Will stood motionless atop the back of the black bird.

His breathing was uneven. Ragged.

His eyes trembled.

And he seemed completely out of control.

Max gripped his hammer tightly.

He didn’t know what to do.

Will didn’t look like a normal enemy.

He looked like someone broken.

Then it happened.

Will raised the laser pistol.

And slammed it against his own head.

CLANG!

Once.

CLANG!

Twice.

CLANG!

Three times.

Blood began to appear on his forehead.

"Will!"

Thara stepped forward.

"Please stop!"

But he wasn’t listening. Or he didn’t want to listen.

He struck himself again, harder. More desperately.

As if he were trying to rip thoughts out of his head.

As if he were fighting something invisible.

"STOP!"

Thara shouted.

Her voice echoed throughout the corridor.

For an instant, it seemed like Will was going to react.

But he didn’t.

Seraphine raised a hand.

"I’m going to stop him."

Her grimoire opened.

The pages began to turn.

A magic circle appeared before her.

But before she could complete the spell...

A massive hand grabbed her by the legs.

The mage’s eyes widened.

"What?"

The caveman.

The beast had managed to push through the magical swords.

And now it was holding Seraphine as if she weighed nothing.

"SERAPHINE!"

Max shouted.

Too late.

The monster spun around.

And threw her.

The mage slammed into a wall.

BOOOOM!

Fragments of stone flew everywhere.

Dorian reacted immediately.

He drew his scalpel.

Ran forward.

And attacked.

The blade struck the caveman’s arm.

CRACK!

The scalpel shattered.

As if it had hit solid rock.

Dorian blinked.

"Shit."

The caveman turned his head.

Looked at him.

And punched him.

The elf’s face slammed into the wall.

Dorian remained stuck there for a few seconds before falling to the ground.

"I think it loosened one of my teeth..."

Max wasn’t paying attention anymore.

He had already leapt back onto the bird.

Straight toward Will.

The man was still hitting himself.

Max grabbed the pistol.

"Stop!"

He tried to pull it away.

"You’re going to kill yourself!"

Will stopped moving.

Slowly, he raised his gaze.

And smiled.

A strange smile.

Far too calm.

"You want it?"

A chill ran down Max’s spine.

"What?"

Will released the pistol.

"If you want it that badly..."

The bird suddenly twisted.

"...then keep it."

Max’s eyes widened.

"Wait..."

Too late.

The black bird launched itself backward.

At an absurd speed.

Max lost his balance.

And fell.

Straight toward the ceiling.

Or the floor.

The pistol remained in his hands.

And then it began to glow.

"I don’t like this."

Dorian said from the ground.

Will was already at the opposite end of the corridor.

Retreating.

The black creature flew between the walls.

While he watched the group.

"Enjoy the fireworks."

Max looked down.

The pistol was vibrating more and more.

"Ah."

Seraphine reappeared.

Blood stained her forehead.

But she was still conscious.

She raised a hand.

"Cotton Cloud."

A massive fluffy cloud appeared beneath Max.

Just in time.

Max landed on it.

And the instant he touched it...

The pistol exploded.

The corridor turned white.

***

The explosion surged through the entire hallway.

A sphere of energy blasted outward in every direction.

The caveman was hit head-on.

The shockwave ripped him off the ground.

And hurled him to the opposite end of the corridor.

The beast vanished into smoke and rubble.

Seraphine reacted purely on instinct.

One hand pointed toward Dorian.

A barrier appeared in front of the elf.

Her other hand pointed toward Don and Thara.

A second barrier formed around them.

The explosion slammed into both defenses.

Made them tremble.

Cracked them.

But they held.

Then silence came.

Everything was covered in smoke, dust, and shattered stone.

Don coughed.

"Miss Seraphine?"

No answer.

"Miss Seraphine?"

Dorian slowly got to his feet.

Everything hurt.

He looked around.

And finally found the mage.

"...I think she’s unconscious."

Max emerged from the cotton cloud.

Covered in dust.

His hair completely disheveled.

And wearing an expression of absolute exhaustion.

"The caveman too."

Everyone looked.

The beast remained motionless.

Showing no signs of getting up.

For now.

Then something else happened.

Space trembled again.

The walls vibrated.

The ceiling rotated.

The floor twisted.

And finally...

The mirror dimension returned to normal.

"Not again."

Dorian muttered.

Gravity shifted.

Everyone began to fall.

But this time Max reacted quickly.

He activated the Featherfall Boots.

Magic enveloped his body.

He descended slowly.

And as he fell...

He saw Seraphine, unconscious, spinning through the air.

Max pushed himself forward.

And caught her before she hit the ground.

He held her carefully in his arms.

The mage was breathing.

She was alive.

Just exhausted.

Max looked at her face.

The streaks of dust.

The small cuts.

And the tired expression that somehow remained even while she slept.

He smiled.

"Thank you."

No one answered.

Obviously.

But he continued anyway.

"You always protect us."

He looked at the mage.

"You always put everyone else first."

The silence remained.

Max brushed a strand of hair away from Seraphine’s face.

Then sighed.

"Thank you."

Don watched the scene.

And smiled.

Then Max looked up.

And pointed at him.

"Don."

The faun swallowed.

"Yes?"

"Now your moment has finally arrived."

Don turned pale.

"I don’t like the sound of that."

"Your moment to escape."

The butler blinked.

"Escape?"

Max carefully held Seraphine out toward him.

"Take her."

Don accepted her gently.

As if she were something extremely fragile.

"And what about you?"

"We’re going after Will."

The faun looked down the corridor.

Then at the mage.

"I’m going to get help."

"Good idea."

"Maybe even Sir Neros."

Max smiled.

"Now that we know who the real enemy is..."

He looked down the hallway.

"...that would be very helpful."

Don nodded.

He looked determined.

"Don’t die."

Dorian gave a thumbs-up.

"I promise nothing."

Thara sighed.

"Leave before I change my mind."

Don decided not to argue.

He adjusted Seraphine more securely in his arms.

And started running.

Disappearing down the corridors.

Searching for the exit.

Searching for help.

Searching for any sane person who could intervene in this disaster.

Max watched him disappear.

Then looked forward again.

The corridor was empty.

But they could still see clear traces.

Black feathers.

Claw marks.

And remnants of magical energy.

Will had fled that way.

Dorian stood up.

He still had dust on his face and one side of it was swollen.

"Ready?"

Max spun the hammer between his fingers.

"Ready."

Thara adjusted her glasses.

And stared into the darkness at the end of the corridor.

Her sister.

Or brother.

Or whatever remained of him.

Was there.

Waiting for them.

Or running away.

None of them knew which possibility was worse.

"Then let’s go."

Max said.

And the three of them began to run.