he'd take care of him.

The warlock spun around his heels. He lifted a hand and used a spell to gather his discarded equipment to his feet. The scabbard flew into his hand and he sheathed his blade, fastened it to his belt and put it back around his waist. The rest of his equipment he gathered on top of his cape, and he tied it up like a bag.

For a moment, the thief looked towards Isaac and his fallen allies, taking note that they weren't all dead, but he didn't do anything about them in their miserable forms.

Isaac fumbled with his hands around the floor and he cast a wild look around, searching for a weapon. Sword, knife, spear—anything. Was he truly such a worthless opponent that he didn't even care? His fingers touched cold steel and he reached out, grasping Garet's longsword and pulling it into his hands. This wasn't over.

He took a deep breath and willed his Psynergy to suppress his pain. He gripped his friend's sword tightly, using it as a cane to prop himself up on his knees. This wasn't over yet.

He pushed himself up to his feet, staggering. He balanced on his two feet as best he could, dragging the longsword after him against the floor. The shadowy figures became clearer as he approached the enemy. The thief squatted near Ivan's body, pulling the boy up to a half sitting position.

What was he doing?

Tears rolled down Isaac's cheeks. His hands shook and he staggered from side to side. He raised the longsword with his weary arms. The runes on the blade glimmered for a moment as he yet approached.

This scumbag. What was this scumbag doing to Ivan's body?

The thief suddenly froze in his task and turned towards Isaac, who finally let the blade fall towards him in a vertical swing. He caught the weak blow on his bracers and whisked Isaac and the sword aside without effort.

"It's over," said the thief, giving Isaac an annoyed look from the corners of his eyes.

Isaac stumbled and the tip of the sword clattered against the floor, pulling its weak wielder aside. He regained balance, yanking the blade back towards him and lifting it again. No, it wasn't over. Not yet.

He aimed another swing at the thief's head. Tears rolled down Isaac's cheeks as the thief lifted his bundle of equipment and blocked the strike. The warlock didn't even look back as he gave the bag a push and sent Isaac stumbling back, though the Earth Adept managed to keep himself on his feet using the longsword as a cane.

"You're finished," said the thief.

Never, thought Isaac, furiously blinking away tears. If this scumbag wanted to defile his friend's body, he'd have to kill Isaac first. As long as he drew his breath, Isaac would stick to his promises—to save Jenna, to bring the Elemental Stars back, and to protect Ivan.

He brandished the longsword and the inscription on the blade glowed. Again it collided with the damn equipment bag, but this time he managed to slice the cape holding it together, spilling the gear on the floor. He quickly aimed a thrust towards the enemy, but the thief tumbled out of the way with his battle axe in hand. Isaac could barely lift the longsword again before the thief closed in on him and punched him in the face. He grabbed Isaac's collar and then threw the Earth Adept face first to the floor. As Isaac rolled over on his back to retaliate with a spell, the battle axe suddenly crashed down right next to his shoulder, flames briefly exploding from the blade as it cleaved the bricks.

"It's over," said the thief coldly as Isaac stared up towards him in wide-eyed terror. He wiggled the axe out from the floor and then brought it down towards Isaac's face. Isaac shut is eyes and swallowed his breath, but the axe crashed down only close enough for the small flames to touch his left cheek and singe his hair.

"We're done, boy," said the thief again. "Understand?"

Isaac's eyes fluttered open as he stared back at the red-eyed thief. He took in a deep breath, and then nodded weakly in defeat.

"Good," said the thief, his expression cold like a statue. He removed his axe and then gathered up his equipment anew.

Isaac lay flat on the floor. His entire body was stiff and his hands clawed at the floor as the snow continued to fall. His breath came out in ragged gasps and his chest felt too tight.

So he wasn't even allowed to die in battle now? This bastard was going to make him crawl back to Vale alone now, was he?

