A Story of Eighteen Years

by Centurious the Azure

A rewrite of A Story of Eighteen Years. "This is a love story. The story of a girl with a broken soul, and the boy who tried to pick up those shattered pieces and put them back together…only to fail in every single way."

7. A Rose on the Grave

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A Story of Eighteen Years

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Chapter 6: A Rose On The Grave

"Ronan was gone before anyone noticed what had happened," Ezra said, eyes shifting around the room at his many companions. All riveted on his story thus far. "I'm not sure if it would have made a difference if I had been there or not. Given I was focused on Sybille and stopping the ritual. I couldn't have known she would have needed a sacrificial body for Potema to inhabit. That being said. We all hightailed it to the old manor. Time was of the essence."

Forty minutes, that's how long it took to leave the dungeons, rally Captain Strenger, and his men, and head out of the city to our destination. Forty minutes, it felt more like forty thousand years to me. Victor, Triss, and Keira were leading our little group, Our party behind them, and finally Strenger with a full contingent of seventy-five armed troops. Hopefully, all of this would be enough to help us deal with the cultists. I reflexively clenched and unclenched my fingers. My anxiety was at an all-time high.

I then felt someone take my hand. It was Felecia. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness, it was an elf thing. She was as sweaty and dirty as any of us were, but something about her at that moment just made me think she was the most beautiful creature in the world. "That was scary, but I think we did okay in there." She whispered, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "You especially. Thank you for being my hero and getting me out before the rune traps went off." Her cheeks turned pink at that, before slipping me a small kiss.

That was the reward I was hoping for when I saved that apothecary's daughter all the way back in Lothric. But it was even better because it was Felecia giving it to me. I felt my worries slip away a little, gaining a little extra swagger in my step. Something that hadn't gone unnoticed by Kyana and Leona. The girl in green seemed a little put out, but at the same time happy that Felecia had given me a little extra confidence. I was wondering if she was thinking about proposing a threesome between us?

The mage girl seemly particularly salty about it, given the way her lips were pursed together in frustration. It was kind of hot really. But she was a sorceress and thus kept a mask of feigned, bored indifference, but her eyes told a very different story. Leona really wanted to be holding my hand. Keira could see it too if the amused little smile was any indication.

The spires of the former Royal Villa slowly loomed from out of the swamps. The air was thick with dark energy. Strenger and his men were all gripping their weapons a little tighter. Victor seemed unaffected, but the thin frown he wore showed his uneasiness. But it turned into a smile as he ran his hand along Laura's cheek. "Are you afraid my daughter? If you are, there is no shame in that. Just trust your training and instincts. I have total faith in you." Laura rested her head against Victor's shoulder, a small moment of family unity. I was jealous, thinking of Naaman at that moment.

Keira and Triss both looked at each other both looking weary. "We shouldn't tarry any longer." The red-haired mage said. "Sybille is gathering power. The ritual is under way right now." So yeah, time's really against us. "I want the first squad to accompany us into the villa."

"Captain Strenger, have second and third squads form a perimeter and wait here," Victor ordered, brandishing that magnificent blue and gold claymore of his. The wind was picking up ever more. "I may not understand magic in the same way Lady Merigold or Lady Metz do, but I've seen my fair share of arcane rituals, and given this is the Wolf Queen, I wouldn't be surprised if the dead emerged from the graves. You may have a fight on your hands, Captain."

The rotund soldier just snorted, drawing his sword. "Let them come, Viscount Arseid. The boys and I have been itching for a good fight since the whole mess with the Salamandra." The captain was sober, much more enjoyable that way. The other soldiers seemed to have their fears in check, hope they can keep it up once they're mobbed by the creatures of the night. Regardless as Captain Strenger and his men held the line, my party, the royal advisors, and about a couple dozen soldiers stormed the villa itself. This was it, no time to be afraid.

Of course, there was a staircase leading into the depths of the villa. So again we descended into the depths of Gehenna. This time I kept my mouth shut, but the sensation was like in the dungeons again, not to mention a hundred times more intense. We soon reached the bottom, standing in front of a massive entryway carved to resemble a wolf's head with a pair of heavy wooden doors bearing the same kinds of runes I saw on the door to the secret meeting room in the Sodden Moogle, but far more jagged and sinister looking.

Keira and Triss began quickly examining it. "Quite the piece of work, Potema certainly spared no expense." The Fourteenth of the Hill smirked at her colleague. "Although it's nothing we can't handle. Taking down one of the Wolf Queen's works should make a nice little accomplishment." Keira mirrored her friend's expression. The two of them quickly set to work. As impressive as Leona had shown herself recently, it was still clear who the true masters were. The two senior mages chanted rapidly indecipherable words, the rune array pulsating in various colors before Triss and Keira slammed glowing palms against the door, causing a flash before fading.

"You're getting slow, Merigold. I figured you could have broken it in under a minute." Nothing like casual banter in the middle of an apocalyptic scenario to ease some stress. It's something I would become quite proficient at myself in the coming months. With the door seal neutralized, Victor, Erik, and I kicked the doors open. It was time to end this threat once and for all.

We entered the main sacrificial chamber…and what a sight it was! The walls were painted with dried blood, and bones of all types, man and beast, piled in every corner. I know for a fact that some of those blood sacrifices were children. On a raised dais in the middle of the room was a large stone altar carved with arcane symbols. And lying prone on it, chained with heavy steel manacles…was Rose! My heart leapt into my throat. How did she get here? There was also what appeared to be a heavy wooden coffin with wolves carved all over it. I had a pretty good feeling about what was inside.

Sybille was now again in her human form, adorned in some very fancy robes made of violet velvet trimmed with gold, stood over her, Ronan at her side, and the two vampires standing guard. The pendant from earlier was around Rose's neck, giving off an eerie violet light.

"Sybille Stentor, you have a lot to answer for you vampiric hag!" If I was a few years older, I would have so kissed Triss at that moment. I guess I'm just attracted to powerful women. Her magical aura was flaring a brilliant red and I could see the slight flickers of flame dancing around her. "All this time you've been waiting to bring that abomination you worship back, haven't you?"

The Bruxa let out a mocking laugh. Despite clearly still feeling the pain from the silver pendant, she didn't consider us any kind of threat. The arrogance in her stance said all that I needed to know.

"And what are you going to do about it? It took a century, but now Temeria will return to its former glory. That pitiful fool, Foltest, will never know what hit him."

"So true, my dear Sybille." A raspy, echoing voice spoke. The coffin swung open, revealing a desiccated, mummified carcass. I'm glad I have a very strong stomach because once it scuttled out of that damned box, I think I was about to throw up. "I never doubted your loyalty for a minute. You certainly brought me a fine specimen. There is an incredible latent power in this one." My stomach turned as a gnarled finger ran along Rose's cheek. "I'll soon have a proper body and then I retake my throne!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Keira said, lightning arcing on her fingers. My sentiments exactly. My hand tightened on Imperial Fang. I wasn't going to let any harm come to Rose, even if I died.

Sybille just yawned while checking her nails. "Oh please. Like I haven't heard this song and dance a million times before." She let out a melodramatic sigh, raising her hand. "Very well then. I suppose some sport before the main event never hurt." A snap of the fingers brought the two vampires from earlier out of the shadows, joined by a third. Ronan also stepped up, his boomerang sword was at the ready. "Milady, do step back, we shall deal with these interlopers."

The raspy chortle that the walking zombie uttered set my teeth on edge. "Now now, Sybille. I can't let my underlings have all the fun now." The near-graceful stride the corpse walked with was just so wrong. "I've slept a long time, I need to stretch out a bit." She flicked her desiccated, withered fingers, I can see the arcane energies began to coalesce in her palm. "My magic may be a bit rusty still, but I'm sure I can take care of some minor trash before the ritual, a final send-off for this old pile of bones."

"You'll be surprised at what trash can do!" I uttered, pointing my new weapon at the Wolf Queen. "We'll defeat you and set Rose free!" I thought I sounded rather heroic and badass at that moment. No one seemed that impressed. What a shock!

Although Ronan thought it was absolutely hilarious. "Aw, so you're the little hooker's paramour?" The masked warrior tapped his blade on his shoulder. "Damn man, you're scraping the bottom of the barrel when you have three smoking hot pieces of ass right behind you?" I turned and saw Felecia, Kyana, and Leona all giving me very annoyed glares.

"At least I'm surrounded by girls who are relatively attractive!" I bit out, noting how Felecia started blushing. "You're the one who seems to enjoy hanging out with a human/bat hybrid who would crack a mirror if she had a reflection and the desiccated remains of a woman who loves to fuck the undead!" I sneered at him. "I guess you stole Rose so you could have a woman worth looking at for a change. But it won't matter anyway. Because I'm going to turn you into a pincushion. I'm going to turn your boss into ash, and I'm stuffing that inedible piece of jerky back into the ground where it belongs!"

This actually made Ronan think a little. He scratched the back of his head. "Okay, you got me on that one. I think I'm going to kill you myself. So try and not die in the first five seconds of this fight? After all, good rivals are so hard to come by."

"You talk a big game, child." Potema rasped, the energies she gathered earlier now a swirling ball of purple energy. "But talk means nothing in the wake of the power that I wield!" She began an incantation in a language I didn't understand, throwing the energy ball into the air. It split, turning into a pair of spectral wolf familiars. "I am the Wolf Queen, founder of Temeria, and I will not be denied!" Ronan let out a war cry and the battle was joined.

I made straight for Sybille. I was going to ensure that her twisted ritual would never come to pass. Imperial Fang clenched in both hands, this bitch was going to be cleaved in half right now. Oh, the folly of youth. I saw her hand come up, holding another purple orb. My arms rattled, and I nearly dropped my sword. "Foolish! truly foolish! As if such a clumsy move would fell someone like me!" A spectral, twisted-looking sword in hand as she chided me. I suddenly had a memory of my mother, who had taken up training me and Kieran when Naaman had been out on an extended patrol. She had used that exact same spell.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" I shot back, ready for another strike. Only to be met by a stream of fire to the face. Sybille's free hand extended, palm out. She launched another jet of flame at me, but this time I was ready, conjuring up my flames and aiming right back at her! The heat was rising but I barely noticed it. "Is it warm enough for you?" Sybille's eyes narrowed, intensifying the flames she threw at me, but I didn't flinch, just matching her fire with my own. "The worst you're doing is getting my clothes singed."

This earned me a low growl from the vampire witch. Not to mention an irritated twitch manifested in her left eye. Someone less perceptive would have missed it, but not me! "So, you seem to have a natural gift for pyromancy, and you had an experienced teacher on top of it!" She canceled the flames, and the air began to cool. Frost collecting on her fingertips. "But I have been doing magic for a long time, foolish boy. Flames are just one of my many skills!" I only had seconds to act when she flung that damn icicle at me, it had to be at least three feet long!

I rolled to the left, it roughly brushed against my left shoulder. Sybille then threw out a series of smaller icicles. I countered with a large wall of flame that created a huge cloud of mist. I used the cover to coat Imperial Fang in the fires that felt so comfortable to me. I was about to mount my counterattack, only for someone to nudge me in the side. Leona had joined me, her estoc in hand. "You've shown your worth to me, but against someone like Sybille Stentor, even you will need some backup."

"A gorgeous mage like you offering to help? I'd be a fool to turn that down." Leona flashed me a dazzling smile. I think that's where our attraction started, but first, we were going to show that blood-sucking hag what we could do! "In that case, think you could distract the wannabe bat woman thing so I can flank her in order to hit her with my giant, flaming sword?" I held it up for emphasis. Leona started blushing a little, but the cool mask soon returned.

"I'll see what I can do. Just be ready to hit her when you see an opening!" Raising her free hand, Leona began her incantation. A faint golden aura surrounded her. "Globes of sacred gilded energy, surround our enemies and illuminate the darkness with your holy light! Golden Sphere!" Three majestic balls of light rose from the ground around Sybille, spiraling in a triple helix before crashing down on the Bruxa, causing an explosion of light. Her eyes narrowed slightly to see a glowing barrier surrounding Sybille. Leona sighed. "I should have figured it wouldn't be that easy."

The elder mage scoffed. "As if such an elementary spell would have worked on the likes of me." She let the barrier drop. With a burst of speed and my flaming sword at the ready, I made to rush her. But her Bound Sword cut horizontally, the spectral edge cutting through my coat, before knocking me back with a telekinetic strike. I twisted in the air, managing to land on my feet. I glared at the long tear in my threads.

"Oh, you bitch! This coat was brand new! You could have at least let me have it for a couple of days before getting it torn up!" I ranted at Sybille, who just gave a smug grin. Leona rolled her eyes.

