Galen, by instinct, took a deep breath and held it in just as Aria finished her Art.

  He began to back peddle and saw the entire group of enemies begin to suffocate, not having expected to suddenly lose the ability to breathe. Galen had been prepared, however, and thus, managed to move out of the area of effect before he could start to suffer the worst of being in a vacuum.

  He gasped as he made it to Tufani’s side, “Damn! Even when you know what to expect, being in a vacuum sucks!”

  She gave him a flat look, “Was that… was that a joke or pun of some kind?”

  He flushed, now realizing what he’d said, “Uh… pun unintended.”

  “Good. I’d have smacked you otherwise because that was just terrible.”

  They both watched as the enemies before them quickly lost consciousness one after the other. The biggest of them, the one that had been using the battle axe that Galen had slashed, was lasting the longest.

  In an alarming move, the man lunged for them, closing the distance in one final, desperate move. The speed at which he moved was shocking, born of a dying man’s desperate final act.

  Galen moved instinctively, blocking the man’s battle axe as he swung it, sending unpleasant and almost painful vibrations through Redian and up Galen’s arms.

  He clenched his teeth, but just barely managed to stay in place as he dug his feet into the ground. This allowed Tufani to follow right after him and stab her sword forward in a lunge, her blade piercing the man’s neck and causing him to tense, gurgle from choking on his own blood, and then go limp. All happening in a surprisingly fast sequence.

  Tufani pulled her sword from the soldier’s neck as he collapsed to the ground.

  She gave a disdainful look to the now dead enemy as she wiped the blood from her blade using the long sleeves of her shirt.

  She looked to the rest of their enemies, and Galen noted how they’d all stopped moving.

  “Looks like they’re dead,” she remarked as she started to relax.

  “Wait, boss! Don’t let her shut off her Art yet! There’s still one more alive!” Redian screamed.

  Before Galen could warn her, he sensed a shift in the flow of Ether, and he knew that she’d just dispelled her Art.

  Right as she did, Galen saw the eyes of the second enemy who’d noticed them earlier, the one with the sword and shield, snap open. He took a desperate breath as he lunged for Aria, who turned, shocked, wide-eyed, and caught completely off guard.

  Galen moved with pure instinct.

  He lunged forward with a burst of Ether enhancement, far faster than he was normally capable of. He batted aside the soldier’s swinging sword right before it could reach Aria’s neck. Then, completely immersed in the instincts guiding his movements, he spun on his heel and slashed Redian through the man’s neck, cutting halfway through and causing blood to erupt and gush from the lethal wound. The hot liquid splashed on his face.

  The man fell, gargling, a large pool of blood forming and growing alarmingly quickly as he twitched on the floor for a moment or two before he went completely still.

  Galen stared, wide-eyed and horrified and what he’d just done.

  I… I hadn’t meant to…

  He’d been so immersed in the instincts Redian provided that he hadn’t even stopped to think about what he was doing. One moment he moved to defend Aria, the next he’d struck a lethal blow with killing intent.

  He stared at the pool of blood at his feet, and the crimson that coated Redian’s blade, both reflective in the light of the flashlights this group had been using. A shaky hand went to his face, wiping at the blood that covered his face with increasing panic.

  I… I just… killed someone…

  Galen felt a sense of extreme nausea hit him. He quickly put a hand to his mouth, falling to his knees as he bent over and vomited, adding bile to the pool of crimson beneath him. The combined stench made him throw up again, and left him heaving.

  “Galen?!” Tufani cried out, falling to her knees and placing a hand to his back. “Wh-what’s wrong?!”

  “I… I just…” he gasped out, vision blurry with tears.

  When had he begun to weep?

  “I just murdered someone… I… I’m…”

  He felt a sense of panic rising within. His breathing quickening and his vision growing blurrier. Tufani, and even Redian’s voice in his mind were quickly growing incomprehensible to him.

  He felt someone grab him roughly by the shoulder, and slap him HARD.

  The stinging pain brought some clarity to his mind and vision, and he saw that it had been Tufani who’d slapped him.

  She hauled him to his feet, pulled him away from the corpse of the man he’d cut down, and pulled him into a tight embrace.

  “Relax. Calm yourself, Galen,” she whispered in his ear. “I told you, didn’t I? This is war. This was bound to happen sooner or later. This isn’t your fault.”

