Willow was frozen as the guards carried Rhenvar's unconscious body away.
Without thinking, he knelt down and gently lifted Viir's limp body from the ground. She was still warm. Still breathing. Still alive.
He sat in a nearby chair, cradling the tiny fairy in his hands. Holding her felt like holding a piece of Rhenvar himself, fragile, flickering.
Guilt twisted his chest.
The world. Our home. Is gone.
I destroyed it.
Mother… father… Rowan…
Aucteros you slime. You destroyed everything. But I helped. I helped you destroy it.
His throat tightened. The rage had always been a part of him. His fire had always burned too hot, too wild. It made him dangerous. It made him feel alone.
Rhen is a monster. If he was hiding this truth… What else was he hiding?
Those thoughts cut deep.
Willow closed his eyes.
I remembered the first day I met you, Rhen.
The cursed knight.
The shadow fortress.
The beginning of everything I held dear.
****
Flashback: The Shadow Fortress
"Wow, this is the Shadow Fort, huh?" Willow said, his eyes gleamed. "Spooky! I love it."
"Disappointing," Sylvia muttered, brushing frost from her white cloak. Sylvia's face was like Willow was looking in the mirror, except for her icy blue eyes and long icy blue hair. "Not even a single ghost? I expected more from a place that 'devours adventurers'."
"Hey, that's part of the charm, makes it more creepy!" Willow grinned. "Also, they say the cursed knight Rhenvar lives here!"
"Tale as old as us," Sylvia scoffed. "Probably just a stupid warning to keep people out."
"Well, it's not keeping us out!" He said cheerfully. "Come on!"
They both stepped into the cold, crumbling fortress. Every corridor echoed. Every shadow shifted.
"It's cold," Sylvia murmured.
"Yeah…" Willow rubbed his arms. "Even for me."
"That's saying something. You're fire incarnate."
"And you're literally made of ice."
They both chuckled as they reached the throne room and there he was.
Atop a dark throne slouched a black-armored knight. Silent. Still.
"So that's him," Sylvia said flatly.
"He's real?" Willow ran up without hesitation. "He looks dead."
He poked the helmet.
Suddenly, the knight lunged upright.
"Boo."
"GAH!" He yelped as flames burst from his hands.
Sylvia's eyes narrowed. The air around her dropped ten degrees. Ice crystals gathered in her palms.
The knight descended the stairs, fists clenched. His voice echoed with hollow fury. "So. More vermin come to my home. You people treat me like some kind of boss."
"Boss?" Sylvia blinked.
"Ignore the dramatics," he muttered. "You'll fall like the rest."
He didn't touch the massive sword beside the throne. Instead, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles.
"You're fighting us with only your fists?" Sylvia asked, unimpressed. "Brave or stupid?"
"You're insects," Rhenvar growled. "I don't need a blade to squash a few ants when my boot will do the same."
And then, without warning, he charged.
Willow couldn't move. A dark pressure crushed the air. He was stuck.
"Magic?" Willow gasped. Right before, a gauntleted fist slammed into his face and sent him flying.
Sylvia caught him with a wall of ice and retaliated with a barrage of icy spears. The knight shattered them with punches, moving like a living shadow.
Then Rhenvar vanished.
"What the-" Sylvia stiffened.
Rhenvar reappeared behind Sylvia, striking her down with a precise blow to the head. She crumpled.
"Sylvia!" Willow roared, flames exploding around him in a blazing inferno.
The firestorm lit the room, banishing the shadows. He danced in the blaze, hurling fire like a living inferno.
Sylvia rose, half her face encased in frosted armor. She launched forward, creating ice daggers mid-sprint.
Her blades struck between Rhenvar's armor plates. Blood splattered. He grunted but didn't flinch.
She kept stabbing. Unrelenting.
Then a black spike erupted from the floor, flinging Sylvia across the room and shattering her ice armor.
She landed near the throne, gasping.
Willow screamed, his flames consuming the room in a wildfire.
Rhenvar laughed.
"Oh, now we're having fun."
