There was no flash of light, or even a whisper of wind. Karon simply felt the enormous presence slide through the veils separating the worlds, and then the bare-chested, darkly-smiling god appeared before him.

Loke took a bite out of an apple that had instantly appeared in his hand, then threw him a knowing smirk.

"Welcome back home, junior."

“It's true, then,” Karon said through gritted teeth. “Somehow, I'm...”

“My son? In a way, trickster, in a way.”

“How!? How can this be possible!?” Karon exclaimed.

The god brought up an arm and wiped away the juice trickling down his chin, then tossed the remainder of the apple away and brushed his hands on his pants.

“You were indeed desperate back then, but after all, that wasn't you. Did you think one could venture into the void without there being consequences?”

Karon scowled. “I knew there was danger, but I prepared—”

Loke gave a shrill laugh, sending half-chewed apple pieces flying out of his mouth. “Karon, you really think the efforts of a slightly-talented magician is a match for something that dwarfs all of existence?”

“The book said—”

Loke rolled his eyes. “The book lied. It was written by a madman, which you'd known if you'd bothered to ask any other practitioner out there. But you didn't, because you were too busy locking yourself away and festering in guilt. You really don't understand just how damaged you were back then, do you?”

“I remember.”

“But you don't understand. This is really amusing, giving you a fatherly stern talking to, that is. We should do this more often.”

Karon clenched his jaw so hard he could feel his teeth threatening to break. “So go on then, father. Enlighten me.”

“Now, now," Loke smirked, wagging his finger in Karon's face. "I'm not really a fan of the physical teaching methods, but you need to learn to have some manners when talking to your maker.”

Karon forced himself to breathe steadily, then relaxed his clenched fists, and spoke in a calmer tone. “Loke, tell me what you're hiding. Tell me what I'm missing.”

The god raised his eyebrows, then chuckled. “Absolutely everything. And you're a true fool if you would ask a trickster god to reveal all his secrets. However... there is a proper time and place for revealing truth—slivers of it, at least. If it's all lies then there's no fun in the game, after all.”

“So tell me, Loke, what the f... what do you mean when you talk about the void demanding a price? And what's the great big secret about the destiny I'm pushed towards?” Karon wrung his hands and really tried to keep the desperation, the feeling of helplessness, out of his voice.

Loke wasn't fooled. “Karon, Karon, Karon. The price of the void is everything you are. The moment you ventured into the embrace of nothing, you became nothing.”

“That doesn—”

“Don't interrupt! I will slap you. Now, as I was saying, the moment you ventured into the void, you ceased to be. You still had consciousness, form, because it takes time for the mind, the soul, to actually admit to itself it is surrounded by nothing. When that happens, though... poof! Gone forever.”

Karon shuddered. “But I didn't. I didn't stick around long enough for that to happen.”

“Tut, tut! Time technically doesn't exist in the void, only a falsified, self-imposed version of it. But that doesn't matter; you are right, in a way. You only lost a fraction of yourself in your time there. The unicorn lost more, but I think she managed to replace it during her brief stay at Casa grumpy-and-sexually-frustrated-magician. You tethered on the brink of going poof... well, the one called 'the magician' did, the last hollow remnants of the child Erik.”

“So why didn't I?” Karon demanded.

Loke leaned in close. “Because I saved you. And from that pathetic little yarn of memories, self-disgust and potential, I spun a new web, and I made you. The void is one of the few places that allows such blatant manipulation of the soul. I created Karon, from my energy, from my spirit your spirit, your heart, was given new shape, and you were born again to a new path. That little trip to the land of sunshine and tiny equines was just meant to give you time to reconcile your new self with those memories and guilt of 'the magician'; something he had idiotically locked down so deep it touched the very foundations of his soul, and so unfortunately, they needed to be dealt with before you could properly start to grow into your new... role.”

Karon's face had grown stark white as he'd listened, and he opened a dry mouth to speak.

“You... made me?”

“Yes. Not my finest work, I admit, but you have turned out alright so far, and have some promise for the future.”

Karon swallowed a lump in his throat, and he could feel his head shaking itself in a small gesture of denial.

“Don't be like that, you can't say you haven't had hints of it. I mean really, you think it's normal to sleep with equine creatures while you're clearly still designed as a primate? Got that from your old man; though at least I had the good manners to change my form first. Slapping the fine behinds of ladies? Got that from me, too. The very DNA of your spirit, Karon, that which makes you a trickster, is inherited from me.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, glaring at the god.

Loke held out his hands, shrugging. “We'll see what you make of it. There is that bothersome destiny crap you have to deal with, that's true. The hands of fate are always busy with spinning its webs. But you're a trickster of my line, so I am sure you'll find a way to make it interesting.”

Karon turned around, staring back the way he had come, down the grassy hills hiding his companions. Their auras burned with energy, standing out like candles in the dark, beckoning all who could feel them closer to share in their warmth.

“Loke...” Karon asked quietly.

“Yes?” Loke asked, the sound of him biting into another apple drifting through the air.

“Why? Why am I the one saddled with this grand destiny? I'm a trickster—you made me a trickster—and I can't really deny it's better than what I had back before, when I was Erik, but... I... I'm no hero. Why isn't some heavenly warrior filled with goodness and strength doing this? A trickster filled with hunger and doubt doesn't belong in a game like this, where angels are watching, placing their trust in me.”

“Why do you care?” came the question, barely distinguishable through the sound of chewing.

Karon frowned, and turned to face the god with his amber eyes glowing. “I'm not a monster, Loke.”

The god gave him a crooked smile. “Depends on who you're asking. You're a killer, Karon. Even worse, you're an eater of souls. You steal life and memories, you lie and betray for fun because that's your nature.”

Karon shook his head and a pained expression flickered across his face. “That can't be all I am.”

The mask of amused detachment slipped off the dark god's features for a moment, and in its place fear and rage took turns, too quick for Karon to notice. Then the mask returned, and with a shrug of his shoulders, Loke gave the trickster a haughty smile.

“Think what you will. Your name and title speaks clearly of your true nature, Mendax Karon Bellum. You are the vulture of war and deceit. It is your nature, your destiny, and you can fight neither. Embrace it, use it.”

“To what end?” Karon balled his hands into fists, and the words came out as a growl.

“You're a trickster, you are my spawn. You will follow your instincts, act on your impulses and desires, and laugh at the fools that would try and chain you. Don't fight yourself... but if you would ever find yourself lost, unable to decide what to do, then just listen to your own self... listen to your inner voice.”

“Sounds like wise council.”

“Am I supposed to trust Loke? Are we really that naïve as to trust a trickster god?”

“He is our father. That wasn't a lie, and so he cares about us in some way. Look at all the times he has interfered, acted on our behalf. We're of his line, a trickster of his own making. That means something.”

“But why? Why is he doing all of this?”

“Probably for fun. Because it's all a game to him, but it's a game where he is on our side. Trust him. What other reason could he have for helping us?”

“I guess it's not like we have much of a choice, anyway.”

“Exactly. Besides, he is obviously suited to give advice to us if he advocates listening to me.”

“You done talking to yourself?” Loke asked with a bored look.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Karon asked with a sigh.

“Move forward. You'll reach your destination eventually.”

“And then?” Karon asked with a frown.

Loke gave him a grim smile. “You will know what it means to be a vulture of war and deceit, and a hungry one at that.”

Between one heartbeat and the next, the god winked out of existence, and Karon stood alone in the dark. He clenched his fists tighter in a useless gesture of rage. He could always try calling out to the angels; they were certainly next on the list of people in need of questioning.

Karon relaxed his hands, straightening his fingers before letting his head fall down to his chest and taking a deep breath.

No, it would be useless. It was useless trying to demand answers from anyone. They were the game masters, and Karon was just one of the players, unaware of the greater scheme going on around him. Maybe if Dolor had still been alive, she could have—

“Dolor.”

“What?”

“Dolor knew our destiny. She had tasted it the first moment we met.”

“And? She dead, son.”

“But Promise... she said so herself, she has inherited some of Dolor's memories. There was residue of her spirit still lingering when Promise took possession of her body.”

“Dude, I'm warning you here, be careful. You heard Varsif, even the slightest hint of what's coming could send us spinning down a very bad spiral.”

“Am I just supposed to ignore the fact that Promise might have the answer to my future in her head somewhere?”

“Yes. It's probably just a fragment that's left, and knowing it will just mess us up even further. Let it go, listen to what Loke said. Just move ahead, and we will get to this big bad war we're destined for in time.”

“I can't. I need to know.”

Ignoring the warnings the voice kept on shouting, Karon turned back towards the shore and started running. He arrived at the beach in less than a minute, and the others all turned to look at him sharply.

“What's wrong?” Trixie asked quickly, her eyes turning towards the darkness Karon had emerged from.

“Nothing's wrong... it's just...” Karon's fixed his gaze on Promise, and the woman blinked in surprise.

“What?” she asked confusedly.

“Come with me?” Karon said and grabbed her arm, dragging her with him back out into the night.

“Karon, what's going on!?” Trixie shouted, starting after them angrily.

Karon let go of Promise and held up a hand to stop his pursuer. “Not now, Trix. I need to talk to Promise. It's important. I'll explain later, I just... need to try something.”

Trixie's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she didn't move when Karon grabbed Promise and the both of them melted into the black.

Karon led them out further, until they had reached far enough that Karon was certain Trixie or Varsif wouldn't overhear them. He doubted Trix would appreciate him trying to dig up whatever remnants existed of Dolor in Promise's mind, and the wizard might object to him trying to figure out his destiny.

“What's wrong, master?” Promise asked.

“I need to ask you something. It's very important that you do your best to answer it,” Karon told her, finally releasing her arm and stopping on the cold turf.

“Whatever you need, master,” the woman told him with a bright smile.

Karon opened his mouth, then frowned and closed it. He furrowed his brows and stared down into the ground thoughtfully, then eventually turned his eyes back up to the former spirit.

