Galen figured something was wrong when someone ran up to Milton, interrupting one of his speeches, looking frazzled. The two spoke quietly enough that he couldn’t hear, though he could see whatever they were talking about wasn’t good. The messenger got more and more worked up as he relayed his message, and Milton looked more and more unnerved before his face suddenly became a mask of calm.

  The scribe dismissed the messenger, and walked towards Galen. He tried to smile reassuringly, but Galen could tell there was an edge of nervousness in the scribe’s eyes.

  “We must move. Quickly now. Guards! Defensive positioning. No one is to come near the Champion!” Milton ordered.

  Galen began to feel nervous as well, “What’s happening?”

  Milton hesitated, but seemed to realize keeping him in the dark would only make him obstinate, “There has… been in incident in the Second Circle. Nothing to be concerned of! But it is better to be safe rather than sorry. Come, let us go!”

  The scribe gave Galen no opportunity to speak or ask further questions as his guards all but forced him to move with them further into the Third Circle, with him at their center.

  What is going on? he wondered as he glanced towards the walls in the distance that separated the Second from the Third.

  ***

  Before Arawn and the other two Shadows attacked Anila, Aria had used Ether to enhance her vision. She strained her empowered eyes to try to keep up with their astonishing speed. Even when putting her all into it, she still couldn’t keep up with their movements.

  Anila sidestepped a stab from one Shadow, blocked another’s slash with her sword, and before Arawn could attack, they were all blown back by a powerful burst of wind.

  She reached her free hand out to one of the Shadows, and they froze in midair for an instant before suddenly being sucked towards her. That hume recovered surprisingly quickly, and blocked the slash Anila aimed at their neck with their sword.

  Undeterred, Anila merely made a slashing motion with her free hand while locking blades with the Shadow. Her wordless Wind Blade would have beheaded the hume had they not blocked the attack with their armored gauntlet.

  Aria flinched at the horrible noise that shrieked in the air as her mother’s Art collided against the Shadow’s armor, sparks flying where the Art grinded against the metal gauntlet.

  While Anila pushed against the Shadow, one of the others was hurtling towards her, ready to cut her into two. They moved too fast for Aria to even try warning her mother. However, she needn’t have worried.

  As though she had eyes in the back of her head, Anila threw the hand that had the Wind Blade back behind her, hurtling the Art towards that hume behind her. They must not have expected that, because the Art hit their armored shoulder. A loud clang told Aria that the attack failed to pierce the armor, though it stopped that Shadow in their tracks.

  The sound was then followed by an even more horrible scraping sound, and Aria could see with her Ether enhanced eyes that the Wind Blade had begun to spin rapidly, mimicking a drill as it tried to pierce through the sturdy armor. Though it seemed unable to, the Shadow was being pushed back, their heels digging into and breaking the concrete floor from the force of the drilling.

  When Arawn returned to the fray, the spinning Wind Blade suddenly exploded in a burst of wind, breaking all the windows in the closest buildings and sending that Shadow spinning back.

  Arawn, rather than trying to close in on Anila, had instead shot a massive, white-hot fireball towards her. As the flame Art neared her, the Shadow she was engaging grabbed her to root her in place.

  The Shadows were once more caught off guard as Anila flew into the air with that Shadow, the massive fireball passing beneath their feet. That moment of surprise cost the Shadow holding onto Anila their life.

  She quickly grabbed the arm holding onto her, and twisted it enough in a burst of Ether enhanced strength to break it. The Shadow’s scream was muffled by their helm. She then spun the Shadow around by their broken arm, damaging the limb further, before hurtling them towards the fireball that had passed. Right after, Anila shot forth a hyper compressed ball of air that followed right after the hume. The Shadow and Anila’s compressed winds hit the fireball at the same time, causing it to explode violently, the force and heat of it far greater than Arawn’s original output due to Anila’s winds feeding the flames. The exploding fireball destroyed several of the buildings in the area.

  When the explosion died off and the smoke cleared a bit, Aria saw the Shadow was still alive and on their knees in obvious agony. Their arm was twisted in an unnatural angle, and their armor was scorched and even melting in some areas. Sparks flew from various parts of the armor for some reason, and Aria thought she saw an orange orb glowing from the Shadow’s chest armor.

  Aria blinked, and when she reopened her eyes, that Shadow’s head had been separated from their charred and cooked armored body, her mother right behind the decapitated hume.

  Arawn appeared from the smoke, slashing at Anila, who turned and clashed blades with him. The force of their colliding swords cleared the lingering smoke and dust. The two began to move in a blur, the sound of metal clashing against metal in rapid speeds resounding in the air.

  Aria frowned, Where is the last Shadow?

  She got her answer when that one appeared from nowhere, charging straight towards not Anila, but her.

  Aria’s eyes widened in surprise and fear. She knew she couldn’t hope to counter at the speeds the Shadow was moving. However, she needn’t have feared at all.

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  Anila, either seeing out of the corner of her eye or using her Ether senses, had known the Shadow was going for her daughter. With another silent Art, winds pulled both Anila and Aria like a vacuum towards each other, pulling Aria out of danger and Anila from her scuffle with Arawn.

  Aria felt herself stop cold when she got to Anila. Her mother, however, hurled past her, now flying with her own winds towards the Shadow that had gone for her. They too, had apparently gotten caught in the wind vacuum, as their body hurtled straight towards Anila, who slashed at their neck.

  The Shadow had moved enough to avoid an immediate decapitation, but not enough to avoid having their jugular cut open. That hume fell to the ground in a spray of blood. Anila stopped in the air, observing her apparently dead foe.

