“Do you remember the path correctly?” Tarin asked Arix, exhaustion written across his face—his head drooped, lips slightly parted.

  “You are still weak from the fever,” Lyra said, walking beside Tarin.

  Arix was ahead, Meilie beside him, and at the back, the beast followed them.

  “How far is this weapon?” Tarin asked again.

  “Not much. We will reach it in a few hours,” Arix replied.

  “We have been walking since morning, and it’s afternoon already,” Lyra said. She was visibly bored with all the walking. “By the way, how’s your wound holding up?” She looked at Arix.

  “Not bad. Meilie’s magic almost healed it,” Arix answered, looking at Meilie. She was walking with both hands behind her back, looking ahead.

  “So you’re saying the weapon asked you to tame this beast?” Not long after, Tarin reached his limit. “Hey, wait. Let’s rest a bit,” he said, leaning against the nearby wall and gasping for breath.

  “We have to reach there before nightfall.” Arix stopped with Meilie, Lyra, and the beast.

  “Just five minutes,” Tarin asked, closing his eyes and struggling to breathe. His body was still weak from the fever, and the others didn’t mind resting for a few minutes so he could get his energy back. In fact, they ended up resting there for half an hour.

  The snow was still falling, but the storm was gone, and the sun shone brightly through the snowfall. The wind brushed through occasionally, giving them a sharp chill.

  The beast also sat beside Tarin, putting her head on his feet and closing her eyes to rest.

  - - -

  After thirty minutes, they started walking again through the snow. Silence fell except for their footsteps and the beast's feet sinking into the snow.

  After another two hours, they finally reached the two rocks where the sword was, held by a skeleton’s hands.

  "How creepy!" Lyra scrunched her face and stepped behind Arix, looking at the skeleton. Meilie stood there, fearless, with Tarin and Arix.

  The sun was about to set, and its golden rays reflected on Arix’s face.

  "I tamed the beast," Arix said, arms at his sides as he stared at the sword.

  The beast walked ahead of them and smelled the sword, then sat beside it, emitting a haunting cry again toward the blade.

  The sword suddenly glowed with a dark aura. Lyra, Meilie, and Tarin's faces went pale as they all stepped backward. Tarin put his hand on his sword, sweat breaking out across his face. Lyra took out her needle, breathing fast, and Meilie pointed her staff at the sword, her heart beating hard and her eyes wide.

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  The beast also walked back a few steps as she shivered in the snow.

  "What is this?" Tarin thought, looking down at his shivering legs. "I suddenly want to run.” His face was covered in sweat.

  He glanced at Meilie, Lyra, and the beast. They all stared at the weapon, breathing hard—everyone except Arix.

  “Does Arix not feel this?” Tarin thought. “What is this weapon?”

  Arix looked around him. Everyone feared the sword, but he felt nothing.

  “What happened?” he asked, looking back at Tarin, Lyra, and Meilie.

  "You don't feel this aura? It's making me paranoid," Lyra answered, staring at the weapon. “This weapon—it’s no ordinary weapon.”

  “No. I don’t feel any—” Arix was interrupted by the same familiar voice he had heard from the sword before.

  “Arix, you are chosen to be the Third Wielder of Nexur,” the sword spoke in a high pitch like before.

  "This sword can speak?" Tarin's fear deepened and he stepped farther back. His heart raced, and he couldn't force himself forward.

  "Damn these legs, why are you trembling?" he thought. “How will I face the prison my father spoke of this way? I can’t even face a sword.” He paused, then another thought surfaced. “What will my father think of me?” These thoughts spiraled in his mind as he ground his teeth.

  Arix looked toward the sword. “Will you keep radiating this aura constantly? I don’t want my friends to be afraid of me holding you.”

  “It depends on you,” the sword answered.

  The beast let out a high-pitched howl at the sky, then hissed at the sword. She was ready to strike with her horns.

  “Wait.” Arix sensed her desire to attack the sword. He raised his palm toward the beast, and she listened. She stood there, hissing at the sword but not rushing toward it. Arix stepped forward, pointing one hand toward the beast and turning his gaze to the sword, ready to claim it.

  “Before you wield me, you have to make a promise. You have to take revenge for me. Do you understand?” the sword asked.

  “Revenge from whom?” Tarin asked from behind, finally gathering enough courage to step a little forward.

  “Revenge on the lord of this place,” the sword answered.

  “Revenge on the lord? Why?" Tarin asked, stepping forward.

  “You will know when the time comes. But first, you have to make your way to the Divine Prison,” the sword said. Arix lowered his hand and looked at the blade.

  “Prison. My father said that,” Tarin thought.

  “I accept your revenge as mine,” Arix said to the sword, staring at it.

  “Very well then. Know this—if you drop me, you will die,” the sword stated.

  Lyra swallowed hard. “So what Vaelor said is true. We can’t drop it.”

  “I accept,” Arix answered again.

  “Very well then. I bind you in a law: I will serve you until you die or drop me. And the moment you die, I will be masterless again,” the sword said.

  Arix stepped forward, grabbed the grip of the sword, and picked it up. The skeleton’s hold was strong on the weapon, so it took Arix quite some strength to pull it free.

  But when he did, he held the sword in one hand, raising it toward the air. The dark blade seemed to absorb the sunlight entirely.

  Arix stared at the sword for a while. Its black grip and black blade looked beautiful under the setting sun.

  The aura it emitted faded as Arix put it on his back—the same place he had once carried his father's sword.

  “Let’s head down the mountain and toward the prison,” Arix said, looking at the group.

  Their fear faded, and they returned to normal.

  “Why didn’t the aura affect you?” Lyra asked as she walked beside Arix, looking at the sword.

  Arix glanced back at the sword over his shoulder and said, "I don't know. Maybe we'll find out with time."