He conjured more spikes, blocking the flames. Each flame he blocked, he got closer- then grabbed Willow by the throat, slamming him into the cold stone floor.
Then he lifted Willow up.
"I'll give you credit," Rhenvar said smugly. "You made me use chaos magic; I'm impressed."
He dropped him.
"Time for you to go."
Willow watched Sylvia, breathless and desperate, crawling toward the cursed greatsword on the throne.
"NO!" The knight shadow-stepped to her side, catching her wrists before she touched the hilt. "Are you insane?!"
She stared up at him, confused.
"You touch that sword, you don't just die. It eats your soul." The room fell quiet.
"You don't want us to die?" Willow coughed, propping himself up.
"The fuck? No."
Sylvia scowled. "Then why all this?"
"I was just gonna rough you up a bit and toss you out like trash. Standard boss stuff." Rhenvar removed his helmet.
Willow's heart skipped a beat. He felt as if the world stood still.
"…" Willow blinked, his face heated up. Then he averted his gaze looking at the floor.
What is this feeling?
"Rhenvar's human?!" Sylvia said, surprised.
"Who the fuck is Rhenvar?" Rhenvar asked.
"Uh… you?"
"Pfft, Whatever..."
Willow did not even listen to the bickering.
He's… beautiful.
Rhenvar sat back down on the throne, visibly tired. "You guys done? Can you make like a tree and leave?"
"Wait, you've been here for how long?" Willow asked. "Alone?"
"And? Loneliness is peaceful."
"As a human? How?" Sylvia looked at Rhenvar suspiciously.
"I'm immortal," he muttered.
"But you don't really want to be alone, do you?"
Sylvia's head snapped at Willow, noticing his hands clasped together leaning forward.
"My brother's bad at questions," Sylvia said, deadpan. "Why spare us? You've clearly killed people before."
"Huh? I never killed anyone. I just chill here. Swap shifts with my fairy friend to empower my seal."
"Oh," Sylvia said. "Wait, a fairy?"
Willow's eyes lit up. "That's so cool!"
"She's chaotic," Rhenvar muttered. "Definitely responsible for all those corpses I cleaned up, though."
Willow stepped forward. "Hey, want to come with us? Be adventurers?"
Rhenvar sat back. "Nah. Sounds like a lot of work. Besides, my job is to sit here."
Willow looked to the floor.
Sylvia's glare on Willow softened.
"He's just scared," Sylvia said casually.
"What?!" Rhenvar snapped. "I'm not scared!"
He grabbed his greatsword and slung it over his back. "I'm not getting lectured by two cute elf girls!"
He put on his helmet.
"Wow, just like that, we've got a new companion," Sylvia smirked at Willow.
Rhenvar walked back down from his throne. He was only a bit taller than the twins.
"Oh, by the way," Willow said cheerfully, "I'm a male."
"…Okay?" Rhenvar replied. "Sorry for misgendering you, dude."
"Apology accepted!" He leaned in, smiled too brightly by accident.
Rhenvar leaned away slightly. "…Sure."
Sylvia snorted as she turned and began walking. "So, Willow, what's next? Dragon spire or spider queen's lair?"
"Ummm… how about our new friend decides?"
They both looked at Rhenvar.
"How about a tavern?" Rhenvar suggested.
"Oh, great idea!" Sylvia and Willow said in unison.
"By the way," Rhenvar continued as they walked. "Are any of you bleeding?"
The twins checked themselves.
"Nope only you," Sylvia said. "Odd question to ask, you know."
"What if he wants to drink our blood?" Willow laughed.
"…Pfft," Rhenvar looked to the side. "I asked so I could heal you…"
"Wow, good call brother," Sylvia said. "You snagged us a healer."
"What can I say," Willow puffed his chest out. "My intuition was right."
"Yeah, says the guy who got all our money stolen." Sylvia scoffed.
"Hey!"
"You losers are broke?" Rhenvar asked. "Who's paying for the drinks?"
"Let's figure that out when we get there." Sylvia answered.
Willow's smile lingered as they walked out of the throne room.