Sara stared at the object that dropped before her. It was Edico’s sword with a pouch attached to it. Opening it, she found something unexpected—the mana amplification stone.

You never change…. Sara swallowed back tears as she looked at it. In her last life, Edico tracked her through three kingdoms until he found her in a slum in Ramph, part of the Plenth Kingdom—a historic enemy of the Escaran Kingdom. It took him three months, but he followed Jason’s tracks, found him dead, and then continued on, using wit, social skills, and battle prowess to track her down to the gates of hell.

Why’d you even bother? Sara had asked after he found her.

Because I knew you weren’t dead, Edico said.

How?

I don’t know. You dying feels impossible for some reason.

That’s a shitty reason.

Perhaps. That was it. They just stood in silence for another five minutes until Sara exhaled and led him to the shack that she, Kyritus, and Tiber shared. It smelled like rotten vegetables and disease, but he sat down without complaint and asked if she’d help restore the kingdom. In exchange, he would provide Kyritus and Tiber legitimacy and protection. Sara hesitated, but after looking at Tiber, who was pale and had protruding ribs, she had to agree.

Edico then trained her in the sword for three months. He beat her ass senseless every day and night. And at the end of it, when she still couldn’t land a blow on him, he told her she was ready to face Mary as if he didn’t understand the meaning of irony.

I can’t even fight you, and you think I’m ready to face Mary? Sara had asked.

Your journey is just beginning. You’ll figure it out.

That’s just how Edico was. And, just as Emma was the same person she was in her last life, he was also proving that he was the same. She was the only imposter. Everyone was still alive. Only she had died.

Sara sighed and threw her sword aside. She’d put it into the spatial ring, but she didn’t want the kingdom to know she was alive yet. She wanted to give it a day for Mary’s “crime” to sink in. That way, she could demand that she and Jason have their cores shattered. Then, her two enemies would only be political threats, and without their magical power, they were just outsiders. No one would let them into politics.

Belting Edico’s sword onto her waist, Sara clenched her hand. It felt stiff. Raw. But it was functional. She could use it for attacks, but she had to rely more on magic. If she used it too much, she could permanently damage it.

Did I do the right thing? Sara silently asked, clenching her hand into a fist. She had saved Jason, and she didn’t regret that. Killing enemies was what Mary did, and Sara didn’t approve of it. In politics, enemies grew in proportion to a person’s power and prestige. It was the nature of power, and the minute you kill one political enemy, you start killing them all. It was a slippery slope. That’s why she was working toward shattering their cores and breaking their political spines instead. She honestly didn’t plan to lead them to their deaths, let alone Titus’s…. That was the real problem in her mind.

Sara shook her head, clearing her mind. There was a time and place for regret, and that window encapsulated 99% of her waking day. But there was a time when regret wasn’t allowed—in battle and times of crises—and this situation qualified as both.

Mary and Jason deserved to have their cores shattered, and even if they didn’t—she’d do it anyway. As for Titus, she could only make amends if she was alive, and she’d die if she thought about it too much.

You can do this, Sara thought, staring into the pitch-black cavern. Just a mile away was the source of her life’s greatest trauma, still alive and well, awaiting her return. Now she had to face it as if she were sitting in a courtroom, providing testimony as her best friend’s killer watched her from the defense table.

Sitting back down, she took an hour to make her peace with the world. She apologized to Kyritus for not coming back from Drantal like she promised, prayed for Tiber’s health, and then checked her silver pocket watch in the darkness. It was 1:07 PM.

Raul missed his family. He was one of six children in an extended family that comprised five different lines. Despite the size, his Nana was insistent that their main family (her children and their children) met up once every other week and the whole family every two months. And whenever they did, there was food—so much food. The women would get together and grab Crisco straight from the tub, mixing the lard into flour by feel and then putting tortillas on cast irons as dried beans soaked overnight. They’d go through the multi-day process to make tamales and put pitted olives in the center, ensuring that the men couldn’t just gobble them down without breaking their teeth. And the men themselves would drink a Corona and talk about their wives as if they were so abused through all of it, cracking jokes and enjoying their lives.

Things were better there.

Raul missed other things, too. He missed football, his dream of being a Madman (even though he recently learned that advertising became a boring data analysis career), and his acceptance to MIT and the fun years it promised.

Most of all, he missed his friends.

Reemada and power changed all of them.

Sara had changed into, well, Sara. Jason tried to kill an unarmed man, and Mary… Mary killed Sara. Fuck man. Mary killed her.

Raul’s eyes welled with tears as he rode his monta to the other group of heroes. One of the healers had set out ahead of their group, galloping at full speed to send the message while they moped and mourned at a trot, keeping pace with Edico, who had Mary in mana deprivation chains on the front of his horse. Her mouth was gagged. No one wanted to hear her talk. Man, the bitch fucking killed her. If she said one word, he’d probably rip her throat out.

