“Anne!” Miri yelled.

  Reacting out of pure instinct, Miri dove off the edge of the chasm to go after Anne, who was going into a tumbling free fall, screaming as she fell. Then, once Miri grabbed hold of Anne while they were both in mid-air, she casted Traversing Wind to teleport both of them onto one of the rocky protrusions off the side of the chasm, safely landing with a thump and saving themselves from falling to their deaths.

  “Father! What are you doing?!” Isaiah cried out in shocked horror.

  “I’m doing what is necessary, my boy,” Hugo replied, a hint of madness in his eyes. “These two…they aim to take the runes from us—runes that are rightfully ours. I cannot let that happen.”

  “That doesn’t mean you should push her off like that!” Isaiah retorted with outrage. “She just saved your life! She saved mine as well! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

  “Oh, trust me, they’re only saving us because they want the runes. They want us to lead them to the treasure by opening that door. They may seem kind on the surface, but they’re only doing it for their own selfish gains. As soon as they get what they’re after, they’ll kill us both. I’m sure of it.”

  “They wouldn’t have done that! You are out of your mind!”

  “Come with me, my son,” Hugo urged, tugging the young boy by the arm. “Together, we’ll take the runes and get the hell out of here. Then, we’ll be rich!”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “No, I cannot do that!” Isaiah rejected, shaking free of his father’s grasp. “Not after what you just did!”

  “Silence! You dare disobey me?! You dare disobey your own father?!”

  Isaiah regarded Hugo’s crazed eyes with a tinge of fear before remaining steadfast in his resolve. “I don’t care what you say, I’m not going with you! I won’t abandon them like that!”

  Hugo saw Isaiah as though he’s seeing a stranger, as though the young boy in front of him was no longer his own flesh and blood.

  “Huh…such a shame,” Hugo said before forcibly shoving the young boy off the chasm’s edge as well.

  Isaiah screamed as he fell with a brief tumble before quickly catching one of the rocks at the side of the chasm, hanging on to his dear life.

  “Miri!” Anne cried, pointing to the young boy. “Isaiah is about to fall! Save him!”

  “Man, I had just about enough in saving people today, especially when they try to fucking betray you,” Miri complained, feeling incredibly pissed.

  “Miri!”

  “Alright! Fine! Geez!”

  With two casts of Traversing Wind, Miri was able to teleport herself towards Isaiah to grab hold of him then teleport back to the rocky platform she was originally standing on. Meanwhile, Hugo—knowing that he won’t have much time left before they went after him—quickly left the scene and proceeded to head to the ritual room to grab his treasure.

  Miri quickly used Traversing Wind once more to teleport them back up the ledge to try to return to the service entrance, only to see Hugo casting some sort of spell that erected a wall of rock at the entrance, sealing it shut. Despite moving as fast as they could, they weren’t able to reach the entrance in time before it was sealed off.