Their mission to save the Ruby Maiden was done. Emma was with them and they are now back on track. The place where they were going to meet was in the island of the Ruby Maiden\'s chamber.

Lady Hao had her floating island stay above the mountain and was planning to let it stay there until the duration of the war. She wasn\'t their ally, but she was also not their enemy at the moment.

The grudge she held against the One Sun was still there, and her killing intent towards Lance did not fade a single bit.

"I\'m sure they\'re fine," Connor said to Elliot, waking the boy up from his thoughts. "We have been through a lot and we have never failed a mission. I\'m sure the others are okay."

"Yeah," Elliot whispered. "I hope they are."

"Almost there," Celine said. They were now right by the pitch black lake and the fog that was protecting the island. The woman whistled and summoned a giant bird that was enough to carry all of them.

"Let\'s go in," Celine said. "We don\'t have much time."

They traveled to the island to where Lady Hao was. There, the woman was talking to the twins. "… Aid them. Now."

"What\'s happening?" Elliot asked. He hopped off the bird and walked towards Lady Hao. "Why are you panicking?"

"The Rogue Maiden seemed to have other plans," Lady Hao said. "She cloned herself multiple times and woke up all the other maidens at once. Lance and the others rescued most of them while the others are fighting over three more."

"That\'s odd," Celine pursed her lips. "DuDu wouldn\'t let his army get defeated and you\'re saying that we took down seven of them already?"

"That\'s because half of the armies retreated back into their castle," Lady Hao said. "Someone paid them a visit and they are fighting him now."

Elliot looked at Esmeralda who also looked at him. The woman slolwy nodded at him, making Elliot want to fall to the ground and sigh. She just confirmed that the one who was attacking DuDu was the Man.

"Who could it be?" Connor asked. "DuDu was not a man to be messed with. How come there was a person strong enough that made him call his army back?"

"I don\'t know yet," Lady Hao replied. "My snakes are still collecting information."

"A man from the west," Celine suddenly spoke. "A person with tan skin and long black hair. He looked like a homeless person on the streets but his magic is incredible. Something that even surpasses both emperors."

"Man with long black hair…" Connor trailed off then looked at Elliot. "Could it be?"

The latter could only nod slowly, making Connor scrunch his face. "That man was a menace. Can we handle him?"

"We\'ll try," Elliot said. "But for now, we have to prioritize rescuing the maidens first."

They waited for a couple more hours before the first team to rescue a maiden returned. Elliot was the first person to greet them, hoping it was Lance, but it was not.

"Her name is Tabitha," Hope said. "She\'s the Topaz Maiden."

Tabitha and Emma shared a hug. They remembered each other and conversed while they waited. Lady Hao was a stranger to the women. She was the moter of the wife of the One Sun, and her existence was barely written in any records. She also liked to be in seclusion, thus the floating island.

The second team came back, and then the third, and fourth. Lance was still nowhere to be found.

As time goes by, Elliot\'s hope was starting to waver. Lance was with Aquarius and Minos, along with a couple more of their army but it was still nerve-wracking. Elliot didn\'t know what to expect.

All the other troops have returned except for Lance\'s group. Elliot was standing at the edge of the island, waiting for the return of his friends. He was still nervous and the nerves were starting to win over him.

"Mr. Elliot?" Daniel called out. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Elliot replied. He sat on the edge of the island and was still watching the mist below them. It was already midnight and most people had gone to sleep. "I\'m just waiting for Lance."

"He will come back," Daniel said. "I\'m sure of that."

"Of course," Elliot smirked. "He\'s a man who fulfil his promises. He can\'t get hurt in the middle of all of this or else I\'ll smack him in the head."

Daniel was silent from this. He hummed a melody which calmed Elliot down for a while. "You need to sleep. It was a long day."

Alice sat on other side of Elliot and pulled his head into her lap. "You\'ve done well today, Elliot."

She placed her hand over Elliot\'s face and helped him sleep with her magic. "You deserve this rest."

As Elliot snored, Alice glared at Daniel. "What are you, really?"

Daniel never left his gaze on the vast mist and land. Silence for a couple of seconds before replying. "I\'m a man who wants to protect Elliot. He saved me before, now it\'s time to return the favor."

"Your ways is not okay," Alice warned. "It goes against nature and it goes against the laws of the universe itself. What do you think you\'re doing?"

"I want power," Daniel smiled, finally looking at the woman. His face was pale and they formed crackes, blood spilling on the cracks, dripping slowly. "You think the previous me could do that?"

Just before his face fully cracked, Irus placed his hand on Daniel\'s back. He passed down black magic onto the boy, fixing Daniel\'s face. "What was…"

"What do you think you\'re doing?" Irus asked. "You hid yourself well before, but now everything is too clear for me. What are you doing with the power of the Forsaken?"

–

"Charge!"

"Argh! They\'re too strong!"

"Help! I can\'t do this anymore. Please help me!"

"Stop! He\'s too strong. There\'s only one of him!"

…

The cries and pleas of the soldiers echoed the castle. A single man walked down the halls as he tried to look for the throne room. Each and every soldier he faced would suffer an excruciatingly painful death.

"Where is the Emperor of this place?" the Man asked a figure that was standin in front of him. "I need to talk to him."

This figure seemed to be invincible from the magic that the Man was spilling into the air. The other soldiers gripped their necks as they slowly choked and died together with the multiple scratches that were placed in their bodies.

But this man only stood there, looking down with his hood covering his face. "You\'re not welcome here."

"I am not welcome anywhere," the Man said. "But I need my APRIL. And to do that, I must speak to your ruler."

"You won\'t kill them," the figure said. "I won\'t let you."

"Okay," the Man sighed. He waved his hand in the air and conjured a giant spear, large enough to fill the space of the entire hallway. "I guess I\'ll just have to force myself in then."

He fired the spear but the figure raised both his hands, raising his head up and revealing a bright red eyed and a cracked face. "No."

The Man stopped. "You\'re…"

"One of the Seven Princes," the man said.. "The youngest child of the Forsaken."