The Newt and Demon

Tarantham was an empire built to endure. It had been designed that way from the start. The walls of the cities were laced with crystal lodestones, emitting fields of suppression that aided the citizens. The cycles of calculated war maintained a population of the strongest—according to the recently ascended emperor. Built in accordance with the styles of the ancient Pera’tal kingdom, Tarantham City was a sprawling cross between a metropolis and a fortress. The city was organized into quarters, massive walls between each section and more guards than a person could count manning the walls.

“Even without our leader, we’re strong,” Fenian said, sighing as he passed through another checkpoint. His gaze shifted upward, making him feel slightly dizzy as he viewed the height of those walls. But thanks to the suppression field around him, his absurd attributes didn’t mess with his thoughts too much.

“Plate,” an elven guard asked, holding out his hand.

Fenian reached into his coat, withdrawing the hand-sized metal plate infused with his magical fake identity. The illusion he was under was powerful enough to fool almost anything. He had taken a hint from Theo’s approach before he had been transported to this world. Sneak mode was well and truly activated.

“Behave yourself,” the guard said, handing the plate back to Fenian. He bowed his head, making his way into the central district of the city.

They just had to go and model the city after the real deal. The central district of the city held the palace, a temple, and buildings reserved for embassies. Of course, none of those diplomatic buildings were occupied. This section of the city was home to far too many guards. The worst part was, they were the highly trained ones with decent cores. Fenian slipped through the crowds, pressing forward on a path angled to the palace. They stopped him at the entrance, checking his papers and buying his story yet again.

As Fenian passed through the antechamber, slipping off into a side hall, he smiled to himself. The damage he had done on his last visit was still there. Fortunately, few knew of the secret Kuzan held in the dungeons below. Elves loved their secret entrances, and that man was no different. After at least one-hundred twists and turns, he found himself in a darkened series of halls. The lower he went, the deeper that darkness seemed to stretch.

Fenian paused at a corner, pressing himself against the cold stone and holding his breath.

“Just smash it,” a familiar voice said. “You’re good at that, at least.”

Fenian tried not to laugh. He tried very, very hard not to break out in a cackle. While he had gotten very good at predicting people’s movements, he never thought he would come upon the two idiots in a place like this. He turned the corner, hands on his hips as he waited for them to notice him. They might have used their trump cards, but he still held his firmly to his chest. There was no way they would win in a fight, and he doubted they wanted it.

“Here for the same thing, gentlemen?” Fenian asked, dropping his illusion. He felt his rapiers close at hand. Hungry little things.

Jan and Twist dragged their gazes—the masked elf’s gaze containing only the singular eye under the mask—and locked onto Fenian.

“Are we fighting down here?” Jan rumbled.

“Doubt it. The old goat is here to gloat,” Twist said. “You owe me for not outing you in front of your pet.”

“Theo is a very good friend,” Fenian said, sauntering over to the pair. He clapped one hand on either man’s shoulder. “So, what happened? You came to kill the shade and settled for letting some prisoners out?”

“That was the plan,” Jan said, glaring down at Twist. “This one promised he knew how to pop the lock.”

“I do! I just need more time. Elven magic is weird,” Twist responded, stooping and looking at the magical lock once again.

Fenian watched with amusement as the masked elf tried to work the lock. Blowing the wall up would be easier, but that might draw attention. Even if they were quite deep under the city. He saw the mistake Twist made with the lock, but let the man stumble through it.

“How are things elsewhere?” Jan asked. “End of the world still coming?”

“Yes, do you need a ride to the party?”

“Back in Broken Tusk? Once we get Elrin out of here I’m game to go wherever. Can’t touch Kuzan, so we took out a few choice people along the way.”

“I gave him the list of targets,” Twist said, tilting his head as he tried to undo the magical lock. “People who really deserved it.”

“He’ll have his pet with him, you know,” Fenian said. “How did you hear about the prisoners, anyway?”

“Some light torture,” Jan said. “Nothing too bad.”

“Yes, we can talk about our crimes later, you oaf,” Twist spat. “I’ve almost got this.”

“No, you don’t,” Fenian said. He pushed the masked elf out of the way, then passed his hand over the magical lock. It popped open instantly.

“I could’ve done that,” Twist said, standing and awkwardly shuffled his feet. “Just a few more minutes and I would’ve had it.”

“Sure, buddy,” Jan said, clapping him on the back. “We all believed in you.”

Fenian stuck his head into the darkened room. It was a massive chamber with a pale blue glow coming from the far end. “Did you take care of the necromancer?” he asked, looking around the room with interest. 𝐫А

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“Kinda,” Jan said, producing a jagged length of metal from his coat. “He was ravaging the eastern coast when we arrived.”

Fenian clapped with excitement. “We’re just putting a button on everything, aren’t we? Daddy isn’t home, so there’s no rules!”

“Who is ‘daddy’ in this scenario, or do I not want to know?” Jan asked.

“Kuzan, Karasan, and all the ascendants are ‘daddy’ in this situation,” Fenian said, stepping into the chamber. “Ah, as expected. We’ll need a few potions after all.”

Despite the expectations of Twist and Jan, there weren’t many prisoners here. Well, there were just two prisoners on the far end of the room, both encased in a crystalline material. This was mostly new information to Fenian, based on the loose tongues created by Kuzan’s absence. He thought everyone else from before the change had been kept within the queue. But of course the emperor had found and imprisoned the one person he hated the most, gumming up the works of the world.

“He’ll fix it, right?” Twist asked. “I always hated him, but he fixed the shards before.”

