When Mars awoke, they were laying on soft pillows. A plush blanket lay over them, and her head was throbbing. they groaned, removing the blanket from on top of them. They sat up and looked around. On the other side of the room, looking through a book was Arkon. “What happened?” arkon looked up, eyes narrowing on Mars.

“After accessing the memory, you passed out. I'm sorry for that, I should've checked with you on how many memories you accessed beforehand. A little unnerving to know that you've been snooping through my past though-” Arkon rambled. Mars simply nodded.

“Sorry, I thought I could find something to help defeat The darkness, and I guess in a way it led me to you?”

“And good thing it did. I've been doing some light reading, and it turns out I've gotta die.” Arkon continued to flip through the book, unbothered by his words. Mars wasn't so nonchalant.

“What do you mean die?- you can't die, I need you to defeat the darkness-”

“Yes, I know. This is how. It's written as so in the book. By dying, I release the darkness.” 

“Do you hear yourself? Give me that-``Mars gestures for the book, but Arkon shakes his head.

“This book was never meant to be seen. It was meant to be guarded, so I shouldn't let you see it, especially since you're technically still alive.”

“I don't care about technicalities, I care about my kingdom and that look will tell me if it survives this. If I survive this. I can't leave my people without a leader.” Mars gets up, heading towards Arkon, who quickly puts the book behind him. 

“I truly am sorry princess, but you can't see it. It would put everything in jeopardy.” Mars growls angrily, sitting back on the cushions.

“Then what do we do? How do you- you die to defeat arkon or something.” 

“Okay, so you know that the elves created the darkness accidentally, trying to defeat the humans, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Mars crossed their arms, leaning forward.

“So when this happened, it was a little after my town was destroyed. Emi– she was dead, and so I did what she wanted me to do; I went to fulfill my duty in the army. They trained me as a soldier in the ways of human sword fighting, which seemed weird but I was reassured that was the way it was meant to be. I think that they broke the laws, that they read this book and knew that I was supposed to be the one chosen. I just don't think they read far enough to see the consequences.” Arkon flipped through the tome, landing on a page in the front of the book. He recited, “The chosen one, Arkon of Mordalie; will know loss, and soon the world shall pay; but with a blade in his hands, he will make things right; and the enemy shall disperse by morning light,” Mars thought for a minute before responding.

“So they read this page and thought that it meant that you were going to right the wrongs of the humans. The loss you knew was emi, the blade was the sword they created, and the enemies were the humans.”

“Yes, this is what they assumed, but I don't think it's what this truly meant. The same thing is repeated way further in the book, where it's meant to be. I think that was in the beginning so the priestess could read it. So they could attempt to make a hero of their own, and instead, create me.” Arkon closed the book, placing it on the shelf.

“But why? Why would they do that? If the book knew-”
“It was planned accordingly. It made the elves pay for the wrongdoings of the priestess. But now there’s a new enemy, and I'm going to try and help Anita defeat it in any way possible. And if the book means that I have to die, then that's what I'll do.” 

“I still don't get why you have to die, just because of a vague prophecy-” Mars argued.

“Elves live for a very long time, because of their connection to the elements. Since I'm an elemental elf, the darkness has been using me as an anchor. So in other words-”

“Your connection to the elements is what's keeping the darkness alive. Your body was technically stolen too, now that I think about it-”

“That must be why I'm still here, and why only you are. It's your body that is currently used and my magic.” Mars sighed, coming to terms with the inevitable. 

“So the book says you die, what does it say exactly-” 

“I don't know. The words were kind of blurred and flickering like it hasn't been decided yet. But I know that at least I have to stop the darkness.”

“Great, another dead end.” Mars groaned into their hands. “How do we stop someone we can't even touch-”

“Well, this is your body, right? You can try to regain control of it.”
“I don't know how to do that, and your cryptic book isn't going to tell me. Plus, the darkness has had control of my body for days. Even if I could gain control, he’ll just trap me somewhere else, or get another body.” Arkon tapped his chin, pacing back and forth.

“What if I control him?” He suggests. Mars raises an eyebrow. “Well, there isn't anywhere for him to send me other than here. Plus, the prophecy speaks of me. If I can find a way to gain control and stop him-”

“But what connection do you have? This is my body, so it makes sense but how can you gain control?”

“This may be your body, but this is my mind. If I can gain control over it, I can gain control over the darkness.”

“That… that could work. Now to just find a way-” Mars suddenly screamed out in pain. Arkon stopped pacing, rushing over to where Mars now sat, clutching her shoulder.

“W-what-” Mars felt weaker and weaker. They looked at their hand, seeing it flicker in and out of view.”

“No.. no no, you can't disappear now-” Arkon started to panic. “We still need to defeat Arkon, don't disappear-”

“You know what you need to do, you don't need me. If anything, we need you.” Mars reassured. They slowly faded out “Take back your mind, then stop him. You got this. You can save us” With that, Mars was gone.

For the first time in centuries, Arkon left his treehouse. The world outside; his mind- had deteriorated a lot since then. When he was first trapped, he climbed in to escape his mistakes. Now, he was finally leaving to fix them. He walked until he reached the darkness, the parts of his mind where the darkness reaps. His bad memories lay there, along with the last few of Emi. although it looked endlessly dark, it truly wasn't that big. Walking over to the side, he placed his hand on a wall. If it was the last thing he’d do, he was taking his mind back.

The room filled with light, slowly burning away the darkness. The shadows that plagued it dissipated, and so did the ones plaguing the world beyond. Arkon’s eyes glowed green, and he took control with the last remaining elemental magic he held. Through eyes- his eyes- he could see the world. He saw a girl, the hero. She was wielding the sword of the humans, and she pressed it up against his neck. "What is your game, Arkon? Do you want to build up my hope, to squash it? Is killing everyone else next on your list-"

"Do it," Arkon asked, his voice no more than a whisper. His power started to dim, as the darkness tried to gain control. The hero lowered her sword, in confusion.

“You're.. not the same."

"Im Arkon, the true Arkon." his body trembled, as he struggled to hold the darkness at bay. "I cannot hold out for much longer, please end this."

"But you're... I can't do that, what about you-" she stumbled for a reason not to kill a man she just met. The hero was much like Mars in that way. 

"This is how it has to be. I was never going to be the hero of this story. This is what I should've done centuries ago. Please.." His body seized violently, the darkness trying to escape. Anita raised her sword and swung.

But it didn't hit.

"What are you waiting for, do it-"

"You do it. You can still be the hero. I didn't even want to be a hero. I don't want to be the one to end your life, this is your story. I'm just in it." The hero grabbed Arkon’s hands, wrapping them around the hilt of the blade. Tears spring from the tips of his eyes, though no one would ever see them. 

"Thank you, Anita." Arkon stabbed the sword through his chest with the last of his strength, disappearing into nothing.