  “Tufani…” he gasped out. “I… I murdered that man. I…”

  “No, you didn’t,” Tufani cut him off. “You killed him, yes. But you did NOT murder him. My mother told me that in war, there is no avoiding taking lives. It is unfortunate, but it is the truth. There IS a difference between killing in a war and cold-blooded murder. Besides, if you hadn’t cut down that man, I’d… Void I’d be dead. All because I got careless…”

  She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, “Thank you. You… winds you saved my life, Daxton. Again. Thank you…”

  His vision focused on her eyes. He held her gaze as his own brown eyes stared into her blue orbs. He saw alarm at realizing how close to death she’d been, genuine gratitude for him saving her, and… guilt?

  His shaky hands gently grabbed her wrists as her hands held him by the shoulders. They gazed into each other’s eyes, and Galen found himself calming down somewhat.

  His breathing began to slow back down to normal levels, and his heart, though still quickened in its pulse, was no longer thundering in his chest.

  “T-thanks…” he muttered. “I’m… I’m calm now. Well… calmer anyway…”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  She searched his eyes for a moment, likely to confirm he was telling the truth before nodding. She hesitated for a moment but pulled away after making sure he was steady on his feet.

  “Let’s go,” Tufani gestured to the exit. They could see light in the distance, not too far off. It was a natural light. The light of daytime.

  He gulped and nodded, doing his best not to look behind him at the corpses. Particularly not at the one HE’D left.

  He gazed at her back as she took the lead, and wondered with a new concern blossoming in his mind, I… I killed one person and freaked the heck out. But Tufani… she’s killed two groups of people now, but seems no worse for wear… Has she… has she killed before?

  It was a distinct possibility, and served as yet another reminder that Avani was far more brutal of a world than Earth had been. At least, where he’d lived, anyway.

  There was another possibility, however, that explained her calmness in the wake of the lives she’d ended. One that frightened him far more and made him worry for the elf girl.

  The possibility that Tufani just held that little regard for the lives of humans.

  That terrified him. He didn’t want to see her become the same caliber of monster that the Dominion and Athanasius were. He didn’t want her to repeat the cycle of violence. Not her of all people.

  ***

  Zareb rushed through the tunnels, reaching out his Ether senses to their fullest as he tried to make out Galen and Aria’s signatures. The strongest signatures he could detect were Lusha and the two Shadows still duking it out back in the chamber. Their battle had clearly intensified judging from the occasional shaking of the tunnels.

  Their powerful Ether signatures made it difficult to detect the presence of others, but not impossible. And it became easier the further he got away from the battle.

  He’d detected the presence of several groups of the Dominion’s soldiers, and had done his best to thin them out as he moved. Though, he made sure to avoid going out of his way to do so lest he waste more time than he already had.

  He managed to snag a flashlight from one of the groups he’d slain. Which helped immensely.

  As he ran through the network of tunnels at blurring speeds, he thought he detected something. A brief spark. A spike in Ether usage.

  It took him a moment to recognize the signature.

  It was Aria Tufani.

  Is she using an Art? Did she and Galen run into some enemies? he wondered with worry.

  The two were strong for their age and experience. They should be fine if they run into a common soldier, particularly with Redian aiding them. However, if they went up against someone of high rank…

  He moved double time towards where he sensed them.

  He noted a few moments afterward that the Ether signatures of an entire group had faded, with two lasting a bit longer before they too were snuffed out.

  Zareb smiled at their triumph, but his smile quickly melted as he got closer.

  His senses began to reach beyond the exit that Galen and Tufani were approaching, and he detected an entire platoon’s worth of the Dominion’s soldiers awaiting them beyond.

  He cursed and moved as fast as he possibly could.

  Maker! Please let me make it to them in time! he prayed in his mind.

  ***

  “Boss!” Redian cried out in Galen’s mind.

  He froze, eliciting a raised brow from Aria.

  What is it?! he asked the sword.

  “I’m starting to detect some enemies up ahead. A bunch of ‘em! But… damn it my range is still being stifled! There might be more than I can detect right now.”

  How many can you sense? he asked nervously.

  “At least twenty.”

  “Twenty?!” he hissed with widened eyes.

  Tufani’s eyes grew with alarm.

  “Yeah, worst part is, boss. I think they know we’re here…”

  “Damn it, so we won’t be able to surprise them, huh?” he turned to Tufani. “Redian says the enemies up ahead know we’re here.”

