The world itself fell silent as Lirien observed me with careful eyes.

  They held a hint of fear.

  [I’ve been waiting for this.] Joshua laughed giddily.

  I glanced down as the passive effect of Twin Souls activated, fully regenerating my arm in an instant while slowly draining Joshua’s HP pool, then I reconsidered the new effects of the skills I now possessed.

  It worried me slightly that Joshua was now capable of affecting the world around me without me even having to summon him; however, the new passive effect of the “hybrid” class skill could also prove extremely useful. I would just have to make sure he didn’t blood lance any of my companions while I wasn’t paying attention.

  [I definitely will.]

  Lirien drew his bow, notching an arrow with his one good arm and drawing the string back with gritted teeth.

  [He’s determined, I’ll say that much.] Joshua admitted.

  I nodded my agreement, standing still as Lirien readied his attack. A barrage of pure light arrows forward, like the sun itself had decided it would be my enemy, tearing across the sky with unbridled fury. I sharpened my claws, sprinting across the battlefield while batting away the attacks with both hands, each of the arrows glancing off and embedding themselves deep into the dirt before slowly dissipating.

  A beam of light shot down from the sky, incinerating the ground where I had been standing, followed by countless others. I spun, dodging from one, then continued to weave through the deadly obstacle course of light attacks.

  “You just won’t stay down, demon!” Lirien roared, tossing his bow to the side and drawing his sword.

  His eyes widened as my claws dug deep into his stomach, drawing a splatter of blood that painted my bare chest red.

  The prince coughed, then feebly raised his sword.

  [Hell Chains]

  A blood chain wreathed in black fire appeared from my palm, hooking into the prince's chest as I coiled it around his sword. Lirien brought his head down, attempting to hit me with a headbutt, but he was much too slow for that under the effects of my skill. I slid away, kicking his feet from under him and slamming the prince into the ground with a heavy thud.

  “Lirien!” Valthir, the elven commander, called out in fear, but the prince was true to his word.

  “Do not dare interfere! I have more honor than that!”

  “This is not about honor, my lord!”

  An icicle lance shot out, but it was easy enough for me to react to it, not even bothering to fully turn as I caught the attack in mid-air. I felt the cool sensation between my fingertips for a brief moment, then squeezed hard, crushing the attack into a thousand tiny fragments of frost.

  “You can’t even control your own soldiers,” I taunted cockily.

  An explosion of blue fire rang out as Signeir, Finnlen, and Joshua all appeared behind me, staring menacingly at the slowly approaching elven army. Iseldrynn recoiled in fear at the sight of the fire spirit, and I realized it was the Frostguard captain whom I had once captured who had sent the ice lance towards me.

  “Have your people stand down, or this could get ugly,” I warned.

  Lirien clenched his jaw, staring up at me, struggling to free himself from the weight of my knee against his chest. “Help me!” He screamed.

  “What a bitch,” Joshua laughed.

  “Unwise of you, son.”

  I whipped my head around, catching sight of Calenvir, Viressa, and Lioren all slowly making their way towards me.

  What’s going on?

  “Do not move,” Calenvir commanded, and I watched as each of the elven soldiers in attendance went completely still. “This one is not our enemy.”

  “What are you talking about, Father! He killed countless numbers of our people—”

  “And how many of Ossara’s did we kill? After all these years, you still sought revenge for your fallen wife, and under the influence of powers beyond my own, I dared to entertain your pathetic attempts at revenge,” Calenvir spat with a fatherly reprimand.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “This was not the deal!” Lirien shouted in anger.

  “Deal?” Calenvir asked, his face flipping into confusion.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered to Viressa, who had run over to my side.

  “We told him everything, and it seems like he has regained at least most of his memories, but it only worked after he took the crown off,” She replied.

  I glanced back at Calenvir, only then realizing that the relic of Luminarch that he had once worn was no longer on his head. Instead, the man held the crown with one hand, slowly approaching me with a graceful stride.

  Then, the elven king knelt, allowing his six blades to droop down along with him. “I apologize deeply, Lucivar. The actions taken by the kingdom of Ilvareth are entirely unforgivable. I hope you understand that the influence of the Aspect of Chaos, Isarion, was to blame for some of it; however, my son acted on his own accord to take revenge against Ossara during my corruption.” He looked up, meeting my eyes, and I could see a single tear slowly falling from his face. “The prince's fate is in your hands. I hope that this gesture would be enough to at the very least partially repay for the wrong we have committed.”

