Ethel's spiritual body makes its way across the room, urgency apparent in her step. "We have no time to waste. If what you say is true, then it’s likely they’re waiting for the Solstice to begin so that they can strike."

  "Hold on, you believe me just like that?"

  "Well what reason have you got to lie? Between that look in your eye, and the way you hold yourself, I'd believe you if you said the sun was green. Here, take this!" Ethel tosses me an old, weathered grimoire that had been seemingly hidden within the walls of my room. The leathery book creaks as I catch it.

  I flip through its pages quickly. It appears to be an autobiography of Ethel's life, as well as a grimoire depicting every spell that she had ever created and mastered. The texture of the cover is different from normal leather, and just a bit more waxy. Looking at it once more, I recognize it as human skin. I can’t use magic yet, but I can still do this.

  [Activating Eyes of Clarity]

  [Ethel’s Grimoire: A handmade grimoire that is over two centuries old. Contains a multitude of spells, along with tales of Ethel’s life. This grimoire contains a one time use hidden enchantment. Would you like to use it now? Y/N]

  No, not now.

  "Keep it close," Ethel urges, "It should be of some use. Unless you've already read it, that is…"

  I clutch the book to my chest as I shake my head, "No, I've never read this one before. I had no idea such a thing was in my room."

  "Well this was my room once upon a time, you know."

  "Really? I had no idea..."

  [Current objective: Ensure the survival of the Crowsong clan]

  [Reward: ???]

  A quest? I don’t need any type of reward to encourage me. I am going to save those who can be saved.

  I step out of my room and into the hallway. Ethel doesn’t say a word, but she falls in line right behind me, resting a hand on my back.

  There was no life where I had ever been able to convince Ethel to stay with me. I always had to face this challenge alone, but things are different this time.

  Up ahead a man is leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. A long billowing cape wrapped around his body.

  "H-Hello?" I stutter out, trying to appear meek.

  "Ah, a Crowsong," the man purrs, his voice slick as oil. He is a tall, lanky man, with graying hair tucked beneath a wide brimmed hat. A mask hangs loosely from his neck, and it resembles a serpent. His eyes are cold, beady orbs that send a chill down my spine, leaving me feeling exposed. In a way, they’re similar to Nihilothe's. "My name is Valerius Blackthorne."

  "Clara," Ethel whispers in my ear, "This gentleman is our guest, go ahead and introduce yourself."

  Ethel nudges me forward, pushing me to engage with the man. With a wary glance at Ethel, I reluctantly curtsy before Valerius.

  "Ah, Clara, is it? I am with the Stygian Conclave. It is very nice to make your acquaintance, although I wish it was under more fortuitous circumstances. You see, I seem to have lost my way to the grand hall," he says, a horribly forced smile spreading across his face.

  At least half that statement was true.

  I knew him well, and I knew he was not lost. Valerius was a man addicted to the hunt. He is far from the strongest of the Stygian's members, but what he lacks in strength, he makes up for in tenacity. The only thing to deter him from seeking out his prey is a life threatening injury. Even then, that is not a guarantee that he will stop.

  Every fiber of my being cries out for me to run, to flee, to get as far away from Valerius as I can. Just how many of my earlier lives had met their end at this man's hands? But Ethel's grip on my shoulders keeps me rooted in place.

  "Tell me, dear, would you be so kind as to guide me to the grand hall? I would simply hate to be late to the event."

  Valerius extends a hand for me to take, and slowly, I reach for it. His skin has begun to glow a sickly green hue. Acid oozes out from the edge of his fingertips, the dark liquid barely glistening under the candlelight.

  Just how many souls had I seen melt under his touch?

  The sound of a distant grandfather clock can be heard. It reverberates throughout the manor, marking the turn of the hour, the Solstice of Souls, and the beginning of the end. The screams that follow are instant, a sign of the slaughter unfolding elsewhere.

  "Now!" I shout, pulling my hand free from Valerius's grasp just as his own closes around empty air. Ethel yanks me back, and then launches herself at Valerius, her ghostly body colliding with his as best it can. As she fights, I sprint down the hallway, Ethel’s grimoire pressed firmly against my chest.

  Valerius retaliates with brutal force, tearing apart Ethel's ethereal form in a whirlwind of dark magic. Yet even as he destroys her, she persists. With each decorative suit of armor I pass, Ethel's spirit emerges anew, possessing them and continuing to deter Valerius, making his hunt all the more difficult.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  My breath comes in ragged gasps as I race through the halls, desperate to reach my target. The longer I run, the closer the sound of fighting becomes.

  I spotted the door, and burst through it with all my might. My lungs are burning from having to run, but I’m not finished yet. I spot a young man, just a bit taller than I am, with short, dark hair. He’s dressed in a sleeveless blazer with a white dress shirt. Around his neck is a red handkerchief, but for the most part, his clothing shares the same accents as mine. He’s standing right in front of the window, his hands wreathed in flickering, orange flames. He reels his arm back, and prepares to throw it at the man who’s sitting in his windowsill.

  With every ounce of strength I have left, I lunge towards the boy, knocking him down. The fireball goes wide, missing its target entirely as the nearby wall goes up in flames.

  "Clara? What the-?! I had him!" Clarence shouts, his eyes blazing with anger. "I had him, I had him!"

