The sun was making its way into the sky when Korian decided to stop for a rest. Eli didn't know how long they'd been walking for, a few hours at most. His legs were tired; his arms were tired. He was tired. But he didn't think he could sleep, not after the night he had.

Every time he closed his eyes, even for a second, the man he had killed would appear. He'd see him on his knees, lying in the dirt, running for him, and every time there would be blood, so much blood. He didn't think he'd ever seen that much before, not in real life.

Korian kept checking on him while they were walking, but Eli never said more than a couple of words. It took the other man a while to realise that Eli just wanted silence, but eventually, Korian did, grabbing a hold of Eli's hand for support. He had felt more comforted by that than anything else his friend had said to him.

It wasn't a clearing they set up in this time, but at the base of a tree instead. Korian had told him that it would be unsafe to try another clearing and that they would only be here for an hour or two, just long enough for a nap.

Korian went to sleep quickly, leaning up against the tree. He told Eli to keep watch and to wake him if anything happened. Eli would have to wake him up in an hour to swap duties. He wasn't sure if he would actually get some sleep, but he figured it would be worth a shot at some point.

He sat in silence for that hour, lost in his own thoughts. He was debating telling Korian that he wasn't going to do it, that they could find someone else, but he knew that that was a lie. There was no one else who could kill the Mage except him.

All he wanted was to go back home, to see his mother and friends again, to go back to school and hand in badly done homework. He even wanted to go do exams at this point, anything to get away from Arumni and the weight he had on his shoulders.

Next, to him, Korian slept peacefully, reminding Eli so much of that friend he had back home, the one he missed so dearly. He didn't know how the other man could be so peaceful when he had killed so many the night before. Eli could only assume he had done it before and was used to it by now. How could anyone be used to something like that? To Eli, it was monstrous.

His stomach cramped up at the thought, and Eli once again felt like he was going to vomit. He had killed a man, granted that man was trying to hurt him, but that didn't mean anything. He had taken a life, ripped someone from their family. They would no longer walk or talk or do anything ever again. All because of him.

"Stop thinking," a tired voice grumbled from next to him. Korian sat up, glaring sleepily at him. "I know what you are thinking. Stop it."

Eli swivelled around, eyebrows furrowed and a frown on his face. "But-"

"No," Korian said, grabbing Eli's hand. "They attacked us. They were ready to die when they did. Do not blame yourself. You were protecting yourself. Please, Eli, trust me, you did the right thing. I know you did not mean to, but you would have died if you did not."

Eli breathed out a sigh. Part of him wanted to listen to Korian's words, another part wanted to push him away and scream in his face about how it was his fault! It was! Instead, he got up, brushing down his pants and looking down at the other man.

"We should go," he said. "How long until we get there?"

Korian huffed out a breath, knowing that he had lost that battle. He pushed himself up, giving Eli a sad look. "Not long," he replied, "Two or three hours, I think."

All Eli did was nod, strutting off in the direction they had been going before. Korian jogged up next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Eli saw him lift his hand, to do what he wasn't sure, then watched him drop it again with a shake of his head.

He lost track of time as they walked, trying to distract himself with his surroundings instead of listening to the voices in his head. The Mage's power had started to reach the area they were walking through. The leaves were beginning to fall from trees, brown and dry. The grass was starting to become hard and prickly, uncomfortable to sit on when they took breaks. He didn't hear many animals about, only the occasional chirp of a bird or rustle in the bushes.

It wouldn't be long before this place was like the village and the forest he arrived in.

At some point during the walk, he grabbed Korian's hand in his own. He found a strange sort of comfort in it. If he was with Kory he would never grab his hand, but with Korian he can. He didn't know why, but if it helped him feel better, he was going to do it. Korian didn't seem to mind too much either, if anything, he held Eli's hand tighter.

It wasn't long before they found themselves on a stone path that weaved its way through the dying trees. "We are nearly there," Korian told him. "We must follow the path." Said path was lined with what Eli assumed used to be flowers. They were all wilted and drooping towards the grey stone.

The path twisted and turned around the trees and for a while, Eli thought it was just leading them in circles. Eventually, it opened out into a clearing that must have once been filled with lush green grass and beautifully coloured flowers but was now dried and wilted.

Eli gasped at the sight. In the middle of the clearing was a stone statue of a woman, face chiselled into a stern expression. Her arm was raised above her hand, a sword rested in it, pointed towards the sky. She wore armour decorated with an emblem on the chest. Under her feet was a plaque. Eli could only assume this was the woman Korian had told him about back at the Village, the one who made the sword. This was the memorial.