“How much of Dolor is still left in you?” he asked carefully.

Promise shrank back from his gaze, and her mouth turned into a thin slit when she answered him. “I'm not sure.”

“Promise, it's really important that you try and remember something. Dolor knew my destiny, she knew what was waiting down the line for me.”

Promise shook her head. “Please master, please don't make me go down there.”

Karon leaned in closer, his eyes shining with a feverish need. “I must know, Promise.”

She whimpered, and squinted her eyes shut with a pained expression. Then, with a frustrated sigh, she spoke without opening her eyes. “There's... memories. And feelings. And thoughts... and they hurt.”

“Focus, Promise. Focus on anything that has to do with me, with my destiny.”

She whimpered again, and her breathing grew shallow. “It hurts. She... she...”

Promise opened her eyes, and they were no longer their usual deep blue. Instead they were amber, not unlike Karon's own, but shot through with angry streaks of red.

“Dolor...” Karon whispered.

The woman shook her head. “No, not really.”

“It's just a ghost; an echo still lingering in Promise's mind. Don't trust it.”

Karon swallowed, then reached out and brushed her cheek. Promise—no, Dolor leaned into his hand and purred.

“I've missed you,” she said.

“And I you,” Karon replied hoarsely.

The woman smiled then, a crooked, bitter smile. “So why did you kill me?”

“You know why,” Karon whispered.

Slowly, she nodded. “I guess I do. I always knew.”

“What does that mean?”

She smiled a brief, sad smile, then shook her head. “It doesn't matter now. What matters is the answers I can give you.”

A shiver ran down Karon's spine. “Tell me.”

She held up a finger. “One thing first, my sweet Mendax, something I require in payment.”

“What?” Karon asked. She had him, and she knew it. She could ask for anything- a new body, to be allowed to dominate Promise's mind, or whatever this ghost, this echo of the real Dolor desired.

“A kiss.”

Karon flinched, then swallowed hard. “Fine.”

With a triumphant grin, she carefully grasped Karon around his neck and brought him down to her, careful not to let the dagger-claws cut into him. His lips hovered above hers for a moment, hesitant, then he closed the distance, and kissed her.

It lasted long, and there was a hunger, a depth to her tasting of him. Like the drawing of one final breath, trying to take into as much of the world before passing from it as possible.

Their lips parted with a final lick of her tongue, and Karon draw back, casting a nervous look around to make sure they were still alone. Dolor blinked her eyes lazily, then smiled at him.

“Yes, just as I remember it.”

Karon cleared his throat. “The answers.”

Dolor tilted her head. “What do you want to know?”

Karon suppressed a growl. “I told you, I want to know what my destiny is.”

“And I told you long ago, you will find your answers in pain, my sweet Mendax.”

Karon couldn't suppress the growl a second time, and took a step closer to her with a dangerous look on his face. “Stop playing. Tell me what I need to know.”

There was a hungry glint in Dolor's eyes, an expectant light that dared him to make a move, to try and force it out of her. With an angry hiss, Karon backed off and crossed his arms.

With a disappointed sigh, Dolor spoke. “What do you think it will change, knowing what is to come?”

“It will prepare me!” Karon snapped.

Dolor looked at him in surprise, then a bitter, hollow laugh escaped through her lips. “Nothing can prepare you for what is to come. Just like nothing could prepare me; but you have a choice, where I had none.”

“What are you talking about?”

She held up a hand before her eyes, curiously eying the long dagger-claws. “This creature, Promise... she's conflicted. She doesn't know who she is, not yet. You shouldn't have let her dig so deep; she's not ready to face all she carries within herself.”

“I need answers,” Karon said with a helpless look on his face.

Dolor shook her head. “You don't understand. Knowing what is to come, to hear me speak the words would change nothing. You are who you are, my sweet Mendax Karon Bellum, and you can't avoid the path your own nature will lead you down. Nothing can prepare you, nothing can make what is to come easier. But you have a choice. You're like this creature—conflicted. Like her, you know what it is to be divided inside, to be torn in different directions. Be careful, Karon. Some will try and lead you to places you don't want to go.”

Karon reached out and placed both his hands on her shoulders, glaring into her eyes. “Tell me, please."

Dolor smiled up at him sadly. “You must learn your destiny on your own. It is the only way you can win the conflict that is to come. Don't be fooled, Karon. Know your enemy. It's only when you know what you're fighting against, that you can understand what you're fighting for.”

Karon squeezed her shoulders hard. “Tell me!”

“My memories still linger within this shell. And now that she's accessed it, she will know all I knew... I can't allow that. I'm sorry, my sweet Mendax, but my time with you is over again.”

“Don't,” he let go and stared at her fearfully, “Please don't.”

“Goodbye, my love. But don't worry, I won't fade away... a small part of me will remain in her. Enough to make sure what I felt for you isn't lost.”

Before Karon could speak, Promise's eyes grew dim, and the amber color faded, shifting into a deep blue. She stared at him confusedly, then gradually, understanding dawned, and she fell down on her knees and started crying.

“Promise,” Karon tried to comfort her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged it off and stared up at him angrily, tears streaming down her face. “You... you...”

She looked about ready to lunge at him, and for the first time ever, Karon looked at Promise with real fear in his eyes.

“You... you...” she went on, her face twisting into a mask of fury.

“What?” he asked with a suddenly dry mouth.

“Go away!” she shrilled, slashing at him with her dagger-claws.

Karon narrowly avoided the blades, throwing himself backwards in the nick of time. He landed on his back, staring at the raging woman who glared at him with a look of anguish.

“GO!” she screamed, and Karon crawled up to his legs and sprinted back towards the beach.

His heart was hammering, and somewhere in his mind the voice was speaking, trying to say something in its usual dry, factual tone. Karon didn't hear any of it, every sound around him was muffled as he tried to understand what has just happened. The scene replayed itself over and over in his mind.

He slowed down when he got closer to the beach, allowing himself to arrive in a quick march. When the sound of his footsteps reached them, both Lyra and Trixie ran up to him, their faces showing concern when they realized Promise wasn't following behind him.

“What happened?” Lyra asked, frowning as she looked towards where Karon had emerged.

“There were... complications,” Karon told them and sank down into the soft grass.

“What did you do?” Trixie asked, her eyes leveled at him with a hint of suspicion.

“I... don't know. Everything's just so...” he said and stared out into the lake, the waning moon casting its reflection across the dark waters.

“Where's Promise?” Lyra asked, turning to him.

Karon snorted. “Good question. Locked somewhere deep inside, maybe gone and just a memory, maybe Promise never really existed... I don't know. Don't think this is a good time to ask.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Lyra asked with a confused expression.

Karon gave a sigh and shrugged. “Don't know, but I think it might be best if we gave Promise some time alone...and maybe we should move ahead with the plan. She and Varsif are going to remain behind, anyway.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea? If something happened—” Trixie began.

“Trix, just trust me. Right now going anywhere near Promise is a really bad idea, especially for you. It might be best if we left and let Varsif keep an eye on her, just in case she cracks and begins hunting for people to kill,” he finished with a sour look.

“That bad?” Trixie murmured with a frown, then narrowed her eyes at Karon. “What exactly did you do?”

“Nothing. Never mind, let's just prepare to get out of here and down to London.”

She didn't look pleased with his answer, but with a final glance out towards where Karon had appeared from, she slammed her mouth closed.

Varsif walked over and injected himself into the conversation. “The whelp is right, there's no point in dawdling. It will take you some time to make your way to London, and the sooner you get going, the better.”

Karon nodded with a grateful look. “Yes, exactly.”

Varsif grunted, then reached into a pocket inside his robes, and his hand came out holding two leather collars, each with a single black stone attached to their center.

“What's that?” Lyra asked and tilted her head.

“These are something you might find useful. I made them a while back. They're not powerful enough to withstand any magical scrutiny, but for the mundane attention people in London give their surroundings, they should work fine in cloaking you.”

Trixie let out a relieved groan. “Please tell me that means I don't have to get into another bag.”

Varsif nodded. “These should be enough. Just remember that they're flimsy in some ways, so if you bump into someone or do something that affects the environment in a noticeable way, they won't hold up to scrutiny. Just remain in the background and don't do anything that can attract attention, and everyone's minds will just slip over you.”

“Why didn't I get one of these back before I learned how to shapeshift?” Lyra accused the wizard with a frown.

“You would have just made trouble. Besides, all the eagerness to get out and gawk at humans was a good motivator.”

Lyra mumbled something beneath her breath that sounded vaguely insulting. The old man smiled, then went down on his knees and clasped the two collars around the equines' necks. They were attached firmly, and Lyra twisted her head around with an uncomfortable expression, before she eventually gave up.

“You know the way to the town, yes?” Varsif asked Karon.

The trickster nodded. “I remember the maps. We'll get to the nearest train station from there.”

Varsif grunted, then his eyes flickered towards where Promise was located, far out in the dark. “I'll keep an eye on her. But what she's facing now she has to face alone, otherwise she'll always be trying to escape it in vain.”

Karon swallowed and looked away with regret in his eyes. “Take care of her... until I get back.”

“Don't worry, whelp. Keeping you out of trouble was far harder than keeping a rein on this lot,” the wizard said with a wave towards Lyra.

“Hey!” Lyra protested.

The wizard chuckled, then gave Karon a push. “Get going.”

With a final look back out into the dark, where Promise was alone, weeping, tormented by a ghost Karon had forced her to wake.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned his back, and started walking.

                    ***************************************************

The landscape rolled by outside the window steadily, green and brown interrupted by the occasional dots of color as they passed by towns and cities, all of it framed by the gray of an overcast sky. Trixie laid curled up next to Karon, her mouth slightly open as her chest rose and fell in tandem with her breath. Around her throat, the collar pulsed with a similar, steady beat, the magic drifting out like a music below ones ability to hear, but affecting you all the same.

