I moved carefully behind him, my eyes scanning the vast hall that seemed to watch us in eerie silence. The towering columns and floating blue torches added a mysterious aura to the place, but we had no time to be amazed.
I felt something unusual, an invisible pulse in the air, as if the place itself was warning us. I glanced at him, but he was focused on Lilen, his eyes glowing with confidence, which made me instinctively feel my body in a moment of fear.
Then I realized it in a sudden rush. It was a trap.
"Stop!" I shouted, but it was too late.
His foot pressed on something, and in an instant, he vanished before my eyes. I felt the emptiness swallow the space he had been in. It was a time trap, one of those traps that leaves no trace of those caught in it. I knew it well, these illusions that could pull us into another dimension without us knowing how or where.
I felt a shiver of anger and fear battling within me. I had only one option: to bring him back. But before I could think of how to do that, I heard another sound.
The quick footsteps heading toward me. The guards.
I had to move fast. This was not the time for a confrontation, but I couldn't let them hinder me. I quickly moved back to the corner we passed earlier, where there was another time trap I had deactivated before. I had no time to hesitate. I tried to avoid the traps that could delay me.
"Come and catch me if you can!" I shouted, deliberately luring them to the place where they might get caught.
They didn't hesitate; they rushed after me just as I expected. They had one goal: to trap me. And when they entered the trap's range, I activated it again. The guards froze in place, trapped in time, and no one could free them except someone who knew this magic.
I returned to the hall without wasting a moment. I raised my hand, searching the place for any trace of his energy. It was here, stuck in another dimension, and I had to pull him out. I let the magic flow inside me, unleashing deeper powers than before. I felt another pulse in the space, signaling his presence. He was there.
I focused my power and opened a small gate between worlds. I felt resistance, an internal struggle between our forces. Everything around me froze, but I didn't give up. I knew what I wanted. And now, this was the perfect time.
Then, suddenly, he surged through the gate, falling to the ground in front of me, holding the bow. He was breathing heavily, and his face bore the marks of the battle he had fought. I looked at the bow in his hands; it pulsed with strange energy, as though Lilen's influence was still in it. It was clear that this battle was bigger than we had imagined.
"Are you alright?" I asked, watching his grim face as he tried to catch his breath.
He stared at me for a few seconds before replying, "We don't have time for questions now. We need to leave." His voice was firm, and it was clear that he was ready to go. But I knew he was exhausted.
Before we could catch our breath, the guards surrounded us. It seemed one of them had managed to free the others with unexpected speed. The battle had exceeded our expectations.
"Surrender!" one of them shouted. Her voice was sharp with anger, and it was clear she wouldn't hesitate to strike.
He looked at me, then at the bow in his hand, and didn't hesitate.
"No." He said it calmly, then shattered the bow. It was a decisive move, but it wasn't without cost. The room shook with immense energy, and shards of light scattered in all directions, the bow's trace vanishing completely. Lilen no longer had control over us through it. The strike had ended it.
He rushed toward the guards, fighting them with precision, like an unforgiving arrow. I was ready to join him, but I shouted, "Don't kill them!"
He glanced at me for a moment, then nodded. He adjusted his style, choosing to disable them rather than end their lives. His plan was to incapacitate them without crossing the line into killing. It was becoming harder with every passing moment.
The confrontation was fierce, but we managed to subdue them. One by one, they fell, unable to move. They tried to defend themselves, but we were faster and more cautious. In the end, the guards ceased to resist, and I was sure the battle was over.
When it was done, there was no time to linger. We rushed to the tunnel we had entered through and soon found ourselves in the middle of Nwand, inside the abandoned building we had come from. The sound of each step we took in that ruined place reminded us that we were still stuck in an endless adventure.
We paused for a moment, trying to catch our breath. Everything had ended, but I didn't feel any relief. Everything was on the brink of transformation.
He looked at me and asked, "What now? What's your plan after all this?"
I smiled slyly and said, "Maybe now I can die in peace." I said it jokingly, but he didn't laugh. He was very serious, which made me wonder.
"Don't joke about that, Linor." He said it in a serious tone, making me raise an eyebrow in surprise. I didn't think the situation would take this turn.
"Why not? I've done what I wanted. There's nothing left to do." My words were calm, full of indifference.
"There's always something else." He looked at me for a moment before turning and walking away. He had another world to go to. He seemed at peace with his decision, but there were also questions in his eyes.
As for me, I returned to my cave. It was the place I had always hidden in, where I would reflect on everything I had been through. I knew I had completed my mission, but a strange feeling lingered. Was this really the end? Was this the truth I had been searching for?
I sat there, staring at the flickering shadows around me, and realized that I had reached the end I had been striving for.
But...
Is that all?
What's next?
I had executed my revenge. I had reclaimed what I wanted. But now, I was left without a purpose again. I felt an emptiness inside me that I hadn't expected. After all those years of suffering, was this the goal? To live without a cause?
I had lived for this, but what now?
I recalled every moment spent planning, every scream of pain, every loss that pushed me forward. I had thought the end would bring me peace, but...
And now?
I was silent for a moment, then said quietly, "Well, I've made my decision." This was the final decision I had made.