Salin had waited anxiously for the moment when he'd be permitted to leave.

  Following the grey-eyed man down from the room, accompanied by two executors, had drawn enough attention that he didn't see any chance at all of completing the mission he'd been given. Surely, the grey-eyed man would make the Empire's presence in the city known, directing the executors to search precisely for people like him.

  When he was finally granted permission to leave, Salin wanted to run. He wanted to be as far away from that man as fast as possible, but instead held himself back and calmly walked down the street. When he was finally out of sight, Salin tore across the earth like the wind itself was chasing him, only slowing down once again when he came within sight of the city gates. The guards glanced at him but did not stop him. He was leaving, after all, and there was no one chasing him.

  The moment he stepped out of the gate, he pulled out the two-way sound construct that had been given to him and was about to report in when he felt space warp around him, squeezing and contracting, a visible sign of an incoming teleport. And just when he felt like he couldn't breathe any longer, he was sucked through it, leaving behind dozens of shocked witnesses at the gate.

  Salin was hurled through space to crash unceremoniously onto a patch of thick sand, his face digging undignifiably into the desert sand. He groaned, spitting out sand as he slowly stood back up.

  He turned around and his eyes widened when he discovered how far away he'd been carried. The City gate was but a tiny dot to his Lord enhanced eyes.

  That was when he registered the presences behind him.

  Instantly, Salin turned around, crashing down onto his knees the moment he registered who stood before him.

  "So the oath breaker returns," Elora Darkfang said, lip curling.

  Her hair was as black as night, cascading down her head to frame a face so beautiful it shone like the sun to Salin's eyes. Many a man had spent entire fortunes just for a chance with her. Her silver eyes, which glinted like sharp steel as they stared down at him, only served to enhance her beauty to a frankly ridiculous level. And Salin would have licked her foot in worship if his mind hadn't been so filled with terror.

  What most didn't know was that Elora Darkfang was not human. She was a scalekin of the beast race, a Torinian black snake to be precise, one that had gained sentience. Her silver eyes and fangs were infamous for being the last things her victims saw before dying an agonizing death.

  "His new allies must have betrayed him, likely the reason he fled out of the city like a scared rat," a thick, rumbling voice grunted from beside Darkfang.

  Salin didn't know this man. His brown hair was cut short, military style, and his black eyes gazed down at Salin with open contempt.

  He was also a Spirit lord, however, so Salin bowed.

  "I greet the Great Pillars of the Empire."

  "Tell me, child," The man said. "What did they offer you to make you betray your homeland?"

  Salin was confused, which made him afraid. "I don't understand, pillar. I did not betray the Empire nor have such a thought crossed my mind."

  "Do not think to lie to your betters, cretin," Elora's lips opened, revealing dagger-sharp fangs. Her eyes glowed and a great pressure fell on Salin, pushing him down until he tasted sand once again before it let up. "You have revealed classified secrets to an enemy of the Empire, despite taking an oath not to."

  Salin drew in a huge gulp of air as he looked back up. He was confused at first until he understood what she'd said, and then quickly rushed to explain.

  "No, not willingly, I assure you! I reported a suspicious individual with deep knowledge about the Empire's activities, knowledge that a normal person shouldn't have. What I didn't know was that this person had been luring me into his dreadful trap, and I fell right into it. There was no fright or caution even after I threatened the Empire's retaliation should he interfere. I swear on the corpse of my ancestors, I never willingly gave away the secrets of the Empire. Please believe me, my lady!"

  "Who is this man?" The second person said slowly, his voice sending deep vibrations through Salin's bones.

  He paused in the middle of slamming his forehead onto the ground.

  "He—he said his name was Damien, my lord," Salin stammered. "Damien Elason."

  They both quieted at that. And when Salin took a peek at them, what he saw shook him.

  He had served in the Empire for so long and had heard and seen of its feats so often that he'd begun to have this belief that the Empire feared nothing. That nobody could terrify them. And yet, here he was, witnessing fear in the eyes of one of the greatest amongst the Empire's pillars. Just from the mention of a name.

