I walked forward to once more be greeted by an ethereal green door. This time, I had a real purpose and not a second to lose. I was not leaving here empty handed and that was that. I opened the door and walked inside. From the distance, I could hear faint cackling. I closed the door behind me and began to walk. After a few steps, I changed to a sprint, footsteps echoing around me as a I neared my destination.

The purple glow in the distance grew brighter with each stride until it was right in front of me. A floating, shifting castle made of black bricks that each emitted a purple glow. The laughing was coming from inside the structure and I didn’t have time to guess where exactly.

“Sylak! Get your pale ass out here!”

The cackling stopped and for a moment everything was completely still. Then, a hole opened up in the wall towards the top of the castle and out came the purple demon. He floated to the ground, smirking widely at me as he descended.

“My my, my little kitten, you certainly have screwed things up quite badly this time, haven’t you?” His feet touched the ground sending glowing ripples outwards in all directions.

I leapt forward, fist out in an attempt to strike the purple demon, but I fell flat on my face. Blood trickled down from my nose as I began to cry. The small droplets of water fell from my eyes to the inky ground below, forming tiny ripples in the surface.

“Oh my Sengario. Are you crying?!” he taunted.

I couldn’t help it. Everything was getting to me. I couldn’t save my friends because I was too weak and now, I probably wasn’t even going to be able to save myself. I only had one way of doing that and right now, it wasn’t really looking like the greatest idea. I had been pretty sincerely hoping I wouldn’t have to resort to it, but I’d run out of time and options.

I weakly picked myself up and made my way to a sitting position. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m about to die and in all likelihood, the only friends I’ve ever had are going to die too. Then the world is going to end. Who’s going to save it? The mission is over.”

Sylak flopped down to the ground, mirroring my posture and leaning against the castle behind him. “Why do you care about this damn mission so much? You just got to this world and everyone hates you already. Do you honestly think that this mission will make people stop hating you? Don’t be naïve.”

I scowled. “I’m not being naïve. I’m being optimistic. There’s a big difference. And yes, I do believe that maybe me going on this mission and stopping the end of the world will help me.”

He laughed. “You’re such an idiot. Someone else can complete this mission faster and probably more effectively than you can. The only reason you’re here is because your dad couldn’t keep it in his pants and you had a dream that makes you special. That and nobody else probably wanted to do this.”

I wanted to argue, but I knew he was right. Unfortunately, I didn’t matter much to this mission. Even if we all died, someone else could come along and complete this mission. “Even if that is true, I still don’t want to die! And that’s something you should be just as worried about as I am!”

“Why?”

I frowned. “Because we share a body, you idiot. If I die, you die too!”

He shrugged. “That didn’t answer why I should be worried, or care. So what if I die?”

I was puzzled. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The purple demon had basically just said that he didn’t really care about what happened to himself which was the first time that had ever happened. The only time I’d ever been able to keep him at bay was by threatening him over what would happen to me and how that would affect him. But now here he was, telling me that he didn’t care whether or not he died.

“Are you kidding me?! The only thing you’ve ever cared about, to my knowledge, is staying alive and being in control of the body instead of me. And now you’re going to tell me that staying alive means absolutely nothing to you! That’s bullshit and I do not believe it for one second!”

He glared at me. “And did you ever stop to think that maybe that’s the point! Maybe the fact that I have to rely on you to be able to even control this damn body is why I hate you so much! Or maybe that’s why I’m so damn angry all the time! Do you know what it’s like being trapped here all alone in this dark empty space for years! You kept me down for so long and would barely even acknowledge me! You hate me so much, but you know what! I am you! I am the part of you that you are so scared of that you couldn’t bare to stand it!”

I could see tears beginning to stream down his face as he collapse in to a ball, curling his arms around his leg. This image reminded me of something... It reminded me of the first time I ever met Sylak.

~

It was the first time I thought I had what people referred to as “lucid dreams.” I was completely conscious of everything and I even knew I was dreaming, but there was nothing around me. The place where I was was nothing, but a dark, empty wasteland. I remember being enamored by the ripples in the floor. Little circles of light emanating from my feet every time I took a step. I kept running around being so excited by the funny shapes I could make with the lights.

But then something happened. I had gotten scared and I didn’t know why. I curled up on the floor and began crying. The tears hit the ground and sent out tiny ripples. I had felt cold and alone, but then something appeared in front of me. I looked up only briefly to see a strange purple cloud of steam or smoke. The cloud seemed to glow and had two big red eyes that loomed down at my younger self.

It spoke to me. Told me that if I let it in, I would be happy, but I was too scared. I couldn’t focus on it. I just continued to weep. Then, I asked it a question.

