I remember Vanhiel and Hawk arguing. I remember Blackthorn appearing in the stands. I remember feeling a crushing weight unlike anything I'd experienced before, pinning me to the sand. With no way to escape, the sand collapsed beneath my feet, and I remember falling. Then everything fell dark.
I slowly open my eyes. Every part of my body aches. I'm in a circular room, the same size as the coliseum. The sun beams down from a massive hole above us, where the coliseum floor opened up. I spot Whisperclaw digging Renald out of the sand. Goldenclaw, who was standing next to me when the floor collapsed, has already regained his footing. Liaz is across the room doing the same. Vanhiel, the jackal woman, the figure in the mask, and Hawk are nowhere in sight.
"Where in Abell's name are we?" Liaz asks, dusting himself off and picking up his pistols.
"Underneath the arena, I assume." Goldenclaw shakes the sand out of his mane. "Is anyone injured?"
"Ironvine! Renald-" Whisperclaw calls out, panicked. "He... he's not waking up!"
I rush to where she cradles Renald's head in her lap. He is shirtless, a massive X scarred across his chest. I extend my hands and imagine Celestria's energy covering him. It sits over him for a few moments, but he doesn't budge. I take his pulse. His heartbeat is steady, and he's breathing well. I can't find a single reason why he isn't waking up. This doesn't make sense.
"I don't know." I say, completely unsure of my diagnosis for the first time. "He seems fine. I don't know why he isn't waking up."
"If he's alive, we can still escape, right?" Goldenclaw holds out a bag full of glowing white feathers. "We brought some of the teleportation feathers from the dungeon. We should be able to teleport to Glimmer, and then I can get us to Ulric. It's the closest city to the boss room."
"No." Whisperclaw answers. "We promised Glimmer we'd save his dad. We're not leaving until I see him safely away from here."
"That's easier said than done. We don't even know where they went." Goldenclaw argues. "If I'm being honest, Hawk doesn't seem to be the best king either. Should we be helping him?"
"I think these guys are rubbing off on you, Gold." Liaz laughs. "Back in the day, you never questioned a King."
"We're not doing it for him." Whisperclaw snaps. "We're doing it for Glimmer. I couldn't care less about what happens in this city."
"She's right." I say. "Glimmer is our teammate. If we can help him, we should."
"You make it sound so simple." Liaz sighs, scratching his head. "Whelp, let's get to it, shall we? There's only one way they could have gone."
Liaz points at the entrance to a long hallway built into the back wall of the room. I step back from Renald's body and give Whisperclaw space to stand up. She looks at Renald and frowns.
"He'll be ok." I assure her. "He's safer here than coming with us. There's no telling what we're about to walk into."
"Y-yeah." She nods.
We leave the room and enter the hallway. It veers right, leading us to a set of stairs going further down. We move stealthily, following the only path available. The stairs lead to another chamber. As we approach, I hear a gunshot, and a blue light flashes through the open doorway.
"Vanhiel, I don't know what you're scheming, but this ends now!" Hawk's voice echoes down the hall.
Whisperclaw and I look at each other before sprinting into the room. Hawk stands a few steps ahead of us, facing Vanhiel, who is floating in the middle of the air. He has the body of the figure in the dragon skull mask in one hand. In his other hand is a mana pistol with smoke streaming from the barrel. It's aimed at the body of the jackal woman. Tears stream down her face, but I can tell by her eyes that she's dead. That and the smoking hole in her chest.
"You're so right, Hawk! It does end now!" Vanhiel screams. "I sacrificed everything for this one moment! This single chance! So trust me, I won't waste it!"
The wall behind Vanhiel rises. On the other side is a square-shaped room filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of women and children. They are all lying unconscious. Each has a chain connected to one of their legs or arms. The chains are connected to a single peg embedded in the ceiling. Drawn around the peg is an intricate magic circle made of blood with a script that I can't understand. In each corner of the room is an obsidian pillar with a point at the end, reaching to the ceiling.
"Have you lost your mind?" Hawk screams. "You dare imprison our people? Innocent women and children?"
"I didn't want it to come to this!" Vanhiel says with a hint of sadness in his voice. "You couldn't die with honor! You had to be the supreme Hawk Wind of the House of Wind until the end! Well, now look! This is every single woman and child from the first ring with an aptitude for magic! You will watch as I sacrifice them to turn myself into a God!"
Vanhiel throws the body of the masked figure next to the jackal woman. Then, in a flash of blue light, he shoots the figure in the head.
"No!" Goldenclaw yells. "You would kill your teammate? They were your friends! They trusted you!"
Blood spills from the figure onto the floor. The ground around them glows with an eerie black light. The light rapidly engulfs both the figure and the jackal, then fires into the sky around Vanhiel.
"This is a ritual!" Hawk turns to us. "Whatever it takes, we have to stop him!"
"Already on it." Liaz unloads into the black light, but the bullets disintegrate immediately.
I run to the room with all the women and children. I feel a numbing sensation spread over my entire body and am sent flying backwards. Black sparks crackle around the entryway. The same black light is being pulled from the women and children through the chains. I can see it flowing from the ceiling into the four pillars and back into the ground. I assume the pillars power the ritual.
"We have to destroy the pillars!" I call out from behind me. "I can't get in, though. There's a forcefield keeping me out."
"We're out of time!" I turn back to Whisperclaw's statement.
The black light around Vanhiel shrinks. It disconnects from the ground and forms into a ball, suspended in the air. A shiver runs down my spine. Blue energy crackles around the ball. It shifts, turning over itself until it transforms into a humanoid creature. Then, the black light bursts like a bubble.
Hovering over us is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's a figure reminiscent of Vanhiel, but instead of yellow scales, it has smooth metallic silver skin. Embedded on its chest, abs, and torso are three shiny black orbs. The creature has no mouth, clothes, or anyone distinguishable parts. Its hands look like gauntlets with jagged claws. Its eyes are pitch black, and they have a long beard of silver. On its back are two silver wings, like the wings of a dragon, and sprouting from its head are two large horns.
"Va-Vanhiel?" Hawk asks, obviously unsure.
"Hawk Wind, thirty-third son of the House of Wind…" Vanhiel disappears from the sky and appears directly in front of Hawk. Vanhiel looks deep into Hawk's eyes, his mouth unmoving. "Tell me. Do you fear death?"