The guard returns

The guards came pouring into the Grand Hall, limping, bloodied, broken—some barely clinging to life. Most had no strength left to open portals; they had walked the long road back on foot, dragging their pain with them.

Torock stood at the high window in his office, watching through the warped glass with a dark sneer. His face twisted with disgust.

"Look at them," he growled under his breath. "Pathetic. Useless!" His rage mounted, uncontainable. With a roar, he slammed his fist down onto the desk, sending papers, relics, and glass shattering across the floor.

"Portal! Now!" he snapped. The air split with a shimmer as a narrow rip opened.

"Asmodeus—speak."

A hazy image formed—a demon’s grinning face, sharp and gleaming.

"As I told you before, Torock," Asmodeus hissed, his voice like oil and embers, "unless you're willing to deal, we have nothing left to discuss."

"Wait!" Torock spat. "I’m... willing to reconsider your conditions. But for now, release the package you’re holding for me."

The demon grinned, fangs glinting. "You evil, soulless dog," he crooned. "Of course. With a little something extra—my treat. When do you want her ready?"

"As soon as possible. I need someone ruthless, cunning, strong enough to survive in this realm. No slip-ups. I want a real killer."

He laughed hard, almost manically. “Wait until they get a load of my Trojan horse.”

A soldier burst into the room, out of breath, fear dripping from his voice.

"HEAD COUNCIL! They’re all dead! The whole battalion—"

Torock raised a finger, silencing him without a word. Then, back to Asmodeus: “You’ll have your bodies. The fresher, the better. End communication.”

The portal snapped closed.

Torock turned, cold and unfeeling. “Take a team. Go back to the forest. Collect every Fate—whole or in pieces. Bring them to cold storage. Every last one.”

"Y-yes, Head Council Torock..." the soldier stammered, eyes wide with horror. He had heard too much.

---

Meanwhile, Charlene knelt beside ReNew, who lay deathly still on a soft bed of moss. Her breath was shallow. Her skin, pale. Her life force—flickering like a candle in a storm.

"You have to say the words," Charlene whispered, desperate, her voice cracking as she pressed her ear to ReNew’s chest.

“Bump... bump…”

“I’ve done what I can to keep her stable,” Gilead said gently. “But she’s slipping away. I’ll give you two a moment.”

Charlene held ReNew’s hand tightly, guiding it toward the mark on her wrist. “We are one,” she whispered. Guilt poured out of her like rain. “If I had just gotten to you sooner… if I hadn’t—”

Seth pulled her gently into his arms.

“She can’t, Princess,” he murmured. “She’s dying. That branch crushed her from the inside. Her organs are failing. She doesn’t have much time.”

Charlene looked up at him, hollow-eyed. “What happens to her now?”

“She’s a soul. She’ll be recycled... born again into a new Fate.”

Charlene wrenched away from him, shaking her head fiercely. “No! She’s my soul! My other half! My friend! I won’t let her go!”

She ran back to ReNew, collapsed beside her, and clenched her hand.

Her eyes glowed white-hot. “Mind’s Eye.”

A blinding light flooded her vision.

---

Inside the Mind’s Eye, there was nothing but mist… and a small bed in the distance, like one from an old B&B. A small figure lay curled on it—fragile, barely breathing.

Charlene ran.

She climbed onto the bed, laying down gently beside her, nose to nose. ReNew didn’t stir. Her breathing was faint. Her skin—chill.

“Hey,” Charlene whispered, brushing hair from her forehead. “I know you can hear me. I know you’re still in there. You just need to say the words. I’ll do the rest. Please…”

A tear slipped down Charlene’s cheek and landed on ReNew’s skin.

“I can’t do this without you. This cannot be our last journey.”

She cupped ReNew’s face, desperation turning to power. “There’s still time. Still hope. If I can take you into my Mind’s Eye... you can live. You’re a part of me. And I’m not letting you go.”

“We are one,” she whispered.

The light erupted from Charlene’s hands—warm, golden, infinite. It poured into ReNew like sunlight on frozen ground. Bones realigned. Lungs reinflated. Organs mended and pulsed with energy. Her chest rose. Then again. Stronger.

ReNew’s fingers twitched.

Her eyes fluttered open.

"I had the strangest dream,” she murmured, voice raw. “I was falling off a cliff... and before I hit the bottom, you caught me.”

Charlene pulled her into a fierce hug. “I wasn’t there to catch you soon enough. But I will never let that happen again.”

ReNew leaned into her. “It wasn’t your fault. I got cocky. I thought I could handle it.”

Charlene grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again! You’re my sister—my only friend. I can't do this without you.”

They held each other for a moment longer.

Then ReNew sat up with purpose. “We’re a team. Which means we have to train together.”

She led Charlene into a small white space inside the Mind’s Eye—filled with gleaming weapons of light.

“What is all this?” Charlene asked, eyes wide.

“My training ground,” ReNew smiled. “I’ve been building it. This—” she held up a bow that crackled with electricity—“is my lightning bow. For long-distance hits.”

“And this?” Charlene asked, lifting a shimmering disc.

“Light shield. For overhead defense. I took these from your memories. I hope you don’t mind.”

Charlene blinked. “Mind? You’re a genius.”

“No, you are.” ReNew giggled. “I just borrowed your gamer brain.”

Charlene laughed. “You mean all those hours playing Mario Kart actually paid off?”

ReNew grinned and summoned a big TV screen with the familiar logo.

“I found this in your memory,” she said, pulling out a remote. “I challenge you.”

“You sure we should be gaming when they think you’re dying?”

ReNew shrugged. “I figured we deserved a moment. The world’s changing too fast. Let’s make a memory that’s just ours.”

Charlene blinked—two bean bag chairs popped beneath them.

Then she said, “You know Gigi tried to impersonate Mike?”

ReNew raised an eyebrow. “What?!”

“She almost fooled me. Until I asked about Heaven. She said it was ‘like a dream.’ That’s when I knew.”

ReNew summoned a giant soda and red vines. “Gigi’s doing too much.”

“Right? It’s giving gaslight!”

“Like I’m stupid or something!”

“But hey... she did get you back to me.”

“Yeah,” Charlene smiled. “True.”

“Blink.” Charlene conjured a popcorn box the size of a throne.

They both said it at the same time: “I WANT SOME!”

Laughter rang through the Mind’s Eye.

Charlene smirked, pressing start on the game. “Once a cheat, always a cheat, ReNew.”

ReNew cackled. “Bring it on, sis!”

---

Outside the Mind’s Eye, Gilead returned to check on them. He stopped in his tracks.

They were curled together, ReNew breathing normally, their cheeks resting against each other, smiling in their sleep.

He turned and ran to find Seth.

“It’s a miracle!” Gilead gasped. “She’s alive! I don’t know how, but ReNew’s breathing! Charlene… she brought her back.”

Seth rushed to see.

He stood in stunned silence. “I’ll be damned,” he whispered, choked with emotion. “Let them sleep. They’ve earned this.”