  "It’s not that simple…"

  Pointing at the Stygian, Clarence’s gaze follows my finger. The assassin's hands are adorned with an eerie, silver glow.

  "You know what that is, right? Think back to all those lectures you slept through. That’s a type of magic that doesn’t fit into any known school. It’s a mutation. More specifically, that is reversal magic. The Stygian’s know your dumbass is too excited for a fight to consider holding back. You'd have been up in flames right now if it wasn’t for me."

  "Wait, really?..."

  There’s a bang at the door. Ethel, still locked in combat with Valerius, could only do so much to slow his pursuit. On the opposite side of the room, Clarence's own assassin lets out a sigh as he stands up, and begins to make his way towards us. He doesn’t have as much drive as Valerius, likely because he can’t imagine a world where we manage to escape this house alive.

  "Yes really, now c’mon!" I grab a hold of Clarence’s hand, and we run, leaving his burning room behind. In the hallway now, our footsteps echo alongside the screams of the dying.

  "Why are they attacking us?!"

  "They want to kill us, stupid! Now run and don't you dare try and use magic unless I give you explicit permission! You got it?"

  "Now hold on, where does someone like you get off on telling me what to do? You magicle-"

  "Shut the fuck up already! Do you even know how annoying you are? When I speak, you listen. That’s how we’re going to get through this, now move your ass!"

  I glare back at Clarence, and give his hand a rough tug. His eyes are watering over, and his face is red with embarrassment, but he’s quick to break eye contact with me.

  It wasn’t like I enjoyed talking to Clarence this way, but being bossy was the only way to ever get him to listen to you. Ever since he was little, he’d just ignore anyone that didn’t speak over him.

  One sharp turn after the next leads up to a staircase. Together we descend five floors. After reaching the first floor of the manor, we burst through a set of double doors, and enter the library. I slam the heavy oak doors shut behind us and get to work on an impromptu barricade, using whatever I can find.

  "W-What are you doing?..."

  "I’m making a barricade."

  "Think it’ll hold?" Clarence asked nervously, his eyes darting between the door and me.

  "No."

  "What the hecks that me-"

  Clarence’s words are cut short by a thunderous boom that causes the doors to shake. This is followed by the sound of acid eating away at the wood.

  "C’mon, we have to find my brother."

  "G-Gabriel? Right, if we find Gabriel then we-"

  "Wrong brother. He’s likely held up in the grand hall. We’re going to help Elias."

  "Hold on, just wait a minute," Clarence cries out, and stops dead in his tracks. He drops to the floor, and hugs his knees with his back to a bookshelf.

  "We don’t have time for this. Get u-"

  "Get up? How the fuck?... People are… are trying to kill us! And you! You’re acting weird! You’re… and… and what have you done with Clara?!" Warmth begins to radiate from Clarence’s body, and soon enough there is another fireball in his hand.

  This time, I am his target.

  I grab hold of his wrist, and the magic goes stray once more, just narrowly missing my skull.

  I’m tired, my body is exhausted from running, but Clarence is having a fit of hysteria, and I just don’t have the time for this right now. So, I’d put an end to it quickly. My foot collides with Clarence’s face. Hard enough to hurt, but gentle enough as to not break anything.

  Clarence throws himself to the side as blood begins to run from his nose, and he tries to crawl away. He doesn’t make it very far before I grab a hold of his leg. He turns, and holds his hands up. They are encased in flames, but I don’t stop my assault as I mount him. This body of mine may be weak, yes, but I at least remember how to throw a punch.

  "I…" Right hook, "told you…" Left hook, "to stop…" right hook, "using magic!" Each subsequent hit causes more flames to disperse, and singe the ends of my hair. Even my fists are burnt, but soon enough the fire dies out as Clarence screams.

  "I’m sorry Clara! I won’t use magic anymore, I-I swear I swear it! I’m sorry!"

  A sigh escapes my lips as I stand and offer Clarence a hand, helping him to his feet. As he stands, I pull him in close.

  "Listen, Clarence," I whisper. "I didn’t want to do that, but you really forced my hand there. People are trying to kill us. I don’t care if you’re anxious, or stressed, or hysterical or any other synonym you can think of. You can cry all you want later, but for now we are going to focus on finding my brother."

  Clarence nods along and holds a hand to his busted lip as we begin to search the vast library. After going through three times, we find no sign of Elias. The only sounds being Valerius trying to claw his way through the door, and our own footsteps. This metronome is broken by Clarence though.

  "Hey, who are you?..."

  "What’s that supposed to mean? I’m me, obviously."

  "The Clara I know is meek, and mild mannered. She sleeps in late, and doesn’t have a care in the world… She’s nothing like you."

  [Spend 100 points of Karma to bypass the T-NID? Y/N]

  No…

  I couldn’t answer him in a way that he would understand without spending more of my Karma. I’m sure that in his eyes the change is like night and day. Yesterday I was at a war table with every leader of Astrovia, making defensive measures against the end of the world. But what was Clarence’s yesterday like? I’ve always returned to the night of the Solstice of Souls, but it’s difficult to remember what my life was like before this vicious cycle began.

  My yesterday and Clarence’s are far too different for any type of understanding to be reached between us.

  "I don’t know what you’re talking about," I lie, turning my back on Clarence as I continue my search.

  I’m sorry, the Clara that you know died a long time ago.