  They hid it quickly behind a veil of skepticism. "Describe him."

  And so Salin did.

  When he was done, Elora sighed. "Raise your head."

  He did.

  "You have betrayed the Empire to one of its greatest enemies, perhaps our greatest enemy." Salin could almost detect the fury in her voice despite the calm way she spoke. But alongside that fury was a veiled terror, hiding so well he would have never detected it had he not had experience in detecting such hidden expressions. It was on both their faces.

  "Tell me everything that happened," she commanded.

  Salin obeyed.

  He told of everything that had been asked of him. How he'd been forcefully transported into some strange place. He described how hours had passed outside while they had only spent minutes in that strange place. And lastly, he delivered the warning he'd been asked to.

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  "He told me to warn the Empire not to interfere in his business, and he would do the same."

  "Where were you taken to?" The man asked.

  "He never explicitly said its name, but he did call it the 'Metaphysical'."

  Once again, there was silence.

  It was Elora who finally spoke, turning to the other man. "To be able to move into the metaphysical, that is worrying. But the good news is that he must have drained himself to near empty to accomplish such a feat, perhaps completely."

  She stalked forward, smiling like a predator with prey in sight. Even the man's lips widened, joining in on a joke Salin didn't understand. He frowned. What was happening?

  "This might be the only opportunity we have to end such a powerful threat once and for all," the Darkfang said to the man beside her.

  "I agree."

  As one, their attention turned back to Salin, who knelt there in confusion.

  "You have done the Empire a great deed, even though it was unintentional," Elora said, still smiling. Then she continued.

  "For that, your punishment would be lessened." Seeing the hope in his eyes, she smiled mockingly. "Oh, don't be too joyful. What I'm about to do to you will make you beg for the sweet embrace of death."

  That was when Salin noticed something slithering out from the woman's shadow. His blood turned cold as he identified one of her infamous children.

  Full panic set in, and Salin moved to flee, but to his horror, his body refused to listen, leaving him completely frozen.

  Elora tsked. "We never said you could leave. Istu here will keep you company till we return."

  The snake reached him and his horror reached a crescendo for the second time in a few minutes. No matter how he tried to free himself, he couldn't. The snake slithered up his body, coiling fully around him until its silver slitted eyes came face to face with his.

  And then it bit, and Salin knew only pain.

  Ali's POV

  BOOM!

  "What the hell was that?" Ali groaned, hands balanced firmly on the table as he fought to keep himself from falling.

  "I don't think you should be worried about fighting that warlord of yours anymore," the enigma, Damien said. And despite the explosion that had just rocked the temple, he was still seated, undisturbed, on his chair.

  Ali moved to join the Chosen at the window when another explosion rocked them again.

  BOOM!

  Again, he almost fell but managed to lean on the table for support. Looking around, cracks were beginning to spread all around the room, forming a cobweb of lines across the office walls.

  Ali reached the window and glanced at the Chosen, who wore an expression of shock and resignation on his face. Ali took a look out the window and what he saw almost made him stagger back in horror.

  An outsider would never understand the significance of the dome that covered the city. For those born and raised in Tashin, it was a constant presence. Invisible yet felt. A mother who shielded them against the wrath of the devastating wandering storms that plagued the continent, storms that had reduced other settlements to rubble and dust. A shield that had rebuffed countless attacks, from roaming warbands and the occasional wandering monster hordes. Every child that roamed the streets ran with the knowledge that they were safe under the unblinking gaze of the city dome.

  What he saw now—what everyone was likely also seeing—were the wide, deep cracks that spread across the surface of the dome, like a glass a tap away from shattering. A core part of their tradition, their origin, was being murdered right in full view of his eyes.

  "They didn't waste time at all, did they? Not surprising."

  Ali turned around and saw the man still seated, unconcerned, like a city on the cusp of destruction didn't even faze him.

