The Forsaken Chasers launched their assault.
They stormed the inner city of Murder Town—blades drawn, magic blazing, fury in their eyes.
But Mazza's creations were endless.
For every creature they killed, two more rose from the earth. The battle had dragged on for hours, and the resistance was losing ground.
Jack—the last remaining leader—made a decision.
If Jax and Flake had been captured, they'd be in the dungeon. And if he could free them, they might still have a chance.
He slipped away from the fight and descended into the dark.
The Dungeon
Jax hung from her chains, listening to the chaos above.
Explosions. Screams. Steel on stone.
Please, she thought. Please let it be over soon.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor.
The two water guards at the entrance turned—
And collapsed, knives buried in their necks. Their bodies dissolved into liquid and splashed across the floor.
Jack stepped into view.
"Jax!" He rushed toward her. "Where's Flake?"
She tried to speak—but no sound came. Her mouth moved. Nothing.
The Queen's spell still held.
Jack's expression shifted from hope to confusion.
Then—
A blast of green light tore through the dungeon.
Jack didn't even have time to scream.
He turned to dust.
Jax screamed—silently, endlessly—thrashing against her chains.
The Queen stepped out of the shadows, smiling.
"He didn't have a chance," she said softly. "Even if he'd tried his hardest."
She turned and walked upstairs.
The Battle Ends
The Queen emerged onto the battlefield.
It was already over.
Bodies littered the courtyard. Mazza stood among them, wand still glowing.
"You finished without me," she said.
"They weren't worth waiting for."
She surveyed the carnage. "We need to deal with the Knights. We're vulnerable now."
Mazza nodded. "Already handled. I sent Zero and Flake after the blue one."
The Queen smiled. "Good. And after that, we finish what the Casters started. We kill every last traitor who left us to die."
They returned to the spell house.
Together, they crafted something new.
The Doom Spell.
A curse that killed on contact—and preserved the body intact.
They would use the dead to build an undead army.
New Knights. Obedient. Unstoppable.
Somewhere Far Away
The blue knight didn't know where he was.
One moment, he'd been searching for allies. The next—a transportation spell had ripped him across the continent.
Now he stood in an empty field, fog curling at his feet.
And two figures stood before him.
Zero. Black flames.
Flake. Green flames.
Both armed. Both ready.
He drew his sword and shield.
"Let's get this over with."
They charged.
The blue knight was skilled—more experienced than either of them. He dodged their strikes, deflected their blows, and counterattacked with precision.
But they didn't stop.
Flake raised her hand and unleashed a wave of green fire.
The blue knight raised his shield to block—
And Zero struck from behind.
His blade connected. The blue knight flew across the field and crashed into the grass.
They had the upper hand.
Murder Town — The Throne Room
Mazza gathered four corpses from the battlefield.
The Queen stood nearby, preparing the ritual.
"Once we bind the magic to them," she said, "they'll be ours forever."
Mazza smiled.
"And then—no one will be able to stop us."
The Field
The blue knight was losing.
Every strike pushed him closer to the edge. His armor cracked. His shield splintered.
He dropped to one knee.
Zero raised his blade for the final blow—
CLANG.
Another sword intercepted.
Zero and Flake were thrown backward, tumoring across the dirt.
The blue knight looked up.
Standing over him—wreathed in golden flames—was another Knight.
The Gold Knight.
"Sorry, I'm late," he said, pulling the blue knight to his feet. "I went looking for the green one—but I see she's already here."
The blue knight steadied himself. "They're under Mazza's control. A mind spell. We can break it—but they have to stop moving first."
The gold knight nodded.
"Then let's make them stop."
Four Knights
The battlefield shifted.
Two against two.
Gold and Blue versus Black and Green.
Zero faced the gold knight. Flake faced the blue.
The gold knight was fast—faster than Zero expected. Every swing was blocked. Every counter was anticipated.
But Zero wouldn't stay down.
The gold knight noticed something.
His reactions are slow.
He lifted a massive boulder with a spell and hurled it.
Zero smashed it to pieces—but barely.
"Blue!" the gold knight called. "Help me pin him!"
