TALMAN TALES - NEW WORLD ORDER

  Chapter 9 – The Inevitable (Part 2)

  Friends, I didn’t actually want this, but something is pushing me to tell you about the remaining bell tolls—this chapter has to end at some point. Well… whatever. Let’s go slave away for the ones up there—yeah, you, I mean you, you son of a bitch. Anyway—where were we? Apparently my life has already been written for me, so I’m going to tell you about the 5th bell toll.

  I don’t really want to, because I already know my path is predetermined. Zeki, the path may be predetermined—your blows of fate come from my sick head—but, and this is very important, how this ends is entirely up to you, my dear.

  SO YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY LIFE? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? DID YOU EVER ASK YOURSELF HOW I AM?

  Well, people say good characters need a good build-up.

  THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?

  My parents were murdered in front of my eyes. I woke up with them in the trash can. They were dismembered. I had to put them back together like a building-block set. I had to drag them up a mountain and bury them there. I had to live my life—BECAUSE YOU THINK GOOD CHARACTERS NEED A GOOD BUILD-UP?

  FUCK YOU. I HATE YOU. YOU DESTROYED MY LIFE.

  I didn’t destroy your life. I’m trying to save this world. Let me explain myself: I can influence a lot, but not the outcome of this story. Only you can influence that.

  AND IN WHICH DIRECTION DID YOU WANT TO FORCE ME WITH MY SHIT LIFE?

  Toward victory, Zeki. Toward victory. But calm down now, please.

  I’M SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN?

  Yes. You are.

  I DON’T WANT to calm down.

  Huh—how do you do that?

  Don’t talk for long, Zeki. Keep writing.

  Exactly. Don’t talk for long. Keep writing.

  So—we were at bell toll number 5. Now that I know the things I’m about to tell you were destined for me, it’s much easier to write them down without lying.

  This time it hit Team 4, with Neo as leader. Friends—this warning is long past saving, but what I’m about to tell you is not for the faint of heart. One day Neo and his clever heads gathered and worked on an ultimate weapon to wipe out multiple Mushkaren at once. We didn’t have much time to create this plan, but Neo’s creative streak truly shone.

  Within 2 months he developed an ultimate idea—one that would hopefully really heat the Mushkaren up. Let me tell you: he had the idea to take a sample from the Mushkaren and infect and cultivate those microscopic organisms with a disease. That disease was a brutal masterpiece—so, dear “author of my life” guy, nice idea you had there.

  Don’t mess with your story, Zeki—otherwise you’ll be scrubbing toilets in Abrofar in a second.

  Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. I genuinely thought the idea was great.

  Lucky you—this time.

  Anyone who ingested these organisms would lose their body within minutes and could only stare death in the face—in the most disgusting way. And, to be fair, that was not something my sick head came up with. What’s up, author-type—are you interrupting my work now or what? Keep going, Tseki.

  These organisms took over the body of whoever they infected, incubated inside them, and kept growing second by second—until they either ate them from the inside or blew the host apart due to their expanding mass. Either way, anyone “hosting” those beasts suffered hellish agony until they finally died.

  As I said, Neo worked for 2 months to perfect how to use those creatures against the Mushkaren. Then another month went into developing the strategy for how to smuggle their creation into the Mushkaren. Neo, Amelie, and five of his smartest men came to the conclusion that they needed to build a gigantic cannon.

  This cannon could fire a powerful projectile over great distances—filled with thousands of pathogens just waiting to find a fleshy host. Neo’s remaining troops worked long and hard on the massive cannon. They even made a special agreement with Erwin, the oldest of the old trees.

  In that long meeting, a recently deceased tree was provided to us as the cannon barrel. Zirbl was his name. According to Erwin, an honest old man who had found his final rest just a few days ago. And his heat-resistant body was perfectly suited to fire such payloads. So the construction of this miracle-looking project began.

  Spoiler… it didn’t perform miracles.

  Oh really? No way.

  MY readers can surely already guess that.

  You mean MY readers?

  Don’t play with my power—I will find you, you servant, AND THEN MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOU, ZEKI.

  Don’t play with my power and keep writing YOUR SHIT BOOK, WHICH IS MY BOOK.

  Alright. I won’t play with your power and I’ll keep writing my book.

  Zeki—what’s going on here? Who’s controlling you?

  I don’t know, Luma. But it worries me.

  Let’s continue before the author comes up with something else for me.

  Anyway, this weapon was brought into use—late, but still. For days the heavy device was positioned by Friesnhorn’s Team 9, aimed precisely toward the kingdom of Abrofar. For nights on end it was loaded with material. Then, finally, the day came: the mighty cannon was to fire its first shot.

  Successfully, we blasted more than 25,000 pathogens toward the Mushkaren ahead of us. One of five disease shells we could produce had hopefully not missed its target. We were ready to fire the next one—when a calculation error by Neo’s strategists made us experience absolute doom.

  The mercenary from Team 4 had calculated a cooldown time of 43 minutes and 37 seconds for safely firing another shell. To be safe, we fired the second shell only after 45 minutes had passed.

  Still not enough time, apparently.

  The shell got stuck and triggered the worst-case scenario. We were bombarded by our own pathogens—by ourselves.

  Everyone standing in the immediate radius of the cannon was dead on the spot. Then the microorganisms spread. I was lucky—because I was standing near Aurelia, she could protect me with her magic. From her noble staff she could fire tiny, powerful lightning bolts that immediately rendered the pathogens useless.

  We rushed to the cannon and were horrified.

  Every creature’s eyes radiated pure agony. But where was Neo?

  That question wasn’t only mine—Aurelia asked it too. She couldn’t bear losing Neo. Our search intensified. With every second that passed, Neo was in greater danger. After about three minutes, we found him.

  He didn’t even have the strength to scream from the pain anymore.

  He collapsed in front of us. With the last strength he had left, he told us, “I love you,” before he closed his eyes.

  Aurelia refused to accept it. She immediately began the healing process with her strongest magic—an immensely draining technique where the caster’s life force can be transferred to the target.

  Neo still suffered hellish agony from Aurelia’s healing magic, but life returned to him. She managed to patch him back together and fight the virus.

  Just when we all believed we had survived the plague, Phase 2 began.

  That phase had apparently developed unnoticed. In it, the infected body began to twitch violently and cramp up.

  With the twitching, the body started moving toward nearby creatures—most likely to infect them as well. So Neo began suffering those convulsions before our eyes, screaming again and again for his life. He begged to die, just to escape the pain. Aurelia didn’t know what else she could do to save Neo.

  No one had expected this phase—so no one knew the cure. While she had to keep blasting him away with her magic to avoid being harmed by Neo’s movements, Aurelia still did everything she could to keep our strategist alive.

  I didn’t know what to do, so I rubbed the quill. I rubbed and rubbed and rubbed, hoping Pablo would understand the urgency behind it.

  Hours passed—hours in which Aurelia kept Neo alive through the hellish convulsions.

  Her endurance was running out. And even though every soldier who could absorb nature magic did their best, the sheer magic flowing into Neo drained everyone’s strength. The Children of Magic gathered anything that could help Aurelia. But even their immense power was nearing its end.

  After five long hours of suffering, Pablo finally arrived.

  Time was short, so there was no warm greeting.

  I stood before him with tears in my eyes, at the end of my strength, and managed to get out at least a few words. Between sobbing fits I said, again and again, “Pablo, you have to help us. Neo is dying.”

  “Friend Zeki—what’s going on? Where is Friend Neo?”

  I led him to the scene of horror.

  “Friend Neo, Friend Aurelia—what is happening here?”

  Aurelia was so strong. Even through exhaustion she could still speak clearly. She described the situation and asked for something to calm Neo’s body.

  “Let Pablo take a look.”

  He pulled out a big, heavy suitcase.

  “Pablo has the old familiar Waldmonster herb, the Nebelwald herb, the Ibo herb, or Pablo’s newest favorite: the striped Yauler.

  Let’s try this one. Pablo relaxes the most with it.”

  We packed a fat bag full of that striped Yauler and lit it.

  I didn’t have much hope in this method, but together with Aurelia’s healing magic we could see clear improvements—Neo visibly got better.

  We did it.

  Pablo had, luckily, stocked us with his emergency stash, and Neo survived.

  Over the next days he had to recover—not only from the spectacle he had created, but also from the endless torture he had suffered under Aurelia’s healing.

  I was endlessly grateful to Pablo. Only because of him did Neo make it.

  While the two of them rested in their rooms, I actually started a conversation with Pablo. I asked him first how he was doing.

  “Friend Zeki—Pablo is doing very well. Through you, Pablo became so famous, he now produces his own show. The readers love him.

  How is Friend Zeki?”

  I answered, “Well… given the circumstances, I’m just happy Neo survived.”

  Then the conversation turned more serious. Pablo hadn’t missed the scenario.

  “Friend Zeki—what are you doing here? Is it worth it?”

  I drifted for a second and didn’t quite understand.

  “What do you mean, Pablo?”

  “Friend Zeki—you think Pablo is stupid, don’t you?

  He noticed this. Why are you handling bio-weapons?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I actually thought the idea was good.

  “What do you want me to tell you, Pablo?

  The war is intensifying, and we’re bound to every tool we can get.”

  “Zeki… Pablo is sorry, but he doesn’t want to call you Friend Zeki anymore. He never thought you’d go this far. Please leave him and his family alone.”

  Then he asked me to give back the quill he had given me.

  I was shocked.

  Why would Pablo ask me that?

  Why should I do it? I thought we were friends.

  Loudly I voiced my outrage—please don’t behead me, I was furious.

  With the words, “Oh, suddenly we’re not friends anymore, you shitty bird. What would you be without me? You’d still be rotting at the bridge begging for coins,” I did him more than wrong.

  I expected Pablo to explode in rage. A fight to the death with one of my best friends.

  But sorry— not even the author is that sick.

  Instead, I heard a disappointed:

  “Just give me the quill and I’ll disappear, Zeki.”

  That sentence destroyed me. Not only did Pablo speak in the first person—his emotion, the way it came off him… it wasn’t rage. It was only disappointment.

  And I felt like a complete disappointment myself—believe me.

  And that makes me ask: WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO THIS TO ME, AUTHOR?

  Didn’t I deserve a crazy partnership story with Pablo?

  Zeki, you have to trust me.

  Sure. Anything else? A coffee would be nice.

  Yeah, and cake too?

  Let me keep grinding now, please.

  Anyway—Pablo had never shown me that emotion before. I felt like absolute trash.

  “Or you know what—fuck you.”

  That was the last thing I heard before Pablo flew off.

  I was about to break into tears and apologize to him for what I’d done.

  But it was too late.

  He didn’t even want to take the quill from me anymore.

  I wanted to apologize, Pablo—why? Why did you just leave?...

  I’m so sorry, Pablo… I’m deeply ashamed I put you through something like this…

  I HATE MYSELF. WHY, AUTHOR—WHY, WHY, WHY—YOU ASSHOLE.

  You’ll understand early enough.

  Pablo… I’m… so sorry…

  You have the quill, Zeki. You could rub it.

  Luma, I haven’t spoken to Pablo since that incident. What would it do? He wouldn’t show up anyway.

  You have time to apologize. You should use it.

  Should I do it? Let’s vote.

  Who’s in favor of this decision? Luma. Gotti-Gottfried.

  Frank, so you’re against it, yeah?

  I abstain, Zeki. The decision is yours.

  And what about the readers? What would you want?

  I can only hope, and I surely won’t satisfy every opinion. But I think you’d want me to do it.

  But do I want to? That’s the question.

  Even if Pablo doesn’t come, Zeki—at least you tried.

  But how do I rub the quill so that Pablo notices me?

  I know! I’ll play his favorite song, “Maestro Puppeta,” on the quill.

  Honestly, I would advise against that, Zeki. Maybe a short, but intense, stroke is enough.

  No—you know what? I trust my intuition and I’m going to play the song.

  Don’t do it, Zeki.

  I can only agree, Gotti-Gottfried. I’m with him.

  Screw you. Today I make the decisions.

  PABLO, I WILL APOLOGIZE, MY BEST FRIEND! ARE YOU ALL READY?

  Bam—BAM, BAM, BAM.

  It is done.

  For a full 8 minutes and 34 seconds, I swung the quill with the deepest emotion. Now all I could do was wait. Hopefully Pablo would arrive soon.

  Though… I’ll need a gift for him.

  Wait for me for a second, friends. I need to get something I can give Pablo.

  Hey—what is Zeki writing there? Is it about Pablo? Talman Tales? He can’t be serious.

  I was about to smash his face in for his audacity—BOTHERING ME LIKE THIS ON A SUNDAY. WHAT DOES HE THINK HE’S DOING?

  “Oh hey, Pablo. Didn’t think you’d be here so soon. I was just shopping.”

  “ZEKI—WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN YOUR SICK HEAD?”

  Oh, you mean the song? I wanted to apologize to you, and I thought if I played your favorite song, you’d know I meant it.

  Apparently your inner voices advised against it. Why did you do it anyway, Zeki? Do you know why, Pablo?

  Because it was my decision. My whole life I never really had a choice, but I wasn’t letting this one be taken from me. I wanted to do it that way. That’s why.

  What do you say— I got 2 packs of Talman Hase. I want to openly and honestly apologize to you for my actions. I don’t have much here in my house, but we could use the chance and I can tell you about Talman Tales—since you’ve already discovered it anyway.

  Zeki… Pablo doesn’t know. He’s doing very well right now, and he has to let the family know. Another time, maybe, Zeki.

  But stop playing the quill like that, please. You tickled Pablo to death for 8 minutes and 34 seconds.

  Alright, Pablo. But here—please take a pack of Talman Hase with you. The woman who sold it to me said it’s very useful for relaxing.

  Thanks, Zeki. See you.

  I had hope in my strategy, even though I didn’t know I’d tickled Pablo to death. I’ll keep this pack of the powerful herb for Pablo’s next visit. I’m happy like a little kid. I hope he comes again before I leave for the capital.

  Speaking of which—Zeki, in less than a month it’s time. You should leave soon.

  Sure, Luma. Do I have to? I’m really in the mood for the coffee circle with you and Frank at my parents’ grave.

  First and foremost I have to tell these bell tolls. I still have about 2 weeks before a punctual trip to Schattental. In these days I have to finish the bell tolls.

  Then we go straight to the sixth bell toll.

  Wait, Zeki—you still have to finish the fifth.

  Sorry, dear readers—looks like I got ahead of myself. After Neo survived his treatment under Aurelia’s healing torture and Pablo’s herb, and Aurelia had to recover from her immense exhaustion, the mood was very dark. Understandable—we had just recorded the blackest day in our history.

  Team 4 was wiped out completely—except for Neo.

  After everyone reached Stage 2, they formed up.

  All I could perceive was an army of bodiless troops twitching as they charged at me. I felt sorry, but I couldn’t hesitate—and I didn’t. I immediately started my rage transformation to do what no one would’ve wanted to do.

  I personally sent each of my comrades to their final rest.

