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I open my eyes and realize that I am lying on a stone floor surrounded by a gray mist. The mist is unbearably thick but thankfully a faint light allows me to see just a couple feet in front. I look down my chest and see black smoke coming out of my body, specifically in areas where there used to be splinters of wood. The black smoke slowly rises out of my chest, arms and legs but before it can gain any momentum it disappears into thin lines, making them look like flames. To my own surprise the dim light brightening my surroundings is coming from my chest, where the large piece of wood had shot through me, living behind a gaping hole. I can't exactly see what is making that bright light and some part of me really doesn't want to know. I slowly lower my head back onto the ground and once more stare up into the gray mist.

So this is death...does this mean I have become part of Zao? I thought to myself not actually caring for an answer. I promised dad that I was going to protect mom and Sam, but I fai... Wait, does that mean dad is here? I quickly raise myself from the ground noticing that I feel as light as a leaf. My whole body feels numb. I try to peer through the gray mist but I can see nothing within it. Then out of nowhere I see a light shining through the mist. It is somewhat faint within the thick fog flickering on and off as if the fog is trying to consume it. I slowly make my way towards the light while watching my steps as I make my way through this thick mist.

As I get closer to the light it turns into a small flame burning in a large stone cauldron. The large cauldron sits just 3 feet into the ground with four steps carved into a circle and surrounding the cauldron. The cauldron itself is at least 4 feet wide and 6 feet high. The cauldron has long waving lines carved along the outside and every once in a while a red glistening rock appears in the stone as if bursting out of the cauldron. I reach the cauldron and see that the flame burning inside it is no larger than a coin, surrounded in black ash.

As I take my first step down towards the cauldron the small flame bursts into a massive fire which sends me falling backwards. The fire dispels the fog surrounding me leaving me staring at walls of stone. The room stretches out to a massive core door lined with ten stone pillars on each side that must be at least 20 feet tall. In between the pillars are large windows that have intricate carvings carved on the edges. In the distance I can see a massive wooden door lined with metal and once more carved in those intricate designs. Banners of all different designs and colors line the ceiling giving some form of color within these gray walls.

"So you must be Marco."

I turn around to see a massive creature sitting on a stone throne. Beyond the cauldron are ten huge steps that lead up to the 10 foot tall throne, which has strange red symbols etched all over it. On each side of the throne there are gray banners marked with a red hammer on them. The creature sitting on the stone throne is covered with intricate metal armor and wherever the armor cannot reach a red cloth appears covering its body. His head is covered with a red hood leaving only his short brown muzzle pointing out.

I stand completely still terrified of this unknown creature, though his voice sounds somewhat familiar. The large creature raises his right hand and with a stern voice he asks "So, are you Marco?"

I slowly nod my head to the creature's question. Some moments pass as I look around the darkened decrypted room. I notice in the shadows there are some smaller wooden doors along the hallway and if I look close enough I can see cracks along the stone walls and pillars.

I once more lookup to the ominous creature and simply ask "Am I dead?"

The great beast throws out a deep chuckle. "You are on the verge of death, but I'm keeping you alive."

I look at my mangled body, amazed at how it still functions from all the ripped flesh covered in black smoke. I get an eye full of my situation and return my gaze towards the creature. "So you know who I am but I don't know who you are."

The large creature sits for a couple minutes in silence tapping its fingers against the stone throne. Then he slowly stands up and with a calm voice he says "you know my grandfather King Kedal built this castle and the walls that surround it. He built massive stone pillars to hold up his creations and long hallways to allow his art to flourish in the sunlight. Thus he was given the name King Kedal the great builder," he says while slowly making his way down the steps as his massive feet send echoes through the empty hall. "Unlike his father King Nadal who was the great conqueror that united most of the banners under his", he says while gesturing towards the banners that lined the ceiling.

"And once king Nadal died King Kedal was given the throne: but he cared less about leading armies and more on constructing laws for fair justice, proper taxation, and started recruiting scholars to teach him more about the world around him and its beauty."

He arrives to the bottom of the stone steps and starts walking slowly towards me. "My grandfather when asked what he would do with the last of the banners who had not laid their swords before him, simply remarked that there was no reason for them to kneel before him because he didn't need more gold or soldiers but merely a beautiful view to enjoy the rest of his life. He got a beautiful bride to keep him warm at night and a strong son to be proud of. He then spent his time crafting more of his art while he had music playing throughout the keep from dawn to dusk. Whenever anybody would bring up the idea to finally conquer the last of the banners my grandfather would always try to either change the subject or be oblivious to the idea."

I realize when he reaches the stone cauldron that he is at least 12 feet tall, his head almost reaching the bottom of the banners. I slowly back away just so I can raise my head high enough to see his face. He stands there quietly for a moment allowing still air to fill the room. "So what do you think of my grandfather Marco."

I look at him for a moment taking back from his mere size let alone the story has just told me. "Well... I don't know... He sounds like a good person."