Turning his head aside, Isaac glanced towards Garet and the priestess who was healing him. He then looked back towards the thief, who hauled Ivan up on his shoulder as if the boy was a sack of flour. Felix's lieutenant carried his bundle of equipment under his other arm and he cast a dismissive gaze back at Isaac as he began leaving the battlefield.

Ivan—Isaac said he'd protect him.

Ivan; poor Ivan. Isaac said he'd take care of him, and now look what happened!

Ivan; he seemed almost just asleep—

—wait. Isaac blinked, propping himself up on the floor as he stared after Ivan and the thief. There was not a single drop of blood on the boy. His clothes and hair seemed singed, and his face was flushed, but Isaac didn't see any gash or wound from a blade.

"Wait!" Isaac cried out. He crawled up to the thief and grabbed his foot. "Where are you taking him?" he asked.

The thief sighed and gave him a tired look.

"To Felix, of course."

Isaac swallowed his breath. Felix. How could Felix have become like this? Felix. His best friend Sweet Felix. He gripped the thief's boot tighter.

"Th-then take me!" he then said, begging. "T-take me instead!"

"You're not needed," replied the thief, looking away and shaking his foot, but Isaac desperately held on.

"Then you don't need him!" said Isaac. This thief. He was taking Ivan prisoner. This bastard. "He's weak! He can't do anything! H-he can't even make a fire without my help! He's useless! He's been relying on me ever since I brought him aboard! He'll only make you lose sleep! But not me! Not me! I can cook. I can hunt. I can heal. I can fight! I-I… can… I-I… I can…"

Isaac's chest was so tight that it hurt. He thought of all the moments he'd spent with Ivan at his side. He thought of how Ivan had leaned against his shoulder at night near the campfire, and how Ivan had said all those things Isaac had always wanted to hear from others but never did. He thought of how he rescued Ivan from thieves in Vault. He thought of how he rescued Ivan from those kidnappers in Bilibin. He thought of the time he lay huddled with Ivan that terrible night he got frostbites and how Ivan had relaxed in his arms and nuzzled against him for comfort. He remembered sitting awake at night by the campfire teaching Ivan Psynergy, and how Ivan watched him work his magic with eyes of adoration. He remembered falling asleep next to Ivan at night and promising himself he'd bring him to Vale and make sure he'll never need to be alone again.

"Take me," Isaac whispered, letting his tears flow freely. "Take me instead…"

"Kid…"

"He's just a child…" Isaac wept, clutching the victor's leg. "Let him go. Please, l-let my brother go. Take me. Take me instead—"

"Boy!"

The thief shouted at him and Isaac swallowed his own words with a gasp. Looking up, he found the thief staring down at him with a firm look. Felix's lieutenant then slid Ivan off his shoulder and set him down in Isaac's arms. Isaac quickly embraced the little Wind Adept, crying tears of relief and pressing butterfly kisses to Ivan's face. He blinked to look back at the thief, who grimly said:

"You're both coming with me, then."

Isaac snivelled and wiped the snot under his nose against his sleeve. He nodded pathetically and clutched Ivan tighter, feeling a knot in his chest when he looked past Ivan to see Garet coming to, presumably thanks to the priestess's healing powers. The allies stared back at Isaac in confusion. Garet grabbed Isaac's sword, and the woman once again summoned deadly projectiles in the air.

Isaac quickly tucked Ivan under his chin when a blue light flashed and the woman decided to start another fight. He heard a crash as the thug tossed his bundle of armour in the way of the projectiles. Flames burst from the scabbard as he drew his sword again. He closed in on the priestess quickly, catching her staff on his Psynergy shield before it had gained momentum and then swept aside, dodging the spell from her other hand. In the next moment, the woman shrieked and dropped to the floor as the thief stabbed her in the leg. She fell onto her knees, leaning on her staff as she stared back at the thief with hateful eyes.

"He's coming on his own," said Felix's lieutenant. "Don't interfere."