Raul was in shock about Sara’s death. He wanted to believe that Sara was alive. But that’d require her to survive skydiving in pitch-black darkness and then outliving whatever the fuck was in that hole. Just getting near the cave prickled his body with gooseflesh, and he had to army crawl to the hole out of fear that he’d fall in—or get pushed. When he got there and looked down into the crevasse, he shivered uncontrollably and had Edico drag him backward out of the cave. He felt like a sissy, but he could barely breathe until he got outside and got back onto his feet.

He was glad Edico was there. That man was as reliable as a machine that assembled cars, prone to mess up from time to time but otherwise stamped out thousands of vehicles a day with pinpoint precision. Still, even Edico was breaking down.

Raul would never forget what happened after Edico left that cave. He came out holding Mary by the neck and then threw her out like a rag doll. She had purple choke marks on her neck, and Raul had originally asked: What the fuck are you doing?If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Then that’s when he found out the truth. After hearing how Mary pushed Sara into the hole and saw the abyss for himself, Raul was left in shock. He barely listened as Jason and Mary fought for their reputations.

Wait! Jason yelled. There must be another explanation!

That Sara pushed herself into a three-hundred-foot hole? Edico asked. Raul shivered at his tone. It was caustic enough to eat through steel.

Do you think… I…. Mary wheezed and paused. Could push her? Sara? Are you blind? Look around you.

Edico sneered, ignoring the devastation Mary was referring to. The cave was extremely narrow. Go look in that cave, Jason.

“Jason?” I’m Lord—

No you’re not. When I get back, I’m recommending you both get stripped of your titles.

Wait! What the hell did I do?

That’s final. Now be silent.

Jason protested. Edico didn’t reply.

Emma, who had been standing there in a state of disbelief, dropped to her knees. It’s our fault….

It’s not our fault, Raul said, pulling her into an embrace.

Yes, it is! she yelled. She didn’t want us to go, and we went anyway! She insisted, Raul! And then what happened? She got hurt because we were there. Now she’s dead! This is our fault! We should’ve told them no! That we weren’t going to go!

Calm down, Raul said, hugging her tightly.

Jason scoffed in anger. Emma. This isn’t our faul—

One more word, and I’ll break your face, Raul said.

What the fuck did I do? Why is everyone blaming this shit on me?

Just shut up.

Do you want to fight, Raul?

Raul laughed and released Emma, turning to Jason. Yeah. I do. Because you want to know a secret, Jason?

What? Jason asked, taking a step back.

Sara taught me spells, gave me crazy herbs and elixirs… hell, she gave me all sorts of shit. You know why? To ensure I could beat your ass if necessary. Raul took a step forward, releasing magical pressure that made Jason’s body tense up. She gave me tips, too. And in case you’ve been too self-absorbed to notice.... He pulled the axe off his back and showed him a blade engraved with wild-looking arrays that were unlike anything they had seen in Lemora. She got me a new weapon. Do you still want to threaten me?

Jason turned to Edico. Are you going to let this happen?

Jason…. Edico said chillingly. I hope you die.

What? Jason asked in disbelief.

Edico turned to him. The moment you joined this mission, you became an adult. And as an adult, if you start a fight, you need to accept the consequences. He chuckled murderously. So no, I’m not going to protect you. This is between you and Raul—and I hope you die.

Jason was appalled. When King Escar learns—

Edico shot up, unsheathing his sword and rushing Jason. He grabbed the teen by the armor and pulled him straight to the blade, the horizontal edge breaking the skin of Jason’s neck. Listen, kid. You and Mary have plotted to destroy Lady Reece for the last few months. That’s a fact. We had guards listen outside your room. Spies who followed you. They’ve recorded every fucking word you said. Do you know why?

W-Why…. Jason gulped.

Because you were trying to harm the kingdom’s greatest fucking asset. Now she’s probably dead. That means that I can slay you in cold blood, and King Escar wouldn’t blink an eye. No, he’d be furious he couldn’t watch your execution. Now shut up before I throw you both down that hole.

Jason shut up after that, and Mary scuttled backward to a tree as Edico sheathed his sword and turned to her. The sycount lifted his ring and produced a set of chains.

W-What the hell are those?

Mana deprivation chains, Edico said. They’re used on criminals.

Mary screamed, cried, and begged, but Edico got on the chains. He looked at Jason but held off, putting the mana amplifier into a pouch and tying it to his sword. Then he walked into the cave and threw it down the hole. When he emerged, he spoke firmly:

We’re setting out to get a search party. If you’re not ready in five minutes, I’m leaving you. And that’s when they set out.

Now, they were in the present, making their way back to Aelia’s forces. It wasn’t long before they heard the thunder of hooves in the distance. They met up with a messenger and then caught up with Aelia and the other heroes.