  Gotti-Gottfried offered to do it for me so I wouldn’t carry the guilt. I said, “I have to answer for my actions. One day comes the day of reckoning—then at least only I will be judged,” and I continued, slaughtering my allies without mercy.

  A harsh blow for Neo. An even stronger one for the free creatures. And the hardest for our comrades.

  Like a bully punching you straight in the face—there are plenty of adults like that.

  Later I learned in a conversation with Aurelia that she came very close to using dark magic. She told me this in confidence—I wasn’t to tell anyone.

  Then scream it out in your book, Zeki. Very clever.

  Luma—do you honestly think someone will read all this?

  Anyway, Aurelia told me she had secretly been reading up on dark magic—for emergencies, she said. I could only fall back on Master Eibrau’s words: dark magic is a dangerous creation, born of pure hate seeking its way into this world. I advised her against it, but I still gave her something to take with her.

  “Aurelia, remember: dark magic pulls you into its grip easier than you think.”

  “I know, Zeki. But I will not hesitate to control this power and unleash it when loved ones are in danger.”

  Her determination surprised me. I wished her all the best in controlling those powers—and still added a warning.

  I mean—who, if not Aurelia, could control dark magic?

  Anyway, I’ve now told all relevant information. Surely there are a few side stories, but you’ll find those in another book titled “Talman Tales – Verlorene Geschichten.”

  But now let’s really move to the sixth bell toll. This one happened within the ranks of Team 9—our Giant Folk.

  We were getting closer and closer to the kingdom of Abrofar. Our giants did good work, clearing paths and pushing forward as a shield. But something was off. Whenever my gut warns me, there’s this heavy atmosphere in the air. And I felt exactly that on a rather unspectacular day.

  Friends, I won’t keep you waiting.

  We had traitors again.

  As I later found out, Friesnhorn and Niesnhorn had been secretly plotting against me. Those bastards grew overconfident. Together, they dared to attack me directly. After luring us into a trap—Team 8 style—they began their plan. My troop, the Leidbringer, had followed them closely.

  Behind us were Team 3, Team 6, and Team 1, away from the fight. A little to our right were the hardworking supporters of Team 5. We could recognize the Mushkaren horn. In that moment, we should’ve known—normally we’re warned before them. But today Friesnhorn’s magnificent voice was absent.

  So we ran straight into a prepared trap.

  This was not a good moment for a frontal collision with the Mushkaren.

  But I could smell it. Just in time, I set Uwe on my veins so that together with him I could reach yet another magnificent rage transformation. A full 45 meters this time.

  Given our shitty situation, rage burned deep in me again. With every second of betrayal it grew, and it kept growing.

  I reached heights only a god can truly experience. My power climbed to levels I could only dream of—only because I surrendered to my hate.

  I should try it more often. With powers like this I can definitely control the Schattenreich and save it.

  I agree, Zeki.

  Zeki—same rule for you as for Aurelia: be careful with those powers.

  Careful?

  Luma, my second name is Careful. I’ve been doing this long enough. I can control my rage.

  Oh, like with your neighbors, yeah?

  Screw the neighbors. We have bigger goals. Like the sixth bell toll.

  The troop gathered. Boris and Aurelia to my left. Neo, Chef le Favre, and Master Eibrau to my right. Sensei Bi-Shi-Zu had our back. Friesnhorn’s betrayal hit us all hard.

  But one creature shook our ranks with suffering greater than betrayal:

  Alexus—the one who had betrayed Sensei Bi-Shi-Zu—revealed his true form.

  A death vampire, who for centuries had brought nothing but terror to countless creatures, stepped onto the battlefield. Wrapped in a dark, mighty veil, followed by an immense, palpable aura.

  This creature grew with every soul it stole, and Alexus was old enough to have captured several thousands—if not tens of thousands—of souls. In his empty eyes burned nothing but pure hate toward other lifeforms. It wanted nothing but annihilation.

  So we had to face the mightiest of our enemies so far—on all fronts.

  Zeki, sorry to interrupt—what do you think of the idea of weaving a few perspectives into the epic fights of this bell toll? I think the readers will be happy.

  Luma, I don’t really have time for such games, but whatever. I’m curious.

  Good. I want Boris and Aurelia—fighting against the mightiest field commander of the Mushkaren, Aonir the fearless. But which perspective do I choose?

  Funny. It feels like I’ve stood before this choice before.

  You can switch perspectives, Luma.

  Another time, Zeki. I went through the fight and decided on Boris’ perspective.

  Alright. Let’s hear it.

  So there I stood—once again in the middle of a war, again against the pigs who once stole my kingdom from me and forced me to kill my father.

  The Mushkaren can take my people from me, my father, everything—but not my will.

  Ignaz, what do you think?

  I think so too, my friend.

  Luckily I already have combat experience with Aurelia. She is the most powerful mage—and an even more powerful ally. Like Zeki, she decides only for the will of victory.

  Then it was finally time. The bastard who, in the first Mushkaren war I lived through, handed the scepter that enslaved my people—Aonir and his gang of abominations stood before me.

  I had the chance for revenge, and I didn’t want to miss it.

  Ignaz, I hope you know how much the outcome of this fight means.

  Yes, of course you’ll get a few cuddle sessions afterward, my friend.

  Ready, Aurelia?

  Ready if you are, Boris.

  Good. Then let’s massacre these abominations.

  Before I even realized it, Aurelia was already off—riding on Merlin’s back to launch an attack. I could make out a bit: that woman truly had it.

  In flight, on Merlin’s back, she managed to stand up, generate a mighty magic beam from her staff, combine it with the blazing fire from Merlin’s mouth, and fire it.

  The enemies were hit by an immense force—yet they didn’t even flinch.

  But I had something up my sleeve as well.

  Father, lend me your power. My ancestors—gather before me.

  I was pulled into the world of living souls, where my ancestors—every king who ever ruled the kingdom of Abrofar—reside. They serve one purpose: lending their power to the current king. I can join with multiple kings, but it drains me immensely.

  When, if not now, Boris—kill him and fill your people with pride.

  You’re right, Father.

  I will ask you, King Zretwar, and the very first king of these axes, King Nandolir, to support me in battle.

  With love, my son. I will summon them.

  Then it finally began. With united power, I could multiply my strength a hundredfold. I breathed heavily from exertion. Even though she was more than 50 meters away, Aurelia seemed to notice—and placed an endurance spell on me.

  Now I could, without a care, slaughter a few Mushkaren. I took a full running start and charged straight into their ranks. In the meantime, I fired massive lightning bolts at these monsters. The axes had become the most dangerous weapon. It didn’t take long before I found myself in the middle of the Mushkaren pigs. Surrounded by these spawn of hell, I swung my spinning axes in a circle around me.

  The lightning they fired made things hard for them and at least immobilized them for a few seconds. Even though I was smaller than them, I had my strategy. I worked my way up their legs like a leech until I reached their necks—and I wiped every bit of life out of these wretched creatures.

  Once I had mounted the first one, thanks to my ancestors and their power I could jump to my next victim without trouble. The second one felt it hard: I leapt into the air and split the five-meter dog right down the middle. In between, I kept seeing Aurelia flying past me—this woman had actually been counting how many she’d killed.

  After the first report I heard she was at 45 kills. Damn. I only had 37. I had to keep up, so I activated a fourth king to boost my strength again. I told my father to bring King Vessel—he was known for his particular cruelty in battle, and I could use that right now. After a few minutes he arrived, ready for combat.

  The next thirty five-meter creatures stepped toward me, followed by twenty-five ten-meter beasts. Aurelia had also made it into the battlefield with Merlin. With her magic, she enlarged her noble bow. While circling with Merlin, she dropped bombs like gifts—she made destruction rain down on the Mushkaren.

  I didn’t just watch. Those who fell to the ground from the massive impacts were sliced open by Adam und Eva. Ignaz drove his claws into anything that wasn’t up a tree by the count of three. Merlin kept firing raging, scorching fireballs into the faces of the Mushkaren. Of course, our troops fought diligently at our side too.

  While the Children of Magic, away from the chaos, gathered important nature energy for Aurelia’s attacks, the Royal Guard was fully entangled in battle with the Mushkaren. So far, I could perceive more dead enemies than allies—I was proud of my subordinates. Many bloodthirsty enemies still stood ahead of us. Even though we had destroyed many, this fight would last a while longer.

  Several hours of pure fighting passed. I was annoyed: Aurelia had killed 479 Mushkaren—I managed 420. It didn’t change the situation I was in. Our only enemy left was named Aonir. I asked Aurelia to let me finish him. I told her—you know the story. Reluctantly, she agreed.

  “But I will intervene if something happens,” she added—yet what was supposed to happen? I only wanted to make him suffer for his crimes against the kingdom of Abrofar. My body was starting to collapse from exhaustion, but I had to fight like never before.

  Finish it, son. King Boris—make us proud. Don’t screw it up, Boris.

  I will, Father. I will erase them, my ancestors. Have I ever screwed anything up, Aurelia?

  Yes—my toast, you violin.

  What the hell is going on? Zeki—I didn’t want to write that.

  I SAID STOP DIGGING AROUND IN MY PAST. WRITE A STORY WITH YOUR LIFE.

  Aurelia?

  IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT, THEN SHOW MY PERSPECTIVE, UNDERSTOOD.

  You don’t understand this, Aurelia.

  YOU WON’T UNDERSTAND YOURSELF ANYMORE WHEN MY MAGIC HITS YOU. STAY OUT OF MY PAST—I’M TELLING YOU ONE LAST TIME.

  May I at least finish writing this scene?

  TRY IT.

  Zeki—what was that just now?

  I don’t know, Luma. I only heard a bitter, evil voice. Was that Aurelia?

  Zeki… that wasn’t Aurelia. That was the shape from back then. She stepped right up to me at close distance.

  How is that possible, Luma? I thought you were in the past.

  I. Don’t. Know.

  Zeki—I've never felt fear like that in my life before. I think you have to write from her point of view. I still have to reveal to her that I’m writing a book about these events—but I haven’t heard from her in a long time.

  You don’t have to, Zeki. I’ve been reading along the whole time.

  But how do you do that, Aurelia?

  Zeki—you’ve seen me massacre hundreds of enemies with a single strike of my magic, and that’s what surprises you?

  Hey—that doesn’t happen until the eighth bell toll, so are you really Aurelia?

  Live and in color.

  If I may say something as well—Aurelia, if you’re already communicating with Zeki about me, do you have to use the shape you—

  NOT ANOTHER WORD, LUMA, OR I’LL KILL YOU.

  Alright, alright. But can you maybe change it?

  You mean like this?

  ZEKI, BEHIND YOU.

  Luma, don’t scare me like that—there’s nothing there.

  YES THERE IS, ZEKI. DO SOMETHING—DRIVE IT AWAY.

  I’m just kidding, Luma. Why is your greatest fear a giant burnt Schnitzel?

  Not funny, Aurelia.

  Is this shape better?

  AURELIA—HOW ABOUT YOUR HUMAN FORM.

  Boring. But fine.

  Aurelia, I have so many questions. Since when have you been reading along?

  Honestly? Since the beginning. You’re my evening entertainment.

  Why do you chase Luma?

  Because I can, Zeki. Simple. That’s the price for digging in MY past and exposing my deepest secret.

  Hey Luma, behind you.

  AHH ZEKI, THERE IT IS AGAIN.

  AURELIA, STOP IT—SERIOUSLY, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

  If you always knew, why did you never say anything?

  First I wanted a bit of peace after those events. Also I needed distraction after—

  It’s fine, Aurelia. That’s coming up soon in the narrative. I know. I feel it too.

  Why don’t we just meet?

  Sure. What do you think—should I show up at the little tea party at your parents’ grave? After all, that’s where my fate changed too.

  Sure. Anything else?

  The Olevs you owe me, please.

  I don’t care. I’ll show up either way. Then I’ll meet the others too.

  But now—keep going, Zeki, or Luma, whoever is writing. But please, from my perspective.

  Why don’t you just write it yourself, Aurelia?

  I want to read along. I like your style.

  Fine—then you get the epic final fight from my perspective.

  Thanks, Luma. Here—look at this shape as thanks.

  STOP THAT.

  Boris still asked me to support him in the fight with my endurance magic. I gladly did it. I had experienced a lot with him and wanted him to get his revenge. I concentrated about three quarters of my remaining magic to give Boris an immense advantage. In addition, I gave him a small wound with a gentle arrow—so I could steer him from the air in an emergency.

  Armed with that, he faced Aonir—the tormentor of his people. From Merlin’s back I had the best view of what was happening, and he seemed to enjoy it too. The emotions in Boris boiled over. He summoned the fifth king; gray smoke wrapped around his body. He began to practically boil. Of course he did—on his shoulders lay the concentrated hate of an entire people. The kind of precautions you need when facing the Mushkaren.

  After a long, exhausting fight, Boris managed to cut off one of Aonir’s feet. The lightning from his axes paralyzed this vile being. But Aonir didn’t let Boris leave without serious injuries. The Abrofarner simply weren’t built for the Mushkaren’s overwhelming force. Still, I saw no sign of retreat in Boris—only pure determination to destroy this enemy.

  The fight dragged on and Boris managed to cut off the enemy’s arm. With a precisely aimed throw of his axes, he made one of the commander’s eyeballs explode. The battlefield—already soaked in steaming blood—gained a new lake of it. Boris was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, but it only took one more strike and he could avenge his people.

  He stepped forward with the will to end this story—when Aonir suddenly began to retreat. Normally I would not have allowed that, but my magic was reaching its limits, and my followers were surely exhausted from all the gathering. We could only watch as Aonir fled like a coward. It was done—we had completed our task.

  We could only hope the other battlefields had similar success. But we were too exhausted to do anything else. Boris collapsed on the spot. I scooped him up with Merlin and told my companion to get us to safety. I left our troops the message of victory—so they could finally rest.

  Once we reached a safe place, I invested my remaining strength into healing Boris. He had pushed himself to the limit and needed proper treatment. Even if I felt a bit of joy while healing Boris, I still felt sorry that after all that torture I had to torment him with my healing magic as well. I couldn’t heal everything. I had to recover too. So after giving everything I had, I collapsed unconscious to the ground.

  LUMA—IF YOU TALK ABOUT THIS DREAM, I SWEAR—DON’T. KEEP QUIET.

  Interesting, Aurelia. But don’t worry—your threats scare me enough to keep that information to myself.

  I woke up from that wonderfully long dream under Merlin’s protection. Boris had apparently been awake for a while; together with Chef Le Favre, he was cooking his infamous home-style toast.

  YOU IDIOT, YOU PUT WAY TOO MANY SPICES ON MY TOAST.

  Oh—that’s what you meant, Aurelia.

  Damn it, Zeki, do you even know how much I was looking forward to that toast?

  After that dream, I could guess it, Auri.

  CALL ME AURI ONE MORE TIME AND I’LL GIVE YOU AURI. NOT A WORD ABOUT THE DREAM.

  Alright, Auri.

  Hey Luma, behind you.

  YAAAHHHHH!