  "What is surprising is how quickly they arrived, less than three hours after I took their resident spy. Seems the man doing the monitoring was also being monitored as well. Ironic."

  Ali almost screamed at him that their city was in danger and he should make himself useful, even though he didn't see how one man could possibly hope to stop an attack like that. He didn't voice his thoughts, though. He was angry, not suicidal.

  Instead, he turned to his leader. "Chosen, what is our response?"

  Again.

  BOOM!

  Ali groaned again, picking himself off the ground, alongside the Chosen. The man still looked resigned.

  "What response do we have against something like that? A few more hits and this city will crack open like an egg."

  "To be blunt, you yourself said that it was destined to be destroyed anyway," the other occupants of the room pitched in, and Ali was just about to snap when the whole building shook again.

  "This whole building is about to collapse. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be buried under tons of rubble," the man, Damien, said, and then stood up. "Come."

  The path down the building was filled with panic and confusion. Soldiers and priests were frantic as they searched for what to do. Seeing the Chosen approach, they all looked to him for a solution, but Ali could see the Chosen had nothing to give.

  Sighing audibly, Damien turned around and looked at the crestfallen Chosen. "What help do you want from me?"

  He sounded oddly gentle about it.

  The Chosen jolted from his thoughts. "If you can save the people, I would be forever in your debt."

  Damien raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what a debt from you could provide me." He began picking at his nails. "And what would you be doing while I save your people?"

  The Chosen raised his chin. "I and every soldier sworn to the city will hold back the attackers." He seemed set on his path and Ali followed him, even though he knew they were all likely to be wiped out in seconds. The Chosen was willing to lay down his life for his people and so was Ali.

  The man must have concluded something because he nodded. "You won't be fighting anyone." Ali wanted to argue but was stopped by the man's raised hand.

  "I'll deal with them. Call back every guard around the gates; your job will be to move everybody to the other end of the city. Break down the walls if you have to, but make sure to evacuate this city and its surrounding areas."

  He plucked something out of thin air, shocking everyone present, and handed it over to the Chosen. "When you get far enough from the city, break this and tell the first person you see that I sent you; they should have you settled and quickly taken care of." He looked around at the people gathered there. "I don't usually do this for strangers, but seeing as my presence here likely brought this upon all of you, take this as recompense. Don't go expecting me to be your newest protector, you will be sorely disappointed."

  "See ya," he said and then disappeared.

  Damien walked down the wide street leading towards the gate. At some point, the attacks had stopped coming, and he could see some of the citizens beginning to calm down, looking upward with hopeful faces. He shook his head, it wouldn't do them well to think the attackers had left.

  BOOM!

  BOOM!!

  This time, the attacks came in two quick successions, finally overwhelming the city dome. It shattered, exploding into shards of energy. Buildings were flattened and blasted apart as the shockwaves rolled across the city. Bodies were crushed, blown apart, and vaporized as the explosion reached them. The screaming and wails began again and Damien spread out his power to remove those already in harm's way. Unfortunately he couldn't save them all. His power was great, not absolute.

  A young boy stared at him with lifeless eyes, the lower part of his body crushed by a huge rock, a consequence of the earlier explosions.

  A crying toddler with splattered blood on his face shook his mother, who lay on the floor, eyes unseeing. She wouldn't be waking up anymore.

  He walked up to the toddler, picking the boy up. Blue eyes stared at him through the blood on his face, which instantly reminded Damien of someone dear to him. He smiled at the baby, patting him gently on the back.

  "I'm so sorry about your mama, I'm sure she'll be watching over you wherever she is." The toddler only stared at him, face uncomprehending.

  "I'm going to fight the bad guys, so I can't take you with me." He patted the boy again. "I'll come find you when I'm done."

  Calling a passing soldier, he gave him charge of the boy, telling him where to go when he crossed over to the other side. it would make it easier to find them.

  Turning fully towards the gate, his eyes burned and his face hardened before he schooled himself. It wouldn't do to lose control this close to battle. Breathing in and out, Damien walked towards the gate.