There was a silence as Eli stared at the broken blade lying in the grass. So much effort, for nothing. He killed a man, for nothing. The sword was broken, gone, useless.

"Would you believe," the Mage started, staring at Korian, who was on his knees between the two of them. "That there was no magic in that thing at all? It was just a sword made by a woman, buried underneath a house in the forest. It wasn't special."

"No, no," Korian muttered, barely loud enough for Eli to hear.

"Believe it, old friend. You put your hopes on a boy and sword, neither of which could help you at all. I mean look at him, do you really think he could kill someone?" Elias laughed, gesturing at Eli. Little did he know, Eli thought.

He had been rooted to the spot since the sword had been destroyed. Where could he go? If he ran, Korian would be left alone with him. If he attacked, he would die. If he ran to Korian, he was sure both of them would be killed. For now, staying in the same spot seemed to be the safest option for them both.

He felt for his sword in its scabbard, feeling a horrible comfort in it still being there. If worst came to worst, he could use it. He just didn't want to. He didn't want to kill again. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours and he was already facing the prospect of having to do it again.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," the Mage called to him, making Eli's gaze shoot up to him. "You won't get very far with it." He moved his hand back down to his side, staring his counterpart in the face. With a laugh, the Mage removed his hood, showing off his familiar face to the sun. His hair was longer than Eli's, almost down to his chin. He was cleanly shaved, while Eli's beard had grown in over the weeks he had been in Arumni. But those were the only differences he could see between the two of them.

Elias stepped forward, big black boot crushing the dried grass. He walked past Korian, who made no move to stop him, only bowed his head towards the ground. Eli went to take a step backward, to get away from the Mage, but he was so much quicker than Eli could ever anticipate. Elias's hand shot forward, wrapping around Eli's wrist before he even had a chance to move. Eli froze, scared of what might happen if he moved. Elias could kill him in an instant if he wanted to.

"It's strange to look at, isn't it?" he whispered, bringing his other hand up to grab Eli's chin. "Your reflection. We look so alike, yet so different. I never did I think I would see such a cowardly look on my face."

"Leave him alone!" Korian growled, climbing to his feet.

Elias looked over his shoulder at the other man, "Oh, did you get attached to him? How cute," he scoffed. "You always did get attached easily."

"Let him go, Elias," Korian said, voice softening into something resembling a beg. "Please."

"Not happening," the Mage snapped, grip tightening on Eli's face, squeezing so much that it hurt. "I need this one. I need him gone! You can't stop me, Korian, no matter what you do!" With that, he threw Eli to the ground. He landed in the grass with a thud, his elbow smacking painfully again the stone path that ran around the statue.

Elias stood over him, looking down at him with an expression Eli didn't know his face could make. His teeth were bared and he was panting loudly, eyebrows scrunched up. His body seemed to black out the sun, covering Eli in shadow.

He lifted up an arm then, to do what, Eli didn't know, but he knew it wouldn't be good. He closed his eyes, his breaths coming out shaky. His hands were covered in sweat and it felt as though his heart was in his throat. He didn't want to die. He wanted to go home.

"No!"

Eli opened his eyes in time to see Korian tackle Elias to the ground. He rolled to the side, desperate to get away from the pair. By the time Eli got back onto his feet Elias had pushed Korian away, sending him rolling across the grass.

Panicked, Eli rushed to Korian's side, kneeling over him in the grass. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking all over him for injuries.

"I am okay, Eli," he replied, sitting up. "You need to leave. Run away. I will hold him off."

"No," Eli said. "I will not leave you here." He looked over his shoulder. The Mage had recovered, brushing his cloak off and making his way towards them.

"You need to go, now!" Korian yelled, pushing Eli away with more strength than any man Eli had ever met. He skidded across the grass just as the Mage reached them, falling just out of reach. Both he and Korian shot up at the same time, swords drawn.

"Do you really think those will do anything against me?" Elias said with a laugh. "Pathetic." They needed to try anyway. What else could they do? There was no way Eli was leaving Korian to fight on his own. There was no way he was running away from this.

With a snap of his fingers, Korian was wielding fire in one hand and his sword in the other. He stalked forward, teeth bared, and raised his sword high. Eli followed suit, ignoring the sweat on his palms and the lump in his throat. He ignored the laugh his reflection made as he swung his blade towards him.

The Mage reached out a hand, grabbing Eli's sword by the metal. Eli grunted at the sudden stop, staring at Elias with wide eyes and mouth agape. His reflection smirked at the look his face and pulled, ripping the sword from his hand like he was taking candy from a baby.

Elias span as Eli floundered, not knowing what to do. The Mage's grip on the sword dropped down to the hilt, ignoring the splatter of blood in the ground as he did. He brought up in front of him, just in time to block the oncoming attack from Korian. He laughed again, as though he was enjoying the fight, and kicked out behind him.