Karon had been dozing in and out of wakefulness for most of the journey so far. The last anguished look etched into Promise's face refused to leave his mind, and there was a squirming, acid feeling churning in the pit of his stomach.

Only Lyra remained fully awake, spending most of the time pacing back and forth in the tiny compartment, or staring up at the ceiling while making sounds of impatience. Despite her idle hooves, she didn't try and start up a conversation with Karon. They had all felt it when they had boarded the train, that slight shiver of anticipation mingling with fear that passed between them, like a current, passing through each and every one in steady waves.

“Too many secrets,” he thought, closing his eyes.

“We're a trickster, what do they expect?” The voice was clearer than usual, the borders of Karon's consciousness blurred by the closeness of sleep.

“Maybe to be treated as more than pawns.”

“They're not stupid, they know they're more than that to you.”

“Yet we keep them in the dark as usual, inventing plans they never hear in full, and relying on improvisation to take care of the rest.”

“There's a good reason for that this time.”

“I'm not arguing against that. I'm just saying... I find it hard to believe that just because I'm a trickster I'm somehow forced to treat everything like a game, and everyone else like pieces on the board.”

“We're of Loke's line and spirit.”

“But we're not Loke.”

“Which is a shame, in my opinion. Say what you will, the man has control and knows what he's doing; which is more than what could be said about us.”

“Maybe.”

The train kept its steady pace, the landscape passing by without acknowledgment. After a while, the sound of rain could be heard smattering against the window, and Karon was lulled back into sleep.

                    **********************************************************

Through the slight static of the speakers, a female voice announced that the train was about to arrive at its final destination. Karon opened his eyes and shook off the bleariness threatening to cling to him.

Lyra was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, her face showing unbridled relief at finally being able to leave. Trixie was already awake, positioned near the window she was staring out, observing the first scatterings of people leaving the train to go their separate ways.

Karon glanced at the both of them, then rested his eyes on Lyra, and snorted. “Eager to get off, huh?”

She sighed in pleasure. “Yes, please let's go. I'm dying of boredom and if I don't get to do something soon, I'll—”

“I get it. Trix, you ready to leave?” Karon asked quietly.

She nodded, but remained silent.

Karon kept his eyes on her for a few more seconds, then turned to Lyra and tilted his head towards the door. “Ladies first.”

The unicorn in turn grabbed the doors handle in her mouth and pulled it open, sticking her head out into the passage and looking down both ends. Karon could hear the cacophony of sounds as people shuffled towards the exits, gathering their belongings and trying to stick to their groups without getting lost in the flood of strangers.

Karon grabbed Lyra's tail and gently tugged her back into the compartment. People passed by the open door without sparing a glance inside while Karon and the two unicorns waited for them to leave.

The herd eventually thinned out, and only a few stragglers remained, straining underneath the weight of the heavy bags they carried. The carriage fell into silent, a pressing absence of the unintelligible sound of crying children and muttering adults that had filled it just a few brief moments ago.

With an annoyed look back at Karon, Lyra grabbed her tail and yanked it out of his grip, then went out the door. Her hooves made muffled thumping sounds as they fell upon the carpeted floor, and Karon followed behind her, Trixie coming in close behind him in turn, and the trio ventured to the exit.

Karon passed by Lyra when they reached the door leading outside, and with a nervous lick of his lips he jumped down the steps onto the platform, then scanned the surroundings. Night had fallen, as the journey had taken the entire day, but the station was flooded with artificial lights, granting few shadows to hide within.

Behind him, he heard how Lyra jumped down to the ground, the sound of hooves clattering on the tarmac loud and distinct enough to make him wince. His eyes sought out the people present around them, waiting for any of them to turn and acknowledge the fact that there was a brightly-colored pony unicorn standing there in plain sight. No one did.

Trixie followed Lyra's example, and soon the three figures were walking down the streets of London, two of them unseen, one constantly casting nervous glances at the people they passed by. The magic of the collars held true, but as Varsif had said, it was fragile, and one single bump into a passerby could spell disaster for everyone. Despite of this, Lyra was grinning like a maniac.

“This is exciting,” she whispered.

“This is fucking insane,” Karon whispered back out of the corner of his mouth.

“I've walked around in human shape, I've flown above as a bird, but I've never considered how much fun it would be walking around like a pony. It feels almost... naughty, like walking around like a human, but naked.”

“God dammit, Lyra, stop being so freaky!” Karon hissed, and tried to cover the outburst as a cough.

A laughter tickling at the edge of hearing reached Karon in response.

However, despite his worry, none of the thousands of people they passed by seemed to pay the trickster any attention, and they showed absolutely no sign of being aware that two interdimensional creatures were walking right behind him.

Either the magic of the collars were stronger than Varsif had estimated, or people simply were too busy with themselves to notice what was right before them.

“Yeah, because that's so hard to imagine.”

“Still, I would think at least one person would be observant enough to notice something this outside the norm.”

“You see what you want to see. Anything else would just be unpleasant.”

Karon gave a contemptuous snort.

“Seems a bit too much on the pathetic side of things.”

“Ohh... can you see?”

“Well, I have you here to tell me what I should be seeing, right?”

“Exactly.”

The crowds grew smaller, and appeared sparser the further towards their destination they went, and when they reached the edge of what could be considered the sorcerers' territory, Trixie rushed past the other two and turned around, planting her hooves in the ground firmly.

“Okay, Karon, enough with the mystery. You have something planned, because there's no way you actually think you will be able to take on the entire cabal on your own.”

“But I've got you and Lyra with me,” Karon said with a disarming smile.

Trixie didn't buy it. “Yes, and we're useless like this,” she said, shaking a hoof at him.

“I wouldn't say you're useless,” he muttered.

Trixie growled. “Karon, if I'm going to be part of an assault on a cabal of sorcerers when they're in their own stronghold, and after they've already kicked our asses once, then I want to know what the plan is.”

Lyra turned to Karon with an expression not all too dissimilar from Trixie's own, and their combined glares burned into the trickster. He felt himself squirm beneath their focused attention, and he grasped for any response that would satisfy them.

“Well, obviously the truth won't do.”

“No, but maybe something close to the truth.”

“Look, I can't tell you the details of what I have planned. Let's just say, we have to hit them as hard and fast as we can.”

“And then what?”

“Then they'll capture and wring every last drop of information out of us.”

“We'll run if they manage to recover from the first attack, and we keep going with quick hit-and-runs. Divide and conquer tactics.”

“As in, they'll divide their attention and still kick our asses, and then conquer our minds.”

The two unicorns stared at him. “That's it?” Trixie finally asked in disbelief.

Karon rubbed his face. “Look, I might have a surprise I got from Varsif, but I can't tell you about it.”

“And why's that?” Trixie asked, her tone dripping with skepticism.

“It'll... ruin the magic. It's complicated stuff, just trust me.”

“That isn't easy right now,” Lyra told him, twisting her mouth in displeasure.

Karon looked down at the two unicorns he was supposed to lead into battle against an overwhelming force, and he groaned on the inside.

“I can't blame them for doubting me.”

“They don't need to know the whole thing. We haven't failed them before, have we?”

“Honestly, it's more like they haven't failed me before.”

“Please, trust me,” Karon asked.

Trixie sighed and shook her head, then gave him a crooked smile. “Fine, but only because you look so cute when you're begging.”

Karon raised his eyebrows. “I'll take it. How about you, Lyra?”

“I miss my gun,” she whined, scraping a hoof on the ground.

Karon rolled his eyes. “Nothing to do about it. Unless you actually want to go through with trying to wield it in your mouth.”

Lyra shook her head, then shrugged her shoulders. “Well, lead on, then, I guess.”

And with those rousing words, Karon set off towards the sorcerer's apartment complex, flanked by the two unicorns. The collars wouldn't help the least in covering the two equines from the sorcerer's senses, and Karon didn't want to waste energy trying to cloak them when it wouldn't last more than a minute at most before they broke through it.

“No, we want a really big boom tonight.”

“What of the mortal authorities and all that?”

“Can't you feel it?”

Karon and the others came within sight of the complex, the buildings rising from the ground like concrete fortresses.

“Yeah... seems like the sorcerers have invested quite a bit of energy cloaking the entire place from the outside.”

“They know we're coming, and they don't want anyone interrupting us.”

“Well then, let's knock.”

Karon reached down into himself, into the swirling vortex of memories that belonged to the souls he had eaten. It was a maelstrom of emotions, thoughts and impressions from worlds and dimensions all over creation. And memories carried power.

Karon felt giddy with the energy that coursed through him, setting every cell in his body on fire, and making his hands shake like they were struggling to hold back a tidal wave.

“Trix,” Karon asked, his voice carrying echoes of other voices.

“Yes?” she asked with wide eyes.

Karon turned to her, his amber eyes burning with the restrained power, trashing against his will, yearning to be released.

“When we get inside, keep behind me, both of you. I will try and distract or stun them, and you will have to rush them once that happens. If even one of them manage to focus on you, you're screwed.”

Both the unicorns nodded somberly, and Karon turned his eyes towards the complex. He reached for the web that connected the sorcerers, felt it shiver at his presence, and then he grasped it with his mind.

“Knock, knock,” Karon grinned, then released the energy.

It didn't strike against the web with a force that sought to shear or rupture it. No, Karon would have had to summon all his power just to make a crack in that construct. Instead, it flooded the web, the network that connected the sorcerer's minds, combining their power, and granting dominion over the mundane humans they had hooked into it.

The memories Karon had drawn from rushed into it in a tidal wave of love, pain, excitement, days of childhood and discovery, anxiousness and terror. The power of the lives that were contained within the souls Karon had devoured crackled throughout all the minds within the web, and it all hit them at the same time. Memories spanning combined centuries, all experienced within a few seconds.

A chorus of screams rose from the buildings, hundreds of voices wailing as they were assailed with memories not their own. And then, abruptly, the voices died out.

