I came to with a gasp. My throat burned as I sucked in the thick, dust-laden air, nearly gagging on the smell of rot. My ears were ringing, and stars danced across my vision.

How long had I been out? Seconds? Minutes?

Groaning, I pushed myself up onto an elbow and blinked hard, trying to focus my scrambled head. When my vision cleared, I found that the vampire's chamber was in ruins. I had to have been out for a while.

That's when I heard it.

A roar.

Feral and raw.

Filled with pain.

I snapped my head around, trying to find the source. One I knew all too well.

Vral.

She was a blur of green and silver, her body and twin blades carving through the air so fast they left afterimages. Her blades were opening long, deep gouges along its arms. Its chest. Its legs. Black blood sprayed in thick rivers with every cut.

The little goblin was relentless.

The vampire tried to fend her off, its body moving with so much power that the air itself cracked around it, causing waves of dust, stones, and debris to fly in every direction. Despite its overwhelming power, the monster couldn't hit her. It couldn't keep up.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Vral snarled and pressed harder, her movements becoming wilder. Her blades twirled around its arm, sending it falling to the ground.

As its severed limb struck the stone, it crumbled to ash. The problem was, as fast as she carved holes in it, its flesh knitted back together almost as fast. Its arm regenerated in seconds.

"Foolish little slave." The vampire's voice boomed throughout its crypt. "Your kind were created to serve. Do you truly think you have the power to rise against your masters?"

"I'LL TEAR OUT YOUR FUCKING THROAT!" With a wild slash, it opened up the vampire's throat from ear to ear.

After cutting its throat open, the monster let out a wet, gurgling laugh that made my skin crawl. "It seems you've forgotten your place. It seems I must remind you what you are." It lashed out with a wide, arcing slash.

Vral dodged, but only just barely, by leaping into the air and contorting her body around the strike, but the movement was awkward. The instant she touched the ground again, she stumbled backward until her back struck the wall, trapping her between it and the monster.

"Vral!" A beam of light rippled through the air, aimed directly at its head.

Without looking, the vampire raised a hand and caught the magic in its palm. Squeezing its fingers tight, the spell dissolved into scintillating, glittering motes of light and vanished.

"I will put you to good use, little slave." Its victory at hand, the monster cackled as its clawed hand shot forward, clawed fingers splayed wide, reaching for Vral's throat. "Your blood will become a part of me."

Her red eyes widened. She knew she couldn't dodge in time.

My hand moved on instinct, closing around the hilt of the black blade lying beside me.

[Flamewreath]

Reddish flames roared to life along the blade's length, filling the chamber with long, flickering shadows.

[Intercept]

The world blurred.

One moment, I was on the ground. The very next, I was between Vral and the vampire, my ruined shield raised.

"Alex?!" Vral screamed.

Before I could respond, the vampire's claws struck my shield with enough force to shatter stone... and me.

[Unbreakable]

My arm and every muscle, tendon, and ligament in my shoulder tore, then snapped back into place. The impact threw me flying head over foot to the side. Falling into a side roll, I sprang back to my feet just as the vampire attacked Vral a second time.

[Intercept]

The world bent again. The instant I reappeared, my shield exploded into shrapnel.

[Unbreakable]

This time, in addition to my arm shattering, my bracer bent around my arm and snapped, falling to pieces and clattering to the ground.

The vampire's red eyes widened in surprise. "You truly are one of the chosen, mortal. Be proud in knowing that you die at the hands of Harg—"

"Tristan, party up!" I shouted, cutting the monster off. Then, my blade flashed, opening a line from its jaw to its eye.

Na-Tristan, Groveborn Elf-Human Acolyte of the Tower 23, joins your party.

I felt the connection snap into place almost immediately.

[Healing Light]

White light rippled over my skin, patching up the countless cuts and bruises littering my body.

[Bless]

A hazy white aura appeared around me, then sank into my skin. Normally, the buff's boost was mild, but with me being as tired as I was now, I could feel it. I could definitely feel it.

The monster screamed and slashed with both of its clawed hands.

Grabbing Vral by the collar, I jumped to the side just before its blows landed home. After we hit the ground and sprang back to our feet, I saw that the monster had torn massive gouges into the wall of its lair. Within each, an endless void peered back at us.

For some reason, the darkness beyond its walls seemed to freeze it in place. Its face contorted, and it began screaming.

Using the monster's distraction to get a second of rest, I said to Vral, "Would you look at that. I saved you again!"