“What’s your name...?”

The cloud seemed to have been baffled by the question. “A name? Why would I have a name?”

My younger self sniffed. “Everything has a name. You have to have a name.”

“Well I don’t,” the cloud sneered.

“What about... Sylak? How does that name sound?”

The cloud’s eyes shifted around. “Fine, whatever. It makes little difference to me...” But now I knew that it did care. The cloud wanted me to trust it. I kept asking it questions and it continued to answer them. Slowly, the cloud formed in to the shape of a person. It reflected me and took my general body shape as well as my clothing, but the colors were all wrong. Everything the thing took was purple and its eyes were far different than mine.

Overtime, the creature would become more pale from lack of exposure to light, eventually becoming the Sylak it was today.

~

Sylak was acting just like I was. He hated that I was there and didn’t want to have to do with me in any way. Unfortunately for him, neither of us had that luxury right now.

“Listen, we’ve never agreed, but right now, it would be very beneficial if we could. I need you and whether or not you like it, you need me. I honestly don’t like relying on you as much as I do, but that’s not a weakness to have to. Some things you simply can’t do on your own. Like right now, I need you to let me use your powers without you taking over my body because I need to do something that you don’t know how to do and I don’t have the time to explain how to do.”

“And what do I get out of this?” he sneered.

I rolled my eyes. “You get to live, idiot, accept this offer or we both disappear forever.”

He sighed. “So, I let you use the power of the cursed eye without me taking over and we both get to stay alive?”

I nodded and stretched my hand out for him to shake, giving him a faint smile. He stood up and looked me in the eye, taking my hand. “Deal.”

As soon as he said the word, pink sparks began crackling from our hands before erupting in a column of pink light that blinded us. After a few seconds, the light faded and I was standing in front of a window of vision that was staring at the darkened roof of the tunnel. I was about to curse about Sylak tricking me and taking over the body, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of purple. I turned to the left to see Sylak standing there in front of the window of vision too.

“Sylak?”

He turned to face me, confusion dawning on him. “Avien?”

We both turned back to the window. “If we’re in here then, who’s...”

Before we could question further, we received a response. “Good lord, you two took your sweet time. I’ve been waiting for what, seventeen years! You two are so fucking stupid...”

Sylak and I exchanged puzzled glances. “Um... Who are you?” I asked.

Laughter resonated around us. “I’ve been stuck in that place for seventeen years and I’ve just been waiting to get out. I never really came up with a name, but I think I’ll go with... Jester.”

“I suppose that certainly works. Are you-”

I was cut off by shouting. “Who are you talking to?!” It was Maxim and he did not seem pleased. The window of vision shifted to face Maxim whose expression changed from rage to surprise and then confusion. “Who... are you?!”

“I’d say I’m the same person you captured, but that wouldn’t entirely be correct,” Jester said and I could tell he was smirking.

“Jester, I don’t have time to unpack just who you are, but...” I stopped short as something swayed in front of the window of vision. Three different colors of hair floated in front of his face: Green, Pink, and Purple. I remembered my visions I’d been having. Flashes of pink and green.

“But what, green kitten?” Jester scoffed.

“Nothing... just, escape! Save my... our friends!”

Jester smiled and bowed to Maxim, looking at him the whole time as his expression returned to that of an angry bull. “Maxi-boy. I’m sorry, but I have orders from the higher-ups to break out of here and save those three. I wasn’t given specific directions, so I figure I’ll carry this out however I see fit.”

“What are you...” Before Maxim could finish his sentence, Jester sprang our of the bubble prison and landed on the other side of Maxim who quickly turned around the face the pink attacker. A pink seal expanded in front of Jester and from it, he pulled out a massive scythe made of clouds with lightning crackling all around it.

The window of vision turned pink and everything slowed. Jester hopped in to the air and with one quick strike he cleaved off Maxim’s head. I wince a little at the sight of the brutality and then I wondered how he’d been able to properly slow his vision.

“I have the combined knowledge of the two of you, up to this point,” he said, apparently able to hear my thoughts. “Unfortunately, all learning from here on out is up to me, so no more shortcuts.” He hopped past the slowly collapsing body of Maxim over to the other two apprentices and proceeded to slice right through both of their torsos with one quick movement. “Definitely not taking either of your weapons or magic styles. Wind Arrow and Drakonian Lightning are so boring. You guys need some more pizazz to your magic,” he said as his vision returned to normal.

All the body parts sank in place and shiny blue blood filled the tunnel. The bubble prisons surrounding Lilith, Julian, and Viktor all fell and within a few minutes, their eyes were slowly opening. Jester smiled down on them all. “Welcome back to the world of the living.”