Sudore jumped in the air and swung down at Nick, who rolled out of the way as she connected with the floor, marble flying everywhere. Sangius then attacked him by grabbing him, throwing him into a pillar, cracking it. Hati and Mahdi shrugged and attacked Sudore. Hati slashed at her but she sidestepped her as Mahdi swung his sword, Sudore blocking his blade. She then grabbed it and snapped it in half, shock flying across Mahdi's face. She then kicked him in the chest as Hati grabbed her from behind, but she disintegrated and appeared behind her, kicking her into a wall. She laughed as Nick shook his head, standing up. Sangius swung her sword and he ran up the pillar, kicking her in the face. But she grabbed his foot, threw him to the ground, and stood on his back, holding the sword up in the air. Suddenly a rock bounced off her back and she turned around, locking eyes with Stella.
"Come at me," Stella said and she smiled, charging Sangius. Nick slid the mask across the floor and she picked it up, shining it at Sangius, blinding her. She then grabbed her and they thrashed in the air, when Stella shined the amulet of Prophetia at a nearby pillar.
"Caires!" She yelled and the pillar collapsed, a chunk of the floor falling onto Sangius, crushing her under the weight of the marble.
"Stella!" He yelled, running to her when she pushed a slab of marble off of her.
"Nick, behind!" She yelled, coughing. He turned around to block Sudore's sword, a ring echoing throughout the castle. He then kicked her and threw her into a wall, knocking a portion of it out. He then walked up to her and grabbed her by the shirt when Sangius grabbed him, throwing him into the air. She charged him, blood spilling from her nose when Nick grabbed her, headbutting her in the nose. Then, they went into free fall as Stella pushed the marble off of her, throwing the mask at Nick, who caught it. He grabbed her and he punched her in the face with the mask, blood spilling from her mouth as she hit the ground. She stood up, shakily as Nick swung his blades, cutting off her wings. She screamed and fell to the ground, blood spilling from her back. He grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her close, grabbing her by the collar, punching her in the face with the mask. She changed into the king from the illusions.
"You are never fit to be called an Arogian!" She said in the king's voice when he punched her again, changing into Nick.
"I lost everything because of you!" She said with his voice when he hit her again. Suddenly, she turned into his sister and he stopped, the mask dripping blood. She raised her hand to his face and he shook it off, hitting her in the face with the mask again. She smiled and turned into Bellum.
"She was not there by chance, Nick!" She said and he yelled, smashing the mask down on her forehead, breaking it. Blood spilled from her wound as he stood up, looking at Sudore. She stood up, coughing when Hati and Mahdi grabbed her, dragging her towards Nick. She coughed blood and looked at Nick, smiling.
"You will never be called an Arogian, Nick. No god will ever accept you!" She yelled and he rolled his eyes stabbing her in the chest with his blades. She screamed as blood spilled from her chest.
"Killing me will never solve your problems," She gasped, blood spilling from her wound.
"No," He said, getting a confused look from her.
"But it's a start," He finished and pulled his blades out of her. She screamed as her blood swarmed around her, ripping her flesh from her bones until she was nothing but a skeleton. Then, the castle rumbled and chunks of stone fell from the ceiling.
"The place is collapsing! We need to leave, now!" Hati said and he nodded, running over to Stella, whose ankle was bent in a weird way and carried her, running out of the castle as it collapsed, leaving nothing behind. Hati turned around and looked at the castle, smiling.
"We, we were almost in that," Hati said, laughing. Mahdi walked over to Nick, pointing at the prison as a sound of a thousand cells were opened. Then, cheering erupted out from the prison, leaving Nick in a sense of awe. Stella kissed him on the cheek and looked at the prison.
"Good job Nick, you broke the oath," She said, resting her head on his shoulders.
"No, we did it," He said, smiling. Suddenly, Mahdi walked up to them.
"This is nice and all, but how do we get out of here?" He asked. Nick thought for a second before he shrugged.
"Good point," He said when he heard someone walking up behind them.
"Maybe I can help," Pax said, getting smiles from everyone. She whistled and a chariot came from the sky, with two beautiful horses.
"Hop on," She said, climbing into the chariot. Nick carried Stella in and Mahdi and Hati followed, climbing into the chariot. Then, they took off into the sky, towards home.
***
"There you go, all better," Pax said, finishing wrapping bandages around her ankle. She smiled and sat down on a chair in Nick's house, enjoying the coziness inside the house. Mahdi grabbed a sword off the wall and did a few practice swings before he nodded, setting the sword on the table. Hati laid in front of the fireplace, enjoying a plate of mutton, biting hungrily into the tender flesh. Suddenly, Nick walked in and sat down next to Stella, putting a arm around her.
"Guards aren't here so we can stay here for a while," He said. Pax smiled and stood up, going outside to pick flowers. Nick looked at Stella's ankle before he spoke up.
"How's your foot?" He asked.
"Broken, but nothing a few healing spells won't fix," She said, smiling slightly. He looked at her and noticed the light catching in her eyes and how mesmerizing they were. He leaned over to her and whispered in her ear.
"I got a surprise for you," He said, getting a confused look as he nodded at Mahdi, who walked outside. A few moments later, he came back inside with a staff, topped with amethyst. She looked at Nick, shocked as Mahdi approached her, bowing at her feet. She held her hand out and it flew into her hand, pulsing with power. She smiled and kissed Nick.
"Thank you, Nick-" She started when Pax entered, sweat on her forehead.
"Nick, you need to see this," She said and everyone followed her. Nick walked ahead to see Arogia, the great city, being attacked by ships. An explosion rocked the city, collapsing a tower.
"What happened?" Hati asked, shocked. Nick looked at a ship to see a symbol that shook him to the core.
A bird holding three pearls.
"The Persian Empire," Nick said, looking at Mahdi, who gripped his sword tightly.
"They must've found our bodies," Hati said. Mahdi looked at them before he sighed, pointing at Arogia.
"This was their next step, to conquer and cleanse," He said. Nick frowned and looked at the city. He then sighed and lit his blades on fire, everyone gathering around him.
"What should we do?" He asked.
"We fight," Stella replied, spinning her staff. He watched as Mahdi approached, his sword out and Hati on the other side, flexing her hand. Nick looked ahead and yelled, running towards the city.