"True...," The lumbering creature says as he slowly nods. "He was considered kind and generous, but that's not what the Lords said amongst themselves, as they watched this King linger along his halls of stone holding their banners under his...No, they spoke of weakness and fear. Many of them started believing that my grandfather shouldn't have the right to hold the throne and instead one of them should take his place." The creature looks up to the banners hanging above his heads. "Each one of these lords wanted the power that my grandfather had but in the end none of them got it... You know why?"

He looks down at me for a moment before saying "because my father took that power by cutting King Kedal head off. Then without shedding a single tear for his father he took the entirety of his army and without the support of any other Lord he was able to not just conquer the remaining banners but slaughter them until there wasn't a single creature that stood beneath them. From then on he was called King Vidal the ruthless."

He stands there silently staring at me for a couple minutes then turns around and starts heading back to his throne while saying "that is all you need to know about me." With a great thud he sits down on his throne once more. "But if you need a name Madal will do."

I slowly make my way back to the stone cauldron, feeling somewhat safer from the fire bringing light into the dark room. I stare at Madal for a moment when the thought crosses my mind. "Are you the God who spoke to me in my dreams?"

Madal for the first time breaks into a smile showing his sharp teeth beneath his lips. "It seems even with the distortion of my voice thanks to the shadows of this world you are able to still recognize it... Quite impressive."

"Then tell me Madal why did I die?" I ask.

Madal lays his back against the throne while saying "first, you are not dead. Second, the ancient one told me to tell you that the darkness is your friend; he did not tell me what would happen. Lastly, you won the battle thus the ancient one did not lie."

"We won the battle?"

"Yes you won the battle and with very few losses."

"So the plan didn't work," I said to myself as a sense of ease comes over me and my temper subsides.

"Yes you have won the battle, but there is still a long ways away from winning the war. The ancient one has told me of your fate and has wished me to bring you back to life."

"How do you even speak to this ancient one?" I ask , very curious of this ancient creature.

"Like you I listen to it in my dreams. It tells me cryptic sentences and sometimes even the words seem too obscure for my mind to understand. The only reason I trust it is because it gave me the power to become a God."

"If you are a God then why don't you leave your castle and take your vengeance."

Madal gives a long sigh and points to the stone cauldron. "This cauldron keeps me tethered to this hall. No matter how hard I try I cannot leave this room."

"Why?" I ask while look down to the cauldron, amazed that such a small thing could tether something as large as Madal.

"Because it is holding my flame, the fire given to me by the ancient one, the very thing that gives me strength to alter my surroundings and even helps other creatures stay alive when they should have died."

I look down at the cauldron and watch the flame burning in the ashes. So this is the flame of God. It is awe-inspiring, but at the same time terrifying to think of what this flame can do when given to a living creature. "If you can control your surroundings why don't you create creatures to take your revenge for you?"

"Though my flame is large and powerful, it cannot compare to some of the other gods whose flames are as large as mountain and sometimes as bright as the sun. Sadly this means that my flame is far too weak to create embers. This is why I have chosen you to take my revenge."

"So you will help me win this war?" I ask with excitement. To think that I have a God helping me is a thought that truly brings a sense of safety.

"Yes I am here to help you win the war. After all I am keeping you alive, but winning this battle will be a long and arduous journey and I am certain that you will lose friends and family before this is all over.

When he says loss of friends and family my heart sinks at the thought of dad. If it wasn't for Eros helping me I probably would've spent the rest of my life cradling dad in my hands. Can I deal with the death of Cola, Jeval, Eros or even mom and Sam? My mind is racing with thoughts and ideas of ways to protect them, but winning this war would in the end save them. It can't be better to lose the war. I take a deep breath and clear my thoughts then look up to Madal and ask "what do I need to do?"

Madal once more smiles and with a calm voice says "all you need to do is hold your ember into my fire".

I look at him surprised at his request. "How would I do that?"

Madal raises his hand and points towards me while saying "you can simply grab it from your chest. Just let the light guide your hands to it."

I once more look down to my chest and see the light swimming in darkness through the large gap in my chest. I look up to Madal with a worried expression.

"Don't worry it doesn't hurt."

With his encouragement I slowly move my right hand into the gaping hole and find it is large enough to allow my entire hand go through. The fur on the back my neck rise in fear as I realize there's literally nothing in this dark mist, but just then I feel something against my finger. I slowly wrap my hand around it and notice that it feels warm to the touch as I pull my hand out of my chest. I look down to see a black rock lying in my palm with flecks of light appearing and disappearing around it.

"Now, I want you to hold your ember as tightly as you can and thrust your hand into the fire."

I look down to the burning flame hesitating from getting too close to it. It is not because it is a fire that could burn me or its connection to the God who sits before me, but this flame has neither heat nor sound. It is as if the fire exists only to my eyes and nothing else.

"Do you wish to win this war?" Madal says "then you must do what I tell you."

