Kar knew he was alive because of how much everything hurt.

  The helm on his head must have twisted when he was struck. Kar couldn’t see anything, and every exhalation blew air back to his mouth, warm and heavy. He was splayed out awkwardly on his back, and found he was unable to feel his legs.

  Heavy footfalls shook the ground, sending pain lancing through Kar. He tried to move and cried out in agony. Despite that, he managed to reach up with his right arm to grasp hold of his helm, and wrenched it off.

  His vision hardly improved. The light of day had fully set, and most of the street-lamps had been destroyed or had the Energía powering them Absorbed by shadowcryst. But he could see enough to make out the hulking form of the Colossus, rumbling toward him. It was the height of the Causeways themselves, a malformed, amalgamation of jutting void-cryst shards in the silhouette of something on two legs.

  Besides his void-cryst arm, Kar could move nothing. He spat blood to the side.

  So this was it then? He felt empty inside.

  A familiar burst ruptured the air, and something landed nearby, scrabbling across the rubble toward Kar. He saw Aldwin’s face peeking down at him, dimly lit and worried. Then steady hands grabbed hold of Kar, heaving him off the ground. Aldwin tried to blast off, but the Focusing failed.

  “My armor,” Kar tried to say, but the pain was excruciating, and he felt himself battling to remain conscious. Aldwin understood, though. He ripped at Kar’s armor frantically, tearing pieces free.

  Then they were jerking through the air rapidly. Kar passed out then, the last image he saw—that of the Colossus standing there amidst the three arching Causeways.

  When he came to, pine needles poked his neck and face. Kar twisted his head, and idly reached up with his left hand to brush the needles away. The realization that he could move that hand brought a surge of relief.

  “Oh, thank the Source.” Morrow’s familiar voice said. They were next to a small fire, under the cover of tall trees. They must be somewhere in the forests adjacent to Darby and the fortress.

  “Careful, Kar.” Morrow added, “I exhausted my Energía healing you. You need a lot more care.”

  Derek stepped over, from where he had been sitting beside the fire. It looked like dawn was coming. Kar turned his head, and through the trunks of the trees he could see the faint outline of what must be Darby. Fires burned all over—black plumes of smoke rising—and distant screams echoed hauntingly.

  “I was going to shut it…” Kar whispered. He felt nauseous. How had he failed so catastrophically?

  “Aldwin should be back soon.” Derek said quietly.

  Kar laid back down on his bed of needles and stared up at the gently swaying branches above. “Will I be able to walk?” He asked Morrow.

  The Imbuer sighed, “I don’t know Kar. Your spine is badly injured. I think, given time, you have a good chance. Especially given your… abilities. If we can get to one of those Essence basins soon, I’m hopeful.”

  Kar gritted his teeth, latching onto that. He didn’t deserve to feel sorry for himself. He still hadn’t accomplished anything yet.

  “So what are we waiting for?” Kar said, using his arms to push himself up to a seated position. He tried to make his legs move, but they wouldn’t. His upper body was working as intended, however.

  “We were waiting to make sure you were stable enough to be moved.” Aldwin said behind him. The man picked his way past to stand by the fire. He raised his hands to warm them.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Town’s mostly been overrun. From what I can tell, the Valorcryst retreated to the fortress and are holding out there. They managed to buy enough time for a lot of people to escape behind the walls, though.” He turned to look at Kar, his eyes searching. “What happened Kar? From everything we’ve been told, those Causeways should be impossible to open.”

  Kar looked down. “It was an accident. Lore was showing me the Causeway, and when I got close, my shadow arm—did something. We tried to stop it but…” His mind went to Lore then, hoping she had made it to the fortress.

  Aldwin shook his head bitterly. “I wish I’d been there. I don’t know if I could have done anything or not, but still.”

  “We got back at dusk last night from visiting one of the outer villages.” Morrow explained.

  “And now those villages are all in danger too.” Aldwin added. “But they’re going to have to take care of themselves. We’ve got to get you back to the fortress.” He paused to rub his hands together. “Like Morrow said, we may be able to get you patched up there. Besides, we need to move on to the last trial while we still have the chance.”

