Chapter X

  “He murdered three of my closest friends and nearly killed me in the process. For the last two years, I’ve been following dead-end leads in a desperate attempt to figure out the secret behind his endurance. I will not lie to you, Ms. Jellia, for I plan to kill him. And I request of you that you tell me if he has any weaknesses? Is there a way to effectively bypass his defense? I beg of you… If you know…”

  Her shoulders slumped with utter defeat, and suddenly, she appeared far older than she had even seconds ago, like she could pass on at any moment. It was unnerving, but before Rennigan could ask if she was okay, Jellia leaned forward and nodded.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Glaus, for what he did… I’m so sorry… And I know nothing can ever bring your friends back, but I will tell you what you want to know… I can’t—I can’t have my ability being used to kill people… That’s not what it was meant for… So I promise… I’ll tell you the secret…”

  Jellia sniffled again, her eyes so filled with despair that Rennigan wished he could look away. Even so, he held eye contact with her and waited anxiously for her to continue. Ryokumo sat on the couch beside him, and while he was retaining his silent position of support, he nevertheless mimicked Rennigan as the two of them leaned forward in anticipation of what could very well be the goldmine of information they’d been so desperately seeking all these years. His heart was pounding in his chest when Jellia finally went on.

  “Our ability…is like a shell,” she whispered with a pained voice. “Almost all of our mana is unconsciously sent through the outer layer of our skin, reinforcing it so that it cannot be damaged and so that we cannot feel pain. As long as our mana supply does not run dry, you will not be able to so much as scratch us… But underneath it all, we’re as soft and human as the rest of you… So, if you want to kill him, you’ll need to attack him from inside of his body…”

  Rennigan furrowed his brow with an intense interest. “Inside? So you’re saying, if I were to somehow shove a bit of magic down his throat, I could harm him?”

  “Exactly…” she confirmed. “Of course, if you can beat him in a battle of endurance and land enough hits to diminish his mana supply, you could certainly kill him like anybody else. But if that isn’t feasible, then yes, trying to rip him open from within is the best way to go… But I will add this,” Jellia quickly went on when she noticed Rennigan about to speak. “Quill knows about this weakness. He will be doing everything in his power to ensure that it can’t be taken advantage of, but if he doesn’t think you’re aware of it, then you might be able to get the jump on him. So no matter what you do…”

  Jellia’s eyes turned into a mixture of firm yet sad as she gave him one final warning.

  “Don’t let Quill find out I told you this…or you’ll have no other option but to best him the old fashioned way.”

  ***

  Rennigan Glaus was filled with a self-loathing so powerful he knew that he may have been unable to stop himself from breaking down into tears had Quill Tyrus not been standing just down the corridor. In his desperation to make sure he was the one who murdered Quill, he held back crucial information from the Masters that resulted in Nyx Rana getting killed and Quill finding out that his weakness was exposed. His hubris may have cost him his revenge, for not only could Sinna and Nyx have probably beaten him with Rennigan’s knowledge, but now, there was a slim chance of Quill losing. He would do as Jellia said and put everything he could into defending any openings into his body. To make matters worse, Rennigan had foolishly allowed himself to enter Quill's home turf yet again, and as the two stood facing each other in the Hall of Mirrors, Rennigan could only hope that he somehow managed to pull off a miracle, or else he’d reunite with Faye, Jessi, and Hiro as nothing more than an arrogant, pathetic failure.

  At the very least, I’m familiar with the way this pocket realm works, he internally commented, his golden eyes flickering to the many mirrors surrounding him as he recalled the way they could suck him up and deposit him at any random point in the vicinity. I know how to counter him, but I wonder if he’ll even bother to use it? He doesn’t have the element of surprise anymore either, so perhaps he’ll just take me on, one-on-one. After all, he’s already beaten me before…

  Rennigan took a deep breath, hating the implications of this realm being erected in the first place. They had been under the impression that Quill didn’t have enough mana to support his endurance, his pocket realm, and to use spells, but it seemed that was incorrect. That was how he got the jump on Nyx, for he managed to let off one quick Perkari that severed her head, revealing that he could still spare a little bit to cast a spell or two. A Master of Ijiria had just died, and her life was on Rennigan’s conscience. In fact, he would probably be arrested and executed upon the battle’s end. Lying to a Master was in itself a serious crime, but his deceit had resulted in Nyx Rana’s death. If Sinna didn’t beat him bloody there in Ankalla, then she was certain to drag his ass to Markreas’s feet and ensure he got the punishment he deserved.