I look up to Madal sitting on his throne with his eyes covered from his hood and his face giving no expression. I take a deep breath while I slowly move my hand over the stone cauldron. Once my hand finally reaches the fire I cannot feel heat on my skin. It takes me a couple minutes to adjust to the side of my hand being consumed in flames. I look up to Madal and impatiently wait for him to tell me what to do next. Then I suddenly feel a searing pain in my hand and pull it out of the flame. My hand isn't on fire or has my fur been singed, but when I open my hand I see a dark spot in my palm where the ember used to be. Then suddenly my entire body flares up in heat to the point that it becomes agonizing and I trip falling onto my back. I look at my hands and see the cuts starting to be filled with light as they slowly close back up. Once there are no more openings in my hands they start cool down and the heat disappears. I hear thundering footsteps coming from behind me as Madal has left his throne and is slowly coming his way towards me. An agonizing pain starts to overwhelm me coming from my chest. I looked down to see the massive gaping hole in my chest slowly but surely closing as it spews out fiery sparks. I grunt and scream as I roll on the ground. Finally the pain subsides and my body falls limp. I don't even have the strength to look down and see what my body looks like.

"Sorry Marco, I should have told you that it hurts." Madal says as he finally reaches me, standing right beside me like a towering mountain. He takes his right hand to the cauldron of fire and pulls out a white sash. "Here..." Madal tosses the sash on to me while saying "tell them you spoke to Agapao."

I slowly raise my left hand and hold on to the white sash that lies on my chest while I ask "why would I tell them that?"

Madal once more places his right hand into the cauldron but when his hand returns it is consumed in flames. "Because she is the one who healed your wounds and brought you back to life." Then he raises his right hand over my face. He turns his hand slightly and fire pours out of his palm. The fire splashes onto my face like water and I can see nothing but light. I twist my body to the right trying to get my face away from the flames but they leave behind a sense of wet heat.

I open my eyes to see a black cloth in front of me while I feel the softness of grass and the moist soil beneath me. I turn my head to see Charmaine kneeling beside me with a wet cloth in her hands. Her face is filled with complete amazement from my unexpected movement, but I'm even more surprised of her when I see that her eyes are pure white. "Charmaine you are blind?" She quickly pulls her hood over her head and gets back on to her feet then turns around and heads out of the black tent while shouting "Eros, Marco is awake." I take a moment to look around and note that this is the tent we used to plan our battle. The slight opening at the other side of the tent shows nothing but darkness. This must mean that is just a couple hours after the battle. I pull myself up slowly while pushing aside the cotton cloth that lay on top of me. I look down to my naked body and I'm completely amazed when I see no marks or scars. Where that gaping black hole in my chest used to be now is nothing more than a chest of fur. Madal has truly brought me back to life.

Suddenly Eros bursts through the tent's opening. His expression is filled with joy when he sees me on my knees. He is still wearing his chain mail armor and carrying his sword on this side. "What did you miss me," I say jokingly as I quickly stand up. "No wait," Eros says as he jumps forward towards me. I am off balance and begin falling backwards, but before I hit the ground Eros grabs one of my hands and pulls me towards him. I land against his chest with a thud. "Don't try to push yourself. In the name of Zao I don't know how you are still alive."

My body feels almost numb and the wind coming through the opening of the tent is giving shivers down my spine. Eros helps me back down to my bed while putting the cotton cloth once more on top of me. My body feels as if I haven't moved in years, but slowly I'm starting to get feeling back into my limbs.

"Marco what's that in your left hand?"

I look down to my left hand and see that I'm still tightly holding onto the white sash Madal gave me. "A piece of white fabric I got in my dreams," I say jokingly to his question.

"Wait isn't that..."

"So you're finally awake Marco." I look up towards the opening of the tent and see two familiar rabbits walking in known as Ellen and Charmaine. Ellen stands there with her quaint smile showing off for the wrinkles on her face. Charmaine stands beside Ellen while holding onto a small wooden bowl, but this time she does not drape her hood over her head and instead chooses to shows off her pure white eyes. Ellen taps Charmaine's shoulder while saying "left." Charmaine walks forward and sits on the right side of me then holds out wooden bowl and says "drink this, it should help you get better."

I look over to Eros who has his usual devilish smile on his face. He grabs my left shoulder and slowly lifts me up while saying "You should've seen Jedrick face when he found out." With the help of Eros I get into a sitting position which is painful with my sore back. With my right hand I take the wooden bowl from Charmaine and bring it to my lips. In the darkness of the tent I can only see a darkish brown liquid slurring inside the bowl with the scent of lemon coming from it. I take a small sip of the liquid and taste a hint of lemon with an overwhelming flavor of metal. The taste is horrible but I quickly downed the rest of the liquid knowing that this will help me get better.

"Thank you," I say with a winched expression while giving the bowl back to Charmaine.

"Next time I will remind myself to add a bit more lemon," Ellen says as she walks over and takes the bowl from my Charmaine. "The medicine should help you grow your muscle back from your long rest."

I look at Ellen surprised. "I can't have rested that long, I mean it is still dark outside," I say with a reassuring chuckle, trying to dismiss what Ellen said.

"Marco," Eros says with a worried look. "You have been asleep for over 12 days straight."