Karon panted, and wiped away the thin sheet of sweat that had gathered on his brow. The sorcerers wouldn't allow themselves to be overcome with the flood Karon had unleashed upon them—they would have too much discipline and experience for that. However, in the face of such power, of such intensity and just sheer amount of impressions, they would have no choice but to disconnect themselves from the web.

But the regular people they had enslaved would have no such opportunity. They would be overcome by the memories Karon had forced upon them, and, unable to cope, they would shut down.

In the silence that followed the screams, Karon couldn't hear anything, but he could well enough imagine how hundreds of people collapsed into unconsciousness.

“Well, that takes care of their little army.”

“The sorcerers are far more dangerous. We'll need to face them now before they come out and catch us in the open.”

“Just remember the real plan.”

“What did you just do?” Lyra asked, staring up towards the buildings that just moments ago had been filled with screams.

“Took care of the people inside, they won't be supporting the sorcerers now. And that web of theirs is out of the game for the moment,” Karon told her with a smile.

“Okay... that's good,” she said, and audibly swallowed.

“You ready?” Karon asked.

“Yeah, close in on the ones you stun while you keep the others distracted,” Lyra said and stomped her hoof nervously.

Karon nodded, then smiled. “Let's go, then.”

The three companions started jogging towards the building, passing around it without being harassed, until they came around and entered into the courtyard. It was completely empty, a deathly silence filling the air, so profound it seemed to be almost sucking in all sounds.

Karon narrowed his eyes suspiciously and looked up towards the hundreds of windows that opened up to the courtyard. Any one of them could be a viable spot to launch a surprise attack.

The trio walked slowly, their back turned to each other while they moved circularly, keeping an eye out for any sign of movement or a flash of energy. However, despite the obvious advantage it would grant the sorcerers, nothing happened.

When they reached the entrance Karon and Trixie had been led through before, Karon halted and turned to the two unicorns. “Tight space will work better for us. Just keep behind me, and I'll charge past any sorcerer I managed to hit hard and leave them to you.”

“Karon,” Trixie said in a worried tone. “If they get pressed hard enough, they might not think about casualties of the regular people inside.”

“I know, Trix. That's why we have to move fast.”

The unicorn nodded, and with a deep breath, Karon yanked the door open and rushed inside. The hallway lights flickered uncertainly, most likely disrupted by the overflow of energy still crackling through the sorcerer's web. Like a string pulled that kept on vibrating.

“And we need to keep that going if the plan is going to work.”

His head twitched upwards when the sound of footsteps echoed down the stairwell. Throwing out his senses, Karon felt the presence of one—no, two—sorcerers running down the stairs towards them. They were three flights above the ground floor, and would arrive to greet the intruders in seconds.

“Two incoming,” Karon told the others.

There was no point to stealth. Even without the web to enhance their abilities and grant them supreme awareness of everything going on in the complex, the sorcerers were still talented and powerful, and would sense Karon's and the others presence as readily as he did theirs.

In the brief seconds Karon had to prepare, he turned his attention inwards, drawing on more of the power stored within his center, the heart of his soul. There was still plenty to draw from, despite his earlier trick rendering the civilians unconscious.

Even so, his bones felt hollow, and there was a feeling of weariness in his flesh, as if his heart was forced to pump syrup rather than blood. He had never tried to use as much of his energy as he would now, not when he was powered with the force of the devoured souls. The consequences were unknown.

“So, unknown possibly horrible result of using too much of my power while confronting an entire cabal of dangerous sorcerers, backed up only by a couple of pissed-off ponies without any real offensive capabilities? We're outmatched, outgunned and, honestly, dressed like a slob.

“Fuck yeah, I live for this shit, son!”

The running footsteps grew louder, until Karon saw the feet of the sorcerers appear at the top of the stairs, and in a moment the rest of them became visible as they practically threw themselves down the steps.

Karon had stood completely still, waiting for them to reach the ground floor, then he rushed forward, a cackling high-pitched laugh his only cry of battle.

The first sorcerer was dressed in the same dark coat and black pants that all the others sorcerers, barring Markus, had been wearing. His brown eyes grew wide when the cackling trickster came flying towards him, and he raised his hand to meet him, a light blue cloud of energy gathering in his palm.

Karon ran straight towards the man, eyes burning with a maddened glow. Then he vanished. It was just a split second, but the surprise of the sorcerer as he was forced to change his perception from what his eyes told him, to what his trained mystical senses said the trickster was located, was enough.

The sorcerer had been focusing entirely on the trickster, and had failed to pay any attention to the two unicorns following right behind him. It was a split second, where the sorcerer was focused on finding Karon, before he became aware that there were two equines charging straight at him.

It was enough. Before the sorcerer could change his target and launch the bolt towards the new threat, Trixie's horn caught him in the stomach, making the man crumple over her with a high-pitched squeal of denial. Behind Trixie, Lyra spun on her front hooves and came around, raising her hind legs and kicking both of them right into the mans head. There was a loud crack at the impact.

While the ponies had dealt with the front sorcerer, Karon had appeared behind him, right in front of the other one. He had a red-dyed mop of hair and beard, a color so stark it almost shone. Pale blue eyes snapped to the trickster, and with impressive reflexes, the sorcerer didn't bother trying to raise his hands, knowing he didn't have the time. Instead his right foot launched out in a stomping heel kick, catching the trickster in his upper left thigh.

Karon's laughter ended in a loud “GAH!” sound as his left leg was thrown backwards, and he landed on the ground hard, his teeth rattling as his jaw struck the stone floor. He rolled unto his back, and got a clear view of the sorcerer raising his leg again to stomp down on his head.

Before the sorcerer could complete the movement, Karon reached up with his hands and grasped the mans ankle. Electricity spark with a loud screeching sound, and the mans body shook with the power that tore through him. With a final spasm, the man fell back on the stairs, the smell of burnt hair rising from his corpse.

“Woo!” Karon shouted, getting up on his feet and rubbing his jaw tenderly.

Trixie and Lyra walked up to him, blood trailing down the formers horn, drops of it catching her muzzle. She stared up at him with a stony expression, while behind her, Lyra was looking down on the two corpses with a slightly more greenish cast to her face than usual.

“Hah! Order up, we've got one crispy dude here with a raw mangled one on the side!” Karon screamed up into the stairwell. There was no answer.

“Where are they?” Trixie asked in an emotionless voice.

Karon reached out with his senses. The entire complex was crawling with the dull, unconscious minds belonging to the normal people the sorcerers had enslaved, but the masters themselves burned brightly with gathered power.

“They're on the fifth floor, six in all. I think that's the rest of the entire cabal.”

“Why would they send these two down by themselves, then?” Lyra asked.

Karon shrugged. “No idea. Maybe they were just lowly members best served as cannon fodder. Maybe they just wanted to test how well we'd do against them.”

Trixie looked at the corpses, then shrugged as well. “Scouts, most likely. If they can't use that web anymore than they probably wanted someone to investigate in person. Besides, maybe they didn't think we'd attack them outright without even attempting to negotiate.”

Karon grinned. “Good for us, then. Two easy kills, only six more to go.”

“I wonder if we might actually manage this without the plan.”

“No chance. Two grunts we can handle, but Markus alone would be too much, and with him backed up by five more, we'd be screwed. But we still need to cause some damage before going down.”

“As long as the assumption that they want us alive holds, yeah, sure.”

“Don't be so pessimistic.”

“Come on,” Karon said, cracking his neck.

The trickster started up the stairs at a jog while the two unicorns followed close behind, their hooves clattering against the stone loudly. They ascended steadily, never once assailed by wards or other invisible sorcery meant to hinder their advance.

“That means they're preparing something for when we reach them.”

“Any other brilliantly obvious advice?”

“Maybe if you took a bath more often our hair wouldn't look like a dead bird is clinging to our skull.”

With a final step, Karon arrived at the fifth floor. Two hallways led down to the right and left, each of them filled with lines of dark brown wooden doors, and light beige painted walls. Trixie and Lyra came up to stand at either his side, and when Karon stretched out his senses, he felt the presence of three sorcerers on each side.

“Well, there goes that strategy.”

“Trix, Lyra. We've got three of them on the left and three on the right.”

“You can't cover us in two directions at once,” Trixie told, her voice calm and her eyes taking in everything around them in a cold, calculating manner.

“What do we do?” Lyra asked nervously, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof.

Karon twisted his mouth, then he looked to his right, where the stairwell kept on going further up. “If you two remain on the stairs there with the wall covering you, you can wait for the sorcerers to appear, and you might be able to hit them before they've got a chance to do anything.”

“Karon, they can use magic that isn't stopped by an ordinary wall,” Trixie noted dryly.

The trickster grimaced. “It's all I got, Trix. You've got no magic, and I can't cover you and attack the other group at the same time.”

“Why don't we just keep going, force them to come after us?” Lyra asked. “If they're waiting like this, doesn't that mean they've probably laid a trap? Isn't it smart getting away from them?”

“We're the ones that need to kill them,” Karon told her. “And they know it. They've got no rush, so they can just wait until the web is usable again and the regular people wake up, then send an entire army after us.”

Lyra nodded in understanding, but with a sour look on her face. “So we hold here, waiting for any of the sorcerers to come along and jump them?”

“Yeah, that's the plan. If it goes badly, just run and don't look back.”

Lyra nodded, and walked up a few step on the stairs, then hunched down, looking ready to leap forward at any moment. Trixie looked at her with one eyebrow raised, then turned to Karon.

“Don't die on me,” she told him sternly.

He grinned. “Likewise, blue one.”

She punched him in the midriff. “Don't try and sass me. I'll be fine, I've been through far worse than this.”

Karon reached down and scratched her behind an ear, to which she looked both annoyed and pleased at the same time. Then, without any further words, they both turned around, Trixie taking position next to Lyra, and Karon taking a left and walking down the corridor.

He could feel Markus' presence, standing out very clearly as the most powerful of the six. He walked almost all the way down the corridor, until it opened up unto another hallway leading left again—where Markus stood, waiting.

