The rough stone walls gave a sense of claustrophobia as they shot down the halls. They turned to the right, heeding Axel’s words one last time. There, just as he said there would be, was a spiral staircase. They both climbed it quickly, though cautiously, in single file. The spirals began to make Corrin dizzy. However, just when they had expected to reach the top, they nearly flew into a metal gate.

  The gate was not symmetrical; instead, it looked instead as though dozens of strings fell in strange patterns and met at the bottom.

  Past it, the steps continued upward until they reached what Corrin could only assume was the top. Corrin turned to his shoulder and readied himself to break the gate down. Tutsoi went to his right and prepared to do the same.

  “Okay- on three! One… Two…”

  “Three.”

  The sudden voice threw them both off, and they nearly tumbled down the stairs. The voice was gentle, though a bit lazy, and accompanied by it was a boy, around the age of Corrin, or perhaps younger. His eyes were covered by his hair, which was blue. He sat on the staircase and looked at them.

  “Why didn’t you go? I said three.”

  Corrin, who was more than a little stunned, could not form words quick enough. Instead, Tutsoi spoke up.

  “Who are you?”

  “My name is Kerea Oxo. Who are you two?”

  He spoke with a lightness in his voice that was not common among the men of the current era. Both Corrin and Tutsoi were taken aback by the quick answer to their question. Corrin pressed his hand against the bars as he walked closer.

  He quickly pulled his hands away as the metal burned his hands. The metal turned into a liquid as it melted away. Corrin looked at his burnt hands in fear, but the burn was no longer searing.

  The liquid began to harden again as it fell to the bottom of the stairs. The boy brought his hand over the bars to the ceiling, which Corrin and Tutsoi just realized he could hardly reach with his height, and a strange liquid began to pour from his fingertips and harden exactly where Corrin had grabbed on the now liquid bars. In an instant, he patched the hole Corrin had created by grabbing the metal.

  “Sorry, I should have warned you about these. It’s part of my Resonance. You know what a Resonance is, right?”

  Tutsoi sighed.

  “Yes, we know what a Resonance is.”

  “Just checking. A lot of these Erthari didn’t even know about the Anees Energy in the air. But, I guess you both have the Aneesal scars on your cheeks, so you must be… Anees? Both of your hair is black, so I wasn’t sure.”

  Corrin knew that, below them, dozens of Anees were fighting for their freedom. And he knew the key to victory was sitting just beyond this gate. Corrin was becoming more eager by the minute to get the shards once again.

  “Look, we need to get up there. The shards, we need them.”

  Kerea made a strange noise, one that mirrored laziness.

  “But… the-... what’s his name? The leader…person…”

  He trails off into a thought, only mumbling. Corrin exhales sharply in annoyance.

  “Look, there are hundreds of Anees people who were tortured, starved, and beaten. They’re trying to escape with their lives right now, but they need the shards to do it! Me and Tutsoi here. We don’t want to hurt anybody, we just want to get out.”

  That last part was only half true; there were many people that Corrin wanted to hurt. But, there were many more that he would rather save. Kerea fell back down onto the staircase, thinking for a moment.

  “Is that what all that ruckus is?”

  Corrin couldn’t believe his ears. Even inside the castle, the sounds of screams, explosions, and metal clanking were loud enough for anybody to make out as the sounds of battle, if a little muffled. Kerea opened his mouth in shock and realization.

  “Oh! I see! Wait… actually, I don’t. Who are you two again?”

  Corrin smacked his face into his palm in defeat. Tutsoi took the reins of the conversation.

  “My name is Tutsoi Ika, and this is Corrin Hisstion. Me and him may not have seen eye-to-eye until recently, but we have both gone through terrible things. Things that Corrin could have avoided easily by simply leaving the Fali Realm. But he chose not to because he saw that we were in need.”

  Corrin looked over to Tutsoi as he continued.

  “I don’t know much about it- but I heard that he was the one who killed the Queen of the Shem! He is the sole reason that this Vrebathian Empire even stands! The fact that they’re against him because he’s no use anymore is absurd!”

  Corrin wasn’t sure if he was the sole reason as thoughts of Merri and Edwin flicker through his mind. It was hard to believe that was so long ago now.

  “After that, Corrin chose to help us fight against a horrible Mostiis man that ended in massacring my people. He didn’t have to do any of that! But he chose to because he cares. I guarantee that we only want the best for this world.”

  “What will you do after you escape with the shards, then? Live peacefully? That isn’t possible. Not here, at least.”

  Tutsoi looked at Corrin, and Corrin turned to Kerea.

  “Look, the shards aren’t just for freeing our people. We were given a task. A mission. Katan, the god of the Shem, is going to return and we need those shards to stop it.”

  Corrin spoke, also giving Tutsoi the information as he had not yet told Tutsoi the entire plan. He did not yet fully trust Kerea, but seeing how easily persuaded Kerea seemed to be, this was the only thing he could think of aside from killing him.

