“WHY?! TELL ME WHY?! AREN’T WE ON THE SAME SIDE?! ANSWER ME!” the silver-haired man shouted, furious and confused, at the two hooded beings levitating in the distance.

  “You still don’t get it, do you?” said one of the beings, a female voice, forming a marble of light on the tip of her right index finger. “If you’re so clever, why don’t you figure it out yourself?”

  “Nngghhh…” the silver-haired man groaned, pulling himself from the wall of the mountain where he had been embedded. “If you want to die, be my guest,” he growled, reaching for the sheath at his belt. “Either way, this is probably just another of the Architect’s hateful trials.”

  From the sheath, the man drew the hilt of a matte-gray sword, wrapped in black ribbons for a better grip.

  From the hilt, a liquid metal began to emerge, slowly forming the blade.

  “Don’t even think about it,” said the other hooded figure, with a deep, masculine voice, pointing at the sword with his left index finger.

  The sword, nearly fully formed in the silver-haired man's hands, began to warp and dissolve, returning to the sheath.

  “That sword belongs to us—just like all of your harvesting gear,” the male hooded figure declared, his voice imposing. “We forged that weapon before you even existed. Our will is embedded in it, and obeying us is its first priority.”

  Damn it… If this keeps up, I’m going to die, thought the silver-haired man, clenching his left fist tightly, trying with all his might to materialize at least part of the sword. I can’t let that happen!

  With tremendous force, the man lunged at the hooded figures, moving so fast that only a blur of his silhouette could be seen.

  “Cosmos, stop him!” the hooded woman shouted to her companion, quickly dodging out of the way.

  “At once, my lady!” Cosmos responded, tracing a glowing cube with his hands and projecting it forward.

  As the silver-haired man entered the cube, his speed rapidly decreased, as if time inside was moving in slow motion.

  Even so, his momentum was so great that he passed through the slowing field without issue.

  “Shit!” cursed the hooded man, raising his arms to shield himself from the impact.

  The silver-haired man grabbed the hooded figure by the neck and dragged him at high speed, tearing through everything in their path until they finally came to a stop.

  “Come to your senses, Cosmos! You’re not like this! What about our brotherhood? Don’t you remember all the time we spent together?!” the man cried, pinning the hooded figure to the ground.

  “Shut up!” the hooded man shouted, kicking with both legs to break free. “The Architect sent us. He needs you immediately.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “The Architect? What does that old man want with me?” the silver-haired man asked, staying alert, his eyes fixed on the hooded figure.

  “Too many questions… Nova, plan B. Now!”

  Before the man could react, the woman’s hand phased through his chest as if it wasn’t even there.

  His legs were now submerged in the earth, and his hands slightly buried.

  “Five minutes ahead of schedule. You owe me five mitron coins, Cosmos,” said the hooded woman playfully, holding the now-motionless silver-haired man.

  “The Lady of Time does it again. Remind me not to bet with you again,” said the hooded man, tossing the mitron coins to his companion.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you, Baron of Space. Now help me—we need to harvest him. It’s what the Architect ordered, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” said Cosmos, forming another glowing, three-dimensional figure with his hands. “This projection will break the overlap between you and him, allowing him to move again.”

  “I know—it’ll take just milliseconds to harvest him,” Nova replied with a smile. “Trust me, little brother.”

  “In three…”

  “A blessing and a curse, all in one. That’s what you are. Unfortunately for you, your services are no longer required. Codename: Spacetime. Or should I say… Charly.”

  “Two… One…”

  “Varneo Axima Exchilan!!”

  Just as they were about to begin, a fiery explosion sent the two hooded figures flying in opposite directions, leaving the silver-haired man at the center.

  “Who’s meddling now?!” the hooded man shouted, slamming the ground in frustration.

  From the underbrush emerged a woman who appeared to be an elf, stepping in to protect the silver-haired man.

  She had reddish hair and wore adventurer’s clothing in shades of brown, green, and sky blue. She carried a long wooden staff shaped like a sniper rifle, with a large, asymmetrical gem at its tip.

  “You’re not laying a finger on him, got it?!” the red-haired woman shouted, running over to the dazed man. “I owed you one for what you did at the tournament. I couldn’t leave that debt unpaid. I’ll get you out of there in a second… those two look like they’re coming back for more.”

  “Who even are you?!” Cosmos shouted from a distance.

  “Go meddle somewhere else, girl!” Nova yelled, enraged.

  “You don’t deserve to call yourselves human. The world is ending, and the first thing you do is fight each other,” the woman scolded. “They call me the Witch of the Seventh Ring, and I came here to save this world.”

  “The Witch… of the Seventh Ring? No… It can’t be her…” Cosmos whispered.

  “C-Cosmos? Is it who I think it is?!” Nova cried. “You said you handled her!”

  “What the hell are these lunatics talking about?…” muttered the witch as she tried to use her magic to free the silver-haired man. “Okay… the earth removal spell was… Chloerra Demoron Livir.”

  The ground around the silver-haired man began to liquefy, behaving like quicksand—but instead of swallowing him, it gently pushed him upward.

  Suddenly, from the forest shadows, a gray-furred wolf beast tackled the witch.

  “You’re insane if you think he’s worth saving! It’s his fault everything went to hell! His fault I lost everything I loved!” roared the beast, seething with rage.

  He wore desert-colored harem pants, and chains wrapped around his arms shimmered with a strange aura.

  “Stinky flea bag, get off me! There are more important things than your stupid, crumbling kingdom, Beast Prince!”

  Cosmos and Nova exchanged glances, watching the chaotic scene unfold from afar, and said in unison:

  “What is even happening here?”

  Every story has a beginning and an end, and this one started long… long ago.

  Roughly… two days ago.