The battlefield smelled of dirt, sweat, and ash. There were Dragikiri on both sides, drawing in power from their gemstones from the back line while being provided cover by the front line.

  Morwin could feel himself there. But he knew he wasn’t. He saw events play out through Galvin’s eyes, and in Galvin’s mind, he felt a distinct sense of other presences: himself, Galvin, and the past version of Galvin, all in there.

  He could feel what present Galvin and past Galvin felt, but past Galvin wasn’t aware of their presence at all. Morwin watched through the eyes of the past version, watched as he cowered and ran through the battlefield.

  He could feel the adrenaline, the desire for blood, and above all, in contrast to those feelings, the unmistakable presence of fear. Fear overpowering all other emotions.

  Past Galvin knew a battlefield wasn’t something to scoff at, but this was his first time in such a terrifying position. Everywhere around him, spears were being thrown, swords clashed, shields broke, armor broke, heads bashed in, and the obvious sight of death. Death everywhere, blood flowing along the ground in rivers.

  Bodies with severed heads, empty eye-sockets, arrow wounds, severe burn marks, and others lay around, from both sides of the battle.

  Morwin could tell which body belonged to who: the rebels wore the same unmistakable demon mask with the black cloaks, while the king’s army wore the imperial colors and heavy-set armors. The rebels wore armor as well, but it was protected by a layer of black fabric.

  Past Galvin held a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right. Morwin knew the boy had trained with a spear before, but never applied it in an actual battle. This was the battle of his life, and he proceeded forward not knowing if he was going to live through it or perish like the many others around him.

  He stood in formation with others wearing the same mask, holding the same offensive. Off in the distance, Morwin could make out the shape of a familiar figure, standing tall with hands clasped behind his back: his father.

  Lord De’Shai had participated in this battle, albeit from a distance.

  Morwin could feel the present Galvin’s thoughts from a distance, yet the emotions were there, raw and powerful. Being brought back to this place was painful for him. Looking around, Morwin realized Galvin must have lost a lot of friends here, friends he’s celebrated with, laughed with, joked with, trained with, people Morwin would never get to know. He could feel the distraught and loss through past Galvin’s mind.

  “Chaaaaaage!” someone shouted from behind him. Most likely the formation leader. Galvin’s legs began to move, and Morwin could actually feel the boy’s heartbeat increase. How long ago was this?

  The question was posed in Morwin’s mind, but an answer immediately came to him. Ten years. Ten years have passed since the events of this day.

  Morwin noticed some familiar structures in the background. Buildings that stood tall and the unmistakable sight of a palace towering over all else, and another grander palace standing even taller.

  This battle took place outside Rathalin, and the rebels hadn’t even began to penetrate the walls yet.

  A flurry of footsteps thundered through the air, and whether past Galvin wanted to run with it nor not, he moved forward. Even if he was stopped, he would be pushed forward by the formation behind him.

  Past Galvin stared at the line of Dragikiri in the back, jealous that he couldn’t be among their ranks, but also knowing how inexperienced he was with using his Blessing.

  Spears collided with shields. Galvin pushed through, jamming his spear into a soldier wearing imperial colors.

  His shield was made of steel, so the tip of the spear broke off and the shaft splintered into a million pieces.

  Galvin dropped the wooden pike on the ground and unsheathed his sword, bringing it down upon his enemy.

  He was met with resistance from the metal shield. He Absorbed some topaz and focused on Ground, using that to apply a slight magnetism. With the magnetism, he applied a source of attraction on the metal shield and pulling it out of the grip of the soldier, then canceled the magnetism and plunging his sword straight into the chest of the enemy.

  The soldier fell on the ground, joining the entourage of bodies that lay on the battlefield. Past Galvin casted his gaze onward at the city beyond, seeing more and more soldiers pouring out of the gates.

  How do they have so many soldiers? The ranks of the rebels were severely limited in terms of manpower, so if this battle was one of attrition, they would surely lose.

  “Keep moving! No time to stop, soldier!” someone shouted from behind him. That was enough for Galvin to push forward.

  Their formation was met with more stray soldiers from the other side, and no matter who they caught out, the squadron helped each other to disarm them and take their enemies out.