He was positioned in the middle of the corridor, with two closed doors flanking him at left and right, within which Karon could sense the presence of the other two sorcerers.

“You have any last words?” Karon asked him with a grin.

Markus raised both his eyebrows. “Do you?”

The trickster snorted, cracking his fingers and letting lightning run in small tendrils between them. A static buzz rising as the energy charged.

The two men observed one another, then, Karon raised his right hand, and a bolt of lightning shot out from it and struck the sorcerer. It was absorbed harmlessly against a purple bubble of protective energy that shimmered as the electrical currents ran through it, then disappeared harmlessly.

“Since your female bodyguard was a lot more impressive, I regret to inform you, trickster, that you too, hit like a girl,” Markus smirked.

“Oh, you cocky motherfucker.”

“There's a difference between fists and magic,” Karon said irritably.

Markus raised one eyebrow. “Oh, you're right about that.”

The sorcerer threw both hands forward, and a shock wave rippled through the floor, charging straight at Karon. It shattered the stone plates covering the concrete underneath, sending thousand of shards flying in its wake.

“Oh, shit!”

Karon ripped the closest door on his right open, throwing himself inside and covering his face with his arms. He heard the thunder as the shock wave passed him by and struck the wall at the far end of the corridor, smashing it into pieces. Small shards of the tiles rained in through the open door and landed on Karon. The miniature blades cut into his hands, opening a dozen tiny cuts.

“Okay, trickster time.”

Karon rose to his legs, then cleared his throat, and started wailing. His screams cut through the air, and he injected as much pain and torment into the sound as possible. He held up his hands to his eyes, pressing them against his face while blood flowed through the cuts.

Staggering out into the corridor, he slipped on the shards and slammed into the opposite wall, never once stopping his desperate wailing.

He couldn't hear Markus sigh, but he could feel the mental command he sent to the underlings flanking his sides. “Go get him, we don't need his eyes anyway.”

Resisting the urge to smile, and projecting as much torment as possible, Karon kept up the performance. He heard the careful footsteps as the two sorcerers came out from their hiding and went down the corridor, careful where they stepped.

When they got close enough, Karon wailing suddenly stopped, and with a nasty grin, he drew from the power he possessed and lashed out. The telekinetic blast caught the thousands of shards littering the floor, sending them spinning towards the two sorcerers.

Neither had the chance to react as their bodies were pierced by hundreds of the jagged blades, sinking into them with a squelching sound. Blood trickled out in tiny streams as they staggered, then sagged down to the floor.

Markus roared in anger, and Karon dashed forward, grabbing one of the larger shards on his way, then threw it towards the sorcerer. The sorcerer merely took a step to the side, allowing the spinning blade to pass him by and clatter to the floor harmlessly.

“Enough!” he roared, then clapped both his hands.

The force struck Karon and sent him spinning through the air, but before he could land on the floor, Markus made a quick, yanking motion. Karon was thrown to the left, the force so massive and unfocused, it blasted the wall he hit and shattered it.

The trickster landed on his stomach inside the apartment, concrete dust filling the air. He groaned, and forced his head to turn towards the giant hole in the wall.

Right next to him was another man, dressed in ordinary jeans and a red t-shirt. He was unconscious, as he had been ever since Karon first struck the web. But he was surrounded by a growing pool of blood, originating from his shattered skull, where a big piece of concrete had landed.

Karon closed his eyes for a second, trying to block out the image of the dead man. Then with a snarl, he pushed himself off the floor and limped out the hole he had just been thrown through.

Markus had been approaching the hole, his face twisted with anger, then he caught sight of Karon and stopped. “Enough, trickster! Look behind you!”

Karon did, his left foot protesting against carrying any weight. There, at the far end of the hallway stood three sorcerers, one of them with a bloodied nose, but otherwise unharmed. In front of them, bound in invisible chains holding them aloft in the air, were Trixie and Lyra.

“We've got your companions. Give up and do as you're told, and we wont hurt you more than is necessary,” Markus told him.

Karon's eyes scanned the two unicorns, looking for any outwards signs of damage, but found none. He allowed himself a tiny sigh of relief at that, then turned around to face Markus.

“We've got one more shot here before they'll take us down.”

“Then we better make it a good one.”

The sorcerers felt him gather power, felt the swirling lines of energy being shaped as Karon drew from the power residing within himself. And they answered in turn, channeling their energies to strike at him.

A heartbeat, that was all the time Karon had to focus his power onto a target and shape it. And he did. He gathered all the power he could grasp in that brief moment, then sent it slamming into the sorcerers' web, sending shivers of alien power running along its currents, overloading it even further than before.

The sorcerers' attack hit him a second later, and he didn't try and deflect them. All four had launched a strike against his mind, and when they struck, Karon was sent spinning into the dark of unconsciousness.

                               *********************************************

He awoke with a groan, his head hanging down on his chest and his arms suspended above himself. Karon squeezed his eyes, dispelling the foggy vision and forcing his eyes back into focus.

He was out in the courtyard again, hanging above the ground, suspended a feet into the air. Trixie and Lyra hung in the air beside him, and when he turned to look at them, he saw Markus standing before Trixie, his hands on her head. She was sweating, an agonized expression on her face. There was a similarly agonized expression on Markus face, and Karon understood what he was doing.

He was sorting through her mind, going through her memories and knowledge. Lyra hung on the other side, furthest away from Karon, and was still unconscious.

“No, not still. Look at her face, the dried sweat and the set of her jaw.”

“Markus has already worked on her.”

“To whatever degree he could more than he already had before we rescued her. However, Trix hasn't whatever block Varsif managed to install in Lyra.”

“I know.”

“He'll come for us next.”

“I know.”

Karon turned his eyes to the other five sorcerers, standing gathered a few meters before them, huddling together with displeased faces. He didn't have time to consider what that meant, before Markus groaned audibly and released his hold on Trixie. The sorcerer blinked rapidly, trying to sort through all the information he had absorbed from the unicorn's mind. Then he turned to face Karon.

“Awake? That's unexpected,” he said.

“What can I say? I'm special like that,” Karon told him.

The sorcerer shook his head. “No, this woman, she's special... do you have any idea the things she has seen? The things she has done and endured?”

Karon winced. “She's told me enough.”

Markus laughed. “She's told you nothing. I only skimmed her memory; a lifetime of them is too vast to absorb at once, after all. But what I've gathered from he—”

“You mean stolen,” Karon interrupted.

The sorcerer tilted his head. “You would know about that, wouldn't you. I've seen you as she has, as she looks at you. And it would surprise me if you turn out to be even half as impressive as her. Turns out that there was a special guest coming to visit, but it wasn't you.”

"Oooh! That's gotta hurt."

Karon held his tongue as the sorcerer walked up to stand in front of him, and raised both his hands to grasp the trickster's head.

“What, no friendly banter or villainous exposition first?” Karon asked, his voice quaking slightly.

The sorcerer caught it, and smiled. “I will get all my questions answered whether you wish it or not.”

Without hesitation, the sorcerer grabbed Karon's head, and closed his eyes. In the second before the sorcerer bridged a connection, when he was preparing himself to invade the mind of another, he was blind—and so, didn't notice the trickster's mouth twitch into a smirk.

“Got you!”

                    ********************************************************

Markus watched impassively, the heat of the burning building unable to touch him, despite the fact that he was standing just a few steps away from the flames. His eyes turned upwards, towards the parents, screaming in their final moments.

Then his gaze sought the children, a boy and a girl. It was strange, he thought, that the boy was so unlike the trickster he had encountered, who the boy would eventually become.

“Quite a transformation,” he said to himself.

“I'm gonna take that as a compliment,” a voice responded.

Markus spun around, and found Karon standing behind him, his hands clasped behind his back, and observing his past self with a curiously neutral expression.

“How? You shouldn't be aware of this,” Markus demanded.

Karon gave him a crooked smile. “I'm a trickster, It's my job to find a way around things. And this is my mind, sorcerer.”

“So, you want to keep fighting? You're already beaten, there's no point in denying me the knowledge I seek. It will only mean more pain for you,” Markus declared.

Karon's eyes hardened, and his smile turned into a nasty expression of contempt.

"Pain?" he asked, and walked over to the sorcerer, until their faces almost touched.

The sorcerer didn't back away, and showed no concern when Karon raised his hand to point to the burning building.

“You know nothing of pain,” the trickster whispered.

The scene changed as the world around them—the memory—turned into a blur, and then came into focus as something else.

It was a dark dungeon, and the two of them turned to see Karon bound to a table, a woman running her finger on his naked, blood-smeared body. She was looking down on him with a tender smile, and she pouted whenever he let out a pained groan.

“Interesting,” the sorcerer remarked. “But what is this supposed to accomplish?”

“This is where my real pain began. And I wanted you to understand that there's nothing you can do that could measure up to what I have endured. They say a broken bone that heals is made stronger; and sorcerer, I have been broken so many times you couldn't fathom what is needed to even scratch me nowadays.”

Markus smirked. “Oh, then perhaps we should pay our attention to your companions, instead. I wonder if maybe seeing them in pain will be enough to... 'scratch you'.”

Karon met the sorcerer's smirk with one of his own. “Things have changed, sorcerer.”

“Explain, if you please,” Markus asked in a polite tone.

“Focus on your body's perception, allow some of the outside sound to drift in here... if you please,” Karon told him with a tone mocking the sorcerer's own.

With a frown, Markus made a waving motion with his hand, and a distant sound rose from their surroundings, while the sound contained within the memory they were viewing dampened. The distant sound rose in volume, until eventually, they could make out what it was.

Screaming.

                             **********************************************

“Ugh, how much longer is he going to take?” one of the sorcerers, a man with short-cropped brown hair, asked.

Marie turned to him irritably. “Could you please shut up and stop complaining? Markus will be done whenever he's done.”

The sorcerer rubbed his forehead with a wince. “Damn that trickster. I don't care what Markus says, we should kill him right here and now.”

