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What Shouldn't Be Done

The battlefield was a massive battle of stalemate. The possessed being may have been strong enough to fight them, but every time it reanimated the bog's victims, the paladins were able to fight them. Those who slipped their grasp got the same treatment from the defending hellhounds. There was no way the battle could be won, at least that was what the paladins saw in the first phase of the battle.

It was barely half an hour since the start of the ambush, but the battle started to tilt towards the demons, who had virtually unlimited supplies of deaths. The paladins, while formidable in their own defenses and offenses, slowly realized the difference. They would slowly lose most of their energies, and if that happened, the attacker would had succeeded.

The squad's leader, James Lidden, was commanding two of his officers when he saw Albreich and Alex, two prodigals who were his personal students, tried to stop the attack from reaching the gate, all by themselves. Realizing that, despite of having a strong front army, they only had two paladins for defense, Lidden shouted to his second in command to take over command while he ran towards the two prodigals.

As he reached them, he assessed the situation. Alex's sword, being re-forged in the fort after the conflict with Anubis Caropus, shone brightly as he erected defensive charm around them. Albreich had finally pulled out his sword, a light-based sword with no definite solid state, consisted only of solid white magic. Lidden saw that sword and reminisced his days with Albreich. The former paladin was one of the last master of the arts of light-based sword. While many prodigals could do the same thing, they chose the more conventional paladins sword due to the inefficiency of light-based sword.

Still, Albreich mastered it after much hardship and found that it could be a good crowd control sword magic. Lidden could see the result when he made a swing and light sword came out of it and cut through the undead. Lidden reached them shortly.

"To be honest, I've never seen you two fight together," said Lidden while readying his 'Judgement' sword. "This is one great sight."

"Thank you, master Lidden, but surely this is not the time to talk?"

"Don't get too uptight with the master, Alex!" exclaimed Albreich while smiling. "Everyone's doing their part now!"

"I think you are right. Now, how are we going to do from now? That paladin...Josef...I never saw him like that before."

"Possessed beings can be oblivious that they have become the host of a demon."

"Never heard about that from the books."

"That's one perk of travelling out of the crammed library and see the world, Alex."

"I still don't feel that's a right thing, Al," said Alex shaking his head and getting ready to fight the coming undead. "In fact, we also learn by utilizing history."

"History is important, but knowing newer things shaped by that history is even more important," replied Albreich, which gave Lidden a smile.

"Heh, good argument. Now, concentrate on the fight. We will talk about this later, if both of us are still..."

The two prodigals suddenly felt something unpleasant, like a breach. Since that shield was feeding on their mana, they could sense any breach or attempt to breach. Yet, unlike a breach, this one moved fast and without even stopping. This was unlike any arrows. It was much faster and more powerful.

Just then Lidden, with his keen eyes, could see the source of the breach. A straight line, coming from a point at the tree city. It was directed towards Josef, and he realized what it was.

"So a sharpshooter wanted to end it all with one shot," said Lidden.

"Sharpshooter? Wait...I know who the sharpshooter is. A seconds now and there will be a..."

There was a fire explosion as it pierced through Josef's body, who screamed in a very high-pitched tone akin to a demon. His eyes slowly became black, and black water came out of his eyes like blood tears. He kept that high-pitched noise even after being engulfed by the explosion. Luckily, that explosion did not hit the paladins and Valkyries nearby, to their confusion.

"Who in blazes shot that thing?"

"That, Alex, is the work of a hellhound called Rhynsa Vantwork. I've seen him work in his prime, but even when his legs have been robbed from him, he could still fight."

"If he is an enemy, then we should..."

"There's no need for alarm. He can't even run or walk anymore."

Alex became silent upon that remark. All he did was look at the fire and said, "Why aren't they perfect? There's a blind hellhound, and then there's a paraplegic. I thought demons are perfect, just like the fallen angels they came from."

"These 'demons' are also a separate race, Alex. Do not associate them with those beyond the gates of hell, into the Inferno itself. They are merely trying to fight in a desolate world, giving them knowledge of supernatural. But again, his fight is not only his own."

"A little help is appreciated, but I think that shot ends the first phase of battle."

As they looked towards the explosion, a tendril came out of the smoke and snatched a paladin. He was saved by a Valkyrie who quickly cut the tendril. Both were saved by two other paladins as they erected a shield around them.

"Now, let's start the second round," said Albreich while drawing his sword.

Meanwhile, up at the tower...