  Morwin could feel past Galvin feeling more confident in the battle, but he felt something else from present Galvin. That feeling was unmistakable. Dread. Terrible, terrifying, absolute dread.

  Something happened in this battle, and it’s something Galvin never wanted to experience again.

  “Get to De’Shai!” the squad leader called out. The crew responded with a chorus of encouraged shouts before pushing forward.

  The sky was suddenly replaced with a hail of arrows from overhead, darkening the sky and blocking out view of the clouds.

  “Dragikiri!” he heard shouts from all around him.

  In the rebel forces, there were Dragikiri in the back to cast complicated, powerful, and destructive spells to weaken the enemy forces, but Dragikiri also ran with squadrons in case an event happened where they would be needed in the front lines.

  Galvin responded to this call. He Absorbed as much emerald as he could and focused all of his attention on Wind, the tempest flowing and bursting through his veins and coursing throughout his entire body.

  He directed his attention upwards and released a powerful gust, stopping some of the arrows in its tracks. More and more bursts of wind erupted from around him. It was a training they all went through and had familiarized themselves enough with: if a barrage of arrows were coming your way, just blow them away.

  More and more arrows were slowed and directed away from the crowd, landing on the ground softly.

  Cheers of victory erupted from the rebel forces and the separate squadrons continued to push forward and clash with the opposing squadrons.

  Out of the corner of Galvin’s eyes, he saw a figure collapse on the ground. It was a figure he knew all too well, and his thoughts raced wildly.

  Past Galvin broke formation.

  “Soldier! Return to your squadron at once!”

  Galvin ignored his calls. He also knew they wouldn’t stop mid-battle and chase after him; chasing after one lone fighter who broke formation would cost lives of ten more. They would continue fighting without him. They will be perfectly fine. At least, he hoped.

  He saw an imperial soldier standing over a young girl with silky black hair tied in braids. The soldier raised his spear and a look of sympathy crossed his eyes.

  Galvin wouldn’t reach him in time.

  Wind!

  A burst from his feet launched him forward to the enemy, but the soldier simply lower his spear, pointed away, and walked away from the encounter.

  “Guenevir!” Galvin shouted, stopping himself. She looked terrified. A battle-cry came from behind him, and he turned around to see a stray imperial soldier raising his claymore weapon, ready to bring it down.

  The opposing soldier was met with a spear straight through his armor, sinking into his chest and protruding to the other side. Galvin was hit with a spray of blood before the soldier collapsed on the ground, crimson blood pooling around the soldier’s lifeless body.

  “We have a stray,” Galvin said, pointing to Guenevir. “Let her join our squadron.”

  “No can do, she has to find her own squadron! She hasn’t been trained to run drills with us and will hold us up. That could mean death for us!”

  “Dragikiri!” a distant cry sounded out, followed by more cries that sounded closer. Past Galvin shifted his gaze upward to see another volley of arrows darken the skies.

  He reached within his leather pouch and realized he hadn’t been given enough emeralds. He Absorbed rubies instead and focused on Fire, a destructive essence raging through him. He released it upwards, burning the wood of the arrows to charcoal and feathers to ash.

  Never use fires to scorch arrows, a distant voice in his head shouted at him. It would only be an invitation for squadrons to close in on your area, as that identifies a Dragikiri within the front lines.

  Galvin had messed up. His master had a simple instruction for him, and he failed to obey. Everywhere around him, he saw scores upon scores of enemy soldiers descending on their squadron, spears and shields in hand.

  Because of his actions, his entire squad was going to die. Galvin gathered as much ruby essence as he could possibly muster.

  “Get behind me!” he shouted to his entire squadron before stepping in front of them and releasing an explosion in the shape of a cone, a more powerful explosion than he’d ever created before. He’d used too much ruby essence with this one attack, and he wouldn’t have enough to shave off the rest of the soldiers coming.

  Armor plates melted, faces burned, screams echoed out. Galvin was a causer of death, and the scene in front of him was evident of that. Skin charred and life was gone instantly before his eyes, many bodies clumping to the ground, some still burning from the blast.

  Galvin nearly collapsed on the ground, but Guenevir rushed to his side. “Come on, we still need you. No time to rest,” she said, but as Galvin looked up, all he saw was steel flashing.

