The wall, which only stood about a dozen feet from the cart, suddenly ruptured open. Dust and smoke flew up from the wall, seeping out into the grass beyond. Everybody braced themselves. Corrin instinctively reached for his sword by his hip and began to pull it from its sheath.

  His sword was only halfway out as a figure darted from the smoke. Their sword flew by their side and, in the blink of an eye, the blade was inches from the left side of Corrin’s neck. Without thinking, he thrust his left hand up, hitting the blade away from his neck and over his head.

  However, in doing so, the attacker shifted their body and readied a kick to Corrin’s head whilst still suspended in the air. Corrin bent his legs and let himself fall to the ground, narrowly dodging the kick. After falling, he quickly turned to get a better look at who had attacked him. A boy, likely no older than Corrin was, slid on the grass and turned to Corrin.

  Corrin realized then that the Shard of Time was glowing a golden color. He quickly stopped using it out of fear. He knew that if he used it too much, then he would lose control. He did not want to, again, be controlled by Rotix. The thought scared him deeper than nearly anything else could. He was also afraid that if she did control him through the shard, then he may go into a coma for longer than before. He was already in a coma for months only a few weeks prior. The thoughts haunted him day and night.

  Corrin pushed the thoughts down; he would use the Anees from the air to fight this kid. Corrin quickly looked back at the wall to assess whether or not there were more enemies. Fortunately, turning around just about saved his life. Four more individuals had darted to him, all carrying their own unique weapons. A ball and chain, a greatsword, a pike, and another katana. Just as they were about to reach him, a blinding light flashed from their direction. Immediately they were caught up fighting Tutsoi, Kerea, and Mary.

  Corrin quickly turned back to the boy, who was once again mindlessly charging toward him. Not using the shard made the movements come faster, but his own speed and reflexes negated the effects. The boy, who had dark black hair, attacked desperately and with sloppiness. It seemed that his jump towards Corrin was his only plan, and now he was losing hope fast. Corrin knew he could utilize that.

  Corrin blocked numerous of the boys' attacks. He noticed the lousy footwork that the boy had and quickly took advantage. While the boy swung down, Corrin swiped at his legs with his own, and the boy's footwork instantly betrayed him as he fell. Corrin watched the fear in his eyes as he fell. By the time he hit the ground, It seemed as though he had accepted that this was the end of his life.

  But Corrin did not want to kill him; no, he only wanted to kill whomever deserved death. Corrin pointed his katana down to the boy's throat. Corrin looked at his face long and hard. His face seemed familiar in some way, though Corrin could not place it.

  Whilst staring into his face, Corrin felt as though the pain inside him showed itself through his own eyes, the same way the boy's eyes told a similar story. It was as though an understanding had been met between them.

  A voice suddenly rang out behind Corrin. Corrin instinctively turned towards the voice. A boy, the other one with a katana, ran out, his sword drawn and ready to attack. His brown hair swayed as he ran.

  “Lenn!”

  The name pierced past Corrin and straight into his soul. He knew the name, and it did not take him far to remember to whom the name belonged to. Lenn, his comrade in the Hidden Vanguard who died a brutal death by the Queen in her throne room all that time ago. He was short, with black hair and wielded two daggers. His speed was unmatched among the Hidden Vanguard at the time, though he had somehow lost to the likes of the attack on that day.

  Corrin turned to the boy named Lenn. The boy looked at Corrin, the understanding still there, though mutated into a choice: to continue fighting Corrin, or stop his friend. However, Corrin knew what he could say to make the choice for him.

  “Eskalot?”

  That was the last name of Lenn, which had luckily come to him at that moment suddenly. The boy’s face suddenly turned to shock. He quickly turned back to the other boy.

  “Ake, stop!”

  But the boy did not stop, and he ran towards Corrin, who readied himself for an attack. Just then, a black liquid flew from the left and covered the boy's right side. Smoke and steam suddenly flew up from his skin and clothes as he fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Corrin looked to his left and saw Kerea there.

  “Ake!”

  Lenn jumped up from under Corrin and ran to him. Whoever Ake was, he was clearly very important to Lenn. Lenn rolled him over to his back and looked into his eyes. At that moment, Corrin realized that neither of them would be a problem until Lenn recovered from watching his friend get seared alive by Kerea's burning metal.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Corrin quickly turned to the other attackers, and watched their dead bodies flop on the floor. Corrin felt no remorse for them; for they attempted to kill him. Tutsoi stood over the dead bodies panting. The smoke and dust from the breached wall began to reach them as visibility dimmed. Corrin looked over to James, who hid behind the cart, then looked at the horses that were pulling the cart, to which there were four.

  Corrin ran past Kerea, grabbed his hand and pulled him over to Tutsoi in the process. As much as he may not have liked Kerea, he could not say that he didn’t try to save his life. Whether the attack on the boy named Ake was necessary or not was not important at that time.

  “Tutsoi!”

  Tutsoi turned to Corrin as he let go of Kerea.

  “If we want to leave without being taken to some- gods forsaken castle again, then we need to leave now.”

  “How are we supposed to do that? We can’t outrun the Canlians on foot!”

  Corrin points to the horses, who were spooked and hopping around while attached to the cart.

  “We’re not walking. We’re riding those.”

  Tutsoi gave a look of fear.

  “I don’t know how to ride a horse!”

  Corrin turned to Kerea, desperately hoping he would say he knew how to ride one. Kerea nodded. Without a next word, the three of them run to the wild horses. Corrin and Kerea ‘woah’ them back to a calm state. They quickly unhook the two front-most horses and jump on them, both of which without saddles. Corrin helps Tutsoi up and grabs the horse's hair as the reins. Kerea also jumps up on the other horse. The horses at first seem wild, but are calmed by pats and woahs.

  Just as they were about to leave, a figure suddenly ran from the dust and smoke, to which was now falling away and visibility increasing. The figure revealed herself as Mary. She looked at the three of them and held up her hand to Kerea.

  “Go on, I’m coming with you guys!”

  Corrin knew he could not argue now, and leaving her behind would be too risky. Reluctantly, Kerea pulled her up on his horse. Just as they were about to gallop away, one more figure came from the dust. Lenn carried Ake by his left side. Ake’s right was burned and smoking.

  “Please don’t leave us, Corrin Hisstion! We’ll die!”

  Corrin looked at them, and even though he did not yet fully trust them, he knew in his heart that taking them too was the right thing to do.

  “Can you ride a horse?”

  Lenn nodded. He quickly unhooked a horse and attempted to get on it. Tutsoi jumped down to help Ake up. Corrin watched the kindness in Tutsoi’s eyes as he did so and smiled.

  “Hey! What are you doing!?”

  James appeared from behind the cart, his clothes and face dirty.

  “You can’t leave! You’re all… honored guests!”

  Mary clenched her fist.

  “Shut up, James Kingston. We all know you just wanted the shards.”

  Corrin was slightly surprised by Mary’s outburst. Without saying another word, they all galloped away, tensing their cores to stay upright on the saddle-less horses. Corrin thought of Mary in these moments as they flew across the brilliant fields. She had changed so much since he had first met her. She seemed quiet, though she always wanted to go on an adventure. He took a deep breath, finally glad to be back on track.

  Far in the distance, mountains sprawled and crept. Corrin knew his goal was past them. All he had to do was follow Oknata’s instructions. Steal the shard, go to Oknata. It played in his mind over and over.

  He realized just then that his real journey was just beginning.