  DAMN IT, AURELIA, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

  Let that be your last warning, Luma.

  Fine. My perspective ends here anyway.

  Thanks for the insights—I'm retreating again.

  Don’t forget, Luma: I’m still reading. So pull yourself together.

  Zeki—quick thing: I’ll see you on your 26th birthday, yeah?

  Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t prevent it. So see you then, Aurelia.

  SO NOW SERIOUSLY—ARE WE REALLY THROWING A BIRTHDAY PARTY ON THE MOUNTAIN?

  Zeki, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.

  Oh come on, Luma.

  But now not only I—Aurelia also wants to hear about the next fight.

  Alright. Then we continue with Master Eibrau’s, Chef Le Favre’s, and Neo’s fight against the giant brothers Friesnhorn and Niesnhorn.

  The battlefield on the right side picked up speed. Chef Le Favre was, as always, well prepared. From his endless bag he pulled one of his many weapons.

  He chose a large, gleaming machete to support him in this fight. In addition, he told his followers to skillfully apply their learned support abilities in combat.

  Master Eibrau might not be as powerful a mage as Aurelia, but that was no disadvantage—because he too could shine with immense magical force.

  Neo, without troops, always had a plan—no matter how hopeless the situation seemed. He quickly decided to corner the giants and surround them from all sides. Master Eibrau quickly eliminated some of the giants from the Giant Folk who had turned against us. With his magic he lifted them high into the air—only to smash them down with an immense impact.

  That tactic created heavy shockwaves that spread quickly and caused our troops major difficulties. However, to our advantage, there were also some creatures from the Giant Folk who did not betray us. These brave fighters courageously stood against their comrades. Day after day they had fought at their side—only to face them in battle now.

  What can I say, friends—you know it. Fate can be very cruel.

  Only thanks to them could we fight Friesnhorn and Niesnhorn without being disrupted. Even though that was easier said than done.

  Friesnhorn drew his giant katana.

  It was forged from steel mined by the giants. In times when giants were far larger, they used the “dunkelschwarzen Tryos” stone to craft their weapons and armor. They also used that resource to build their homes—which is why you can still see mighty, run-down palaces of the giants today.

  Sadly, their people were pushed to the brink of extinction centuries ago by the Triumphj?ger. They were known for loyalty—and yet they betrayed us.

  Niesnhorn followed his brother and pulled his mighty war hammer—nine tons of weight—from his back. Before we knew it, the beast swung and almost caught us cold.

  Master Eibrau stopped the hammer’s impact at the last moment with a powerful shield. Was the outcome intended? I don’t think so. But it wasn’t our problem in that moment. Niesnhorn hadn’t expected the sudden resistance, because Master Eibrau’s shield had a property: it reflected absorbed energy back with double strength.

  Which led to Niesnhorn slamming his own nine-ton hammer into his face.

  He dropped immediately—which gave us an immense advantage against Friesnhorn.

  Now our full attention was on Friesnhorn. And unlike his brother, Friesnhorn was fast and agile despite his sword’s impressive length of 5 meters and his massive size.

  He wielded his blade with a precision that was almost ridiculous. We were hopeless on the battlefield—Friesnhorn had forced us into defense. But Neo remembered something: Friesnhorn had told him he was deathly afraid of spiders—and that sparked an idea. According to Amelie’s records, we were near the spiders and spider-like monsters that lived in the Schattenreich.

  Neo’s plan was to have Master Eibrau shoot him with a magical wind blast—straight from the wizard’s staff—into the spiders’ gates and negotiate a deal with them. Chef Le Favre and Master Eibrau advised against it, because they had encountered those creatures before. But Neo saw it as the only chance to defeat Friesnhorn and trusted his negotiation skills.

  Dear readers, I want to tell you this reckless plan from Neo’s perspective, right from the action. If you don’t mind, I’ll slip into his skin.

  “Neo, I find your creativity in battle plans and your courage commendable. But I don’t trust the spiders.”

  “Me neither, Ga—uh, Master Eibrau. But it’s our only chance.”

  Before my launch, Chef Le Favre gave me something to take with me. I received a small bottle of antidote—something I was supposed to drink beforehand—and a scent flask with a smell that repels spiders. He said he had once been attacked by a spider and had carried these remedies ever since.

  Then it finally happened. Master Eibrau grabbed my feet with his magic, raised his staff, hurled me high into the air, and shot me at insane speed straight toward the spiders.

  During the flight—which lasted a total of ten seconds—I actually got a bit of luck: I finally saw the high-speed birds. I had read about this species in Aurelia’s lexicon, but apart from the fact that they move through the air at top speed, not much was known. These birds had white fur and silver feathers.

  As I stared at the bird, fascinated, it turned toward me and, out of nowhere, saluted. I had no idea why.

  Back to the story: Master Eibrau hurled me with perfect precision straight into the spiders’ ranks—into a dark environment that reeked bestially. The scent seemed to work. No one dared come near me.

  I only heard a few nasty comments about my looks and my stench—well, that’s in the eye of the beholder. Oh come on, what are the spiders complaining about? I don’t think Neo looks that bad.

  Are you bored again, Aurelia? Hey Luma, behind you.

  Not getting me this time, Aurelia.

  I’m not doing anything. I just wanted to show you my new form.

  Oh really?

  AHHHHHH AURELIA, YOU BITCH—WHY DO YOU DO THAT?

  No, Zeki. I’m not bored anymore—thanks to Luma.

  Jokes at the expense of my health go too far, Auri.

  Alright, alright. Sorry, Luma—please continue.

  That woman has a weird sense of humor, I’m telling you. AHHHHH DAMN IT, THIS IS NOT FUNNY.

  Whatever you two lovebirds are doing, I want to know what happens next.

  But first I should ask you something from Gotti-Gottfried, Aurelia.

  What is it?

  I’m supposed to ask if he’s allowed to meet you someday.

  How does he imagine that?

  He said you can visit him in his mansion in my head—but please don’t do that. I can’t handle even more voices.

  How old is Gotti-Gottfried anyway?

  Right… I never asked him that.

  He says he’s actually 638 years old, but 558 years ago he was appointed as a guardian spirit for abandoned street children.

  I’ll think about it. A spell to enter a target’s mind costs a lot of power.

  Gentlemen—now please, really, continue the story, because if I don’t fall asleep soon, the readers certainly will.

  As you wish, my queen.

  Hey Luma, you earned this—look behind you.

  Aurelia… that form is beautiful. I thought I’d get scared—

  AHHHHHH.

  Like this, maybe?

  NOT. FUNNY.

  Now seriously—sorry, dear readers. This is simply my pure, unfiltered life.

  May I finally continue?

  Where was I… The spiders seemed to avoid me, and apart from their snide comments they didn’t seem as described. They lived the same normal life all of us once did. I gambled with my life, but I decided to remove the scent. Of course, I set it in a corner where nobody hung out, so I wouldn’t irritate the spiders further.

  I asked some locals who their leader was. Again and again I was referred to someone named “Jochen.” A particularly friendly spider mom who was having financial trouble offered, in exchange for a few Olevs, to chauffeur me to the king on her back.

  For the bargain price of 300 Olevs, I reached the spider immediately. King Jochen’s estate lay right before my feet—it was enormous. I gave the kind spider—who told me on the way about her many children—1000 Olevs for the road. She could surely use it. Contrary to expectation, I was completely welcome in the king’s palace. The guards waved me through politely.

  In the middle of a great hall woven from silky-soft webs, I met King Jochen. For greeting, he offered me one of his legs, and we quickly got to talking. He told me about the decay of his kingdom—all because of a gang of feral spiders who had gone out into the world and spread nothing but terror.

  He also spoke of how rarely they got visitors. No creature cared about the spiders; everyone despised them. I told him about my problems too and asked if he would help me. He said he couldn’t do it for free—it would cost a few Olevs. For my part, I was just glad he didn’t eat me alive, so I agreed to pay 50,000 Olevs.

  King Jochen clearly enjoyed talking with me. And I was positively surprised by the whole situation, so I made it a side mission to help the spiders rebuild their kingdom and reputation as best I could.

  Friends—I know what you want.

  You love this book for its destructive tension, its insane twists, and of course for its movie-level scenes—so I’m going to give you exactly that, in the most dramatic form.

  I’m not doing this on purpose. This is the pure shit that happens in this world.

  Perspective switch to Master Eibrau!

  I have to disappoint you, Chef Le Favre. I still can’t see anything from the spider hill. Neo has surely been eaten despite all precautions.

  Give him a little more time, Master Eibrau. I trust him.

  We don’t have much time left before Friesnhorn finds us. My magic is running out, and with it our ability to disappear from this battlefield.

  Hope dies last, my friend.

  Another ten minutes have passed. I think that’s it for us. So my long life ends here. At least I got to meet the greatest mage. I can finally enter the endless lands of magic. I wish you nothing but the best.

  NOT SO FAST, MASTER EIBRAU! THERE HE IS! HE DID IT!

  NO WAY—THE KID REALLY CAN DO ANYTHING. SORRY, MOTHER, YOU’LL HAVE TO WAIT A LITTLE LONGER FOR MY ARRIVAL!

  Just as my magic was about to end and our veil was close to breaking, Neo appeared—with 1500 spiders.

  He rode onto the battlefield like an epic hero, on the back of a spider wearing a crown of silver feathers. We were saved. Neo had actually done it.

  I saw an army of feral spiders marching straight toward us, Neo at the front. His red longsword shone brighter—shining for hope in this fight.

  Back to Neo!

  Woah, Luma—your perspective switching is crazy. I like it.

  Me too, Auri. Me too.

  AND MOST IMPORTANT: THE READERS LIKE IT.

  I like it too—if anyone cares.

  We knew, Zeki.

  In front of me, 1500 brave spiders had gathered to go to war against a giant. I used the chance and explained our plan.

  “I, NEO RüCKMANN,” I began—but I WAS INTERRUPTED AGAIN. THIS CAN’T BE REAL. WHO’S TRYING TO SCREW WITH ME?

  “Dear spiders—fuck the plan. We just swarm him head-on.”

  The crowd went wild.

  “FOR THE SPIDER REALM!” thundered from every corner.

  “FOR THE SPIDER REALM!” I yelled in the midst of my newly won friends. And with that, we rode out—straight toward Friesnhorn. I mounted Jochen, raised my longsword to the sky, ready to erase the traitor.

  Jochen—there he is ahead! I saw him, my human friend.

  “GO, MY SPIDERS—GO!”

  We had prepared for a great war, but to our surprise, the moment Friesnhorn saw us, a loud, bright scream burst out of him—and he ran. He had been about to take care of his unconscious comrade, but he left him behind the second he spotted us. What a coward—leaves his brother lying in the fight.

  We drew closer and closer to Niesnhorn. Friesnhorn was long gone. Niesnhorn had just pushed himself back up— a death sentence for me and my spiders. His hammer would wipe us all out. But these brave warriors didn’t retreat an inch. Together, they sprinted straight at Niesnhorn.

  But then I had to witness something that once again reflected the entire course of this war—bitterly, cruelly, perfectly. Dwayne had realized our situation and rushed to help. With every meter, the dread grew—but there was no turning back. We had to do it.

  “I ROCK. I FRIEND.

  I PROTECT.”

  Those were the last words I heard from Dwayne before he took a running start and drilled his pointed head into Niesnhorn’s foot, pinning him in place. A scream burst out of Niesnhorn, writhing with pain—dark as the Mushkaren horn. I had to watch as Niesnhorn swung his hammer in a heavy arc and shattered Dwayne—who was stuck in his foot—with a single blow.

  A rain of stone shards rained down on us and wiped out many spiders. We were able to overwhelm Niesnhorn afterward, but there was no hope for Dwayne. His life was over. Niesnhorn had already been wrapped in a cocoon. Dwayne, dying, asked me to thank Chef Le Favre for the beautiful time.

  I didn’t want to deliver that message. I knew Dwayne had become his best friend. But his sacrifice would not be forgotten. His death hit me hard too—he was one of the most likeable guys in the whole squad, and I liked talking to him. As much as his death hurt, it hurt even more to bring that news to Chef Le Favre.

  But first, I still had to honor a request from Jochen.

  He looked ashamed. He asked me whether it would be okay to leave the dead giant to the spiders. He said in these times, giant meat had become extremely valuable—and he was honest with me: he could sell the entire giant for a fortune of one million Olevs. In return, he would waive payment for the spider services.

  I knew this investment would help the spiders’ economy immensely, and I had no use for Niesnhorn anyway. So I donated Niesnhorn to the spiders as a sign of my friendship. Jochen thanked me warmly, and the spiders also had a gift for one of their brothers—as they called me.

  The oldest spiders of the realm—those who had mastered the old arts of the outer-wall webs and had played a major role in building their home—spun me a tailored suit of armor from their nets. Extremely strong, force-dissipating, and still flexible and elastic—that was the suit I received. They even decorated it with a golden pattern. After that, King Jochen himself appointed me Prince of the Spiders.

  In the hard times I had just lived through, this wonderful experience was a welcome change—but one hurdle still had to be overcome.

  Zeki—should I torment the readers?

  Do what you think is right.

  Alright. But you’ve been warned.

  “NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOO! WHY, WHY, DWAYNE! TALK TO ME, MY FRIEND—PLEASE TALK!”

  I’m sorry, Chef le Favre. He’s dead.

  “NOOOOO! THAT CAN’T BE TRUE—NOOOOOOO! DWAYNE, COME ON, BUDDY, YOU’RE STILL ALIVE, PLEASE!”

  I thought it was us against the world, my friend—WHERE ARE YOU? TALK TO MEEEEEEEEEEE!”

  My condolences, Chef. He meant a lot to me too.

  WHY, WHY, WHYYYYYYYYYY.

  Come on, buddy— as hard as it sounds, we have to keep going.

  HE WAS STILL SO YOUNG.

  He’s in a better place now. He’ll watch you and stand by you in the future. At least he no longer has to witness the cruelties of this reality.

  I gave Chef Le Favre a small moment. When his condition stabilized somewhat, after he took a memorial stone with him and steeled himself for this disgusting storm, Merlin appeared.

  Rest in peace, Dwayne. I figured out why Chef Le Favre looked so sad. He could hide his emotions from me well, but after a loss like that, there was nothing left to hide.

  Luma—good work. The reader is thrilled and moved to tears at the same time. Your perspective switches hit with maximum impact. Even if I’ll probably spend the next nights crying over Dwayne—and yeah, that’s coming too.

  Luma, I have to say: I never experienced these views of the war. I was the one who waged this war, and yet I could never grasp the full scale of this madness. Thank you for your perspectives.

  Since we’re on it—Aurelia, what does the man who brings these perspectives to life even look like?

  I have no idea, Zeki. I can only sense him. I can’t see him, unfortunately.

  What a shame. I would’ve liked to see his face—every time I scared him.

  Zeki, you’ll meet me soon. Don’t forget—departure is calling.

  I know. I have one week left now, but this chapter finally has to end—only about 25,420 words.

  So we go straight on with the last of my perspectives?