  “Father—” Lirien protested weakly, his breath growing heavy.

  “You brought this upon yourself, Lirien.”

  I looked between the king and his son, weighing what to do next.

  “I’m gonna kill these—” Joshua began, then he suddenly transformed into his spirit unity form. Signeir’s eyes widened, then he dropped to his knees.

  “I don’t think so,” Ignatius laughed, turning and slowly making his way over to me. “I have observed you for a while now, demon, and suffice to say, I believe you to be an interesting one indeed! I will give your parasite back his body in due time; however, I would like to see this with my own eyes.”

  I nodded, returning my gaze to Calenvir. I breathed once, letting my eyes open slowly as I carefully began to speak. “What can I expect from you, Calenvir?”

  “A powerful ally,” the king responded firmly.

  I glanced down at the prince below me, tilting my head quizzically.

  But I had no time to answer, and I saw a flash of white light out of the corner of my eye.

  “You mortals are so… pathetic.”

  That voice… could it be?

  I didn’t have the courage to move my head, but I knew immediately who the new voice belonged to.

  Luminarch.

  “The Primordial White? What purpose—” Calenvir began, then his eyes suddenly glazed over as he fell to the ground, trembling under the effects of Primordial Intimidation. Even with the leaps in strength I had taken since the last time I had come face to face with the demon, I still felt completely helpless under the effects of the Primordials' aura of fear. All around me, my companions fell to the ground as well, including the entirety of the elven army, each of the soldiers lying flat against the dirt.

  [Shadow Mark]

  I held my breath, but nothing happened.

  [The skill has been canceled by the user!]

  What the fuck?! Does he want me to die?!

  “It has been a long time, hasn’t it, demon? You haven’t even progressed to a demon duke yet, how disappointing,” Luminarch said casually. He leaned his head down, sending a chill down my spine. “How easy would it be for me to kill you now?”

  “Luminarch! I have done what you asked! Now, the deal!” Lirien called from below me, slowly shimmying away and rising to his feet.

  “Ah, yes, what was it again, the resurrection of your long-lost wife?” Luminarch considered the prince before him, then glanced at the crown that Calenvir had been holding, now lying unceremoniously in the grass. “Fetch my relic for me, mortal, and I will bring her back at once.”

  You can’t trust him!

  But I couldn’t speak, my mouth being sealed shut like it had been glued together.

  “Luminarch!”

  A wave of black energy tore across the sky, slamming directly against Luminarch's outstretched hand. The Primordial tilted his head, regarding the wraith floating towards him. “Ah, the little servant of my brother, how wonderful to see you survived my branding.”

  “You will pay!” Eztara roared, disappearing with a flash of light and appearing again behind the demon.

  But I knew that even the wraith was no match for someone on Luminarch’s level.

  “Pathetic,” the Primordial White spat, batting away Eztara’s scythe with a bare hand, spearing the wraith through the chest with his other.

  Eztara gasped, then his eyes widened.

  He suddenly began to melt away into the shadows. “Lunarius…?” He questioned faintly, before finally fading away.

  Luminarch stood still for a moment, then laughed. “So, my brother has decided he didn’t want to lose his little ghost friend after all.”

  Lunarius took Eztara back just now as well? Was this what he wanted?

  Lirien finally began to move, shaking himself out of his fear, grabbing the crown beside Calenvir and presenting it to Luminarch. The primordial grabbed his relic, then paused as Lirien glared at him with rageful eyes.

  “Your promise?” He demanded.

  “Ah, yes, well, it would seem such a feat is quite impossible, even for me. You’d have better luck asking one of the aspects,” Luminarch laughed dismissevly.

  “You—” Lirien began with anger, then he too crumpled to the floor.

  Finally, Luminarch raised his crown, placing it gently atop his head. It glowed, as if recognizing its master.

  Then, the Primordial's eyes widened, and it took a moment for me to recognize the emotion creeping down Luminarch's face.

  Pure, unadulterated fear.

  “I will take my leave now. I hope you have more to offer me when I return, insolent child,” Luminarch spat, then he disappeared in a flash of light.

  I breathed a sigh of relief, but my mind was racing with a single, undeniable thought.

  Why didn’t he kill me?