  So I guess I truly don’t have a reason to hold back. I know I decided that I wouldn’t die in this fortress, but since I’ve now screwed myself out of a life, it doesn’t matter. A death sentence will be the only thing waiting for me outside of this pocket realm, so no matter what it fucking takes, I’m going to make sure Quill Tyrus comes with me to hell!

  “Now then,” Quill had said with a laugh. “Since we’ve finally removed those pesky extras, why don’t you and I finish what we started where we started it, eh, Rennigan Glaus?”

  The water mage narrowed his eyes, drawing mana to his hands as he prepared himself for what was about to happen. “Gladly… I’ve been dreaming of killing your sorry ass ever since we first met, and I swear upon the memory of the friends that you murdered, I will make you pay for everything you’ve done to me! For Faye, Jessi, Hiro, and now for Master Rana, you will fucking die!”

  Quill cocked an amused eyebrow, making it clear that he still didn’t take Rennigan seriously. Just like back then, he regarded him as nothing more than a child—one he need not fear, and he clearly didn’t feel even a scrap of remorse for all the people he’d killed. That was probably why he didn’t attack him the minute he entered the pocket realm, and why he still stood passively now that they faced each other.

  “May I correct something you just said?” Quill inquired, his calm demeanor infuriating Rennigan once more. “As it happens, I did not kill Master Rana.”

  “Excuse me?!” Rennigan roared. “Do you think I’m blind?! I watched her head fall to the ground! I watched you—!”

  But Quill cut him off with a mocking, confident tone. “Oh, don’t mistake me, Glaus! I never said I didn’t cut her head off. I said that I didn’t kill her. When it comes to Master Nyx Rana, those two things are not one and the same…and I appreciate you confirming for me that you didn’t know this.”

  “The hell are you talking about?” Rennigan furiously demanded.

  He certainly didn’t care to have such a pointless conversation with this man, but a part of him was grateful for the momentary chance to catch his breath. If Quill wanted to ramble about some nonsensical claim that Nyx had survived, then let him. It only served to give Rennigan a chance to find an opening and strike first.

  His opponent smirked as he continued to spin his dagger around in his right hand. “It seems it was cleanly covered up, but there’s a monster living inside that woman that, according to our sources, has only shown itself upon her death. Perhaps it would interest you to know that, back in Hiriech, we succeeded in killing Master Nyx Rana. One of our allies surprised her, and blasted her brains onto the carpet of her room.”

  Once again, Rennigan found himself baffled by whatever Quill thought he was trying to accomplish. Obviously Nyx hadn’t been killed in Hiriech because she was still alive right up until the moment Quill decapitated her.

  “But out of her corpse came a violent creature who butchered Kosah-Rei and civilians alike,” Quill went on. “Even now, we don’t fully understand what she became, but what we do know is that Nakoma Taurus went to confront it and when he finished, Nyx Rana returned. Our best guess is that it trades places with her every time one of them dies…” The man then let out a smug laugh. “Therefore, if my hypothesis is correct, that creature should begin a rampage through these halls any minute now.”

  “You’re a fucking—”

  “Liar?” Quill finished for him. “Maybe… But it doesn't matter whether you believe me… If you somehow manage to get out of here, then you’ll know that I’m telling the truth. Course, I don’t intend to let you out, but if I change my mind, go find Masters Rana and Cartus and see for yourself.” He then smiled as he shrugged. “Nevertheless, all of that doesn’t really matter right now, so why don’t we move onto more important things.” As quickly as it appeared, that smile faded into a dark expression as he growled, “Where did you learn about my power’s weakness?”

