Note on spells: Latin is all lower case (apart from names, places and the like), so don't tell me I forgot to use capital letters. XD

There's an epilogue after this, which will most likely include some massive note about how much I love you guys, and a whole bunch of apologies for not replying to half the reviews, but I appreciate every one of them, and every one of you.

Oh look, I just covered everything I was going to hold off for the last chapter.

The tunnel ahead splits off into two directions, but just before I can cast the spell to find Ruhtra, a voice booms through the caves.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I look behind me, seeing Aea's massive figure looming over me. Damn, I forgot about her. Not to worry, though; she has no backup. I've killed them all, and Ruhtra's still nowhere to be seen.

"Look who decided to finally show up," I tease, stepping round to face her. "It's a shame you're too late to save your subordinates." A smile cracks across my face.

"tace!" she shouts. The spell silences me. I must admit, that was well played; I didn't pick up on the Latin quickly enough, since I'm used to using Old English for spells.

"How can you be so monstrous, to kill my followers? No, more than that, my friends?" She crumples up her sleeves with her hands, clenching them in shaking fists.

I want to point out that it's pointless asking questions if she's made it impossible for me to answer them. But, since I'm silenced, I decide to humour her. I can't even whisper any spells to attack her, or fix my voice...

Wait. I can't whisper any spells. She's effectively rendered me useless, seeing as I don't have any weapons.

"Tell me why you believe yourself to be at such a high echelon that you can behave in such a manner!" she screams in my face, and I recoil to avoid getting ear damage. "WELL?! Say something!"

I roll my eyes and point at my mouth.

"Oh... right," she responds, a little sheepishly. "loquere!"

Smiling maniacally, and looking slightly downwards, I say nothing. Even though I have the ability to speak, I hold off from doing so.

"Speak to me," she demands.

"That was a very bad move," I reply.

"Oh, so now you realise that, after murdering TWO HUNDRED people!" she snaps.

"That's not what I was referring to. Now that I can speak, I can cast spells," I respond in a snarky tone, before muttering the killing spell.

"Well, f-" she starts, but is cut off by panic as her heart stops. She falls to her knees; my cue to get a move on. I summon another spark and follow it down the tunnel to the left.

"Famous last words," I mutter under my breath, as I get closer and closer to Ruhtra's hiding place. With all of the namuhs being so stupid, this is almost too easy.

I imagine the sound my footsteps make as a clock ticking down to his demise. It's an accurate enough image. Soon, the hand of the clock will swing round to him, and it'll all be over.

I'll be free. Emmakala will be free.

We can go back to normal life. I won't have to remember everything that's happened in my life anywhere near as often. I can have any dreams my subconscious creates.

I lose track of the spark as it disappears behind a rock, but the image of Ruthra, cowering in the dark, enters my head less than a second later.

"I've found you," I say, in a creepy sing-song voice. I peek over the top of the rock, seeing Ruhtra shudder as soon as he notices me. My eyes feel as if they're on fire, burning hotter than the one that consumed London. The memory only serves to fuel my rage.

"You're the last one to die. I really wish I had weapons on my person so I could kill you more painfully, but I only have magic." He stares at me fearfully. If only I could see his face properly...

I throw his hood back, hoping to steal his dignity in his final moments. His face is the one thing he's hidden from me all this time.

Now exposed, I can barely see his features in the shade of this rock. He quickly tries to pull his hood back on, but I stop him, twisting his arm painfully.

Suddenly, the ground below my feet begins to fade away, replaced by dirt. Due to Ruhtra's panic, the transition takes longer than usual, and the cave doesn't disappear yet. I feel a raindrop hit me, and look up to see more rain falling, despite the cave's roof still being there.

I'd recognise this combination anywhere. The American Revolutionary War. In an attempt to halt the transition, I twist Ruhtra's arm further to break his concentration. It works, leaving my wet hair as the only proof it just happened.

"Nice try. Why do you think you're better than me?" I ask, as he stands up to try to lessen the pain of my grip. His face catches the light, and I see his face. His artificial eyes are partially obscured as he scrunches his eyelids, almost shut, in pain. Scabs cover his face, almost completely faded, but still visible. His mouth is twisted into a grimace, in turn contorting one of these burn marks.