Sybille looked almost amused. "Aw, what a touching sight. It's so cute that you think joining up with your new boyfriend will be able to bring me down." She snorted derisively, bringing her hand up to blithely check her fingernails for dirt. "Now if it was Merigold and the King's pet Witcher, then I would actually have to work for this, but a pair of brats like you?" She let out a dark chuckle. "I won't even break a sweat!"

It was now Leona's turn to smirk. "Sadly, I'm afraid Lady Triss has her hands full at the moment." I looked to where the mage in question, along with Keira and Viscount Arseid had their hands full with a flesh atronach even grosser than the one we fought…so many spikes! Not to mention teeth in places where teeth shouldn't even be! "And Master Geralt is on the front lines." She raised her estoc. "So I'm afraid you'll have to make do with the both of us, right Ezra?"

"Damn right! You should be grateful that Geralt isn't here. Otherwise, you'd be fucked, and not in a good way!" Hey, I thought it was a good comeback! But our fight was just getting started, and the three of us weren't the only ones throwing down!

Ezra paused, looking at his companions and lovers. "Given how important this battle was, I figure you'd want to tell those not present what happened in your own words." Felecia smiled, reaching out to take hold of his hand, giving a loving squeeze. "I guess we have our first volunteer then? Okay then, Felecia, since you and Kyana had teamed up for that right, you can both give us your accounts."

"Don't mind if we do!" The green-clad girl chirped, eager to finally get her time around the dinner table. "While Ezra and Leona dealt with the ugliest of the vampires, we joined with Laura and kicked around her little minions. More specifically Felecia and I took on one of the vampires while Laura soloed the other one." Kyana sighed fondly. "Laura was so strong, even for her age. It's a shame we couldn't have kept her as part of our team. She was far better than her replacement."

"Let me guess, Rose?" Yuri ventured, to which both girls nodded.

"Oh trust me, we'll get to that in due time!" Felecia and Kyana weren't looking forward to that part of the story. Kyana sighed, pulling her hair tie out, letting her brilliant, fox-red colored hair fall for a while. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Those three vampires Sybille had with her were her direct subordinates, and every bit as lethal."

"Although it's not to be said my cousin and I are weaklings either." Felecia grinned. "Even back then we were seasoned fighters, but those vampires were some of the toughest opponents we had faced at that point in time. They had a few nasty surprises of their own."

Like Ezra, few things get under my skin more than the undead. Having gone through more than a few dungeons and other unpleasant places in search of various relics, I had faced my fair share of draugr, zombies, skeletons, and other things that should have stayed in the ground. I'll say it point-blank. These vampires were STRONG, I can only imagine how much blood they sucked up in order to become that strong in the first place, and with a wide variety of skills and powers.

Kyana started cursing in Elvish when the creature we faced turned invisible. The two of us began looking around the chamber for any sign of the monster. We only had seconds to act when it would launch an icicle spear or a blast of lightning at us. As if that wasn't enough. Vampires can temporarily raise the dead back to life, which gave them an extra layer of protection for them. And given how many creatures died in that room. There was plenty of fodder for them to use.

"Oh give me a break!" I blasted a skeletal dog with a water spell, before using my blade, Sword Breaker, to shatter the bones of a lizard creature that nearly got me square in the ass. One of the best things about skeletons. They go down real quick! I saw Kyana send her axe flying into another reanimated skeleton before retrieving it, spinning and causing two more skeletons to collapse. The Vampire reappeared sending another ice spear which nearly caught her in the leg, conjuring up nearly a half dozen more skeletons.

But Kyana was quick to respond with a powerful earth spell that caused the ground to shake and fracture, causing them to collapse into a pile of bones. She whipped out one of her throwing knives, sending it flying at the vampire, but he vanished again in a burst of cold mist. It was frustrating, to say the least.

I can agree on that one. There wasn't much in the way of undead in Bright River. So this was my first experience with the likes of this kind of monster. "Any ideas on how to deal with this particular problem, Fi? I'm sure Ezra would know, but he's currently occupied!" The two of us caught sight of where he was duking it out with Sybille, Leona casting magic in support.

"Well, if you have a silver weapon on hand, that will be real helpful! Sadly, I didn't think to pack one. Best we can do is just keep fighting them and outwit them!" Felecia backflipped over the skeleton of a large bear, before slamming her hand on the ground, I recognized it as a trap glyph, like the ones we had dealt with earlier. The giant bony claw landed on the center, causing a huge tongue of flame to consume it, reducing it to ash.

I pride myself on my agility. All the tree hopping I've done back home helped hone those reflexes to the point I could do it in my sleep. But Felecia was no slouch either. In some ways, she had a certain grace to the way she moved about, balletic almost in her movements. I chalk it up to her elven blood. I watched her slide underneath some kind of bone chimera. It swung its forked, bony tail at her, but Felecia gracefully leapt over it, tucking in the air, landing in a crouch. I saw a blue flash as another trap was laid.

The chimera roared charging at both of us. Felecia just smirked, snapping her fingers, triggering her ice glyph. The chill spikes flowered out, catching the monster in the rib cage. It sent shards of bones flying in all directions. It was then the vampire materialized out of thin air, fangs bared and looking to shred Felecia's delicate neck. Only for a series of hardened vines to spring out of the ground, restraining it. Felecia looked to where I was crouched, my hands glowing as they touched the ground. "Thanks, cuz!" She panted from the heavy exertion.

"Just looking out for you," I replied, pouring more mana into the spell, trying to keep the beast in place. But as Felecia said, the vampires that directly served Sybille were incredibly strong and soon broke free. It hissed lunging at us with fangs bared.

But then my eyes widened. "Felecia look out!" I cried, Ronan had hurled that giant boomerang of his, and it was going to cleave her head off. She was still winded from all the acrobatics and spell glyphs. There was no way I was going to be able to help her in time.

I shouldn't have worried. I saw a brown and tan blur rush through, and heard the sound of steel on steel as the bizarre weapon was embedded in the ground. Erik stood protectively in front of Felecia, greatsword drawn. "Trying to go after my sister was a really bad idea asshole!" He growled. "You want someone to fight? I'll take you on!"

Ronan laughed so hard he nearly fell to his knees. "Oh, this is rich! You think you even have a chance at beating me?" He spat out mockingly, a possible sneer manifesting beneath the mask. "The son of the Crimson Fox's standards are rather low. At least your sister has made something out of herself and is kind of hot! But you, I'm afraid you don't even approach my level. Someone who spends all his time hiding in a brothel with a pathetic excuse of a pirate and his two idiot cronies who can't even follow a simple plan?"

Erik faltered a little. "How do you know about that?" He stammered, his sword drooping slightly. There was blood in the water and Ronan jumped on it.

"I was casing that whorehouse for three weeks before we made off with your little flower. Frankly, I wasn't impressed. Rodger only keeps you around because he knows you're the most intelligent one of his little cadre, so he foists all the grunt work off onto you. Let's face it, kid, you're third-string compared to the guy who can't read and the brain-damaged moron! We both know they've barely got an eighth of a brain between them! Yet he still prefers those two morons over you!"

I couldn't help feeling bad for Erik as Ronan continued to chip away at him. I could see sorrow and anger on my brother's face. Whatever happened there was something he regretted deeply. "And even then how much of your brain capacity have you drunk away, regretting past actions? I mean given that whole mess on Thanedd? I guess it comes with being a child of two worlds and not wanted in either of them!" It looked like my brother was about to fold in on himself. So I offered some support in my unique way.

"Shut your damn mouth!" I snapped, lightning and water dancing in both hands. I slammed them together, creating a ball of water with a core of arcing electricity within. "Shock Sphere!" I shot it at Ronan, who back flipped out of the way. I had grimly wished it had hit true. I came up, putting a hand on my brother's shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself, Erik! You going to let this gimp wannabe get the best of you?" He looked at me, and I gave him a big smirk. "Now go and kick his leather-loving ass!" My brother mirrored my expression before looking at Ronan, looking rather salty at the insults.

"Don't forget to stuff the ballgag in his big mouth!" Kyana added. Oh, my cousin's sharp wit!

"Gotta love family!" Erik said, before launching himself at Ronan, With that little interruption out of the way, Kyana and I turned our attention back to the blood sucker, who seemed pretty put out that he had been forgotten. Well, we were about to change that real quick! I held out my hands once again, water forming in my right as lightning sparked on my left. The Shock Sphere was my go-to spell when it came to attack magic, combining my two main elemental affinities, water, and lightning. It's a fairly advanced piece of magic, and the entire ritual that normally goes along with the Shock Sphere is a lengthy one, but I can forgo it, even if the spell is much weaker. But now I was going to use its full power to make this vampire's day really go downhill!

"Waves of the ocean, crash upon the rocks with all your fury!" I began moving my fingers in an elaborate display, the water forming into a sphere as the core spiraled about. "Lightning flashing in the heavens, release a fearful sound!" The lightning dancing on my palm began forming a sphere as well. "Become one and devastate all in your path!" Just like before I slammed both spheres into one, creating a spiraling mass of water and lightning, even bigger than the first one. "Shock Sphere!" My voice echoed as I hurled my pride and joy at the vampire. He raised his hands, conjuring up the biggest icicle yet. He shot it right at me, I smiled thinly. What a nice reply.

I'll give the ghoul credit, he countered with his attack instead of just dodging it or throwing up a shield. It probably would have worked, but the Shock Sphere is not your average spell. The icy projectile was shredded by the lightning within, sending icy shrapnel all over the place while my attack continued on its path. The vampire could only look on at his impending doom, the Shock Sphere hit full-on. Lightning was thrown out in all directions, his body writhing and twisting in agony. His body crashed to the ground, his skin was charred and roasted. You would think that would be enough to keep him down, but we never have it that easy. He staggered to his feet, those eyes blazing. I know he wanted to reduce me to a dried-up husk.

But that wasn't going to happen. I wasn't done, in fact, I was just starting. "How about a taste of your own medicine?" I threw out a powerful blast of ice magic. The vampire was frozen solid, he probably would have sold for big money at the art gallery in Novigrad, odds are some noble with too much money and not enough common sense would have bought it, but it wasn't meant to be. I pulled out Sword Breaker, letting it glow a brilliant blue. In a single swing, both arms flew off and with the second I made him a whole head shorter. I then whipped up, twisting in midair, slamming my feet into the headless and armless vampire's chest.

I didn't pay any mind as frozen undead chunks landed around me. When you've slaughtered draugr, skeletons, and zombies by the thousand, then you become inured to it. I looked to where Kyana was squaring off with the second vampire. He lunged at her, claws extended, slaver dripping off those fangs. I was about to rush to her aid when Kyana stomped on the ground.

A series of stalagmites jutted up, providing her some protection. The vampire's superior strength meant he shattered them with relative ease. Kyana wasn't there. I saw a shadow fly over the vampire. Kyana swung her knife, raking it across the monster's back. It staggered and Kyana went in for the kill with her axe, but the vampire caught the edge of the blade. "Like that will do you any good against me!" It hissed, snapping the head off, and sending Kyana flying back. "Your blood will sustain me for a long time!" He rushed at her again.

"Woof! Woof!" A dark brown mass of fur sent the vampire spiraling away once again. I was surprised to see a large, heavily built bull mastiff standing there. Kyana's eyes lit up at the sight of the dog. He growled at the vampire, snapping his teeth before lunging at him again. This time the vampire was ready, slashing at the dog again, but he quickly leapt back, avoiding the worst of it, before body-checking the undead beast again.

The dog then idly trotted up to Kyana, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. "Farram! Oh, what a good boy!" Kyana exclaimed, making sure her pet was okay, giving him a warm friendly scratch behind the ears while he licked her face. "How did you know where to find us?" Her eyes then fell on the large object strapped to the dog's back. "And what is this you have?" It was a sword, unlike anything I had ever seen before, it was flat, reminding me of a long paddle. Running along the edges were a series of teeth, giving it a wicked serrated edge.

She whistled in appreciation, putting her axe and knife back on her hip. "Oh, Daddy's been busy!" The vampire took a step back at the evil gleam in Kyana's eyes. "I think I'll need to test out his handiwork, and no time like the present." She stood up taking the sword in both hands. "Hey Felecia, care to do your thing?" The vampire made to escape, but I brought my hands up, freezing the vampire in place. "Thank you!" Kyana chimed merrily. Almost skipping with her new toy as the vampire thrashed about, the creature's feet were still frozen to the ground.

The vampire could sense his demise was imminent, and so tried to reason with us. He raised his hands in hasty defense. "Just wait a minute, Human! We can talk about this!" No hesitation. A single swing and the vampire was dead, his head bouncing across the blood-stained dance floor.

Kyana just spat on the remains of the corpse. "It's a little late for reasoning when you broke my favorite axe and tried to kill my cousin, you undead bitch!" She admired her new weapon. "Definitely need to thank Daddy for this!" It was then one of the teeth suddenly came out.