Behind the statue was a small run-down wooden hut, covered in dark green moss and creeping plants. The door was barely attached to the frame, dangling precariously towards the ground. There was no glass in the windows and it was dark inside the building. He couldn't see anything inside of it.

"This is where she once lived," Korian explained. "The sword should be here. We must find it." Korian pulled him up to the statue, letting go of his hand to search around it. Eli stared at the depiction of the woman, and the words chiselled into the stone beneath her feet.

"What does it say?" he asked.

Korian turned his head to look, "It talks about her defeating evil and making the sword. It thanks her for her bravery and strength," he answered, barely paying attention. He continued to look around, pulling up rocks around the statue in the hopes there would be a clue to the location of the sword.

He watched and helped for a while until every strip of grass around the statue had been crushed by the constant press of boots. There was not a single sign or mention of the sword's whereabouts. The more they looked, the more stressed Korian became.

"I am going to look in the house," Eli said eventually, staring at the dark and dreary hut. "You take a break. I will let you know if I find anything." All Korian did was nod, running a hand through his hair.

Eli made his way towards the hut, apprehensive. As he got closer he could see the cobwebs lining the walls and filling in the holes where there were once windows. His stomach dropped at the idea of spiders hiding out inside where he could barely see.

He passed through the doorway, and it was like travelling to a different dimension made only of the dark. Despite the light outside and the open glassless windows, he could barely see a thing. He caught sight of the edge of a table, and what looked to be a chair, but they were the only things he could distinguish from the black mess.

He patted around, hoping to find anything that would help him light up the room easier. He didn't understand how it could be so dark during the day. He hit his hip on the corner of something, hissing at the pain. How was he meant to find anything in this mess?

He made his way along a nearby wall, nearly crying out when his hand fell through the air. There must have been another doorway he hadn't seen when he came in. There would have to be something in there. Maybe a note the woman had written about the sword, maybe even the sword itself.

"What have we got here? An outsider scrambling around in the dark like a child," a familiar voice called, spitting out the final word like it was a disease. Eli stiffened, looking up into the dark room. He still couldn't see a thing, couldn't see the person speaking. He took a step back, willing himself not to crash into anything. "Where do you think you're going?"

He never realised how weird it would be to hear his own voice yelling at him, speaking an entirely different language like it was his own. He guessed, in this case, it was his own. He continued moving backwards, looking over his shoulder at the doorway. There was a creak on the floorboards as the person in the other room tried to follow him.

"Do you really think you can get away from me?" the voice, his voice, started.

"Korian!" Eli screamed, turning and running for the doorway. It seemed so far away, all the across the room. It was a small distance, but who knew what the Mage could do to him. "Korian!"

"He can't help you," the Mage snarled. "But I'd like to see him try."

The light in the doorway was getting closer and closer with every step. If he could just get out, get to Korian, then everything would be okay. He smacked into something again, probably the same thing as last time, and nearly fell to the ground. He scrambled to get upright, letting out a loud grunt. Closer and closer, he was nearly there.

Light burst all around him, almost blinding him. His feet pounded against prickly grass and grey stone. He was outside, the Mage hadn't gotten him. He could get to Korian.

"Korian!" he screamed, louder this time. The mage was sitting on the grass near the tree line and at Eli's voice jumped up, sword in hand.

"What is it? Did you find something?" he called, voice panicked.

"That he did, my old friend," the Mage snarled from behind Eli.

Eli stopped in his tracks near the statue, twisting around to stare at the Mage. It was stranger up close, looking into his own face being used in a way he never would dare to use it in. His face was covered by a black hood, shadowing his forehead and eyes completely. Despite that, he could clearly see his own eyes lock onto him, never once leaving his face.

"Elias!" Korian yelled, stopping behind Eli. "How-"

"Did you really think I didn't know what you two were doing?" the Mage, Elias, asked, huffing out a laugh. "You are insane, Korian."

"The Village-"

"Destroyed," Elias said with a shrug. "I had no use for it once I found out where you two were off to. I set it alight and watched it burn." Eli gasped, hand shooting up to cover his mouth. All that effort to get the sword to save the Village, and it was gone, burned.

"No!" Korian bellowed, gripping his sword and rushing forward, pushing Eli out of the way. Eli grabbed for him, but his fingers only grazed the fabric of his shirt.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," the Mage sang. "Look what I have," Elias reached into his cloak, a smirk on his face, and pulled out a sword. It glinted in the light, showing off an inscription that ran down the length of the blade. "You were looking for this, weren't you?"

With another huff of laughter, the Mage lifted it up, grabbing the blade with both hands. There was a hiss of breath, a panicked yell, and an almighty snap that left a ringing in Eli's ears.

On the ground in front of the Mage's feet was the sword, lying in two useless pieces.