  Tufani frowned, “Then why aren’t they charging down here? I can… faintly detect them, but I don’t sense them approaching.”

  “Likely they have a trap for you both. And if they sense you retreating back down here, perhaps they’ll charge in after you,” Redian suggested.

  “So we’re stuck then?” Galen asked.

  “Not for long…” Redian said grimly. “More enemies coming our way. Only now, from behind.”

  “More of them?!” he snapped, looking down the way they’d come.

  Tufani understood without him explaining, “Void! They have us surrounded!”

  “Any advice Redian?!” he asked aloud.

  “Head to the surface. At least you should be in an open area there. That might provide an avenue of escape. It’s far more likely out there than it is down here.”

  Galen looked to Tufani, and gestured towards the exit to the surface, “Let’s go.”

  She looked to the exit, then back down the tunnels. She must have come to the same conclusion Redian did, for she nodded in agreement.

  The two took a deep breath, and began to sprint towards the exit.

  ***

  Galen was surprised to find they weren’t met with immediate resistance as they finally exited the underground network of tunnels.

  They burst out into the wide, sunny, hilly, dry plains of Axis Mundi.

  He’d been expecting to get attacked immediately, but instead found the enemy a decent distance away in a massive encampment.

  His eyes widened as he realized Redian’s fears were now confirmed. There were far more than twenty enemies. There had to be around double that number, with more to come from the tunnels.

  He hissed as he noticed one of the more well decorated soldiers spread his arms joyfully as he noticed them.

  “Well now!” the soldier wearing a grey surcoat, likely a captain or lieutenant or whatever the Dominion’s equivalent rank was called, greeted them with a smile. “Praise be Athanasius’s name! Looks like we’ll be the lucky ones who managed to take back our Champion from the hands of the wretched Rebellion.”

  Galen hesitated as he drew Redian, his eyes scanning the myriad of enemies.

  “Now, now, Champion,” the leader spoke with a calm, soothing voice. “I understand you must be very afraid and confused. The Shadows warned us that you might be. I don’t know what lies the Rebellion has been whispering to you, but I assure you that we will not harm you if you calm down and come with us willingly.”

  The man’s calm expression then twisted to one of disgust as he regarded Tufani with a hiss, “A tree hugger… My, they really have been trying to poison you, Champion… Though this one is rather young… around your age perhaps?”

  He scoffed, “Did they try to tempt you with a mistress or something? Offering a knife-ears… does the Rebellion have no one better to offer one as esteemed as you?!”

  Galen’s eye twitched as he clenched his teeth in anger. Tufani, for her part, was giving the man a death glare.

  The leader of the platoon of soldiers frowned deeply, as he gave Tufani a more analytical eye, “No… hold on, now… Don’t tell me you’re the spawn of the monster that wiped out Ignis?! The Shadows told us to keep an eye out for you!”

  The man drew his weapon, an axe with a wickedly sharp looking edge, “Oh, my men and I struck gold tonight! We’ll be lauded as heroes of the Dominion for not only retrieving the Champion, but for slaying the spawn of that demon!”

  Tufani growled under her breath, no doubt enraged at hearing her mother being besmirched.

  “Don’t blindly charge in!” Galen warned her.

  She nodded, taking a deep breath to compose herself.

  Now, what to do… he wondered. There’s no way we can take on so many enemies. That lieutenant on his own would be a problem in his own right. Even with my shoddy Ether senses, I can tell he’s strong! Stronger than either of us individually for sure… It’s likely we wouldn’t be able to outrun him…

  Their situation was made all the worse when the enemies that Redian had detected coming from behind finally caught up.

  Galen hissed upon seeing them, his hope for escape plummeting to near zero.

  He glanced to Tufani, who shared with him a look of resignation. Though he could tell from the look in her eyes that she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  “Well, well,” the leader said upon seeing his back up arriving, “looks like we have you well and truly surrounded, Champion. Now, just come with us quietly. We’ll deal with the tree hugger right quick and be on our way back to the Dominion.”

  A huge thank you and special shoutout to my Page Turner tier Patron, LOOKOUT, Myth Keeper tier Patron, Lukas Votava, and my Lore Master tier Patrons, Mountain Knight, Conman2731, ThoMiCroN, MCE 2 Munchen 2, and Voltrus. Your support is sincerely and greatly appreciated.