We heard grunting and the sounds of metal hitting stone. Laura was engaging the third of Sybille's underlings. As expected, she was having little trouble with the vampiric menace. Her blade, Brynhildr flashed as the vampire ducked underneath it, but Laura moved with a fluid grace that belied the size of her weapon. She flipped in midair, slashing the vampire clean down the middle. He fell to the ground in two pieces. She sheathed her blade, giving a little annoyed grunt, before throwing her ponytail over her shoulder. "Regenerate from that, undead scum!"

"This Laura girl is my kind of woman!" Raven crowed, lifting up his empty mug in a mock toast. "Not only is she sexy, but she knows her way around a sword and can slice up monsters without breaking a sweat! I'm surprised you didn't add her to your little collection of cuties. She could have really cleaned house around here."

"Uh, I don't have a death wish, old man." Ezra rolled his eyes, chuckling wryly. "I won't deny that Laura was beautiful and skilled, but I never developed any romantic feelings for her. She was more a comrade in arms than a potential love interest." The girls all were quite delighted not to have another rival. Even if they did respect the heiress of the Arseid School. "But if things had gone that way, I would have welcomed her with open arms. We all would have."

"Not to mention you would have called Viscount Arseid your father-in-law." Phoebe giggled, hiding her laughs behind a dignified hand. Ezra paled at the thought, feeling a chill go down his spine. "I'm not sure he would've approved of you gathering a harem, Ezra. He would have wanted you to put all your focus on his little girl before anything else." Yuri and Rita were the first to burst out laughing before Judith joined in. Kyana and Felecia rejoined. Soon enough, everyone was joining in on the merriment at Ezra's expense.

Ezra sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Let's move on, shall we?" He said, just trying to ignore the laughter. He waved them off dismissively. "The girls whacked the vampires, but that was barely a grease spot on the road to the likes of Potema and Sybille. I guess it comes with being the queen of the necromancers. Round two was turning out to be even crazier!"

Sybille noted with mild disgust as the last of her vampiric minions died at Laura's hand. "Ugh, and it took me two hundred years to cultivate those three. I mean, good help is so hard to find these days. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to improvise." She cackled. "After all, it's not like there's a shortage of raw materials I can work with!" Leona and I looked at each other for a second, and then took note of our surroundings, bones as far as the eye could see. We shared another look and both groaned at the same time.

She was about to start another incantation when the jerky woman stopped her. "Now now, Sybille," Potema said in that shaky, deathly voice as a mother would to her child. "Allow me to deal with this little problem. This is my house after all, and I think it's long overdue for a firm cleaning!" She raised her hands and began chanting in that unknown language again. We both readied our weapons. The entire room began shaking. Potema waved her arms about, dark magic began whipping about. The bones began to stir, and slowly they began to assemble in different shapes.

Skeletons of all types were coming together. It was a menagerie of death, skeletons of countless races forming, elves, dwarves, fish people, lizard people, giants, I could go on. Potema began to levitate in the air. The ground began cracking, and a bony claw erupted out of the ground. The Wolf Queen looked pleased with her work. "Ah, I suppose it's a good thing for a necromancer to build their home on the mass grave of the countless innocents they slaughtered."

"Oh, that is just plain wrong!" Triss said, watching as more and more undead emerged.

"I created this grand Kingdom of Temeria on the bone and sinew of the dead! I killed thousands over the years just for this very occasion! How little you maggots understand. I didn't just murder without purpose. It was all in the name of resurrecting me when the time is right! Once I've moved into my new body, the graves of the dead shall be overturned and the gates of Gehenna will be shattered by the winds itself!" Ah, standard villain monologue number 303. I will give her credit, it was certainly impressive, and she had injected plenty of evil into the mix.

Loathe as I am to admit it, Potema's skill as a necromancer was on full display here. She had single-handedly called up a small army of the undead. There had to be at least ten skeletons for every man and woman in the ceremony chamber. We were all surrounded, and even with the likes of two powerful sorceresses and the Radiant Bladmaster, it was not looking good for us. Until a familiar chant and what sounded like a gong being hit rang through the air.

"Ya-ut-ja! Ya-ut-ja! Ya-ut-ja!" I never thought I'd be so happy to hear those two idiots as Hammer and Anvil marched in, doing their ritual dance while Hammer continued beating on the giant shield. And much to my surprise, Rodger was also present. Hammer and Anvil's prayer to their god finished. They looked to their captain, who had drawn that oh so familiar cutlass. He just smirked and nodded. With that, the three of them charged into the fray. Anvil led the charge, his shield barreling through skeletons of all kinds with little effort. Anvil just continued smiling that creepy grin while smashing them with the edge.

Hammer swung his massive implement of death with all the subtlety you'd expect from a man like him. But damn if he wasn't clearing away those monsters and making it look easy! One lizard man-creature ran at him, bony claws looking to rend him into ribbons. Only for Anvil to suddenly put himself between them. The claws scratched deep gouges in the reinforced steel covering before he bent over at the waist. Hammer rolled over his back and crushed the beast kin's skull to slivers of bone.

But the most impressive sight was Rodger himself. I won't deny it for a minute, having only one arm didn't seem to be a detriment to him at all. The empty sleeve of his coat whipped about as he moved with the fluid grace any master swordsman possessed. His cutlass pulverizing one skeleton after another. One tried to attack him from behind, but his leg whipped up into a back kick, shattering it. He then tossed his cutlass in the air, punching off the jaw of a fish-man, before catching his blade, finishing it off with an upward swing.

The old pirate then squared off against three skeletons at once. "Well, aren't you all charming-looking boys?" Rodger quipped as he thrust the tip of his cutlass into the ribcage of one. "You've lost some weight, haven't you? Can't say I approve of the diet, but what do I know?" A flick of the wrist was all it took to rip apart the bony chest cavity, catching the skull on the tip of his sword, Rodger then swung to the left, destroying the undead with the bony projectile, before a wide swing destroyed the last one.

He was having the time of his life! Some of his old fire blazing through. Hammer and Anvil showed more of their teamwork. The former used the latter's shield as a springboard to fly into the middle of the crowd of skeletal monsters, all I could see was the tip of his hammer when it came up, when it fell and I heard a bony crunch, I knew a skull had been crushed like a bug.

"Wow, I forgot how good Rodger could be when he wasn't piss-ass drunk! Not to mention Hammer and Anvil can really turn it up when they have the right motivation and Rodger keeps a tight leash on them!" Erik remarked.

"Yeah, not bad for a disgraced pirate, but maybe not stop in the middle of a fight to the death!" Erik just barely had his head removed from his shoulder by Ronan's oversized toy. "We do have to maintain some semblance of order here after all ya goldbrickers!" The arrival of Rodger and his boys revitalized our line. Felecia, Laura, and Kyana soon joined the three pirates in clearing the room.

Kyana, wielding her new weapon, was catapulted across the room courtesy of a boost from Anvil's shield. Letting out a cry that would make a banshee proud, she landed in the middle of the chaos, swinging her serrated blade around, while Farram was right at her side, ripping off leg and arm bones alike. That doggo was so going to clean up when this was all said and done!

Felecia and Laura weren't about to be shown up. She leapt up on Laura's sword at the same time the massive claymore was swung, propelling her high and far. My favorite half-elf girl flipped twice in the air, coming down in the middle of a huge bony swarm, I could see her blade glowing with an icy blue tinge. She stabbed it into the ground. The entire ground in a four-meter radius, and the near dozen skeletons standing there, froze solid. Laura's blade flashed with a golden light as she swung in a circle. Shattering them all into a fine, frozen powder.

"This foolishness has gone on long enough!" Sybille thundered, her body swelling up as she began changing into her vampiric form. Her robes beginning to rip. I would think she would be more mindful of such expensive clothing, but I suppose she has deep pockets and has a whole closet of them. "If you want something done right, do it yourself!" I was stone-faced as the Bruxa revealed herself in all her hideous glory, claws glinting, eyes glowing that evil red. "I still owe you for back in my lab you little punk!"

"Oh don't worry, I've got plenty of silver for you to taste!" I held up Imperial Fang for emphasis. "And this time I'm not going to fight you alone. I think Leona here has been wanting to whip your ass for a long time!"

"It's scary how well you've come to read me." Leona's eyes flashed, a slight golden aura began to surround her. "To think that such a foul creature has had the ear of kings for so long. You're well past your sell-by date!" She nodded strongly to me. Conviction shone in her hard blue eyes as mine met with hers. "Ezra, you may not be a true Witcher like Geralt of Rivia, but I believe you have the spirit of one. Help me banish this monster to the abyss!"

"Gladly!" I replied, calling over to my least favorite person in the whole world. The smelly fuck, I thought broodingly. "Hey, Rog! Why don't you and your boys make yourselves useful and keep the walking piece of beef jerky at bay!"

My main concern at that time was ensuring that Potema didn't try to join the fight. Sybille alone was bad enough, but I didn't want to try picking a fight with the Wolf Queen too. Rodger gave a jaunty little salute, and the three of them headed straight for her. It was clear they were eager for a fight.

I turned my attention back to the Bruxa Bitch. Leona side-eyed me, and I just nodded to her. It was time to stake a vampire. I lit Imperial Fang ablaze once more. The flames were brighter than ever before, a sign of how much mana I was pumping into it. Leona in turn had her estoc prepared, and she was preparing one of her spells, a dark silver glow surrounding her. "I'm going to give us a little buff. Hands of Time spin, Grant my comrades greater speed! Chrono Drive!" A phantasmal clock spun at my feet. I could feel the effects of the spell begin to affect me.

My reflexes became sharper, and my feet grew lighter. Kyana always had an edge over me when it came to pure speed. But with this spell, it would be more than enough to give me an edge over Sybille. Leona was just a second behind me. To my surprise, I saw the thin blade begin to flash a light gold color. "Star Splash!" She cried, launching a flurry of pinpoint blows to Sybille's chest, gracefully pirouetting out of the way of those wicked claws, before delivering a furious snap kick to her face.

She began chanting another spell, a silver glow came off her estoc. "Majestic light of the moon, devastate my enemies with your silvery touch! Luminous Ray!" She swung her sword downward, and a silvery beam of light lanced out, tearing a gouge out of Sybille's left shoulder. "Quickly Ezra!" She called out, as Sybille went to slash her across the chest. Leona backstepped out of the way, but the tips of those gnarled, blackened nails left a trio of deep scratches in her bloodstained armor.

I didn't need any prompting, running around Sybille to flank her from the other side. The buff provided by Chrono Drive worked flawlessly as I avoided getting hit by a pair of dark purple skulls shot at me. Since Leona had shown off a skill I didn't think she knew, it seemed only right to show off a little bit myself. Imperial Fang's flames turned a pale blue. I swung downward from the left, slashing into Sybille's flesh and then up to the right. It created a flaming V-shape across her torso. Sybille let out an otherworldly screech of pain. She stumbled back, blood flowing from her torso.

"You will pay for that!" Sybille raged, her skin knitting together as she regenerated, launching a devastating lightning bolt. Leona threw up a shield to blunt the worst of it. She took that chance to try and skewer Leona. But I wasn't going to let that happen, putting myself between them. I took the hit myself, her claws raking across my right shoulder. The pain erupted there, but I paid it no mind. The pain was an old friend and would give me the strength I needed for what was to come.

"Ezra! Hold on I'll heal you!" Leona was about to start her next incantation, but I held my hand out.

"Don't bother, I have my way of healing." In my free hand, I began gathering an orange-red power in my hand, channeling some of my power into my shoulder. The pain in my shoulder subsided a little. A wave of my hand sent a whip of fire spiraling out. "I'm going to torch you and make you look just like your boss!" I snarled, continuing to direct the flames and keeping the Bruxa at a distance. "Or at least even more so than before!" I canceled the healing spell. I powered up a very large fireball, the dark orange flames dancing in my hand. I threw it at the same time that Leona launched another Luminous Ray. Oh, the look on Sybille's face was priceless as our respective spells blasted her at the same time. Her entire upper body was aflame as she screamed, trying to extinguish my blaze.

"Having a bad day, Lady Stentor?" Leona was laying the smugness on thick, grinning mockingly from ear to ear. Keira would have been proud. "Although I think your precious Wolf Queen is having it way worse!" She gently bumped my shoulder, and I followed her field of vision where Rodger and his boys were laying a huge hurt on Potema's mummified corpse. I winced at the sight of Anvil bashing the edge of his shield into Potema's torso. She let out an incoherent screech, unleashing one of her wolf familiars on him, only for Hammer to knock the spectral beast away.

"Yautja is not impressed! You are not worthy prey!" Hammer cracked as the familiar lunged at him again, only for it to be sliced in twain by Rodger's blade. Potema hissed, letting whips of dark magic energy rise from behind her, striking with the intensity of angry serpents. Rodger's cutlass flashed in the dim light thrown off by the torches, dispelling the dark tendrils instantly.