I trail one finger down his face, feeling the rough yet sensitive wounds. "Why do you think you're better than me," I repeat, "when you're the freak?"

I force myself not to kick him in the shins as hard as possible. Despite everything he's done, there's still a code of chivalry.

Then I look even more closely at his face. One of his eyebrows has been burnt down to a normal size, yet the other is still thick enough for him to pass as my clone. As for his hair, it's the same black as mine currently is. A few clumps of it are missing, probably burnt off as well, leaving just half of his fringe and a couple of bald patches.

"Anything you'd like to say before I kill you?" I ask, glaring at him. He glances away, possibly because the glow is hurting him. Oh, poor little Ruhtra.

"Th-th-there'll... be... c-consequences!" he stammers, trying to appear brave.

"Is that so?" I reply in amusement. "It'd be a shame to kill you so soon, when I could be so much crueller. Then again, you've already suffered any punishment I'll give you in the future, if I am to believe you. Tell me, is that story you told me, about you travelling back in time, true?"

"Yes," he replies, looking guiltily at the ground.

"Is there anything I have to bear in mind for the future?"

"Nothing..."

This is it. This is the moment when I destroy him. It would be awesome if I had a special catchphrase to say before he leaves this mortal coil behind, but I don't have any.

So I cut to the chase and yell the spell to end his life.

"...except for the fact that when I die, you'll never be able to return here," he finishes as quickly as possible, before the panic sets in. He falls to the ground, both freaking out and laughing at the same time. "Emmakala's stuck here."

I process his words in my mind; he spoke them too fast for me to understand immediately. By the time I realise what he said, he's stopped laughing. His eyes remain open, and a twisted grin plasters his face, mid-laugh.

"No," I mutter, as everything darkens. I look at my hands, and they're fading away as well. A tingling feeling rises up in me, as I am torn away from this world.

"NO!" I scream. Ruhtra seems to be drifting far away from me. An unseen force drags me back, tugging relentlessly. I look from side to side, seeing the very fabric of this dimension collapsing. As some of the cave wall disappears, I catch a passing glimpse of a terrified face.

Emmakala.

I wake up with a jolt. The shock of being torn from that world, which was what I'd wanted up until it actually happened, muddles my mind so that I can't think of any plans. My hair is cold, drenched in sweat.

Finally, I come to my senses.

"It can't be true!" I cry out, leaping from my bed onto the floor. I tear through the house in desperation, rushing to reach the drawer full of fairy dust. If I just take a dosage of it, I'll go back! Ruhtra's never told the truth, so why should I believe him now?

On the way, I just about notice a flash of blonde and green in the hall mirror, out of the corner of my eye.

I tug the drawer open with such force that I almost break it. Then, I grab the soporific dust in one hand, getting an entire fistful, and throw it into my face. I cough for a second, and next, black out from the overdose.

I wake up later after a dreamless sleep.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I yell. "I can't give up, I can't!"

An idea occurs to me: to find her in this world and wake her up. That would work. Wouldn't she have been pulled away from that world as well, when Ruhtra died?

I summon a spark. It appears at my eye level, hovering there, a blood-red colour.

And it does absolutely nothing.

Staring into it hopefully, I cross my fingers. This spell has to work. She has to be in this world, even if she is asleep. There's no way that the spark wouldn't find her.

Yet, it disappears. That can only mean one thing.

"She can't be trapped there forever. She can't," I tell myself, shaking my head, but I believe my own words less and less with each failure.

Tears of molten glass gather at the corners of my eyes, dripping down my face. I've failed her. How could I have been so caught up on that madness, that I prioritised slaughtering the namuhs over her safety?

To top it all off, I have nobody to comfort me. I must've been out cold for so long that they all left. Liz probably went back to her home. Fialina must've gone with Gwimiri. Flying Mint Bunny wasn't even here today, to my knowledge, and the same applies to Uni. I'm alone.

Distressed and not knowing what to do, I return to my bedroom. At least I can be slightly more comfortable to mull over the stupidity of my actions.

The clock reads 5:12 PM.

I throw it against the wall.