The Queen of Shadows (Act I)

by 7empest92

As the threat of the King of Mages looms over them, the masters of Chaldea struggle to keep their team of heroes together for the fight to save humanity. Their hope comes from Chaldea's resident Lancer, who offers them a unique solution... To seek out his mysterious mentor. [Volume 1 of a 3 part series]

23. Ch21: Gae Bolg (Part 2)

Chapter 21: Gae Bolg (Part 2)

Sunlight crept through the forest canopy. With a groan, Aife stirred. When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the forest floor, and after getting up realizes that she is also locked in a big wooden cage, without knowing how she even got here. She would've panicked had it not been for the sound of the other person inside with her also coming to. Aife turns and sees Kihli stir before getting up and walking to him to help him wake.

"Kihli? Come on, wake up."

Aife gives the boy a gentle shake on the shoulder before sitting him upright.

"Wh- What?"

Collecting himself, Kihli looks around and sees the predicament he and Aife were in. With a frightened look, he asks Aife the obvious question:

"Where are we?"

"No clue besides that we're still in the forest," Aife said before asking, "Do you remember anything?"

Kihli struggles to recall.

"Well, I remember falling asleep last night, but next thing I know, here we are. How about you?"

"Same," Aife answered solemnly. She was doing her best to stay calm and collected while feeling as afraid as the boy before her as she helped him get on his feet. "Beats me how this happened. We need to get out of here."

She then saw Kihli staring out, wide-eyed beyond the bars of the cage.

"By we, you mean-?"

In confusion, Aife follow's the boys gaze and to her astonishment, saw a dozen other cages nearby besides the one they were currently in, filled with other children, all distressed and frightened. It didn't take long for the two kids to recognize them as all the other children from the village.

They were all being held prisoner...

Aife looked out through the bars of each side of the cage, looking around frantically to see if one particular individual was with them. And it soon became apparent...

"I don't see Scathach anywhere," she said aloud, not knowing if that should relieve or worry her. "I hope she's safe..."

"And what about us?" Kihli asked her as Aife then tried prying the door to cage open with no success. "Why are we being held here? Who could-?"

"Shhh-!" Aife cut him, hearing footsteps approaching from the bushes, then whispering to the boy. "Someone's coming!"

Aife took a couple steps away from the barred door, and Kihli went up beside her. Instinctively, Aife hugs him protectively, fearing the worst.

And her fears were justified...

Two men in cloaks and masks emerged before them, followed by an armored soldier. They made rounds, passing by all the cages, scaring the other children into silence. Watching them, Kihli whispered to the girl.

"Aife... I'm scared."

Aife gives the boy a reassuring rub on the shoulder, trying to be brave.

"It's going to be okay, Kihli..."

But she knew it wasn't. Aife recognized these figures as the same barbarian tribe who attacked Her's and Scathach's village, and could only mean bad things if they were the ones holding them all captive. Her heart sank when the trio of men stopped in front of their cage and unlocked it. The two children stood frozen as the soldier entered the cage and address them.

"You two are coming with us."

"No thanks," Aife defied in a fleeting display of courage, dashed as soon as the soldier drew his sword.

"I wasn't asking..." He said as he gestured to the men behind him. The two cloaked figures came inside to grab Aife and Kihli, separating them. They struggled in their grasps as they were forced out and led away from the other cages.

As Aife tried in vain to fight back, she saw once they've turned the corner that they were in a large encampment filled with tents, chopped down trees, racks full of weapons and more than dozens of other soldiers along with a few more cloaked/masked individuals. She even spotted one such person appearing to cast a spell on the outskirts of the camp as if he was erecting a wall. Aife couldn't stop to observe as she and Kihli were forced through the encampment and stop in front of the largest tent.

"Chieftain," the soldier called. "We have two more for inspection."

Aife stared at the entrance of this tent, and the person who emerged was immediately recognizable and instilled instant fear and anger in her...

---

Meanwhile...

Scathach continued trekking through the forest as morning broke, following the echo of the foreign invaders who took Aife and Kihli. With her newly remade spear, Scathach felt ready to meet whatever was waiting for her at the end of this trail. She was not going to let anything prevent her from getting her sister and the other kids back.

Taking Aife, Kihli, and the other children... these bastards made a big mistake...

Coming at the top of a hill, Scathach kept following the echoes until they suddenly disappeared. Scathach stood there, looking around while feeling perplexed. There was no sign of other barbarians, much less all the children. The surrounding forest appeared normal and untouched.

"The trail stops here," Scathach said, collecting her wits with growing suspicion. "But something's not right..."

She knew the barbarians had mages with them, and just they have used magecraft to kidnap all the children, Scathach figured that they could be using it to cover their tracks. She reached out her hand and felt around, taking a few small steps forward-

!

She felt resistance. Trying again, Scathach pushed her hand against an invisible force, straining to break through, only for it to push back harder. Letting go, she summoned her spear, Gae Bolg, remembering that she put a disenchantment rune on it when she reshaped it. Bringing up the blade of her spear, Scathach slowly "cuts" a vertical slit in the invisible barrier, one just big enough for her to squeeze through. She dematerializes her spear and passed through the opening she has made. Once on the other side, she gasped and quickly ducked behind a bush.

The section of forest before was almost entirely cut down, replaced with an encampment full of other barbarians. Peering through the bush, Scathach surveys the camp, noting the section of deforestation, slaves collecting wood, soldiers patrolling and cloaked figures putting up enchantments along the perimeter. She spots the tents and cages on the far side of the field, and decides to circle around to get closer. Scathach wraith-dashes up a nearby tree and traverses across the canopy silently. Dashing over the heads of unsuspecting soldiers stationed in the brush, Scathach eventually stops on a high branch overlooking the main camp. From her perch, Scathach sees the numerous tents and weapon racks, along with the cages full of children from the village. Surveying further, her heart wrenched when she saw Aife and Kihli brought before the largest tent in the camp by a group of three men.

Aife!

Before she could jump in and rescue them, she heard the soldier with them call out, using her enhanced hearing:

"Chieftain, we have two more for inspection."

Scathach observed a man in ornate armor emerge from the tent, and her gut wrenched at the site of him. He was well-built and towered over his subordinates.

She recognized him... he was the one who first locked up Scathach and Aife into cages after their village was destroyed, and he was the one who sent soldiers after them when the sisters made a break for this forest.

Scathach looked on as the Chieftain walked menacingly over the captive Aife and Kihli. She fought the urge to charge down and confront him lest putting Aife in Kihli in more danger. The lone soldier and mages bowed briefly in respect as the Chieftain stopped before them.

"Are these the last ones from the settlement?"

"The last of which we could abduct," the soldier told him. "The mages that we've sent reported that there was one remaining child in the village that managed to resist the trance."

"Well, isn't that unfortunate," the Chieftain remarked sarcastically, displeased with the news. "However, if there was one child mage in that decrepit place, there must be more. Perhaps these two haven't awakened their circuits yet. The rest so far have proved to be lacking in any magic potential."

The Chieftain then pulled out a small crystal from a pouch in his outfit.

"Let's start with the boy," he motioned to Kihli. "On your knees!"

Kihli was forced down by the mage who held him, and struggled fearfully. Aife thrashes against her captor, trying in vain to stop them from hurting Kihli. She was forced to watch as the Chieftain leaned down and held the crystal in front of Kihli. The crystal eventually glowed, but when nothing else seemed to happen, the Chieftain was once again displeased.

"Another like the others," he said in frustration before getting up and ordering the mage holding the boy: "Put this one back with the other empty shells."

Kihli was led away back to the cages, leaving a distressed Aife alone and surrounded by her captors. When the Chieftain turned to her, he paused.

"Wait," he said suspiciously. "I recognize you, lass. You were the one of the runts we've rounded up before, and then slipped through our fingers."

Aife stayed silent and glared at the man as she was still being held. The Chieftain continued.

"We are missing one child from your new home," he said tauntingly, leaning down to meet Aife at eye level. "That wouldn't happen to be your sister per chance, would it? Is she a mage? Tell me-"

Aife cut him off by spitting in the Chieftain's face. In response, he backhanded her across the face and Aife fell on her knees. Witnessing this, Scathach seethed. Aife was trying to protect her sister but the Chieftain punished her for it.

"Foolish little runt!" the Chieftain chastised as he wiped his face, and pulled out his crystal again. He clenched Aife's bottom jaw and forced her to face him. The girl's face was stained with tears as she thrashed against her bonds. The Chieftain's crystal glowed as he held it in front of Aife.

And unlike with Kihli, something happened. When the crystal touched her, glowing lines appeared over Aife's frail body, which only went away once the Chieftain was satisfied and retracted his crystal. Scathach's face morphed into one of shock at the sight.

Magic circuits... my sister IS a mage!

The Chieftain at last let go of Aife and stood up. He then addressed his subordinates.

"This one's a keeper. Tie her up and leave her in my tent. We are going to find her sister and bring them to the Zealots."

One of the mages complied and started tying Aife's hands behind her back.

"What do you want us to do with the other kids?" asked the soldier. "Kill them?"

"I rather we put them to work first," replied the Chieftain as Aife was handed over to him. "We need to cut out a path through the forest. Once we get our siege weapons through, we level the village and assault the fortress. Start rounding up our new slaves."

"Yes sir."

Having overheard, Scathach was perplexed.

They want to attack the fortress? Why?

Before she could even think about it, The Chieftain started pulling Aife towards his tent, all while talking down to her.

"Don't you worry lass. Your sister will be joining you soon enough, once we've captured her..."

"Bastard! Let me go!" Aife struggled against him as they've disappeared into the tent. Scathach decided it was time to go down and rescue her and the other children. Hopping down from her perch silently, she hid behind a bush and peered through the branches watching guards walk by obliviously. She surveyed the tent again and saw the Chieftain emerge and head towards the cages, leaving it unguarded. Seizing her chance, Scathach stood up to sneak over-

!

She was suddenly grabbed and pulled backwards behind a nearby tree. Scathach tries to yell, but her unknown assailant covered her mouth, so she starts thrashing and pulling at his arms in an attempt to free herself when...

"Shhh..."

Scathach froze when she realized the assailant was only holding her still and out of sight from the rest of the camp. She slowly let's go of the person's arms and falls silent, assured she was not in immediate danger. That was when the assailant relaxed his grip on her, allowing Scathach to turn and see who this interloper was.

She already knew by the time she got a look at his face-

"You weren't being very mindful of your surroundings..." the Shadow criticized. Scathach figured that he must have followed her into the camp without her knowing.

"Apparently," Scathach bitterly mused, not knowing how the Shadow tailed her without her senses picking up on his presence. "How long?"

"Since just before you've breached the Boundary Field," he told her as they kept hidden on the edge of the woods. "It's been hiding this camp so that I wouldn't sense them. I then followed behind you."

"Babysitting me?" Scathach asked rhetorically, her tone unfriendly upon remembering the last time she and her mentor spoke. "Then you've must have seen the village..."

"I was wondering why you didn't show up at the fortress at dawn," he said before his tone then turned serious. "Yes... a friend of yours filled me in."

"Fimir," Scathach deduced, but with her mentor intruding on her, she had no time to discuss things further. "I appreciate the help, but I can handle things here just fine. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Wait lass!" the Shadow whispered, pulling Scathach towards him by the arm before she had the chance to leave cover.

"What?!" Scathach snapped impatiently without raising her voice.

"First of all, don't take that tone with me," The Shadow chastised as Scathach tried wrenching her arm free. "Second, you don't know what kind of people you're dealing with here."

"Yes, I do," Scathach insisted, feeling like every second wasted only put the children in more danger. "These are the barbarians who destroyed my home and countless others including Fimir's. I've watched them slaughter my whole village!"

"This isn't just any barbarian tribe lass..." the Shadow revealed. Scathach stopped and stared right into his eyes, realizing what he was implying. She pulled her arm free at the Shadow's reluctance, but did not walk away.

"What do you know about them?" Scathach asked in a low voice. The Shadow obliges:

"They call themselves the Heralds of The Sovereign. Think of them as a militaristic cult... one that has existed for as long as human civilization has. Every brutal thing they do is all for one purpose..."

"And what is that?"

"It's in the name, lass... they are heralding the return of their God..."

Their God... Scathach didn't like the sound of that. Rather than learning more from the Shadow, she decided it was best to save that for another time. She turned back to survey the camp and the many soldiers patrolling. If what her mentor said about these people were true, then their devotion coupled with their cruel savagery made them more dangerous than she thought they were. Peering to the children trapped in the cages, there was one lingering question she had to ask.

"What do they want with the children?"

Coming beside her, the Shadow tells her:

"My guess is... They are looking for any potential mages among them like you and your sister, turning them into acolytes. The Heralds look to expand their influence through magecraft, and they'll get any mages they find to serve them... willingly or otherwise. The rest are collateral..."

Scathach felt her blood boil at the thought of her sister and Kihli being forced to serve this sick cult until they were ultimately expended. She would kill them all before she allowed that to happen.

"Monsters..." she seethed under her breath. "ALL of them."

The Shadow puts a hand on her shoulder, staving her anger momentarily.

"Listen. They will keep Aife alive, but if any spot you they will start killing the children. You've got to be smart about this."

Heeding him, Scathach focuses and visually determines her path through the camp to reach the children. The question was what to do after she frees them. The cages were in the middle of the camp, and a literal army of soldiers all around. Scathach could not engage them lest risking the children getting hurt or worse.

"I can get to the cages, but I can't free all the children at once. They'll slow me down and raise alarm from the other soldiers."

"I have a plan for that," the Shadow revealed. "You go free the children and signal me when you do. Take out any cultists in your way, but DON'T kill them..."

That last set of instruction caused Scathach to look back at him in dismay.

"What?! Why n-?"

She cuts herself off when it became apparent the Shadow disappeared.

"-Aaaand he's gone..." she said to herself in annoyance at her mentor's antics. Scathach then stamps down her frustration and focuses her attention back to finding her way to the cages undetected.

Guess it's up to me then...

Scathach waits for a patrolling guard to pass and she wraith-dashes across the road into a lone bush. Peering through the leaves, she sees another guard standing close by with his back turned. Making sure no one else was watching, Scathach summoned her spear and leapt out to gag the panicked guard with the shaft. Using her strength, she pulls the guard off his feet into the bush, and then with a twirl, Scathach knocks him out with the blunt end of her spear to whack the guard across the head. The guard goes limp, and lies out cold in the shrubbery where nobody would find him.

"Sweet dreams..." Scathach remarks as she banishes her spear in a puff of smoke before moving on once the coast was clear.

Meanwhile, a Herald mage was busy fortifying the Bounded Field around the camp. He stood casting a spell near the tree-line, well away out of sight from patrolling guards. The mage stopped when he heard footsteps behind him and turned to look, only to find the Shadow walking up to him. The mage panicked and drew a knife, only for the Shadow to knock it out of his hand and grab him. The mage was helpless as he was pushed head-first against a tree, knocking him out. The Shadow casually tossed his limp body into a ravine, and he began drawing a rune against the Boundary Field.

Back to Scathach, who was getting closer to where the children were being held. She saw a pair of guards in front of Kihli's cage, and listened in.