"Wow, I love a good party as much as the next guy, but if I knew the bitches here would be as raging ugly as you, I'd have brought a couple of the girls from the Datura just so I'd have something nice to look at!" Good to know Rodger was as repulsed as we were by Potter's appearance. "I'd say you need some sun, but you've clearly been out in the sun too long." Potema conjured up a spectral wolf skull, launching it at the former privateer. Anvil came to his captain's defense, the ugly attack splashing on the weathered old shield.

Hammer used this opportunity to try and get the Wolf Queen from behind, but her senses were far sharper, launching a couple more dark tendrils. the warhammer batted them away easily, but it left him open for another wolf skull projectile. It caught the scarred pirate square in the chest, sending him flying back a good ten feet, crashing into the stone wall.

"Hammer!" Rodger was pissed at one of his buddies being harmed. He lunged at Potema, kicking her in the face, which sent her to her knees. His blade flashed, severing her right arm at the elbow. "You want to fuck with my crew? Then you'll get fucked in return!" A low laugh came from the Wolf Queen as she slowly rose, an inky black ichor oozing from the stump of her arm. "What the shit?" Rodger asked, caught in disgusted surprise.

"You think such a minor thing will stop me? I am adept at many kinds of magic, observe!" To his horror, the black ichor solidified and coalesced into what appeared to be a new limb. Faster than Rodger could blink, a dark streak slashed at his midsection. It was only due to his experience that he parried whatever it was Potema had swung at him. He leapt back and saw the obsidian blade that grew out of the stump. "I usually don't prefer resorting to such base methods, but there is a certain thrill when you cut into an enemy with steel."

She came at Rodger with a flurry of mad slashes, punctuated with a stab here and there. One of which caught Rodger's sleeve. I bet he was really lucky not to have an arm occupying it at the time. Potema's laugh grated on our ears. "Your doom draws ever closer. Soon the ritual will be complete and then I will be able to make use of my real strength!" I saw him look over to the altar where Rose was still prone. His eyes narrowed considerably.

"Bitch, you have issues!" Rodger snarled, reassuming his stance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hammer stagger to his feet. He looked to his captain, giving a wicked grin, tapping his trusted cudgel. Rodger began forming a plan in his head. He lowered his stance and raised his cutlass to atop his shoulder. "Reaver!" He barked, jumping forward and delivering a single fast thrust to Potema's torso. The force of the impact staggered Potema, but this was just setting up for him to kick her in the head.

"Anvil, do the thing!" He barked out. The scarred mute just sneered wider in the sick facsimile of a smile. He flung his shield and caught her right in the face. Two heavy blows to the skull left the Wolf Queen so dazed she didn't notice Hammer rush her from behind. The chamber echoed with the sound of hardened iron-crushing bone. She fell on her back, and the last thing she saw was the cudgel filling her vision.

"YAUTJAAAAA!" Hammer roared, bringing his weapon of choice down on the Wolf Queen's head, reducing it to a bloody paste. The unthinkable had happened. We had just prevailed over the founder of Temeria! A woman known for her cruelty and dark abilities and the rivers of blood caused by her hand. Rodger and his boys reveled in their victory. I had a feeling all three of them were going to be partying hard at the Datura when we got back.

Rodger looked down at the remains, rearing his head back to hock on the headless corpse. "Choke on that, bitch! I told you that if you fuck up my crew, then I fuck you up!" He kicked it for good measure. He then turned to face me, looking me dead in the eye with the most firmly sober expression I had seen from him in the years since our chat about manhood around the campfire at the heart of Bright River village. "Ezra, I owe you a big apology kid. You came to me for help and I haven't kept up my part of the bargain. You can rest assured that won't be the case any longer. I'm going to do everything in my power to help you find Yesenia. I can tell you right now where to start looking…Novigrad. That's where it starts kid. You and I will do it together, right?"

There was a long, somber pause between us. Something about the way he had his head bowed, and the apologetic look in his eyes that moved me. I was ready to forgive this smelly asshole on the spot almost… He was a smelly piece of shit, but he was my smelly, washed-up piece of retch.

We shared a long meaningful look. I mouthed his name, about to take a step forward. This was shattered in a moment. Fuck…

This brought a whole heartwarming display to an end with a fit of hysterical laughter from Ronan, down on his knees, clutching his sides. "Oh please! You really think anyone will buy that drek, Rodger?" The masked warrior looked at me, something resembling empathy was behind his purple eyes. "So your name is Ezra, right? Don't believe a single thing that drunken, washed-up lout of a pirate tells you. He's a consummate liar, he'll say anything to keep whatever control he has over you. He excels at it. Nothing but lies and false hopes."

I looked from Rodger to Ronan and back. "Rodger, how do you know this guy?" I finally asked, almost not wanting any of it to be true in all my disbelief. My sense tugged at the back of my mind despite the emotion running through me. It all seemed to be too big of a coincidence that he would know these guys. It took a couple of minutes for Rodger himself but when he did put it together, his face paled, before it burned red in blazing rage.

"Derek…it is you isn't it?" He pointed his cutlass at the assassin, narrowing his eyes on his accuser. "Okay, I know I fucked you over in the past, but leveling the entire kingdom just to get at me is way overkill!"

"I thought his name was Ronan. Unless he's using an alias." I said. The way Ronan's shoulders shook in rage suggested to me that it was the case.

"The name means nothing to me." Rodger stood up taller, trying to make himself look imposing, but it just seemed to make Ronan more pissed off.

"Of course, you wouldn't fucking remember! Not that it matters!" Ronan snapped, I could imagine the sickening sneer underneath the mask. "You really shouldn't flatter yourself so much, Rodger. This was never about me. It's about every human who abused every demihuman throughout history. The wrath of every person that's been persecuted, abused, enslaved, or flat-out genocided into extinction! This isn't simple revenge, it's a revolution in its purest form! You may have brought me out of nothing, but that's just it, Rog. You were nothing! The student has surpassed the master, I'm the revolution and you're just a piece of shit that should have been buried back in the ground where it belongs!"

He began sarcastically clapping. "And on top of it all…thanks to your big heroic moment." The sarcasm was really dripping off his tongue with those words. "You gave us exactly what we needed!" He gave a sweeping bow. "So let me show you my gratitude, for completing the ritual for us. For the transfer to be complete, the ties holding the soul to its current vessel must be severed. By having hammer boy over there crush her Majesty's skull, it set her free to move into her new body!"

Well…shit. Sybille began laughing maniacally. Heads snapped to the altar where a purple glow wafted off Rose's body. Her fingers began to twitch, and she sat bolt upright! With slow, tentative steps, Potema, now wearing Rose's body slid off the marble slab, taking in her new looks. The medallion around her neck gave off the same aura of power. Sybille bowed to her. "Allow me to welcome you back properly, My Queen. Tell me, do you approve of your new body?"

"Indeed I do." She sounded exactly like Rose. Hell, it WAS Rose's voice that bitch was using! "Ah, your minion chose well, Sybille. This young woman has incredible latent magic potential. My powers will be greater than ever before!" She began fondling her chest, nodding in approval. It would have been sexy if not for the soul of a fucked up litch queen inhabiting my crush. "Hm, not to mention she's very endowed, firm but soft all at once. Her skin is very fine as well." She began playing with her white-silver hair, curling it between her fingers with great affection and care. "Voluminous, and full. Even if she is a common whore, she has beauty worthy of a queen. Much better than being a corpse for all eternity, or staying in the Chaotic Realm, truly a gruesome place."

"You fucking bitch!" I bit out, flames erupting along the length of my sword. "You get the hell out of her right now or so help me I'll send you straight back to Gehenna!" You can tell how well and truly pissed off I was at that moment. I would have reduced her to ash on the wind if I could. Even if I lost Rose, at least she would be free. Potema just put a hand on her hip, as if she was mocking me in how her host would react. She smirked, sauntering up to me.

I took a step back, knowing this was not my Rose. She was not this well-spoken, or graceful. Sure, I had wanted Rose to cast her gaze upon me like this. All full of wanton desire. Something about it sent a chill through me. I was not a playtoy. And that's all she was thinking. Chewing me up, and spitting me out like a piece of lukewarm meat. I felt rage-filled disgust. This must have been the way Rose felt any time a man cast their lust-filled gaze upon her.

"What's wrong, boy? Don't tell me this upsets you." She stopped before me, noting my distaste as she almost looked hurt. Potema crossed new her arms, assuming a sassy if graceful pose with Rose's body. She gifted me a comely look, giving me a long look over. As if she were appraising me as if I were fine art. "Come now…This is a great opportunity for you. I can tell there is something special about your magic…something you desire to keep hidden at all costs. You clearly have a great degree of potential. That interests me. Since I'll be taking back my throne, I will be needing heirs sooner or later. Husband or not, it matters little to me. Be mine, and I promise you this youthful, supple body will be yours."

Potema paused for a second. Her smirk widened. Playfully tossing her hair, she let out a humored giggle. It was like music to my ears. Clear chiming bells blowing in the wind on a summer's eve. I would not be taken in despite how nice it sounded. "Ah, yes… The memories of this girl speak to me, it seems they hold a certain fondness for you as well."

I could feel the flames begging me to just torch her and be done with it. Only for Leona to put her hand on my shoulder, despite being as filthy as the rest of us, her palm was soft to the touch. "Don't fall for her honeyed words, Ezra. She's just playing with your heart." I could get lost in those brilliant chips of sapphire that were her eyes, especially when that dazzling smile was added to the mix. "You are far smarter than that."

"I couldn't have put it better myself!" Felecia said, coming up alongside me, Sword Breaker in hand in a reverse grip as she assumed a combat stance. "I mean, do you want to bed someone like that?" She indicated to Potema with the tip of her blade, who seemed affronted by the insult. "Who knows where that body's been?"

"If only you knew…" Kyana muttered beneath her breath.

Potema just let out a contemptuous "hmph", throwing those snow-white locks over her shoulder once more. "Such a pity, I could have helped you realize the full extent of that potential. But it seems you will meet the same fate as so many others." The purple aura intensified. Rose's hair began flapping about from the outburst. "I suppose you'll at least make a decent servant as a corpse!"

My hand tightened on Imperial Fang, I was about to step forward when I found Rodger's cutlass blocking my path. "Save yourself the trouble, Ezra. I'll handle this." He seemed remarkably subdued. Rodger wouldn't even look me in the eye. I guess Ronan's words got to him. "You just deal with her little pet vampire. I've got some frustrations I need to work out. Hammer! Anvil!" He barked to his fellow pirates. "Let's tangle with the queen!" Three war cries rang out and they ran toward the possessed Rose.

"You think a trio of washed-up old pirates is any threat to me?" Rose-Potema drawled, stretching her left arm out. "I am the Wolf Queen, master of necromancy and the undead arts. I can summon up any number of creatures from the abyss to fight for me. Observe!" With a flick of her wrist, a flaming portal tore open in the ground, lava bubbling up. Out of the rip in time and space flew a humanoid, feminine figure made completely of infernal flame. It wore loose pieces of black metal armor, and a metal mask with two long, swept-back horns. "I could summon up a more powerful demon if I had more time, but I'm still breaking this new body in. But this Flame Atronach will be sufficient for now. My dear," she indicated to us with a dismissive gesture. "Burn them to a crisp!"

"Finally, an actual hot chick! Burning hot in fact!" Rodger raised his cutlass again with a jaunty quip on his lips. "You think one little flaming demon is enough to stop me? You took over my daughter's body, no way am I going to let that stand! I'll cut through your little pet and then rip you out of Rosie's body myself!" I'd want to say the revelation of Rodger being Rose's father would be something huge that took everyone by surprise…but it wasn't. Looking back, it was all too obvious they were related. The foul language, the arrogance. It wasn't so much a case of the apple falling far from the tree, but landing right next to it, while hitting a few branches on the way down.

Kyana had the most visceral reaction. "Wow, you are so not winning father of the year, unless it was sponsored by the Worst Parents in Midgard Club!" She was disgusted beyond all limits, shaking her head. "How in the hell did you let her become a whore and not notice her the whole time you worked at that hellhole?!" If Kyana hadn't asked that question. I'm pretty sure I would have done it myself.

"Wait…that girl is related to Rodger?" Already Felecia was getting an opinion on Rose. I wanted to sink into the ground as she looked at me with great disproval. That wintry look, and the scowl of dissatisfaction told the whole story. "Just what were you involved with, Ezra?"

"Uh..." I trailed off. Not sure where to even begin explaining this whole shitshow. Luckily Sybille saved me the trouble when she tried to slice me to ribbons with those damn claws of hers. Leona kept her away with a powerful thrust with her estoc, giving me an opening to hurl a fireball in her face. "Tell you what, Felecia, you don't know the entire story. Once we're done here, I'll explain everything!" I said quickly. "Do me a favor, could you and the other girls go assist Rodger? I think they'll need all the help they can get!"