  All around them, both sides of the army clashed, his squadron vs the many opponents coming for them.

  He wanted to cower and lie down. To run away from the world, hide under a rock, wait till everything was fixed then come out. But he couldn’t do that.

  Bodies dropped, both from his squadron and from the opposing side. He couldn’t sit around and feel sorry for himself, he needed to get up, move, and defend his friend.

  He unsheathed his sword again and swung it around, Absorbing amethyst and focused on Invigoration and Strength at the same time with Guenevir at his side, fighting with him.

  All the imperial soldiers ended up defeated and lying on the bloodied ground, joining the ranks of dead. Galvin’s eyes widened at what he saw: his entire squadron dead before his eyes, fighting to their last breath. The squad leader, an older man in his forties, lay in a puddle of blood, his pupils replaced with whites and a spear sticking through his armor and out the other side.

  Galvin gagged. He wanted to puke. He could feel the bile rising up in his throat. Worse was, he was the one that caused their demise. If he didn’t let out the stream of fire, then they wouldn’t have come to his aid and died!

  “Come on!” Guenevir led him onward, grabbing him by the arm and leading him on. They’re now strays in the battlefield, and they have to fend for themselves.

  “Where is your squad?” Galvin demanded.

  “Don’t know! I got lost!” They were met with a stray soldier, which Galvin easily dispatched.

  For only being fifteen years old at the time, he was skillful in combat. He had a good teacher that taught him all the right things in battle. The difficult part was actually applying, which he found it easy to do once you get in the flow of it.

  He and Guenevir made a good team. No matter who popped up, as long as it wasn’t a fellow Dragikiri, he could take them out. If they did come face to face with a Dragikiri, they would run away, and the Dragikiri either let them escape or chase after them into a squadron full of soldiers.

  As the battle raged on, Morwin could feel past Galvin’s body slowly wear out, despite being Invigorated. Muscles became sore, adrenaline died down, bones ached, and wounds starting to flare.

  Before Galvin knew it, he was completely out of amethyst, which was not good for him. “I’m done,” Galvin whispered. “I can’t fight without amethysts.”

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  Guenevir placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You can,” she encouraged. “Use your other gems. Use topaz, sapphire, anything that gives you an edge.”

  Galvin nodded and Absorbed in topaz, hurling balls of dirt at incredible speeds towards any opponents he encountered.

  Past Galvin was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Morwin hadn’t realized he was that skillful. How could he not be good enough to fight alongside the Dragikiri in the back line? Did the skill of Dragikiri know no limit?

  “Watch out!” cries echoed through the battlefield, both from rebels and imperials alike. Galvin stood on his tiptoes to glance over the crowd to see what was coming.

  A swirl of blades, moving among the crowd, slicing through imperial soldiers and rebels, causing death on both sides.

  Who the-

  A burst of destructive energy came from this mysterious person. Galvin Absorbed as much topaz as he could in the second he had and focused on Ground, creating a forcefield of rock, encasing him and Guenevir completely in it.

  The blast of destructive energy shattered through the rock. It burst in a million pieces, with chunks of the rubble raining down to the ground.

  Morwin saw who it was that stood before them. It was someone he never expected to join the battlefield, much less move to the front lines.

  King Rai’Shal arrived, and he had a snarl on his face. He had a sword equipped and wore the same garment as the first time Morwin had met him: a red and gold cloak made of the finest fabric, with a bunch of gems of different varieties encrusted into it.

  The fight just escalated.

  Everyone around them stopped and gazed on. In front of Galvin, the king stood, tall and majestic, his form towering over everything else before the land. He looked exactly the same back then as he did in the future.

  “So you’re the lone soldier that’s been causing ruckus among my men,” he said. He took a glance around and saw all the bodies that lay beside Galvin’s feet. “We could use someone like you among our ranks. I couldn’t believe it when they told me a single Dragikiri was killing off all my soldiers, so I had to come to see it myself.”

  “Go to hell,” Galvin spat. Morwin could feel his anger and hatred practically perforating out of him.

  “You understand nothing,” Rai’Shal spat. “Hell would be better than this nightmare. And I’ll prove it to you.”