"(God-fucking-dammit!)"

"I guess shooting the host will not kill the demon possessing him. Now that thing's as big as a building. What are you going to do right now?"

"So these bullets cannot kill deep hell demons," said Rhynsa while reloading his rifle. "Shit, I think I'll stuck at the more conventional exploding shell..."

"Rhynsa Vantwork, are you out of your bloody mind?!"

Rhynsa was surprised by that and he quickly turned around, where he came face to face with Hans. The Lycan was clearly annoyed and angry with the paraplegic bat-hound hybrid.

"What? I do what I..."

"Oh, it's a mistake not talking to you about this. That thing is an ancient creature just like the one I killed when we found Nergora's long lost love. The only way to permanently kill it is to find the heart. I don't know about it using necromancy but seriously what you did hastened the process."

"Yeah, and apparently it is also repulsed to fire. I can keep shooting it from this..."

"And I also forgot to mention that this thing is also repulsed to holy shields. Unless those demon hunters dispel that shield, they're fresh meat."

"What?! Shit, this is why hunters are such a jerk!"

"Well, you hastened its growth, so basically it's your fault."

"Who erected that shield and refused our help in the first place anyway?! Fortunately, Albreich's carriage is in there. There's something in there that I can use."

At Albreich's position, the tension of the fight was interrupted by a sudden phone ring from inside Albreich's carriage. Both Alex and Lidden looked at Albreich in both surprise and contempt, seeing how a simple telephone ring could distract them. Albreich sighed and said, "I should've known this will happen..."

But when Albreich received the phone call and said, "Yes, this is Al's Traders. How can I..."

"Albreich, find the heart of that creature!"

Hans unexpected voice came out of the phone, which made Albreich almost dropped the talking module. It was very loud, enough for Lidden to hear it and get intrigued.

"Hello? Who is this? Why are you calling us in a magic phone?"

"I'm Albreich's friend from Tragoria. He was my sister's guardian when I went in an exploration to the unknown continent 8 years ago."

"Ah, I've heard about that. You've succeeded to prove that there's another continent out there..."

"Yes, well, that's not the case right now! Look, we have fought that thing before. It's vulnerable to fire, but it won't kill it that easily. The only way to kill it is to get through the tendrils and cut the eye in the middle of that thing."

"But how are we supposed to do that? My squad has no one fast enough to run there or even using a teleportation magic! We are not mages!"

"I know that! Whatever you are trying to do, we'll give you covering fire from here. My dragon can bypass your shield and provide additional defense. Consider that a dragon rider's gift!"

Just after he said that, a black figure suddenly swooped down towards the field and stood in front of the creature. It quickly hold the creature's tendrils at bay with ice, but it was not even enough to hold that creature's strong tendrils. Despite of that, the figure, revealed to be a dragon, held true and tried to protect the lesser beings behind her.

"If you claim to have magic better than a dragon, then why are you struggling?!" said the dragon to them. "Aren't you humans supposed to be able to fight when working together? Fight!"

The paladins who were stunned and unable to fight properly heard that and yelled in unison, using white magic to stop the creature's advance. Albreich, Lidden, and Alex also heard the thundering voice of the dragon and bolstered the defenses, yet Rhynsa's voice came out of the phone.

"Albreich, is it possible for you to lighten the shield facing the tower? It's at least 60 degrees' angle from the ground."

The former paladin looked up and he could see the tower where Rhynsa was situated. He then said, "What are you planning to do?"

"You need covering fire, I can provide that with my bullets. That monster may have been exposed but somehow the necromancy is still active. I can see at least a dozen corpses trying to past the swamp and join the fight. Can you do that?"

"Yes, I can, but the hunters won't take that lightly."

"I know, that's why I developed an anti-magic weapon to bypass that shield. You see, I learned from my fight with you and Ifrit a while ago. That kid may have bested me in that fight, but I haven't been doing nothing."

Albreich smiled. "True mark of an assassin, eh?"

"That's my rule. Do not think your enemy is not a threat."

"That's one way to put it. Okay, let me help."

"Appreciate it, Albreich. Rhynsa out."

Up at Rhynsa's position, he was getting ready to load another round of bullets when a walkie-talkie he took from Arbal made a static sound. Hans took it and fiddle with it, but unable to operate it.

"What is this thing? It gives out sound like a magic sound box."

"It is a mechanical one of that box. Gimme that."

Rhynsa snatched it away from Hans's hand and turned the knob to find the right frequency. The three of them then heard a voice that was clearly Ifrit's.

