Once we were deep inside the forest, silence enveloped us. No birds sang in the trees. I couldn't see a single squirrel or any insects for that matter. Even the trees gave off a strange vibe. It felt as though they were watching us as we advanced. I saw s.h.i.+ning orbs in the distance twice as we got deeper and deeper. 

"They should have attacked by now," Sylens whispered as we walked. 

We tried to make as little noise as possible, as though we wanted to contribute to the forest's silence. I saw two more s.h.i.+ning orbs between some thick bushes ahead of us. They disappeared as soon as I caught sight of them. They didn't make a sound as they vanished. 

"Something's not right," Heda whispered. She looked around. Her brows were tightly knit, causing wrinkles on her small nose. "They're avoiding us." 

"Do you think Rimbaldi's letting us pa.s.s?" Sylens asked. 

"He's a hermit, he hates outsiders," Friede replied. 

"This doesn't make any sense..." Heda shot me a dark look. 

I lifted my hands in the air. "I have nothing to do with this..." I sensed something coming toward us at full speed. 

I drew my sword just in time to block. A long curved sword clashed with mine, causing sparkles to fly around, illuminating our mysterious foe. 

The silhouette of a man stood before us. He wore a long red cape above a gray, tattered robe. He was but skin on bones. His head looked like a leathery skull with a few hair strands that dangled from his scalp. His beard, however, was intact. It was so long it reached his chest. 

He was freakishly strong though. I tried to push him back, but he did something that took me aback. His eyes suddenly opened. Then I heard him grunt. I felt an invisible force push my sword away. The next thing I knew, I had collided against a tree. 

I got up, sparkles dancing before my eyes. I saw the others jumping around. Sylens was trying to cut the old man, but the latter was faster. He almost cut Time's champion from shoulder to hip if it weren't for Heda. She pulled him back just as the old man's sword whistled before his eyes. 

Friede came running toward me. "Are you alright?" she asked, genuinely concerned. 

I nodded then pushed her away. I opened my third eye and inspected the old man. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. He was but a puppet without a soul. Something shone inside him. It looked like a soul's core. Yet this one gave a different energy reading. 

"Neutral energy!" I hissed. Rimbaldi was infamous for manipulating energy in ways n.o.body expected. I understood what they meant by then. 

I dashed toward the old man and deflected a swing he aimed at Sylens's thigh. I stabbed him in the chest, and heard its withered skin crack as my sword pierced him. The old man revealed an eerie smile then kicked me away. I slid through gravel and dirt, trying hard to bring my rapid retreat to a halt.

"Aim for his core," I told Sylens after I managed to stop. "He doesn't bleed, nor does he feel pain. Make your swings count!" 

Sylens nodded and went on the offensive. Heda was observing the fight with keen eyes. Just as I was about to approach the old man, I felt a nudge in my brain, as though somebody was attempting to contact me. 

I opened my psionic link then heard Heda's voice echo inside my mind. "Try to surprise him. It's the only way to s.n.a.t.c.h that thing inside his body."

I nodded then joined Sylens, who was already retreating. The old man's. .h.i.ts were fast and precise. He swung left and right, aiming at Sylens's shoulders and ribs. As soon as Sylens blocked one attack, the old man would swing again with astounding speed. His heavy sword weighed like a feather in his hands. 

Once Sylens got used to a pattern of attack, the old man would immediately switch to another tactic. He'd aim at his head and legs, then thrust when Sylens's guard was down. He managed to graze his left side when I finally caught up with them. The old man turned toward me and swung horizontally. 

I ducked underneath the sword, just to see a bony leg before my face. It hit me in the nose and sent me traveling a few feet backwards. The old man turned to Sylens, who had recovered by then, and continued his relentless attacks. 

Sylens dodged then extended his hand forward as the next hit came rus.h.i.+ng his way. I saw the sword slow down as it approached him. It was my cue. I reinforced my legs with my energy and dashed toward the old man. I pierced his back with my sword then quickly jabbed my hand inside. 

I s.n.a.t.c.hed the s.h.i.+ning orb from his body then he fell, face first on the dirt. Sylens kicked him as he showered the inanimate corpse with curses. I inspected the thing I s.n.a.t.c.hed out of the walking corpse. The orb looked like a crystal ball. Thin threads of energy, akin to lightning, flashed inside. Sylens wiped his brow and sighed in relief. 

"I almost died," he said in a guttural voice. 

"You're welcome," I said, my eye fixated on the orb. 

I tried to break it and free the energy inside it. It would certainly make me stronger, but the crystal wouldn't budge no matter how much I pressed. I even tried to smash it against a rock, but the thing wouldn't even crack. 

"I don't know what this thing's made of, but it certainly isn't a crystal," I said after I'd given up. 

"The scientist would want this thing back. We have our way into his lab," Heda said. 

Friede ran toward Sylens and placed her hand against his injured thigh. The wound immediately closed. Friede got up, an excited look on her face. "As good as new," she said in a proud tone. 

Sylens jumped around, as happy as a child. "If I didn't get the time fragment, I would have loved to get yours. I could become a legend, make a fortune healing people. I'm sure they'd even wors.h.i.+p me."

I repressed a snort. One could only keep their powers if they won the Holi Wars. As of now, we had zero chances of defeating Raiya after she ascends. "Where is Rimbaldi's lab?" I asked Heda. 

She looked around her for a while, biting her lower lip as she seemed to struggle to decide. "It's that way," she said after a while. She was pointing north. All we had to do was walk a straight line according to her. 

We didn't take two steps before we heard the tree leaves rustling above us. A strong gust blew our clothes and hairs backwards. Total darkness enveloped us. It reminded me of Beatrix's powers, which put me in high alert. I spread my senses, looking for the three champions and the intruder. 

I could feel my three companions, but I couldn't feel our enemy's presence. I drew my sword and got ready to attack. In this pitch black darkness, anything could blindside us. 

"Do you see anything coming, Heda?" I heard Sylens scream next to me. 

"Whatever this thing is, it's all around us," she replied. 

"It's darkness," I said. I was still trying to pinpoint our enemy's location, to no avail. 

Friede squealed, and my senses got even sharper. I could sense the woman struggling against something that tried to get a hold of her. I felt it too then. Invisible hands tried to wiggle their way inside my body. It felt like Evangelica Grant all over again. 

"They're trying to possess us! Sylens, can you stop time?" I screamed at the top of my lungs. 

"I don't know, I never tried," he replied. He seemed to struggle against the possession as well. 

An idea hit me then. I took Rimbaldi's...o...b..from my pocket and held it high. I willed my energy into it and screamed "Bhola!" 

Light shone brightly around us. We heard screeches and loud hisses, then the darkness flew away. It looked like a big cloud that moved with a will of its own. It regrouped above our heads. Then it plunged at the old man's corpse. 

We watched the corpse rise again. Dark matter exuded from its shoulders and leathery skull. Even his long sword was coated in the dark matter. Its eyes became two black orbs in which tiny sparks shone like stars. 

"That's one of the agents of Qil'Al, the Primordial of Death. They're the Roosa'al. My master told me about them once," Heda said. She clenched her fists tight. "We cannot let its sword graze us..." 

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