When the two forces regrouped, Edico took Aelia aside while the other heroes asked what had happened, but none of them would talk. Where’s Sara? they asked, And why is Mary in chains?

No one answered them.

The anxiety in the camp multiplied over time, turning so thick it felt like Raul was wearing a weight vest and running. Then, after Edico finished speaking with Aelia, the latter spoke up:

“Listen up! Lady Reece has fallen into a deep cavern. Our troops are sending for reinforcements. In the meantime, we’re going to search for another entrance into the cave. If you find one, don’t go in. We’ll leave in five minutes, so prepare yourself!”

Raul’s heart tightened at the hope that Sara was alive. He looked at Emma, whose eyes burned with determination. If anyone could find another entrance, she could.

Sara began her slow and silent journey through the cave two hours ago, each step making her anxiety increase. Her heart was like a caged bird, slamming into her rib cage as it fought for its freedom. She couldn’t hear from the dull thud in her ears, so she had to pause for ten minutes at a stretch to calm down.

The walk was only a mile, but walking there silently without using divination pulses (which would alert Haligara) made it last hours. Worse, if she couldn’t feel Haligara’s presence, it would be impossible to know if she was going the right way. It was pitch black and silent, making her feel like she was stumbling around for a light switch at the bottom of the ocean.

No, it wasn’t completely black. It was, but her mind was playing tricks on her, allowing her to see waves of color, actively hallucinating as she walked further into the abyss.

Suddenly, the tricks grew more aggressive, and she could hear voices—human voices. No… wait! Sara shut her eyes and grasped her head, but it was too late. Sounds and smells of blood and iron filled her senses. Sara opened her eyes in panic, and to her horror, there was light in the cavern, mana crystals lighting the walls.

“Tank it already, you fucking idiot!” Jason yelled, jumping backward as a massive black object crashed into the place he was standing only a moment before.

“I can’t tank it if it doesn’t pay attention to me!” Raul yelled back.

A terrorizing hiss cracked through the hollow cave, and Sara’s blood ran cold, her lungs seizing up in horror. Yet her body moved on its own, lifting her silver bow at a massive basilisk. Suddenly, the bow lit up, connecting the two ends with a laser-like beam of mana that she pulled back as a string. Aiming it upward, she could finally see It. Haligara.

Haligara was a massive snake with scales that looked like they were forged from volcanic glass. When it lifted its body, it stood fifty feet tall and had jaws that could swallow a school bus without struggling. And its eyes… they were terrifying. The yellow glow stones lining the ceiling reflected off its eyes like cat eyes, but they were green with horizontal slits as wide as its corrosive tongue.

Sara shivered in horror, but her other body kept moving. “Get back this way!” she yelled. “I’ll attract it; you keep it busy!” Sara let the arrow fly, and it curved in the air, shifting its trajectory to hit Haligara in the eye. It screeched in agony—

—and that’s when Sara’s life changed forever.

In a fit of rage, Haligara opened its maw and shot acid through its fangs in multiple directions. It was a new attack, and a spurt hit Raul in the arm, melting through his armor and making him scream out in pain.

“I’m coming!” Emma yelled.

“Don’t do it!” Don’t do it! The two versions of herself overlapped as they watched Emma rush to Raul, but it was too late for either to make a difference. Haligara turned to Emma in a flight of passion, shooting acid at her. Sara tried to push Emma out of the way, but the acid was like a speeding bullet. Before she even got close, the acid hit Emma in the face, sending her screaming on the ground. Sara rushed forward, trying to save her life. Yet it was too late. Emma’s face was boiling and blistering, sizzling with smoke as the acid corroded her face to the bone. “Emma!” Sara yelled.

Suddenly, Haligara turned its eyes to Sara—the woman that blinded it—and it let out a hiss. Sara turned to face it, but before she could see its gaze—

—she woke up, staring into pitch-blackness in the present, cold sweat soaking through her undershirt.

How the fuck am I going to fight that thing? Sara thought, taking labored breaths in the soundless cave. Haligara wasn’t that strong. Her flashback just reminded her of that. The battles that she fought in the demon capital were far worse, but… one moment’s hesitation could get her killed, and her trauma or flashbacks could seize her body completely.

Sara looked down and found her hands were shaking. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Listen, Sara, she thought, and listen very carefully. Emma is alive, and you’ve been given an opportunity to skull fuck this thing a second time.]

Grinning fearlessly, she took a deep breath. So don’t fuck it up. She may not have the Bow of Rymac, a party, or anything else. But she had an indomitable will, an ultimate drive for vengeance, and luck that could change the world. One of those things would work in her favor. She was certain of it.

With that thought, Sara continued into the pitch-black abyss, determined to face her trauma head-on.