  “We both plan on using the shards to steal Katan’s shard when he’s brought back and still weakened by his time in the Realm of Grief. We’ll then travel to an island called- uh… Two-Half island! A man named Oknata will give us his shard, and we’ll travel to the Mountain of the Gods and destroy all of the shards. According to this Oknata, to whom I trust, the destruction of the shards will destroy or weaken him enough to be destroyed.”

  Tutsoi, who had just now heard the plan for the first time, nodded his head. He mumbled to himself.

  “It seems like a solid enough plan… at least for now.”

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Kerea tapped his cheek a few times, deep in thought.

  “I mean, I don’t really like the Anees, but the Erthari are more racist than you guys, and you two seem… fine. So I’ll let you guys have them.”

  He touches the top of the metal bars and it begins to melt away, seeping down the steps as Corrin and Tutsoi avoid the searing metal on the ground. Corrin was more than a little confused.

  “Just like that? All it took was a speech?”

  Kerea nodded his head.

  “I’m easy to persuade. But, the Vrebathians would probably want to hang me for this. So, I have a request: May I join you guys in escaping?”

  Corrin thought for a moment, but Tutsoi answered instantly.

  “Of course.”

  Corrin knew that it was the goodness in Tutsoi. His eagerness to help people in a way that Corrin did not always have. For a moment, he felt ashamed of his actions, though he knew this was not the time for self pity, and he quickly stopped.

  As the gate opened enough for them, Corrin went first and walked past Kerea, keeping his guard up, as he did not yet fully trust him. It was then that Corrin had a closer look at Kerea. He was of the Othari race, of which Corrin did not know much about. He looked down to his hands, which was the only part of his not covered in pristine blue and white clothing, and saw it: blue hands. His skin was indeed a blue color, just like he had read and heard about.

  But he soon turned away and looked into the room. Sitting there was a small black metal chest that seemed to glow with anticipation, as though it wanted to be open. Corrin walked up to it and touched it, Kerea followed him and stood to the side.

  “The shards are in here. But it's impossible to open without the key. The leader guy has the key, the old guy.”

  Corrin knelt down and inspected the chest, turning to Tutsoi after a few moments and sighing deeply. He had not heard Kerea, and instead was caught up in his own anger at his realization.

  “It’s made of Black Steel. Even the lock is. It's impossible to break open without black steel weapons.”

  Corrin looks at the katana he had in his hand. Engraved on the side said ‘Jeis’, which he was sure was the last name of whomever had used it. Though a fine blade it was, it was not his own, which was reinforced with Black Steel, which he knew could break the lock. Corrin turned to Tutsoi while still keeping Kerea in his peripheral vision, just off to the side.

  “Tutsoi, any idea where they would have our weapons?”

  Tutsoi shook his head.

  “Maybe the armory? But I don’t know where that is.”

  Kerea walked back and leaned on a wall.

  “I know where the armory is.”

  Corrin and Tutsoi both turn towards Kerea in unison, and await for a continuation. For a few more moments there was a deep silence, until Corrin finally spoke in irritation.

  “Where?”

  “Oh, right! I can take you. Follow me.”

  Corrin looked at Tutsoi with an untrusting expression. Corrin set his sword down and grabbed the chest, pulling it up. In a sudden instant, Kerea grabbed the chest from Corrin and slammed it back down to the ground.

  “Hey, what the hell?”

  Kerea looked back up at Corrin, one of his eyes looking deep into Corrin after he had cursed. Kerea’s ocean blue eye had panic written on it.

  “Don’t pick it up! Look…”

  He pulled the chest up slightly and pulled it to the side. Attached to the chest at the bottom was a chain that went into the floor. Kerea put the chest back where it was.

  “Don’t pull the chains…”

  Tutsoi walked up, sheathing his sword. He, unlike Corrin, had actually grabbed a sheath for his sword when he stole it.

  “Are we just supposed to leave the shards here?”

  Kerea looked at them with an uneasy expression.

  “Unless you want this entire room to explode and leave nothing but the chest, then yes.”

  Kerea stood up.

  “We’ll go to the armory, but I doubt your weapons will be able to break open the chest. I’d recommend the keys.”

  Corrin’s patience was tested again by Kerea.

  “Well where the hell are the keys?.”

  Now Kerea looked like the annoyed one.

  “I told you, with their leader. The old guy.”

  Corrin looked at Kerea as though he had said something absurd.

  “You mean, Axel Leimon?”

  Kerea nodded.

  “Thats the one!”

  Tutsoi, who was now also getting irritated by this conversation, decided to end it.

  “Then we’ll go to Axel and take the keys.”

  A sudden voice shot up the staircase, it was the voice of a commander. The same that Tutsoi had slashed before.

  “We have you surrounded! Come down peacefully and we won’t hurt you!”

  Corrin cursed to himself, grabbed his katana, and ran over to a window in the wall in the near empty tower. He looked down into the courtyard, and, to his relief, he witnessed the doors to the castle open and hundreds of Anees escaping into the plains beyond. Unfortunately, this now also meant that the entire castle was aimed towards pursuing Corrin and Tutsoi. The voice yet again screamed up at them.

  “This is your final warning! We’ll give you two minutes to come down with no weapons and your hands up!”