"I don't care about him!" said the woman, her arms shaking as she conjured another dozen of ice darts. The temple robber swiped his sword and a wall of rising flames consumed the icicles before they took flight. He then grabbed the woman's weapon, kicked her on the shoulder and wrenched the staff out of her hands. Just as she cast her next spell, he hit her in the face with the heavy staff head, sealing her magic and sending her down to her hands and knees again. She shakily cupped the side of her face, her nose and upper lip bleeding as she struggle to even sit up.

The thief strode over to his bag of equipment, wiping his blade on the fabric and sliding the sword back in its scabbard.

"Are you coming or not?" said the thief, looking back towards Isaac, dropping the staff and letting it clatter to the floor.

"Y-yes," replied Isaac, catching a glimpse of Garet's shocked expression behind the thief. "Y-yes..."

"Isaac…" Garet whispered, shaking his head, but the Earth Adept looked away.

Isaac blinked and saw Ivan's harebell-coloured eyes open. He hiccupped and instantly pressed Ivan's head against his shoulder.

"Ivan." He whispered comfortingly to the boy. "I'm here, Ivan, don't worry. I've got you."

As the temple robber gestured for him to come, Isaac guided the confused and frightened child's arms around his neck. He stood up with the little Wind Adept in his arms. His feet were still shaky, but he'd recovered a bit of his strength now. He could cast a spell or two, but he didn't. He was no match for Felix's lieutenant, and he couldn't let Ivan get hurt.

Walking past the woman, he heard her snarl and curse him for being a coward, but he ignored her and instead looked to Garet, whose padded jacket was dyed in his own blood. The friend stared back at him in disbelief, clutching Isaac's sword in shaky hands. Isaac offered him a rueful smile, and the sword slid out of Garet's grasp. The Fire Adept sunk down to his hands and knees, beginning to wail and cry.

Isaac buried his face in Ivan's hair. How ironic. He came all the way here to stop Felix and the thieves, thinking they would be no match for him since he was an Adept, but he couldn't even beat Felix's lieutenant! How could he fight Felix if even his cronies thought he was a waste of time?

He snivelled, walking slowly as he followed his new master towards the edge of the tower. He was so sorry. This was all his fault. When he heard that Felix had beaten up the guards in Imil and gone to the Mercury Lighthouse, he thought it was finally time to drag Felix back to Vale in chains. But now his damn lieutenant had taken him prisoner.

"Isaac…" whispered Ivan in his ear.

Poor child. He was afraid. Well, of course he was afraid. He was about to be enslaved by a ruthless wizard and Isaac was his only comfort; and Isaac couldn't protect him.

Reaching the edge of the tower, his master gestured towards a small platform hovering at the tower's side. Isaac looked back towards Garet and the priestess for a last time before turning his face away and stepping out on the platform. The thief followed him and tapped the floor with his foot. Ripples of energy spread from his footing to all the bricks and the platform rumbled as it began slowly descending along the side of the tower.

Isaac's knees felt weak. He took a step back and shakily put Ivan down, lowering himself to sit on the floor as well. He felt nauseous and the little Wind Adept returned to his embrace, whispering his name like a mantra. He gently put his arms around Ivan, and the boy let out a broken sob, burying his face in the nook of Isaac's neck. As the platform descended in a snail's pace, Isaac cast a brief glance up towards the thief who stood tall with his bundle of equipment slung over one shoulder. He seemed to be proud of himself, the bastard.

Isaac swallowed hard as the little Wind Adept gripped his round collar for support. He gently caressed Ivan's hand, making him let go of the glass beads he wore under the tunic. He then used Psynergy, touching the boy again on the forehead with his lips, kissing away the light burns on his face.

He wondered how powerful Felix could possibly be. Felix was immensely gifted with magic as a child and he learnt everything effortlessly. How powerful could Felix have become if he specialized in destructive magic? But then, Isaac wouldn't need to wonder much longer since he was being brought to Felix as a prisoner or slave.

He wondered what Felix would do with him. Would he be treated kindly for the sake of old friendship? Or would Felix not care that Isaac used to be the friend who protected him and fought his battles? Did Felix even remember the past?