  Only that Shadow must not have been totally out of the count, because Aria saw her mother’s eyes widen before she burst forth. Arawn, in that opening, had tried to go for Aria, but Anila stopped him by throwing her sword like a spear at the bearded man, the blade accelerated by her winds. The sword hit his helm, and caused his head to snap back. His helm was knocked off his head from the impact, and both it and Anila’s sword hit the ground.

  Anila then formed another Wind Blade in her hand, and used it to finish off the Shadow on the ground who had apparently been healing themselves with a healing Art. Their helmed head flying from their shoulders.

  Aria lay on the ground with shocked eyes. Everything had happened so fast! She couldn’t even keep up with half of what had just happened! All she knew was that her mother had managed to kill the three Shadows that had accompanied Arawn.

  Anila had managed to kill three Shadows!

  Aria blinked, and her mother was at her side. “Are you alright, Aria?” she asked.

  There were so many thoughts colliding in her mind, but what came out was, “Mom… you are way, WAY stronger than I thought you were…”

  Surprised, Anila chuckled, “Perhaps after this is over, you’ll have learned to listen to me more.”

  Aria nodded numbly.

  Anila grew serious as she faced Arawn, who had recovered from being stunned.

  Without turning to look at her, Anila said, “I know you might not be able to keep up with our movements, Aria, but I want you to try and observe this battle. There is much you will learn from it.”

  Aria, recovering from her shock, nodded with a look of determination.

  Her mother then raised a palm towards her, and Aria could see with her Ether enhanced eyes that she had just been placed inside a protective wind cage.

  “That will keep you safe while I battle him. It may be a bit harder to kill him compared to the others. I no longer have the element of surprise. That and… he’s stronger than the others,” Anila explained.

  Arawn shook his head and snarled at Anila, “You… you are no ordinary sap drinker! You killed three Shadows all on your own… and your Arts…”

  Arawn’s expression calmed and became more analytical, “No Invocation? Then they were either mentally cast or… no… at the speed at which you cast them… they were completely Invocationless, weren’t they?”

  His eyes narrowed dangerously, “Invocationless Arts are the highest level of mastery one can achieve in Casting… that and your level of physical enhancement… who in Athanasius’s name are you, really?!”

  “I told you,” Anila said as she cracked her knuckles, “I’m merely another one of the many elves you lot enslaved.”

  Arawn began to growl before he suddenly stopped, his eyes widening. He began to laugh as he waved a finger at her, “Ohoho! You tricky knife eared little… I see what you mean now. You’re merely one of the many slaves we enslaved… am I correct in assuming you mean back when the Great Fragmentation occurred?”

  Anila gave him a half smile, “How did you figure that out?”

  “Simple really. There is no other explanation for your level of Ether mastery and combat ability. With the way your slave collars were designed, it is impossible for any of you tree huggers to ever reach the level you’re at, even assuming you were never caught in your secret training. So the only explanation is that you were one of the first elves captured when the Realms became separated.”

  “Hmm… so some of you humes can use your brains. I’ve lived so long enslaved under the more brainless of your kind that I’d nearly forgotten,” Anila jabbed.

  “Tell me… what is your name?” Arawn asked with a frown.

  Anila frowned back, “Why so talkative all of a sudden, Arawn? Trying to buy time for back up? They better be other Shadows, otherwise they’re nothing but fodder. Or are you perhaps trying to buy time to evacuate some of your citizens from the area?”

  Arawn grinned, spreading his hands and trying to seem innocent, “Humor me.”

  Anila paused before saying her name, “My name is Anila Tufani.”

  Arawn blanched.

  Then he laughed, “Are you serious?! Do you really expect me to believe that?! Of all the names you could have used, you claim the one belonging to the First Champion’s mortal enemy?!”

  His laughter died when he saw Anila looked completely serious. He blinked, before opening his mouth. No sound came out, and he repeatedly opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. He frowned in confusion, “No… no that’s impossible. She was supposed to have died in the battle following the Great Fragmentation centuries ago!”

  Anila smiled eerily, “Either I’m back from the dead to avenge my people, or your history was wrong, Arawn.”

  “That is impossible!” Arawn tried to deny, but Aria could see realization forming in his eyes, “but… there’s no other way to explain your level of power…”

  He looked stunned, then began to laugh, genuinely this time.

  Anila tilted her head, “Did my true identity drive you mad, hume?”

  Arawn shook his head, “No. I’m happy to learn who you are, Anila Tufani! I can’t believe I’m saying this to an elf, but you are THE exception. I’m honored to have the chance to battle you. The one who once rivaled the First Champion! Killing you, the most bitter enemy of my father’s ancestor… what better way can there be to bring glory to lord Athanasius’s great name?”

  Anila frowned, “Your father?”

  Arawn smiled, “Whoops. Looks like I accidentally spilled that secret. Oh well. That’s right, Anila Tufani. My father is none other than Athanasius Durai himself! He has sired many children over the centuries of his rule, and many of them have gone on to become Shadows.”

  He spread his arms theatrically, “This is why you and your daughter will die this day. For you face not just a Shadow, but a son of the true god. I am a demigod!!!”

  “A demigod? You?” Anila scoffed, “don’t make me laugh. I’ve already killed three of you. Besides, you’re mistaken.”

  Winds began to swirl around Anila, “The one dying today will be you. And one day, I’ll return to slay your false god of a father.”

  Arawn smirked, “Oh killing you will be a pleasure!”

  He brandished his scimitar, and Anila got into a battle stance.

  From this point on, Aria could no longer follow their fight.

  A huge thank you and special shoutout to my first ever Lore Master tier Patron, Conman 2731, as well as my first ever Patron currently at the Myth Keeper tier, Mountain Knight. Both of your support is sincerely and greatly appreciated.

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