  Morwin felt present Galvin’s fear, uncertainty, and anxiety rise up. This was the event that had scarred him. That, and looking at all of his squadmates’ dead bodies.

  The king launched himself forward, carrying a red destructive aura around him. He’d probably Absorbed as much ruby as he could muster.

  Galvin turned and ran. He saw many of the front line Dragikiri fallen, and many of them also had leather pouches lying on the ground.

  But the king was too quick. He caught up in an instant, pinning Galvin to the ground and raising up a blade, pointed straight at his back.

  He was so close… so close to the bag of gems in front of him.

  All around him, the battle stilled. Everyone watched intently as the king was about to perform the first public execution publicly as a morale boost to his own army. Galvin reached out to the bag of gems, feeling the essence inside, grabbing onto them with his mind, with his soul.

  He felt emeralds, half of it empty. But half was good enough. He Absorbed the emerald and focused on Wind, launching the emeralds in his direction.

  Topaz! Ground!

  The moment the king’s sword graced Galvin’s back, he put the mark of magnetism on it, and it flew out of his hand before it could do much damage.

  A pillar of ground launched out from the ground underneath him, and it launched them both into the air. The king was taken aback by this, and Galvin used the moment of surprise to his advantage.

  He twisted in the air and repositioned himself, using both of his feet to kick the king away, propelling himself off.

  While in the air, he reached out with his mind and let it wander to the bag of gems. He could feel their individual essences within the sack. With a single thought, the gems came flying out and towards him, all while Galvin turned and flipped.

  Morwin marveled at the way Galvin moved, but present Galvin only felt anxiety and fear.

  The world twisted around Galvin as he maneuvered. He landed on the ground softly, Absorbing amethyst, focusing on Invigorate and soften his fall.

  The king landed in front of him with more grace, more of the red powerful energy circling his body, his eyes full of rage, and his teeth snarled, vein popping out along his forehead.

  “You challenge me, King Rai’Shal, of Agnius?” the king demanded. “I will show you no mercy, boy!” He spat out that last word.

  Galvin held his sword up. “Try me,” he said. Past Galvin thought he sounded cool, but present Galvin felt resentment.

  The king lurched forward and moved with incredible speed and grace. He didn’t have to use much magic in the fight, as his skill in fighting more than made up for it. The king struck at Galvin’s hand holding the sword with his backhand, then stomped on his foot, pinning him in place.

  In one fell swoop, the king completely disarmed Galvin, and a forceful blow sent him tumbling backwards.

  Galvin tried to regain his footing, but the king wouldn’t let him. He moved in for the kill, sending a flurry of strikes with his own blade.

  “NO!” Guenevir’s voice sounded in the distance, drowned out by the eruption of cheers from imperial forces.

  Galvin Absorbed some diamond, which he was glad the bag he picked up contained, and moved with speed to catch the blade with his bare hands.

  The steel dug into his hands as he moved to catch it, blood running along his arm at where he caught the blade.

  The crowd let out a stunned gasp. The king himself looked surprised. “For too long!” Galvin began. “You have been the source of our problem! Our pain! Misery! Depression! For too long you have ruled and taken power from the weak! For too long you’ve caused the downfall of your own people, but not anymore!”

  Galvin Absorbed as much amethyst as he could muster in his tiny frame and focused solely on Strength, yanking the blade out of Rai’Shal’s grip. He then tossed the blade up and grabbed it by the hilt, plunging it straight into the king’s chest. Right into his heart.

  The king let a yelp of surprise, shock taking over his face.

  Morwin was confused. Did this battle constitute as a victory or defeat for them? Here Galvin was, with a sword in his hand, and the blade of said sword protruding through the king’s chest, blood running down the steel in steams.

  The expression of shock was gone from the king’s face and a sinister smile replaced it. Another burst of destructive energy emanated from him, this time stronger than any Galvin had felt before.

  He could feel his skin burn and turn to ash, and he couldn’t do a single thing to stop it. Well, there was one thing he could do.

  Galvin Absorbed aquamarine and focused on Coolness. His skin stopped burning, the fiery air around him shimmered into a tiny smolder. Then it raged again, the fire burning hotter and hotter with each millisecond.

  Footsteps against mud rang out. Quick footsteps. Something was coming. Something fast, and something that carried a lot of gemstones.

