"You bastard," said one of the cloaked assassins.

If I weren't light on my feet, I would've been turned to ash. For at least five seconds, I could do nothing but dodge and defend as a volley of attacks focused on me. The heat was getting hot. During the slight gap in attacks, I found the wounded grounder and killed him.

Wind blades passed by my face. I turned just in time, receiving minor cuts and avoiding severe damage. Two assassins tried to attack my flank at the same time. Their bodies shattered from my spinning slice. Lightning cracked, streaking for my chest. I sacrificed a sword to block the blast and grabbed another pistol. When the time was right, I emptied the chamber into two more Jesters.

There was a reverent calmness prevalent during the fight. After my twelve shots, that calmness shattered, much like the light cage I was trapped in before. However, now I was no longer at the mercy of ten assassins. Instead, they were on the receiving end of my domain and mana.

At once, I pushed a wave of water at the heated smoker. The assassin's flame smoldered, their life held on by a thread as the wave of water turned into razors. The smoker's death increased the potency of my domain. Water mana spread, increasing my senses and knowledge. I could see right through the veil of the light cultivators.

There was no hiding now.

The puffer and two light clones tried another surprise attack. The puffer moved incredibly fast, pushing past my cold domain and mental time diffusion. He seemed to move like lightning. His long knives were impossible to track. Luck, senses, and intuition allowed me to stand toe-to-toe with the assassin.

Wind whipped at me from every angle, cutting deep into my black armor. I could feel my mana draining as I had to keep supplying my armor to keep myself safe. I countered the wind razors with water razors of my own.

The sage seemed to have better control of his element than I did of mine. He could handle more razors with better accuracy.

I didn't back down from the experienced fighter. I probably should've. The more I fought against the sage, the more open I was to Freckles and the other two Jesters' attacks. Stubborn as a ravenous wolfbear, I attacked. The combination of my split mind, stronger domain, and sheer grit bought me a much-needed advantage in the frantic fight.

Fender took over the water razors and armor maintenance. Blades, Bower, and Tack added their focus to my sword fight. Culter handled the domain and threw a bunch of his own attacks into the mix—water anchors, ice spears, glacier drops, and water bombs.

It was a surreal sensation, letting my whole mind fight at once. I was triple-casting, fighting with blades, and protecting myself all at once.

Puffer noticed he lost his advantage a second too late. I had just grabbed him with an anchor and pulled him out of his fluid motion. Before he could recover from the jolt, a block of ice smashed into his back. Despite all of his strength and agility, he stumbled toward me. Anchors tied his weapons out of position. His eyes widened as my blade cut through his chest. Another anchor tossed his ragged body into the enemy clones behind me.

I killed the dowser just as she was about to get back into the fight. That left the two creepers.

"You want to keep fighting, or do you want to talk some more?" I asked, looking directly at the cloaked Freckles.

"Who are you?" The assassin dropped her veil. "Are you not Kip, the squire-ranked map maker and part-time adventurer?"

"Probably a question you should've asked before you attacked."

"Our position dictated that it was not necessary..."

"Look where that got you." It was a rather cold response.

"Those were some good elves you killed. A few had families, even." Freckles tried to pile on the guilt.

I wasn't having it. "Stop." I shook my head, keeping my expression cold and calm.

"You could have just given us the ring." The assassin circled to her right.

I mirrored her step. "You didn't have to fight."

"As if." Now it was Freckles shaking her head. "You were in the marines. You know as well as I do that you obey orders."

Maybe when I was a fresh recruit, her reasoning would've worked. However, any experienced soldier with boots on the ground knew that logic was as shitty as Sogg's breath. I holstered the pistol and used the free hand to brush my hair away from my face.

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"Following orders to the grave is a silly way to live a life. What about personal freedom and accountability?"

"Freedom is for the powerful."

I winced. "Ae." Freckles had a point. "So what's the plan from here?"

"Well, I figured you either kill me or let me go, and I will try to kill you another day."

"Damn. No other choice."