"Hello, can anyone hear me?! We are currently on the (west) district of the tree city and requesting help. We are fighting against a...(oh, fuck!)"

The connection abruptly cut into silence with occasional static sound coming out of it. Rhynsa looked at Kghron and he nodded. The goat demon jumped away from the tower towards the western district. Hans wanted to follow him, but Rhynsa said, "I need you to protect me."

"But, that's Ifrit's voice! Wherever he is, he is in trouble! That goat knew were the find him so..."

"He may be a goat, but he's faster and more reliable than you are," said Rhynsa, which Hans took as an insult. "Besides, your dragon needs support now that our other dragon is preoccupied."

Hans kept wondering about Angelus's whereabouts since a month ago, but with Rhynsa pulling that up again, he knew it was an urgent thing. Still, the creature in front of them was fairly easy to fight, given the weakness had been known earlier, even if it was barely a week since that fight with it. Angelus's whereabouts could lead to a bigger event given how important she was to the cause.

"Oh, I don't know how these demons work," thought Hans.

Meanwhile on Ifrit's side, he was standing ready in the middle of the western square, which coincidentally had the portal directly linked towards the moved portal they called 'Arbal Outskirts'. As they came into the portal to return to the tree city, a figure leaped in front of them and pulled them back through the portal gate, which was somehow redirected towards a different place in Tragoria. They were forced to fight, killing at least 30 of the hellhounds (who were clearly afflicted and attacked them in raging madness) before two hellhounds used a powerful force attack to push them back to the tree city. What they realized upon returning there was how they inadvertently opened the portal to the enemy.

"(Shit, so you're one of those warriors led by Ensalder!)"

"(How about if I said it is true? It does not change the fact that you've fallen into my trap! Also, we have another one that prince needs to meet)."

From within the portal, came out a red-furred hellhound who looked almost similar to Eshdar, but was an adult and wore heavy black armor and a long spear. At first Ifrit thought it was Anarim, who did not meet with them for a while, but Eshdar bared his teeth and pulled out a dagger while shouting, "(Ensalder Winsel!!)"

"(Eshdar! Stop rushing towards him!)"

But Ifrit's warning was not heard by Eshdar, who was clearly blinded by rage. Yet even if Eshdar had used the dagger with all his might, his small stature, his cub strength, and Ensalder's armor made that attack failed miserably and ended with Ensalder catching Eshdar by the neck.

"(Get your filthy hands off me!)" exclaimed Eshdar while struggling.

"(I am supposed to be the one saying that, you low-life)," replied Ensalder with a calm tone. It was as if he was omnipotent or even god-like to say something like that. Anubis quickly ran towards Ifrit and took him away from the menacing hellhound.

"(Ani, Eshdar is still there! What the fuck are you...)"

"(He can fend himself! For now, listen to me! Ensalder looks like that because that's not even him!)"

"(What the hell are you talking about?! Why the plot development is so fucking confusing?!)"

"(I don't know what you are talking about, but that entity said that Ensalder's psyche and self was gone. Right now we are facing the rogue entity possessing Ensalder Winsel's body)."

"(Yes, that's exactly why we need to get Eshdar away from him!)"

"(Have you forgotten his ability already? He may be a kid, but his gift is unique among the three of us)."

"(Which one? His tracking ability, but that's...)"

"(Do you remember the one time we were ambushed by a whole camp, and we were saved by the animals living in that forest? Like your high-level improvisation and my soul particle sense, Eshdar has one powerful gift unique to him)."

A bird suddenly came down swooping and hit Ensalder's eye. He did not roar in pain, but instead of being surprised, he saw the bird and it quickly lost its life. This distraction, however, enabled Anubis to throw his sword towards Ensalder and made a damage to his armor, releasing Eshdar. Ifrit quickly throw a blood weapon towards Ensalder and grabbed Eshdar as it hit and exploded right in front of him.

"(Shit, I forgot we are in the middle of a swamp! I thought birds live on the canopy!)"

"(We still don't know how to fight him! I knew we shouldn't have done that!)"

"(Yeah, well, it's too late to regret it, isn't it? Besides, nobody would have thought that they would ambush us so near to a border town without destroying Arbal first. I think something inside Ensalder did not think those refugees in Arbal worth anything. They just want us)."

"(Where's the other one?)" said Ifrit upon realizing that he was too fixed on Ensalder to realize another threat. But then, just as they tried to find the target, Ifrit felt himself flying, and before long, a pain from his chin. It was as if he was getting an uppercut, but from where?

