Darius dropped onto the bloody rink with a featherlight touch, shadows falling around him like black dust. He weaved through each frozen statue with his dagger drawn; the warriors that stood at the shores were paralyzed with terror, making themselves an easy target for his blade. He swept through, steel kissing the skin of their throats, crescents of blood painting the ground.

Gravel crunched beneath his feet as he stopped behind Cassien, a thick drool of blood dripping from the tip of his dagger. He threw the spiked shield to the ground and let out a huff, accent slurred with a slight exhaustion. "You crazy bastard."

Cassien stood, glancing back. "Good work."

"You really had to show off."

"It was a strategy that minimized putting the rest of our team in danger."

"Yeah, except for me," Darius scowled before shaking his head.

"I apologize. There wasn't much time to explain."

He wiped the blade clean on the scuff of his shirt. "Whatever, we should-"

Without warning, the cavern trembled before transforming into a massive quake, specks of dust and debris raining down. Wedges of rock began to drop, some hitting the frozen lake. Spiderwebs cracked through the ice, and one of the frozen corpses split cleanly through the centre. It slid to the ground, bursting in a cloud of crystallized blood specks.

A clear rumbling sounded from above. Cassien's head snapped up. A spike dropped straight down for Darius - Cassien dove, colliding into him. Shards of rock burst just inches away from where he stood.

"You okay?" Cassien brushed the gravel from his chest.

Darius pushed himself up, holding out a hand. "...Thanks."

Before he could respond, he heard her voice.

"Cassien!" Naomi sounded far away, almost drowned out by the roar of the rocky shower.

He turned towards the exit - following her voice - and watched as a streak of gold ripped through the air. It struck a rock midfall, and Cassien instinctively raised his arm to shield his face from the fragments. A faint trail of radiance sizzled in the air from where it was shot.

Near the exit, Naomi stood with one hand outstretched, her palm smoking with light. Her silvery hair billowed in soft waves, face flushed with relief.

Darius gripped Cassien's forearm, and the two plunged into a reckless speed as his magic morphed around them. They whizzed through the raining minefield towards the group who gestured frantic motions to hurry. The mouth of the cave's exit was weakening, its arch cracked and crumbling. Aryn reached out to Naomi, but she stood too far away. A fistful of rocks dropped onto his hand, and Thom forced his arm back.

"The entrance is going to collapse!" Aryn shouted. "You need to get inside before it closes!"

Naomi waved an arc of bolts above her head, clearing jagged spikes from reaching her. "Then leave me! I'm not going without Cassien!"

She was so close. He could make out every delicate feature of her dirt-streaked face. Behind her, the entrance groaned like a dying beast, and even Thom stumbled back, yanking Kaelen with him.

Naomi flung out another bolt just in front of them, clearing a stray rock in their path.

Darius was fast, but even this speed would not be enough. Cassien knew he was holding him back - his magic was not meant to bolster two. Frost bloomed beneath his feet, black and ice blue intertwined in a whirling cyclone, propelling them forward.

Cassien grabbed Darius's forearm in return and tugged him forward as hard as he could. The combination of their magic launched Darius forward, far quicker than the two of them together.

"You-!"

As soon as he released, Cassien's vision locked onto Naomi. He lunged and enveloped her in his arms, body half-twisted in a shielding cover from the curtain of rock and debris. With every ounce of strength, he cradled her against his chest, hand clutched against the back of her head.

His body hit the ground hard in an uncontrolled tumble just as the entrance collapsed behind them, sealing them from the expanse. Pain struck him from various parts of his body, and he could feel her tight squeeze beneath him. Jagged earth dug into the thick leather of his armour. They rolled into someone - Thom - knocking him to his knees.

Silence reigned once more as the quake halted.

Cassien lay flat on his back, arms still firmly wrapped around Naomi. His eyes fluttered open, inches away from her stunned blue gaze.

"...What…. were you thinking…?" he breathed, breathless.

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"...I was thinking… I'm staying.. with you," Naomi panted. She reached for his cheek, fingertips trembling. "I didn't care… if that meant I got left behind."

"That.. was reckless."

"...Yeah, it was. But I helped you, too."

He couldn't argue with that. She pressed a firm kiss to his lips, and he could feel the wetness of her lashes against his skin. "Sorry for worrying you."

Cassien stroked the back of her head. "We're okay."

Aryn groaned, pushing up from one knee. "Anyone injured? Beyond a few scuffs, I mean."

"All good. Wide awake." Darius slapped his own face for comedic effect.

Thom coughed, helping both Cassien and Naomi up. "What the hell was that?"

Kaelen's face dropped. "The ascension's starting. It has to be."

Everyone's expression was the same: they had to go, now.

They jogged down the narrowing tunnels. Naomi kept her hands out with a soft healing light while the others kept their weapons readied, eyes and ears alert. A strange, white fog began to roll towards them, clinging to the ground. The scent of something cool and floral wafted in the air, mixed with the sharp sting of blood.

The tunnel abruptly opened into what undeniably was Lore's Grotto.