"Look at this scrawny kid. I bet he won't last ten minutes of movin' logs."

"I disagree... I think he won't last five."

Standing up against the bars of his cage, Kihli had been listening to these guards debating how best to work him as a slave for the past few minutes, and frankly he was getting tired of it. Despite his tears from earlier, Kihli tried acting brave by threatening his captors.

"You just wait 'til I get out of here! I'm gunna-!"

"You'll what, lad?" one guard amused. "There ain't nothin' that a little runt like you can do to us! You think we're scared of some kid in a cage?"

The guard jabbed Kihli away from the bars with the blunt end of spear, poking him in the stomach and knocking him over. The other guard taunted him.

"Besides, no one from your town knows you're here. Your mum ain't coming to save ya'! We own you now!"

The guards laughed as Kihli seethed, choking back tears at this humiliation before his captors. He sat back up and briefly froze when he looked past the guards and saw a certain "someone" sneak up behind them. Kihli then gathers his resolve and taunts them back.

"You own me, huh?" he said with a cocky smile. "It seems to me that you are the ones about to get owned..."

That immediately made the guards stop laughing.

"What did you just say, you brat?" one guard questioned.

"You know," Kihli challenged, keeping both his captors distracted. "You're both going down..."

"Shut up!" the guard was annoyed now. "We got this entire camp patrolled non-stop. No monsters getting in thanks to the Bounded Field. Quit dreamin' kid!"

"It seems this runt still got some backbone," the other mused to his disgruntled colleague while Scathach crept closer while drawing a rune. "We should remind him again that we're in control."

"Oh yeah?" taunted Kihli. "Want to think again? Look behind you..."

"Look behind? You think we're stupid, runt?!" said the now angry guard, neither him nor his colleague paying heed much to Kihli's amusement. "That does it! I ain't waiting to work you to death, slave! How about I instead put you out of your misery right n-?!"

(Bzzzzt!)

Scathach casted her lightning rune and electrocuted both of the guards, making them collapse into unconsciousness. Kihli immediately stood up and ran up to the side of the cage to greet her.

"Scathach!" he said joyously. "Am I glad to see you!"

"Likewise..." Scathach replies. "Smart of you to distract of those guards. Stand back..."

Kihli obeys and takes a step backwards. Scathach twirls and breaks the lock on the cage with her spear. She opens the door and immediately Kihli runs up and hugs her. Scathach returns the embrace in full.

"I knew you'd come. I just knew it!"

Breaking away, Kihli goes on to tell her:

"Listen. They have Aife, and they're going to attack the village next!"

"They are not going to stop there," Scathach reveals. "But we're not going to let them anywhere past this camp. Help me free the other kids before more guards come..."

They then went to work opening the other cages, freeing more children. Scathach estimated that there were several dozen children held in this camp, and it was going to be difficult getting everyone out of here, especially considering a crowd this big does not move very fast. Once everyone was gathered, Scathach conjured a rune and shot a red orb of mana into the air, signaling her mentor.

That is going to put the whole camp on high alert, Scathach thought as she could already here the chatter of nearby guards shouting and ordering each other after seeing her signal. Shadow better act fast...

Come a whole army of soldiers, Scathach was not worried for herself but for the safety of the children. She didn't know if she can protect them all...

"There! Prisoners are escaping!"

She can already hear them coming. The barbarians will be within sight soon, and all the children were starting to get scared-

(SHATTER)

Everyone looked up to see the transparent shroud of the camp's Boundary Field break and shatter like glass, dissolving into mana as the enemy soldiers and mages stopped to witness the damage unfold, much to their astonishment. The Chieftain left his tent to look up at the collapsing field, before quickly calling on some soldiers and mages to follow him back inside. Silence filled the air, as within seconds, a thick fog rolled in and obstructed visibility throughout the camp. Suddenly, Scathach understood the Shadow's plan immediately.

And she was horrified...

"Everyone," She called out to the kids, as hushed as possible as to not alert the soldiers OR the monsters that came with this fog. "Hold on to each other and stay close. Do not speak unless I say you can."

The children were shaking were fear, and some even cried, but they all obeyed and huddled in a tight group. Kihli held the hand of a little girl as he afterwards reached for Scathach's.

"What is happening?" Kihli whispered as Scathach held his hand with her left; her spear held tight in the other.

"Where are they?!"

"I can't see them!"

"Then spread out you fools! Capture them!"

Scathach and the children heard the cries of confused soldiers, stuck in disarray at the sudden turn of events. She went on to explain to the boy as everyone walked carefully in unison into the fog:

"The Boundary Field not only hid the barbarians from my mentor, but from the creatures in this forest as well. The fog is giving us cover while they will be distracted by the Draugr."

"That's crazy!" Kihli exclaimed under his breath.

"It wasn't my idea," Scathach remarked as they ventured slowly through the camp. The chatter of the soldiers was eventually drowned out by the growls of the Draugr, soon replaced with screams and the blood splatter. Walking on, they stumble over the corpses of dead soldiers. Scathach had to stamp down her anxiety as the children grew increasingly distressed, both at the sight of dead bodies and the distant sounds of terror around them. She led the children to where she believed Aife's tent was located, as there was no way that Scathach was leaving without her-

A girl's scream grabbed her attention, and Scathach saw a Draugr armed with a rusted sword emerge from the fog and charge at the helpless children. Letting go of Kihli, Scathach immediately turned into wraith form and dashed between the group of kids and rematerialized to impale the intruder with her spear before the Draugr could touch any of them. The creature's body went limp and fell, but there was no time to celebrate as Scathach turned when she heard another one approach from the other side of the group.

"Drop!" Scathach ordered as she drew a fire rune, and the children ducked as she casted, blasting away the incoming Draugr into the mist.

"Scathach!" Kihli said in a panic. Scathach immediately dashed back in front of him and deflected a sword-swipe that would've taken the boy's head off before beheading the Draugr with her spear and kicked its twitching corpse away. She stands panting as Kihli stood in shock.

"Well..." he said, collecting himself. "That was..."

"Yeah..." Scathach finished for him, not in the mood for praise right now. She grabbed Kihli's hand again and led everyone on.

That was too close... Scathach thought. It was one thing taking on these creatures herself, but it was another matter entirely to protect children while doing so. She may be immortal, but none of the kids were. Any mistake on her part would be costly. They continued on to where Scathach was sure the Heralds were holding Aife, yet she felt something was off...

She hadn't heard any more cultist soldiers since the chaos started, nor she had expected so few corpses lying around, including the ones the group walked over. Scathach was sure there still be more soldiers despite some being killed by the Draugr. Where was everybody?

Scathach did not feel safe until the group came up to the tents where the Chieftain's was located. Thankfully there was enough cover around them for the children to hide from the Draugr.

"Everyone, inside here," Scathach directed the children into the Chieftain's tent, which was large and spacious enough to hide all of them. Once they were inside...

"Aife-?"

They quickly discover that the tent was empty, and from the looks of the myriad of supplies and racks thrown about, it was cleared out in a hurry. This confirmed what Scathach had suspected; the elites and the Chieftain had already fled, and they have taken Aife with them.

"Where have they taken her?" Kihli asks, having also pieced together everything from the sight before them. Before Scathach could even think about it, she gasped when she heard noises from outside.

"Get away from the walls!" she said in a panic. Before she knew it, the walls of the tent were being torn open, letting in bloodthirsty Draugr, making some of the children scream. Kihli directed the children into a tight group again as Scathach wraith-dashed to engage. She cut them down as the came but more creatures came flooding in every-which way. With them trapped inside, Scathach couldn't risk using any elemental magic lest hurting the kids or burning down the tent.

And it made her life more difficult at the moment...

Kihli made everyone duck-down as Scathach frantically dashed around to kill any Draugr before they got near them, seemingly ignoring her and going for the vulnerable children. Things became even more problematic when the roof of the tent was being torn to shreds, and to everyone's horror could see Fel-beasts hovering above them and tearing away canvas with their claws. The tent was completely destroyed by the time Scathach quickly dealt with any remaining Draugr and summoned copies of her spear to impale the winged-nightmares in midair.

But not before one managed to grab Kihli by its feet and started to fly off with him.

The boy screamed in terror as he was carried off. Scathach reinforced her legs and packed all the mana she could into a powerful jump upwards, flying several feet up to collide with the Fel-beast and grab it around its neck. The creature spun and thrashed about until Scathach summoned her spear and sliced its chest open, killing and making it drop Kihli. The boy plummets and screams, and Scathach dives down to grab him. They meet in freefall as she wraps her arms protectively around the boy. Scathach reorients them both and channeled mana into her legs. The group of kids below back away just before Scathach lands feet-first on the ground, kicking up earth on impact with Kihli in her arms.

The children stand frozen in awe as Scathach, breathing heavily, takes a moment to assess the shaken boy in her grasp, but who was relatively unharmed.

"Are you okay?"

Still a bit in shock, Kihli nods, and Scathach stands him up. With no more creatures around, and the fog starting to thin, the children begin to whisper and chatter amongst themselves.

"Did you see all of that?"

"Yeah, she can fly!"

"She took them on, all by herself!"

"They didn't stand a chance!"

"With the witch-girl here, we are safe!"

But just then, the ground started to shake, causing everyone to fall silent. Acting quickly, Scathach quickly casted a rune that caused the group children to separate, just as a Legless burst from the ground beneath their feet and missing the kids by its jaws. The creature reorients and Scathach summons her spear in response, but to her surprise the monster was hit with a lightning spell and collapsed lifelessly on the ground. Then everyone saw the Shadow standing behind the defeated creature.

While all the children were amazed to see him, Scathach however...

"Where have you been?" she questioned with annoyance laced in her tone. The Shadow was unfazed.

"Easy. I've been taking care of the bigger monsters before they made it to the camp. You've been following my plan well thus far..."

"THIS was your plan?!" Scathach shot at him, motioning to the slowly thinning fog around them. "Did it ever occur to you that by making the Draugr wipe out the soldiers that it would put everyone here in danger?!"

His answer was blunt as always...

"Yes, BUT you were here. I knew they'd be perfectly safe with you. I was making sure you had less to deal with..."

"Wha-? That's not the point! You should have run this by me first-!"

"Uhm... if I may?" Kihli interrupted their verbal spar. "We're still not out of this yet. And then there's..."

Scathach stared at the boy and composed herself quickly.

"Right," she acknowledged before turning back to her mentor. Scathach forced down any frustration she had with him for now to focus at the matter at hand. "The leader has fled, along with a small force."

And with a sigh, she added:

"...And they've taken Aife."

The Shadow glances at his student as he turns and leads everyone to nearby stables.

"I didn't sense anyone leave during the chaos. They must be using concealment magic."

"Which is the fastest way out of the forest?" Scathach asks as they hurriedly walked behind him. Once they caught to him, the stables were in sight.

"East, by the valley," the Shadow answers before opening the pen, which held a couple horses, left behind when the Heralds fled. "The road by the ravine is narrow and weaving. It'll make it easy to catch them."

At that, Scathach felt a glimmer hope. She might get Aife back before the Heralds make it out of the forest, and get some much-desired retribution for what they did to their home. She brandishes her spear with determination.

"Good. I'm going to get my sister-"

But the Shadow had other plans...

"Don't... I'll go. You stay with the kids and get them back to the village."

Scathach was dismayed as the Shadow took the horses by the reigns and led them across to some carriages. The children all watched as Scathach argued with her nonchalant mentor.

"If YOU think I'm not going to try and get MY sister back, you're crazy! Besides, the children will be safer with you!"

"I'm serious," he said without turning to face her, steadily growing a frustrated as he tied each horse to the front of each carriage. "Remember what I said about these guys. They aren't messing around."

But Scathach wasn't having it...

"I don't care! I am going back for Aife-!"

"Enough." the Shadow nearly exclaimed when he at last looked at Scathach in the eye, silencing her. "Here. Get the kids back to your village and I'll come back with your sister."

She falls silent and eventually cast her head down. Scathach reluctantly banishes her spear and complied.

"Okay..."

Satisfied with her answer, the Shadow finished securing the horses. Meanwhile, Kihli climbed up into the back of one of the carriages, and his eyes widened when he found what was inside.

"Follow the river back to the village," the Shadow said to Scathach as he turned his back and towards the direction where the Herald fled. Unbeknownst to him, Scathach slowly raised her head and her free hand slowly glowed with mana. "The horses should move the children quickly-"

He was about to fly away until his legs became tangled in glowing strands and tethered by a glowing rune on the ground.

Followed by his arms...

The Shadow turned his head back as far as he can to see the sorry-not-sorry look on the person who trapped him. The children also looked on in surprise at the rash move of the perpetrator. Kihli gasped in shock at what said person just did.

"Apologies teacher," Scathach said before summoning her spear. "But Aife is my responsibility."

Astonished at the fact he had been tricked, the Shadow warned, almost pleading:

"Don't-!"

Before he could finish, Scathach went into wraith form and flew off out of sight, leaving the Shadow stuck in front of all the children. He was kicking himself for not expecting to be back-stabbed like that from his own student no less.

And also thought it was a clever move on her part.

Sneaky little brat...

The Shadow briefly struggled with his restraints, until he eventually forced his arms free, pulling the strands of mana until they snapped under his immense strength. The children watched as he then did the same with his legs, and soon he was free. Looking up to where Scathach disappeared to, the Shadow fumed under his breath.

"When I get my hands on that lass, I'm gunna-!"

"Mr. Shadow... sir?"

His head snapped his head to the side to see Kihli looking up at him, cautiously. Extremely low on patience, the Shadow asked the boy.

"WHAT?"

"None of us know how to steer a horse," Kihli stated. "We can't get back..."

The Shadow stared at him for a moment before answering bluntly:

"Figure it out..."

He then turned to take off until, Kihli tugged at his sash, making him turn to the boy again.

"You wouldn't really leave us all alone in this place," Kihli said to him while rubbing his arms as if he was cold. "Would you?"

The Shadow's scowling expression turned miffed when he could see the boy was trying his best NOT to smile.

"Are you seriously guilt-tripping me right now?" he asked the boy. Kihli only pouted, and he was soon followed by the rest of the children, all giving comically pleading expressions to the grizzled man before them. The Shadow stood speechless at the sight, and he eventually sighed in annoyance... and defeat.

"Fine..."

He supposed he can make sure the children were safe before he went after Scathach, and hopefully before she did something even more rash.

---

A group of men on horseback were galloping through the forest with Aife tied-up and blindfolded riding near the front of the group with one of the Herald elites. The terrain gradually shifted from forest to rock as they went, moving with haste to escape the forest. Following the path between a narrow pass, the cavalry became bottlenecked and their speed reduced greatly. A shadowy figure was stalking the group from the clifftop above.

It was the perfect spot for an ambush...

The group continued on until the sound of an explosion caused the horses to panic. Rocks fell ahead of the group, obstructing the path and preventing traversal on horseback.