Another pain came to his back and all of the sudden he fell to the ground, groaning and in pain. He was still confused as to what happened when he was grabbed by somebody and raised until his legs even left the ground. Just as he wanted to attack, the attacker vanished and another sharp pain came on him as he was hit from the back. He was thrown by the force and hit a thick tree with an apartment unit in it, startling some hellhounds living it.

"(Whoa, what's the big idea?!)" exclaimed the hellhound when he saw Ifrit.

"(Run away!)"

Just as he said that, Ifrit was again thrown by a figure, now clearly was seen as figure in sleek black full-body tights, yet had no beastly characteristics like most demons, appearing fully humanoid, and also featureless. It was all he could see before it disappeared again and hit him, now throwing him towards the ground near Eshdar, who was fighting against some rebels.

"(Ifrit!)" shouted Eshdar as he fought some rebels who were clearly brainwashed. The whole situation became out of hand as the rebels started to destroy the tree city from the inside. Eshdar managed to use a nearby dagger to dispatch three rebels and shot one right between the eyes, but his smaller stature made him hard to actually cause fatal damage in one attack. He was faster than his usual self, though, and he could still rely on his knowledge in scouting and hunting. What caused everything so slow was how his fire-based attacks were downgraded to mere spark.

Ifrit groaned as he stood up, but he saw the figure again, this time standing in front of him. Its featureless face made Ifrit a little agitated, but he stood his ground and made a spectral sword to defend himself. That was not even fast enough to stop the menace.

Just as the black figure tried to use an unknown attack, a sudden, unexpected attack came from behind the figure. The figure simply vanished, revealing a goat demon behind him. He sighed in relief when he saw Kghron, but then he realized something.

"I don't know what the hell that thing is but it moves fast!"

"How can you be so sure? I thought you're half wrath demon yourself."

"A third wrath demon. But why are we talking about it when we are..."

An attack came towards Ifrit who did not even able to defend himself. Kghron saw that and was equally surprised.

"What the hell was that?" thought the wrath demon. "There's no way something cannot be seen by my eyes. That thing's not using super speed! It's not speed demon, so what is it?"

Before he could think of something, Kghron felt a kick and a painful punch simultaneously. As he got through away his thoughts were still fixed on trying to find what the creature was.

"Fuck, that demon is too fast! Not only it kicked me, but it punched me five more times," thought Kghron as he flew away. "And now that bastard is coming towards me in a blink of an eye."

But then something struck Kghron. In a split second before he got hit, his mind analyzed the whole situation. As a wrath demon who needed to survive all day in an eternal battleground, Kghron had been trained to think as fast as he could in the heat of battle. He found a solution as he was thrown away and being punched one more time in the face.

"It's moving in a blink of an eye. Less than a second passed when a human blinked. Even if it was moving on a speed of light, the trail would still be seen. There is no trail when it moves, that means..."

He fell to the ground with the demon over him. He then shouted, "This thing alter time, Ifrit Schelkz! Be care..."

Kghron felt a sharp pain coming from his chest and realized that the thing had sunk its humanoid hand through his chest. It burned him from the inside and was threatening his heart. He could feel his heart failing, and his life flashed in front of him.

Just before he left the life, though, another unexpected kick came from nowhere. Despite of having a big hole on his chest, he could see the attacker's hooves. At first he saw the new player looked like a female goat, but upon closer inspection, his head was not. He coughed out blood as he tried to get up, but he could not. The demon goat returned to him and cut his hand, giving him blood and healing his wound.

"These dogs need more of us, so don't die on me," said the demon goat with a wink. "I like hunkies like you."

After the goat left, Kghron was left with an unpleasant feeling. That goat was clearly a male but the way he talked to him felt...weird. Tyrall may have been like that to his own race but this one was a bit unsettling.

"So he's the one Ifrit's been talking about. Damn, that guy looks like he slept with goats bigger than him," thought Kghron. "I bet he's a boy-lover too."

But Kghron's line of thought was interrupted when he got a familiar attack in the form of blood sword. He quickly stopped the attack as he saw a wrath demon attacking him. Kghron quickly formed his own sword and said, "Now this is more like it!"

Anubis, some feet near where Ifrit fell saw the same attacker, but instead of being unable to see, he could see traces of the attacker. It was as if he could see time stopped for a moment, but the traces were clear with his sixth sense. He managed to dodge an attack coming from him solely from his prediction of where the attack came from. But then, it was only once, for the attacker was far too fast for Anubis to move away.