  What else do you have to offer?

  The third and last fight I want to highlight is Sensei Bi-Shi-Zu’s fight against the one who once betrayed him and led him into an ambush: none other than the death vampire Alexus. After that fight, you can give your own views from your battle, Zeki.

  That’s fine, Luma. I learned that I don’t always have to be the hero, even if I forced that role onto myself a bit. Besides—apart from brutally slaughtering countless Mushkaren, I don’t have much story to offer.

  Well… if I may say so, Zeki: you’re the best leader I could imagine.

  Back then, during Sensei’s training, I already knew it—I would follow you and your path until I die, no matter what.

  Thank you, Aurelia. But without you I would’ve never come this far. Thank you—really—for your support.

  Zeki, finish it already and don’t keep her waiting.

  WAIT—YOU KNOW MY FEELINGS FOR Anthea?

  Of course, Zeki, you idiot. The paper rose. The chain. The letter. MAKE HER THE HAPPIEST WOMAN IN THIS WORLD.

  That was the plan, Aurelia. Do you think she’s really waiting for me?

  I can’t tell you. Let’s ask Luma.

  NO—LUMA IS NOT GOING TO HAUNT Anthea.

  Then you’ll probably never find out.

  Zeki, I suggest you send her a letter.

  YES! I LOVE LOVE DRAMA!

  No. I won’t send her a letter. She probably doesn’t even remember I exist anymore and is happy with someone else.

  WRITE THE LETTER! WRITE THE LETTER! WRITE THE LETTER!

  Fine. But I don’t want an angry husband coming after me.

  And besides, dear readers—you could probably use a breather from all of this.

  I’ve already poured my heart and soul into this book anyway. Why shouldn’t I let you take part in the most important text of my life?

  It actually feels good to write something of my own into my book again, and some variety would certainly be appropriate. I’m telling you, friends: Chapter 9 destroyed me. Even though I experienced most of it and helped cause it.

  Note from the author of life: It destroyed me too, even though I made it up.

  I figured as much. Nice to know you feel the same, you sick head.

  Zeki—did you fall on your head or what?

  No, but now that you mention it, I have terrible headaches.

  Oh please—because I’m infiltrating your head right now, the “author of your life” is just a tiny joke-mite hiding in your pen, you idiot.

  You think?

  Yeah, exactly. You got properly played.

  No. What Aurelia is saying isn’t true at all. I am the author of your life. Don’t play with the future, Zeki.

  Sure, and my grandma’s name is Ssiperv Hcid.

  Huh? What do you mean?

  Oh, I love reusing the same dumb joke multiple times. Always funny.

  Bye, joke-mite.

  I wasted two days replacing my beloved pen—but if this author is gone now, it was worth it.

  I even managed to snag the newest model. While the old “Stiftus Maximus 2500” limited my writing speed, with the new “Maximus Stiftus 5000” I can write twice as fast as before. If I’m lucky, I can document my last days before departure up to the 8th bell toll. The 9th I want to forget anyway.

  But now let’s start the letter for Anthea. Every additional day she has to wait breaks my heart.

  “My beloved Anthea, I know it’s been a long time since we heard from each other—and even longer since I could smell your scent.”

  Ooooh, Zeki, you old charmer. That makes women’s hearts bloom.

  “I just want you to know: I will soon bring this to an end, and I won’t keep you waiting anymore.

  Our memories together—starting with you waking me up with birthday wishes; you accompanying me on my journeys with your rose; or your letter giving me back the hope I lost on the road. All of those moments are among the most beautiful of my life, and I want you to know that.

  I’m writing a book about the events I lived through.

  In the moments when I wrote about you, a smile always found its way onto my face despite my hopeless situation. You are the absolute best thing in my life. I hope we can soon live through my stories together. I hope I can hold you in my arms soon and tell you about peace in the Schattenreich.

  I don’t know what else to write. Love never played a big role in my life so far—and I hate myself for that. I hate myself for making you wait so long. Because you gave me a feeling that not even a yellow wall can trigger that strongly. Real love.”

  WHERE DID THE YELLOW WALL COME FROM, ZEKI?

  The real ones will understand, Aurelia. I believe that.

  “Dear Anthea, you are the woman I want to spend my life with—the woman I want to share a grave with. Please wait a little longer. I love you.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Yours, Zeki.”

  OH. MY. GOD.

  Zeki—respect for you and your words. You made my heart melt. I think Anthea will be very happy about that.

  I hope so. Now this letter just has to make its way into the Apfelhain area.

  I think I should ask Pablo—what do you think?

  Sounds good.

  Alright. Since you all agree, I will—respecting Pablo’s wishes—stroke the quill once.

  Now we wait.

  Luckily, during my mission to buy a new pen I also picked up fresh herb. This time I managed to get the “flachen Seestern”—a rare strain that only grows on the backs of fully grown Alpers.

  The effect is the same as Waldmonster herb—pure happiness, only about ten times stronger.

  Are you addicted to these herbs?

  Well… how do I put it? It’s a good option to feel good in all this hate sometimes, so why not?

  Enjoy the herbs with caution, please.

  Alright, Aurelia.

  While we wait, I can tell you a bit about my life on the side.

  After the ninth bell toll, our group scattered in all directions. I haven’t heard from most of them for a long time. Goatabi wanted—if I recall correctly—to build his own fighting school on the mountain of the phoenixes. Neo headed to the spiders, to document unknown creatures of the Schattenreich with their support. Aurelia had… yeah, just tell them yourself.

  Yeah. Not much. After that spectacle, I just wanted peace. That’s all. Even if, on the side, I’m dealing with cataloging magic.

  Chef Le Favre went back to his home village. He said he wanted to open a restaurant there.

  Sensei, in his proud age of 87, retired and returned home too. He said his final task was to build a monument for the heroes of the Schattenreich.

  So I get a statue?

  That was supposed to be Sensei’s surprise for you—but yes. You do.

  HELL YES. I HOPE IT HAS BEAUTIFUL VIOLET HAIR TOO.

  I have no information about the others.

  We should plan another meeting, Zeki.

  Let me guess—my 26th birthday would be perfect?

  How did you know?

  I had a feeling. But no—I’m not throwing a party at my parents’ grave. How sick is that?

  True… but I can come, right?

  If I mention that I’m meeting the voices in my head, you’re a very welcome guest, Aurelia.

  WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT—sorry, Zeki. Habit.

  Frank—nothing against you. Nothing against Luma either. The fact itself is absurd.

  Who is this Frank anyway?

  Who I am, you ask? Come into Zeki’s head and find out.

  DON’T DO IT, AURELIA.

  Relax. I don’t have the energy for that kind of nonsense anyway.

  My head thanks you.

  What else can I tell? Luma, do you have anything?

  No stories, no—but a few funny side facts. For example: the fact that you met Boris much earlier. Do you remember that crazy guy you ran into back then? That was Boris—he had just dropped Ignaz off at the zoo. Or the fact that Stahlhaart’s crystal sometimes flickered slightly black. Then there’s also something with Auri.

  Yeah? What about me?

  AHHHH—STOP SCARING ME, YOU WITCH.

  I noticed you struggled every day with whether to reveal the thing with your parents. Your emotional split between living with a lie and suffering with the truth shook you badly.

  OF COURSE IT DID. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

  Then there was something with Boris—long before your arrival, he had enjoyed the visit of a strange creature.

  It had legs and feet like a human, but its body was a black square. This creature came into the bar, ordered what was then still called a “Proletentrunk”—now known as Oskar. It neither smelled it nor drank it. It loudly complained about Boris and swore revenge, then poured the drink over him and left the bar—though not without breaking a chair first.

  Shouldn’t we slowly jump back to the action, my gentlemen and Aurelia?

  Plenty of time until Pablo shows up.

  I think the readers have breathed enough. Let’s start with Sensei Bi-Shi-Zu versus Alexus.

  Wait for me—I’m reading too. Give me two minutes.

  Hurry up, Aurelia. I’m as curious as your bow.

  I’m back. Luma, start please—but turn around first.

  Huh?

  What— I didn’t get scared, I got to see this wonderful Aurelia again?

  Take it as motivation. Otherwise the burnt Schnitzel comes back.

  Let’s jump straight into it.

  Shit—my situation is hopeless. I hope my students are holding up well. As for me, I must be an example.

  SO COME AND FACE ME, ALEXUS.

  Albo taught me this technique. I alone was chosen to learn it. I swore I would never use it again—but I think I have no other choice.

  “Bi-Shi-Zu, I hated training under you. I hate everything about you. Do me a favor and just die.”

  You can stand in my way, but I won’t let you slip away again.

  “Drop dead, you vile abomination.”

  My ancestors will turn in their graves for me using techniques that once destroyed my homeland.

  I don’t have time for these thoughts. I have to focus.

  I will now summon the ancient god of the curse and offer him half my soul as payment for his techniques.

  COME TO ME, STRA. I CALL YOU.

  Within a second, the deal was done. I felt the doom of the curse weighing on me. Now I had to transfer these powers onto Alexus. This death vampire floated through the air with an eerie aura. One bite from him was deadly for any creature. I had to be extremely careful.

  First I perform my old familiar five-hit combo: two to the stomach, one to the chest, and two more to the face.

  With the power of the curse god, that should be an effective hit.

  I could hardly believe it—this vampire was so fast. He could dodge every strike without effort.

  So I had to raise my initiative massively to keep up.

  Damn. I’m finished.

  BUT MY WILL TO FIGHT CANNOT BE BROKEN.

  “What is it, old man—am I too fast for you?”

  Less talking, more fighting, you asshole. I will make you understand the curses of my homeland. I trained and worked for this moment for years. A vile being like you will not break me.

  Next comes the triple Bi-Shi-Zu Special.

  Number one—straight into the hip.

  Number two—straight into the face.

  AND NUMBER THREE, YOU ABOMINATION, STRAIGHT TO THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD.

  “Was that all?”

  You stagger and play the great hero. See where your arrogance leads you.

  I managed to grab the drowsy vampire by the throat. I used him like a battering ram, took a running start, and slammed his head into a rock. Then I grabbed the vile beast and smashed his head over and over onto a sharp stone.

  With every hit, I felt his power fading—even as his aura drained my life energy at the same time. 361 times I crushed his skull against that stone. But this death vampire was so old and so cruel—his reservoir of souls he used to shield himself from death just wouldn’t end.

  He grew weaker from blow to blow, but still had an enormous amount of strength left, so I had to keep my guard up.

  Lucky for him, Alexus fled again while I delivered the longest chain of strikes I had ever shown on him.

  What am I saying—lucky for him?

  Of course I gave the beast no path to withdraw this time. I chased him immediately.

  Then came the next combo. A full 35 times I beat his face in. Blow after blow he took from me. I had never felt such joy in my life—never before could I play my abilities out like this.

  Then Alexus dared an attack: he raised a black cloud of his life-draining aura.

  I dodged it cleanly.

  What’s wrong, big guy—am I too fast for you?

  You have consumed many souls. Your power hasn’t been at its peak for a long time.

  “I WILL RETURN, BI-SHIT-ZU.”

  Oh no—you won’t disappear at all. Ready for the next round?

  Apparently this bastard was even more cunning than I thought. He sacrificed a large portion of his souls to slip away from the battlefield.

  Lucky you—again. You escaped me again, you runt.

  After that, Sensei collapsed from exhaustion. Even in his old age, he had to recover.

  It was done. The sixth bell toll was survived. We mourn Dwayne and all allies who gave their lives. Overall, all involved teams were halved—tragic, but sadly the only way.

  We don’t have much time. Even if Zeki can write twice as fast with his new pen, we don’t even have a week left before he has to leave.

  That brings us directly to the next bell toll. The stage is yours, Zeki.

  Wait, Luma—I think Pablo is coming soon. I can already hear him singing.

  “We are all… born at G?nseplatz, lost our hearts early, but for all times—BAM, PABLO IS HERE.”

  Here, Pablo—like I told you earlier, I’m writing a book about the events of my life. I know we’ve had hard years, but I promise you it will soon come to an end.

  “What are you talking about, Zeki?”

  I’ll have to leave soon. My 26th birthday is coming up and I want to be honest with you, Pablo. I’m going to meet my voices in my head and Aurelia at my parents’ grave.

  Hi, Pablo—how are the feathers?

  And while we’re at it—she’s been part of it lately too, writing the book together with Gotti-Gottfried (the first voice I got), Luma the second, and Frank the third.

  “Zeki, are you okay?”

  Yes, Pablo. Just read what Aurelia is writing you.

  What’s crunching, feather friend?

  “Pablo isn’t mad, Zeki, but Friend Aurelia has never talked like this.”

  No. That’s really her.

  “Seriously, if it’s her—how many feathers does Pablo have?”

  Exactly 547.

  “That’s not true. It’s 546.”

  Yeah—because you gave me one too, Pablo. Did you forget?

  “That… is correct then. Zeki, what is all this?”

  I don’t have time to explain it to you, Pablo.

  “Friend Zeki, you said you have to go to the tree on your birthday, right?”

  Right, Pablo.

  “Pablo will bring you there, don’t worry.”

  But Pablo—don’t you have family waiting for you? It’ll take me a long time to explain all of this.

  If you really want it, it’s no problem for me. I even brought enough herb. The rare one that grows on the backs of Alpers.

  “Friend Zeki… Pablo’s family was surprised by a spider searching for food while Pablo was traveling. I… I couldn’t do anything, Zeki. THEY WERE GONE. DISAPPEARED. EVERYTHING—JUST NOT WITH ME.”

  It’s okay, my friend. Let’s smoke a pipe. Aurelia and I will gladly help you.

  “Friend Zeki… you’re all Pablo has left. Before you rubbed the quill, he was about to kill himself.”

  Pablo, I’m glad I can be here for you, my friend—like in the old days. And I’m happy I can help you with your problems.

  “Thank you, Friend Zeki. Really—thank you for your help.”

  Hey Pablo—don’t beat yourself up. Sometimes it already helps just to talk to someone about it.

  That applies to you too, dear readers.

  “Who are the readers?”

  I can’t tell you that, Pablo. “The readers” are right now being woven into the process of the book, even though only in the future they’ll learn they were part of this book. They’re the ones who ultimately decide about this book—love it or even criticize it. Simply put: the ones to whom my life is not indifferent.

  And I want to thank them in the book already. That gives them a “wow effect.”

  “Friend Zeki—shall we start with your life?”

  Alright, Pablo. Take the herb, light your pipe and your interest—we have a long journey ahead.

  Friends—Aurelia speaking. It’s three in the morning. Zeki fell asleep at the table, and Pablo is already asleep too.

  But luckily Luma doesn’t need sleep, which lets me, with his help, finally write the next bell toll while Zeki sleeps. You surely want some entertainment too.

  I was right there: the seventh bell toll hit my team—the Children of Magic. It was doomed from the start.

  We had a warm day. The other teams were out scouting, so we were alone in the supposedly secured base. I’d had a strange feeling all day, but didn’t want to follow it. Early evening began, and my troops—who had worked hard all day, gathering nature energy for my reserves—grew more and more tired.