Felecia just nodded, but the deepening angry scowl told me that this wasn't over. The glares from Kyana and Laura told me they were equally displeased with this turn of events, following on Felecia's heels. With that little matter tabled for the moment, Leona and I could put our focus on Bruxa Bitch. She just towered over us, looking haughty in all her monstrous horrificness. You wouldn't think somebody so butt ugly could be that prideful. "You think your pitiful friends have what it takes to bring down my master? You won't be around to see it happen once I slaughter both of you and suck you dry!"

"You won't even get a chance!" Leona hissed in exclamation, she gazed at me meaningfully. "Ezra, I'm going to pull out one of my higher-level spells. Like Cross Crusade, it has a fairly lengthy warm-up time. Do you think you can hold her off long enough for me to prep it?"

"Yeah, but try to hustle it. This has taken a lot out of me already." It was no lie, pulling out as many spells as I had in such a quick sequence had taken a serious toll on my mana and my body. The Chrono Drive from earlier had worn off, and the fatigue was setting in. Mustering my strength, and my faithful sword in hand. I got myself right back into Sybille's ugly face. Imperial Fang in hand, parrying away her ragged claws.

The power of burning flame manifested in my empty hand as I slammed it into my chest. The clang of steel sounded as I was bathed in a silvery glow. I used one of the many pyromancy support spells to protect myself. My skin became hard as iron. This in turn also made me very heavy. The force of a Bruxa's sonic cry was powerful enough to send even a grown man flying a good distance, but the Iron Flesh was going to keep me from suffering that same fate. I also threw out a powerful telekinetic blast of my own to try and blunt the worst of it. The Iron Flesh did its job, keeping me from slamming into the ceiling.

I crouched down, laying my hand on the ground. I muttered an incantation as an arc of a crimson glow manifested on the earth before me. The spikes of Firestorm, one of my strongest spells lanced up from the ground to create a towering wall of hellfire to keep Sybille at bay. The heat was so intense anyone else getting close to it would have been reduced to ash on the wind. Even Triss herself would have taken a little pause at the intensity of the fires leaping toward the stone rafters. But for me, the heat of those flames was a welcome balm. It refreshed me and gave me the strength of will to push through when my battered body just wanted to call it a day.

"Go ahead and try to get through that inferno, Lich Bitch!" I glared straight at Sybille through the fire. She seemed hesitant to approach it, knowing what fire did to the undead. Especially ugly bitch vampires like her wanton-ass self.

Even someone as powerful as her wasn't immune to its effects. I bit out a snarl, glaring with as much hostility as I could through the cover of flame. "Once we've dealt with you, your boss is next, and you'll all be rotting in motherfucking Gehenna!" I saw where Rodger and his boys were holding their own. My former teacher was bringing all his might to bear as he battled against his possessed daughter. I was really going to have to ask how that whole thing started, provided I didn't gut him first!

My eye fell back to Leona, her eyes closed in deep concentration. She had that trident in hand again, surrounded by silver light that made me think of the full moon at its apex. She waved it around in an elaborate series of gestures as her hair whipped about her in the wind. "Majestic light of the moon, let the hand of the mighty emerge from the shadow." Her gestures became more and more exaggerated. Whatever this spell was, it had to be even more impressive than Cross Crusade, and that had only left ash and smoking robes.

The vampiress screamed, creating a full-on blizzard to try and extinguish my flames. But Leona and I stood firm against the frozen maelstrom. This time I cast Chaos Firestorm with my other hand glowing hot red. Pillars of molten lava shot out of the earth with the fury of hell itself. So besides just the wall of flames, there was now a puddle of molten lava to contend with. I found the way it roiled and bubbled to be hypnotic. The frigid air meeting the heat caused steam to rise in the air. Sybille hurled another barrage of icicles and lightning bolts to strike the sorceress down. I met it with several fireballs of my own, even throwing in a few chaos-based projectiles as well.

Hot steam hit me, I breathed it in deeply. Lava flew about the place as they crashed against one another. Melting the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling itself with its destructive force. It was starting to feel like a sauna run in hell itself, but I loved it. No amount of heat could prevent me from protecting Leona. In fact, it fueled just like my glowing hatred for this ugly, repugnant dead-end witch hag.

Leona was undeterred by the exchange of fire, ice, and lightning, still chanting her spell, and waving the trident around. A glowing runic circle coalesced overhead like a halo of an avenging heavenly angel. "And strike down evil from high!" Her eyes snapped open the silvery glow overwhelming my vision. Her voice was no higher than a whisper, but I heard it with full clarity. "Claiomh Solarion!"

A giant hand emerged from the runic circle, silvery light coalescing in its palm before a massive beam of purest moonlight rained down on Sybille Stentor. The glow was so tremendous I could only make out her silhouette. Judging from the way she was screaming it wasn't a very pleasant experience, too bad for her. The light dissipated, revealing a scorched, burned vampire wizard. I wanted to laugh at how she stumbled about, pitching like the drunks at the Datura. Although I was stone-faced, I felt sadistic pleasure rising in my chest. This bitch was going to die by our hand and I was going to relish every single moment of it.

The spell had taken a lot out of Leona, she was using the trident to hold herself up. She looked at me, breathing heavily. "Ezra, you need to finish this now. I can't pull out too many more spells like that. Potema is a far greater threat and we will all be needed to finally banish that abomination!" The Claiomh Solarion had definitely taken its toll on Sybille, but it would be a matter of time before she regenerated. The question was how to bring her down for good.

It was then I got one of my brilliant ideas. "Okay, first things first, I need you to recast Chrono Drive. It's necessary for what's to come." Leona obliged and I could feel all my senses intensify. "You surprised me with that sword skill earlier, you happen to know any more?" Unlike my earlier stunt at Lothric, this was crystallizing into something beautiful.

Leona nodded fiercely. "I know a few taught to me by Viscount Arseid. What do you have in mind?" She was eyeing Sybille apprehensively.

"You know a move called Flashing Penetrator? Because if you do, you need to start prepping it now." I pointed to the other side of the chamber near a pile of bones. "Head over that way. You're going to need to start running because this is a long-distance charge and requires quite a bit of run-up space. I'll keep her busy while you get it primed. Go now!" Leona looked confused for a second, but she was willing to trust my judgment and broke off. Sybille tried to swing at her, but I got right in the way, batting aside her claws. I kicked Sybille in the gut, sending her back a few steps with a bestial roar of frustration escaping her.

Leona broke into a mad run, I could see her estoc erupt into a brilliant blue glow. She bent forward and lunged. She became a blur, leaving a trail of azure light behind her. It reminded me of a comet I saw one night when I still lived in Minas Tor. Leona had begun her attack run, it was time for me to do the same!

"You lose, Bruxa Bitch!" I snarled. I crouched down low, bending my knee forward, keeping Imperial Fang parallel to my right leg, the glow of the brilliant pale blue energy making it seem to glisten all the more. I lunged forward and began my charge, using the Rage Spike technique that Naaman had taught me so long ago, empowered by Leona's buff, I was leaving my trail of blue energy behind me. The two of us were headed straight at Sybille from different directions, and we were about to meet in the middle!

"FLASHING PENETRATOR!"

"RAGE SPIKE!"

Our voices mixed as one, our two trails of light intersecting to create a shimmering blue X, and Sybille was caught between them. But I wasn't done yet. I summoned all my strength and jumped high into the air. With a single swing and the all too familiar sound of metal severing flesh and sinew, I decapitated Sybille Stentor. I landed in a crouch, slowly rising to my feet, my coat swirling about me. I caught a dark deranged shape before it even hit the ground as Sybille's body crumpled to the floor of the chamber. I turned to look at Leona, who just stood there, dumbfounded. The room was still ablaze in chaos. Everyone fighting for their lives.

I idly flicked the blade off my sword. I muttered a quick sound-enhancing spell and called out in a loud voice. "VAE VICTIS! WOE TO THE CONQUERED!" My proclamation echoed off the weathered stone walls and everyone's attention was on me. I held up the disembodied head of the former Chief Court Mage of Temeria by her wispy, stringy mane. Raw black blood dripped from the empty disembodied stump of what was her neck. Ronan's eyes burned in disbelief, and even for a moment, I saw fear in them.

"Sybille? No." Potema was also taken aback. Even if she was wearing Rose's face like a mask, the distress of losing one of her most loyal minions was evident. And with this, the stage was set for the final act. A dark figure dropped from the ceiling behind Rose-Potema, kicking her in the back. "Who dares attack me?" She demanded, watching the figure land before her. The figure rose from a crouching position, giving us a good look at them.

Clothed from head to toe in brown leather, tight enough to see the new arrival was female. Her head and face were obscured by a dark hood and a gray porcelain mask. A sword hung off her back, while a pair of knives were in ankle sheaths. "I do." The voice was soft, even. It also sounded distorted, as if she was speaking underwater. The leather-clad warrior pointed one of her knives at Potema, unsheathing the other as she rose to stand. "You won't have your way, Wolf Queen. You will be pulled back into Gehenna and your aspirations will be lost to the ages."

The ancient ruler regained some of her bravado, chuckling at the proclamation as if it were a kind of parody of seriousness. She straightened herself, her body becoming aglow with a menacing aura as her full confidence was on display. Even in Rose's untrained body, she was a menacing figure in all her magic prowess. "You think you are so bold, do you? One who hides their face behind a mask? Even if Sybille is dead, I still have my power, and Temeria will be mine!"

The figure said nothing in response for a moment, merely sheathing the knives while going for the sword. "Is that a fact?" I could hear the smile behind that mask. Something told me it wasn't a pleasant one. "I think you're being a little premature in sitting on that throne." What she did next led to…probably one of the most terrifying events along this long journey that started all those years ago in Minas Tor.

Rose-Potema launched a pair of spectral wolf heads which she gracefully leapt over. The Wolf Queen summoned a pair of bound swords to catch the long, slim blade the stranger carried. The two women moved with blinding speed. I could barely keep up with it. Rose-Potema launched a powerful telekinetic blast, catching the young woman who was sent cartwheeling to the ground. But she steadied herself in the air. She flicked her wrist. Her sword was segmented into a long, arcing whip.

The necromancer queen in the whore's body tried to evade it, but she couldn't keep it up forever. The tip of the strange weapon slammed into her chest. "NOOOOOOO!" She screeched. I saw a glimmer of light in the air. The medallion, the source of all Potema's powers had not only been knocked loose but also shattered into three pieces. It hit the ground with the faintest tinkling of metal against stone. Rose just seemed to look at the remains of the medallion for a few seconds before turning to look right at me. Those pink eyes seemed endless, so lost and vulnerable before she crumbled bonelessly to the ground.

I was about to run to her only for the air to be split by an unearthly howl. The entire room began shaking. The fragments of the medallion began glowing again, the miasma spilling out the darkest to date. It kept growing and growing, taking on a canid shape, glowing chains began forming, wrapping around its neck, and legs. The darkness continued to swirl about, a pair of reddish-purple voids where its eyes should be. My hand tightened on Imperial Fang. Leona was rooted in place, I subconsciously moved in front of her.

"So this is Potema's true form." Erik was just as entranced. "This is the full extent of her power, unbound by human flesh!" I feared for the Crimson Fox's eldest for a second. I was afraid he had lost his nerve at the prospect of fighting a monster like this. Not that I was much better. Despite my fears, I found the more analytical part of my mind working. It just didn't make sense for her to look like this.

"So I was right. It IS a demon." The voice was just a whisper in my ear. A light touch on the wind. I looked to see Felecia standing next to me, clutching onto Kyana's hand in fright of the spectral horror before us all. Similar to how we were when Sybille revealed her true form as a monster, we were all quite taken aback. This day was simply full of wonderful surprises, wasn't it?

I didn't think too much about that. All I wanted was to make sense of the twistedly wonderful thing before me. Even in all its disgusting horror, there was a certain majesticness in its power I couldn't completely shake.

"Have you been studying up on Demonology?" I asked her, my curiosity burning with me so many questions. As a fellow scholar, I felt Felecia had to have studied up on it a little.

She glanced at me, blinking. Forgetting her fear for a moment to look at me in bemused puzzlement. "I didn't say anything, Ezra."

"Looks like I need to hit the books. It's not like any demon I've ever seen." I said in wonder, ignoring the look she was giving me. Really, it should have been my first clue. But my thoughts were quite elsewhere. By this point, we were joined by the sorceresses and Radiant Blademaster. They were all looking at Potema's true form with differing levels of disgust.

I was disgusted, disquieted… Any D-based word related to revulsion I could think to describe it, I felt it tremendously. Still, I wanted to know what the fuck I was looking at quite direly.

"So does that mean there's some kind of pecking order in hell now?" Triss quipped. Despite being like so many other mages and scholars in general, there was some knowledge that was best just left unknown. Little did any of us know how soon we would learn the truth.