"It is far too late for you to move away, Caropus heir," said Ensalder as he emerged from behind a downed tree. Anubis was grabbed by the figure by the throat as it started to strangle him.

"You see, Tamat came from the deep hell itself and acted as one of the generals. The power of time surely is a very dangerous power. I have seen it first-hand on how dangerous it is, and how out of this world this power can be. Unless you know the secret of the fourth dimension, you will have no chance to beat Tamat."

Anubis could not move and he started to get light on the head. He could not breath. Ifrit was unconscious as he could not even fight back, and Kghron was too late to come to him. He did not want to die. He pulled his khopesh and started cutting Tamat, but it was no use as it vanished and reappeared, but his Khopesh was thrown away.

The grip of the demon was so strong that Anubis would die with his neck snapped. It was inevitable, yet he still struggled, hoping for a miracle to happen.

Just as he wanted to succumb to his death, Tamat's grip lessened, and suddenly Anubis saw Anarim in front of him, smiling to Anubis before disappearing. The next thing that happened, though, was Anarim covering Anubis before an explosion engulfed Ensalder.

"(I never thought I'd be using this ability again)," said Anarim while helping Anubis to get away. "(That shit's taking on my body)."

"(What the hell did you just do, Anarim? How did you move that fast?)"

"(I simply altered the flow of time)."

Anubis gasped. "(You mean, you...)"

"(I finally remembered something missing. I know I'm old, but I can still fight. Yes, my friend, I've been contacted by them a long time ago. That was how I got the knowledge to get out of hell and start a forest tribe. I somehow forgot all about it since it was such a long time ago. I never even remembered that I got an ability to alter time at will)."

"(I see. But is that a Winsel gift? Because I think Eshdar's ability is to call on animals)."

"(Just like your family, each generation have a gift. Unfortunately, Ensalder does not use it for a better thing. Now, here he comes)."

Ensalder looked bewildered as he went out of the explosion. Tamat was beside him, standing up and vanished. Anarim vanished, too, and the next moment was Tamat being shot by an arrow.

"(I can't believe I have miscalculated you, Anarim Winsel)," said Ensalder with tone of contempt. "(An anomaly is not supposed to even happen on this battlefield. Why are you even alive?! You are not supposed to be here!)"

"(I believe I am fulfilling destiny by being here, Ensalder, or whoever I am talking to. That miscalculation is something I hold dear and I won't let you have your way!)"

As Tamat vanished again, Eshdar softly said, "Time Alter: All Stop" and everything around him stopped to a halt as he saw the black figure ran towards him. Eshdar pulled out his bow and arrow and shot Tamat, yet even in stopped time the figure moved very fast. Anarim could only manage to stop time for at least 5 seconds before he kneeled and panting, during which Tamat, attacked him. Despite of this he still whispered, "Time Alter: Triple Beats" as he moved faster than normal, dodging the punch directly towards him.

This surprised Anubis who did not even see the action happening except traces of time stop everywhere. He was surprised how Anarim could suddenly become a savior while he was practically supporting them for most of the time. Anarim then said, "(Goddamn it. Time Alter may have been one hell of a magic, but I can't activate it for more than 5 seconds. More than that and my heart will fail me)."

"(Then don't try to kill that thing and get us out of here!)"

"(Impossible. That thing's Time Alter is far more powerful. I guess that's how it happens when I was distracted, huh? Any time now...)"

Anubis did not understand what's happening, but Ensalder, who was clearly losing his temper, said, "Tamat! What are you doing?! End their puny lives so we can get on the plan!"

"You are not going to get to that goal, time wraith," said Anarim as he stood again. "For the past is the future!"

The time wraith clearly took offense of that and a line of grotesque mouth appeared from its black featureless face. It said, "The past is the future. The future must be preserved..."

The time wraith vanished and quickly started to go towards where Eshdar was. It caught him and he struggled to get free.

"(Oh shit, it got Eshdar!)" exclaimed Anubis. "(Anarim, use that Time Alter whatisit again!)"

"(I can't. My heart is killing me right now)," said Anarim with such a slow, calm tone that made Anubis panicked. "Now, fulfill the future."

"(Ani! Grandpa! I don't think that thing is going to be...oh, shit! It's sucking me in!)"

"(Eshdar! Shit, Anarim, do something!)"