  Abruptly changing the subject, Rennigan was left baffled by those weird accusations towards Nyx when he was suddenly being interrogated about the words he spoke moments before the Master of Water died. A part of him was prepared to deny everything, but he couldn’t help wondering if telling the truth would rattle this man enough to gain him an opportunity. After speaking with Ms Jellia, Rennigan had a far better grasp on who Quill Tyrus was and why he became the killer he did, so he had a chance to use this knowledge against his enemy.

  And why shouldn’t I? This is the end, for either him or for me, so there’s no reason to not play every card in my hand. He knows I have information on him, so confirming this won’t change his approach to the battle. Let’s see what I can do to him…

  “Your grandmother, Nattie Jellia, told me,” Rennigan spat venomously.

  Up until this point, Quill had been the epitome of confidence, so it was surprising when his smugness vanished all at once, his eyes going wide, his glare being replaced by a slightly limp jaw, and though it was hard to tell from that distance, his skin may have even gone a little pale. What must he have been thinking at that moment? Jellia didn’t seem to know how Quill felt about her, but his expression was that of a man who had suddenly been betrayed by someone he held dear. Did he actually still love the grandmother he abandoned? Was he actually hurt by the fact that she sold him out?

  Rennigan couldn’t tell.

  But what he did know was that Quill was now emotionally vulnerable, so he was not about to miss a chance to drive his nails deep into this freshly opened wound and rip.

  “Yeah, that’s right!” Rennigan sneered. “Jellia told me everything about you! I told her I wanted you dead, and she spilled her guts to me! I know what caused you to go crazy! I know all about your brother’s death! I understand your goddamn ability! You’re such a disgusting excuse for a human being that your own family has thrown you to the wolves—has given me permission to end your pathetic fucking existence! That’s who you are, Quill Tyrus! That’s what legacy you’re leaving behind!”

  As he shouted, he could feel the air around him growing cold with the leaking of his mana. He was so enraged, so ecstatic about getting to throw this all in Quill’s face, that he was having trouble keeping his power contained. The ground beneath his feet started to freeze over, and mana surged to the tips of his fingers, ready to be called upon the second the fight began.

  “You know, I may have pitied you!” Rennigan went on, his voice trembling as he continued to glare upon the stunned Quill. “I may have sympathized with you for what you went through—for losing your little brother! But to avenge him, you became a killer far worse than the people who took him from you! I feel nothing but hatred, and I hope that when I ship you off to the afterlife, your brother spits in your face!”

  Breathing heavily from the exertion, Rennigan waited for Quill to say something in response, but the previously talkative man was now dead silent, as if he was no longer there in the present. At the very least, even if he died, Rennigan was satisfied by the fact that his words actually seemed to hurt him.

  Let him die knowing he was alone and unloved.

  Let him pay dearly for all he had done.

  Without speaking, Quill’s features morphed from stunned to enraged as he suddenly pushed off the ground and charged Rennigan with his knife in an icepick grip, ready to attack. And of course, Rennigan had been prepared. He successfully baited him, and now, he had managed to turn some of the tables in his favor.

  “Pruinara!” Rennigan howled, letting off a massive burst of cold that erupted from his outstretched hands.

  The freezing air that was his spell barreled down the corridor, freezing over everything in its path as the floor and every mirror in the vicinity was covered in ice and snow. Quill managed to jump so that the spell didn’t stick him to the ground, but Rennigan never intended to land a hit on him, rather he was trying to decrease the threat of the pocket realm. The last thing he needed was for the Hall of Mirrors to disorient him and create an opening for Quill to stab him. This battle would stay right where it was, if Rennigan had anything to say about it.

  “You’re such a cocky little fucker!” Quill snarled, reaching Rennigan right after his spell finished its job, the dagger swinging down in an arc for the water mage’s throat. “What the hell makes you think you can kill me, huh?!” When that swing found only air, Quill’s eyes followed Rennigan as he pivoted backwards to put a few extra feet between them. “You sacrificed so much in Stellareid, and for what?! You couldn’t kill me even when your friends threw themselves on my knife for you! You couldn’t kill me even when Caeli rushed to your aid, so what makes you think this will be any different?!”