He thought of Jenna. Poor Jenna. What could have happened to her? Isaac heard her on the lighthouse before Felix took her away. She said her brother's name. Was she on Felix's side now? Had Felix corrupted her? Would Isaac be able to see her again now when he was being dragged to Felix in chains? Would Felix even let him see her?

He remembered the promises he gave himself before leaving his village—he'd rescue Jenna. He'd bring the temple's relics back. He'd capture Felix and bring him back to face justice. Harald had warned him about Felix's trickery. He'd told him Felix would prey on his emotions again if he allowed him to. And he did. Well, it wasn't Felix doing it this time, but his lieutenant sure forced Isaac to surrender by taking another of his loved ones hostage.

Isaac gazed up towards the thief, who glanced back at the Adepts with an uncomfortable look. He gave Isaac a faint smile and then turned away. Yes, a demon like him probably couldn't understand human emotions. Isaac clenched his teeth, gripping Ivan's hand. Then he moved his hands away to grip his mother's beads.

"Don't look at him," he then whispered to Ivan, pulling the hood over the little Wind Adept's head with his other hand. He kissed Ivan's nose and briefly used Psynergy, clamping his hand down on the necklace.

As the platform finally reached the bottom, the thief turned around and decided to lower himself to Isaac's level.

"Felix will be happy to see—"

Isaac's eyes flashed and he quickly threw ground up glass in his enemy's eyes. He pushed Ivan away as the thief let out a bloodcurdling scream. The warlock stepped back, shrieking in agony as he clawed at his eyes. Isaac quickly launched a kick to the back of the thief's legs and threw him off the platform. He then hopped off too, slamming a palm against the side of the elevator and sending Ivan back skywards with a spell.

"It's not over," said Isaac, whispering for himself as he conjured a stone dagger in his right hand. As long as he still drew his breath, he'll fight to the bitter end; honour be damned.

The warlock drew his sword, but Isaac quickly pierced the thief's chest with two summoned darts of flint. Felix's lieutenant let out a gasp and staggered back, swinging his sword in front of him in search for the assailant. His eyes were shut tightly and blood trickled from his slits like tears. With his vision stolen away, he couldn't see the Earth Adept approaching.

Isaac darted at the thief, stabbed him on the arm and then twisted the dagger; drawing a roar of fury from his enemy and forcing him to drop the sword. He elbowed the warlock on the chest, and then tackled him to the ground but as Isaac went for the finishing blow the thief dropped him to the floor with a sweeping kick. Isaac cursed and flipped the heavy dagger in his hand, holding it point down as he lunged at the thief and stabbed him on the thigh, drawing another cry of anguish from his prey. Quickly, Isaac straddled the thief. Raising his stone dagger with both hands, he went for the kill.

"Die," said Isaac, bringing the dagger down, but right before the blow could connect, he froze. Why? Why did he freeze? And why did his arms begin shaking when he tried forcing himself to go through with it. Tears of rage rolled down his face. Why? Why was he hesitating? This bastard almost made him murder his friend and he was going to take Isaac and Ivan prisoners!

"Gah!"

Isaac's breath was suddenly knocked out of him when the thief's conjured shield smacked him in the face and placed a burn on his cheek. In that split second of weakness, the thief caught Isaac's neck and then slammed him sideways against the floor. Isaac's eyes widen when he noticed the burning heat on the warlock's palm. Quickly, he grabbed the thief's wrist and shards of flint pierced his forearm, but the enemy didn't let go.

He screamed as the hand around his neck became hot like a brand, but the pain was brief as a wave of cold water suddenly washed over his face. He opened his eyes to suddenly see the priestess from earlier slide across the surface in a dreamlike dance, her hair and bloodied clothing flowing in a mystical wind and her eyes shining with elemental energy. And then, before he knew it, he was cast into the air by a rising torrent of water. Isaac crashed on the floor, not sure how many bones he just broke. He couldn't feel his limbs and he couldn't breathe under the water.

