Like a dwarf star tearing through the night’s black quilt, Number 1 plummeted from the sky. He made a harsh landing on the very soil he had scapegoated, arriving precisely where the spell had detonated.

  Dust billowed around his silver armor, mingling with the particles of light scattering from his wings, while his heavy eyelids fought a losing battle against gravity.

  "My dear 1, are you alright?"

  Flora approached Number 1, comforting him with her palm like a mother soothing a baby.

  "Where is Number 25?"

  "I hate to say this, but it seems we have been harboring a snake. Unfortunately, we couldn't make her pay the price."

  "Argh!"

  Unable to swallow his rage, Number 1 took his frustration out on the pine tree to his right.

  Holding Number 1's hand with a mother's compassion, Flora continued to cool the searing heat of his anger with her words.

  "Dear 1, I guarantee you, they will all pay for this."

  When she revealed the Tear of the Goddess, which she had carefully wrapped in her ornate, handmade cloth, it dazzled them with a heartwarming brilliance.

  "Here," Flora said, gazing at the blinding stone. "Our path to victory."

  As Number 1 looked at the stone, the overflowing anger inside him was replaced by a magnificent arrogance. He raised his right hand; a hot glow danced first in his palm, then across his fingers. Grasping the void, the sun was reborn in his hands, taking the form of his spear.

  Flora spoke, voicing the admiration in her eyes. "You see, don't you, my dear 1? The Goddess is on our side. What do you say, 4?"

  Number 4 remained completely silent that night.

  ***

  Regaining consciousness with a sweet ache in her head and a heavy burden on her heart, Number 25 found herself lying on the ground outside the temple, where sharp winds danced.

  "I see you are awake, miss."

  Number 25, her skin crawling at a tone of voice she was hearing for the first time, tried to move toward the sound but felt ropes digging into her hands.

  "Who are you? If you intended to trap me, why save me?"

  Wishing to ease Number 25's heart, the mysterious man reached up, threw back his hood, and peeled off his mask.

  "My name is Fidelis, miss. I am in the service of Princess Luna."

  Introducing himself with a voice full of compassion, Fidelis was an imposing figure with pale skin, his long orange beard merging with his thinning orange hair. Sensing the anger in Number 25's heart, he continued without missing a beat.

  "Miss, I offer my deepest apologies; but it was Master 99 who suggested binding you."

  Master 99.

  Struggling with her thoughts, Number 25 felt a sensation of discomfort settle in her gut like a cannonball. Overcome with dread, she helplessly turned her head to the left.

  Number 99 was sitting on a broken pillar, carefully examining the bow that belonged to her.

  As every cell in her body screamed at her to run, she began to push herself backward across the ground like a gazelle living out its final moments.

  "Truly an interesting bow, isn't it?"

  The sound of his dull voice instantly cut short Number 25's desperate struggle.

  Without averting his gaze from the bow in his hand, 99 continued.

  "Creating arrows with your thoughts is extremely clever."

  Concluding that escape was meaningless, Number 25 turned her eyes to this ominous man as if embracing death.

  "Are you going to eliminate me?"

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  She struggled to swallow as the syllables dragged themselves from her throat.

  "Why do you assume I would eliminate you?"

  "Those girls in the courtyard... I think they were 15 and 16. Did you say the same thing to them?"

  "Had you attacked me, you would have learned the answer for yourself."

  While Number 25 wrestled with the questions in her mind, 99 turned to Fidelis.

  "Fidelis, recount what you saw."

  "Certainly, Master 99. When I saw Flora and her team entering a secret chamber in the crypt, that elf scum was preaching about the Sun Goddess with a shining stone in her hand."

  As the lightning in her mind flashed across her face at Fidelis's words, Number 25 drew 99's attention.

  Rising abruptly from the pillar, 99 approached Number 25, letting the ground feel the weight of his heavy strides.

  "Tell me, 25. Why did Flora leave you behind?"

  The question was the sharpness of the dancing winds given voice.

  "Ah, well, I..." Stammering in the face of the death awaiting her, Number 25 squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

  "We lost our friend because of Flora! All for her stupid goddess!"

  Her emotions turning into a torrent, Number 25 could no longer hold back, her eyes pouring out tears as if screaming in pain.

  "I understand... Fidelis, you know what needs to be done."

  Receiving the instruction, Fidelis reached for the dagger at his waist and approached Number 25.

  "No, please don't!"

  Surrendering her hope to the winds, Number 25 squeezed her eyes shut.

  Hearing the sound of tearing fabric at the knife's touch, Number 25 snapped her eyes open, as if returning to life from the edge of death. Gasping for air as she struggled to catch up with the frantic rhythm of her heart, she felt the ropes binding her hands snap away, granting her freedom.