“I also hated him,” Jan put in.

“Yes, we all hated him. Screw him and all that. We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t kill us all, but I have a secret confession to make to everyone.” Fenian clicked his tongue. “I don’t know if my sweet alchemist can bring the shards back alone.”

The trio approached the crystal, getting a decent look at the shape of the man in one, and that of a beast in the other.

“Why didn’t Kuzan disarm him?” Twist asked. “He should’ve been disarmed.”

“Try disarming the tiger,” Jan said, nodding toward the second crystal. “A teleporting tiger… Wait, can we change the plan? I’d like to be on another continent.”

“Too late,” Fenian said, withdrawing the Dragon’s Breath Potion. He drank it, unsurprised when a bar of solid fire sprouted from his mouth. He only had to hold it long enough to crack Elrin’s crystal. Holding the intense fire on the crystal, he watched as a small crack formed. Shortly after, the potent potion faded

The crack formed along the center of the crystal, tracing from the top to the bottom. A tense mood settled over the room and the crystal audibly cracked before splitting. Chunks fell away until each member of the party could see the form of the man. He wore a black hooded cloak, his finely crafted armor made of dark leather interwoven with mythril chain. The halberd gripped tightly in his hand pulsed with magical power as he sagged forward.

“Ivaran,” Elrin said, sucking in a steady breath. He pressed the whistle hanging by a leather string around his neck to his lips. With a single sharp burst, the form of the tiger in the other crystal faded. Something appeared above his shoulder for only a moment before vanishing in a puff of arcane energy. “Jan, Twist. Who dies first?”

“Now, you need to measure your response, Elrin,” Fenian said. “I’ve only ever acted in the best interest of the world. It might have taken me longer than expected, but we’ve reached an idealized version of the plan.”

Fenian’s rapiers were in his hands before the others could even register Elrin’s movements. The force of the block sent a shockwave of power cracking the stones above and below.

“You got stronger,” Elrin said. “Where are the others?”

“They’re safe, but you have to trust me,” Fenian said, preparing to accept the system message that he had ignored for all these years.

Elrin searched the room, his long black hair running across his face. He recognized something the way he always did. “Where is Tinesa?”

Fenian swallowed hard. Of course he remembered her real name. Time hadn’t moved for him. “Dead. I already got the guy that did it, though.”

Elrin pulled his halberd back, poising it for a stab forward. “The others?”

“They’re trapped in a dimensional space. Kuzan has ascended to Leon’s throne. We have a stupid plan, but we need your help. There’s going to be another change. You missed the second one, by the way.”

Elrin’s gaze dragged across the room, landing on Twist. “Do we need him?”

“We need me very much… a lot,” Twist stammered. “Gods, why are you so strong?”

Elrin straightened up, his head swiveling. “Found what I was looking for.”

“Wait! We need you to bring the shards back. Don’t vanish. I hate when you vanish.”

The once-guardian seemed to pick up on the plan in an instant. In another life, he was the person in charge of guarding every shard. Perhaps he still held some deep connection with them, even through the void.

“There’s one still here,” Elrin said.

“At least take this,” Fenian said, holding out a communication crystal. He tossed it over.

“Sure,” Elrin said, vanishing after catching the crystal.

The party stood in complete silence for several tense moments.

“How is he still stronger than me?” Fenian asked, looking over to Twist and Jan. “He attacked to gauge my strength. We used to have our little fights, but he seemed deranged.”

“Oh, well, good thing we released him,” Twist said. “We’re all very smart people here. Intelligent individuals that released some horror on the world. What’s he going to do when he learns we failed to defend Earth? What if Meya isn’t in the queue as you promised?”

“She’ll be in the queue just like I was,” Jan said. “Maybe we should talk to that alchemist about this.”

“I have enough people pissed off at me for no reason,” Fenian said, waving the suggestion away. “How did you guys even get in here?”

“Secret passage,” Jan said with a shrug.

“Fine. Take us to that secret passage. We set it in motion. He can deal with the rest.”

The web of magic that protected the world was damaged. Almost beyond repair. The network of Great Shards that had once helped the system regulate how things worked was shattered, giving way to a faux communication used by the current system. Elrin stepped out of one of two remaining shards on the planet, smiling to himself as the old jungles of Yoh’til greeted him. He had already put much of what had happened together, and he wasn’t happy.

Trevor, in his eagle form, took to the sky to scout. Both doubted the Tapu people were still here. Too much had changed.

“Where are your fragments?” Elrin said, watching as a small group of plant monsters shuffled past.

“Locked in the void,” a soft voice chimed from the shard behind him.

“I don’t remember a shard being on the islands. You’ve been through a lot, huh?” Elrin let out a sigh. He was doing his best to let his hate melt away, but it was hard. A system message had appeared, inviting him to convert to a different system. He wouldn’t take it. There was something strange about the magic in the air.

“As have you,” the shard responded. “But there is a man working to get us back in place. He’ll need your help.”

Elrin grunted a response, looking up at the lush canopy above. “Where is he?”

“To the east. The old kingdom there is long gone. You’ll mostly find ash, and a small duchy to the south.”

Elrin sent a mental command to his eagle companion, urging him forward. At least all his old abilities worked, along with the necklace he could use to swap his companion’s form out.

“There’s too much work to be done. How long did Kuzan have me trapped?”

“Nothing major. About fifty-thousand years.”

“Nothing major, huh?” Elrin asked with a sigh. “You always had the worst sense of humor.”

“Admit it. You love me,” the shard said.

Elrin shook his head, setting off into the jungle. “Just as smarmy as ever.”

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