It was midday by the time Zayn and Esmeray reached the palace of Singing Woods. As they walked through the front rooms of the palace, they realized they had never seen Amaris, quickly speeding up to find Fenix. 

“Zayn!” They froze as they heard Esmeray shout, turning around to face her.

“Yes?”

“You better leave sooner than later to get your supplies to translate the writing in the temple. I also want you to deal with Starlit Caves while you are gone again.” 

Zayn sighed. “I need to check things here first, then I will.”

“One more thing.” Esmeray approached Zayn, then placed a hand softly along the side of their cheek, rubbing slightly. “Be careful; you’re important to me.”

Zayn felt a strange sense of empathy from her—comfort that they longed for yet refused. They knew better than to trust her, pushing her arm to the side. “Thanks for the concern.” They replied dryly, turning away again and going up the stairs quickly. They could feel Esmeray’s piercing gaze strike them from behind, sending chills down their spine.

They roamed the halls and moved towards Fenix’s room. They watched cautiously as they felt the air grow cold. It didn’t actually change temperature, but with the strange darkness that cast shadows through the narrowed walkway, it seemed to suck the remaining life from them. They observed the shadows, seemingly dancing oddly for the different places they were projected from, leading them to believe that these shadows may not all be from just the decorative figures and paintings that stood out from the walls. The icy shadows began to twirl around their legs, forcing them to slow to a stop as they grew numb and weak, with a sense of dread that led them to feel empty and hopeless. The few remaining lights in the room flickered out as Zayn heard footsteps approaching them from behind.

“Amaris.” Zayn spoke aloud, not bothering to turn their head towards him.

“Maybe so.” Amaris placed a firm hand on Zayn’s shoulder while still walking in front of them, looking down at their eyes with a stone-cold expression that began to curve to a far too perfect grin, unsettling and haunting.

“Let me go; we’re on the same side.” Zayn angled their head up and stared at Amaris blankly.

“Are we? You speak as if we are on equal levels.” Amaris watched them closely, and Zayn tried to take a step back, stumbling over shadowy tendrils that wrapped around their legs as they tried to move. They gritted their teeth, glaring fiercely up at Amaris.

“We are. Time has passed since your reign.” Zayn continued, “I don’t know what happened to allow you to step foot in this mortal realm, but I assure you, I will take you down if you dare interfere with my mission.”

“Haven’t you realized this by now?” Amaris was unfazed by Zayn’s aggression. “I want to save this world just as much as you do. And this mission of yours—it’s the only thing that keeps you feeling a sense of belonging to this mortal place, as you should have left long ago, isn’t it?” 

Zayn pinned their ears down, and they felt their wrist start burning, grabbing it firmly with their other hand. They watched Amaris glance down at their burning wrist, then back at Zayn with a grin. Zayn’s mind swarmed with despair and mental fatigue as the room remained darkened. The shadows clung onto them, threatening to tear them down as they tried to remain stoic and emotionless in front of Amaris, who took pleasure in watching this miserable display of weakness.

“You got your second chance to fulfill your mission; you are an entity of the divine, a weapon of their image. Weapons are meant to be used by others.” Amaris kept a hold of their shoulder; they stared up with a miserably hidden change of emotion: hurt. That sentence felt like they were being held under the cold depths of the water, drowning them out, and all that remains is another faceless victim. Amaris kept speaking, his words smooth and taunting. “I’m doing the honorable role here. I’ll continue to fight for this world, using the weapon provided, to be able to keep it stable. I’m doing what the divines have always wanted. You wouldn’t want to be seen as a failure to them.”

Zayn winced, looking away, only to hear footsteps approaching. Amaris allowed the shadows to sink back into the ground as the clouded, dreadful emotions faded from Zayn’s mind. They scoffed slightly, turning to see Fenix.

“What’s going on?” Fenix asked, looking back and forth at Zayn and Amaris with confusion. Zayn opened their mouth to speak, only to be cut off.

“Just discussing the plans for later; Zayn will be headed off soon.” Amaris spoke without a care in the world about what he was demanding from them. Fenix grew angry and hurt at the idea being mentioned again.

“You can’t be serious!” She faced Zayn, expecting them to protest. They gritted their teeth, crossing their arms in front of them, not answering. “What?! No, this is some sick joke—you can’t possibly plan to kill off Starlit Caves!”

“The majority agreed to this. You’re too young to understand anyway." Amaris rolled its eyes, waving their hand to dismiss the topic.

“We’re only attracting more enemies by killing off so many people unnecessarily, especially in our own colony!”

“Ahem, settle down, everyone. Why must we get so heated over this?” Esmeray walked over to the group, her arms crossed behind her as she scanned the group, then she faced Fenix. “That won’t be an issue, dear.”

