The Forgotten One stood there without blinking at Calista. A dumbfounded expression washed over him as she slowly loosened her grip around his neck. She then began to step backward, making it quite clear that somehow she was immune to the effects of his compulsion ability.

He pressed his lips tightly together as if someone had sealed them shut to prevent any words from escaping them. He struggled to comprehend what was happening before his eyes.

Calista's eyes glimmered with triumph as a sly smile danced across her lips.

"What's the matter? Why so quiet all of a sudden? Having a hard time accepting the fact that you've lost to a human," Calista said smugly, clearly amused by his reaction.

His lips curled downward into a frown after hearing her words. "Hmph, I don't want to admit it, human. But I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm slightly curious and agitated at the same time as to how you managed to pull off something like that. I was practically certain that I was going to be the one who would emerge victorious."

He then took a few steps toward her, staring fixedly into her eyes. "My ability has never failed me before. No human should be able to use their free will once I use it. So tell me, human, what's your secret?" The Forgotten One said in a slightly irritated tone, demanding an answer.

"Secret, pfft. There's no secret," Calista said before letting out a small laugh.

"The reason why your ability has always worked for you is because you've just never met someone like me. It must only affect those attracted to you, which must be why your ability didn't work on me," Calista said without holding anything back.

Her words only ended up drawing a snicker out of him. "Sorry, dove, but that's where you're wrong. The person doesn't have to be attracted to me for my ability to influence them."

"You win this round for the time being. But remember, there's more than one way to have someone beg for a kiss from someone else without the need for any godly power or ability. I'll eventually get a kiss out of you regardless of the contract," The Forgotten One said with a grin.

His remark caused Calista to laugh out loud. "You can keep telling yourself that if it helps your ego, but I don't want you to get your hopes up thinking you have some chance."

"Another important thing you should know about me is that once my mind's set, there's no way of changing it. So there's nothing that you could possibly say or do that would make me want to kiss you," Calista said in an unwavering tone.

He let out an amused chuckle before conceitedly saying, "You say that now, but to be fair, I haven't used my charm to try and seduce you yet. I can assure you that you'll have much different thoughts crossing your mind than those currently occupying it."

"It's never going to happen," Calista said in a slightly irritated tone, brushing off every word that just came out of his mouth.

"Now, where were we?" She said, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh yeah, that's right. You agreed to get us both out of here."

"Since I'm the one who won the bet, it looks like you're going to be helping me restore the peace between gods and humans. So it turns out I won't be alone after all in my endeavor since I'll have you by my side," Calista said since she couldn't resist mentioning that she was the winner.

The Forgotten One begrudgingly nodded, forcing a smirk onto his face. He tried to hide his slight frustration over the entire matter before teasingly saying, "Gloat all you want, but you'll see I'll have that kiss eventually."

"I highly doubt that," she said firmly.

"Only time will tell if you'll stay true to your word or not," he playfully said before clearing his throat.

"Ahem, anyway, if you want me to get us both out of here, you'll have to free me from these chains first," he implored.

"But how am I supposed to do that when I don't have a key?" Calista said in a frustrated tone.

"Key? Who said anything about you needing a key to set me free," The Forgotten One said, chuckling in response.

"The only thing needed to break me free of these dreadful chains is for you to offer your blood willingly. Just let a single drop drip into the keyhole of the giant lock attached to these chains," The Forgotten One said.

"All right. If that's what it'll take to save everything I've grown to love, even if that means freeing you, then I'll do it," Calista said in a serious tone.

Too late to turn back now; I swear I better not end up regretting this, Calista thought to herself.

A simple flick of Calista's wrist caused a small dagger to remove itself from her sleeve. She had tucked it away safely in case she ever needed it. She soon felt the cool metal of the dagger once it slid into the palm of her hand.

Without wasting a second, she grimaced after she pricked the tip of her index finger on her left hand with the sharp side of the dagger. She could feel the slight warmth of a tiny droplet of blood starting to form.

"All right, guide my hand to where the lock is," she urged.

The Forgotten One softly grabbed her wrist and placed her left hand on the giant lock attached to the chains. She traced her index finger over the lock's keyhole and hovered her finger directly above it, allowing her blood to trickle down into it.

Click!

The sound of the lock clicking open echoed throughout the cave.

"I never thought this day would come. I don't believe it. I'm finally free," he said gleefully.

He then leaned in to whisper in her ear, "And it's all thanks to you, dove."

"Hey, cut that out and get us out of here already," Calista said, feeling warmth spreading across her cheeks when he whispered into her ear.

"Of course, but don't be frightened, dove. I have to change a bit to get us out of here. As you know, it's impossible to climb out of here. So I'll need to carry you," The Forgotten One said. He placed his hand on her right shoulder and nuzzled his body close to hers.

"You have to change a bit? What's that supposed to mean? Wait...carry me?" Calista asked before letting a surprised gasp escape her lips as she felt long claws extend out from the hand he had placed onto her right shoulder. A small gust of wind blew from behind her from a large pair of wings that flapped once against the air.

"Are you ready to finally kiss this place goodbye without ever having to look back?" he said, eagerly awaiting her response.

"I was waiting for you to say something like that. I wanted to get out of here as soon as I set foot in this place. I could only imagine how you felt," she said while wearily nodding.

The Forgotten One nodded in agreement before scooping her up into his arms. He held her securely to his chest to ensure that he didn't accidentally drop her as he was getting ready to soar upward.

"Looks like I've already swept you off your feet, quite literally. Are you having a change of heart about that kiss yet? He asked teasingly.

"I'm afraid you'll have to keep dreaming. Such a thought would never cross my mind. Do you really have to hold me that closely? She reluctantly said as a pale rose hue dusted her cheeks.

He let out a small chuckle after hearing her remark before saying, "Silly little dove, of course I do. It's still pouring rain out there, and what if you accidentally slipped through my fingers and fell to your impending doom while I was soaring through the air?"

"We can't have that now, can we? There would be no fun in that since if you met an early demise, there would definitely be no hope for a kiss then," he teased.

Calista sighed in annoyance before confidently stating, "You seriously aren't going to let it go, are you? You can keep dreaming. As I've said before, that'll never happen, no matter what you do. You still can't get over the fact that you lost, can you?"

"Using your same words, I'm not changing my mind either," he said, brushing off everything she had just said.

"Before we take off, I'm going to need you to hold on to me tightly, too, because you never know what might happen. It's just an extra precaution to ensure you don't fall," he teased.

"Ugh, fine, let me make one thing clear. The only reason why I'm doing this is so that I don't die unexpectedly. You got that," Calista unenthusiastically said. She nuzzled her head close to him and weakly wrapped her arms around his neck.

As soon as she did, a slight bit of concern crept into his eyes. Since something quickly caught his attention that he hadn't noticed earlier. He was so obsessed about winning the bet and kisses that he hadn't noticed that her body temperature was as cold as ice to the touch. She couldn't stop herself from shivering uncontrollably. Her fiery nature also masked the fact that she was suffering from the cold.

"Dove, are you aware of how cold you are right now? You're freezing; it feels as though you're made of ice. Why didn't you bring this to my attention earlier?" he said worriedly.

She didn't want to admit it, but he was right. The impact of her fall earlier was now starting to catch up to her, leaving her entire body sore and aching. She was so cold that she couldn't feel her limbs anymore.