Its size could've easily rivaled Calypsa Castle both in width and height. An enormous silver tree, easily ten times the size of the one from the meadow, rose from the centre of an underground lake on its own island. Even the foliage that grew from the branches and the lush thick tufts of grass seemed to glow with a pale bioluminescence.

The bark shimmered with a textured quality akin to the moon's surface, branches stretched outwards like weaves of floating silk ribbons. Pale gold and silver bulbs of light floated in the air like puffs of pollen. From the edge of the tree's island was a long, curved bridge of a pure white quartz that stretched across the glossy black waters like a ray of light, like a beckoning call to approach.

It was a beautiful sight - and it would have been magnificent, if not for the dozens of open-mouthed, blank eyed stares of warriors hung limply from every branch of the tree. Many of them were mutilated, scarred or flesh carved out with some sort of embalming tool. Some were cruelly decorated with arrows threaded throughout their bodies, some with only a torso and its severed limbs hung beside them.

Blood stained the ground wherever they walked, sticking to the soles of their shoes with a sickening wet sound. Naomi's eyes stayed glued to the bridge, her breath heavy and bile threatening to make an appearance. Her hands held an iron grip to the crook of Cassien's arm as he led her.

Cassien spotted an unmistakable hulking figure almost immediately, his jaw clenched so hard that a vein bulged at his throat. His hand moved to the hilt of his sword. He debated firing an ice bolt here and now, but it was an impossible thought that Alistair didn't have some sort of precaution set up.

By the base of the trunk, Alistair knelt before a deceptively simple sarcophagus made of smooth chestnut and adorned with wreaths of moon flowers. He was well armored with an obsidian plate, pauldrons and greaves stylized with fine red etchings. A jagged, heavy black crown shielded the back of his neck and up to the top of his dirty blond hair, like an inky maw closing in around his face. A red stained battleaxe hung firmly on his back. His armour looked almost ceremonial, yet sullied with stains of violence.

The surface of the coffin was marked with some sort of sigil in a brilliant shade of red. His shoulders rose and fell heavily, arms outstretched with bloodied gauntlets in a silent pose of invocation. If he knew the group was approaching, he did not portray such knowledge.

Each step on the pure bridge left an imprint of blood, and still once they reached the shores of the island, Alistair still did not turn to them.

The tree was even bigger up close, though now they could see some of the 'foliage' that adorned the branches. Naomi clapped a hand against her mouth, a thick sheet of sweat broken all over her body.

Strung by their neck on one of the branches in particular, was a slender woman with a silver curtain of hair and hollow skin. An elaborate crimson hooded dress with a dagger was buried deep in her chest.

Aryn nearly threw up.

Darius stopped Aryn from crumpling to his feet. His voice was a bare murmur. "It's not her. It's not Seraphine. We buried her in Tudor, Ryn. He's… tied up someone else. To shake you."

He was right. They were too tall, jawline too square compared to the late princess. Even her lashes were not pale, but a taupe shade instead.

Kaelen trembled, but she steeled her voice. "Alistair."

If the air had been still before, the silence now felt like time itself had stopped.

Had it?

Cassien couldn't move.

He couldn't even twitch a single finger nor bare a canine. Invisible chains or some kind of external force held his body at bay. Alistair stood, turning to them. His features were stronger than ever, as if the journey since their last meet invigorated him more than anything. Blood was smeared across his face. Emerald green eyes swept through the group, landing on something behind Cassien. His heart froze, and horror roiled through his body.

Naomi was behind him.

Kaelen spoke once more, her voice rough with emotion. "Al-"

"Shh," Alistair hushed, holding up one finger. "Insects have no right to address me."

Her words ceased immediately. In his peripheral vision, she couldn't seem to move either - but a single tear streamed down her face.

Alistair stopped in front of Kaelen, inspecting her for a breath's time before smirking. "Time manipulation. Courtesy of my ancestor."

Alistair glanced at Aryn. "My thanks to Seraphine for her gift."

His head was bowed low to the ground in frozen grief.

Cassien tried to thrash against the force, against himself, willing his magic to cooperate; Alistair strolled past as if it were a casual day, reaching past his arm. His heart nearly shattered when he felt her grasp break from his arm, yanked into open view. Her arm stuck outwards, legs stretched in an awkward pose as if she were suspended midwalk.

Alistair reached out, toying with a thick lock of silver-blonde hair. He twirled it around gruff, scarred fingers. "Oh, sweet, golden Naomi."

He lifted the ends of her hair to his lips, kissing it. Blood smeared the platinum locks. "Do you wish you would have said 'yes' to my offer now that you're here?"

Naomi couldn't answer.

Alistair gripped her chin. "You don't need to say anything. I can see it in your eyes that you do. Such a doe eyed look. I thought about it often, you know."

Another hand went around her throat. "I hope I didn't injure your voice from the last time. I never did get to hear what a songbird sounds like when it's sing-"

A holy light suddenly burst from Naomi's throat, searing Alistair's hand so harshly that he ripped away with a grunt. Golden light shimmered around her. At that exact moment, Cassien felt his body freed from control - and he surged forward, sword drawn with an overwhelming fury that would've rivaled a typhoon.

Alistair had already recovered, and grinned widely at Cassien. "A third duel to proclaim the victor."

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