  As Quill ranted, Rennigan cast Geldai to create a barrage of icicles that he hurled at the man, but between breaths, he cut down any that would have otherwise struck him.

  “Rio incinerated me beyond recognition!” Quill screamed. “I was a burnt husk and you still couldn’t kill me, so how dare you stand there and speak to me like you’re worth anything! So my grandmother sold me out? And?! You won’t be able to make use of my weakness, so why does it even fucking matter?!”

  Quill darted forward, his right arm cocking back to pierce Rennigan’s chest, but the blade never found its mark. Instead, it was jammed into a rounded shield of ice that appeared on Rennigan’s right forearm, successfully defending him from the attack.

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  “And what makes you think I’m the same mage I was back then?!” he shrieked, twisting his arm and, because the dagger was stuck in the ice, managing to wrench it out of Quill’s grasp and send it clattering to the ground below.

  Quill exhaled sharply a second before that shield was slammed into his head, staggering him and, due to the ice beneath them, sending him slipping onto his backside.

  “I’ve trained my ass off!” Rennigan went on, sending ice freezing over his left hand to form a frozen gauntlet he attempted to jam into Quill’s head.

  The man caught it midair with a powerful grip, so Rennigan made another attempt to beat him with his shield, yet his opponent used his opposite hand to catch that as well, simultaneously grappling with Rennigan as the two glared at each other from mere inches away.

  “I have been dreaming of this chance for years!” Rennigan hissed, putting everything he could into overpowering Quill. “I have worked so damn hard for the sole purpose of sparing this realm of your vile presence! I have dedicated every waking breath to making sure I could kill you when I got the chance to! So underestimate me all you like, but I am not going to—!”

  Quill must have decided that grappling wouldn’t get him anywhere, so he suddenly jammed his head into Rennigan’s, sending pain shooting through his skull as his grip loosened and allowed Quill to break free. Due to the stars taking up his vision, he couldn’t see what his enemy did next, but he felt the foot that was soon jammed into his stomach, and before he knew it, he was sliding along the ground while on his back. Knowing Quill would lunge for his dagger, Rennigan bit back the pain, rolled onto his hands and knees, then sent power into the blanket of ice beneath him. It exploded upwards into a handful of giant spikes that knocked the charging Quill backwards, though his endurance caused them to shatter on impact.

  “I’m glad I haunted you, Rennigan Glaus,” Quill mocked as he steadied his footing, watching while Rennigan pushed himself back to his own feet. “I’m glad you were obsessed with me, cause I’ve hardly thought about you since! You and your shitty team were nothing but a footnote in my life—hardly worth remembering! After all, they all went down so damn pathetically! Yuahl never even got to fight me! Pafran was crushed beneath my boot like his head was made of butter, and Rio sacrificed her life to mortally wound me, yet it was all fucking pointless because I can’t die! Academy students, my ass! You’re trying to avenge people who sucked so badly they were all butchered like animals!”

  “Geldai!”

  “Using that spell again?! Have you not realized it doesn't work on me!”

  To mock him even further, Quill spread out his arms, made his chest a bigger target, and let the next barrage of icicles slam harmless into his body. He wanted Rennigan to know that this fight was pointless—to drive in his claim that he and his team were powerless.

  “Faye, Hiro, and Jessi…” he breathed, “were a million times better than you will ever be. You’re powerful only because of your bloodline! There’s nothing remarkable about you! There’s nothing impressive about you! Without that endurance, you’d have died multiple times over…”

  Quill snorted dismissively. “Then maybe you four should have accepted Rei’s embrace. You're godless, and thus, a higher being doesn’t care to help you.”

  “Ha! Attributing your success to your imaginary friend, are you? And you call us pathetic.”

  Quill shook his head, bent his knees, and resumed the battle. The ice cracked beneath him as he closed the distance yet again, but this time, Rennigan was more prepared. Dismissing the gauntlet on his left hand, he swiftly used magic to create a sword of ice and met the charge head-on.