"Ambush! Weapons out!" The Chieftain ordered, and the mounted soldiers drew their swords while mages got off on foot. They frantically looked around for signs of hostiles, until the lone rider in the back of the group was suddenly pulled off his horse by strands of mana and yelled as he was slammed into the cliffside. Everyone turned in a panic, and Scathach made her move, she landed in the middle of the group, surprising everyone. She dashed around, sweeping mages off their feet and knocking soldiers off their horses until she made her way to Aife. An archer tried vainly to shoot her, only for arrows to pass harmlessly through Scathach's wraith-form, and was swiftly dealt with as she lands on him and pins him down with a strand rune.

She then sees her sister on top one of the horses.

"Aife!"

Restrained by her guard, Aife's blindfolded form perks up.

"Scathach?!"

Scathach makes her way to her, but a mage was firing spells at her. She fires an ice rune at his feet and leaps over the mage as a column of ice formed. Scathach flips and kicks the mage in the back sending him crashing into it and knocking him out. Using that momentum, Scathach flies to the mounted soldier holding Aife hostage and summons her spear, clotheslining him with the shaft and knocking him over. Because he was saddled, the entire horse is knocked over from the impact, and Scathach grabs Aife while in wraith-form before she fell. They re-materialize several feet away, and Scathach hurriedly slices of the ropes tying her sister and removes the blindfold over Aife's eyes. Their faces light up at the sight of each other.

"Aife... you're safe!" Scathach says with a grateful smile that Aife returns until-

"Look out-!" Aife yelled as she looked past her sister at an oncoming, glowing projectile heading in their direction. Scathach turns to it and goes back into wraith-form in response-

But to her shock, the orb miraculously hit her anyway, discharging a surge of energy that sent Scathach flying. She rolls across the ground and drops her spear, her limp body eventually coming to a stop.

Aife gets up and tries to run to her sister only for a soldier to come out of nowhere and grab her.

"No!" She screamed and thrashed frantically, trying to get free until her captor puts a dagger to her neck. Scathach stirs and tries to push herself up, but she felt pain all over. She looks down at the magic circuits in her arms and sees them fluctuating feebly.

What... is this? I feel... weak...

Whatever it was that hit her, it wreaked havoc on her magic circuits, leaving her unable to use magecraft, not even to go back into wraith-form. As Scathach tried to force her body up, she was restrained against her will by the mages she took out previously, who have recovered and hoisting her body up with magecraft. Soldiers surrounded her and pointed their weapons at her...

"Nobody touch her..."

The Chieftain's command kept the soldiers distanced away from Scathach's immobilized body. She forced her head up to face his approaching form and noticed a silver orb hovering over his open hand. Scathach could make out the runes etched along its smooth surface, along with a distinct, Celtic symbol.

It can't be...!

Before she could confirm what she believed that artifact was, the Chieftain's footsteps became louder. Scathach dreaded his approach, feeling vulnerable for the first time since she honed her powers. Her adversary stopped at a safe distance away.

"Well... what have we here?"

The Chieftain's voice betrayed his displeasure at the fact that this seemingly unassuming girl has been the one giving him trouble, but also a hint of curiosity. Scathach could only assume that his ability to wield the divine construct must be due to the fact that this man was a mage not unlike herself.

"If it isn't the other girl who fell from our grasp," he said taking a brief glance between Aife and Scathach. "And it looks like she's picked up some new tricks..."

Scathach glared at him as the Chieftain continued surveying her. Her face didn't show it, but she felt disgusted by the way this man's eyes looked all over her.

"I suppose it's a blessing of fate that you and your sister managed to escape. Had you not grown a brain, we would've been the ones to awaken your circuits, and from what I've seen from you just now, it would have left much to be desired..."

He gave a nod to the mages restraining Scathach, and in response they tightened the tendrils holding her. Scathach winces in pain as her arms were pulled, not able to break free due to her magic circuits still not responding. The Chieftain came very close and pulled out the crystal he had used on Kihli and Aife previously. When he brought it upon Scathach, her circuits glowed violet, yet they would still not obey her. The Chieftain's eyes widened at the sight before him.

"Incredible," he whispered in awe. "Such power... more than what we've seen from anyone. This forest has blessed you lass, just as it will bless us too. You will serve us well... even after we take whatever the guardian has in his castle."

That made Scathach's head perk up slightly. She didn't know exactly what kind of power these fanatics thought was inside the fortress, but at least it explained why she overheard their plans to assault it. Yet, they knew the Shadow stood guard over this place. What could be worth them risking the Shadow's wrath by attacking his home?

"You've met him, haven't you?" the Chieftain's question snapped back Scathach's attention, and she continued to glare at him. "The guardian, puppet... charged by the false gods who call themselves the rightful owners of this World, and imposing their will upon humanity. Our potential is being squandered under them. They won't under ours when it comes..."

As he was saying this, Scathach thought briefly that this man was spouting nonsense, yet there was no denying by his tone that he believed what he was saying to the fullest. The Shadow warned her that these people were committed...

The monster of a person before her may have been fanatical, but he wasn't a raving lunatic like Scathach would've liked to label him as...

"You, along with every mage we find will serve us. Once we have what's in that fortress, the Sovereign will come, and liberate humanity."

The Chieftain retracted his crystal, and Scathach sighed as her circuits dimmed down.

"Keep dreaming..." Scathach said defiantly. "After what you bastards did, I will never serve you..."

"You mean your village?" The Chieftain asked rhetorically. Aife looked on at their interaction and her heart-wrenched in anger at what he casually said afterwards. "It was merely a necessity. Sacrificed... to serve a greater purpose..."

And Aife wasn't the only one. Scathach seethed silently as he continued. She knew this man had no morals; thrown away in his dedication to his "cause."

"And that purpose you will serve. Believe me lass, our Order has ways of making you cooperate..."

When the Chieftain's gaze turned to Aife, Scathach's heart sank...

"It would be a shame on our part to spill magical blood," he said as he started walking towards Scathach's sister, still held at knife point. He then stroked Aife's chin, much as she tried to resist. "But we have ourselves a very powerful being we can leverage. The expense of the life of one dormant mage would be a reasonable price to pay for such advantage..."

"No!" Scathach yelled, feebly pulling against her restraints despite not being able to break them.

"I'll make this simple lass," the Chieftain said seriously as he turned back to Scathach. "Join us, and your sister lives as long as you serve faithfully. Refuse... we slice her throat."

As if to hammer his point home, the soldier holding Aife pressed his dagger harder against her neck and causing a small cut. Terrified, Aife screamed, enraging Scathach.

"DON'T. YOU. DARE...!"

She pulled harder against the tendrils holding her, seeing red at the sight of the sneering Chieftain, unthreatened by Scathach's fury. He then addressed his subordinates.

"If the girl opens her mouth again, kill her. And you-"

He motioned to one of the other soldiers.

"-Bring me her spear. I'll have the Zealots examine it..."

The Chieftain walked off to prepare his horse. Aife stopped struggling against her captor, but tears started running down her face. Scathach watched, still seething as one of the soldiers picked up her spear right in front of her. She forced her anger down as she tried to think.

That's when she noticed it...

The aching sensation in her circuits faded, which means the effects of the orb that hit her had begun to wear off. The only thing preventing her from using magecraft were the magic tendrils holding her, sustained by the Heraldic acolytes. She then remembered when she used Gae Bolg to cut her way through the Bounded Field; she enchanted the weapon made of Curruid bone to "sever" other enchantments.

If I can just get my spear back... Aife!

She locked eyes with her sister, who after looking up did the same with Scathach, who motioned her eyes between her and the red spear that the unaware soldier was holding. Aife's eyes then lit up.

She got the message...

While that was happening, Scathach grinded her foot against the ground, loosening it. She thought it fortunate that the soldier holding Aife had pulled his mask up...

And despite her bonds, Scathach was still unnaturally strong.

"Aife!" Scathach called just as she reeled her leg back, and what followed happened quickly. Aife looked away and shut her eyes tightly. Her captor noticed and threatened to drive his dagger into her neck, but with a powerful kick, Scathach sent an explosion of rock and dirt in his direction, traveling a significant distance to reach him. The soldier was blinded and let his guard down, just in time for Aife to capitalize. She grabbed and wrenched the dagger out of his hands to then drive it into the soldier's leg. He yells in agony and releases Aife. As all the Heralds were alerted, Aife ran to the soldier carrying Scathach spear just as he turned and collided with him, pushing him into Scathach's direction. The soldier fell backwards, flailing Gae Bolg. Scathach pulled hard on the strand of energy holding her, putting in the path of Gae Bolg's blade, rotating and falling upon it.

When it touched, the tendril was severed...

With her arm free, Scathach grabs her spear and twirls it and slices at the remaining tendril holding her. The mage acolytes recoil from the sudden release of tension and fall backwards as Scathach stands and brandishes her spear; her circuits now lighting up freely.

While this was happening, the Chieftain ran back to grab Aife before she could recover and he started pulling her away, leaving his soldiers and acolytes to cover his escape.

"Get her you fools!"

The Heralds scrambled back to regroup, standing between Scathach and the retreating Chieftain taking Aife hostage. Scathach narrowed her eyes at the combatants before her with malicious intent, forgetting the Shadow's earlier warning. She didn't care at this point and the soldiers pointed their weapons and the acolytes charged their spells.

After everything these monsters did to her and Aife, Scathach was determined to make each and everyone here pay with their lives...

Pouring mana into her legs, Scathach bursts into motion before any could react. She targeted the mages first, slicing open the torso of one with her spear while the other fired a volley of curses at her. Scathach dodges and conjures a barrier in front of her and closes in on the other acolyte. He fires more in panic as she closes the distance in nearly no time at all, his spells dissipating against Scathach's barrier harmlessly. When she got close, Scathach reels back her spear and drives it through the acolytes chest and out his back. Not missing a beat, she passed by the mage's lifeless corpse and pulled out Gae Bolg from behind him so now her spear was completely soaked in blood.

Witnessing this, the soldiers briefly quivered in fear and futilely rushed at her weapons drawn, while few others pulled out their bows to shoot Scathach from a distance. This does little to even slow her down as Scathach side-steps an oncoming sword-strike with her wraith form and stabs the foolish soldier in the side. He collapses as thorns grew out of his skin and another soldier tried to run Scathach through with a spear; she dives and slashes at the soldier's leg, making him fall into Scathach's outstretched arm. Pouring mana into it, Scathach then throws him into the side of the ravine, shattering his spine as he impacts the rock wall.

The Chieftain looks back in terror as he continued to forcibly take Aife away. Aife herself was also looking back, watching Scathach tear through Heralds in attempt to reach her. She was unsure what to feel as she saw such ferocity come from her sister. On one hand, Aife felt hope that she might be rescued, but on the other-

"GET A MOVE ON, GIRL!" the Chieftain yelled as he pulled Aife away before berating his other soldiers on standby. "Don't just stand there, you morons! Stop her!"

The remaining soldiers rushed in to aid the other Heralds. Meanwhile, the archers fired their arrows at her, and Scathach conjures a wall of ice with a rune to block them. She then poured mana into her legs and kicked her ice wall, shattering it and sending blocks crashing into the archers. Knocked down, they had no time to recover as Scathach leapt into the air and projected copies of Gae Bolg to fly down and skewer them. Scathach lands, but before she regains her footing, a fire spell explodes next to her, knocking her down.

"I've got her!" yelled an acolyte, as soldiers ran in and pinned Scathach down before she could get up. Her vision blurred and her ears ringing, she was dazed by the lucky shot from a mage, and her awareness was lost until-

(SHRNNT!)

Scathach screams as she felt the metal blade of a sword pierce her flesh and through her heart; the pain so great that it drowned out any other sense she had. The Chieftain paused his retreat, turning to see the witch-girl slain. Aife's gut wrenched at the sound of Scathach's scream of agony and looks back to confirm her worst fear.

"SCATHACH!"

Aife's scream was but a distant echo in Scathach's ears, as blood flowed out of her wound, her vision blurred, and her strength waned. Her head droops and hits the ground as her entire body went limp.

No... NO!

Aife was on the verge of tears... despite what Scathach had said about being immortal, it all seemed irrelevant upon seeing her sister stabbed through the heart, internally tearing her apart. She knew no human could survive a wound like that, and it felt like Aife had just lost her sister...

The soldiers stand over her in victory, but they did not see what was happening within...

They slowly backed away when they saw it. The circuits on Scathach's limp body glowed; the blood that poured from her wound dissolved, then black mist came emanating from her. Like a dead corpse possessed, Scathach pushed herself off the ground and slowly stood up. She raised her head revealing the dull, lifeless eyes after death which then glowed bright violet.

Aife looked on, initially feeling relieved at seeing her sister get up from a fatal blow. But when she saw her face, the captive girl gradually felt frightened, not sure if the being before her even was Scathach...

The Chieftain kept a stone-cold visage at this sight, yet his eyes betrayed true terror:

The fear of God...

Gae Bolg reappeared in Scathach's grasp, glowing and sparking with dark energy. She raised it over her head slowly-

"Kill it! KILL IT!"

The Chieftain's panicked order came as he hurriedly pulled Aife towards the rocks blocking the pass. The soldiers fired arrows, and the acolytes fired spells at the newly risen Scathach. The arrows and curses dissipated before they even got within a foot of her, the air around Scathach becoming so thick and distorted with mana that nothing short of truly powerful spells could touch her. With the mortal spear in both hands, held high over her, Scathach inhales a breath of life...

Then she slammed it down.

The moment that the blade of Gae Bolg touched; red spikes suddenly jutted out the ground all around her, impaling the many Heralds before her. They scream in agony and die almost instantly, blood from their corpses dripping down onto the dirt floor. The other Heralds try to run, but Scathach retrieves her spear and reels back to throw. She lets it fly, and the spear becomes just a jagged red contrail, incredibly fast as it seeks and pierces the hearts of the soldiers and acolytes in rapid succession. One by one, the Heralds are struck and killed within seconds, and as the red line that was Gae Bolg flies around her, Scathach walks forward in the Chieftain's direction; her gaze fixated on his retreating form. The Herald leader hurriedly weaved between the rocks pulling Aife behind him, not bothering to look back at the sight of his subordinates falling before the force of nature that was the witch-girl.

He thought he was home free when they weaved past this massive stone, and he can see his horse within sight-

(CRASH!)

The Chieftain recoils at the sound of the rocks parting behind him. He turns and pulls Aife into a stranglehold as he sees Scathach floating towards him, having moved all the rock with a rune and a wave of her hand. She lands gracefully on her feet and walks towards the duo with purpose. Aife gags as she is held tight at the neck by the Chieftain's arm.

"Stay back!" he commanded, backing up while holding Aife in front of him as hostage. The glow from Scathach's eyes faded, and her indifferent visage from her high of mana morphed into a hateful glare directed at the Chieftain. She holds out her hand as Gae Bolg flies back in her grasp, the blade dripping with blood as the witch-girl kept walking towards them.

Seeing this, the Chieftain grew more panicked and warns Scathach:

"I'll KILL her...!"

He tightens his grip around Aife's neck to emphasize his threat, but it still didn't make the witch-girl stop. He thought for a moment maybe he could leverage Scathach into serving the Heralds by threatening her sister, but the look on the witch-girl's face told the Chieftain that no matter what, he was a dead man. Changing tactics quickly, he threw Aife to the side and pulled out the weapon he'd used on Scathach previously. In a singular motion, he held out his arm as the silver orb hovered over his shoulder. Circuits glow as he reels his arm back as if to throw. The orb charges with mana and spins. Scathach does not relent one bit at the sight of the artifact that moments before weakened her.