Anarim looked at Anubis with a solemn expression, for which Anubis realized what's going on. He quickly tried to run towards them but Anarim stopped him and said, "(It's the only way to defeat a time wraith!)" "(By sacrificing your own grandson?! Is this your plan all along?!)"

"(Boy, you won't understand it now. But maybe later...)"

Ensalder realized what's going on and said, "No! Tamat, stop this farce at once! You're playing into his game!"

Tamat faced Ensalder and said, "The future must be preserved..."

"You bow to no one, Tamat. Stop taking that brat along with you!"

But Tamat did not answer. It simply started to vanish into the void as Eshdar was screaming out his lungs, like a hellhound going to be subjected to an unspeakable torture before death. Anubis could not see what happened, but Anarim kept holding him back, so the Jackal could only helplessly see through his sixth sense what happened out there as Eshdar's soul vanished into thin air.

"(No!)" shouted Anubis. Ensalder's face became full of rage as he saw Anarim. He then said, "(You will pay for all of this, Anarim Winsel. I won't sit still. You will see despair soon enough)."

Ensalder then ran away into the portal and broke the whole thing as he came in. Anarim then said, "It's too easy. He's testing us."

"He's testing us, my ass! Look what you have done! Eshdar is fucking dead!" "Watch your tongue, boy. You are using a taboo human language."

"As if (fuck) is not something strong enough! What the hell is wrong with your head?!"

"(Boy, I must insist that you shut up and listen to me)."

"(Do I need to listen to a lunatic who wanted to sacrifice his own grandson?! I've had it with you, Anarim Winsel. You are no different than him!)"

But then, as Anubis walked away from him, Anarim said, "(I missed the time when you would make a joke to calm me down)."

Anubis stopped, but did not turn around. Anarim then continued.

"(Remember that time when you wanna bet how much rebels you could kill? Oh, you cheated by throwing that curved thing around and decapitated so many of them! That's one hell of a joke there, Ani)."

"(Wait...only Eshdar and Ifrit knew what happened back then? Did Eshdar told you?)"

"(Told me? No, you've been thoroughly mistaken. I don't tell people about jokes. I mostly forgot. I had a big temper back then)."

"(Anarim...you don't seem to have that)."

"(Really, now...you really don't believe me now, but then, everything flooded my mind like a tidal wave. I forgot to return this to you)."

Anubis was very surprised when he touched the thing Anarim gave him. It felt smooth, like a blade, but was rugged at the edges. It was his Khopesh, but it gained age at least 60 years. Just then Anubis realized something. He tried to find where his khopesh was thrown but he tripped on a rock. He fell near a downed tree, to where traces of soul particles looked both old and new. He did not find his khopesh there, and realized that Eshdar took it as his weapon the moment his dagger broke. Then, with a sudden realization, he turned around and saw Anarim's soul for the first time (he never did that and prefer to preserve his strength). It was similar to Eshdar's: a swirling, spiral soul of a resurrected.

"(I-Impossible. It can't be!)"

"(Hello, friend. Long time no see)," said Anarim with a smile.

"(No way! You can't be! Oh, I have been so blind! Why didn't I bother looking!)"

"(Ani...you are blind)."

"(What the hell! Goddamn it, you have pranked me! You've been preparing this for a very long time! You son of a bitch!)"

"(Ani, what is wrong? Where's Eshdar and Ensalder? And where is that goddamn black figure?)"

"(Does it matter?!)"

Ifrit was confused as to why Anubis started crying and hugging Anarim, but then he saw Anubis's Khopesh. It started to chip off and some part have practically rusted. Anubis did not have a rusted khopesh with him. It seemed to have gained age.

"(Anarim...that sword...is it Ani's)"

"(Oh, yes it is, Ifrit. But then, I think you need to know about it, too. As Anarim Winsel, I've thoroughly seen how the future holds, but now...I think my past stops here and starts back in time)."

Anarim then said, "Let me re-introduce myself. The name's Anarim Winsel...but I guess I 'ave my real, forgotten name. I'm Eshdar Winsel."

There was a big silence from them as he said that. Ifrit just said, "(Bullshit. There's no way Eshdar would change into a wise old man like you. Besides, why the revelation is practically happening in the final chapters of this fucking story?!)"

"(There you go again...Ifrit, that's bad habit!)"

"(I don't care! Oh, fuck it! Eshdar, just how long have you been planning this?!)"

"(Let's just say...I came the long way around)," said Eshdar with a wink.