She looked up at me with a tear-streaked face and whispered, "I thought... I thought you were dead..."

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I grinned at her. "It'll take more than this to kill me."

She let out a half-laugh, half-sob. "Asshole. Don't scare me like that."

"You woke up right on time, love." Tristan appeared at my side. "Good moves out there."

"Thanks." I looked at each of the girls. Took them in. It had been a lifetime since I'd seen them last. "Are you two okay?"

"No. I'm not." Vral's lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away and cracked her knuckles. "But I will be. Right after we cut this fucker down."

Tristan exhaled. "I'm not either, but I agree with Vral. I need to vent some feelings out on this guy."

"Same." I took a breath. "Here's the plan. Tristan, stay out of range, and support us with your magic. Also, be our eyes and call out his attacks."

"Done."

"Good. While you do that, I'll take him head-on."

"What about me?" Vral asked.

"Do what you do best."

"What's that?"

"Fuck him up."

She grinned. "I can do that."

Nodding, I said, "Alright, girls. Let's do this."

The vampire's scream cut off abruptly. Its head snapped toward us, red eyes burning with fury. "You... dare..." Its voice was layered now, multiple tones overlapping. "You... DARE?!"

As one, we moved together.

Vral reached the vampire first. Carving a hole through its thigh, she ducked under an attack and drove her daggers into its liver.

"Vral, left!" Tristan called out.

She was already in motion, darting around the vampire's attack, her blades dancing along the monster's skin.

When it threw a backfist at her, I drove my burning blade into its hip up to the hilt and shoved, throwing its attack off line.

With a wave of its hand, shadows rose from the ground and turned into a glinting black spear.

[Holy Light]

White light struck the weapon, shattering it.

I ripped my blade from its hip and carved a line through its chest, the black blade trailing fire and smoke as it burned away the monster's flesh.

With a wild howl, the vampire lashed out at me with both claws, one after the other.

I ducked under the first, brought my blade up to parry the second. The impact nearly tore the weapon from my grip, but I held on and countered with a rising slash that opened its chest from navel to throat.

Vral struck from the side, her blades finding the backs of its knees. The vampire stumbled forward, nearly toppling over me.

Another burst of light from Tristan caught it in the face.

Blinded, it screamed and swung wildly, destroying a nearby pillar.

The ceiling groaned. Chunks of stone rained down.

"Watch the environment!" Tristan called out. "It's tearing this place apart!"

"Good!" I shouted back. "Let it!" I had no idea what would happen if it did, but if Faye wasn't here, I had a feeling she was still stuck in that endless hallway. Since this "No Life King" controlled this region of the Depths, if he lost control of his demesne, I had a feeling she'd be set free. That, or we'd all be thrown into the abyss. Either way, we had to roll those dice.

The vampire tore another hole in the wall, then spun, throwing out its arm. A wave of rippling shadow erupted from its hand.

"Down!" Tristan screamed.

We all dropped flat.

The wave passed overhead, and where it touched the walls, they shattered.

Through the gaps, I could see other places. Other chambers in the Depths. Twisted corridors. Impossible shapes. Endless black. And scenes from endless lifetimes. Some I recognized from our doorways, but others were completely unknown to me.

Before we could stand, the vampire pressed its attack, rushing at Tristan, who'd hidden herself behind a pillar in the far corner of the room.

"Oh no, you don't!" Vral launched herself at its back, driving both blades between its shoulder blades.

The vampire shrieked and reached back, trying to grab her.

[Stoneshatter]

I drove my fist into its back with enough force to shatter its spine.

The vampire's body lurched forward, its movements jerky and wild, while Vral twisted her blades before yanking them free. She kicked off its back, flipping through the air to land beside me.

"Nice hit," she said, breathing hard.

"You too."

Tristan's voice rang out from nearby. "Incoming!"

[Holy Light]

Another beam of light, this one larger, slammed into the vampire's chest. The flesh sizzled and blackened as it fell to its knees. This time, it didn't try to get up, nor did its wounds heal.

"No... No! NO!" It roared in frustration and slammed both fists into the ground.

The floor cracked. No... it shattered. Huge sections of the floor fell into the earth, replaced with nothing but inky darkness.

I jumped backward as the stone beneath my feet vanished, revealing the void below.

Vral wasn't so lucky.

She fell.

"Vral!" I lunged forward, my hand shooting out.

