Charmcaster moved through the forest at an inhuman speed, like she was gliding across the ground floor. She was able to obtain this speed thanks to the dim pink mana aura that surrounded her body. Her training in mana control made it possible to dedicate small bits of mana to spells without overloading. Mister White said to go west from the temple to the base of a mountain where the Wish Master should be meditating in a cave. It seemed sketchy to her but if it was going to grant her more power then she wouldn't complain. In the back of her mind, Hope wanted to find the Dragon King first to see if she stood any chance of beating him. She figured he was still in a weakened state since he hasn't come back for revenge. The rabbit man had told her she'd be killed almost instantly and Sep had agreed with not allowing her to fight him.

Hope was quickly approaching the edge of the magic forest when a red light shined brightly to her right. She dug her heels into the ground to stop, and her surroundings moved in slow motion as she made eye contact with a black haired man with pale skin. He gave her a small smirk before disappearing once more. Charmcaster checked her background for any sign of the man and prepared herself for a possible fight. Mister White had not informed her of any other spirits in the forest and that made her slightly nervous. Hope clutched her wand tightly and waited for movement from her stalker.

"Aren't you awfully jumpy?" a voice came from above her.

Hope released a column of pink energy in the direction of the voice without any hesitation.

"Wow! I answered my own question."

The stranger walked from behind a tree with his hands in his pockets. He was dressed in a dark flannel and jeans with rings on his fingers and chains around his neck, his hair was a complete mess and fell over his face. The man reminded Hope of her ex-friend Jade and emo style.

"I'm in a good mood so I'll give you five seconds to introduce yourself before I blow your head off," Charmcaster said as she put up five fingers.

"I love the threats!" he moaned as he threw his head back and touched his chest.

Hope raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"I am Vern, the demon spirit, my lady," he greeted with a bow.

"Great another fucking spirit. Don't you guys have anything better to do?"

"Unlike the other spirits I can actually help you with your desire."

"And what would you know about my desire?"

Vern chuckled briefly before saying, "call it a hunch".

"No thanks I don't accept things from strangers, especially stalker freaks that look like they came from a screamo concert."

"Ouch."

Charmcaster turned around and began to walk away from Vern.

"I can make you stronger than all of them."

Hope stopped but didn't turn around.

"Stronger than your enemies, Gwen, the spirits, AND your mother. You'll be the strongest sorcerer to ever exist and they'll never compare you to your mother ever again!"

Charmcaster's eye twitched at the mention of her mother. She glanced back at the spirit with a murderous glare that would stop even the baddest monsters in their tracks. Vern simply smirked because behind that death stare was the smallest twinkle of curiosity. The emo man extended his tattooed hand out.

"Fuck them. Join me."

Vern was knocked back by a sudden gust of strong wind, and he was pinned against a thick tree trunk. He tried to shake off the attack, but wood appendages snaked out from the bark and firmly tied him down. The spirit narrowed his dark eyes at the approaching sorcerer. Hope placed her foot on the side of the tree and leaned in close to the restrained man.

"Join you? You say that like the contracted relationship between sorcerers and spirits isnt master and servant first and foremost. But that isn't your intention, is it now? Find another puppet to string along, fuckboy."

Vern's pupils turned to slits and Hope was able to see his forked tongue as he hissed at the woman, "You don't know what you're missing, sweetheart".

"I think I'll take my chances," Charmcaster replied smugly.

She headed in her previous direction and ignored the curses and threats coming from the demon spirit. Unknown to her a smiling mister White peeked out from behind a tree 50 feet back, he had been silently watching their interaction. Sep might not see it but he noticed a change in Charmcaster over her training period. She used to crave power so much that she'd get it through any means necessary. Hope still pursued that but she had standards in place to reach that goal. Vern is the guardian of Henry and finds out people's intentions for their wishes and offers them alternate routes to see if they are deserving of a wish. Charmcaster passed the test with flying colors.