“Yes, like everyone will agree with this.” Zayn spoke sarcastically, hopeful that Fenix’s point may bring up some concern for Amaris and Esmeray. Unfortunately, Esmeray seemed unfazed and ignored Zayn’s comment.

“Well, a few decades ago, my brother, Lucian, found something of use, something that Amaris is actually the creator of!” Esmeray moved her hand from behind her, holding a masquerade mask. The mask was mostly a dark indigo color, with one side shaped like a butterfly wing with an orange ombre over it and a pale lilac color for details on the wing. The other side had orange and blue details over it. Esmeray shifted her gaze to Zayn, her eyes piercing and cruel. “I’m sure you’re familiar with this, Zayn.”

Zayn tightened their arms around themself, their claws tugged at their skin. They stared down at the mask, then back at Esmeray. “And? That’s one mask.”

“Don’t be foolish! We know what it can do, and Lucian was making several more. Between us, we can mask everyone in the colony.”

“You’re mad!” Zayn snapped, glaring at Esmeray, “There’s no way that’d work for certain, and no one would trust you after that stunt.”

“I believe we know plenty. It makes the victim influenced to do whatever, believe whatever, from the person in control of them.” Esmeray glanced at Fenix for a split second, then Zayn once more. “Take Ekoh, for example.”

“Ekoh?” Fenix questioned, turning to Zayn. They looked away from everyone, knowing plenty of people in the colonies were familiar with the name. The name of someone who killed dozens of people within the colonies. The silence that followed spoke more than anything Zayn or Fenix could have said.

“Need more explanation? Ekoh worked within the colony here and also with Zayn’s old group after Zayn had rescued them. Zayn’s old ways became revealed, and poor them couldn’t face the consequences of their actions.” Esmeray shoved the mask into Zayn’s hands. “What’s the best way to keep yourself distanced from a crime than to just force someone to do it for you?”

Fenix listened with wide eyes filled with horror. “So, what everyone knows is a lie?”

“It’s so easy for them to take someone so young and mold them into what they need them to be. And if they don’t agree, then force.” Esmeray shrugged. “Trust takes time to earn, but breaking it? Easier than glass.”

Zayn held the mask firmly in their hands, watching Esmeray with disgust and, strangely enough, guilt at what she was trying to do. “Fenix-”

“No! Don’t you dare talk to me! You would have done the same thing to me, wouldn’t you?”

“What, no! You don’t understand-”

“Oh, I understand plenty. Have fun with whatever task you have next.” Fenix turned away, rushing back to her room. 

Zayn watched with fear, turning to Esmeray and Amaris. “What’s the game? What are you trying to do?”

Esmeray smiled through clenched teeth. “She’s been talking too much. You can’t find loopholes in the contract by using others. You are meant to work for me and do as I say.” 

“I never told her to do anything.”

“That note of yours wasn’t so sly.” 

Zayn narrowed their eyes, burying their growing terror. “What note?”

“Telling her to escape before I try to kill her again? If I wanted her dead the first time, I would have killed her with ease.” Esmeray dropped the overly friendly act; her face grew emotionless with a stone-cold look. “I believed that she’d behave over time or take after her father. But here we are, with a girl who talks too much and seems to forget who’s in charge. She certainly got that from you.”

“I know who’s in charge." Zayn stated. 

“Then prove it. Prove it before it’s too late.” Esmeray glanced down at the mask Zayn held, then walked past them and away.

Zayn looked down for a moment, then at Amaris. "Oh, don’t just stand there.” They were met with silence, just it staring down at them with no sympathy, care, or any real emotion. Zayn felt themself grow enraged; their palms sparked as their tail flicked behind them. “Say something! Anything! You were never silent before, so just pretend to do anything! Pretend I’m a real person even if I'm not!” 

Amaris snickered, reaching towards their face and wiping away a tear that they hadn’t even noticed. “You’re so pathetic. Your precious walls have crumbled around you, and for what?” He walked away as well, leaving Zayn alone in the hallway. 

Zayn pressed their hand against their face and felt more tears roll down their cheeks. They took a deep breath in an attempt to push down their emotions, only to be distracted as the ground shook. The world trembled as the corruption seemed to be spreading more from what Zayn knew. Before it stopped, they felt a sharp pain throughout their chest. They leaned to cough against their arm. Green mist escaped their lungs and out of their mouth as it felt like their undying energy seemed to fade slightly. The shaking stopped, and so did the pain. But the side effects didn’t go away. They knew their time was approaching, and they had to figure out what to do sooner than later. Zayn let their arms drop to their sides, the mask hung limply from the weak grip they had on it. They lifted it barely just to be able to get a glance at it. They couldn't feel guilt about the past when the future was at risk. All they could think about clearly was their mission.

“Cure the world.”