"Ugh, how many souls did the Wolf Queen consume in order to become something so grotesque?" I'm pretty sure if Keira wanted to throw up, she would have. But as a sorceress, there was an image she had to maintain.

"If I had to venture a guess, a few thousand at the very least." Victor clicked his tongue. His green eyes were unmoving, just a firm resolve to end the threat right there.

"AS IF YOU SIMPLE MORTALS COULD EVER GET A CLUE!" The spectral wolf creature shook its head in vexation. "THE WHOLE OF MAGIC IS BUILT UPON THE THRONE OF SOULS ITSELF! EVERY MONSTER SLAIN IS CONSUMED BY YOUR MANA CONVERTERS OR CRESTS. HUMAN SOULS ARE NO DIFFERENT!" Her gaze froze every one of us. The red voids that were her multiple eyes gleamed in a reddish-purple haze. As her oily skin quivered, it seemed alive in its way. Every so often, and I'm not making this up. I could see what appeared to be a face in those voids, but it was only for a second or two.

"I think I've heard enough!" A brilliant, fiery aura surrounded Triss, she held up a hand, a massive fireball coalescing in her hand. I noted that dark rings swirled around it. A rather cool effect that I wondered if I could replicate. My fellow pyromancer was showing off her true power and all would burn in her path. The Fourteenth of the Hill marched toward Potema with the authority one would expect of the now Chief Court Mage of the Kingdom of Temeria. "You've played god long enough in my eyes. I'm so going to enjoy banishing you back to the darkest pits of the afterlife!"

"Right there alongside you!" Keira moved with just as much authority as her fellow mage, but there was a seductive vibe about her as well. Lightning was dancing along her arms, and those golden locks were beginning to stand on end. "It's a shame we're not outside, dearie. I'd have called a full storm down on your disgusting head. It would have improved your looks quite a bit!"

"Yours is an evil that died long ago." Victor pointed Galland-Sharl at Potema, a brilliant blue aura beginning to form around him. The prized blade of the Arseid Family is a beacon of light and hope in this den of malice and decay. "As the Viscount of Legram and head of the Arseid Family, it is my sacred duty to protect the people of this land from all threats!" The entire blade was awash in a holy light that made Potema hesitate some. "You will not be allowed to achieve your twisted agenda! Lady Metz, Lady Merigold, the time for talk is over. Let us commence!"

"Agreed!" The two women said. All three of them rushed toward the demon, glowing blade cutting into Potema's shadowy flesh. Triss brought the fireball up to her lips, and let out a small breath. The ball of fire, with its swirling rings, splashed into the Potema's side, causing her a significant amount of pain if the demonic howl was any indication. A pair of flat, blue swirling discs, that crackled with lightning on the edges materialized in both of Keira's hands. The crackling intensified as she hurled them at the demonic wolf. But Potema was prepared this time, evading the first one and using her tail to smack the other one back at Keira.

She threw up a shield to protect herself, but not before launching another lightning disc at the Wolf Queen. Third time was the charm, it sliced Potema's tail clean off. Even if the shadowy appendage grew back a few seconds later. Oh, that howl was music to my ears! Us kids were just standing there in dumbstruck awe at the combined might of the three responsible adults. Despite how strong we all were. It was still a pale shadow of what Triss, Keira, and Victor could call up.

I should have been terrified or at the very least a little smarter. But taking down Sybille in such an epic fashion had made me cocky…no, I take that back. It made me flat-out arrogant. I wanted a piece of this action for myself, no I wanted to be the one who put Potema back in the ground, for Rose's sake! With Imperial Fang in hand, I let out a war cry and charged into the fray, ignoring Felecia and Erik's cries for me to stop.

None of the adults were expecting me to join the frontlines. I ran by Victor, aiming straight for Potema's head. I primed a Nova Ascension, the strongest sword skill for one-handed weapons. "This is for Rose you overgrown poodle!" I snarled, letting my body simply glow as the glowing blade slashed back and forth across the demonic queen's face, finishing it off by plunging Imperial Fang square into one of those voids that served as her eyes. I was so smug, already patting myself on the back when I was about to fall into a pit of darkness.

A low cackle seemed to come from nowhere. "A GALLANT ATTEMPT, FOOLISH…BUT GALLANT." My smugness vaporized when I realized Potema was speaking to me. "I MEANT IT EARLIER WHEN YOUR POTENTIAL INTRIGUED ME. AND YOUR DESIRE FOR POWER IS GREATER THAN YOU KNOW PERHAPS YOU NEED TO BE PROPERLY EDUCATED IN WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THAT POTENTIAL…BEHOLD!" The eye I just stabbed began glowing purple, and a beam shot out, striking me right in the head. I heard Felecia screaming my name but then I felt myself pulled into an unending void of shadows. It felt like an eternity, spinning head over foot, nothing but darkness as far as I could see.

But then suddenly…it all stopped! I was hovering in the void, and then the darkness faded back, leaving me standing in a narrow corridor. Everything was hazy and the colors were watered out. "W-where in the hell am I?" I tried to get my bearings on whatever illusion Potema had drawn me into. I could hear the sounds of anguished screams, clashing swords, and…the roar of dragons? I ran down the corridor, the sounds continued to get louder. I saw a window and looked outside. My heart leapt up into my throat.

I was greeted by the sight of a vast, sprawling city. Buildings made of smooth stone and what looked like still, calm water reaching into the sky. Flames jutted out of the tops of buildings. I saw what appeared to be a trio of dragons making passes along the city, gouts of flame erupting from their mouths. It took a couple of minutes before I finally realized where I was. "No way. Is this…the Cathedral City?" Apparently, I was in the very heart of the Midgardian Empire itself. I could hear a scream ahead of me, breaking into a run I saw a pair of elaborate, large doors, that heavy mahogany from the trees that grew near the city.

Gathering my courage, I brought my foot back and kicked the doors hard as I could. I was prepared for anything…or at least I thought I was. A few steps were as far as I got when I stopped at the figure sitting on the throne of the High King of Midgard…Me. The massive stone couch was splattered with blood, and sprawled out at the bottom of the steps that led to the throne itself was the decapitated body of the High King!

I looked directly into the other me's eyes. They were so cold and dead. My heart seized when I saw Leona's dead body cradled in my counterpart's arms. A hole in her abdomen, her armor stained with her blood. I then noticed a similar hole in the High King's gut. And then he spoke. A grim, cruel smile colored his face. "You know it's funny, I was so determined to kill him, nothing else mattered." I took a step back at the wicked smile my doppelganger now sported. "It was a hell of a trip to get this far, want to see how it started?"

There was no time to say anything, much less draw breath. I then found myself on a bridge leading from Vizima, Talion embedded into Rodger's chest before I cut his head off with his cutlass. Hammer's limp body hung over the side of the bridge, the remains of his weapon in pieces next to him. Even in death, Anvil wore that same dumb grin, his shield was in fragments around him. I felt my stomach turn. But that was only the beginning.

It switched to a young woman being held down by a pair of burly men. She was quite pretty, with long blue hair tied in an elaborate plait. Her face was full of panic and fear. The deep violet fur-lined cloak she wore was torn off her, leaving a violet-gray button-up tunic that came to her knees. I couldn't hear her cries or pleas for help. But I knew what was going on. My heart stopped again when I saw myself step forward, sword in hand. It came down, and the girl's head was sundered from that delicate neck. I held it up for all to see, before sticking it on a pike.

A young woman with golden hair and green eyes, rested her head against my shoulder as we sat underneath a tree. The young woman was then consumed by a sea of flames. When it dissipated, she was now a lifeless corpse, sitting in a metal tomb, burned to a crisp. Part of her face was thrown into the sands of a vast desert. What little remained of that woman's face, it looked so sad, resigned to her fate. It felt like my heart was in a vise, someone crushing it in hand. That the death of this girl was something I regretted for the rest of my days. And then it shifted again.

I was now facing off with yet another young woman with brilliant red hair and angry red eyes. She wore elaborate golden armor with a red skirt, showing off a pair of very nice legs. A fur-lined collar, ending in a long black cloak, with gold trim and tassels, hung off her back. An unearthly purple miasma leaked off her body. Those eyes projected nothing but hatred for me. Her lips were twisted into a wicked sneer. "This was your fault, Ezra! Remember this face as you fall into the depths of Gehenna itself!" Her ornate longsword began glowing with the same purple miasma.

My counterpart mirrored the girl's sneer. His sword took on a wicked red glow. Letting out war, cries the duelists rushed each other. It all happened so quickly, there was just the sound of steel cutting flesh. The other Ezra went down to one knee, blood gushing out of his left shoulder. The woman looked back with a smug grin, only for her to wince in pain. She fell to her knees and looked down in horror. Her armor had been rent asunder, and her intestines were pouring out. The aura dissipated, and her eyes became much more placid, even gentle. "No…what have I done?"

If the last two visions didn't hurt, this was by far the worst. The other me tossed his sword aside, he ran to the girl's side and swept her into his arms. Cradling her in his arms with all the loving gentleness in the world. She was clawing at the wound, struggling to keep any more of her innards from pouring out, but it was too little, too late. Life was leaving her body. "This is the end…I'm so…sorry Ezra. I never…meant for…it to get…this bad." My arms grew heavy, and now I was looking her dead in the eye. I was holding her now! I could also feel myself crying. "It should…never…have been…this way." Her breathing became more labored as she tried to speak. "It was…your people…or mine. I wish…I…could…have been…your queen…"

A primal roar erupted from my throat as I looked to the skies. Everything began swirling around again, and before I knew it, there was a sharp pain in my jaw and I was on my ass, looking up at Erik, a fist clenched. "Finally! Sorry for the rough treatment, Ezra. You were tripping big time!"

It took a couple of moments for me to get my bearings. But I was back in the ritual chamber beneath the old royal villa. Back in that damn hell hole. The whole thing had been just an illusion.

My whole body trembled, I wanted to curl up into the fetal position and cry my eyes out. Was that me? Was I that cruel? I didn't know any of those other girls… But, it felt so personal… I shuddered like I'd pulled my body from an icy river in the dead of winter. I was losing my resolve. Could I carry on like this? I had never felt so violated in my entire life…

My knees shook. I was high on loathing and self-pity. Was this all I was? A shifting mass of jelly that would cease to be within the next few moments.

Something clicked in me despite it all, starting a fire within me. One thing burned in me: a lust for vengeance. My eyes fixed on Potema and I saw red! I wanted her to pay, I wanted to rip her limb from goddamn limb. I pushed past Erik, pulling a small ceramic bottle from my hip pouch. I downed it in a single gulp before chucking the bottle onto the ground.

"Ezra, what are you doing?" Fear colored Felecia's voice. She had reason to be afraid, for I had just downed the most dangerous Witcher potion there was…the Mad Cobra, and I was about to inject my venom into that fucking hag! Leona and Kyana both shrank back at the sight of my skin turning bone white. My eyes began bloodshot, the pupils lengthening and the irises turning to gold, becoming snakelike. The sclera turned black, and so did the veins as they bulged out. Power surged through every part of my body. My veins swelling, barely able to contain my new strength. I drew my steel blade, alongside Imperial Fang. Letting out a ferocious screech. I rushed the Wolf Queen in full berserker mode. It was time to hunt, it was time to kill!

Both of my swords took on an angry red hue and I spun in a circle, relishing the sensation of cutting through the darkness that made up Potema's flesh. Even in the throes of my berserker onslaught, I could still remember seeing what looked like human faces swimming within the roiling shadows. That just fueled my desire to cut this monstrous beast down that much more. Witchers were meant to slay creatures such as this. It would be the first of many great achievements. Not that I was thinking about it at that particular moment in time. Really it was more GIANT SHADOW WOLF LADY MEAN! SHE DIE NOW!

I felt a fireball brush my shoulder, the heat tickled a little bit. I looked Triss squarely in the eye. The only reaction she got from my current look was a mild twitch of her eyebrow and a slight nod. Gotta love the woman's professionalism. She had probably seen Geralt pull a stunt like this a couple of times so this was old hat to her. But that was for another time. Potema growled and tried to snap at me with her elongated jaw. She ended up getting Imperial Fang slashing her upper lip. I could see a few more faces, but my onslaught continued. Triss provided cover with a trio of much larger fireballs. They almost looked like molten chunks of rock.

One caught Potema in her back haunch while another erupted point-blank in her face. Oh, she did not like that one bit. "I WILL DEVOUR YOU WHOLE!" Potema roared, her mouth wide open. Triss just smirked, throwing out a double stream of fire from both hands. Culminating in a veritable forest of flames erupting from the floor. While I may have been a natural prodigy with fire magic. Triss Merigold was proof that talent was only half the equation, a whole assload of training also helped!