Hope decided to hold off on fighting Drak without proficient preparations. Something in her gut told her to find the mage first, and she wouldn't have to search for much longer. A large pyramid shaped structure came into view, but had the features of a mountain though it looked man-made. Charmcaster scanned for any sign of an entrance and came across an oak set of doors with symbols carved into them. She was about to step forward when the doors creaked open slowly and put the girl on edge for more possible enemies.

A small boy with curly white hair and a staff, that was taller than him, appeared. He had a basket in his right hand and was whistling to himself, the child didn't notice Hope's presence. The sorceress was bewildered by the scene unfolding before her. She assumed the kid was Henry's son, but mister White didn't say anything about the Wish Master having a family.

"Hello, little boy!" she called out as she approached him. "Do you know where I could find your father?"
There was a moment of silence and the child chuckled at the question.

"My father? Nobody has asked about my old man for quite a bit. Sorry to disappoint you, but my dad has been dead for 60 years."

Charmcaster was thrown off by the boy's bluntness and a shiver went down her back after hearing that Henry had been dead for decades. Now she had no choice but to fight Drak without her upgrade.

"People normally come to this place in search of wishes, not my father."

"Are you by chance Henry?" Hope asked slowly.

"Bingo."

Henry turned around to face the woman. Hope saw symbols tattooed on his forehead, she knew what those words spelt out, "Wish-Master". She had so many questions to ask, but she didn't have time to learn his biography. There was only one question that needed to be asked.

"Can you make me stronger?"

Henry tilted his head to the side and gave the witch a disconcerting look.

"I could," he replied willingly. "But you need to do something for me first."

"Fine. What is it?" Hope said nonchalantly.

"You do realize I could ask for anything?"

"What is it?" She repeated in a more firm tone.

"I want ten years of your life."

Hope held her tongue for a couple seconds as she thought of an answer.

"What if I don't have ten years left?"

"Then you'll die as soon as you agree to my proposal, having not conquered your desires or fulfilled your goals in life. You'll be another soul absorbed into the life energy of the universe. Are you willing to take that risk?"

If she died here then she wouldn't be able to help Ben, but she realized that if she couldn't help Ben then she'd rather be dead. It took the witch all this time to acknowledge that nagging voice in her head, telling her that she wanted to be by his side. She wasn't doing this for Hex or even herself, it was all for Ben Tennyson. She owed him that much for making her realize that she could rewrite her destiny. Hope was determined to stand by his side no matter what it took.

"Deal," she agreed and stuck out her hand.

Henry smiled at the woman's passion and shook her hand to seal the deal. A bright flash of light engulfed the two, and Charmcaster let out a scream of agony. It felt like she was being stabbed by a thousand electrified needles at once. Did he trick me? She thought as she grimaced from the pain. The witch heard a soothing voice calling out to her and she focused on the wave of calmness it brought.

"Your wish to control the Dragon King has been granted and in exchange, ten years of your life."

A couple seconds later the pain slowly subsided and Hope was left crouched down on one knee with sweat dripping from her brow. The woman's face was flushed and she was gasping for air. It took a minute to move a muscle and several more to rise to her shaky feet. Out of body experience was an understatement at this point. Her legs and arms didn't feel like they belonged to her, she was able to move them with ease but everything felt foreign to her.

"What did you do to me?" she grunted.

"I granted your wish."

"Why do I feel different?"

"I don't know, it wasn't my wish," Henry shrugged.

Charmcaster's vision started to clear up and suddenly the witch felt invigorated like she could take on the world. Her mind went blank with only one image remaining. It depicted a large crater of ash and soot, with an enormous black tree erected on the edge. As the picture became clearer she noticed a humanoid crucified by the tree branches. The stranger barely looked human with all the burns across his body, 70% of his body was charred. His chest was an open cavity but she was able to see bones and tissue slowly rebuilding itself. Half of his face melted down like ice cream and the other was completely regenerated. A curved horn on his head gave away who he was.

"Drak," she muttered.