She was ready for it this time...

The Chieftain then chants:

"Behold. Blade of the War God! Of The Retaliator!"

The orb briefly projected a ghostly image of an ornate sword before charging to its apex.

"Fragarach!"

The Chieftain thrusted his arm forward and the orb shot over his shoulder towards Scathach. He sneered as it travelled towards the witch-girl at incredible speed. In response, Scathach poured mana into her spear and spun a flourish; swinging her spear so the flat part of the blade will get hit by the oncoming projectile... or rather be deflected away, sending the orb hurling back towards its owner...

The Chieftain's face morphed from victory to that of shock, and gasped as the orb rebounded towards him, striking him in the side.

"ARGH!"

He was knocked off his feet and flew several feet backwards. A crystal flew out of his pouch from the impact and landed near Aife's recovering form. The Chieftain meanwhile landed on his back and clutched the side of his chest; pain from having at least two ribs broken. He looks back and sees his artifact lying on the ground some distance away. He attempted to crawl towards and retrieve it-

And froze when he felt the blade of Gae Bolg against his neck...

The Chieftain rolled over to see Scathach standing over him, her face showing cold indifference. She then slammed her foot against his, breaking it. The Chieftain screamed in pain, but Scathach did not quiver in the slightest as she then twisted her foot and caused this pathetic sod of a man to scream even more.

She didn't want rush things with this one... Scathach wanted to savor the pain he was in before she ultimately ended him...

She then released her foot from the Chieftain's leg; his screaming stopped but he was left reeling. Shaking, he raised his head to meet Scathach's gaze.

"P-Pl- Please..." his faltering voice came through and full of cowardice. "Mercy...!"

Scathach felt anger ripple through her again and tightened her grip on Gae Bolg; sparking with energy as reflection of the turmoil in her heart.

How dare this man plea for her mercy...

After everything he and his cult did to her, Aife, Fimir, Kihli, and everyone in the village. How many homes have they razed? How many lives have they destroyed!? All at the behest whatever higher power they believed gave them the right to do so!?

How DARE he...!

Scathach's circuits glowed brighter, so did the fires of rage coursing through her veins. Did this man not know that he was a mere insect to her!? A Goddess among humans! She could crush him with but a single thought!

Her heart hammering in her chest, Scathach slowly raised her spear over her head, reeling back to drive Gae Bolg straight into the Chieftain's heart. She made sure the wait would be agonizing for her soon-to-be victim.

As would be his death...

HE SHALL RECIEVE NO MERCY FROM ME!

With an anguished yell, Scathach thrusted Gae Bolg down, about to end this monster's life-

!

But it stopped before it made it halfway, for the shaft was caught by the Shadow, who suddenly appeared beside her and held back Scathach's spear from piercing the Chieftain's chest. He could see that Scathach didn't even notice his intervention. She was fixated on the man beneath her and yelled again in frustration as she tried to force the spear down with all her might. After trying and failing several times, her strength started to wane.

"Lass..."

The sound of his voice finally made Scathach pause. With rage still evident on her face, she slowly turned to look at him, breathing heavily. When she saw the look on her mentor's face; one of pleading and pity, it lulled the anger in Scathach's mind. Enough for her to regain some semblance of awareness.

The air was still and quiet... save for someone's sobbing...

Scathach's heart wrenched, and her face turns from one of rage to sad realization when she turned her head in the other direction, and saw who it was coming from.

She knew the answer before she saw it... Aife.

There her sister was... still on the ground and looking right at Scathach, with tears streaming down her cheeks. From the look of shock on her face, Scathach wondered if Aife even recognized her.

Because the way Aife was staring at her... it wasn't how one would ever look upon family... it made Scathach wonder with worry:

Why is she looking at me like that? WHY is she crying?

Then it hit her... she needed only to look back at the sheer carnage behind her to affirm her worst fear; and the corpses of many soldiers and acolytes she'd slain horrifically.

Scathach took one last glance towards her sister to realize the bitter truth, and a tear fell from her eye.

Aife wasn't starring at her... but something that only resembled her sister...

Scathach... in Aife's eyes...

...

Was a monster...

Aife had become afraid of her sister.

Gae Bolg wisped out of existence, and Scathach broke down; falling to her knees and sobbing uncontrollably. The Shadow was there to catch and hold her, but Scathach hardly noticed. She was too ashamed to look upon anyone after what she just did. She was too consumed by rage to realize what her display of power instilled in the person she was trying to protect. Scathach didn't know what came over her; only that after being stabbed through the heart, she threw restraint to the wind and retaliated against the Heralds.

She was prepared to do anything to get Aife back, even kill as many as it took and more to reach her...

Yet it only ended up driving her sister further away, and Scathach hated herself for it.

She continued to cry in the Shadow's arms, who didn't say a thing throughout it all. His only focus was relieving the despair his student was experiencing, and kept hugging her protectively. Time seemed lost on them as the mentor allowed his student to grieve. Scathach's crying eventually stopped, but her voice sounded frail and broken when she broke the silence.

"How do I come back from this?"

The Shadow hesitates for but a brief moment before...

"Well... forgiving yourself first is a start..."

Scathach sniffled and slowly lifted her head to look at him in the eye. Hearing his blunt, but honest answers had a weird way of getting her to pull herself together.

"I guess... I still need to work on discipline..." she remarked to her teacher. If she was truthful to herself, she never told him just how much he was such a-

(RUMBLE)

The ground shook, pulling Scathach out of her melancholy. Her senses sharpened at the prospect of danger, reinforced by the Shadow tensing up too. What really caused her to worry was seeing the look on his face.

"No..." she heard the Shadow say under his breath. "Damn it! I was too late!"

Before Scathach could question him, the ground beneath them suddenly burst with bright energy, sending them flying backwards. The two landed with a thud and watched as a giant mass emerged from the earth, radiating with dark energy.

A familiar roar akin to a howl made Scathach tense up in horror.

A Netherlyst!

As she watched this immense beast rise up before them, she caught a glimpse of the Herald Chieftain on the far side, whom despite his injuries has miraculously made it on to his horse and got away.

Aife was backing up at the sight of the Netherlyst as it towered over the whole forest. The beast roared again and began to glow from its joints. The Shadow stood up and flew towards it in wraith form, but before he could get close enough to use his blades, the Netherlyst let loose a powerful shockwave from its body, blasting the Shadow away and making him crash somewhere in the forest. The shockwave rippled across the ground, blowing apart stone and earth. Scathach's attention turned to Aife, who was out in the open and about to be engulfed.

"AIFE!" she yells in a panic, and Scathach wraith-dashes as fast as she could to get to her. Aife puts her arms up in a futile attempt to shield herself as the torrent of destruction raced its way towards her, threatening to bury her under an avalanche of rock. Scathach reaches her sister and quickly casted a rune beneath them as they got buried alive under a mountain of stone...

---

It was dark... quiet... and suffocating.

Scathach only had time to cast a barrier on Aife, and was crushed by the immense weight of earth and rock. She can feel her broken bones and torn muscles trying to mend themselves throughout her body, pushing against the rock pressing her from all directions.

When she came to... all Scathach could feel was pain... more pain than most people would ever experience.

It was the kind of pain you wished you were not alive for... death would seem like bliss in comparison.

Worse still... Scathach couldn't move, or breathe.

With no air... she couldn't even scream through the pain. All she could do was cry...

Not just from the pain... but in the dark, Scathach can only recall the horror on Aife's face, appearing before her eyes as vividly as when Scathach first saw it.

It was heartbreaking.

She could only hope what she did was enough to save Aife... and that maybe she would know it was her sister who tried to rescue her.

Just then... a light appeared, blinding her as it grew bigger and bigger. Scathach felt herself being pulled... to where, she did not know.

But she no longer felt pressure all over her body... and it began to heal on its own.

Even with her chest still caved-in and her broken ribs digging into her lungs, Scathach could take a breath.

Fresh air...

The pain all over her body faded as eventually, even her mangled limbs and her crushed sternum mended back together. Some of Scathach's senses returned, starting with her touch...

She felt her back being laid down gently.

Her scent...

Dust in the air, followed by the slight tinge of blood, most likely her own. Scathach coughed as her air passages formed.

Her hearing...

Aife's frantic yells, echoing Scathach's name over and over, sounding less and less distant.

And her sight...

The white light faded as everything else came into focus.

Devastation... destroyed earth everywhere. But she could make out a person looking down at her, and feel the tears falling and hitting Scathach's face, along with this person's hands cupping her face.

"Ai... fe..."

Scathach's voice was as broken as her vocal cords, which haven't yet fully healed. She took an even deeper breath and coughed out some rock-dust still caught in her lungs. Her vision finally returned to her in full, and to her surprise (and relief), Aife was staring down at her with a joyous smile, even if her face indicated that she was crying.

"Sister... I'm here."

She was okay... and she was happy to see her!

"Aife..." Scathach tried saying again, her voice gradually becoming clearer. "Aife!"

She tries pulling herself up from the ground, and Aife was there to help her sit up.

"Easy..." she tells her. Scathach looks around and sees the Shadow standing nearby. "He pulled you out after me. You were in bad shape..."

"How bad?" Scathach found herself asking.

"You DON'T wanna know..." the Shadow said bluntly before taking a step towards the sisters. "Anyways, we don't have much time. The Netherlyst is headed towards the village."

Scathach's expression fell at the memory of that beast.

"Not the village... but-"

"The children," the Shadow finished. "It's going to try to devour them before they reach the settlement."

"Then we must go now!" Scathach said before forcing her tender body up with Aife supporting her.

"Not we, lass," stated the Shadow, making her freeze. "It was you killing the Heralds that spawned that monster. You've done enough..."

"What?!" Scathach exclaimed. "You couldn't have told me that sooner?!"

"Your role as my pupil is to listen, NOT question," the Shadow admonished before turning to leave. "Once you secure the children, head back to the village. I'll deal with the Netherlyst..."

"But-!"

The Shadow flew off before Scathach could finish her retort.

"Damn it!"

She stood there looking up at the grey sky and grunted in frustration before casting her head down. Her anger was not directed at her mentor, but at herself. Scathach knew it mattered not if she'd known about how the deaths of the cultists would attract a Netherlyst, but when they took Aife, she refused to listen and let the Shadow rescue Aife himself.

He knew...

Her mentor knew his pupil was more impulsive whenever her loved ones were in danger, and even if Scathach heeded his warnings, they'd be forgotten the moment the Heralds pushed her too far. And for that, he didn't want her to be the one to go.

Aife would not have watched her sister slaughter them all...

And the bloodshed would not have summoned the Netherlyst. The lesser monsters of the forest would have done the job without bringing one forth...

Had Scathach been wiser, the children would not be in more danger now than before...

How could I have been so STUPID?!

As much as she hated admitting it, her teacher knew her better than Scathach knew herself. Gathering her strength, Scathach made sure she was able to stand up on her own before addressing her sister.

"Aife," she then said with a heavy heart. "As soon as I get you to the village, I'm going back to help him kill that thing."

Aife looks at her in surprise.

"But he just said-"

"I know, but I have to."

"Look Scathach, I know you took an avalanche for me, but you just got back on your feet. This thing is too powerful for you. It nearly killed us the first ti-!"

"Aife," Scathach stressed and held her sister by the shoulders, silencing her. She locked eyes with her sister, and Aife could see the regret in Scathach's eyes.

"I did this..." she says shamefully. "And I have to fix it..."

Aife stood transfixed and speechless at the look of determination on Scathach's face, and she understood perfectly.

She was taking responsibility...

"Then let's fix it together," said Aife, her face now mirroring her sister. "Let ME get the children back, while you kick that monster's backside..."

---

Sometime after, a column of black mist descended into another part of the forest, and emerging from it was Scathach and Aife. Having just flown through the forest carrying her sister, Scathach gently allowed Aife to fall on her knees, clearly taken back by the experience.

"Since WHEN could you do THAT?" Aife asked ecstatically, referring to Scathach's ability to carry someone with her in wraith-form.

"Literally yesterday," Scathach answers while helping Aife get back on her feet. "Kihli got to enjoy it first."

"Remind me to just ask you when I need to go somewhere..." remarked her sister.

"Deal. Come on..."

They then raced past trees and bushes until they came up to the top of a hill overlooking the valley. Below them was a road, along with-

"There!" Scathach pointed down and she and Aife saw the carriages full of children being pulled by horses. "Shadow must have made the steeds his temporary familiars."

"What are those?" asked Aife.

"Any living thing influenced by magecraft," Scathach explained quickly. "That's not important. I don't see the Netherlyst in sight-"

(CRASH!)

Just as she said that, the immense creature burst through the treetops and towered over the forest. The horses below pulling the children panicked at the noise and earthquake, and Scathach could hear the children inside crying or screaming in terror. A black streak in the sky appeared flying around it as the beast tried to blast it away.

The Shadow...

Scathach could see the black-wisp in the shape of a human fire spells at the Netherlyst, but all that seemed to do was just annoy it. Scathach could not who or what had the upper hand. Worse still, the beast was dangerously close to the road, and Scathach was worried that any break in the fight would give the beast a window to spot the caravan of children moving around the valley.

And take them for an easy meal...

"We gotta get down there, now! Grab on to me!"

Aife complied and Scathach went in wraith-form and flew them both down towards the caravan. Just then, the Netherlyst released another energy shockwave that ripped through the whole forest. The concussive force of the blast broke the carriages from familiars pulling them and pushed them off course. One broke apart at the wheels while the other was sent rolling towards the edge of a cliff. Scathach and Aife materialized on the road before Scathach dashed again towards the out-of-control wagon. Just before it went over the edge, Scathach summoned her spear, digging it forcefully into the ground with one arm while reaching out to grab the carriage with the other. Her arm strained as she held it, stopping it from completely going over. The children, including Kihli, were able to look back at her as Scathach then poured mana into her arms, reinforcing them. She started to pull, grunting painfully as the carriage came cresting back over the edge inch-by-inch.

Meanwhile, Aife rushed over to the other carriage and climbed over to inspect the other children.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked them. From what Aife could see, no one was seriously injured, and she started helping the kids climb out one-by-one.

Scathach finished pulling the carriage back on flat ground, out of breath from the ordeal. To her relief, most of the children were cheering, and she eventually looked inside.

"Are you all okay?"

"We are," said Kihli as he climbed out. "Thanks."

(ROAR!)

They all looked back at the creature battling the Shadow. The Netherlyst was looming over everything as it repelled the Shadow's assaults.

"That thing is huge," Kihli said before Scathach helped him off the wagon. "What even is it?"

"A living nightmare," replied Scathach while dusting him off. "That's all you have to know."

With some well-placed rune magic, she fixed the carriages while Aife and Kihli reigned in the horses. Once they were tied to the carriages again, they quickly loaded the children back aboard.

"You and Aife stay with the kids," Scathach said to Kihli while giving him a boost on to his carriage. "Get back to the village as quickly as you can, before that monster sees you."