  None of us expected doom. We were in the heart of our realm, in the self-declared “Chef Le Favre” passage, where we were building a large city. But evil never sleeps—so in the early morning hours, I heard the enemy horn. At least, I thought I did.

  I woke from my dream drenched in sweat. Had I only dreamed the attack?

  Doesn’t matter. I followed that strange feeling and woke my troops. I also readied them for battle. My reserves were full, but it didn’t hurt to carry extra. My motto is always: better too much than too little— which is why Zeki teases me about my clothes, but what can I do.

  So I sent them behind the hill to harvest reserve fuel.

  Tense, I waited for the attack. When morning came, I went to the place from my dream. I held my staff tight in my hand—crafted from magical wood of the old tree, decorated with the finest artificial stone ornaments.

  And then—finally. I hadn’t been lied to. The enemy horn sounded. I was sure our base wouldn’t withstand the Mushkaren swarm for long. So I did what anyone in my situation would do: once again I went to my knees. Once again I begged for her power.

  It shamed me to ask that monster for strength, but I had no other option. Once again I had to feed that bitch.

  I mean Alexandra—my older sister. The monster who brutally murdered her and my parents. The beast that haunts and curses me.

  I want to tell you a short story about Alexandra before we continue. The first seven years of her life were fine. She was loved by our parents—the only child.

  Then I was born, and her perfect life ended. She resented me for it. She tried to murder me multiple times when I was still a toddler. She attacked me with a knife and strangled me again and again. I learned early what kind of hate some creatures can spread.

  Again and again she tried to end my life. Again and again I escaped through pure luck or sheer coincidence. Until my sixth birthday arrived—the day that would change my life forever.

  Alexandra lured me to an old cliff with a river. She said she wanted to show me the beautiful view. But I learned nothing there except her next murder attempt—only that this time, I fought back.

  She wanted to push me off the cliff. I can’t describe it exactly—I only heard a few voices before the attack. Those blurred voices kept whispering things like “Finish it” or “Kill that piece of shit” into my ear.

  Even though I didn’t want it, my magic acted on its own.

  I couldn’t control my body anymore. I had to watch as my magic grabbed my sister, crushed her in the air—breaking every bone—and then threw her into the cliff to rot.

  My head burned. The voices conquered me.

  “Doesn’t it feel great, Aurelia?”

  or “Victory is yours, my triumph horse,”

  burned into my mind.

  I was powerless against my own strength.

  As I stood at the edge of madness on that cliff, Phase 2 began. I didn’t want it—but I enjoyed the death of my miserable sister. Deep down, I had always wanted her gone.

  So much for that plan. The bitch swore to make my life hell—see the attack on my parents. With every day her power and malice grow.

  Every drive for strength cost me a piece of myself, and it wore me down.

  And yet here I was again—alone on the battlefield against the Mushkaren—begging for her strength.

  Yeah. Sometimes it’s like that.

  For Zeki’s victory, I’ll do anything.

  So I let the beast loose.

  Hundreds of Mushkaren ran at me. I stood alone.

  Didn’t stop me.

  I drew my bow instantly and began coating my arrows with an extremely painful poison magic. My skin turned grayish. The transformation into an absolute beast began slowly. I’d love to avoid disfiguring my beautiful skin like this—but I had to do what must be done.

  I flew high into the air. Before that, I told my troops not to speak to me—only to focus on producing nature energy. With my hands I formed huge burning spheres of pure magic and made them rain down on the enemies in rapid succession.

  Time to bring my staff onto the stage.

  I hovered at the height of those beasts’ heads, forced them into a straight line, and pulverized their entire heads with a powerful beam of magic.

  But Alexandra’s thirst for suffering wasn’t satisfied yet—so I added the cherry on top.

  At a dizzying height of 75 meters, I could see the entire army opposing me. 3,000 heavily armed, war-bred creatures had taken the city.

  I had one chance, and I couldn’t miss it. It was my only one.

  So I executed my biggest attack so far.

  My magic reserves and my nature-energy capacity were maxed out. I raised my staff and created a magic sphere, packed with countless arrows and effects. Its diameter was 130 meters and it drained all my strength. Releasing that much magic destabilized me.

  Then came the turning point of this story:

  Alexandra managed to take full control of my body.

  She infused the sphere with her pure malice, expanding it by another 70 meters in diameter. It happened in a flash. She fired the sphere straight into the heart of the enemies. Anyone not hit by the rain of arrows suffered endless pain. The entire city was wrapped in a shell of pitch-black doom.

  Every creature caught within that mass-destruction weapon was torn apart into every single piece. Like acid, their bodies dissolved.

  Never before had I experienced my magic like that. 3,000 creatures within a minute—on my conscience—and yet I enjoyed Alexandra’s show.

  No matter how evil she is, her priority is still to make my life hell—preferably for life. And despite everything, she is bound to loyalty toward me. I hold her soul in my hand. She finds rest only when I no longer need her, and she knows it.

  But after that attack, it was over for me and my followers.

  From 75 meters I fell unconscious from exhaustion. But one didn’t give up on me: Merlin. He came to my aid at the last second and caught me.

  I woke up and had to learn even worse doom:

  Because the sphere was expanded by 70 meters, my troops had all life force drained from nature.

  They had taken far too much energy, and nature demanded balance.

  The hill I sent my allies to was now filled with corpses.

  Lifeless friends, everywhere—completely drained, dry bodies. No one survived nature’s backlash. No one had expected the massive amounts of nature energy I needed.

  My magic had squeezed the remaining Children of Magic dry like a lemon.

  I was left alone in a massive heap of corpses. I spent two days in complete isolation until the others finally returned from their excursion. I met Zeki—he understood the situation instantly. Still, I explained to him and the group what had happened. From now on, we had to keep going without the Children of Magic. A brutal slap in the face—right after the disaster with Neo.

  But what can I say, friends—life goes on, as they say. Another member of the Leidbringer was on record. I didn’t leave Zeki’s side anymore, probably out of fear he’d suffer the same fate if I wasn’t there. Luckily I had fitting clothes—I put on my most ominous dress. I had to represent suffering with charm, obviously.

  From that point on, I followed only Zeki’s interests. There was one big upside to the whole story: finally I could fight with background music. I was curious whether it really was as much better as Zeki claimed. My magic was combat power in its purest form.

  That’s it. That’s the end of the seventh bell toll. Shit—I really need to work on my transitions.

  Anyway, before I go to sleep too, I want to tell you something: your favorite character is going to get a tattoo. I read about the three magical symbols. An old record by Dayo informed me about their possession. These symbols as tattoos make it possible to channel magical power through my body and thus bind magic to my emotional state.

  Dayo also wrote something about the artist who performs these tattoos—and luckily for me, I know this person. It’s the crazy artist Nihilium, who created the designs for payment. He’s the only way to get the magical symbols as a tattoo, so I’ll have to seek him out soon.

  But that’s it from me for now. Zeki will probably spend another day or two telling Pablo his life. If I feel like it, I’ll write again when Zeki sleeps. Aurelia out!

  Friends, then I guess I’ll have to take over. Sleep well, Aurelia.

  You know my name. I’m Luma, and I can probably use Zeki’s hand for a few side stories now—unless you don’t want to hear them?

  Well, you can always skip them.

  I present: Luma’s Filler Stories, Edition 1, Chapter 1 – Stahlhaart’s and Zeki’s Wild Excursions.

  I don’t have much time. Normally Zeki wakes up in about 2–3 hours—enough time to tell you these little stories. Not the crown jewel, sure, but at least something readable for you in this transition phase.

  Let’s start with the two of them regularly visiting the casino—of course without winning. Edi Edhart had a few sneaky one-armed bandits in his selection. Almost nobody managed to impress these demanding creatures, and so more and more beings lost their Olevs to these machines. You could watch it: this addiction to that feeling slowly drove every creature that fell for it into madness.

  Not Zeki and Stahlhaart, though. They lost their Olevs at the table every single time. I can’t understand why anyone does that, but that’s how it is. Honestly, friends—don’t do this shit. Please don’t support your local Edi.

  And we mustn’t forget their second adventure. It was a time of scarcity: Waldmonster herb was running out and the boys had to get more.

  There was only one stop: Pablo.

  But he was nowhere to be found. So they went on a long journey deep into the orangutan’s forest. Strange figures crossed their path. They met a young woman who seemed mentally ill. She strutted through the forest completely carefree. By coincidence, Zeki and Stahlhaart were moving through that area as well.

  Anyway, this creature was not normal—obviously also on her way to get new herb. As our two heroes went on their way, they were overtaken by Rocketerina, as she was called—though not without stealing Stahlhaart’s wallet.

  She was so sly, he didn’t notice at first—but a wallet thief with experience cannot be stolen from.

  He moved his mechanical hand and yanked her back by her clothes. “You can’t steal from me, but good try.”

  “Hey, you pervert, let go of me. What’s wrong with you?”

  Her voice sounded beautiful, but all that mattered to Stahlhaart was his wallet.

  “Don’t play dumber than you are. Give me my wallet or it’s gonna strike twelve.”

  “Oh, I’d love to see it strike twelve—really, you can believe me. I mean that completely seriously. Honestly, I’m not lying. I’m speaking the truth. Trust me.”

  A completely baffled “That was a joke, right?” followed from Stahlhaart, but nothing came after that except a stupid stare.

  Anyway, he got his wallet back.

  “Worth a try,” was the last thing the two heard before Rocketerina turned around and lived up to her name: she pulled out a self-built weapon and fired glowing glass shards toward Zeki and Stahlhaart.

  “Say, are you missing a few screws?” Stahlhaart asked.

  “Consider it a goodbye kiss, my loves,” and then she vanished again.

  What a strange creature—and that, despite her angelic voice.

  Anyway, that’s it again with the stories. Little Zeki will be getting up soon.

  Good morning, Zeki—ready for the next day?

  Morning, Luma. Yes. A lot is on the schedule today, but unfortunately I can’t write much.

  Don’t worry. Aurelia and I are available. You love sleeping at the table anyway, so we were good and borrowed your hand while you slept. The chapter has to reach its ending, after all.

  So do you already know how it continues?

  With Chapter 9, the readers should be fully up to date.

  Leave that to me, Luma. But this story doesn’t have an end yet—I’m sure of that.

  I have to finish it.

  THIS NIGHTMARE WILL END ONLY WHEN BRAUNSTEIN AND FIACHRA ARE ON THE GROUND.

  Friends, another exhausting day has passed. I was able to gather more information about magic, but I don’t want to stretch this far-too-long chapter unnecessarily.

  Welcome to the 8th bell toll of the Mushkaren. As always, I’m your beloved Aurelia, and I’ll be telling this from the perspective of someone affected who was there on site.

  The eighth warning was spoken—and it was more cruel than any before it. In the middle of this madness, Zeki and I were at the very front. Trained by our Sensei, who stayed with us to the bitter end, we used our training once again.

  We had nearly reached the kingdom of Abrofar. Our main goal was still the annihilation of these filthy creatures. Every being has a right to exist—but these beasts… they were born to spread suffering, and I—I was born to spread suffering in their ranks.

  I held nothing but hate for these monsters. My will to erase them all and use their souls as fuel for my magic was stronger than ever. This war had demanded so many victims—free creatures who joined Zeki’s path, as I once did. Lifeless on the ground, shattered, crushed, butchered.

  Every way a life could end had become almost everyday routine in our ranks—and for that I wanted these sons of bitches to suffer. They would feel the powers of the golden mage, and I would not rest until the last of them joined my soul collection. If I have to, I will use dark magic and wipe these bastards out once and for all.

  Enough talk. Let’s get to what matters.

  My hate is known. Now to the event.

  The leaders of the different teams and their loyal companions met to discuss the next plans. Neo had just explained his plan—of course he had to start three times before he could finally speak without interruption. I don’t understand why. Every time that boy wanted to present one of his master plans, he got interrupted.

  What was not funny, however, were the Mushkaren, who were preparing an attack during all that. Somehow, our location fell into their hands. We were finished.

  Zeki, Neo, the Sensei, Master Eibrau, Chef le Favre, Boris, and I stood alone on the battlefield. When the enemy horn finally sounded, we faced an entire army—too many to count.

  They mobilized everything and everyone to defeat us. The feral pigs stormed straight into our formation. Without hesitation, I ordered Merlin to grab Neo and Chef le Favre and bring them to safety. Neo resisted my command.

  “Aurelia, I can help too—I don’t carry this sword for nothing.”

  I had to make it clear to him. As harsh as it sounded, we needed his mind more than his combat power. I felt like the worst, but I had to act.

  “HELL YES, FINALLY IT GETS EXCITING!” Zeki shouted across the battlefield before he started to boil with rage.

  I had never witnessed his transformation this close. His skin turned pitch-black, his veins glowed a bright red. Suddenly it wasn’t Zeki anymore— it was a 70-meter monster born from hate, haunting the battlefield.

  Zeki—impressive. But don’t think I’m behind you in anything. I may not get huge, but my magic still has a few surprises.

  Meanwhile, Uwe latched straight onto Zeki’s chest and fed on his blood—a painful sight, but the qualities Uwe could deliver because of it were indispensable. He grew and grew and became more and more dangerous.

  And Sensei put on a show as well. He performed an ancient technique: he sat down in the middle of the battlefield and began to meditate.

  Then he began to grow beyond himself. A flickering image of Sensei appeared. The scene grew darker—and so did the weather. How much I would’ve loved music for our fight, but the Apfelhain city musicians weren’t here.

  To my left I saw Sensei’s enormous protective reflection. To my right stood the bloodthirstiest warriors in our ranks: Zeki and Uwe.

  Chef le Favre and Neo—who had no chance in this fight—were removed from the field, reluctantly. That left only Master Eibrau, Boris, and me.

  “Don’t feel bad, Aurelia—I can’t get huge either,” Boris said. That cheered me up a little.

  So there we stood, ready to wipe out an entire army. This was our greatest fight so far.

  It was good that our remaining troops were safe, because now we could finally unleash our full potential. Boris’ scar lit up in all kinds of colors, meaning he was preparing to summon multiple kings of Abrofar.

  After what felt like an eternity, the fighting began.

  Zeki and Uwe in the very front as a living wall. Their terror burned into the enemy ranks. Sensei Bi-Shi-Zu used the weather and hurled lightning at those pathetic things—hit targets were instantly crushed into dust.

  Boris stormed the enemy ranks. Without hesitation he attacked, drove his axes deep into the enemies, then jumped like a predator to the next victim.

  Meanwhile, Master Eibrau and I prepared something insanely huge in the back.

  I created several small magic spheres filled with all kinds of arrows, then packed those small ones into one enormous sphere. My magic teacher, meanwhile, prepared an overwhelming beam. Once that was ready, our strike began.

  Amelie, the sweet one, had revealed the perfect spot to detonate this bomb. We fired a cluster bomb of insanely evil magic into the enemy.

  Anyone hit by my magic who didn’t die miserably on the spot was from then on under my control. I unleashed these pigs on their own comrades.