“He's got valuable information,” another of the sorcerers, a woman with waist-length hair dyed a midnight black said.

“I don't care about that!” the man snarled. “My head feels like it's going to explode with what the trickster did to our web. It's going to take days before it settles down, and until it does we're practically blind. God himself could appear just outside our doors without us sensing it.”

“No such luck, I'm afraid,” a gruff voice spoke from the dark. “He's a lot more merciful than I.”

The five sorcerers spun around, just as an old man with long white hair and beard stepped into the light shining down from the windows. He was dressed in a fur coat covering him from throat to toe, and in his right hand there was a mug, which he lifted to his lips and took a swig from.

Marie narrowed her eyes, forcing her senses to stretch through the cacophony of the surrounding web. It was like trying to hear a whisper over the sound of a gong being struck right next to your ears—but she managed, and her eyes widened in fear.

The old man was blazing with power, like a second sun appearing in the night sky, and the very ground he walked on seemed to shiver at his presence.

“Who are you?” she croaked.

The old man smiled, and brought the mug down from his lips.

“Varsif,” he simply stated.

All five sorcerers instinctively took a step back, a collective hiss rising from their ranks. Marie was the first to act, and she threw her arms out wide, her mind stretching into the web. But she didn't try and command it like they had always done, no, she simply grasped the construct in its entirety, taking hold of the strings binding it together, then slammed all her power into it, forcing a crack.

Her power wasn't enough to break it, and that wasn't her intention, either. No, she simply damaged it, and fissures soon began spreading throughout the web.

“Hold!” she screamed to the other sorcerers, then fell down on one knee, coughing violently from forcing herself to perform such a raw channeling of her energies. When it ended, she rose up and wiped her mouth, staring at the wizard with a baleful look.

“You feel that!? I just made a crack in the web surrounding this complex, and if anyone tries and channel any additional energy within, if anyone here tries to perform magic, it's gonna send the whole thing into hell. You can't hurt us, wizard, it doesn't matter how powerful you are; if you try anything now it's gonna cause a chain reaction and annihilate everything here... including all those innocent people.”

The wizard chuckled, and shook his head. “Sorcerers, always so predictable.”

A confused expression spread over Marie's face as she stared at the wizard, as they all stared at the wizard—never once looking up.

Promise descended silently, her wings spread out completely as she glided down from the roof. Her eyes were focused on her prey, dagger-claws twitching in anticipation. Marie was the one she had homed in on, as she stood in the middle of the five sorcerers, lined up so neatly to face the wizard.

The woman screamed as the dagger-claws buried themselves into her neck, ten razor sharp blades parting flesh and bone aside with equal ease as Promise's entire weight pushed down on her. The scream ended when the former spirit yanked her hands to either side, blood spraying with the movements and staining the sorcerers as Marie's torso was shredded.

The one closest to her from the left raised both his hands, but the blue-haired woman behind him shouted, “No magic!”

The man's eyes widened in realization, then in pain as Promise slashed at his abdomen, opening up a wound from which his entrails spilled out, and fell to the ground with a wet splash. The man went down of both knees, then reached out with shaking hands to grasp at his own entrails.

With a casual flick of her hand, Promise slashed the man's throat open, and he slumped to the ground with a gurgle.

The three remaining sorcerers screamed in fear, and turned to run. With a shriek of fury Promise spread out her wings and threw herself after the blue haired sorceresses. She flew through the air and landed on the back of her prey, digging her dagger-claws into the woman's sides.

The sorceresses landed on her stomach, spraying blood from her mouth in a whimper of denial. Promise pushed her hands in deeper, seeking the woman's heart. With a twist of her wrist, she reached it, and the woman fell silent, then her body went limp.

Promise jerked her head around, and saw that the other two sorcerers had almost managed to escape the courtyard, and with a shriek of rage she spread her wings, and set off after them.

Varsif hadn't moved during the fight, and watched while Promise chased the remaining pair of sorcerers, an amused expression on his face. Then he brought his mug up to his lips, and took a hearty swig.

                        ***************************************************

“What's happening?” Markus roared.

Karon laughed. “You're an idiot, sorcerer. I'm a trickster, and I don't blindly charge into battle without a plan. I'm not a warrior, I didn't come here as a fighter—I came here as a distraction.”

“For what?”

Karon grinned. “Not what, who. His name is Varsif. Maybe you've heard of him?”

The sorcerer paled, the screams of his fellows sounding throughout their minds, and then, everything went silent.

“Well, that was quick.” Karon sounded disappointed.

“No, no, this isn't right,” Markus whispered.

Karon's grin twisted, and something dark appeared in his gaze. This was the plan, to divide the sorcerers, give Varsif an opportunity to teleport in while the web was out of the game, and they wouldn't be able to detect his arrival. To lure Markus into the trickster's mind, where he would be forced to listen to the other sorcerers dying. Shattering his concentration.

Breaking his will.

Karon struck out with his hands, grabbing the sorcerer's head and forcing him to stare into the trickster's eyes.

“You know nothing of pain, and you know nothing of hunger. Let me teach you!” he shouted.

The world fell into a blur once more, and then the two of them stood standing in a dark space. There was a single light hanging over them, an orange wellspring of energy that shone brightly. However, within the light there were dark, ugly, gaping wounds.

“You wanted to see what there was inside of me! Here it is,” Karon screamed, then threw the sorcerer towards the heart of his soul.

The yawning, empty wounds sensed his presence, and reached out for him. The sorcerer wailed in agony as the heart tore into him in a frenzy.

The sorcerer dissolved into a ball of gray and yellow light, and then, it was sucked into the wounds, which absorbed—no, digested, Markus' soul.

Karon staggered, the force he felt growing within himself beating like a second heart, pressing its knowledge, memories and dreams upon him.

With a push of his will, Karon forced himself to wake.

                         *****************************************************

The sun had just started rising, and Karon breathed in the scent of the pine trees and flora wakening up to the coming spring. The few remaining scatters of snow added a cold sting to the wind carrying the scents, and it bit the trickster's skin in an almost tender sensation.

“At least it smells nice. Your home, that is,” Trixie said, walking up to stand beside him. She was in human shape once again, wearing the blue robe covering her armor, and her sword hung in its scabbard at her side.

They were standing in the glade surrounding Varsif's home, alone, for the time being. Lyra was inside, reacquainting herself with the pile of junk she called her own, and the old wizard himself was busy still in London, cleaning up the mess the sorcerer's gruesome ending had left. Of Promise, there was little sign, but Varsif had assured him that he had her under watch, but that she needed some time alone still, and would return on her own.

“No, you were right all along,” Karon replied, a forlorn expression on his face.

“I usually am. No idea what you're referring to this time, though.” The corners of the woman's mouth twitched.

“This isn't my home, not really. It was Erik's home, and the magician's—but not mine. It was just... nostalgia. A last echo of my old self reaching out, I think. But it's gone now, and I can see clearly.”

“And what do you see?” she asked quietly.

Karon raised his eyes towards the blue sky, white clouds passing them by, lit up in fiery explosions of orange and red from the rising sun.

“A starlit path, leading to my real home. The home of Mendax Karon Bellum, and whatever is waiting beyond.”

“Since when did you become so poetic?” Trixie smirked.

Karon grinned, then put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “What? Haven't I always been a romantic at heart?”

She snorted. “Sorcerers, curses and sports bras. Yeah, you definitely know how to show a girl a good time.”

Karon kissed her head and leaned in close to her ear. “Right... doesn't it just turn you on?” he whispered.

Trixie let out a sound between a giggle and snort. Karon turned his head around towards the house, then fixed his gaze on Trixie with a mischievous look in his eyes.

“You know, if we kick Lyra out of the house, we'll have it all to ourselves. It'll be hours until Varsif gets back,” he said archly.

The armor did much to hide the shiver that passed through her, but Karon noticed the hungry glint that flared in her eyes. With a grin, Karon took her hand into his, and started leading her towards the cabin.

He understood hunger, after all, and how important it was to sate it.

                            **************************************************

Varsif sat down on the bench with a grunt, brushing his hands on his knees before pulling out his beloved mug, and pulling a deep swig from it. He smacked his lips and sighed in content as he leaned backwards. The sun was just barely showing its presence, a slight streak of blue and purple grazing the horizon, heralding the arrival of dawn. It had taken most of the remaining night to clean up after the fight, but he had managed before the ordinary people had regained consciousness.

A man walked up from behind the bench and sat down, his presence somehow having went unnoticed, despite that the park consisted of mostly open fields of grass. He was dressed in beige pants and a white t-shirt with sneakers of the same color. His hair was short and the color of newly-fallen snow, as was the neatly-cut beard. Gray eyes turned to the wizard for a moment, then towards the horizon.

They sat in silence, minutes turning into hours as they watched the sun rise into the sky. Until eventually, as more and more people were seen walking through the park, and the increasing noise announced that city was wide awake, Varsif spoke up.

“I hope the whelp hasn't caused too much trouble out there.”

The man smiled, and shook his head slowly. “No more than could be expected. He is quite conservative, actually, considering what he's been through. Most of his kind would have done worse, I believe.”

The wizard grunted. “That's a good sign. But I don't know if it'll be enough. He's always been brash and impulsive, and his change into a trickster doesn't surprise me; though that it came from the scheming of that god does worry me.”

The visage of the angel darkened for a moment. “Yes. The meddling of Loke was something none of us took into account. It was unexpected, but that fits well into how he does things.”

“I should tell him,” the wizard growled. “Erik turning into a trickster is one thing, even if it was at the hands of Loke... but shouldering the mantle of the Karon at the same time—”

“He chose the path. He needs to realize why he did so if he's to succeed.”

“But Loke—”

“The schemes of the trickster god has been set in motion. His patronage of the Karon will stand. As to what he will do with it, and why he wanted it... that remains to be seen.”

“Most likely the thought of meddling in such a dangerous path tickles his fancy,” the wizard spat. “I should be allowed to reveal something to the boy.”