The big black boot connected with Eli's chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He felt like he was about to vomit right then and there. He yelped as he went flying back, landing on his back on the grass metres away from the Mage. The second impact knocked whatever air he had left in his chest out, leaving him gasping for breath. He clutched at his chest, the pain like a rock, crushing him.

He heard a yell that sounded a little bit like his name and he looked up his vision swimming. He blinked slowly, trying to focus. He saw something black and blurry light up bright orange. It took him a minute to realise that Korian had set Elias's cloak on fire.

The Mage screamed, grabbing for his cloak frantically. It wasn't long before he was covered in a cloak of fire. In Eli's slowly focusing vision, Korian was looking between the two of them, a torn expression on his face.

It was when Eli began trying to get up that Korian made his decision. He ran past the Mage, leaving him to struggle in the flames, and over to Eli. "No," Eli grunted, on his hands and knees in the grass. "Kill him, you need to kill him."

"No," Korian replied, grabbing Eli's arm and helping him to his feet. "I need to keep you safe."

As they spoke the Mage tore at his cloak with a pained roar, ripping it from his body and throwing it to the ground. He swivelled towards them, seething with rage. Blistered skin ran from his right elbow to his hairline, covering half his face. His clothing was smoking and burning away, revealing red skin underneath.

Seeing the Mage recovering, Korian grew panicked. "Eli! You must go!" he demanded, hands on Eli's shoulders. "Get away. I will hold him off! Please!"

"I'm not going to leave you here alone!" Eli cried, looking over Korian's shoulder at Elias. He was brushing himself off with a shudder, picking up the fallen sword. He caught Eli's eyes and growled lowly in his throat.

"You can and you will!" Korian told him, pushing him backwards, "You need to go now if you are going to live. Get out of here! Go!"

"Korian-"

"Go, Eli! I'll be okay!" A hand drifted across his face, cupping his cheek briefly.

He couldn't leave him, he couldn't. Korian would die if he did. But, if he stayed, then they would both die. At least this way he might have a chance of surviving, of getting him. But at what cost? He didn't want to leave his friend behind.

"Go!" Korian roared, giving Eli a hard shove towards the tree line. Eli took one step backwards, and then another, and another, until he was almost running backwards. He watched until the Mage made it to Korian, lunging with his sword. Korian spun back, sword at the ready. Eli turned and ducked between the trees as the first clash of metal rang out.

His chest and back ached as he ran through the trees, listening to the constant clanging of the swords. He wanted to go back, he did, but he knew he would be useless in the fight. How was he meant to defeat someone like that? He didn't even last two minutes. He could only hope that Korian made it through the fight alive.

He didn't know which direction he was running in, just away from the clearing and the hut and the broken sword in the grass. He panted, trying to ignore the pain coursing through his body. All he could see were trees and bushes and grass with no end in sight, no way out of the dark and dying mess.

His pants and thumping footsteps sounded too loud in the empty forest, accompanied only by the occasional clang of swords in the distance. He desperately wanted to go back, to help. There was a war in his head, one side telling him to turn around and go back, the other screaming at him to keep going, to get away from the danger.

He'd been running for what felt like forever when the scream rang out, loud and filled with pain. Korian. There was no one else it could be; he would recognise his own voice. Eli stopped in his tracks, turning in the direction of the scream. He had to go back, he had to. Korian needed his help. He could be dying. He could already be dead. Why did he let Korian push him away? Why did he leave?

He went to run back, before paling in realisation. If Korian was dead or out of the fight, then the Mage would be coming after him. If he ran back now he'd be running straight to his death. He cursed, listening, hoping for another clash of metal, but nothing came. He had to go, he couldn't stay any longer.

He continued running, weaving between trees and bushes. He cursed himself, he cursed the Mage, he cursed all of Arumni and the sword. If only he'd been stronger, he could have fought off the men when they came into his room, instead of falling through his mirror. Then none of this would have ever happened. He'd be safe.

He cried out when he felt a hand on his arm, pushing him into a tree. Pain shot up his spine at the impact and he winced, tears filling his eyes. Another hand pressed against his chest, keeping him locked against the tree. He struggled in the grip, desperate to get away.

"Did you really think you could get away from me?" Elias snarled, face barely an inch from Eli's. "I'm stronger and faster than you. You never had a chance."

"Korian," Eli muttered, praying for the other man to come and help him.

"Dead," the Mage huffed. "All for nought too. So pointless, I was almost sad to see him go."

"No..."

"I'm afraid so," the Mage muttered, giving him yet another smirk. "And now, there's nothing stopping me from getting you." And with that, Elias reached out and pressed a hand to Eli's forehead, and it all went black.