'Syrce's parents went off to war and never returned.' Recognition swirled in Noble's violet eyes.

These Imperialists had met the former Lord of Northgate and extracted information from him. That could only mean one thing.

Noble watched the soldiers, but only one of them was willing to meet her gaze. The others all stared, shocked, at the beautiful commander.

"Y-your father?" Vharn gulped.

"Indeed. The Lord of Northgate was my Father. Tell me, which one of you tortured him, or was it a group effort?" Syrce's words sucked the air out of the room.

"There must be some misunderstanding," Stratos took a step away from the other Saint, nearly bumping Noble.

Feeling the emotions of the men, Child of Promise sent her candle to hover over Vharn. "It's him."

Vharn scrambled away from the candle, dodging it as if it were going to attack. "I did no such thing!"

Noble had been relatively certain before that he was the culprit. The spike in his emotions, along with two of the others cutting their eyes in his direction, chased away any doubt.

Something about his nature made him seem helpless, but Noble could tell it was just a facade. If the Awakened had somehow survived the Doom War and made it here, the man was scrappy, determined…

And dangerous.

A moment later, a feeling of something sinister wriggled into her mind. With time and nurturing, the little worm could have made some headway into her thoughts, even destroyed her mind entirely.

But Noble had dealt with too many mind attacks from too many sources. She would not let the fear take root.

Instead, she reflected it back on the Awakened with amplified intensity.

He cried out twice—once from the debilitating helplessness of having his Ability turned on him, and a second from the sword that pierced his chest.

His armor had been made of enchanted metal, but against the Saint's power, it split like it was made of tin.

Syrce twisted her blade, severing The Awakened's spine. In the blink of an eye, one of the four power seekers was no more. Vharn was dead.

However, the others were already in motion.

A gust of wind whipped up around Rhagus, blowing the silt from the walls and ground in a tiny hurricane. He jumped at Flint, obscuring them both in the debris.

Noble backed up quickly to avoid the silt. But she didn't leave her companion helpless. Using her second sight, she locked onto the enemy and filled him with terror. Pushing herself to the limit, she pressed every fear she had against him.

His eyes went wide as his sword swung wildly around him, striking both his opponents' weapons and the air around him indiscriminately.

"Ha!" He screamed. "I have seen horrors beyond anything you can conjure!"

Somehow, he managed to fend off both Syrce's and Flint's attacks.

'Ah, that hurts!' Noble winced.

Before dying, Vharn had opened the door to Noble's emotions, and her use of terror now threatened to sweep her up in the tide along with her enemy. She couldn't lose focus, and she felt her grasp on reality breaking along with the windmaker. Reluctantly, she released Rhagus from her hold.

The Imperial soldier regained his advantage, but not for long.

A floating dagger came sailing at him through the storm. Unlike when it was in its Master's hand, the weapon had no magical properties, but that did not mean it wouldn't slice his scalp in two. Rhagus ducked out of the way, temporarily losing sight of his enemy.

He stood up, barely stopping the deadly blade of the enraged saint.

His teeth rattled from the hit. No, it wasn't the hit. It was the cold.

When had the temperature dropped below freezing?

Ice formed on his arms. He shook it off, but more took its place.

His armor became rigid, and his movements less precise. He missed a hit, and Syrce's blade cut deep into the break in his armor, making his already injured arm completely useless.

Rhagus turned to protect the mangled limb, but that was his downfall. The twist opened his chest to the surly Legacy, and Flint did not hesitate.

The short blade sliced through the air, plunging into the polished breastplate. Under the extreme cold, the metal shattered, giving no resistance to Flint's dastardly swing. The tip slipped between two of Rhagus's ribs and punctured his heart.

After decades of fighting, striving, and conquering, the Imperialist was dead before he hit the floor.

Then there were two.

These two were by far the most deadly.

As expected, Stratos had not been idle while his subordinates fought for their lives. He had accepted from the moment that they were discovered in the dam that this time would come. He had just assumed that he would be the one with the element of surprise.

As soon as Syrce had mentioned the death of her father, the Captain knew the alliance was over. She had tricked him just like he was trying to trick her.

It seemed he had underestimated his opponents. And he had always been so good at politics!

While he hadn't seen her betrayal coming, the Captain was not a fool.

He would cut his losses and leave. He wanted that power. It called to him. Once it was his, he would be able to unleash his Ability. The waterfall would collapse once and for all, burying all but the other Transcendent under a mountain of rubble.

If the daughter of the Lord managed to survive, he could deal with her quickly. In the open air, no one was a match for him.

That is why when Vharn and Rhagos had advanced, Stratos had stepped out of the fray.

"Let's get out of here."

Signaling his final companion to follow him, the captain abandoned his two subordinates to their fate in favor of the secret passage.

Unfortunately, their path was blocked by the young Awakened with the long blonde hair. Her dainty bracelets jingled as she gripped her unimpressive dagger.

A smile came to the captain's face.

Her presence wasn't a problem. It was an opportunity!

While the delicate lady dodged the flying dirt, Stratos activated an enchantment in his Imperial medallion and marched forward. Space bent around him as if he were no longer a part of it.

The woman seemed oblivious to his approach. When her dagger flew, Stratos made his move.

Wrapping his arms around her, he held his blade to her neck and pressed his helmet against her ear. "Drop the dagger."

She complied almost instantly, making her only form of offense clatter to the ground and disappear.

Stratos smiled. He was right in thinking she was the weakest link. A mere Awakened was just a pawn in a bigger game. Now that he had taken her, he just needed to make his escape.

The captain tried to pull his captive into the passage, but his feet became heavier than boulders. Flanked by his companion, he dragged his boots along the ground with his hostage in tow.

As he struggled, Rhagus and Vharn quickly met their ends.

Stratos frowned. The enemy was more powerful than he thought...or his subordinates were just too weak.

It was no matter. He had the upper hand.

"Don't move," He ordered the other Transcendent when she whirled to face him, "Or this one ends up like your dear, old Dad."

With his companion behind him, the captain took another difficult step into the passage.

"You will die a thousand deaths for this." Syrce's fingers twitched, her eyes burning with murderous intent.

"Don't follow us. I mean it!" To prove his point, he allowed his blade to bite into the blonde woman's neck. Blood trickled down her skin.

But instead of wincing or begging for mercy, the lady chuckled softly.

Stratos frowned. "You find death funny?"

"You won't slit my throat," she said calmly. "You are living on borrowed time."

The woman was brash. The captain had to give her that.

But with his enchantment creating an invisible shield, her friends would not be able to harm him from afar. Each step they took would cost the lovely blonde, and he would make sure that she was dead before either of them ever reached her.

She was so confident, though. It gave him a moment of hesitation. As he pulled her another step backwards, he could no longer stand his nagging curiosity.

"Oh really?" Stratos hissed in her ear. "What makes you think that you will live and I will not?"

With a smirk, the woman shrugged. "It's easy. I know who has my back. Do you know who has yours?"