  Something Rennigan had picked up in his final semesters at the Academy was a Korrei-Tarr style of water magic. Since it wasn’t a terribly offensive affinity, it was almost never used among those elite soldiers much in the same way that water mages were rarely combatants to begin with. However, those few over the centuries who opted to study water magic and still make a living as a combat mage had to get creative, so instead of infusing already existing weaponry with their magic, they used the flexibility of water to make the weapons themselves. Water would surge from their hands, freezing almost as soon as it was created so they could mold it into whatever they needed. Of course, ice was cumbersome and wasn’t as durable as metal, but it was still better than nothing and meant that they could switch between weapons almost on the spot. This was the primary benefit of the style, and Rennigan had made sure to master it before graduation.

  The blade arced downwards to meet Quill’s, and as ice met steel, they were locked together for a mere second before the top half of the ice blade shattered. Luckily, the sudden lack of resisting pressure on Quill caused him to stumble, allowing Rennigan to take advantage of the opening and bash the shield into a skull a second time. However, the man was adapting and didn’t fall, so he was prepared when the remains of the ice sword altered into a large hammer that barely missed its target. Quill backpedaled out of the way, now being provided an opening of his own to strike at Rennigan, so the water mage slammed his foot into the ground, sent mana flowing into the ice below, and erected a hasty wall between them that blocked the dagger and let Rennigan jump backwards, leaning into the sliding momentum of the ice to get even more distance.

  The wall shattered, and Quill was upon him again, knife raised high. Rennigan blocked the swing with his shield, hearing a scraping noise as the metal slipped to the right as he gauntleted his other hand and swung for the head. Quill tilted his neck left, preventing the punch from landing, then spun around to Rennigan’s right. The water mage jumped backwards, avoiding a dagger thrust, then shot another barrage of icicles that Quill cut down. Once the distance was closed again, Rennigan increased the size of his shield and blocked three rapid strikes from the dagger that he wasn’t fully able to follow. Using his feet, he tried to direct the ice to freeze Quill to the ground, but the man hopped up and out of the way before the mana could even reach the spot beneath him.

  At the very least, it seems like he really can’t use any further spells, cause if he could then he would have certainly erected some rock armor over his mouth. Of course, there’s the chance that he doesn’t know any rock magic, but given the nature of his weakness, I find that hard to believe. The castings of Perkari and Corsikei back in Ankalla were almost certainly the extent of what he can do! I’ve got him on the backfoot!

  It was then that the inevitable and expected usage of the pocket realm came into play. Despite the mirror behind him being frozen over, Rennigan felt himself get pulled off his feet and towards it. Meanwhile, Quill charged him, so that when the water mage slammed into the frozen layer keeping him from getting sucked inside, Quill jumping into the gravity shift and soaring towards him was enough pressure to shatter it and send them both tumbling into the mirror. In his charge, Quill tried to plunge the dagger into Rennigan’s heart, but the young man grabbed his opponent's wrist and used what strength he could to keep the blade from piercing him. Their faces being so close meant that Quill attempted another headbutt, but Rennigan didn’t dodge, rather he frantically sent a layer of ice over his forehead that prevented him from being stunned. When Quill’s head slammed into the ice, it cracked, but did not fracture completely.

  All the while, they were spinning in midair as various mirrors sucked them in different directions. Struggling against one another, they flew upwards, were spat out horizontally, then lurched back up again. Each hall looked identical, but since he wasn’t planning on bolting for the mana port this time, Rennigan didn’t care what corridor Quill finally dropped them in. In fact, it seemed like movement wasn’t the goal, rather his opponent simply wanted to throw him off enough to overwhelm him. Yet, Rennigan wasn’t giving in, successfully fighting off the dagger Quill desperately tried to stab him with, and each frantic headbutt from the man was met with nothing but ice.

  “I thought I was pathetic, Tyrus!” Rennigan spat. “So why am I still alive?! Without your endurance, I’d have killed you so many times already! You get that, don’t you?!”

  The gravity ceased, and since Rennigan was waiting for it, the second he felt them tumbling towards the mirror-less floor, he twisted his body and made sure it was Quill who was on the bottom and took the brunt of their crash.