"What about you?" Kihli asked, looking down at her. Scathach hesitates for a second before telling him.

"I'm going back to kill it..."

She could see the boy's expression falter, no doubt feeling concerned for her safety.

"Are you sure? That thing seems too powerful, even for you."

"It's something I have to do, Kihli," she tells him. "Do not wait for me. I'm counting on you and Aife to keep the rest of the children safe."

Convinced, Kihli gives an affirming nod.

"Alright... just be careful. And when you get back..."

He leans closer towards Scathach's face, making sure he had her undivided attention before saying with a smirk.

"I would like your answer."

Scathach was briefly stunned, remembering Kihli's request to be trained by her. She then returns a smile along with a promise.

"If we get through this... then you will have it."

She then turned to her sister, who had just finished tying the Shadow's temporary familiars to the carriages.

"Aife... all set?"

"Yes," she responds, hurrying back to up her. "If you want me to go with them, I sure could use my spear..."

"Say no more," Scathach said assuredly before holding out her hand and materializing Aife's spear before her eyes.

"Wow," Aife spoke out in admiration at the design. "You've done some work on it..."

"Just like mine," Scathach replied while handing it to her sister. She then instructs Aife; "Use it ONLY if you have to. And mind your stance..."

With that, Scathach turned and went into wraith-form before flying towards where the Netherlyst and the Shadow were fighting. Aife watched her sister fly away and then hopped onto the carriage with Kihli.

Meanwhile, the Shadow was still locked in combat with the Netherlyst. He flies low, dodging energy blasts fired from its mouth. The Shadow then spiraled up the creature's leg, making cuts along its body with his blades. The Netherlyst roars in agony and swats at him with his arm, only for the Shadow's wraith-form to slip between its claws and land on the back of its hand. The Shadow then runs up the creature's arm, his eyes dead set on the glowing mass on its shoulder. The Netherlyst turns its head and shoots energy at him. The Shadow weaves between the deadly projectiles and summons his blades again as he closed in towards his target. Just then, the Netherlyst's body glowed and a shockwave expanded outward, causing the Shadow to get knocked off its arm and sent flying.

The Shadow was sent spiraling through the air, but the Netherlyst wasn't through with him yet. It fired even more projectiles at him while he was suspended in midair. With no shadows up here in the air, the ancient mage had no way of avoiding the creature's attack. This was going to knock the wind out of him-

Just then, Scathach flew up and grabbed the Shadow, pushing out of the way from the blast. She flew them into the trees, out of sight from the Netherlyst. Once they have materialized, the Shadow recovered and scolded his "rescuer."

"Lass, what are you doing?!"

"You're welcome..." Scathach deadpanned.

"I told you to stay out of this!" he argued. "I don't need any help!"

"Sure looks like you do!" Exclaimed Scathach. "Besides, I can't let it get near the children! I'm going to help kill that thing!"

"You're not ready for a Netherlyst!" the Shadow argued. "It already devoured several Heralds earlier and it has grown more powerful! You can't take this creature!"

"Neither can you, not without help!"

"DON'T make me force you to leave lass!"

"Try me-!"

(ROAR!)

The Netherlyst's howl and its thundering footsteps grabbed both of their attention, and didn't take them long to figure out that it had given up on the Shadow and turned its attention back towards the edge of the valley, towards the caravan of children.

"You need to stay with the kids," the Shadow instructs Scathach. He sat up and reignited his circuits. "Get them back to the village as quick as you can."

"This thing has already knocked you down several times," Scathach reasons. "If it reaches the children, I won't last. If we fight this thing together, we can keep its attention fixed on us giving the children time to escape."

"I said you're not going to help me," he refutes her, tired of her stubbornness. "I have enough on my plate..."

He started walking away, and Scathach quickly got back on her feet, not willing to let him go.

"Look, I'm sorry... alright!?" her "apology" does not make him stop, but Scathach pressed him on. "It was my arrogance that brought that monster here, and I promise not to disregard you again. Please, at least give me the chance to make this right!"

The Shadow at last stopped, but he did not look at his student. He had half a mind to disregard Scathach's insistence and let her wallow in the knowledge that this was her fault in the first place. It would serve as a lesson to her...

But...

Conflicted, the Shadow slowly looked over his shoulder back towards his student, seeing the look of determination on her face and the spear held to side.

What kind of mentor would he be if he didn't let his student correct her failures?

With a frustrated grunt, he finally spoke.

"Follow everything I say to the letter. If you don't, I'll have you climbing the mountain fifty times over in a day..."

Scathach perks up with enthusiasm and cheered under her breath.

"Yes!"

His student's sudden reversal in mood made him sigh.

Kids...

---

"Can't these things go any faster?!"

Aife was frustrated by the less-than-ideal pace of the Shadow's familiars towing the carriages. She was pretty sure she can run faster than this. As anxious as she was with the Netherlyst spotting them before they made it out of the valley, deep down she knew that on this narrow road, going fast was a death sentence. Aife was wise enough to not risk the possibility of the carriages rolling down the cliff.

She thought about poking the one in front of her with the blunt-end of her spear when-

"Uhh, Aife?" Kihli suddenly said with worry and pointed ahead of them. "We have another problem...!"

Aife followed the boy's gaze and found a group of armed men gathered on the road ahead.

Masked men.

"Oh, great...!" Aife exclaimed sarcastically as the Heralds started closing in on them.

"They couldn't have gone far!" she heard one of them call out. "Round up the slaves and bring them back for the Chieftain!"

"What do we do now?" Kihli asked Aife frantically. She had to think quickly before they all ended up in their clutches again.

---

Scathach and the Shadow flew towards the Netherlyst with all haste, staying low in the trees so the creature will not see them coming.

"The joints on the Netherlyst are where it stores its energy," the Shadow explained to her as the flew beside each other. "We can take it down if we destroy all of them, so it'll do everything it can to keep us from getting close, so best to separate..."

"We split its attention..." Scathach acknowledges.

"So, when he engages one of us the other will-"

"-Strike from behind."

"If we can throw it off balance, we can both go in for the kill."

"Sounds like a plan..."

As they closed-in, Scathach splits away and the Shadow as he attacked the Netherlyst head-on. He summons his blades and cuts across its lower legs. The creature roars and fires a barrage of energy that torches the forest below him. The Shadow dodges and weaves between trees as they explode and shatter around him. He lands on the ground and materializes briefly to launch fire spells at the monster. They land and explode on impact, only serving to annoy the Netherlyst. It turns and fires again at the Shadow as he went back into wraith form and flew around in a wide arc, making the creature turn.

Just in time for Scathach to fly up behind its blind spot.

Going up the creature's back, Scathach zeroed-in one of the glowing masses on its shoulders. She knew once she lands, the Netherlyst will notice her, so she had to strike hard and fast. Scathach materializes and lands on the creature's bulbous head and packed mana into her legs for a powerful kick off the side. The monster's head is flung sideways and Scathach sails over its glowing shoulder as gravity kicked in. She summons her spear and pours mana into her arms for a forceful aerial strike right in its joint, committed to puncturing it with all her might.

"Hyah!"

Scathach lands and thrusts her spear down, but instead of piercing it, she hits resistance. An invisible force then repelled her spear and flung her off her feet with a discharge. Scathach tumbles over and falls along the back of the Netherlyst. Recovering quickly, she stabs the blade of Gae Bolg into the creature's rigid hide, embedding it and stopping her fall. She hangs and collects herself after the violent reaction.

"A barrier?! Not fair!"

(ROAR!)

"Uh-oh..."

By now, the Netherlyst noticed her and starting thrashing its body to try and shake her off. Scathach holds on for dear life, but is eventually flung off and sent sailing over the forest. She was already dreading the impact as she fell through the forest canopy.

This is going to hurt...!

Scathach's body crashed and broke through several branches before finally crashing on to the forest floor. Her mangled body rolled to a stop and Scathach groaned in pain. She writhes as her body slowly healed itself, but her blood goes cold when she hears the thundering footsteps of the Netherlyst creeping up on her.

Daring to look up, she sees the towering creature looking down and raising its foot to stomp on her. Scathach tries to move, but with her mending legs still broken, she was unable to crawl fast enough to escape. The foot descends on her only to be knocked away by a spell, narrowly missing Scathach and its impact making the ground shake. She looks up and sees the Shadow zig-zagging up the monster's body back to one of its joints. The Shadow stood on the Netherlyst's arm and charged a lightning spell and fired it at the glowing mass. He yelled as he sustained the bolt of electricity in effort to break the barrier surrounding it. In a panic, the Netherlyst glowed and release its signature shockwave attack, blasting him away. With the destructive wave coming towards her, Scathach finally got up on her legs and flew clear of it with her wraith form as trees and rocks blew apart around her.

Landing in a safe spot, Scathach decided to take a different approach into bringing this beast down, so she starts drawing the largest strand rune she ever cast on the ground, hoping it would be enough to entangle the Netherlyst. Looking up, she sees the Shadow engaging the creature yet again, and she finishes drawing her rune, Scathach goes back into wraith form and joins him. Flying around to avoid a barrage of energy blasts, the Shadow flies beside her.

"I've never seen a Netherlyst like this," he tells Scathach. "It's protecting its vulnerable spots with every measure imaginable. It's going to take a lot to crack through it."

"My spear can't break through either," she reveals. "We should try knocking it off balance, then we can hit its joints together at the same time."

"Not bad, lass."

"Thanks... we just need to lure it this way..." She points to where she has her rune set up. "And generate a hard enough spell to topple it with."

"Leave that to me," the Shadow says in affirmation.

With their new plan set, they circle back to lacerate the Netherlyst across its legs. Seeing the Shadow flying away, the Netherlyst opens its mouth to fire at him, only to be froze shut with an ice spell. The Netherlyst shifts its gaze to the other flying nuisance floating over its right arm. In response Scathach flies off.

That's right... follow me!

The creature turns and chases after her. It breaks the ice holding its mouth shut and shoots at her. Scathach avoids them as she guides the Netherlyst over her rune. Meanwhile in a nearby clearing, the Shadow drew a large rune on the ground that glowed bright red. With the beast in sight, he charges his spell. With the beast in position, Scathach dives as it charges at her and weaves between its legs. The Netherlyst takes a step to turn after her, but its foot stepped over Scathach's rune, activating it and tangling its leg in glowing strands of mana. The monster roars in frustration as it tries to free itself, while at that same moment, the Shadow's spell reached its apex and he aimed at the ensnared Netherlyst before letting loose a large orb of fire with the force of a cannon. It sails and explodes as it hit the creature, the concussive blast sending it staggering back and tripping over Scathach's strands.

(CRASH!)

Scathach watches from her perch on a tall tree as the Netherlyst falls over and impacts against the forest sending a thick cloud of earth into the air and making the ground shake. Summoning her spear, she saw their chance to strike the beast while its down and moved to engage. Her sight of it obscured by all the dirt in the air, she could barely make out a blue glow through the thick cloud of debris, but thought nothing of it as it cleared. Scathach flew up to strike down at where the Netherlyst is-

"What the-?"

Or that is what she would have done if the Netherlyst was still there...

"How in Lugh's name-?!"

Overlooking the impact site, there was no sign of the monster; just the crater where she saw it fell. It was like it just vanished. As much as Scathach wanted to question it, there was no denying the fact that she and the Shadow have lost track of it.

Where did it go? Things THAT big don't just disappear...

---

"Over here!"

One of the Heralds called out as they went down the cliffside road towards the carriages. More joined him as they ventured closer, stopping the horses in their tracks. And yet, they couldn't see the children they were supposedly carrying.

"Come out, you little maggots!" the soldier called, readying his sword. "We promise we won't hurt you... too badly..."

As he and another Herald slowly came up to the leading carriage, another duo went to the one behind. Inside them, Kihli and the other children were hiding themselves beneath a large sheet of cloth that covered the entire top of the carriage. Aife was lying prone underneath with her spear at the ready. Kihli could hear the footsteps of the Heralds coming closer, peaking through a tiny hole through the covering. The footsteps stopped, and Kihli could barely make out one of the soldiers looking over the side of the carriage and reaching to pull the cloth off them...

"Now!"

At Aife's command, all the kids stood up and threw the sheet of cloth over both the soldiers. The Heralds were blinded and startled, trying frantically to get the cloth covering off of them. At that moment, Aife quickly crawled out from under the carriage and used the shaft of her spear to push both soldiers off the cliff. Alerted, the other Heralds turned, only for the kids on that carriage to do the same thing and throw the cloth over them. They all got out and pushed, knocking the Heralds over the cliff.

"We did it!" Kihli cheered. With the Heralds defeated, Aife felt relieved, but unbeknownst to her, one of the soldiers she had pushed managed to grab on to the cliff and climb back up. Aife had her back turned when the Herald grabbed her. Aife panics and tried turning her spear on him, only for it to wrenched out of her grasp and thrown under the carriage.

"Aife-!" Kihli yelled, only to be interrupted by arrows hitting the carriage. All the children ducked as more Heralds came from the road ahead with their bows drawn, while Kihli jumps down and takes cover behind the carriage. He hides under the carriage and spots Aife's spear as the Heralds stopped firing their arrows.

"Put them away!" one of them commanded in admonishment. "The Chieftain wants them alive!"

Aife continued to struggle against her captor as he tried to force Aife towards the edge of the cliff. Just then, a red blade juts through the soldier's chest, making him yell in pain and release his hold on Aife. The Herald collapses and Aife looks back at the person who stabbed him.

There stood Kihli, holding Aife's spear, and looking shocked at what he just did. Before Aife could thank him, the remaining Heralds were surrounding them with their swords out.

"Did you really think we'd let you get away?" one of them taunted the kids. The others were powerless to do anything while Aife and Kihli were held at blade point. "What are you going to do now, you runts?"

Aife glared. Although they tried, there was just no way out of this. She slowly reached behind to grab her spear from Kihli's grasp, determined to go down fighting...

(RUMBLE)

The ground shook, startling everybody. At the bottom of the cliff below, the earth cracked open with a blinding light, and the Netherlyst rose up and looked down at the children and Heralds.

"Shoot it!" one of the Heralds commanded, and they all starting firing their arrows at the immense beast. The children took the opportunity to hide while Aife and Kihli crawled under the carriage. Looking back, they saw the Heralds' arrows were having no effect on the monster, and before they knew it, the soldiers began screaming as they were grabbed by the tendrils of the Netherlyst, and began to have their souls drained out of them. Their screams eventually faded as the corpse of one of the Heralds fell beside the carriage, and Aife and Kihli almost gasp in shock. What was left of the soldier was nothing but rotten flesh and bone like it had decayed over decades almost instantly. Aife cringes as she thought that was what would've happened to her and Scathach before...

And with the Heralds gone, the Netherlyst turned its attention to the children...

The kids all screamed in terror as its head closed in, and with nothing they could do to stop it, Aife was dreading the inevitable-

(ROAR!)

A brief flash of light and a howl of pain later, the Netherlyst was sent staggering backwards.

"Aife! Kihli!"

Scathach's voice alleviated Aife's fears, and she and Kihli crawled out the other side to see Scathach gathering all the children, while the Shadow kept the Netherlyst busy.