Her fingers caught mine at the last second.

I gritted my teeth and pulled, hauling her back up onto solid ground.

"Thanks," she gasped.

"I've got you." I set her down. "One last charge."

"Let's do it."

She didn't hesitate. In a blur of motion, she was behind it, her blades flashing.

Just as the vampire teetered to its feet, its legs gave out, and it fell back to its knees.

"Tristan!" I roared. "Everything you've got!"

Her voice rang out, her impossible words clear and strong, and filled with absolute conviction.

[Holy Light]

Pure white radiance erupted from her hands. The beam was massive, easily as thick as my torso, and it blazed with divine power.

It struck the vampire dead center. The creature screamed as its skin cracked and split, brilliant white light bleeding through its ruined skin as its body began to smoke.

"Finish it, Alex!" Vral shouted.

I was nearly there. The black blade in my hand roared with fire as I charged.

The vampire tried to raise its arms. Shadows rose from the earth below to protect it.

Too late.

I brought the blade down with everything I had left.

It entered at the shoulder and didn't stop until it erupted from the opposite hip.

For a moment, nothing happened.

The vampire's eyes went wide. Disbelieving.

"No..." it rasped. "I... waited... so... long..."

Then it split in half.

Black blood sprayed across the stones. The creature's form began to burn and crumble as an impossible amount of stolen blood spilled onto the stones, formed rivers in the cracks, and dripped into the holes in the floor.

I stumbled backward, my chest heaving. My arms felt like lead. My legs were shaking. Finding the nearest wall, I slumped against it and slid to the ground. Watching as the room began fading away, I took a deep breath.

We'd done it.

We'd actually—

Shadowy arms erupted from the floor. They were massive. Impossibly long and made of pure darkness. They wrapped around the vampire's crumbling body and pulled. One moment, it was there, dying at our feet. The next, it was yanked through the crack and into the void beyond.

"What the fuck was that?!" Vral's voice was shrill.

"Alex, we need to get out of here!" Tristan was scrambling to reach me.

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words died in my throat.

The remaining walls shuddered. Then they crumbled. Not into rubble. Into nothing. As they fell away, they revealed something new.

A chamber. Massive. Easily ten times the size of the vampire's lair. In the center was a seal. Circular. Black as midnight. Covered in runes that writhed and twisted. From it, black arms made of pure darkness were grasping at the room's jagged walls.

And standing over it, hands outstretched, channeling streams of golden energy into the seal, were two figures. Kasimir, Faye's brother, and a red-haired woman whose name I couldn't remember. Their faces were twisted with concentration and pain as they channeled energy into the seal.

The red-haired woman looked up. "Alex? Tristan? Vral?"

"You can't possibly be seeing things aga—" The man, Kasimir, saw us. "Well, I'll be damned."

I knew that woman, but I couldn't remember her name. "We're here!"

"Greta!" Tristan called out and rushed to her side.

"Wait!" Greta's voice was strained, barely audible over the thrumming power of the seal. "Get back! They're breaking through!"

Even as she spoke, I saw it.

The very edge of the seal cracked. Just a hairline fracture, but it was enough.

A shadow began to manifest in the center of the seal. Formless at first, then slowly taking shape.

"Faye!" Greta screamed. "Where's Faye?"

I looked around but didn't see her. "I don't know!"

"Then it's time for you to prove your worth, boy!" Kasimir raised a hand, performed a series of complicated gestures, and ended them by pointing his bony finger at me.

A wave of energy washed over me. It was more power than I'd ever felt. Energy crackled along my skin as my sword erupted in black and white flames.

The shadow in the center of the seal began to materialize. As it did, its form rippled and took on different shapes. First, it was male. Then female. Then, it became something twisted and monstrous, something with a dozen limbs too many. All at once, it was male again. After a dozen shifts, it seemed to settle on a feminine form and solidified. In seconds, that woman... the one from the alleyway... one of the Dark Lord's children was standing before us.

"I would have preferred a more satisfying sacrifice, but I suppose he will have to do." The being's voice was a mix of many voices, but the strongest voice, the most dominant, was a woman's.

Tristan gasped. "No..." She walked backward until she was behind me.

Stepping in front of her and pulling Vral so that she was behind me too, I held my sword between the hooded woman and my women.

As her finer details took shape, she held her hands out to me and smiled. "Hello again, handsome boy. Sweet girl. I'm glad to see you've come to witness my return to this world."

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