"Afraid not," the Jester said, matter-of-factly.

"Damn. And your partner?" I motioned to the creeper hiding in the corner of my peripheral.

"He has probably already sent the word to command. No matter what, we are as good as dead."

"Things are about to get serious?"

"Within a day or two. So I guess we can eliminate me from hunting you from the previous list of options. Looks like you either kill me or my own order will."

"Or you can hide?"

"How is that working for you?" Freckles circled to her right. She was forcing me into an awkward position with the river. Running would be difficult. At the same time, my back was less exposed to her partner, who was now closer to her.

"As long as I stay in a specific wooded area..." I took another step, trying to bunch the assassins even closer. It didn't work.

"The Bloodwoods?" The assassin shook her head. "Those are only off-limits until a new order is given."

"Damn."

"Yes, we are. So what are your plans?"

"Gonna try to join the Silvers."

"That could work, as long as they let you in and you get there in time." She looked off into the distance. "I do not think you will be able to make it that far."

"How are the Jesters so good at tracking?"

"Soul imprint." She took another step. I was on the edge of the river, with nowhere to move.

"Really? How?"

"It had to come from someone you knew very well. Someone you trusted."

"Sasha."

Freckles nodded. "She wasn't completely a Jester; she belonged to a different order, a more secretive group that dealt primarily with sabotage and intrigue. Much more zealous and dangerous. Willing to sacrifice their lives to move their objective forward. Real crazy in the head. Even scares me." Freckles' eyes shifted to her lurking companion. I would've missed it if I weren't watching both of them so closely.

"Secrets inside of secrets," I muttered. "Dangerous information."

The sudden spark of movement caused my mana to flare as I raised my sword. Freckles dashed to my side, her white mana blasting at full power. The sporadic energy condensed around me, trapping me in a tight, solid cocoon. I could barely turn my head.

A surge of wild energy from the hidden Jester slammed into Freckles and exploded. My tight shell shattered as I was blown forward several yards. A tree intercepted my body. Something cracked. I felt faint and lightheaded. Blood dripped down my face. White mana still flared, preventing me from seeing anything. Even my senses were clouded.

It took several minutes of sitting, breathing, and channeling mana before I could move. My flaring white vision had dimmed, and I could make out blurred images.

A crater several yards wide had formed and filled with water. All fragments of existence before the explosion had been erased—the dead, trees, vegetation, and rocks. All that was left was dirt and two corpses. I made my way to the Jesters. Freckles wasn't recognizable, partly because of my damaged vision, and, well, she was in bad shape.

The other assassin was much worse. Mostly just pieces, if they could even qualify as that. I couldn't find a single detail about them in the gross remnants left behind to identify who they were. Certainly wasn't gonna take a closer look either.

Sogg's breath.

I liked Freckles. Didn't even get her real name. Just a moment longer… maybe we could've been something besides enemies. But that was the way of the world—secrets, death, and unfinished stories.

I was still reeling from shock, and my body hurt. There was sure to be some permanent damage, at least until the following recursion. That was still months away. Hopefully, my eyes will be repaired at some point. I didn't have the power to heal them myself.

Such reckless and pointless death.

I tried to shake my head clear, dusted myself off, and started walking. It was hard to tell which direction I was headed in. That only got marginally better after I crawled out of the crater.

I stumbled for a mile before I realized I was headed in the wrong direction. It was another two miles before I decided the direction didn't matter. Only when the moon replaced the sun did I get a better sense of direction. Was light blindness a thing? Seemed like a thing. I could see well enough now to navigate the forest and head to the Rock.

"Kip." I heard Betty before I saw her. "Selene's tits. You look like shit."

"Betty… Run." Damn. This was a bad decision. She shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be here with her. "You need to get out of here."

"That did not work the first time you met me. It will not work now. Let me see you. What in the abyss happened?"

"Jesters and super secret Jesters," I managed to say before collapsing into the arms of my friend. I felt warmth, safety, and love. At the last minute before I passed out, I felt a trace of mana leave me and a bird taking shape.

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