  "Honestly, Fidelis! I let that innocent face of yours fool me into thinking you were actually a decent person!"

  Fidelis received this peculiar compliment with a smile that seemed to breathe life back into the cold air.

  "Ah, thank you for the compliment, miss. I hope you can understand; we simply had to be certain," he said, extending his right hand to help Number 25 to her feet.

  "Um... Does this mean I can have my bow back?"

  "Hmm."

  Rubbing his chin with his right hand, 99 maintained his silence for a moment before continuing.

  "On one condition: I want you to show me what you are capable of." He pointed with the tip of his finger at the crumbled statue lying to their right.

  Number 25 knew it would be foolish to expect a man like Number 99 to trust her immediately. Without a word of protest, she reached out like a gentle breeze and reclaimed the bow from his grasp.

  Focusing on her target, she filled her lungs with a deep breath. Squeezing her eyes shut, she erased everything from existence except for herself and the statue.

  As she drew the bowstring, an arrow crackling with lightning materialized instantly. After a moment of silent anticipation, she snapped her eyes open like a hawk locking onto its prey and released the string.

  With a whistling shriek, the arrow flew true, piercing the center of the statue's chest. Blue lightning erupted from the impact point, wreathing the stone figure in arcs of electric light.

  "Again," 99 commanded.

  Without breaking her focus, Number 25 silently obeyed, drawing her bow once more. This time, an arrow materialized, spitting flames and radiating an intense heat.

  She released the string. The projectile tore through the air and pierced the statue's abdomen; in an instant, the wretched stone figure was engulfed in fire.

  "Again," 99 repeated.

  With her patience now hanging by a thread, Number 25 drew her bow one last time, determined to prove her strength and end the statue's misery forever.

  A pure white arrow materialized, and she released the string as if screaming out her impatience. The projectile struck dead center between the previous two arrows, detonating with a deafening roar that shattered the statue into fragments.

  Clap. Clap. Clap.

  "Bravo, miss! You truly possess an extraordinary power," Fidelis said, bringing his hands to his chest and clapping them together.

  Warmed by Fidelis's praise, Number 25 couldn't help but let it show on her face. However, that fleeting warmth froze instantly when the silently watching Number 99 finally spoke.

  "Is that all?"

  "I... um... I don't understand?"

  "Is that all?"

  "Come now, Master 99, surely..."

  Fidelis tried to intervene to defuse the rising tension, but fell silent the moment Number 99 raised his hand.

  "It matters not, Fidelis," Number 25 said.

  Contrary to her calm exterior, she pressed a hand against her chest and took a steadying breath to suppress the cocktail of fear and rage brewing within. Then, summoning every ounce of her courage, she turned to face Number 99.

  "No. I can do more."

  "Very well, then. Create an ordinary arrow for me."

  Thrown off balance by the unexpected demand, Number 25 felt her anxiety bleed into her hands. Trembling, she conjured a plain, ordinary arrow.

  Number 99 scrutinized the arrow in silence for a moment before reaching out with his right hand and claiming it.

  After turning the mundane projectile over in his hands to inspect it, he shifted it to his left hand. Hovering his right hand near the tip, he summoned his dark mists once again. The arrow drank in the ominous sorcery, and soon the corruption took hold.

  Now transformed into a void of pitch black, it radiated an aura so terrifying that it managed to frighten even its own creator, Number 25.

  "This is... What did you do to my arrow?"

  "Tell me, do you wish to kill Flora?"

  The question was the final blow to the tension in the air. Stiffening, Number 25 felt the pressure in her chest rise to her tongue, allowing her only to nod slightly.

  "You know what will happen if you betray me, don't you?" 99 asked, holding the dark arrow up in the air.

  As she nodded once more, he extended the dark projectile toward her. Reaching out with all her strength, Number 25 felt the tension in her heart give way to pure rage the moment her fingers made contact.

  This man's power... Not wanting her thoughts to be heard, she dispelled the arrow from her hand.

  "When the time comes, nock that arrow."

  Giving his final instruction to 25, Number 99's expression remained unchanged.

  "Fidelis, when will the message you sent to Luna arrive?"

  "It will arrive before we do, Master 99."

  "Then let's end this circus act and move out."

  With Number 99 putting the final period on the scene, the peculiar trio departed from the temple, disappearing silently into the depths of the forest under the cover of the night's darkness.

  Author's Note:

  Apologies for the radio silence over the last 5 days. Life got in the way, but the forge is hot again. I’m back on track!

  Chapter 10 is landing TOMORROW.