The angel shook his head, harder this time. “No. You will tell him nothing further. There's been enough revelations for the time being. Anything more will just confuse him, and should everything be revealed to him, it would prove disastrous. Giving him a sense of control—making him think he knows what he's fighting—would lead to his undoing.”

“So he's just supposed to fight blind?" Varsif grumbled in exasperation. "Have you heard his complete name? The title he's gained?”

The angel sighed deeply. “Of course. It means he will have to learn the hard way; but he's a trickster, and despite that unexpected turn of events, it might prove to Karon's advantage. Had he grown into any other nature, be it warrior or priest... or wizard, he might have found himself playing a game unfamiliar to him. But a trickster is well suited for the shadows and deceit his destiny will take him through.”

The wizard grunted, then looked down on the ground sadly. “He's not coming back, is he?”

“To Earth? No, he's leaving for good this time. He's just realized it.”

“He's cutting his old ties, then? Good for the boy, growing up finally, leaving old ghosts to be buried in the past.”

“You won't be seeing him again, you understand that?”

The wizard nodded. “I do. Better make sure my last words count for something, then.”

The angel smiled, and looked at the old man with eyes that had seen uncountable ages pass by. “I'm sure you'll think of something.”

                   *****************************************************

Karon pulled his old well-worn boots on with a languid smile, then straightened his back and pulled his red robe over his head, letting it settle across his body in a snug fit. Next to him, Trixie was just buckling her sword to her belt, and the smooth smell of newly-oiled metal hung in the air.

Lyra's bed was a complete mess, and one of the legs it was standing on had cracked, leaving it tilted at an odd angle, leaving the top bunk dangerously close to tipping the whole thing over.

“So, when are we leaving?” Trixie asked while stretching her arms.

Karon shrugged. “Need to have a few words with Varsif first, and obviously Promise needs to come back. Lyra will be furious if we leave without saying goodbye, too.”

Trixie nodded. “No rush.”

The two of them went out the door into the afternoon sun, and when the sound of their footsteps sounded through the glade, Lyra turned her head and rose from the blanket she'd been sitting on. She dropped the book she had in her hands, and asked dryly, “Are you two done defiling my bed, then?”

Karon flashed her a smile. “Yes, though I would be careful around it if I were you—it's kinda unstable right now.”

“What?” Lyra deadpanned, then rushed inside the cabin. Soon, an angry shriek sounded from inside, followed by a lot of swearing.

“I think you just negated whatever good graces you earned by saving her,” Trixie noted smugly.

“Hey, you did at least half of the work, too,” he protested.

“Rescuing her, or what we just did?”

“Rescuing her. What we just did was more like seventy percent your work.”

She grinned, but otherwise remained silent. They laid down on the blanket Lyra had left behind, turning onto their backs and staring up at the sky.

“Karon?” Trixie asked sadly, breaking the silence.

“What?”

A pause. “Can I trust you?”

Karon grimaced, but held his tongue, thinking it over for a long minute.

“Honestly, Trix, I don't know if I should be trusted. For better or worse, I'm a trickster—it's my nature to deceive and lie.”

“You make it sound like you have no choice.”

Karon frowned, his mouth opening and closing several times before words finally came out. “I can't explain it, Trix. It's more like... it feels right. It comes so fluidly, so naturally, to trick someone else and deceive them, to work the rules and beat them at their own games. That's when I feel most at home... like I am myself.”

“So, I shouldn't trust you?” she asked.

Karon sighed. “I don't know.”

Trixie turned over, and when Karon moved his head to look at her, he saw that she was wearing a grin stretching from ear to ear.

“What?” he asked.

“I can trust you,” she said confidently.

“How do you figure?”

“Well, you were honest just a moment ago, doing your best to try and answer me truthfully about yourself.”

Karon blinked.

“Did... did she just trick us?”

“Holy fuck, she did.”

The expression on the trickster's face became alarmed. Trixie saw it, and her grin turned into a smug smile. “Karon, you might be a trickster, and know how to play the game, but I...” she leaned in close and kissed him, “I am a woman.”

Karon's eyes remained wide and terrified. “I never really had a chance, did I?” he asked.

Trixie chuckled. “None whatsoever.”

Karon stared at her, then relaxed, and pulled her in closer.

“I guess I can live with that.”

                     ****************************************************

The smell of grilled meat, potatoes and vegetables permeated the air. Varsif had returned a little more than an hour ago, announcing that he had cleaned up the sorcerers' mess, and that he was starving. Not long after, he was standing in front of a grill covered in sizzling meat.

While Karon and Lyra had prepared the table inside, Trixie had been keeping the wizard company, the two of them exchanging tales of adventure, and the thickheaded ways of Karon.

The food was ready as the sun was setting, and flies were starting to fill the outside glade in hungry swarms, forcing the humans to retreat inside. They sat down at the table, and with a grunt from Varsif, started filling their wooden plates with food.

The dinner passed on mostly in silence, interrupted only by the sounds of chewing and metal knives cutting on wood. As the food dwindled down, and the pace they were eating at slowed, Lyra leaned back in her chair and rubbed her stomach.

“Ohh, that was good,” she moaned.

“I can see that,” Karon told her with a smile.

She flashed him a wicked smile. “Well, at least I have the good manners not to sully some innocents girl's bed with his—”

“Okay, maybe you should eat some more,” Karon cut her off quickly.

Varsif gave a rumbling chuckle. “Might as well get rid of it, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Karon asked.

Varsif flashed Lyra a questioning look, then raised his brows. “Ah, you haven't asked him yet.”

“Asked what?” Karon's eyes shifted between the two.

Lyra rubbed her neck and looked faintly embarrassed. “Well... thing is, I've kinda seen a lot here already. I mean, I've tried out being human, and I've discovered and learned so much but... I'm... I'm...” she stammered.

“Bored? Lonely? Tired of the people on this planet? Reality not living up to the fantasy?” Karon helped.

“Yeah, I mean... yeah, kinda all of it,” she admitted with a blush.

“So, humans weren't all you've made them out to be huh?” Karon asked.

“Shut up! It's been great, but I don't feel like I belong here, I'll never be human, not like these people, no matter how hard I try.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Karon asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin, which also helped to hide his knowing smile.

“I was kinda hoping that, maybe... you'd let me go with you?” she asked carefully, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

Karon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, then raised a finger as if to bring up a valid point.

“Ignore him,” Trixie interrupted. “You can come with us; he's just trying to play with you,” she told Lyra, then turned her nose up at Karon.

Karon looked at her glumly. “You could have let me string her along for a minute, at least.”

Lyra threw a piece of carrot at him.

Varsif observed the proceedings with a smile, then turned his face towards the door, and frowned. “Karon,” he said, then nodded towards the entrance.

The trickster turned his head, as did they all when the sound of footsteps could be heard from the outside porch. The door opened, and Promise walked through, her wings folded tightly against her back to allow her passage through the frame.

Karon swallowed, then rose from his chair. “Do you want to talk?” he asked.

She nodded, and Karon motioned her to go outside. He followed after her, and together they walked onto the glade, Promise with an unreadable expression, Karon with an annoyed one as he tried to swat the flies that immediately assailed him.

They stopped when they had gone far enough that their voices wouldn't drift to the inside of the cabin. They stood facing each other, a mere step away, and despite the darkness Karon had no trouble seeing the conflicted expression Promise's face fell into.

“Master—” she began, but Karon held up a hand to stop her.

“First, I want to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you drag up those memories. You shouldn't even have to carry them in the first place.”

Her lips started trembling, and Promise nodded, then sniffed loudly. “It hurts... everything hurts. Inside, outside... and it doesn't stop,” she said, her voice cracking.

Karon grimaced, and shifted his weight uncertainly. “What happened, after...?”

Promise groaned, then tapped her head gently with the flat side of a dagger-claw. “She's still inside, but gone, too... like, a piece of her is stuck, or wants to be stuck. And I can't get it out.”

He reached out with his arms and embraced Promise, pulling her against his chest, and started stroking her hair. “It's going to be alright,” he soothed.

“Don't lie to me, master,” she told him weakly.

“If you can't get her out, then bring her to the surface again,” he said, and felt her stiffen at his words.

“No,” she tried to protest.

“Promise, if she's lodged into your mind, it's because she wants to stay. It's just a memory; an echo of the soul that possessed the body that is now yours. Dolor gave you that body, and if some residue of her is still haunting it, then it's for some reason. Let her speak, and I'll do whatever it takes to convince her to leave.”

“Do you promise I won't... disappear? That you don't want her to stay and me to go?” she sobbed.

It was like being stabbed in the chest with an icicle.

“Ah, that explains her mood swings. Well, besides that whole icky period business.”

“She thinks I want to replace her with Dolor.”

“It's not like the idea isn't without merit. You loved Dolor, really loved her, and you've kinda taken Promise for granted and treated her... ehh, not so good, sometimes.”

Karon squeezed the woman hard, careful not to break the delicate bones that made up her wings, then brought her out in front of him, looking straight into her deep blue eyes. “I would never abandon you. Never. Dolor is dead, and you're alive; and if I have to choose between her and you, then that is the way I prefer it.”

Promise's smile was radiant, and the hiccup that followed only helped in the endearing image. “Do you promise?”

Karon quirked an eyebrow. “Are you trying to lead me into a pun of some kind?”

Promise wiped her nose and looked at him awkwardly. “I don't know what that is.”

Lifting his hand up to stroke her hair, Karon only shook his head. “Never mind. Yes, I promise I won't let Dolor take you. I'll go inside your mind and kick her out personally, if I have to.”

Promise leaned into his chest, and whispered, “Thank you.”

“So... whenever you're ready, you can—”

“Already done, my sweet,” Promise's voice purred, and she pulled back her head to reveal orange, red-streaked eyes looking up at him with amusement.

Karon's face hardened. “Why are you hurting her?”