  “I’m not leaving here without closing that Causeway.” Kar said. His fists were clenched on the ground.

  “Kar…” Derek said, “you nearly died trying to already. There’s nothing more you can do.”

  He looked up to find all three of them staring at him with worried and pitying expressions. They thought he was deluded. It didn’t matter. “I have to try.” He whispered, tears flowing free and hot down his cheeks.

  Aldwin came to kneel beside Kar. He put a hand on his shoulder and clasped it tightly. “I understand you feel responsible, son. But you can’t throw your life away for something beyond your control. We’re dealing with powers and things way beyond us. You can’t take the blame for all this. That’s a weight you won’t be able to carry.”

  Kar bristled and glared at Aldwin. “But if I can do something to fix it, then I should.”

  Aldwin sighed, then smiled ruefully. “You’re as stubborn as Nat.”

  Derek laughed, “I think he may have her beat there.”

  Aldwin smiled wanly, then took a breath. “If you feel you’re ready, we should go. We’ll need to keep to the trees and go around town to reach the fortress. I can carry you on my back. We’ll probably need to blast our way over the walls, though.”

  “Do you know if the others made it to the fortress?” Kar asked, worried.

  The three of them just shook their heads.

  “We just have to hope and pray for the best.” Morrow responded.

  Kar knew the man was religious. That he worshipped the Source. Right now, Kar wasn’t feeling particularly fond of it himself, though.

  Ever since they’d entered this hub realm, they hadn’t heard or seen any sign of it. It had spoken to him directly in every other trial up to this point.

  Kar hated that he understood so little of the Vault and everything they’d been subjected to. He disliked feeling like an experiment, or tool. But most of all, he resented that he was at the mercy of a higher power he was actively beginning to distrust.

  Those weren’t thoughts that needed to be shared with Morrow, however. He would let the man keep hold of his belief and faith.

  Truth be told, part of Kar was really just jealous. The man seemed to derive peace of mind and contentment from putting faith in something higher. Kar didn’t know if he would ever understand how that truly felt.

  “I’m ready.” He said, nodding to Aldwin.

  Derek and Morrow came over and lifted Kar up so he could wrap his arms around Aldwin’s shoulders. “You’ve put on some heft since the last time I carried you like this.” Aldwin said with a chuckle.

  None of them had noticed the shadowcryst slinking through the underbrush toward their fire. Kar sensed its hunger before he saw anything. It came for he and Aldwin first.

  “Shadowcryst!” Kar yelled.

  Aldwin swore and staggered back, shoving Kar off his back to fall to the forest floor. Freeing himself of Kar’s weight had taken too much time, however. The shadowcryst was on him before he could do anything. It raked sharpened crystal claws across Aldwin’s chest, and the man cried out in pain.

  Aldwin raised his hands to Blast instinctively—it didn’t dissipate, but came out much weaker than normal. The Focusing staggered the cryst slightly, and threw Aldwin back to land next to Kar.

  The shadowcryst writhed forward on four legs. It had an elongated torso and lengthy tail. If anything, it looked like some bizarre, giant cryst-lizard. Kar watched helplessly, unable to move, unable to Focus, as it reared up, towering over Aldwin.

  A Focused bearing slammed into its chest, cracking crystal. The beast roared and fell back, then swarmed toward Derek.

  Kar rolled himself over, unable to look away, and started dragging himself along the ground.

  Derek was frantically trying to load another bearing into his cylinder, his fingers shaking. He cursed as the shadowcryst reached him, unable to load the round in time.

  Morrow stepped between Derek and the monster, a resolute look on his face. He brought a forged-metal pickaxe down hard. It spiked into the creatures face and gouged off a slab of void-cryst.

  The shadowcryst responded by running Morrow through with its vicious claws. Morrow’s mouth yawned wide—soundlessly—and his whole body quivered.

  “No…” Kar whispered in denial, the face of Morrow’s daughter, Caroline, flashing through his mind. Her father wasn’t supposed to die here.