"Thank the Gods!" she said as she ran up to Aife and Kihli. "We need to get you out of here!"

(CRASH!)

The Shadow was blasted away and crashed into the cliffside. The Netherlyst then fired a barrage of energy at the cliff, causing an avalanche that blocked the road ahead.

"Okay... scratch that..." Scathach deadpanned. They and all the children were sitting ducks until they could kill this thing, but neither hers or the Shadow's assaults were working against it. The Netherlyst then swung down its claw down at the children, and Scathach dashed to knock it aside, firing a fire spell at the creature's face before flying to its joint, ready to pierce it with her spear. To her frustration however, it was still shielded, and the impact of her blade striking it rebounded and sent her flying backwards, then to be caught in the monster's other claw. Restrained, she wasn't able to use her spear or cast a spell as the Netherlyst turned its head at her struggling form, prepared to blast energy at her. Seeing this, Aife urgently turns to Kihli.

"Give me the spear!"

Kihli obeyed, and Aife motions him to stand back. Scathach continued to struggle, the monster's grip crushing her body in every direction while the Netherlyst was about unleash its destructive barrage on her. Aife reeled back and threw her spear at the claw holding her sister. It lands, embedding itself in the back of Netherlyst's claw, and it thrashes it around in pain. It threw Scathach aside and she lands on the road. As if in a fit of rage, the monster's body lights up again to fire a shockwave attack. Aife and the other kids back away in fear, but out of nowhere the Shadow lands in front of them all and casted a large barrier around them all just as the Netherlyst unleashed its signature attack. The wave of energy crashed against the barrier and the cliff behind the group. The Shadow strained as the force pushed against his ward and the children huddled together fearfully. Some distance away, Scathach was watching all of this unfold.

We can't stop it! She thought in frustration. I can't hit its weak spots with those barriers protecting them. There's got to be a way past them!

Then, through the bright light of the Netherlyst's shockwave attack, she noticed it...

The joints were exposed... And when the light faded, the barriers came back up.

For Scathach, it was a revelation.

That's it! For it use that attack, it has to stop protecting itself!

The Shadow's barrier dissipated, and he fell on his knees, exhausted from expending mana. The Netherlyst seemed to have endless energy from the souls it had just consumed and it moved to attack again. Scathach readied her spear and dashed toward the monster. If she could get it to charge up that attack again, she'll get her chance to strike at the joints.

The Netherlyst's claw once again came down at the children, and the Shadow was so weak that he could barely lift his blades. Scathach lands on it and stabs it with her spear. The Netherlyst's claw jerks away and thrashes as Scathach hangs on and grabs Aife's spear, still embedded in the creature's hand. Try as the monster might, it was unable to shake her off while she draws a rune on its claw. It then tries to crush Scathach with its other hand. She leaps at the last second as the hand collides with the other. Scathach's rune activates and coils the Netherlyst's claws together with strands. She lands on its arm and casted an ice rune at the creature's mouth, freezing it shut and preventing it from firing a scattershot of energy at her.

Now it has no choice but to use its one remaining defense...

As Scathach ran up its arm, her intuition was proved correct as the Netherlyst's body began to light up, and with it, the barrier surrounding the glowing joints on its shoulders lifted.

Now's my chance!

She ran as fast as she could, with both her and Aife's spears in her hands. Scathach suspected the shockwave will be fired early in desperation; the Netherlyst having already used it on the Shadow previously. She would have to somehow fight through the torrent and hit her target without being blasted off or burnt to ash.

Scathach was already dreading how much it will hurt...

As she closed in on her target, the glow of the Netherlyst's body reached its apex, and at barely 30 feet away, Scathach dove and embedded both spears into the monster's skin just as the energy from it released outward, scorching the air and blowing away everything around it. Scathach reinforced herself to prevent her body from burning up too fast, her screams of agony drowned out by the deafening noise of the shockwave, making her ears bleed. With her holding on to the spears for dear life, Scathach's body was floating, but not repelled.

The Shadow summoned his barrier again desperately to protect the children, but with him still weakened, his barrier will break by the end of this torrent and everyone with him will die.

Scathach continued writhing as the shockwave passed over her, her mind blinded by the unimaginable pain she was experiencing between her skin burning, and her eardrums exploding. Her body kept healing through it, but Scathach found herself wishing she would die rather than keep bearing this pain further. But in her agony, her thoughts flashed to the children, Kihli, Aife, and the thought what would happen to them if she failed.

Gritting her teeth, Scathach tried to mentally drown out the pain, and just focus on what she needed to do.

Clarity.

It's just pain... that's all it was... no matter how much of it came... she could fight through it. To protect her loved ones, she would endure as much pain and torture as needed to keep them safe...

She had to...

Scathach opened her eyes, and through the white torrent can make out her target.

The monster's joint... glowing, but unprotected.

She had to reach it...

Scathach's circuits glowed brighter with mana, reinforcing herself further. With one arm, she dislodged one of her spears, and stabbed it ahead of her before pulling herself forward. She did it with the other spear, re-embedding and pulling ahead closer. The process repeated, and Scathach continued using her spears as anchors to pull herself towards the Netherlyst's joint. She grunted with each pull; her eyes fixed on her destination as she forced herself to not think about anything else.

Not the pain...

Not her bleeding ears...

Not her burning flesh...

Nothing other than driving her spear into that mass of glowing flesh.

Almost... there!

With one last pull with her spear, she was right up against the joint. Dislodging one last time, Scathach reeled back to drive Gae Bolg right into the mass. Despite not being able to hear a thing, she yells as she plunged the blade of her spear into the joint, releasing the stored souls as energy from within. The Netherlyst roared in agony and its shockwave attack was stopped instantly. The beast collapsed down the cliff, taking Scathach with it. The Shadow dropped his barrier and collapsed; his circuits having burnt through his arms and turned the sweat on his skin to steam. Aife ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down in worry.

"SCATHACH!"

What she was met with was the Netherlyst raising its claw at her. Surprised, Aife backs away and falls backwards as the claw came down on the cliff's edge, and the Netherlyst got back on its feet, towering over everybody once again.

"That thing is still alive?!" Kihli exclaimed in disbelief. But Aife saw the side of its elongated shoulder that it was no longer glowing.

And had a hole in it...

The Netherlyst's eyes glowed, its elongated tendrils were closing in on Aife and Kihli, eager to devour their-

(SHRNNT!)

A streak of red light passed right by and severed the tendrils of the monster. The Netherlyst roars in pain and staggers back. Aife and Kihli, along with all the children look up and see Scathach descending gracefully down before them, her body glowing violet and her spears arcing with crimson energy. Everyone was in awe as Scathach stared down the beast in front of her, having sapped the souls stored from the joints of the Netherlyst, and imbued into her twin spears. Aife's face slowly formed a hopeful smile.

That's my sister...

Having recovered from the initial attack, the Netherlyst roared at Scathach's empowered form in challenge, and it was one she eagerly accepted. The monster unleashed its barrage of energy projectiles at her, but Scathach casts a barrier rune which caused the orbs to rebound upon the Netherlyst and explode on impact. The Netherlyst roars in pain and staggers backward, and Scathach took the chance to dash at it at great speed and make red gashes all over its body. The Netherlyst was helpless against this assault as without one of its stores of soul energy, it could not repel her with a shockwave attack.

The Shadow stirred and pulled himself off the ground, the children parted as he limped toward the cliff's edge with his circuits gradually glowing. He stared out at the battle before him and summoned one of his blades...

Having lacerated the Netherlyst all over, Scathach flew on to its other joint, still glowing with energy. Her objective was not to pierce it however, but she used her empowered spears to sever and pry open the barrier protecting it. The Netherlyst tries to blast at her again, but is stopped when a serrated red sword was thrown and imbedded in its face, while another sailed towards its exposed joint and pierced it, releasing energy and pouring into the red blade. Scathach leaped off and flew back towards the cliff as then the red swords flew out on their own and back towards their owner.

Scathach lands on her feet beside the Shadow as he catches his blades; the one that captured the soul energy inside the Netherlyst, igniting his circuits and making his body glow.

"Thanks for the assist, lass," he quipped towards his protégé.

"Don't mention it... old man," Scathach shot back playfully. The Shadow scoffs, and then they both flew towards the Netherlyst to finish it off. Against this twin-pronged attack, the Netherlyst would only struggle as the two Void-hunters flew around it, creating deep glowing red cuts all over its body and even slicing off its arms. The Shadow floated right in front of the monster's chest and poured all the mana he could into his blades. They flashed bright red as he swung them outward in an "X"; the wave of energy expanded outward and sliced the creature's chest wide-open, exposing its giant, beating heart.

"Go for the kill!" the Shadow yelled to his student as his circuits dimmed after having used all his stored soul-energy in his blades. Scathach flew in front of the Netherlyst and reeled back her spear to throw it into the creature's heart. Pouring all her mana and soul-energy into it, she makes her weapon twist and distort with violent arcs of red electricity.

Her glowing body returned to normal as thorns grew all over the elegant, yet deadly form of Gae Bolg; the vortex of crimson encircling the weapon making it seem as though it was triple its actual size... as if it was changing itself just to specifically kill the abomination that its wielder wanted to use it against.

That's just how Scathach made it...

With the energy contained in her weapon at its apex, she lets it fly...

The spear shoots off like a rocket and strikes the heart of the Netherlyst with extreme prejudice. Like a giant stake, Gae Bolg pierces the vital organ and protrudes through the back of the beast. Red thorns grow out of its skin, and the Netherlyst's howl betrayed the agonizing pain brought upon by the weapon made from the bones of a truly primordial being. The monster collapses backwards and goes limp, crashing down into the forest and causing the earth to shake upon its death. All the devoured souls trapped in its heart, as well as those empowering Gae Bolg released into the sky and faded as what was left of the Netherlyst disintegrates like it has never existed. The only evidence of it remaining was the crater left upon its fall.

Scathach just floated there in wraith form until the mana-strain caught up to her and she returned to normal. She faints and falls from the sky. Aife gasps in shock at the sight of her sister plummeting, but luckily the Shadow dashes to Scathach's unconscious form and catches her, bringing his student safely back on the cliff-side road. The children, having watched everything unfold, started murmuring amongst themselves, fearing the worst. Aife and Kihli rush to Scathach's body as the Shadow gently puts her down.

"Scathach?" Aife whispered worriedly, then yelled when her sister did not respond. "Scathach! Do you hear me? You- You'll heal up, right?! Wake up!"

Nothing. Aife then nudged Scathach's seemingly lifeless form repeatedly. The Shadow and Kihli stayed silent, albeit the boy's eyes were slowly forming tears.

"Scathach! Come on!" Aife yells again, her voice choking as she nudged her sister's body harder. "Don't leave me! Sister... Please!"

Aife then broke down when her sister still did not wake. Her head falls on Scathach's chest as Aife sobs uncontrollably. Kihli was on the verge of crying too... until he saw a finger on Scathach's limp hand twitch ever so slightly to life. Aife continued to sob, and then she felt Scathach's chest rise in fall.

Her sister's voice was weak, and was even less than a whisper...

"I... won't... Aife..."

Aife shot up and looked at Scathach's face and saw her eyes open as she took breath. The sisters lock eyes with each other, and before Scathach knew it, Aife pulled her up and grabbed her into a very tight hug. Her voice is muffled against Aife started crying tears of joy.

"A'- fe...! Le' go...!"

Aife just shook her head and declared adamantly for everyone to hear:

"I'm never letting go of you again, sister!"

"But I c'n't... bre'the! An' I h'rt all o'er!"

Despite her protests, Scathach doesn't try breaking away from her sister's desperate embrace. If even if she wanted to breakaway, Scathach was completely depleted of energy and could barely lift her arms. Kihli, who had been watching this play out, began laughing. The Shadow turned away to hide a very rare smile forming on his face...

---

Scathach limped back to the village with Aife supporting her, followed by the horse-drawn carriages taken from the Herald camp. When they arrived back after mid-day, they found the village in a sorry state; adults either trying to sustain what was left of the settlement from last night's chaos, while others waiting by their homes anxiously, having felt the Earth shake from the distant battle involving the Netherlyst. They all watched and gathered as the sisters and the caravan of carriages came up the main road towards Fimir's hut. The widowed mother came out of her home and saw them pulling up, along with the trail of adults gathering behind them. The murmurs of the villagers grew, some in hope and others in worry as no activity could be seen from the carriages.

It was not until Scathach and Aife looked back, and as if on que, Kihli poked up and climbed out of the carriage. Fimir gasped at the sight and immediately ran to him, hugging him protectively while the boy returned the embrace in full. The whispers amongst the crowd grew, and turned into an uproar as more children came out of the carriages and joining with their families.

Scathach and Aife circled around to the back of the leading carriage, smiling hopefully at the sight of the all the families being reunited. The atmosphere went still as they saw the witch-girl and her sister lowered the gate of this wagon, and the village erupted in surprise.

The carriage was full of provisions discovered by Kihli and taken from the Herald camp. Wheat, bread, vegetables, fruit, and various meats; enough to feed an army.

Or a village...

Aife climbed up on the carriage and held up handfuls of food to further excite the crowd. The villagers gathered, and Aife was about to hand-out the provisions until the crowd suddenly grew quiet and stopped approaching the carriage. Confused, Aife looked around to see what had happened.

And she only had to look back at her sister, and then the villagers to understand why.

Aife's astonished face met Scathach's somber one, almost seeming apologetic or even regretful. The witch-girl slowly turned back at the crowd and saw all the adults glaring at her. It was clear that most of them still blamed her for the disappearance of the children, or were just spiteful of her in general. It seemed her rescuing of the kids did not change anyone's opinion of her.

After all, none of them saw her kill a horde of monsters, nor the giant eidolon that was the Netherlyst, all just to protect the children. Her presence before them reminded Scathach of one simple fact:

She was still "the witch-girl." Her presence was still a blight hanging over everybody else, and they will only continue to shun her...

Scathach looked back at an astonished Aife, who looked like she wanted to step up for her sister and give the villagers a piece of her mind. She even took a step towards the back of the carriage, only for Scathach to slowly shake her head at Aife, stopping her from doing something rash. Aife froze and looked at her sister. Scathach can read the pleading message coming from Aife's expression of astonishment and dismay.

Why are you letting them do this to you? Why are you not standing up for yourself?!

Scathach said nothing, but she let a tear escape her eye. She need only remember what happened at the mountain pass... when Heralds made off with Aife... and when she killed them all...

The people were afraid of Scathach... of her powers... what she could do with them... and what she could take with them...

And Scathach now believed those fears are justified...

Aife watched as her sister cast her head down and took a step away from the carriage in shame. Her heart becoming heavy with the unjust, sad truth. Her burden was this power that ALL the people around her could not understand, and no matter what, they will always live in fear of her because of it. Scathach could not in good conscience force these people to be any kinder to her. If she tried, then she will become everything these people feared her to be... the monster Scathach believed she was when she saw Aife's horrified face.