  You have to understand: enemies possessed by me get a visit from none other than Alexandra.

  Every infected target suffered the pain of her malice. Without exception, every one of these bastards felt my daily pain with that beast—only they had no control over Alexandra.

  I expected a different reaction. Without any emotion at all, they simply attacked their comrades. They didn’t care one bit.

  That threw my plan off somewhat, but at least I could remove a small portion of the enemies from the board. Still, Master Eibrau and I had more in the tank as a duo.

  A mage alone can unleash immense power. But fighting two is a guaranteed death sentence. Maybe the Mushkaren knew that—maybe not. I didn’t care. They got slaughtered anyway.

  The battlefield was filled with booming impacts, lightning raining down, and battle screams— from Zeki and Uwe, honestly it sounded like a dying whale.

  We were already preparing the next magic bomb, this time without control but with Alexandra. Her malice dyed the massive beam that Eibrau and I prepared into the deepest black.

  Master Eibrau also cast a spell that only turtle mages could use. It caused the enemies to suddenly move at the pace of a turtle. That beam looked unbelievably beautiful—deep black combined with rich green, almost too beautiful to fire.

  Many enemies in the area who weren’t wiped out by the beam then suffered the wide-area effect of the turtle spell.

  We couldn’t do much more, but one last attack was still possible. Now that we had slowed many important warriors of the enemy army, it was time for a final mighty spell—performed by the two most powerful mages of their age.

  We developed a magic sphere that, upon contact, split into ever smaller little spheres and thus could cover an immense area. I placed an old curse—recorded in the annals of magic—onto the sphere. It made it so those hit could be killed with a single strike.

  Master Eibrau chose a spell that shrinks targets. From 15-meter monsters, only 2-meter creatures remained.

  So one last time, we poured all our magic into that sphere. It had to be bigger, more powerful, and more terrifying than anything before.

  I had already applied an old curse… but should I use another one?

  Oh friends—you know me. Alexandra’s influence was of course added too. That only cost me three weeks of headaches.

  So we built the perfect magical weapon for the grand finale. Ready to fire it, I looked Master Eibrau in the eyes. He nodded, and we launched our mega-weapon.

  What happened after that I could only guess. Completely exhausted, I was forced to my knees.

  But I had a bigger problem: if the magic recoil from the attack almost killed me, that could mean only one thing.

  I had a fear—and I was terrified of its confirmation.

  I knew I held far more magic than Master Eibrau. That’s why I feared the death of my master of magic.

  My world collapsed again. I felt like a house was falling on me. Five meters away I saw Master Eibrau’s lifeless body. That bastard had looked me in the eyes and nodded. He knew he would die—and he deliberately used far too much magic to make that sphere even larger.

  I collapsed immediately. I had neither the strength to heal him nor the ability to stop my uncontrolled fall into a rock. Even today I bear a scar— that sharp stone almost killed me.

  I woke up. Zeki and the others stood before me—only Boris lay beside me.

  Boris was apparently badly injured too. Later I learned that in the fight against the 2-meter Mushkaren, he had missed a jump and gotten into trouble, suffering serious wounds. But he managed to reach safety and leave the rest to Uwe.

  Speaking of him—he gave me a proper speech. He couldn’t drink the blood of 15-meter creatures anymore, only 2-meter ones. But let the mosquito talk—he’s not a problem for me.

  Everyone had survived—like a miracle. Surely thanks to Master Eibrau’s sacrifice. Everyone mourned him. But nobody would have lived without him and his great deeds. He was truly our hero.

  He didn’t just join us to train me—far more than that. He trained countless comrades, studied magic, and forged me into a master of my craft.

  And beyond all that, he was a contact point for every creature suffering psychological problems from the war. He regularly hosted therapy sessions—almost always fully booked.

  What defined him was the way he lived. He valued life, and despite his power, there wasn’t a trace of arrogance in him. He met you at eye level. That made him a great comrade, instructor, and above all, friend.

  I couldn’t believe it. Of course, a world fell apart inside me. But I managed to find courage again quickly. I remembered the lessons, and I was grateful for everything he did for me. Grateful for the time we had, and grateful fate introduced me to someone like Master Eibrau.

  But friends—you know what comes next. Your queen is going to sleep now.

  I’ve seen that Luma is offering the nightly program.

  Day 2, Aurelia out!

  Dear readers and readers—welcome to the nightly Luma show. Today’s topics are fresh from my memory. Rocketerina has made it back into the broadcast too, but more on her later.

  We’ll also cover an incident from Chef le Favre’s merchant past.

  AND because it’s you, I won’t be stingy for once. You can trust me: I dug deep to bring you a story about Master Eibrau. I think it’s only fitting that we start with Master Eibrau. Rest in peace, for that matter.

  It was around 75 years before Zeki’s birth.

  As always, I want to slip into Master Eibrau’s role and tell you from his perspective.

  I woke up on a cool morning in the year 1262 n. gKS., in a small hut a bit outside Schattental. I handled many tasks with my magic and used the first hours of the day for further studies in magic, then headed into the city to buy ingredients for an experiment.

  The road there was a bit long, but I was known for my calm. On the way I met a likeable young man. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember his name—must be age, I’m not getting younger. He had brown hair and a smile that held you. I spoke with him briefly, but it was only meaningless small talk.

  I had a strange feeling. Normally I can recognize a person’s essence immediately. With him, it was difficult. Apparently there is a way not to be affected by magic-sense. I must note that down. So that was a human… what was his name again? Something with Stein. Whatever—that should suffice.

  Further on, I’ll be there soon. Then I’ll drop by Edfried Edhart. The old man doesn’t know that with a simple trick, you can outplay the one-armed bandits.

  “Hello Master Eibrau, want to mess with the old man again?”

  Long time no see, Nebeis. Of course—what do you think?

  That was the trick: you simply had to see and treat the one-armed bandits like equal creatures.

  But they sense whether someone only does it for personal gain. So within a minute I managed to grab 35,000 Olevs—which helped me, because my goods were extremely expensive.

  Naturally I said a warm farewell to Nebeis and went to negotiate. It’s the same every time: the old Rückmann, Dave der Gauner, and I negotiated for the next treasure at Onkel Bastis Auktion. This time there was something I had to own: an ancient record about magic.

  Luckily, the thugs knew nothing about my work as a mage—that would only draw attention. After five intense rounds of negotiation, I managed to outbid the old Rückmann with 30,000 Olevs. When asked what I would do with it, I replied, “I’ll burn it, what else?”—so I wouldn’t cause a stir. After all, mages were not welcome.

  I was about to leave, but Dave der Gauner convinced me to visit a bar with him. Once there, I met the man from earlier. I learned his name: Markus Braunstein. Still I couldn’t read his essence—yet his smile burned itself into my brain. I will probably never forget it.

  It was already two in the morning. I must have looked too deeply into my glass.

  When I finally stumbled out of the bar, I witnessed a crime with my own eyes. A man was assaulting a defenseless woman. She tried to scream for her life, but he shoved something into her mouth.

  I had to act. I was not supposed to use my magic—but I didn’t care. I despise people like him who prey on helpless beings.

  He must have sensed it. I raised my staff and fired a beam that immobilized him. Then I explored his greatest fear: spiders. To finish, I cast a spell that held him in that situation and ended in a one-week spider-torture therapy—until he gained insight and kept his hands off the woman.

  I helped the traumatized woman with a recovery spell so she could forget the incident. Thankfully I keep such spells at hand.

  Then I continued on my way in good spirits.

  Friends—why am I telling you this story?

  Good question.

  I want to make one thing clear: KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS TO YOURSELVES.

  No, seriously— you don’t know how many traumatized women and men after rape can no longer live a normal life. That short trip to buy something? It becomes the biggest nightmare of a victim. A quick visit to the pool with friends? Pure hell.

  I, Luma, have never experienced something like that myself. But as you’ve surely noticed, I want to give you a few things along the way. I’m everywhere, always—every day I see scenes like this. A life gets destroyed faster than you think. I know Zeki’s story is not the best example for themes like this.

  After he spread so much suffering himself, I make it my mission to shape you, dear readers, into better people. Because only you decide your actions. So keep your hands off such abominations and secure an unburdened life—for yourselves and those around you. Think of your loved ones. Would you want something like that to happen to them?

  Now that my words have hopefully moved you, we continue with Chef le Favre’s story.

  We are in Chef’s youth. The next story I chose also carries a wonderful message for you readers, but let’s begin with what matters.

  Chef le Favre, born into a poor family, had to learn early how to fight for survival. His greatest and only wish then was to provide for his village. Since he grew up in a remote village deep in the Schattenw?lder, the supply of food was not always secure. If the harvest failed, they had to starve. That’s why Chef le Favre cared early on for his comrades. Even though no one had much, the villagers liked to share with others.

  But that was about to end when Kommandant Gier wandered into the small village. A scarred veteran—his name said it all. He came, he saw, he stole, and the villagers hated it. But they couldn’t do anything against that glutton. Day by day the people grew thinner—except Kommandant Gier. His belly was always full.

  It was Chef le Favre’s 8th birthday when he had to take responsibility for the first time. Because he was the only child in the village, Kommandant Gier took him along on his travels, where he was forced deeper and deeper into the disgusting greed of this man.

  Without shame, Kommandant Gier claimed to other merchants that Chef le Favre had an illness that was getting worse—just to gain an advantage with kind-hearted traders.

  Again and again, Chef was dragged on these trips—only to watch his village starve while Kommandant Gier ate with delight.

  It was the commander’s seventh raid. Chef le Favre had thought for a long time about how he could remove this overpowering enemy, but had found no answer. But fate had something prepared for him—he only had to take the chance.

  He encountered a creature that instantly cast a spell over him. It waited in a narrow, dark alley. When Kommandant Gier and Chef le Favre passed, the creature snatched the child. Kommandant Gier noticed, but only said, “The boy isn’t worth the stress. Take him.”

  You might think this was the end for our Bastian, but spoiler: it was only the beginning.

  This creature had the ability to steal memories from its targets, but it didn’t use it for its own interests. After seeing the suffering Chef le Favre endured, it gave him something.

  “Pour this into his food and watch him rot in his greed.”

  Chef le Favre received a small carafe full of poison.

  All the way home, he wondered how to slip the poison into the food, but found no way. Then finally, a chance appeared—Chef had to take it.

  Kommandant Gier told him to wait. For a short time, he moved away from the wagon—the perfect moment to sprinkle the poison into the food.

  But Chef hesitated. His conscience stopped him.

  Herr Gier returned, and Chef le Favre had missed his chance.

  Later, missing the perfect moment turned out to be a stroke of luck.

  Kommandant Gier decided, for once, not to live up to his name and instead held a feast with all the supplies from the seventh raid.

  If Chef le Favre had poured the poison into the food, he would have killed not only Kommandant Gier, but his entire village in one blow. A simple decision—not fighting with pure revenge—saved his parents, friends, and acquaintances.

  That feast became the starting gun for Kommandant Gier’s rule over this small village.

  Many would assume he ruled with an iron fist straight into the abyss, but even he suffered a sudden change of heart. I dug deep and found out that this was the fault of the creature who gave Bastian the poison. Luckily, it had managed to rearrange the commander’s synapses and bring him back to reason.

  From then on, it was only uphill for the little village. Chef le Favre’s merchant skills contributed a great deal to that. Seven years after Kommandant Gier’s arrival, Chef le Favre extended his hand to him one last time and wished him all the best. A man respected and hated—defeated not with hate, but with conscience.

  That very conscience—the one that kept Chef le Favre from wiping out his entire village—caught Kommandant Gier and, in his final days, brought him to reason at least. One simple decision, one immense impact.

  What do I want to show you with this story?

  Friends, if you haven’t already read it between the lines: I want to show you that hate is not always the only path, that people can change, and that greed is one of humanity’s worst drives. Zeki’s greed for strength is a great example— the boy literally walked over corpses in his madness.

  But before we get lost here, let’s get to the main attraction of tonight’s show: Rocketerina.

  After I introduced her yesterday, I want to tell you something about her today. Rocketerina, as she called herself, actually went by the name Alisha. As a child, she loved tinkering with all kinds of things, even though not a single invention ever made it out of her basement. She lived a carefree life, hidden in the endless valleys of the Schattenreich—

  until one day an incident changed her life forever: her mother was kidnapped.

  What follows is one of the most vile stories in the Schattenreich. Her mother was taken by scientists who worked on creating the most powerful weapon and rebuilding bodies—those same ones who created Stahlhaart. Her mother was rebuilt; her humanity was the last part they removed.

  She now had a new body, unwillingly bred for war. Her arms were replaced with plate-throwers. Her upper body could fire a powerful beam. Only her face—cut off beforehand—she was allowed to keep. Her only purpose was to seize territories and destroy enemies.

  Rocketerina, however, made it her mission to free her mother from this suffering. Of course she lived through hard times, but driven by her motivation, she quickly became an artist in weaponcraft—moving from harvest tools to dangerous weapons.

  At 13 she began building war devices. At 15 she already possessed a vast arsenal of different gadgets. At 18 she set out to finally release her mother. She chose her strongest and favorite weapon: a rocket launcher without rockets, but loaded with glowing hot glass shards.

  One day, she also got lucky and found a new friend: a small cat named Mutza—the one that got lost in the world after the attack on Zeki’s parents. Starving, Mutza stumbled into Rocketerina’s life. Rocketerina couldn’t help but take her in.

  But she didn’t realize what she’d gotten—until this cat saved her life.

  On her journey she encountered a former test subject of the scientists. You need to know: those types were skilled at creating monsters—yet had no way to control them. A test subject was basically destined to break out and then unleash its will. Some chose to show off their strength.

  Test subject No. 777—Willhelm Hammerhand—stood in her way.

  It was a cruel fight against two hammer hands, and yet she enjoyed it, because in her mindset she was “releasing” the raging Willhelm. But the outcome was about to go in Willhelm’s favor: Rocketerina miscalculated and accidentally fired too many shards. The recoil of her launcher threw her to the ground.

  Willhelm Hammerhand didn’t miss the opportunity. He wanted to crush the helpless Rocketerina—

  if Mutza didn’t have a word to say.

  The small cat threw herself protectively in front of Rocketerina.

  “What does your shitty pet think it’s doing? The cat won’t prevent your downfall either.”

  But Mutza was no ordinary cat anymore. Before Willhelm could even react, Mutza stood in her battle form in front of him.

  A proud two meters tall, agile as a cat, strong as a bear.

  Mutza hunted Willhelm to his death. Rocketerina, coming back to her senses, watched as Mutza leaped at Willhelm Hammerhand, ripped his skull from his body, and scratched his eyes out.

  Then the bitter Willhelm lay defeated— and Mutza turned back into a small, ordinary black cat with a white nose.

  “Well, Willhelm—if you’d been called Hathelm, maybe your head would still be on your body.”

  Those were Rocketerina’s last words to her defeated enemy.

  Then she and Mutza continued on their way—an extraordinary bond formed right there.

  Friends, why am I telling you this?