Keira was reaching deep into her repertoire for this fight. The only thing she was more prideful about than her stunning good looks was the number of spells she knew, and it was a lot. I prided myself on my skill with telekinesis, but Keira was a true master of it. I still remember what she did to this very day because it was just so damn cool! She reached into the purple and red satchel hanging at her side and produced half a dozen steel daggers with bare tangs.

A flick of her wrist and they all levitated in the air. She pulled three more batches out and began chanting while moving her hands about in a series of elaborate gestures as the wind began gathering in her palms. A sweeping gesture and the wind surrounded the knives, forming small tornados. But that was just the start. Keira raised her arms to the sky, lightning dancing on her fingertips. The lightning arced out from her outstretched hands to the knives. There were now fifty mini maelstroms floating before Keira, a predatory smirk on her face. "Let's see how you do against the Tempest Barrage!"

She blew a kiss, and the storm-laden projectiles rained down upon their target. I have to say it was one of the most gratuitous examples of overkill I had ever seen. As if the cold steel of the knives themselves wouldn't have hurt enough, The gale-force winds ripping through her body would have certainly torn a lesser target to ribbons. The several thousand volts of lightning that coursed through the Wolf Queen's shadowy form was just the exclamation point to the whole thing.

Even then her humiliation wasn't done yet. "RADIANT CLEAVER!" The golden wing of light from the Radiant Blademaster's ancestral blade was next in line to take a bite out of the Wolf Queen. Who in turn howled in equal parts rage and pain, swiping at Laura's father with her shadowy paw. But he neatly sidestepped it, throwing out a golden Blade Beam that made me think of Naaman for a short minute. Victor S. Arseid truly is one of the greatest swordsmen to ever live. I wonder what would happen if he and Naaman had ever squared off? Or Victor taking on Geralt? Ooh, the White Wolf vs the Radiant Blademaster I could have made some serious coin off a fight like that one!

The throes of the Mad Cobra were at their height now. I was laying into Potema with all my hate and rage, using Dual Revelation, one of my favorite two-handed skills. It was so satisfying to see the blue glow of the six-hit strike tear away at the miasma. I was about to prime my next one when I felt a gust of wind and a green blur rush past me. Kyana had that giant flat sword of hers, glowing a brilliant green. She swung upward from left to right. Potema snapped at her with her jaws, but Kyana was far too quick, actually springboarding off her snout. Dropping another strike right between those ugly, pulsing eyes.

Felecia was right behind her. My favorite half-elf girl had her Sword Breaker in one hand, a Shock Sphere in the other. The hybrid spell blasted Potema's right leg clean off causing her to roar in pain, and stumble to the ground, kicking up dust. Felecia hopped up on her head, her weapon of choice glowed violet. She smirked. The weapon plunged into the Wolf Queen's back. Felecia ran the length of Potema's body, tearing it asunder. Leona wasn't about to be left out of this, launching a Golden Sphere followed by double Luminous Rays.

Laura and Erik were last. The Arseid heiress leapt high into the air. "ARMOR BREAKER!" She cried, using gravity to add to the strength of her strike. Brynhildr flashed as brightly as Gallard-Sharl had just minutes earlier, the overhand strike leaving a deep gash in the demon queen's shadowy hide. Erik's greatsword followed with an Avalanche slash just a couple of seconds behind her, taking a shadowy chunk out of her just-regrown tail. Potema was beaten, crouched over in pain. It was just a matter of time now.

"YOU…YOU THINK THIS IS THE END?" She rasped, the shadows roiling about her as she glared at us defiantly. "I AM POTEMA, THE WOLF QUEEN! FOUNDER OF THE GREAT KINGDOM OF TEMERIA! I WILL NOT FALL TO YOU MORTALS! I WILL PREVAIL!" Letting out a screeching howl. The entire ceiling erupted, showering us with rocks and dust from where Potema had leapt up. She was making for the surface, and nothing good would come of her crashing right through Vizima itself. If only we knew her true endgame. A long trek back up the way we came and found Strenger had been a busy boy. If the pile of draugr bodies and bones of countless skeletons was any indication. But he was out of his depth, now that he was gaping into the maw of the Wolf Queen herself.

Not heeding any warnings. I rushed at Potema, still wanting nothing more than to utterly destroy her for getting in my head earlier. You know the worst part of Witcher potions? Despite the incredible abilities they can provide, there's a nasty backlash on the other side of it. You can imagine what kind of backlash comes from using the Mad Cobra. Already I was feeling a burning sensation in my knees, but I wasn't deterred. I would finish the job that I had been assigned. Potema would die here and now. Already Triss and Keira powering up their spells and Viscount Arseid's blade radiated pure light that would stamp out the darkness.

"I WILL ADMIT IN ALL MY YEARS, NO ONE HAS EVER PUSHED ME AS FAR AS YOU LOT HAVE. BUT IT MATTERS NOT. THIS WAS WRITTEN IN THE STARS COUNTLESS MILLENNIA AGO. MY REIGN WILL NOT BE DENIED! AS SUCH…" A massive glowing circle materialized from beneath her, spiraling about. An ill wind kicked up, and the clouds began to circle. Finally, the skies turned blood red. "THE SKIES WILL BE RIPPED ASUNDER, THE PATH BETWEEN THIS WORLD AND THE UNDERWORLD WILL BE OPENED, AND MY MINIONS WILL FEAST ON YOUR BONES!" She raised her head to the sky and howled louder than ever before. The skies cracked, and then…shattered.

The sky shattered like glass, leaving a void of pure dark crimson, odious, sulfuric winds blasting out in all directions. Potema had done the unthinkable, and opened a path straight to Hell itself. From that void spewed out the foulest of dark creatures. Demons, the undead have nothing on the legions of Gehenna. Herein lies the abyss, and humanity was the main course! Flame, Storm, and Frost Atronachs flew out of the depths, shooting flames, icicles, and lightning bolts. The small contingent of soldiers was ill-prepared for such a terrific onslaught.

But that was just the first wave. The Atronachs were soon followed by the Dremora. These made up the bulk of the demonic ranks, clad in dark, twisted daedric armor, and wielding equally twisted, and dark weapons, the red veins within them burned, indicating the horde's desire to burn all in their path. I thought of the weapons we found within the cult's sewer hideout, but they were pale shades at best. What the Dremora carried was the genuine article, and they intended to make full use of them.

The soldiers all looked about ready to piss themselves. I could hardly blame them. The first line was cut down by a barrage of nasty, barbed arrows before the Dremora descended on them in earnest. A demonic greatsword ripped one poor soldier asunder. A half-dozen of the infernal beasts leapt on three of them, making them into a meal. Yet another poor son of Temeria was held between two beefy Dremora in a twisted game of tug of war before being ripped apart.

Keira and Triss already began weaving spells to try and close the rift, but it was too much even for a pair of the most powerful sorceresses on the planet. Father and Daughter Arseid released double Earth Cleavers, ripping the ground asunder and knocking a line of Dremora off their feet. Erik was on them in a second, cutting them down as fast as he could. But the void continued disgorging demons of all kinds. I saw Felecia, and Kyana watching each other's backs, so no one got the drop on them. They were trying to be brave, but I could tell those masks were flimsy as wet paper. They were both absolutely terrified of this turn of events.

The demons definitely represented a threat to our small band. But I wasn't interested in them. At that point, they were just a minor nuisance. All I wanted to do was rip Potema asunder, but with her little toadies showing up. It was proving to be difficult. Imperial Fang would need a significant cleaning when this was done, covered in green, red, and black ichor. The pain continued to grow within me as the potion's effects began wearing off. But I was so close, with every step I took toward Potema, another demon fell before me. A few more soldiers were killed by various Atronachs, but I kept ongoing.

But then something happened I wasn't expecting. Two figures jumped overhead, azure flames and crimson lightning trailing behind them. "AZURE INFERNO!" "THUNDER HAMMER!" Voices as strong as the Radiant Blademaster's resounded across the hellscape. The Wolf Queen howled as the fire and lightning bolt found their mark. The two men attacked the queen bitch. The one on the left ramming a large tower shield in the creature's face. The other slid into an Iaijutsu stance, swinging the blade at speeds few could follow. Potema recoiled from the strength of the attack.

One of the men wore a long coat much like Viscount Arseid's but colored a deep red, not too dissimilar from the current shade of the sky. It flapped about in the winds. He turned to face me. It was the Crimson Fox himself. Despite pushing fifty Mark Lamperouge was still an intimidating specimen at six foot three, Brown eyes with the hardened resolve of a veteran commander looked on the scene with grim determination. A black leathered gloved hand clenched onto his weapon of choice, a nodachi, the blood still dripping off it. "Ezra? Is that you?" I'm pretty sure Mark wasn't expecting to find me here. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Your eyes…you didn't take a Witcher potion, did you? A pretty nasty one it looks like."

Felecia, Kyana, and Erik caught sight of their father and uncle. The girls were overjoyed. Erik…not so much, looking embarrassed and even ashamed. He hung back while the girls ran to Mark. "Daddy!" If he was surprised to see me here. I imagine it was an even bigger surprise for Mark to see his son, daughter, and niece mixed up in a demonic invasion. Felecia all but catapulted herself into her father's arms. "Oh, Daddy! I'm so glad to see you right now!" There were no pretenses here. No hiding behind a mask of any kind. Felecia was terrified, and just wanted to be a normal teenage girl who hoped her father would make everything right.

"How did you know to get here so quickly, Uncle?" Kyana's question was answered by Mark simply pointing at the sky, idly spinning his finger as a couple of Storm Atronachs floated overhead. "Oh, yeah I guess the red sky and portal with demons flying out is kind of a dead giveaway."

"Just a bit." The Crimson Fox answered. Even when the end of the world was happening, The Crimson Fox still kept his wits about him. "I was on my way up to the front to assist His Majesty when everything went sideways. My troops ran into the Order along the way. And so here we are."

"As much as I enjoy a warm reunion, this really isn't the time!" The figure in armor spoke. If I still wasn't so focused on Potema. I would have attacked the man right there. It was Owen. Here right in front of me was one of the guys who utterly fucked over my life! He hadn't changed much in the last eight years, although his hair and the thick beard he sported was definitely starting to gray around the edges. But like Mark, his body was that of a warrior, lean and muscular. He was clad in full plate armor, the angry red hue of the sky reflecting off the various panels of finely polished steel. Mounted in the shield were those damn swords, the same ones he used on my mom! Long spikes lined the handguards.

The hatred burning inside me was even greater with the Mad Cobra venom coursing through my veins. My insides twisted with rage. That or it could have my stomach burning up from the volatile cocktail of poisons and ingredients that made up the potion. Either way, my rage was palatable. "Owen…" I swear my teeth clicked together in an ominous matter as I said his name like it was the bitterest curse I could utter. "What in all of Gehenna are you doing here?" He just looked at me with a sad expression. And for a faint moment, I remember how this man had been like a grandfather to me at one point. He was the one who gave me my first lessons in swordsmanship. But now all I could feel was loathing for him.

He regarded me for a long-suffering moment as we locked eyes. I saw pained sorrow contort on his face. Regret flashed behind his blue-grey eyes. The same eyes his son had. The same son he let be butchered in front of him.

"Hello Ezra," He greeted me with those soft, gentle words. As if we were something resembling family anymore.

"It's been quite some time. I'd even say it's good to see you again, but I can tell you don't feel the same way. As for what I'm doing here: I'm here for the sake of duty. The Order of the Seal exists to combat these kinds of threats. We were heading to the front with Sir Lamperouge's forces when a messenger told us of a giant monster appearing near the old royal villa, and we saw the sky be rent asunder. So we diverted to here." His eyes narrowed slightly, his tone becoming firm as steel. I gave the man credit. He didn't beg, or try to bargain with me to get me on his side. Owen simply told it like it was. "Don't let your hate blind you right now, son. I can see you have the glare of a witch's geas upon me, but this isn't the time. You are better than this Ezra, you always were."

Something about those firm, but gentle words caused a swirl of emotions within me.

Of all times for a flashback, but I couldn't help but reflect on a simpler time. A grand courtyard with a sprawling garden. Where Owen stood watching over us. Kieran was there, looking so tough with his wooden practice sword. There were other kids there too. For a minute I recalled a young girl with blue hair in a simple braid, but I couldn't make out her face. My eyes knit closer together. I got up in Owen's face with a glower harshly painting my expression. "Fine then, but only because if we don't do something now. Then we lose everything!"

Owen nodded, a familiar gentle smile tugged on his lips. "Quite literally in fact. It's a good thing Mark and I were bringing sizable reinforcements with us." It was then they came over the hills. Rows of soldiers with pikes in Temerian blue. Armored knights of the Order, their armor shining brightly. Accompanying them were several groups of clerics and wizards. One of them formed up behind Keira and Triss, adding their own strength in trying to close the portal. The soldiers and knights began tearing into the ranks of the damned. holy swords slashing apart Dremora and Atronach alike.