She supposed Kihli was right... despite all the animosity of the villagers, Scathach still cared for them, even if none cared for her in return. No amount of magical power or influence over the villagers would bring Scathach the acceptance she wanted. She had hoped that by showing people the person that she was would be enough for them to stop fearing her, and if saving the children did not change their minds...

Then nothing will.

If the people thought that Scathach's presence was a curse to them, then she will burden them no longer. She would hide away for all eternity, with no one to talk with, laugh with...

Or love...

The thought of being alone like that was what pained Scathach the most. It was an unimaginable, grim fate; one that she would never wish on anybody. But for the good of those she cared for, Scathach decided that exiling herself would be what was best for everybody. With the air still and silent, Scathach turned and calmly departed, the crowd parting for her as she passed. With her head still cast down, she did not look at anyone; not at Aife, Kihli, or Fimir watching helplessly... not at the adults glaring evenly at her in good riddance...

And certainly not at the children... who did not like this turn of events.

It was one of these children who would stand before Scathach, becoming the only thing between her and exile. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the child who stood in her way, not staying clear like everyone else. Scathach looked up at this boy's face, her eyes widening slightly when she recognized his face...

And the cloak he wore. One that Scathach gave to him just days before. He wore it when the Heralds took him, and kept it on since Scathach rescued him and the other kids.

She stood there mildly surprised to see him, more so when he stood defiantly in front of her, not allowing her to leave. She wanted to question him, but Scathach was rendered speechless when the boy got on one knee...

And bowed to her.

This action had taken Scathach completely by surprise, and caused the adults to gasp and bicker amongst themselves. The children all looked at each other, and as if they were all in agreement, they left the sides of their parents and approached the still astonished Scathach. They surrounded her and followed the boy's example, each getting down on one knee and bowing their heads in her direction.

Watching from afar, Aife, Fimir, and Kihli were all surprised. Scathach just stood there, looking around at all the children now revering her as their hero, and not wanting her to leave. It made it all the more shocking when she saw some of their parents do the same, and eventually everybody bowed before the savior of their children; "the witch-girl."

Whether the adults did so to appease their children, or came to realize Scathach's actions and bowed in apology, she did not know... nor did she really care.

Scathach looks back at Fimir and Kihli, looking at her back warmly. Reading their faces, she could tell that they thought she earned the recognition she was getting. Turning her attention to Aife, Scathach saw her smiling at her with pride. It seemed that Aife agreed with them.

It was in this moment that Scathach's feelings towards this surprising turn of events became clear:

Humbled...

The former "witch-girl" looked back at the children still bowing to her. It was evident that she had earned their respect, and Scathach smiled warmly at all of them. If they did not want her to leave, then who was she to say otherwise?

The children have accepted her. And that was enough to make her stay...

Aife watched as her sister stood tall over everyone, elated in the fact that Scathach, having done so much for the people, was beginning to get the acceptance she deserved. Fimir stood there with Kihli still in her arms. She could not but feel that it was a blessing from the gods that her son was alive with her today thanks to the actions of this mysterious, gifted girl. Scathach had no reason to help a village full of people who had nothing but scorn for her, yet did so from the bottom of her heart just because that was the kind of person she was...

Everyone here now saw Scathach as some kind of hero, but Fimir, watching the girl standing there looking around at everyone, saw something else.

She saw a queen in the making...

---

When night fell, the village became alive with activity. Everyone in the settlement were celebrating the return of the children, and feasted to their hearts' content with the food stolen from the Heralds. Bonfires were lit, and the people laughed and cheered. It was the most bustling that this rundown settlement had ever been since Scathach's arrival, and she found it pleasing to see everyone in a positive and celebratory mood after all the hardships in recent days.

However, she found herself caught off guard by the attention she herself was getting since her and the children's return to the village.

The children have spread stories of Scathach's actions; from her defending them from the hordes of monsters, and her "mighty" stand against the Netherlyst. She was having supper with her sister, Fimir and Kihli when one after another, other families came personally thanking Scathach and wanting to shower her with gifts. She was not used to this kind of attention, and when it kept happening to her throughout the night, Scathach found herself wanting to get away from it. She left the group and went a little way up the path to the fortress in order to "get some air."

Scathach appreciated the gratitude of saving the children, but beyond that... it was overwhelming to be labelled as some kind of hero, and she did not know if she even liked it. Perhaps it was because the attitudes of everyone in the village towards her had completely changed in the course of a day. It was unbelievable to think that just last night, everyone wanted Scathach's head on a pike, and now she was being lauded as a savior; a gods' send...

It was a lot to process... and the drastic change made Scathach feel... uneasy.

Sitting there on top of the steep hill, overlooking the village, Scathach could see all the fires lit, and the sounds of celebration from the villagers. Despite her melancholy, there was no denying the impact she was having on the people of this village. Yet, she felt that she somehow did not deserve the praise and respect.

Scathach found herself wishing her mentor was here to help her sort through these feelings. Alas, the Shadow disappeared just as she and the children returned to the village, almost like he wanted to hide himself away. Scathach would have appreciated for her teacher to see the village accepting her, especially after their combined efforts saved the children and defeated the Netherlyst. Maybe he would be proud of her.

But him being absent like this, Scathach could not help but think he was avoiding her. It could not be just because she made a few mistakes and went against his orders. She thought they have gotten past that once she killed the Netherlyst.

Maybe that could be why Scathach could not indulge in the festivities. She felt let down by the mentor she thought was becoming a friend. She thought their times sparring and conversing in the Red Grove had been meaningful. Her victory just would not be the same without the Shadow.

He was there for her when Scathach broke down in front of her own sister. Why wasn't he here with them now? With her?

Doesn't he care about me? Why is he staying away?

"Sister...!"

Scathach was too lost in thought to notice who was coming up behind her, and she was surprised that Aife had managed to sneak up on her.

Her mentor would be scolding her for that right now...

"Aife?" she replied, turning to her sister.

"Why so gloomy, Scathach?" Aife asked lightheartedly, and Scathach could tell she was staying in a good mood since the celebrations began. "You should be back at the hut celebrating with everyone. Today is your day!"

"I... guess so..." Scathach humored her, but the tone her voice made that statement fall flat. Aife came up and slapped her hands down on Scathach's shoulders, making her jump.

"I'm not kidding!" Aife exclaimed ecstatically. "Are you listening to what the kids are saying about you? They all saw what you did for them. You have everyone's respect, and they are celebrating their hero... You! They all love you now! Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It's great, Aife," Scathach replied hesitantly as her sister sat down beside. "It really is. It's just... sudden."

"You should have no reason to be sullen, Scathach," said Aife. "I'm related to you, yet I don't get nearly the same amount of praise you are. I'm honestly kinda jealous of you..."

She started laughing, but Scathach did not find any of that funny. Instead, she cast her head down and curled her knees to put her arms around her legs. When her sister stayed silent, Aife stopped and looked at her sister in concern.

"Alright, now I know that something's wrong," Aife remarked before leaning forward to get a better look at Scathach's face. "Are you okay?"

Aife's question of concern made Scathach reply shamefully.

"I should be asking you that..." she said without turning to her sister. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Aife asked, prompting Scathach to take a deep breath before answering.

"For what I did back at the pass. I scared you by killing those cultists. When you looked at me the way you did, I thought that maybe you didn't recognize me. I feel terrible..."

"That's what you're sorry for?" Aife asked again curiously, making Scathach look at her. That was not the reaction that she was expecting. "I was more scared of losing you if anything..."

"What?" Scathach let out in disbelief. Aife hesitated and choked-up as she answered. Anguish seeped into her voice as she reveals:

"When- when I saw them stab you, I thought you were dead! I've never been more rageful towards them until I thought I lost you. And then you got up... I- I wanted you to tear them all apart!"

Scathach was stunned. Could it be that she misread Aife's face when she looked at her back then? No... she could have sworn that...

"I wasn't going to stop you from killing that leader," Aife continued, collecting herself. "As far I was concerned, he deserved whatever you were about to do to him. If anything, I should be sorry that I made you hesitate. I just couldn't believe you were alive."

"Aife..." Scathach said with uncertainty. She should be relieved that she did not make Aife terrified of her back there, but strangely she wasn't. She did not know how to feel about Aife's feelings towards the fact that she actually enjoyed watching Scathach kill all of those Heralds.

"And now he got away..." Aife kept going, casting her head down regretfully. "Our home and people remain unavenged."

Scathach looked away for but a moment, remembering why she even pursued training with the Shadow in the first place. She'd forgotten all about her crusade against the Heralds when the children were in danger.

She remembered Aife saying she'd been reliving the night their home got raided every time she went to sleep. Scathach thought that perhaps she should not be alone in this anymore. Not when what had been revealed to her back at the Heralds' camp.

"Don't worry Aife," Scathach said, putting a reassuring hand on Aife's shoulder. "He won't be bothering us again. If he or his people try, we will be ready for them..."

Aife turned slowly to face her sister, her face turning to one of confusion.

"We?" she asked. "But... I'm not like you. I can't do the things you can sister."

"Not yet," Scathach said as she then grabbed Aife's hand. She concentrates and pours mana through her arms, making her circuits glow to life. Aife's eyes widen as then her arms light up with circuits not quite like her sisters, but astonished her nonetheless.

"Wha-? What the-?!"

"Calm down," Scathach instructed. Aife could barely contain herself of shock as her sister explained. "You're a mage just like me, sister. I can teach you what I know, and you can be there with me as we take back our home."

"Really?" Aife asked almost instantly, shaking as Scathach let go of her and making her circuits dim down.

"Yes," replied Scathach with a smile. "You and Kihli... I'll teach you both to handle a spear, and you will learn some new tricks on top of that..."

"That's great!" Aife said with excitement. "I won't disappoint you then... teacher..."

She trails off, and her gaze was directed downwards. Scathach's face fell slightly.

"Aife?" she asks casually. "What is it?"

"You know, it's strange..." Aife replies, facing her sister. "I've seen you shrug-off getting stabbed to death, but what's that cut on your hand?"

Scathach's blood ran cold. She then turned her right-hand over; exposing the cut she accidently inflicted on herself with her spear. And it happened to be the same hand that she grabbed Aife's hand with before stimulating her circuits.

She must have seen it when Scathach let go while her arms were still lit by the mana pouring through them.

"Damn it..." she said under her breath, realizing her mistake. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

"Sister?" Aife's voice turns serious. "Why were you hiding that? What happened to your hand?"

Scathach sighed in defeat. There was no point hiding the truth from her sister any longer.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Her question took Aife back a little bit. The sister narrows her eyes.

"Yes..." she answers cautiously. In response, Scathach stretched out her hand and summoned Gae Bolg.

"I accidentally nicked myself with this," she reveals. "And it turned out that I don't heal the same from wounds made by this."

"Really?" Aife asked in surprise. "Then that would mean-"

"That this can kill me," Scathach finishes for her. Aife's face morphs to shock.

"But the Heralds had their hands on it! If they even suspected, then-! (gasp). Scathach... they could have killed you!"

"Relax, Aife," Scathach tried relieving her worry. "They were none the wiser. Besides, this was just an accident."

Aife relaxed, but her voice was still tinged with concern.

"Still..." she starts. "Imagine knowing that you aren't so immortal after all. I bet you were scared when that happened."

"I was... kind of..." Scathach then tried to brush off the subject. "I just need to be careful with it from now on. Like everything else that can hurt you..."

Aife slowly nodded in agreement. That was when Scathach got to her feet.

"We should head back," she suggested, stretching her arms. "I think that I've gotten in a more festive mood..."

Scathach started walking down the hill and after a few steps, turned back to her sister who looked distracted.

"You coming, Aife?"

Aife snapped her attention back at her sister and sent a reassuring smile her way.

"Yes," she answers, slowly standing back up. "Don't wait for me. I'll be right behind you."

"Okay."

Scathach turned away and continued down the hill. She was feeling elated after telling Aife about her cut. It was like a weight lifted off her shoulders in the knowledge that Aife will keep the fact of Gae Bolg's ability to hurt her a secret. Scathach trusted her sister more than anyone, and she knew Aife would never jeopardize that trust if it meant her sister would come to harm. She was content as she turned a corner around a tree, out of Aife's sight.

These powers are good and all, but I am truly blessed to have a sister like Aife...

Aife meanwhile had dusted herself off before indulging one last look at the view of the village. She'd barely taken a step in Scathach's direction when she suddenly stopped, feeling something vibrating in her pocket. She reached her hand in and pulled out the object in question:

It was the crystal that the Herald Chieftain had in his possession. Aife had managed to grab it before the Netherlyst buried her and Scathach alive. She forgot she even had it.

And little did Aife know until now; the crystal had sat in her pocket, still and dormant until Scathach showed Aife her newly awakened magic circuits.

Aife held up the crystal in front of her face and looked at it curiously, twirling it in her fingers. The gem was white and glassy, except for the inside, which looked like the starry-night sky hanging above her right now, and had swirling trails of color appearing and varying within. Aife was fixated by the beauty of the activity inside.

And yet, she sensed that there was something beyond... something behind the swirling, colorful void that was staring back at her... watching her...

Aife stared closer, trying to see who or what it was... and then...

...

"(gasp)"

She heard a whisper...

---

Elsewhere

"My apologies, Zealots. I have failed you..."

The Herald Chieftain knelt in the center of a vast, dimly lit chamber; his wounds healed from the encounter with "the witch-girl" thanks to his magic circuits. The walls around him distorted and rippled like water as seven individuals emerged. They were cloaked from head to toe, wearing masks that covered their faces. All of them stood an equal distance from each other, surrounding the Chieftain from every angle, although he could not see their eyes, he felt the gaze of each one directed solely at him.

"It is not US that you should be apologizing to..."

The Chieftain bowed in shame as voice of one of these zealots echoed through the chamber. He could not tell who was speaking to him, and that was how the Zealots always preferred it.

Before them were those who spoke for their God, each one contesting each other for the right to commune with it directly and earn its favor.

"You were meant to extend our Sovereign's will, and gather more for the cause..."

"You had the ultimate specimen in the palm of your hand, and LOST her..."

"Her power was great," he explained. "We did not expect her to be on par with the guardian of the fortress."

"That was why you should have brought her back. The Exalted One desires what he is protecting inside of that forest."

"That girl presents another obstacle for US. Better she serves the will of the Exalted One or at worst, be removed entirely."

"I understand. Our forces have been scouring this dismal island for artifacts we can use against her. I assure you she has weaknesses. Rest assured; I don't intend on leaving the Exalted's prize unclaimed in that forest. But... I will need time to gather resources for the next attack."

The Zealots all briefly looked at each other as if to deliberate, yet no word was said between them. They shift their all-seeing eyes upon the lowly military general.

"For your incompetence, we decided that the next assault will NOT be spearheaded by you."

"What?"

"News of your failure has reached the Sovereign. It has been decided that more is needed to unlock the power sleeping inside that fortress."

"It is willing to send a disciple to bolster our strength."

A chill ran up the Chieftain's spine. He looks up at the Zealots with eyes widened in horror.

"A Seraphim?"

The Zealots all nodded. The Chieftain knew the Herald very rarely reached out to the Exalted One to summon one of its "disciples." Seraphs were gods created under the servitude of an even greater God. The one and only time that a Seraphim was called... the havoc that it brought laid the foundation of what their holy brotherhood was today. None could stand against one, and yet, even their power paled to that of the Exalted One.

