Time froze. A ringing silence filled the air. Then something inexplicable began to happen with the space around them. Black Darkness was compressed and shifted aside in places, freeing the corridor. In the next instant, an abnormal female laughter echoed from nowhere. It poured from every direction, shifting from madness to hysteria. In the corridor, a tall female figure in a black dress appeared. She moved down the corridor and then, in a flash, stopped before the two heroes. She shook with laughter. Her limbs were long, her head unnaturally elongated. Sharp teeth flashed in spasms of insane laughter.
The Cursed removed his helmet and placed it on the sorceress's head. The Black Darkness inside the helmet struck her. Her mad laughter ceased, and she fell dead at the Cursed's feet. Magical inscriptions on his cheekbones flared and faded. Now, the power of the Laughing Sorceress was his. He raised his hands and with a few movements crushed and destroyed the Black Darkness.
"I need to move on to the next region," he said.
"No one leaves the Courts of the Fallen Knight just like that," said the Viscountess. "But there is a magical exit. In the Secret Tower of the Courts, at the very top, there's a window. With the death of the Fallen Knight, it should open the way for you to the next region."
She led him to the Secret Tower. Together they climbed to the topmost room. The Cursed opened one window and saw a new landscape beyond it.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" he asked one last time.
"My place is here. In the Courts."
Then she looked at him, concentrating.
"And yet… I feel like I've seen you before, I just can't remember where."
"Good. Better you don't remember."
He vaulted over the windowsill.