Together, they lifted boulder after boulder and threw them in rapid succession.
One connected.
Zero went down.
They turned on Flake.
Flake blocked both incoming boulders with a burst of green fire.
She knocked the blue knight away with a blast of magic and lunged at the gold knight.
They clashed—blade against blade, spell against spell.
The gold knight held his ground.
Then he shifted tactics.
His sword transformed into a wand.
He cast the Knockout Spell.
It hit.
Flake collapsed.
The gold knight exhaled.
"...Why didn't I start with that?"
The Unbinding
They dragged Zero and Flake together and began the ritual.
The Mind Possession Removal Spell.
It was delicate work. Dangerous. One mistake and the hosts' minds could shatter.
But it worked.
Murder Town — The Throne Room
Mazza had the bodies arranged in a circle.
The Queen raised her wand to begin the binding—
And stopped.
Something was wrong.
Her magic faltered. Mazza's did too.
Like something had been lifted.
Then the ceiling exploded.
Stone and dust rained down. When it cleared—
All four Knights stood together.
Black. Blue. Gold. Green.
Swords drawn. Shields raised.
United.
Mazza and the Queen stumbled back, fear flickering across their faces.
Mazza raised his wand. Black magic swirled around them both—
And they vanished.
Aftermath
Flake blinked.
Touched her throat.
"Zero—it worked. My voice is back."
Zero didn't respond.
He stared at the spot where Mazza had disappeared, fists clenched.
"I'm not going to stop," he said quietly, "until they're dead at my feet."
Then he walked away.
Flake descended into the dungeon and freed Jax.
She carried her back to camp.
When they arrived, Zero was already there—standing amid the wreckage, staring at the destruction he had caused.
"They made me do all of this," he said. "And I had to watch. Every moment. Without any way to stop it."
Flake placed a hand on Jax's shoulder and cast a small spell.
Jax gasped.
Her voice returned.
She looked at Zero.
"...Is it really you?"
He turned.
"Yes." His voice broke. "I couldn't fight it. When I killed Dixon—I'm so—"
Jax crossed the distance and wrapped her arms around him.
She cried.
"Now it's just the three of us left."
Zero — Narrator
I looked at her.
"Five."
The gold and blue knights walked up behind us.
The blue knight spoke first. "We need to find Mazza before he causes more damage."
The gold knight nodded. "Agreed. We need to figure out exactly where they went—and end this."
From that moment forward, we had one goal.
Revenge.
Two Weeks Later
The injuries healed.
We trained. Prepared. Planned.
Then we returned to Murder Town.
The remaining creatures guarding the walls didn't stand a chance. We cut through them and entered the castle.
We searched the king and queen's quarters—every drawer, every chest, every hidden compartment.
"Nothing here," the gold knight said.
"Nothing," Flake echoed.
"Same," I added.
The blue knight held up a scrap of paper.
"Found something."
We gathered around.
Three words.
The Valley of Bones.
"I know that place," the blue knight said. "I've passed through it dozens of times."
I didn't wait.
"Then let's go."
I handed Jax the Sun Blade.
"Use this. Stay safe."
She nodded.
The Valley of Bones
We stood in a circle and projected our magic.
The transportation spell activated.
The world twisted—and reformed.
We arrived in a land of fog.
Thick. Suffocating. We couldn't see more than a few feet ahead.
We stayed close, moving as one.
The fog thinned as we advanced. Visibility improved.
But there was no sign of Mazza. No sign of the Queen.
Then—
Laughter.
It echoed across the valley, reverberating from every direction.
The fog thickened again—faster this time.
I couldn't see the others.
I couldn't see anything.
Then—a silhouette.
A figure, just ahead.
I ran toward it.
As I got closer, I realized my mistake.
It wasn't one of my friends.
It was Amera.
She raised her wand and fired.
The spell hit me square in the chest.
I crashed into the dirt, gasping.
She walked toward me slowly, savoring every step.
Her wand rose into the air.
A sphere of green energy formed above her palm—swirling, growing, humming with power.
I tried to move.
Couldn't.
Tried to summon my armor.
Nothing.
She smiled.
And threw it.
CRASH.