"I see..." he said, bowing his head down. "However, wouldn't the ritual to summon one would take considerable time?"

"It is the will of the Exalted one. It will invest one of its right-hands towards this venture."

"We will continue cementing our influence here on the rest of the island, just as we've done to civilizations past and present."

"You will have no part in it... unless you repent your offence to the Sovereign."

The Chieftain was left in shock. He knew the act of repentance would cause unimaginable pain, but he was prepared to go through with it if that meant keeping his place in the Heralds.

An Enlightened's dedication knew no bounds...

"Zealots," he pleaded. "I have never failed you or the Exalted before, and I will not bring failure upon you again. I accept the act of repentance..."

"As one of our Enlightened, you must reaffirm your vow to the Exalted One."

The Chieftain shed the top part of his armor, exposing his upper body. On his back was a sigil burned into his back, scarred over many years. He puts his armor, and his orb, Fragarach, down on the floor beside him.

"Those who we grant Enlightenment are shown the outcome of Humanity's arrogance: That without our intervention, Humanity is doomed. Do you doubt this?"

A light was shone on him from a giant crystal in the ceiling, and the floor he knelt on. Glowing lines scattered across the glass-smooth surface as it etched an image; a mosaic of a great calamity.

A prophecy... the thing that drove the Chieftains every action for the zealots before him.

He remembers when he was abducted by the Heralds himself; worked as a slave until it was discovered that he was a mage. As a child, he was brought before the zealots and shown a wonderful, terrible truth. Ever since, he fought and worked to earn the favor of them and the God they revered, even killing his own allies to prove his newfound loyalty and willingness to do unspeakable horrors in service of the Exalted One.

The Heralds plan for Humanity was mercy compared to the horrible future he witnessed from the Zealots...

"I do not," the Chieftain declared. "And I never have..."

"Then tell us what you believe..."

"Humanity cannot control its own fate. Mana only exists as long as there's mystery in this World. It will wane as Humanity grows curious and greedy. They'll fight for every last scrap of power and destroy itself doing so."

Still kneeling, he raised his arms and outstretched them outwards to his sides.

"That is unless... our savior, our Sovereign lays claim to this World, and Humanity surrenders its arrogance and freedoms. Freedom... for Salvation..."

His breathing picks up as the moment approaches.

"This knowledge is the burden we Enlightened bear. There is no act too cruel, too costly, or too brutal, in service to the Exalted one. We, its Heralds... prepare Humanity for its return..."

"Your vow..."

"It stands... what I do for you... and what you do for us, is so we can avoid Humanity's inevitable downfall. I serve... The Reclaimer..."

Then each of the Zealots put their hands together.

"Then repent..."

The light from above turned red and the air became charged with static. The Chieftain leaned forward, arching his back, bracing for what was about to occur. He screamed as lightning struck his exposed skin from above and traced the same sigil already on his back. His flesh burning, he did not move despite the pain. The ordeal lasted a whole minute, the zealots standing completely unfazed by the cruel torture of their minion. When it was over, the lightning stopped and the light returned to white. The Chieftain stood reeling, panting heavily, and appearing on the verge of collapse. Yet, he forced himself to stand up and straighten his back, showing the fresh sigil seared onto his skin over the old one. He waited for the zealots to respond.

And respond they did.

"Return to Alba. Solidify our influence on this island and gather resources. When the Exalted wills it, you will be called upon again..."

The Chieftain bowed humbly, content in the fact that he was forgiven in the eyes of their God. His voice trembles only mildly from the lingering pain of the sigil burned into his back.

"Thank you... holy speakers..."

The zealots all spread their arms out beside of them. The walls came to life and distorted with an awful sound. Their God had many names, but only one was the name that was only shared between the most loyal and devout servants.

"FOR THE RECLAIMER."

The cloaked figures slowly sank into the walls and disappeared before the Chieftain, leaving him alone in the chamber. The walls became still and silence filled the room. The Chieftain carefully put his armor back on, and Fragarach floated back into his hand.

"For The Reclaimer..."

He then turned to leave, walking over the mural that had been formed over the floor. It showed an army of warriors, heroes out of time, united and running to fight a central, imposing being who descended from the sky. This figure dwarfed all the warriors who dared oppose it, floating gracefully while it sent its overwhelming power against this army. The being had a slim figure, but also a long, wide mane bellowing behind it, and it wore a giant, three-pointed crown...

It seemed this being was the most powerful figure in this image, appearing undeterred by the army of great warriors standing between it and the fate of humanity.

As if nothing could stop it...

---

Scathach made her way up to the fortress, climbing the countless stairsteps up to the top. The sun had just risen, and she was not wasting anytime towards going to confront the Shadow.

After last night's festivities, Scathach could not help but think about the Heralds. They were more threatening to her than she ever would've believed possible since her awakening to the Void, and it seemed that the Shadow knew a lot about them.

Their methods were disturbing to her... they used magecraft to abduct all the children in the village, created a Boundary Field so they could infiltrate the forest undetected. And perhaps the scariest thing of all was the artifact that the Chieftain had in his possession; the one that temporarily rendered Scathach powerless.

She had her suspicions when she first saw it, but the second time it was used on her, the Chieftain's chant all but confirmed her fears.

Fragarach... the sword of the Tuatha Dé Danann's War God, Lugh. Scathach thought it was just a myth... until seeing it first-hand.

How in Lugh's name did they even get it? Just who are these people?!

If she was being honest with herself, between learning magic and seeing the weapons of Gods, Scathach felt she didn't know what was real or folklore anymore...

Her plight about the Heralds did not stop there. She overheard from the Chieftain that they were going to attack this place, believing something powerful inside and the Shadow was guarding it. If that was true, then Scathach believed she might encounter the Heralds again sooner than she thought. She needed to know everything about her enemy. What their tricks were, and what they are after.

The Shadow had the answers, and she was going to get them one way or another...

The doors of the fortress opened, and Scathach hurried through the halls until she came across two Revenants.

"Take me to him," she requested, albeit impatiently. The Revenants obliged and led the girl to a room where the Shadow was training with half-dozen apparitions as sparring opponents. As soon as he saw her, he made his opponents disappear.

It started to irritate Scathach to see her mentor holed-up in here by himself all the time. How could he stand there and completely indifferent to his student, who he knew better than even she knew herself?

"Leave us," he said to his Revenants, and they left the two mages in the chamber.

"I thought I gave you the day off," the Shadow remarked rather abrasively. Scathach could tell that despite killing the Netherlyst, the Shadow had not quite forgiven her for disobeying him and trapping him in her rune.

Understandably so...

"You've been avoiding me," she said while crossing her arms. She watched him in a judgmental gaze as he put away his practice weapons. "Ditched us as soon as we came back to the village..."

"I didn't want to spoil things for you," he replied callously. "I heard the people gave you a hero's welcome. Good for you..."

From the way he said that last part, the Shadow made that sound like it was really a bad thing, and it deeply offended Scathach.

"I don't understand you," she found herself telling him with frustration. "You helped rescue the children. If you're afraid of the villagers-"

"I never said I was afraid," he interrupted her angrily, directing his full attention at her. "I want nothing to do with those hypocrites. One day they want you dead and gone, the next they worship you like you are their savior. People are the worst..."

"I thought so too once," she reveals, keeping her nerve as the Shadow approached her. "But you taught me to see past that. Who is the real hypocrite here?"

Scathach could've sworn her teacher grunted under his breath as he intensified his leer at her. She does not give ground, having been taught the discipline to not become intimidated by any opponent.

"Spare me," he spat. "You think their newfound appreciation for you is genuine? If I were you lass, I wouldn't get too attached to anyone in that village. It makes things easier for yourself in the long run."

"Makes what easy?" retorted Scathach, having had enough of her mentor's vague warnings. "What are you not telling me?"

With a sigh, the Shadow briefly looked away, almost cursing himself for nearly letting something crucial slip.

"I've said too much already," he said aloud before facing his student again. "If you aren't here to train, then go back to the village. I'm sure they're missing you already."

He turned to walk away from her, but Scathach was not finished with him.

"Just like you did to me in the Red Grove..." she said plainly for him to hear. The Shadow immediately turned around.

"What did you say?"

His threatening voice did little to prevent Scathach from giving him a piece of her mind.

"What am I to you? You teach me all about my powers, but when you just talk to me, you push me away like you don't want me getting close. I'm not just your student, am I?"

"You don't know what you're saying..." The Shadow tried to deny, but she was not having any bit of it.

"And still, you aren't being honest!" now she was the one getting angry. "I thought when we just sat down, I was getting to know you. I thought you cared!"

"Care?" the Shadow repeated with disgust. "I've never cared in a long time, lass. Care makes you soft..."

"Perhaps if you did, the children never would've been abducted!" Scathach argued. "If you did, then these people wouldn't have to suffer! They've lost everything, just like me and Aife. You could've helped them as I have...why did you never?!"

"Because their reliance on me stops them from being able to look after themselves!" the Shadow argued back before ranting as he came up to her. "Before you know it, they would come crying for every little insignificant thing, and when I'm not there, they won't know what to do because they never had to bother learning how to help themselves in the first place! My being here was never to make someone else's life easier. We don't provide, and we don't nurture. We... are NOT... saviors!"

Finally fed up, a distraught Scathach yelled to her teacher:

"Then start telling me what we are instead of what we're not!"

The Shadow stopped dead in his tracks, taken back by her response. No sound could be heard except for the heavy breathing of the two individuals glaring at each other. It stays like that for felt like an eternity, no words spoken until Scathach decided to break the tense silence, satisfied that the Shadow will hear what she came to say. Her frustration was palpable despite the discreet seriousness in her voice.

"The Heralds wanted to attack this place, and they believe you're guarding something. Something powerful. They will endanger the villagers and my friends again to get here, and if they could hurt me, they could do the same to you. So tell me... what is your real purpose here? And what does it have to do with me?"

The Shadow narrowed his eyes and contemplated without breaking his gaze on Scathach. He seemed unsure if he should oblige her curiosity, as if what he was about to reveal to her was too big for his student to comprehend. In a frustrated sigh, he tuned and cast his head down. Scathach watched with trepidation until the Shadow finally acknowledges her, having made up his mind.

"Follow me."

---

The Shadow led Scathach down into the deepest depths of the fortress, the duo eventually arriving at the set of double-doors that the girl could not access before. The Shadow flashed a set of runes and the doors opened, revealing a weaving set of stairs that led down into a tunnel. With Scathach's curiosity now peaked, the duo followed the stairs down with her mentor magically generating light from his circuits. The tunnel went deep into the mountain that the fortress stood on, the air becoming thin for Scathach to breathe until the passage opened up. To her amazement, the tunnel became an expansive cave system that seemed to stretch for miles.

Yet the path did not really end here, as the Shadow continued walking across a stone arch that functioned as a bridge, motioning Scathach to keep following him. The bridge was narrow, and while she was careful not to slip off, Scathach could not help but observe what few details of the dark cave she could make out. Besides the stalactites lining the ceiling, looking over the edge Scathach could see that the floor of the cave must be really far down as the chasm was pitch-black. What was more is that Scathach noticed that the path they were walking was leading to a giant column in the center of the cave, and she could not help but wonder what was so important that it would be hidden all the way down here below the fortress.

She was about to see...

With the Shadow in front of her, they eventually entered this massive column through a passageway, and Scathach found herself in a room that was expansive and elaborately carved out. The floor was smooth and etched with countless runes. The wall on the opposite side was very wide and tall to the point where it touched the very ceiling of the cave.

And yet, the sheer enormity of this one chamber was not what would draw Scathach's attention. Instead, it would be the object that sat on a pedestal in the very center of the room...

A large glowing orb, made of crystal, with violet entrails that looked like blood vessels lining its surface area, and with a black circle in its center. Scathach was transfixed to this object as she and the Shadow wandered closer, and when she approached it, the black circle inside the orb turned to her and grew narrow.

And then the orb blinked at her...

Scathach nearly jumped in fright when this happened, but the Shadow put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be afraid. It just recognized you..." he said, prompting Scathach to ask him:

"Is that... an eye?"

The Shadow nods.

"The Eye of Odin to be exact... one of my Gods."

Scathach's gaze turned back to the orb before them as it darted its "gaze" between her and the Shadow, making her skin crawl.

"My sacred charge," the Shadow continued. "Is to prevent anyone and anything from taking this relic away from this forest."

Before Scathach could even ask why, the Shadow put a hand on the "eye" and poured mana into it. In response, the orb spun around to face the wall and started glowing brighter. Scathach simply watched as the eye's pupil opened wide and fired a beam of energy at the wall. The whole cave shook as to the girl's surprise morphed to sheer awe as the beam made glowing cracks in the wall that stretched outward, causing the stone wall to distort. It was not long before an immense doorway emerged as if the wall was made of water, from the bold frame that lined down to the detail of the runes that were engraved on the stone doors. Scathach gasped at the sight in epiphany.

"The gate!"

Indeed... it was the very same gate that Scathach had been seeing in her visions...

It was real... and it had materialized before her eyes. The cave fell into silence, leaving Scathach standing before the giant gateway speechless.

"What you are looking at-" the Shadow said, paying little heed to the awestruck girl. "- is the Gate of Skye. And it is what the Heralds are after."

As if in on cue, the gate slowly parted its doors, allowing violet light to creep through. Scathach was forced to shield her eyes from the bright light whereas the Shadow simply stood and stared stoically. As the doors opened wider, Scathach noticed her circuits light up without them meaning to, activated by the flood of mana pouring out of the gate. With her eyes finally adjusting to the light, Scathach slowly lowered her hand and peered to what was lying behind the gate.

And she couldn't help but gasp at the sheer impossibility of the sight before her.

Behind the gate was a desolate, yet ethereal stretch of wasteland, with dunes of coarse, gray sand, and a violet sky of ghostly clouds, constantly discharging lightning. There was a prominent wind, lifting the sands and creating miniature cyclones that lasted for but brief moments, and off in the distance were monoliths that were as huge as mountains. What was more were the many trails of countless white orbs that flowed beneath the arcing sky above and the dunes below; numerous souls flying off into the veil that was the horizon of this strange land.

"What is this place?"

Those words left Scathach's lips as soon as they entered her mind, her eyes never leaving this parallel world as the Shadow answered:

"The Land of Shadows..."

---

END OF ACT 1

---

(A/N) Closing Story Theme: "Circle With Me" by Spiritbox (written and composed by Courtney LaPlante, Michael Stringer, Bill Crook, and Zev Rosenberg)

If you are reading this, you've made to the end... of Act I! If you wish to continue reading the story, go to "The Queen of Shadows (Act II)" either in the feed OR on my profile. I'll be moving over chapters previously written on to THAT story and will continue updating from there. Thank you so much to everyone who have read up to this point and offered your feedback; your engagement motivates me to continue writing (NOT YOU, SPAMMERS)

See you all in Act II of Queen of Shadows...

Rest In Peace: Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac): July 12, 1943 - November 30, 2022, Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group): June 24, 1944 - January 10, 2023.