Other groups of mages began the work of getting the demons under control as well. Wizards held their staves aloft, and blue arcane bolts of energy shot out, immolating several Dremora. Others conjured the same blue light on their swords, using it to further reduce the demonic ranks to so more than ash on the wind. A part of me thought that Naaman had used that particular ability a couple of times, but I wasn't sure.

The clerics brought their magic to bear. Many held talismans made of canvas and ivory in one hand, while reciting their prayers to evoke their spells. Several clerics conjured up swirling balls of white energy, launching them at once into the unending infernal horde. The best part about these miracles was that they didn't just hit one target, the energy would splash out in all directions, catching even more demons at the same time. Others conjured up long javelins of golden lightning, hurling them with pinpoint accuracy, targeting high-ranking Dremora commanders and lords.

Lastly were my fellow pyromancers. Oh, how fitting it was to see cleansing flames burn away such abominations. While they may not have had the precision and grace that Triss did. Watching the arc of the flaming projectile through the sky, trailing fire as they landed amongst a huge group of Frost Atronachs. The heat wasn't good to them, as they all melted from the intensity of the flames landing amongst them.

Owen looked on with satisfaction, and I had to admit I was feeling the same way too. I guess just this once, the Order wasn't my enemy. He gazed at me with a worried frown. "The Mad Cobra potion, you must have either been desperate or truly pissed off to use that particular decoction. If you have the strength to spare, how about we send our rather gruesome-looking friend here back to Gehenna where she belongs?" I looked to Potema, and smiled wickedly. Owen just harrumphed, facing the monster. "As for you foul creature, even if Temeria was born through your efforts. You do not belong in this time. The age of the Wolf Queen has long passed, and for that." Owen thrust his sword toward Potema in challenge. "You will return from whence you came!"

"NEVERRRRRR!" Potema howled, as a trio of Dremora lunged at us, looking for a quick meal. They didn't have a chance. A white blur rushed by us, and I heard the distinctive sound of metal slashing apart flesh. The demons were impaled on a long spear crafted of the finest silver, a red tassel dangling from it. A young woman dressed in light armor sat upon an armored horse. She said nothing, merely lowering her spear and letting the three corpses slide off.

The older knight gave a nod of approval. "Quite nice timing, Alisha. Your form wasn't half bad either, although you exerted too much energy with that last thrust."

"I'll be sure to rectify it next time, my lord." the girl responded. My first thoughts were she was kind of cute. Her long curly sandy blonde hair was tied up in a side ponytail with a cream-colored flower scrunchie. Her green eyes held great strength. Those eyes narrowed slightly when her gaze fell on me. "Ezra…so we meet again after all this time." I just gave her an indifferent stare. How did she know me? I thought in uncertainty. This made her face scrunch up in bewilderment. As much as I enjoy meeting a cute girl, there was a giant demonic wolf lady to deal with. "Ugh, did you really have to use the Mad Cobra? It makes you look so repulsive!"

"Well excuse me for not looking the part to meet royalty. In case you missed things. We're trying to stop the end of the world as we know it?"

This made Alisha scowl, getting down from her horse and getting in my face. "That glib tongue of yours doesn't suit you, Ezra. I figured Lady Yesenia taught you better manners."

I growled, the veins around my eyes pulsing. "Oh save me, sweetheart! I don't need lessons on proper decorum and etiquette when it's raining demons. They could give two shits about manners!"

She just clicked her tongue in annoyance, shaking her head. "Fine then. You can be that way if you want. But we're going to have a proper discussion when you're not aggressively drugged out of your mind."

"Let's just get this over with!" I snapped to Owen. He held up one of his swords, the azure flames he was so well known for bursting to life. Alisha watched in awe. Imperial Fang came up to touch it, and the sky-blue fire leapt onto it. I could feel the flames washing over me. They felt comforting as always. As the cobra's venom faded, these blessed pure flames became my new strength. I knew it in every fiber of my being. The two of us approached Potema. With each step, the flames grew. I think even she knew this would be what finished her off. She made to escape only for Alisha to take her spear and slice off her front legs, as Laura relieved the Wolf Queen of her hindquarters. Victor then dropped a powerful guillotine slice on her neck. The monster was beginning to all stitch itself back together once the assault ended. It would all be for nothing if we did not act right them, and there!

We had her dead to rights and there was no escape for her now. The flames grew to the height of a colossus, combining to become one blade of great holy flame as Owen and I chanted simultaneously. "Blade of Holy Flame blessed by the Goddess. Rend this shadow and light the path to Providence! BANISHING AZURE FLAMES!" We both swung downward in concert with a two-handed grip. Just like my training in the Esperian style taught us both. The brilliant column of fire came down, cleaving Potema the Wolf Queen in half.

It did not stop there. The flames shot forward, leaving a flaming trench in the earth itself that spanned many yards. Trees burst into flame, and I'm sure that even most people had hidden from the destruction behind magic barriers. Potema let out a pained wail that was something between a dog's indignant whimpers, and a woman's aggrieved suffering. Not that it mattered. A monster was a monster. And a bitch was a bitch in both senses of the word.

I would have said she was going to feel that in the morning. But there was no mourning for her, there would be nothing but the abyss!

What happened to her body after that…I still can't find the words to describe it. I may never find the words, to be honest. The two halves twisted in multiple directions. Contorting and bending trying to reform herself. I could only really make sense of it if I was crazy. In retrospect, it was probably better I didn't understand it. I said before there were what appeared to be human faces beneath the bubbling miasma of her 'skin' and saw a few more coming out of the gaps, even what looked like arms reaching out in vain for the help that wasn't coming. I only pray that they could finally find some sense of peace.

Now that Potema had been vanquished, her summoning went into full reverse. The spectral corpse of the Wolf Queen lifted off the ground, spiraling upwards toward the portal, vanishing into that dark void. The ground shook as trees were uprooted and boulders were sucked into the depths of Gehenna. Pieces of the old villa flew off into the portal before the entire foundation crumbled and the former imperial residence disintegrated and its remains were sucked in. A fitting end if you ask me.

The demons were also getting recalled home in the same undignified manner. Some of them tried to resist, holding onto anything to keep them anchored to terra firma. They were screaming in distorted, unnatural voices. The sounds which will haunt my nightmares to my last day. But it was a losing battle. One by one they were all banished back to their realm. Of course, they did take a few hapless soldiers with them…and it was because of that my fate was sealed. As it happened, one Dremora managed to grab a hold of Felecia when no one was paying attention. The two went sailing into the air toward the void. I had never heard her scream in such panicked fear before. She was struggling to free herself but the monster's grip was ironclad, kicking it proved little use, given the full demonic armor he wore.

"Somebody help me!" She screamed, trying to keep the demon from taking a bite out of her neck. Erik was about to leap to her aid, only for a couple of Atronachs to get in his way. Kyana tossed one of her throwing knives, but the demonic sword just batted it aside. "EZRA HELP!" Felecia screamed again, not able to break from the Dremora's wicked stare, not to mention the psychotic leer stretching across his face, revealing blackened fangs, saliva dripping from them. No doubt he was envisioning what he would do with his new toy once he got back home. The demon barked out words in the demonic tongue. Erik struggled. Felecia screamed again.

Her voice had carried a long way, and with the effects of the potion, it was as if she was right next to me. I saw her struggling with the Dremora and I saw red. If saving her from the traps beneath the palace had sparked a connection between us. This was what cemented our love. I wasn't going to lose her the way I lost Rose back in Rulid, or my mother in Minas Tor. This was going to stop here and now! I was about to go for her, but a hand gripping my shoulder held me in place. I glared at Owen, who just shook his head. "You can't do anything for her, lad. Just forget about her." Cue me knocking his hand away. I pulled out Talion, a series of runes etched on the dagger began glowing.

Without even looking I flung Talion over my shoulder, in the direction of Felecia. I'd like to think I surprised the old man with what I did next. The scope of magic I had learned since coming to Calima Nen was eclectic. While Devola and Popola had taught me the full scope of Pyromancy. Michael had also taught me a few things. The key among them was the ability to teleport. Granted I could only do it over short distances and I needed some kind of marker to lock onto it. But it was one of my most powerful non-Pyromancy-related abilities. I hadn't revealed it up to this point, because I hadn't needed to. But now, I was using it to save one of the girls I loved. I blinked out of existence.

The next thing I saw was a pair of eyes, molten red irises framed by a void black sclera. Deftly catching Talion out of the air. I swung, embedding the dagger in the side of the Dremora's horned skull, obsidian ichor spurting out. His grip on Felecia slackened, enough that I was able to rip her out of his grasp, before kicking him to the ground. His corpse made a sizable crater in the earth. Kyana flung a knife into the air with a rope attached to it. I grabbed it and Erik and Mark both pulled us to terra firma. Felecia was trying to get her words out but she was still hysterical, just settling for bawling her eyes out as she hugged me.

I was just happy she was safe. I took in those tear-streaked eyes, gently stroking her cheek, elven skin is always so soft. And then I heard it, a peal of sadistic, inhuman laughter. "WELL, I WASN'T EXPECTING TO RUN INTO YOU HERE, YOUNG DRAGON!" This time Leona, and Kyana joined in screaming with Felecia. As the Dremora sprung up as if pulled to his feet by an invisible force, that psychotic leer still on his face, Talion still embedded in his head. He gave a mocking bow. "HAIL TO THEE MIGHTY THRONE BREAKER! HAIL TO THEE O DEVOURER OF THE CONQUERED! O PRINCE OF TWIN SWORDS! SON OF MIGHTY SOLOMON. HEIR TO THE YOKE OF FATE! MINE LIEGE I AM BUT YOUR HUMBLE SERVANT!"

The damn thing was speaking to me in my head! It took all I had not to vomit as the Dremora then pulled Talion out of his skull! He admired it for a second, stroking the blade with the greatest of care. "AH, A FINE PIECE OF WORKMANSHIP. IT WILL SERVE MY PURPOSE WELL. I WAS TO SEEK OUT THE SHADOW OF MAN, BUT THE DRAGON LORD IS AN EVEN BETTER PROSPECT! SO YOUNG, YOUR FULL POTENTIAL NOT YET REALIZED. I OFFER MY LIFE TO YOU, MINE LIEGE. A TASTE OF POWER FOR THE FEAST OF BLOOD AHEAD!" The demon repeatedly rammed Talion into its head, deeper and deeper with each stab, bone, and pieces of gray matter flying in all directions. Felecia screamed once more time before I pushed the traumatized elf-girl into her father's arms, Mark also grabbed onto Leona, turning both girls away so they wouldn't have to see the gruesome spectacle. Erik did the same for his cousin, putting his hand over Kyana's eyes.

Infernal laughter rang across the sky, as the visceral display continued. I wanted to do something, conjure a fireball, impale the thing with Imperial Fang, but I was riveted. The next stab gouged out the demon's eyeballs, exposing the damn thing's mangled brains and part of the nasal cavity. Finally, I had enough, a single kick to the temple and Talion finally came to rest in the remains of the now very dead monster's brainpan. A long haunting cackle echoed on the winds, as the Dremora crumbled to ash and blew away on the dying winds.

Erik summed it in one simple word as my dagger clanked to the ground: "…Fuck."

The portal closed and the sky turned a calm azure once again. Everything was quiet. But the effects of this incident would remain for all eternity. I just kept staring at the place where the demon had died. The effects of the Mad Cobra finally gave out completely, as did my legs. I would have ended up sprawled on the dirt if a still sobbing Felecia hadn't crawled over to me, cradling me to her chest. "Oh, Ezra. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She kept repeating over and over. I reached up to touch her face, even caked in dirt and grime. She was still the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Felecia smiled brilliantly. "You saved me a second time, I'll never forget it… Are you okay?" She asked concernedly after a moment of pause, stroking my face softly.

"I'll live." I rasped, giddy despite my exhausted body. Felecia then surprised me, and everyone else. By kissing me dead on the lips! I let out a goofy-sounding chuckle. "Yeah, I think I'll definitely live!" Everything seemed perfect at that moment…but I don't have that kind of luck for very long. I felt a horrible stabbing feeling in my head. I rolled away from Felecia, not wanting to hurt her as I began thrashing out wildly. A pain unlike anything I ever felt pooled in my right hand. It spread through me like an unholy fire. A cry of the purest agony erupted from my lips. My whole body spasmed as if I was having a seizure. Everything hurt. I was going to die.

"EZZZZZZZZRRRAAAAAAAA!" Felecia's voice screaming my name was the last thing I heard, her tearful face the last thing I saw as Mark, and the others ran toward me. That damned, sinister laughter from before echoed in my head. My vision washed out until all I saw was blood red, and then finally…blessed darkness. Oblivion never felt so good at that moment.