  This is the only story without any hidden agenda. I just think Rocketerina is a damn cool character from the Schattenreich—her story is deep and full of emotion, and I didn’t want to hide it from you in the nightly show. I hope she can free her mother. I’ll be watching her development closely.

  With that, I want to end tonight’s entertainment, my friends. I hope you took something from today’s chapter. I wish you a wonderful night—don’t forget to read on tomorrow and join me for my show.

  Rocketerina, huh—the crazy one from back then. Not bad.

  Good morning, Zeki.

  Morning, Luma. I see you picked a fascinating young woman for your show—and Mutza is still alive too. I didn’t know she had abilities like that.

  Glad I could entertain you at least a little, Zeki. After all, you’re the head behind this book.

  Luma, you gave me important information. I could use new allies. Can you tell me where she is right now so I can contact her?

  Of course I can, Zeki. As of now, she’s in Apfelhain.

  Good. I wanted to go there soon anyway. I’ll ask Pablo if he can take me.

  Friends—your Queen is back.

  I HATE ZEKI.

  Because of his trips to Apfelhain, I can’t just write about Luma. I HAVE TO USE A DAMN COMPLICATED SPELL JUST TO BE ABLE TO WRITE.

  Well—HOPEFULLY THIS IDIOT AT LEAST DELIVERS HIS FEELINGS TO Anthea.

  Friends, this chapter has to end soon. As I said, Zeki is on his way to the Apfelhain area. Together with Pablo, he wants to confess his love to Anthea and recruit Rocketerina.

  And me?

  I’m sitting comfortably at home and reporting to you about the unbelievable disaster called bell toll number 9.

  We had dared to enter the kingdom of Abrofar again. Our missions were still the same: destroy the Mushkaren and free Stahlhaart from their claws. In addition, we had another task: to steal an object from the basement of the royal palace in Abrofar.

  This was no ordinary object. It was the last bit of hope we had.

  An old gemstone filled with wishes. Whoever possessed it could—through magical rituals—obtain anything they desired.

  But there was a catch: the ritual to split this gemstone could only be performed by a golden mage.

  What can I say, friends—by coincidence, I am this golden mage. So there was a huge advantage to getting this relic.

  Boris told me about this jewel on the way to the kingdom. He said it had been in Abrofarner possession for generations, but no one ever had the chance to discover its true potential.

  After our goals were discussed, we entered the devastated kingdom of Abrofar again.

  The smell of decay hit us miles before arrival. It was the same scene as the first time—only far more humiliating and harsher than before. I never wanted to step into this place again in my life, but it was Zeki’s path—and therefore mine too.

  All the suffering, hate, and annihilation we had endured… now we finally had a chance to end it forever.

  We moved forward determined, our will burning. Every creature supporting us at that moment could witness the turning point into a new era.

  But first, we had to face the greatest hurdle of our journey so far.

  The ninth warning was spoken.

  The bells rang.

  Far away, we heard nine deafening bell tolls. We had no idea what it meant. Those bells screamed the coming doom into the world.

  The kingdom came into view—and with it, the largest Mushkaren army we had ever faced.

  They stood assembled before the gates of the kingdom, ready to bring nothing but suffering. And we gathered our strength as well.

  Zeki, of course, at the very front. Uwe at his side. You could clearly feel the concentrated hate of those two—this was all going to end soon.

  Boris and Ignaz showed readiness like never before. You could practically taste Boris’ hatred for the Mushkaren.

  Neo and Amelie, as always calm and composed—classic tacticians.

  Goatabi and Kaiser circled in the air full of drive. His armor no longer shone in its familiar white; it had taken on the dark mood of war. It started subtly—but now Goatabi stood out in deep black armor.

  Merlin, as always, was ready to evacuate the injured instantly. He had grown into a magnificent dragon. Even if he would still gain a lot more size—he was still a young dragon.

  Sensei and Chef le Favre looked deeply into each other’s eyes one more time. Both were more than determined to bring this spectacle to an end.

  I found myself behind our combat power—without Master Eibrau now. I had lost my master to this disgusting war. But his sacrifice opened this door for us, so we had no other choice but to seize our chance.

  I had to take responsibility. Everyone counted on the golden mage—and I knew it. I could not disappoint them.

  And then, in the enemy ranks, we saw our first target.

  At the very front, as the Mushkaren commander, we saw our friend:

  Stahlhaart.

  Stahlhaart had become the Mushkaren warlord.

  And even his appearance had changed.

  He had grown immensely—this had to be Pablo’s blood. The pigs had implanted it in him. And now his entire body had turned to steel, except his face. They left him that, so he had to watch himself—at the front line—steal countless lives.

  Then the familiar Mushkaren horn sounded, and Stahlhaart moved.

  “Aurelia, I have an idea—can I borrow Merlin?” Neo asked me, not knowing that Merlin was already behind him out of nowhere.

  Neo had fastened a rope to his sword and flew with Merlin, using his sky sword from above to weaken the Mushkaren.

  That was the outcome I liked most. I had to keep Neo away from direct combat. As much as it hurt, he had no chance against these creatures.

  Chef le Favre, as always, had a decisive advantage in his endless bag: an herb called “ColoCoco.” It increases your aggression and your hatred when you smoke it.

  He enjoyed supplying the whole troop. Zeki stuffed five portions of it into his armor— you can imagine what kind of monster stepped onto the battlefield after that.

  My friend’s first triple-digit transformation: 132 meters tall.

  But even bigger than his body was his hate. His rage transformation gnawed at him like vermin, and still he amazed me every time.

  Sensei’s flickering reflection also reached unimaginable scale. Bit by bit it rose, ready to destroy the doom.

  Our remaining troops were hopelessly outnumbered, and yet they were all ready to die for a better future. Many had made it their mission to support Zeki and force a new era through violence.

  The fate of our world hung in the balance—we only had to tip it in our favor.

  Zeki and Uwe immediately headed for Stahlhaart.

  I’d love to ask Luma to show you that perspective, but sadly he isn’t here—

  What do you think I am, Auri? I told you: I’m everywhere and always.

  Hey Luma, behind you.

  Honestly, Aurelia, that joke has lost its power. Nobody among the readers is laughing anymore.

  Too bad. So—are you excited for the little tea party?

  Well… Zeki still hasn’t managed to give Anthea his letter. He’s hesitating…

  WHAT DID YOU SAY—HE’S HESITATING? HE DIDN’T HESITATE TO MURDER HIS NEIGHBORS, BUT CONFESSING HIS LOVE IS TOO MUCH?

  What can I tell you, Aurelia? Pablo is supporting him, but he’s too nervous.

  He’ll find out. He better pull himself together.

  Anyway, Luma—how can you even work on chapters now?

  Your spell is all magic, Aurelia. I’m communicating with you through this spell, and my words are being written down automatically.

  I didn’t know that. Would you be so kind?

  I’ve been waiting for that, my love.

  Welcome to Zeki’s hell—written by Luma.

  Aurelia has already prepared the ninth bell toll well, so we’re starting directly with Zeki and Uwe on their way to free Stahlhaart.

  For the first time, I could unleash my full rage. Chef’s herb helps immensely. Now I’m ready—ready to end this and grind everything in my way into the ground.

  I don’t have to worry about the Mushkaren beneath my feet. Everyone not crushed by my rage got sucked dry by Uwe.

  There he is—Stahlhaart. How long has it been since I last saw you? You’ve changed. Your time with the Mushkaren surely did you no good.

  But here and now it ends. I promise you that.

  My friend… come back into my arms. Please. End this with me.

  Without stopping, I kept pushing forward. My body burned from hate and from the hot blood of Mushkaren I trampled. Finally, I reached my old companion.

  His eye flickered green for a moment—then shifted back to a deep red.

  Even though I could bring down Mushkaren with ease, against Stahlhaart it was a hard fight.

  My strength wouldn’t keep up. I could only hold the massive 132 meters for the march to the warlord. After that, I had to rein myself in and began shrinking down to 15 meters.

  Still gigantic, I now stood eye to eye with Stahlhaart.

  He didn’t hesitate a second. He attacked me head-on.

  I wanted to try to convince him with words—but that was probably too late.

  The Mushkaren hatred had seeped into him. His crystal was no longer white. It was deep black.

  We fought brutally. My guilt burned, but I still had to give everything.

  My scythe didn’t come into play—my football did. I blasted a massive load of my strength straight into his main wiring.

  No effect.

  His new body blocked it effortlessly.

  So I had to trust the old technique of my fists.

  But I couldn’t do anything against him. My blows were caught without effort.

  The hits I took from his steel fist, on the other hand… those landed.

  I didn’t know what to do.

  Back and forth. He slammed me to the ground and hammered into me like it meant nothing. I couldn’t accept that.

  Even with countless Bi-Shi-Zu Special kicks, he didn’t care.

  I had feared this meeting the whole time. Now it had finally arrived—and I wasn’t disappointed.

  Again and again I saw his eye color shift for brief moments.

  So he was still alive inside that shell.

  The Mushkaren forced him to spread horrific suffering, but his eyes told me: something human still walked inside that armor.

  I had to use this tiny window—when Stahlhaart resisted his programming—and bring him back.

  Luckily, Stahlhaart had once given me instructions for an emergency. To disable his programming, I only had to twist the mainboard in his head slightly to the right.

  For the absolute worst case, he also told me: rip out his crystal. Without it, he could not live.

  But I wanted to save my friend without killing him—so I had to do everything to reach that goal.

  Easier said than done.

  Because Stahlhaart— or at least the monster built from him—resisted any reprogramming.

  So we fought again.

  And this fight would decide the rest of fate.

  Alright, friends. I won’t build the tension any further. I’m not revealing the outcome of this fight yet—you’ll have to endure a little longer.

  Welcome back to your queen. Aurelia is my name—spicy stories are my mission!

  So let’s continue right away with my view.

  As described, I was once again in the back to play my magic to its fullest.

  But this time it bored me.

  I decided to let the beast loose.

  Alexandra had just gained her freedom.

  I simply didn’t want to command the war from a safe distance again. I wanted to support my comrades and friends on the front line.

  I explained the plan to her briefly—though she wasn’t listening anyway—and then we went into the battle.

  My beautiful skin… you know the transformation, I don’t have to explain it every time.

  I flew high into the air.

  Alexandra took full control.

  I couldn’t move my body anymore. So I could relax my mind and watch Alexandra spill blood.

  I’ll admit: this woman had it.

  One after another, she lifted them into the sky and crushed them.

  The pressure of her malice left nothing but Mushkaren mush behind.

  Pig for son of a bitch. Everyone imploded sooner or later—and I liked it.

  Even my sister had visible joy. I had never seen her so happy.

  More and more Mushkaren were left lifeless behind…

  …but once there were no Mushkaren left on the battlefield in front of us, doom threatened.

  I told my sister to seek other battlefields and continue killing there—yet she chose against me.

  I had given her too much control. It took immense strength to reclaim my body, but it was already too late:

  our few remaining allies on the battlefield suffered the same fate the Mushkaren did.

  Alexandra annihilated everyone. Ally or enemy—she erased them all.

  I still have stories to tell, but for now we continue with Neo and Merlin.

  Luma, I’m begging you.

  Gladly, Aurelia. We make a great commentator duo!

  Can only agree—you're not that wrong!

  Happy to hear it, right back at you—now let’s continue.

  Aurelia wanted to send me away again— even though I can fight too.

  Luckily I convinced her to let me work from above with my sword.

  She can get pretty overwhelming when you don’t do what she wants.

  But I won’t be like that. I’ll follow her rules, even if it hurts not being able to stand by my friends.

  I mean… Zeki has his transformation and Uwe. Aurelia can fully rely on her magic. I don’t have things like that. I’m just a normal man with my father’s legacy.

  I can’t fight, I can’t help… I think the others would even be better off without me.

  WHAT AM I EVEN CONTRIBUTING?

  Damn it, Neo. Focus on the war. Stop tearing yourself apart.

  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FOCUS? I WANT TO HELP.

  If I keep throwing myself into these abysses, I’ll start believing it. I know I can help—just not in the way the others do.

  Enough now.

  FOCUS, NEO. DAMN IT.

  I walked this path. I chose this. I have to contribute at least something—if only weakening these bastard creatures.

  Father, stand by me. Please accompany me through these hard days.

  I had little hope, but it seemed my father hadn’t abandoned me yet. I felt it—he was somewhere, and yet not with me.

  My sword began to glow and my will burned bright again. Even if I couldn’t see him, I knew: my father was with me.

  Suddenly, I carried my sword with more dignity than ever. I was proud to be a Rückmann.

  So I did what I could:

  from Merlin’s back, I launched my beautiful sword and inflicted deep wounds on multiple Mushkaren.

  Even if it didn’t kill them, they were heavily weakened, and my comrades could finish them more easily.

  My sword doesn’t do insane things like Zeki’s scythe or Aurelia’s staff—but it carries history. A history I must continue. And as long as I live, I will carry this gift with pride.

  I will do deeds and enter history—not as a fighter, not as a war hero, but as a human.

  Now back to my Mushkaren bombardment.

  Even if I have no special powers and no strength to kill a Mushkaren, I still know I can make a difference.

  The difference is simple: the mind.

  While the Mushkaren barely have enough brain cells to attack innocent peoples, I can think—and use their weaknesses against them.

  My knowledge is my power. For example, I know these bastards have a weak point in their eyeballs.

  I used that knowledge and aimed precisely at their eyes to weaken them and give my comrades a decisive advantage.

  In total, I marked more than 500 of these beasts during the whole battle. I taught Merlin this trick too, and with his fiery breath he burned hundreds more out of existence.

  But enough of me. I think other battlefields have a lot to offer too.

  Correct, dear readers—so we jump straight to another place of battle. Sensei is also making important progress.

  I have to sacrifice a part of my soul again—though I didn’t know it would happen in a fight against you.

  “Shut your mouth, you old nag. You have nothing left. While you cling desperately to your death, I’m in the bloom of my life.”

  Sensei… it’s been a long time since I called you scum. You are a washed-out portrait of yourself, Bi-Shi-Zu.

  Even if in my old days I have nothing left to offer—I still have my will and the fire burning inside me. I have nothing to prove to you. I already proved myself.

  And I have to answer for my actions. It will haunt me forever that I couldn’t help you.

  Now that there’s no other option but to fight you, I’ll have to do it.

  “Finally shut your damn mouth and die already, you old sack.”

  Then let it come. But be warned, Artemis—your teacher has more than you think.

  I’m in the middle of a nightmare. I face my former student: Artemis. The first I ever taught has turned against me, and now I have to end it in battle.

  I think often of the time when he was still a little boy. But that’s over. He chose his path and I have to accept it—even if it hurts.

  Because of Artemis’ strength, I gave the second half of my soul to Stra as well, even though it meant I would never again feel Li-Sa’s soothing hand. Instead, I would wait for eternities in the prison of souls.

  I trust Zeki and his goals. This boy is truly the child of prophecy.

  That’s why I will give everything so his dream becomes real—so the Schattenreich, and he himself, can be saved.