  Galvin returned his attention to the king, focusing on Absorbing more aquamarine, but no matter how much he drew in, the heat coming from the king increased in intensity. It was all futile. This was how he would die.

  At least he would die an honorable death.

  The king reached down and pulled the sword out of his chest and raised it high, ready to bring it down on Galvin’s head.

  A figure darkened the sky, doing a graceful flip.

  Galvin recognized that figure. He could tell who it was just from the quick footsteps alone. The battlefield held many dead Dragikiri, and boy was he glad this man wasn’t one of them.

  His master had joined the fight. Master Halsin.

  “Master!” Galvin let out a cry, excitement evident in his voice.

  The air continued to burn, and Galvin felt his skin catching on fire once again. He lost concentration and the essence of the aquamarine escaped him, and the full force of the destructive energy came crashing down on him.

  “Let the boy go,” Master Halsin said, his voice calm.

  Past Galvin felt admiration towards this man, but present Galvin felt sadness and longing. It wasn’t hard for Morwin to guess what would happen.

  “Once he’s dead,” the king replied.

  “Now,” Master Halsin’s voice echoed through the battlefield. Morwin had never heard someone speak to the king in such a manner.

  Gasps ran throughout the crowd.

  After the king didn’t obey the command, Halsin let out a powerful blast of wind, sending the king flying.

  Galvin fell to the ground, clutching his chest and panting heavily.

  “Thank you, Master,” he spoke in sputtered gasps.

  “Leave,” Master Halsin said. “I’ll be damned if I sent you to die today. Leave the battle and don’t look back.”

  The king righted himself, getting ready for the fight.

  Morwin understood now. Understood why he felt what he did during their encounter with the king. This man was terrifying. His essence screamed of lust and power and destruction, all bottled into a single powerful man.

  Morwin wondered if when he looked into those eyes, he looked into the eyes of God himself.

  “I can’t leave you,” Galvin found himself saying. “We can beat him together.”

  “No we can’t. I realize that now. The king is unbeatable. For right now at least. We have to recuperate. As long as one of us lives, so will the rebellion.”

  The king descended on Halsin and Halsin met the challenge with his own sword. The two clashed in a magnificent battle, and the fighting from both sides was still paused to admire this spectacle.

  Past Galvin had never seen Master Halsin lose. Not even once. But this fight, the king got the upper hand.

  They moved too quickly for eyes to keep track of, and Galvin waited and watched in anticipation.

  Blasts of magical power came from both sides. Destructive power. Rubies were being used. Their fight escalated in the air. Morwin presumed both were using emeralds to help them fly, but their level of concentration as they moved through the sky impressed him. They didn’t focus on Wind alone to help them, but let it guide them.

  The two of them displayed incredible levels of gracefulness, moving to and fro in the air and able to focus on the battle at hand as well as flying.

  Morwin could see why Galvin had grown to be so good at Gemming and was able to down so many members of the army. If he had this kind of master, then what does that say about his own skill?

  Halsin dropped to the ground and landed with a pose before turning to look at Galvin and Guenevir in the eyes.

  “Yeah, I can’t beat him,” he admitted. “But you will be able to. Use what I’ve taught you, don’t stop growing stronger, and come back. So long as one of us lives, the rebellion lives.”

  This man right here was the leader of the rebellion before Galvin had taken the position. “Long live Justicar.”

  Halsin pulled out something in his hand. A single diamond, glowing and shimmering under the light of the embers all around them.

  The king landed on the ground as well.

  “Wait, what?” Galvin said, looking up with a confused expression. “You’re sending us away?”

  “Run,” was all Halsin said before the diamond Shattered, all of the essence moving from the palm of his hands into Galvin’s body. Before Galvin could control it, the world around him shimmered and changed.

  He watched in horror as Halsin resumed the fighting against the king, and before the two of them completely vanished away, he witnessed Rai’Shal plunge a sword into Halsin’s chest.

  Galvin let out a primal scream. Guenevir sobbed and broke down. Everything was different. The two of them had come to a completely different part of Agnius, far far away from the battle.

  Morwin thought the memories would end there, but it didn’t. Instead, he was launched into another one. Even though these weren’t his memories, he knew these memories had taken place even further back.