  “NIVIS!” Rennigan screeched the second they landed, and with his hands grappling Quill, the blast of ice that exploded from them hit him directly. Anybody else would have died instantly from such a direct hit from the cold storm that surged from Rennigan, but even though Quill was weathering it, everything in a ten-foot radius began to freeze, Quill’s body included. His back was pressed against the floor, so his entire body from his legs to his head began to stick to it as a thick layer of ice rose up to cover him. Quill clenched his teeth and jammed his jaw shut, his limbs furiously trying to pull themselves free, but Rennigan was making ice faster than Quill could shatter it. All the while, the water mage kept himself on top of his opponent, holding a death grip on the one arm that wasn’t yet stuck to the floor. The point of the dagger was inches from Rennigan’s chest, so he sent more magic surging down that arm, freezing it over and preventing Quill from bending it.

  If I can just hold him down, then I don’t need to beat him in a battle of endurance! I just need to leave him prone!

  It was then that gravity began to yank Rennigan from above, but the young man was prepared for that. As he was freezing Quill to the ground, he made sure to do the same to his feet and legs, meaning that he was as stuck as his opponent was. No matter how hard gravity pulled, if Rennigan kept refreezing his legs, it wouldn’t be able to yank him away. Quill’s eyes went wide with shock as Rennigan’s turned wild with ecstasy.

  At this point, his opponent’s entire body was covered in frost, and while Quill couldn’t feel pain, based on what happened when Faye nearly burnt him to death, it was clear he could at least feel some form of temperature. The hall was currently below freezing, and the trembling of Quill’s chin indicated he was suffering from it. The arm holding the dagger was resisting less and less, and the signal that Rennigan had him was the dagger slipping from his grip. Screaming out his emotions, Rennigan threw more strength into shoving that arm onto the ground, and overpowering Quill, he sent another burst of ice to freeze the entire limb to the hall’s carpet.

  “I told you!” Rennigan growled as he slowly released his hands from Quill’s body, wanting to make sure the ice was solid and had weakened him enough so that he didn’t have to physically keep him there. “I’ve been thinking about you for three and a half fucking years. I’ve analyzed every single part of our confrontation in Stellareid, and I have spent dozens upon dozens of nights running through every possible strategy that could end your miserable life. Ms Jellia giving me your weakness was the final piece I needed.”

  Fear entered Quill Tyrus’s eyes as Rennigan grabbed his pale blue jaw and began to wrench it open. He could feel Quill’s facial muscles resisting, but the ice was weakening him too much, and within seconds, Rennigan had used both hands to pry it apart and gaze into his mouth.

  “I had a plan, you son of a bitch,” he spat. “And you stopped thinking about me. You thought you could just kick my ass the next time you saw me… But I was ready… You underestimated me…and that’s why you’re going to die! Aquatani!”

  With that single incantation, Rennigan began to fill Quill’s mouth with water.

  ***

  “Quill… I don’t want you to ever forget what it means to have our power,” his grandmother had once told him. “Yes, it is nearly impossible to kill us, but that is not because we are stronger or better than anybody. It is simply how we were made. We are durable, and you know what else is durable? Armor. Shields. They are meant to protect, to be a defense against the soft flesh beneath. That is who we are. We are shields. We are meant to protect those who need protection, and that is the responsibility that comes with our blessing. So promise me, Child, that you will only ever use this power for good—to protect those you care about. Can you do that for me?”

  I loved my grandmother dearly. There was nobody else in my life that understood me as well as she did, and when I made that promise to her, I meant it. I only wanted to use this power to protect, but I’m only one man, and in order to use my ability to the fullest, I have to be there to take the damage that would be dealt to another. If I’m not there, then no matter how unkillable I am, I’m useless. That’s why Mirro died. I wasn’t present to protect him. I always knew Grandmother wouldn’t approve of what I did after departing Yisana, but I never stopped believing in what she said to me.

  In order to protect people, you have to remove the source of the danger. It’s not enough to wait until danger happens if you’re not there to see it. Mirro died because Erika and Krato didn’t care to protect our helpless little town. If I wanted to stop people like my little brother from dying, then we needed to force the leadership to protect us, but King Markreas and the Great Lords couldn’t have cared less! Words wouldn’t change their mind, so the logical next step is action! If they won’t listen to reason, we’ll make them!