  But for now, I have to put someone else in their place.

  I gave my soul to the ancient god of the curse and prepared for the fight.

  My reflection shone again, but it would take more than that to defeat Artemis.

  So I had to act. I didn’t want to—but I reached for the only remnants of my master: my nunchakus.

  Once, Albo taught me to use them, and yet I swore I would never use this weapon again. Combined with my reflection, I hold too much violence—but I had to use that violence to win for Zeki.

  A failed student is a terrible pain for a Sensei. So at least Zeki had to succeed—to straighten out my deeds.

  Reluctantly, I drew the dusty weapon and attacked.

  Four—no, five times I swung the nunchakus. Each time, I tore massive chunks of landscape with me.

  But Artemis wasn’t impressed. With skill—and just as I taught him—he dodged my attacks. I have to be honest: faced with his strength, I was proud… but he chose the wrong side.

  My reflection should’ve secured me well, but for some reason Artemis knew the weakness of this tactic.

  Again and again he moved into the blind spot of my field of view and attacked from there.

  He had developed beautifully.

  But I’m not impressed by such tricks either. Again and again I countered him.

  The counterstrikes I managed to land became a crucial anchor later in the fight.

  Again and again I slammed into the back of his head—because it did the most damage.

  Every hit hurt me too, but I had sold my soul to the devil, so I had to keep going.

  For a better future, I had to keep beating my former student.

  And with the swings of my nunchakus, I destroyed nearly the entire environment.

  Artemis attacked as well, and I took a few hard fists.

  For a moment, I fell to the ground—but I still managed to get back up and keep fighting. There was no other option anyway.

  So I continued—not because I wanted to, but because I had to.

  I broke at the thought of simply having forgotten this boy… and still I beat the hell out of him.

  For the first time I wondered how far I could have come if Li-Sa had accepted this. Can she still look a man like me in the eyes?

  Doesn’t matter. I’ll never see her again.

  The fight swung back and forth. Sometimes I had the upper hand, sometimes Artemis enjoyed his.

  There was no winner—only the concentrated weight of hate and grief.

  The fight dragged on, and with every minute our strength dwindled.

  Friends—before we continue, I’ll use the chance to tease you a little.

  You surely want to know how this fight ends.

  Stylistically, though, I’m going to hold it back from you for a bit longer.

  Because Chef le Favre earns his honor in this war. Let me describe it. I’ll bring you to his fight, don’t worry.

  I can’t contribute. I’m cooked.

  Aurelia and the others put so much trust in me—I have to do something. But what?

  I know. I can’t fight. Never. The Mushkaren would erase me.

  But I can help.

  I can support my comrades and do my best to collect wounded friends on the battlefield and heal them.

  I spotted my first mission: two allies lay wounded on the battlefield. A Mushkaren pig approached them.

  Luckily, I could lure the bastard away from my allies with a targeted “Stone-Throw Special Move”—by throwing a rock at his head.

  A full 50 meters—and I hit his eyeball.

  Why he only had one, I have no idea, but unlike what I expected, that throw was enough to make his eyeball explode.

  Thankfully that ended the madness right there.

  So I brought the first two of my people to safety.

  I didn’t have much, but at least I had stored some healing herbs and pipes.

  I gave them something and headed to the next.

  I had to be careful not to stand out—that would be my end. Still, I walked the battlefield with sharpened focus.

  Now that I knew the Mushkaren had a weak point in their eyes, they were no longer that hard to take down.

  Still, I had to be extremely careful.

  One strike from those things and I’m dead.

  But I had a mission, and I had to carry it through.

  So I moved across the battlefield, searching for allies.

  But my hope was shattered again and again: when I found comrades, they were either torn apart—or they begged me to deliver the killing blow.

  Like a hunter who didn’t hit his prey cleanly, I moved through the spectacle and at least spared my allies the suffering.

  I didn’t want to do it, but if I hadn’t, they would have bled out for hours in agony.

  I kept pushing forward.

  Luckily, I saved a few allies, even if I “released” the majority of the comrades I found.

  In total I saved 120 allies. Nowhere near enough, but it was all I could manage.

  Then my eye caught something:

  I had moved dangerously close to the city wall.

  Even though this battlefield had nothing but corpses and stench, I found a hidden entrance.

  Perfect to slip into the kingdom unnoticed.

  I knew Boris had to learn about it.

  Speaking of him—what is he doing right now?

  Let’s check, dear readers. I’ll go to him immediately.

  Aurelia, we are about to enter the kingdom of Abrofar for the second time. I need to ask you something.

  “What is it, Boris?”

  I have to finish this. I need your help.

  Is there a spell that keeps me alive under any circumstances?

  “No spell I know. There’s a curse—but that option is off the table.”

  I don’t care. I need it, Aurelia. Please.

  “ARE YOU INSANE? I AM NOT PUTTING A CURSE ON YOU, YOU IDIOT.”

  Aurelia, let me explain.

  “You don’t need to explain, Boris. I will not take responsibility for putting one of the worst torture curses on you just to keep you alive.”

  Don’t you understand, Aurelia?

  “No, you don’t understand, Boris. This curse is meant to torture the target until you get the information you want. Those are pains that leave nothing but emptiness inside you. And if you ask me, I see no reason to use these disgusting techniques on allies.”

  AURELIA, LISTEN TO ME, DAMN IT. I DON’T CARE WHAT THIS CURSE DOES. I HAVE TO STAY ALIVE.

  “NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME. I DON’T WANT TO TORTURE YOU.”

  WE HAVE NO OTHER OPTION. YOU HAVE TO DO IT.

  “I don’t have to do anything.”

  Friends—let’s jump about two hours into the future.

  Shit. She was right. This curse inflicts unbearable pain.

  But I have to carry out my plan.

  For Zeki.

  For the Schattenreich.

  FOR THE KINGDOM OF ABROFAR.

  FOR MY ANCESTORS.

  And… for Aurelia.

  I know I caused her horrible pain. Not without reason she fought so hard against putting this curse on me. I must not disappoint her.

  Whenever I have to overcome a huge hurdle, that one song plays— that one familiar melody, the one that tells me: I have to give everything.

  Today was no different.

  My head practically exploded from the sheer volume.

  The song began.

  In front of me I could see Aonir. Behind me, piles of Mushkaren corpses.

  Again and again Neo helped me. His sword raining from the sky onto the Mushkaren was incredible support. So once again, the battlefield was only me and Aonir.

  I still had a score to settle with that dog, and I did everything to pay it.

  The first time I inherited the axes.

  The second time I already controlled them.

  And today I will master them— and lead my people forward as king.

  As I said, the song looped endlessly in my head. Too bad the Apfelhain city musicians weren’t there—they could’ve pulled another 20% out of me.

  Then, finally, I used the curse to my advantage.

  In a single second I called all eight of my royal ancestors to me. Since I couldn’t die, endurance didn’t matter. Now it wasn’t just the curse tearing at me—my ancestors drained my strength too.

  “Dum-du-du-du-dum,” I hummed and attacked Aonir.

  I loved the thought of it: together with the eight kings of Abrofar, I turned the heat up on the Mushkaren.

  I danced like a possessed man in the black smoke that wrapped around me, and I destroyed the enemy.

  “Say your prayers, little one,” I whispered—knowing full well this fight would end soon.

  I dealt heavy damage, guided by the instrumental of that majestic melody.

  Again and again I drove the axes into his body and made him suffer.

  But Aonir had evolved—surely after the first fight against me. He had gained regeneration.

  Today it was different.

  Even with regeneration, I was determined to bring my people the peace they deserved.

  The black smoke spread further and further.

  And I, too, slowly transformed into it.

  I knew I had to finish it soon—if I didn’t want to end up as a piece of coal.

  “EXIT LIGHT, ENTER NIGHT!” I screamed one last time before my final attack.

  Ah, friends—you know the game.

  Before I write the outcomes of these fights, we jump to Goatabi and Kaiser.

  These unusual beings have a lot to offer as well.

  Do you remember the Mushkaren group where Stahlhaart appeared as leader?

  Right—those were exactly the ones standing against Goatabi and Kaiser.

  Of course, I’ll jump straight into the action.

  Wait a second—there’s a strange problem.

  Alright then. So be it.

  For whatever reason, I couldn’t take the moment I wanted.

  Here I stand now—my armor deep black, and so is my heart in this war.

  I have seen many battles since back then…

  No, damn it, Kaiser—don’t think about it. That’s the past.

  But none were as cruel as this.

  Damn it—why now?

  WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

  I hear a faint whisper. It speaks to me—but where is it coming from?

  I am currently in Goatabi’s body.

  He apparently still has a few demons to deal with.

  Someone is trying to talk to him the whole time. A quiet “he’s still alive” keeps bleeding through.

  Whatever. We continue.

  STOP PUTTING THAT IN MY HEAD. HE KILLED HIMSELF.

  “Do you have proof of that?” the whisper answered.

  And even though I wanted to believe it myself…

  He was dead.

  “Are you ready to do it?”

  Of course I am.

  “Good. You’re facing some very powerful enemies—so let your wrath run free. Feed me with your rage, little one.”

  Damn it—when will I ever tell the others? This won’t end well for much longer. Then I’ll have to surrender to my wrath, even if it means giving the demon in my armor another boost.

  Without it I am nothing—already wiped out in the first battle. Even if it costs me my soul, the armor demon has been my only companion for a long time. Even if the last spark of my humanity dies with it, and the last patch of the beautiful white armor I once wore slides into deep black—when will I get the next chance?

  When will I next get the chance to set the demon free and understand the true potential behind this being?

  In front of me stood 30 of the most terrifying Mushkaren, and yet I felt no fear at all facing this nightmare. Ever since I received my father’s armor back then, I’ve been made for nothing but war.

  So I did what I had to do. One after another, I murdered them in cold blood. The training with Bi-Shi-Zu helped me immensely to improve my abilities—my speed included. I was so fast, I dodged the Mushkaren attacks with ease.

  And even if they hit me—my armor, and the curse inside it, absorbed those forces and turned them into my strength.

  With every hit I grew stronger and stronger. With every hit the demon grew louder—until at some point it screamed at me in its madness. It screamed “KILL THEM” and “TAKE THEIR LIFE” on a loop. Goatabi’s head was its own battlefield with that demon. Even if he tried to keep it small, he still had to feed it—and with that, give up the armor’s shine.

  True to the motto “hard times, hard measures,” I ordered Kaiser to drop me right into the Mushkaren. Brief comment from Luma: why Goatabi did multiple backflips on Kaiser’s back, Bi-Shi-Zu style, is a mystery to me—but to each their own.

  I know, Kaiser. I know. But I can’t think of anything better either. Why are you looking at me like that?

  GRRRR. Just drop me. You know nothing can happen to me.

  Alright, Franzerich. I’ll give you my last bit—stain the armor and wipe out Mushkaren.

  In the next moment, Goatabi’s head practically exploded. I heard, from everywhere and nowhere, a loud “MAY I?” Like a horde of goblins surrounding you—“MAY I?” here, “MAY I?” there, in rapid succession.

  “MAY I KILL THEM, MAY I, MAY I—” JUST DO IT, DAMN IT.

  Friends, I’m sorry—apparently I can’t enter this part of the memory. I’d love to tell you, but it doesn’t work. I can try to find the next suitable point though.

  There—found it. I love how fate fulfills the cliché: the next suitable memory point contains Goatabi doing the “Monster Mash?” on the stacked pile of Mushkaren.

  In addition, beside Kaiser—his beautiful red-and-white striped fur shining—I saw many more phoenixes. More than 200 of these magnificent creatures decorated the battlefield. They took Goatabi with them and freed him from the armor before Kaiser ordered them to keep flying toward Zeki’s direction—and we will follow them.

  “Forgive me, Zeki.”

  STAHLHAART—SAY SOMETHING, MY FRIEND.

  But now his eye had turned red again and I missed another window. Not only was I too late again—I was also finished. I was at the end of my strength, and Stahlhaart had prepared a surprise for me the whole fight.

  He could do nothing but gather his last humanity and apologize to me. He apologized for things he couldn’t control.

  Then he pulled out the familiar Mushkaren horn and ordered a massive number of warriors to attack me. Within seconds, the battlefield flooded with monsters who knew nothing but hate.

  My focus, however, was on Stahlhaart. Did he really think I had no trick left up my sleeve?

  In truth, I had no trick left at all. Only the classic foot-bus could help now.

  It didn’t come to that—because fate sent me more than 200 phoenixes straight from the sky to save my ass. I was grateful for this magnificent army, even though I didn’t know who had gifted me this support.

  Now I could finally focus on Stahlhaart. I charged straight at him—when he saw me, he did the same.

  Again and again I saw his eye flicker. I knew: this was the moment I had to end it, and this time I did not want to be too late.

  His hand shot up, grabbed me by the collar, yanked me close, and with his right hand he threw a massive punch.

  Immense damage.

  But I wasn’t idle either. At the right moment, with a precise motion, I managed to remove the metal casing over the mainboard. That was step one for a successful reprogramming.

  Right after, I set up step two: one small hand movement and my lost friend would be himself again.

  I only had to wait for his next hand strike. With that same device, the guy once stole my wallet. My plan was set: I’d dodge, then glide along the steel cable of his arm right up to him.

  Easier said than done.

  Stahlhaart pulled his hand back faster than expected and landed a fatal blow on me.

  Still, I got back up and followed the same plan again. I honestly rated my odds pretty high—and I wasn’t disappointed. Like a king, I strolled along his arm, punched him as revenge for that brutal hit, and managed to reprogram Stahlhaart.

  My friend was finally back with me.

  I waited, believed, and hoped. Today, however, I achieved it—I fought, I won, I defeated an old friend. A fight I had always feared became reality, and the inevitable happened. I knew it had to come to this point, and yet I was never ready for the constant terror that awaited me today.

  I can’t speak for him, but surely it felt the same to him as it did to me. He surely felt my pain—he didn’t just feel it, he understood it. I was overjoyed to hold a friend like him in my arms again. Fate had taken so much from me—but Stahlhaart remained.

  But we had no time to think. Other battles needed our help. We rushed to Aurelia.

  And we will follow them. The inevitable is not over yet.

  Hey Luma.

  AUUUUURELIA—WHY DO YOU DO THAT?

  I just wanted to mention I’m still here. Continue.

  Aurelia, may I enter your past?

  Hey—you’re learning from your mistakes. Of course you may.

  The company thanks you.

  I woke up in Aurelia’s royal body.

  You can do it without the slime, Luma.

  Understood. Sorry.

  By now she was completely drained: the fight against countless Mushkaren, the support of many allies, and the strategic planning of the war had exhausted her—and it was starting to show.

  In front of me stood 90 more shit-pigs. Alexandra was exhausted for the first time since the records and couldn’t fight. And I was in no shape to face an immense number of enemies either.

  Whatever I wanted to do, my head offered only one solution: I had to use this technique and at least hope for help. For the first time in this war, I found myself in trouble. I knew my luck would run out, and so I could only cast the most powerful protective spell I possess.

  

  

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