Before his vision dimmed he saw Garet descend from the tower on a steed of flames, leaving trails of flames behind; his eyes ablaze and his soul separated from the rest of the world…

He awoke in complete darkness. He opened his eyes but he couldn't see. He didn't know how long he'd slept or where he'd waken up.

Isaac fumbled on the surface he lay upon; it was smooth as glass and quite cold too. He sat up. He wobbled to his feet, standing and waving his arms in the nothingness. Was he blind?

He tried calling out to his friends. But he couldn't speak. He stumbled forward on the cold surface on bare feet, swiping his arms in attempt to find something that could give him any sense of direction.

Was anyone here? Was anything here?

Suddenly, he lost foothold. His heart jumped to his throat as he fell. He tried to scream, but he had no voice. And he kept falling, falling into what seemed like an endless abyss.

Help.

Garet.

Ivan!

Help.

Someone help me!

Anyone! Anyone, help me!

I don't want to die like this.

Then finally, he hit the bottom of the abyss, falling to his hands and knees. It didn't hurt, despite that the surface was flat and cold like stone.

"Finally…"

Hearing a calm and distinctively male voice speak, Isaac sat up on his knees, turning his head around and searching with his blind eyes and flailing arms. The voice didn't sound friendly. His heart beat like a drum and he tried to scream, but he still couldn't make a sound.

Who is it? Show yourself!

Three specks of light—one warm yellow and two cold white, suddenly began glowing five paces away from Isaac. He began hearing footsteps. He quickly stood up, backing away as the lights approached him. He fumbled after his sword or knife, but realized he had nothing on him except his linen undershirt.

Out from the shadows stepped a child; a beautiful child with brown dishevelled hair, friendly dark eyes, and a yellow scarf around his neck. He held a chicken in his arms, affectionately stroking the bird's feathers and mending its clipped wings; the specks of lights circling him like big fireflies.

Felix—

Felix!

Isaac felt something stinging his nose and eyes. He wanted to cry, but when he blinked he found no tears.

"Why didn't you save me?" said Felix, but it wasn't his voice.

Then, Felix suddenly tucked his face into the bird's feathers. The floor became an illusion of water and Felix fell in with a splash, vanishing in the ripples and waves.

But the specks of lights swirled about the watery surface and suddenly a man in a padded jacket and a green scarf appeared in Felix's place. He waved towards Isaac with a smile. He held a ceremonial spear in one hand and a longsword hung from his belt.

Dad?

Dad!

Could this be his father's way of contacting him from the dead?

Captain Kyle's being then shattered in sparks of light and faded into the darkness.

"You didn't save me," sounded the voice again and Isaac was certain it didn't belong to his father.

Again, the lights circled and out from the shadows stepped a man in fur, holding a bow with an arrow in hand and staring sideways into nothingness.

Petro—

He shot the arrow into the void, and then, he too vanished in sparks of light.

"You could have saved him…"

Who? Who is it? Isaac flailed his arms and gnashed his teeth in frustration, angered by the loss of his voice.

Show yourself! Show yourself, coward! Don't hide behind illusions!

"As you wish, Master."

Out of the darkness stepped a young man with golden hair, cornflower eyes and a somewhat pointy nose. And Isaac realized it was his own voice he'd heard. The man was a mirror image of himself. Except, the doppelgänger was well groomed and clean, and he didn't wear any of Isaac's rags. He was dressed in the Valian Order's regalia. The templar held a ceremonial spear in his left hand and the inscription on the spearhead glowed in a steady light. His other hand rested on the pommel of a sword—his father's longsword; reforged—hanging from his belt. As Isaac once again looked at his face, the young templar smiled—a wicked, sinister grin.

Isaac backed away as the doppelgänger approached him. Again, he grasped after his sword or knife, forgetting that he was wearing nothing save for his undergarment. He raised his hands towards the doppelgänger, willing a spell forth, but his Psynergy didn't respond and his hands remained empty.