She sighed. “I'm not doing it intentionally, the poor girl just doesn't know how to handle heartbreak. The memories that remain of me are fleeting, but the emotions... oh, the things you made me feel, my sweet, sweet Mendax. They're burned into me, and the girl is just experiencing some splashes I can't contain.”

“What you felt for me wasn't real love, I can see that now. It was desperation; an attempt to flee from your own pain by making me share it,” Karon said bitterly.

Dolor tilted her head. “So, you never loved me?”

The trickster closed his eyes. “Yes, I did... and I still do.”

Dolor looked at him with something approaching pity. “My sweet Mendax, you think I didn't love you for real? I can prove it.”

Karon snorted. “How?”

She drew a dagger-claw down his chest slowly, tracing lines across his chest, just like she used to once upon a time, while painting patterns on his blood-covered body.

“You were right. I tried to break you, deny you what you were and make you my own. Something to play with... to distract myself with, as you said. But then... you fell in love with me.”

“You made me love you.”

She shook her head. “No one can do that with true love. Timor thought he loved me, but it was only fear that drove him.”

“It was pain that made me love you, because you took everything else away.”

“In the beginning!” she said sharply. “But then, you started to think, to feel outside what I tried to make you into. You didn't break, you just forgot for a time... and when you started growing into yourself again, you didn't stop loving me.”

“You still haven't said anything that makes me believe you,” Karon told her.

Dolor looked up at him, eyes shimmering. “Karon, when you finally became like us, it should have ended you. It should have shaped you into something else entirely, but instead... you remained Karon. When father proclaimed you remained yourself, and I had succeeded only in making your grow into something... more... that was the moment I realized you would kill me.”

Karon blinked.

“I tasted the destiny of Karon the moment we met, and I knew it was a grand one, filled with darkness and pain, a path that led far beyond our forest. When you refused to break, and held to yourself despite that I had done everything I could to change you, I knew that you would leave our forest, that you still had a destiny waiting for you.”

“Dolor—”

“Shhhh, I'm not finished,” she said, holding a dagger-claw up to his lips. “I knew you would leave, but I also knew you loved me—truly loved me. Not like Timor, because he wanted me only so I could keep him safe, to take away the fear he cradled so close. But you... you wanted to save me. You loved me in a way I didn't think anyone could... and it made me feel things, it made me feel what love was supposed to be like.”

Karon held his breath, remaining silent.

“You loved me so much that I knew you would never agree to abandon me, yet the path you were still destined for led away from me. You would never have allowed anyone to hurt me, my sweet, and that left only one...”

She stepped up on her toes, and kissed his lips tenderly. “You, my sweet murderer.”

“You knew,” Karon croaked.

“Yes. And all I did after I realized that, my sweet, was to prepare you. Because you will walk a path of pain without me, and I wanted you to be strong enough to do so. Because—”

“You love me,” Karon finished.

Dolor looked up at him, smiling sadly. “Yes. Now and always, my sweet.”

Karon felt his head growing light, a numbness settling in that worked to keep whatever he was feeling somewhere far away.

“Bu— but you're dead. What am I supposed to do? I can't... I can't just let you hurt Promise like this.”

Dolor leaned into his chest, breathing in his scent deeply.

“You know what you're supposed to do. What remains of me are memories, feelings and thoughts. I am a fragment of my soul, something that broke off to remain, because I couldn't leave you. I want to be closer to you. I want to be closer to you than anyone else you will ever love can be.”

Karon's face drained of all color. “No.”

“You owe me this. Don't deny it.”

He gripped her shoulders to push her away, but she grasped him harder, the razor-sharp dagger-claws leaving shallow marks on his skin.

“If you don't, I will never leave this body. I will remain and torture this creature for the rest of her life.”

“Please, don't make me do this,” Karon begged in a horrified voice.

“Your wanted to save me, my love. But you were right, when we played our first game of riddles and questions; I am broken, and some things can't be saved.”

“Please...”

“You can't save me, my sweet, but you can eat me.”

"No!"

“Do it, or I will squeeze every last drop of suffering the girl is capable of out of her.”

Karon took a shuddering breath, then grasped Dolor's chin, tilting her head up to face him. He stared into her amber eyes, shot through like cracks of blood, then he leaned in and kissed her.

A kiss is a connection, a reaching-out to another person to meet in something intimate. And Karon reached into Promise's body, found the connection to the one he was kissing. It was just a fragment, a splinter of Dolor's soul, shattered from the whole by a longing that could never be fulfilled.

He grasped that fragment, and he felt her reaching into him like he did her. From her presence, the fragility of her being, the weakened state of her emotions, the wounds in Karon's soul stirred.

She didn't resist. She gave in to the hunger grasping for her willingly, and Karon felt her dissolving, slipping, drawn into his wounds and torn apart, until all that was left of Dolor's soul was devoured and absorbed into the core of his being. And in the last moment of that connection, he felt nothing from her but satisfaction.

Karon began to weep, but then felt the lips he was kissing stiffen, then jerk back quickly. He opened his eyes, and found two deep blue orbs staring back at him with awkward confusion.

“Uhm... master?” Promise asked, blinking rapidly.

“Sorry, didn't mean that?” he responded lamely, then raised an arm and wiped the tears from his face.

“What happened?” she asked, then licked her lips. Her brow furrowed in curiosity.

“I took care of it. She's gone, now,” Karon said, forcing a smile to his face.

Promise blinked, but her expression remained thoughtful, almost detached. "Oh, okay... should we go inside?"

“You go ahead. I need some time alone."

Before Promise could respond, Karon turned sharply and walked towards the path leading out from the glades, out into the woods. Promise remained still, looking at the retreating back of the trickster. When he had vanished, she licked her lips slowly, and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards until it split into a grin, then she thrust a hand into the air and squealed victoriously.

                                 ******************************************************

They were all gathered upon a dirt road located a few hours walk away from Varsif's cabin. After dinner, they had spent the remainder of the night making small talk, and generally savoring the peacefulness of the evening. The day thereafter had been spent packing, and helping Lyra sort out what she wished to bring along, and what she was forced to leave.

When the sun was beginning to set, Varsif had led them to the nearest road, where they'd waited for nightfall, and the emergence of a starlit sky that would lead them back home.

When evening finally descended into night, there were few stars visible in the cloudy haze blanketing the sky, but it would be enough. A thickening silence stretched over the group as they all waited for someone to speak up, until Varsif finally lost his patience.

“I'm too old to waste time like this,” he growled, and turned to face Karon.

The trickster gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah, you might drop dead any moment now.”

“We'll see how good you look after six hundred years,” the old man rumbled.

Karon's mouth fell open, to which the wizard started laughing. “Better close that before the flies start pouring in.”

“There's a lot you never told me,” the trickster said quietly.

Varsif grunted in acknowledgment. “Aye, much I never said.”

The old man looked thoughtful, a thousand words and meanings passing through his mind in the blink of an eye, searching. Finally, a scowl crossed his face, and he shook his head angrily. “See you around, kid.”

The wizard turned to leave, a grunt his final word of parting. Karon watched him disappear into the night, his white hair flowing in the breeze, and he smiled sadly.

“Goodbye, teacher. Maybe in another life, I'll do better.”

Trixie walked up next to him, and stared into the dark. “Did you miss something?” she asked.

Karon shook his head, then turned his eyes skyward. It wouldn't take long for him to guide them to the Starlit Path, and he was confident Lyra would appreciate the opportunities their home provided. Although, he wasn't sure what their host would feel about her bringing an assault rifle.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and savored the scents carried upon the wind. This was the last time he would set foot upon this world. It was a return to the start, in a way; the serpent biting its tail as the circle came to a close. When he left Earth, he would be leaving his past behind him. The Starlit Path was calling him, and the future that rested ahead. Destiny was waiting.

With a final breath, Karon turned to the others. “Time to go.”

                                        *********************************************************

The sun was soon to rise as the princesses would trade places, and Equestria was preparing to rise and greet the day. In Canterlot, the city was already awake, the first trickles present that would soon grow into a swelling tide of movement and noise.

Inside a beaten-down cafe, there sat two ponies, one of them an earth pony, his coat a dusky midnight color, and his eyes golden with reptilian slits, marking him as one of the nocturnal guards; only, that wasn't true anymore.

Sitting on the opposite side of the table was a pony cloaked in a garishly yellow and green mantle and hood, effectively masking his appearance in the dim light, but the bulge on his forehead betrayed him as a unicorn. When he spoke, the words came out in a jovial tone. “How goes the preparations?”

“Fine. The army is growing, and there's more and more joining us every day, whether they know it or not,” the earth pony answered in a emotionless voice.

The unicorn smacked his lips. “Excellent. Her plan is coming nicely, then.”

“You ever doubted her?” the earth pony asked with an edge to his voice.

“Of course not, I'm just surprised how fast it's been going. I never thought the end of the world would arrive with such ease.”

“She knows what she's doing,” the former guard grunted.

“Yes, she does indeed. But there's still a few snags in the plan.”

The earth ponies eyes sharpened. “Problems with the elements?”

The unicorn shook his head. “No, no that part is coming along just as nicely as the rest. I was referring to the, how to say... the outside danger.”

“You're talking about Karon,” the earth pony said bluntly.

“That is its name, yes. I'm failing to see why it could pose such a threat, especially since she—”

“Karon is no ordinary creature,” the pony growled. “Don't underestimate him. I've seen him kill hundreds of ponies with the help of some shiny rocks. He will come back to fight us once we begin. She herself has said that this world has marked him as a champion.”

The unicorn smacked his lips again, this time in annoyance. “We'll see just how much of a danger he can truly be. Besides, he alone can hardly defeat an army, and we have you to make sure Equestria will crumble within days, ehh, Dusk Keeper?”

The former nocturnal guard fixed a glare on his compatriot. “Don't act like this is something that brings me pleasure. I do this only because the princesses need to learn; they need to see what others sacrifice so they can remain on their thrones.”

A dry chuckle drifted out from within the hood. “Oh, they will learn, my friend. They will learn.”

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