  “Quill Tyrus… Would you like to make a difference? Would you like to use your power for good—to change this world for the better? I can give you that opportunity…”

  The young girl who came upon him in that tavern, who seemed to know more about him than she should have, offered him a chance to do what he always wanted to do. The Kosah-Rei were going to save the world, to turn Ijiria into a paradise where good people did not have to die. Of course, for good people to be spared, then bad people had to be sacrificed, and while he knew his grandmother wouldn’t approve of that philosophy, he knew that the end result would justify anything he had to do in the meantime. Quill would fight, and he would fight with everything he had. His grandmother would understand, even if they never met again, and even if she didn’t like what he was doing.

  Quill knew she would understand.

  “Jellia told me everything about you! I told her I wanted you dead, and she spilled her guts to me! I know what caused you to go crazy! I know all about your brother’s death! I understand your goddamn ability! You’re such a disgusting excuse for a human being that your own family has thrown you to the wolves—has given me permission to end your pathetic fucking existence! That’s who you are, Quill Tyrus! That’s what legacy you’re leaving behind!”

  Grandmother…told him? She hated me so much that she told Glaus how to kill me? Grandma wanted me dead? But… I just wanted to save Mirro! I wanted to protect the weak, just like she told me to! How dare she turn her back on me! How dare she try to help Glaus end me! What the hell is this?! Grandmother! I’m protecting people! How could you?!

  Water was filling his lungs, his throat, and his stomach, preventing him from breathing or swallowing. His eyes bulged, his body had gone numb, and he couldn’t move due to the thick layers of ice binding him to the ground. Rennigan Glaus was atop him, taking full advantage of what Quill’s grandmother told him.

  I have to break out! I have to get away from him! This can’t be happening! There’s no way! It’s not fair! I’m unkillable! I’m the Kosah-Rei’s most powerful warrior! If I’m about to die, then—!?

  “The reason I’m telling you this is so that you know why I don’t want to ever try and fight fate again. I was going to lose her anyway, and my attempts to fight it only ruined my life more than her death would have. So I’m sorry, but if I ever see anything like that, I will not reveal it.”

  “Well, Quill, I think we’re seeing right now what Lady Firrik did on that day she touched you.”

  Tali’s words and then Uma’s cut through his brain like a knife, and suddenly, he knew without question that this was the end.

  Uma was right.

  Tali lied.

  No… Please! Grandmother… I DON’T WANT TO DIE!

  ***

  Rennigan propelled himself backwards, soaring over the frozen body now filled with water, and with a soft casting of a spell, he turned it all to ice and pulled it outwards. Quill Tyrus’s torso exploded from within, sending his limbs and head flying in all different directions, dark red blood splattering from the stumps and seeping into the ice.

  There was no last minute interference.

  There was no sudden twist.

  Just as Jellia said, he was as fragile as anybody on the inside of his body, but despite the horrific setbacks that took place in the fortress, his plan was executed flawlessly and Rennigan Glaus won.

  He was breathing heavily, his golden eyes locked onto the shredded corpse as a part of him waited for the man to somehow get back up—to pull his flesh and bones back together to continue the fight, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the world around him began to crack, as if reality was yanking itself apart. Rennigan exhaled sharply, his head snapping in all different directions as the ceiling and walls began to break up and vanish, indicating that the mana supporting this pocket realm was no longer being supplied.

  The Hall of Mirrors was coming undone.

  Rennigan watched as little pieces of the world started to unravel, falling down around him like glowing white leaves and revealing nothing but a black void behind them. For a few seconds, he just stood there and absently watched what was, in an odd way, a soothing sight before he found himself standing within that Ankalla library he had been chasing Quill towards.

  He had no idea what to think nor did he know what to feel.

  All he could do in that moment was bask in the surreal feeling of standing in Ankalla, with Quill’s corpse laying splattered on the carpet a few feet away, knowing that it was over. No matter what happened with the rest of this attack and no matter what became of him when he returned to the Masters he had lied to, nothing could change the fact that he had finally killed Quill Tyrus.

  He had finally avenged his precious team.