Who are you? Isaac questioned, powerless and trapped in the void.

"We are you," said the templar, moving closer still with a steady pace, his boots making a clear echoing sound on the floor for every step he took. "We are what you could have been—and what you want to be. We're here to help."

Demon…

Isaac backed away. He turned around to run but his limbs were suddenly pulled down towards the ground. A circle of light glowed beneath him as he was forced down to his hands and knees in immobilization. He had no idea what was being done to him, but he knew it was Psynergy.

Was sorcery was this? Was this one of Felix's tricks? Did he place Isaac in this realm of torment to watch him squirm for his own amusement?

The doppelgänger strode over to him and knelt by his side.

"You are frightened, Master," said the doppelgänger in disdain, tilting Isaac's face to look at him with the spear. Isaac stared back at the templar in terror. His blue eyes seemed almost violet in the light of the giant fireflies circling around him.

Felix—

Felix, please.

You were my friend.

You were my brother.

Please!

A wicked smile appeared on the young templar's lips again. His eyes gleamed in the light of magic.

The young templar stepped away from him and then waved his spear, conjuring a large boulder in the void. The inscription on the spearhead glowed and enveloped the weapon in a brilliant yellow light. The templar threw the golden spear towards the stone and it drew a tail of light in the darkness before piercing the rock. A bright light gathered around the spearhead and the rock shattered.

Isaac turned to stare at the templar open-mouthed. His father could do that, but he never had the chance to teach Isaac the technique. Isaac had tried replicating it for years, but never succeeded. He looked towards the doppelgänger who solemnly gestured towards the void in front of them again.

Suddenly, Felix's lieutenant stood in front of him with a blade in hand.

The doppelgänger drew his sword and sparks of light rolled out from the scabbard as the blade left its housing. Two of swords of light materialized above the enemy and flew at him like arrows. The thief dodged and blocked, but the seeking blades shattered his shield and speared him from different directions, bringing him down on his knees. The young templar brandished his sword, letting a trail of golden dust fall from the blade as it cut through the air, and a ray of light emerged from under the enemy's feet, pulling up huge rocks and debris from the ground. The stones piled on the thief and then returned to the earth, crushing him in an unmarked grave.

As the magic faded away, the doppelgänger turned back, placing the sword across his palms as he steadily marched back to the stunned Adept.

Isaac's jaw slackened. He gasped as he suddenly regained the ability to move. The doppelgänger approached him with a steady pace, his father's sword balanced across his palm in silent invitation.

Isaac rose to his feet, trembling as he rose to meet the smiling mirror image of himself. He didn't think. He reached for the sword. He wanted that power. Only with that amount of power could he protect the people he held dear.

"Isaac?"

He froze in his movement, hearing a shrill voice calling out his name. It sounded like it came from the distance far away, echoing through the emptiness. Isaac recognized it. It belonged to someone he knew and cared about.

"Isaac, where are you?" said the voice again. "Isaac!"

Isaac withdrew his hand and turned away from the sword, looking for the source of that voice. It was a boy, but who? Who was calling for him? Who was this child who made his heart tremble with his desperate cries?

"How troublesome," said the doppelgänger, lowering his hand as the sword vanished in sparks of light. "You have an anchor…"

The templar sighed, and then he disappeared too, returning Isaac to complete darkness.

"Isaac?" said the boy, sounding hopeful and relieved.

"Isaac!" he then cried out in terror. "Isaac, no!"

It was Ivan! What was going on? Ivan was so scared. His terrified voice came from all directions.

Ivan! Ivan, where are you?

He tried to cry out, but his voice was still gone.

"Isaac, what are you doing?" said the little Wind Adept. "Isaac, no!"

Ivan let out a half muffled cry.

Ivan!

"Mmf! Isaac. Isaac, listen to me! Isaac— Stop! Isaac, PLEASE!"

