CHAPTER NINE

Unfortunately, the Prince had no time to stop and take in the full scope of the situation, having no choice but to escape from the Babel Tower and hopefully still live to fight another day with what strength he had left, making a hard dash back the way he came (managing to get a quick glance at his parents and the elder as they let out a few tears through the agonizing transformation that twisted and corrupted their features before his very eyes).

It broke the Prince's heart to see them become the very thing he had fought tooth and nail to prevent. But it was all happening again, just like in Azad seven years ago.

The Prince spied a yellow curtain he could slide down the wall from and took a chance, successfully achieving what he desired as the sword stabbed into the wall just enough to keep him stable during the descent. But he was not out of the woods yet, as the Doppelganger's forces were more than ready for him on the ground floor.

Narrowly dodging some more sword swipes, the Prince performed a vertical wallrun (putting as much energy into his legs as he could to evade incoming arrows).

The front door was newly open as the Prince ran out into the black of night, guards continuing to pursue him as several held wooden torches to better illuminate their surroundings. It took everything he had, but somehow fate rewarded him with respite.

Injuries endured during the previous battle finally made their presence known to the Prince as his adrenaline started to wear off, collapsing behind a large basket on the ground, his face narrowly avoiding a major nosebleed.

'Kaileena... was this your endgame all along?' the Prince weakly stated out loud, as he fell unconscious and knew no more.

The Prince had tortuous visions of him trying to reason with every major person he'd ever known in his life, that everything he had done was for the greater good.

King Sharaman called him unworthy for the throne, Queen Medri considered herself ashamed of his actions, Farah scolded him for leaving her to die, The Old Man believed him a fool that couldn't accept the world for what it was... Even Malik, his deceased older brother, mocked him for his youthful arrogance as he turned into the Dahaka and made a lunge as the Prince screamed, holding his arms out in front of him as some form of defence against the monster.

'Do not give up hope.' a familiar voice stated to the Prince, as he found himself no worse for wear standing on a stone formation with three wooden bridges connected to it and an engraved yellow spiral at the center of where he stood, naturally formed rocky structures surrounding this mysteriously suspended magical void.

The left and right directions proved unhelpful as the Prince found himself teleported back into the middle as if he had never moved at all.

'This all feels oddly familiar,' the Prince said to himself as he decided to walk down the middle path, amazed by how it all looked as a giant hourglass continuously span sand infinitely. That's when he realized exactly where he was.

'I remember this place from my time in Azad. Granted it appears to have changed greatly since that time, but still. I thought it was all a dream, destroying weak walls in the palace that immediately repaired themselves, seemingly as if they were never there to begin with...'

The Prince continued, 'Drinking from those strange fountains I discovered, I felt myself being lifted up by an invisible force and an unknown entity with the voice of a goddess stating incomprehensible but soothing words that rejuvenated me... made me stronger as I journeyed with Farah to stop the Vizier and undo my great mistake that led me down the path I'm on now... Or was on anyway.'

But this only made the Prince question his predicament even more. How did he come to be here? This was evidently no heaven or hell as he'd imagined it. But at the same time, he didn't feel like he was dead.

Traversing up the long staircase, he found himself facing a small fountain.

'Drink and remember.' There was that familiar voice again.

'Hello?' the Prince called out. 'Is anyone here? Show yourself, that I might thank you for saving my life... So very peculiar. I wonder if Razia has... No. It is foolish to believe such things are even possible.'

Having no other choice, the Prince proceeded to drink from the fountain whose symbol looked eerily similar to that of the Amulet on his armor chest piece and felt himself becoming detached from his body in an almost dream-like fashion as that voice stated pretty clearly in his mind, 'Remember the power of time.'

The Prince felt a great momentary pain in his skull as he finally remembered one of his older abilities previously granted to him by the Sands of Time. If he concentrated hard enough, he could undo any grave mistake on his part by turning back the clock to a point he was safe. But he had to be careful, as there was only so many times he could utilize this ability without having to obtain more of the sands. Stating confidently to himself, the Prince confirmed to himself, 'I remember now!'

The Prince could hear voices chatting in the background as he gradually opened his eyes, eventually finding himself on a comfy bed with a candle by the bedside and a child sleeping with his arms on top of a chair nearby.

'Oh good, you're finally awake. Told you he was alive Darius. The poor dear just needed to be nursed back to health'. An older female stated.

'Thank Brahma for that. Would have proved to be a wasted effort if resistance members only brought us back another corpse,' a masculine-sounding male voice confirmed, with subtle distaste. 'At this point, we need all the soldiers we can get. Even if it means the living reflection of that monstrous dictator, has to be among our ranks.'

'Now Darius, that isn't fair,' the older female voice disapprovingly replied. 'Sharaman's son is Persian royalty and would serve as a huge boost to the Resistance's overall morale. You know full well the surviving citizens of Babylon need some degree of hope to keep them strong in these dangerous times.'

'Well, I'd prefer to hear that straight from the source rather than someone who tries to distract children from the horrors outside with fairytales instead of seeing things as they are Asha,' Darius stubbornly retorted.

The Prince couldn't believe it. He was actually seeing two people he didn't dare expect to be alive nor was he ready to hear what happened next.