After the screech of that last word, there was suddenly a moment of silence. Isaac froze for a moment, but then Ivan let out a muffled cry and then a gasp. Someone was hurting him.

"Isaac—! It's me—it's Ivan…" Ivan whimpered, gargling as if someone was strangling him slowly."Isaac, please— Isaac—"

No!

He began running, twirling around and searching for an exit from the darkness. There had to be a way to escape this place!

Don't hurt him! Don't hurt my brother!

"I-Isaac—Isaac, pl-please—I-Isaac, i-it's me…"

It was the doppelgänger! What was he doing to Ivan?

Let him go.

Let him go!

"Let him go!" Isaac finally yelled, his word echoing into the void as he regained his voice.

Suddenly, Isaac lost footing and fell, the floor opening up and swallowing him whole.

"When you change your mind, Master," he heard his own voice echo into the distance, "call upon us again."

Isaac fell.

And he kept falling. Falling and falling… It was an endless fall again.

The darkness consumed him. His limbs became heavy. He felt lightheaded. Even though everything was a dark void, he still felt the world spin. Then, his fall abruptly ended and his vision returned.

He sat in a dark room illuminated by faint moonlight, and he stared down at a familiar shadow—his hands covering the neck of the fragile person he straddled on the floor.

"Isaac… Isaac… Isaac…" said the boy beneath him, gasping in fear.

"Ivan!"

Isaac felt a pain in his chest and he let go of Ivan, getting off his stomach and sliding a weary arm under the little Wind Adept's shoulder to hold him up. Ivan's lips were bleeding and his face was swollen. Saints… how did this happen? Oh gods! Why did this happen? His chest hurt from seeing Ivan so broken and tears welled up in his eyes. When he pulled Ivan into his arms, the pain in his chest intensified and looking down, he saw a silver dagger gleaming in the moonlight; it was deeply embedded in his chest, and his linen shirt was drenched in his own red blood.

Author's Notes:

The Djinn. Some writers just outright remove the Djinn when they do their "novelizations" for various reasons. Some big ones are 1) they seem to be hard to fit into the story and distract from the characters and 2) they give free bonus powers that our heroes haven't worked for.

In my version, they stay. I've worked them into the story in a pretty good way without having to deal with an additional 72 "characters". I won't outright tell you how they work in this fic right off the bat, but I've made them more… interesting.

In the game, Saturos is "defeated by the Lighthouse", which I think is pretty dumb. You could literary make him say "I let you win" and that would still be a better twist. I get it, he got defeated because of his pride. I get it, he's proud and arrogant, but he's still and idiot. How do you even miscalculate your odds in that kind of situation? It's a 1 vs. 4 so the odds are not in your favour. You don't want to fight multiple opponents at once. And on top of that, your enemies have access to projectiles. And you go into that kind of a fight when the Mercury Lighthouse takes away almost all your AoE and protection spells? Pretty dumb.

Still, I probably should elborate on the fight in the actual fic too.

As I've stated in the previous chapter, no one is depowered the by the Lighthouse. This makes it less contrived that Saturos would walk into the fight to begin with. He's still rather arrogant, but he isn't a complete moron. He wouldn't walk into this fight if he lost all his defensive spells and his odds were complete shit. Also, he doesn't even want a 1 vs. 4. From a gameplay perspective that works because he's a boss-character with a large amount of HP. Here, he's just one guy.

So why does he drop all his gear? Intimidation.

All was going well until Ivan decided to show off his OP skills. Remember that the elements aren't equal and Ivan's powers are inherently more devastating than everyone else's? (He also is a Wind Adept, which is needed for accessing the Jupiter Lighthouse. You probably already figured out this is the reason he tries to take Ivan away.)

In the game, Saturos simply loses because Isaac and company overpowers him.

In my version, he doesn't lose the "main" fight and is defeated by Isaac's cunning.

Hm, I wonder what would have happened if Isaac hadn't picked a second fight and instead gone to meet Felix...