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Once again here with another chapter in the Illian Tales. We're getting close to the second battle between Markus and Felix, so hang with me.

Eight months after their night in the FountainCave and the band of five found themselves on the direct opposite side of Illian then they started. So far, their search had given them some decent information, for they now knew that this Trinity Prophet was indeed alive, and that whoever they were, they were willing to help the Races of Light. Sadly, the group still had no idea who this Trinity Prophet was or what they even looked like. Even worse, time was running out on Markus. Now, each day was a battle for control over his own body; bringing him and his mate Kia only pain and agony. Yet despite this, the two still held onto their bright and optimistic moods. In fact, as the group now stared at the RezOcean, a body of water that marked the western end of Illian, Kia couldn't help but smile as Markus joked with Oz and Cyn about their attempts to have a child.

As the group finally hit the sand, Markus turned around and said "Alright, we stop here for tonight. Hah, it seems like yesterday me and Kia walked out of the bright golden gates of Arcanus, and already we're on the sandy shore of the Rez. Remember guys, no matter where your lives lead you in the future, our actions here will be told by bards all across Illian for years to come."

In response, everyone in the group let out a large cheer. Yet, as they died down, Eon grew serious and asked "What about your future Markus?"

At this, Markus tensed and almost let out an inward whimper as he was brutally reminded of the fateful day that was soon arriving. In response, Markus looked up at the now starry sky and said "My future...my future is to end the lives of innocents and the damned alike, all in the furious struggle we now face against Felix. My story will be told with fear, malice, and woe."

With some of his lingering childhood denial, Eon shook his head and said "That can't be true Markus, you just have to..."

Furious and sad at the same time, Kia just cried out "SHUT UP EON, JUST SHUT UP!!" Now deep into her pregnancy, Kia was forced to waddle as she shifted the weight of her child to reach Markus. When she reached him, she buried herself in his black vest and said "Eon, why must you always make things so hard on him? You've never seen him try to fight Valecruiz off have you? Markus uses all of his willpower to keep that bastard from coming out, and each time he's rewarded with unbearable amounts of pain."

When she finished, Markus gently placed his left hand on her head and said "Kia, that's enough."

A bit surprised, Kia lifted her face from his chest and said "No Markus, its unfair for any of them to assume that you don't try to fight Valecruiz off, especially when they've seen what he has been doing to...oh by the gods..." As she said this, Kia's legs buckled, forcing her to slump to the floor.

Scared out of his mind, Markus knelt down and noticed that Kia had gained a feverish look upon her face, so to aid his poor feline; he gently placed her in a sleeping position. As her breathing became heavier, Markus's eyes widened and he nervously shouted "What's wrong?!?"

In between her heavy gasps for air, Kia was able to let out "I...think...the baby is...here."

As his fatherly instincts suddenly took over, Markus's voice took on a tone colder than steel as he said "Oz, grab some nearby water from the ocean and desalt it using your DragonMagic. Eon, grab one of the spare shirts from your bag and fold it into a rag."

In protest, Eon was only able to say "But..."

Now furious, Markus's cursed left eye locked onto him as he said "Get the damn clothes or I'll use your skin instead, am I clear? Cyn, I need you to keep Kia as comfortable as possible, this is going to be one long night."

Within ten minutes, the group had made their very own birthing area. While they were forced to leave Kia on the sand, one of Markus's spare vests was laid in front of her now bare sex for the baby. Now fully ready, Markus simply focused on Kia and said "Alright, you ready?"

Kia let out a small smile in between her contractions and weakly let out a "Yes."

"Alright then, Eon, sit next to Kia and hold her hand, be careful though, she may try to break it." When Eon was in place, Oz rewet one of her unused black shirts and placed it over her forehead. As Markus noticed a small blue glow radiating from Cyn's claws, Markus knew everything was ready. The moment he knew this, he turned back to Kia and said "Ready...PUSH!!"

As Kia strained and struggled as she tried to do what Markus had told her to, she gritted her teeth and said "The...little guys is stubborn...just like...a certain...someone I know."

Letting out a small smile, Markus simply replied "You're doing great, just keep pushing. If you don't believe you can do this Kia, there will be no future for our child."

Now having a deep well of motivation to draw upon, Kia began pushing harder and more frequently, almost to the point where Markus started worrying about her own wellbeing. Despite this, Markus simply let out a much greater smile as he said "That's it...push."

Within eight hours, Markus breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he said "I can see its head...by the gods its ears are just...adorable."

Now curious, Kia asked him between pushes "Is it...Evizil or...cat?"

As the head made its way out onto the open world, Markus let out a great smile as he said "It's a feline."

Now even more determined to see her new baby, Kia pushed harder and harder, until an hour later, the baby was finally free. As it lay on the now bloodied vest, Markus used one of his sharp Evizil claws to cut the umbilical cord, truly signifying that it was free of its long encasement inside Kia's womb. The newborn kitten had fur the same pale color as Markus's coat, a pair of ears that were rounded like Kia's ears, but yet held a sharp tip like Markus's Evizil ears, and from what Markus could tell, very perplex, almost almond shaped eyes. One other thing Markus couldn't' help but notice was how unusually large the kittens front fangs were, each one was at least an eighth of an inch by now. When the baby let out its first mew, Markus let out a great laugh, wrapped it in the vest as best as he could, and handed it to Kia. As he handed it to her, Markus told her "What do you want to name it?"

"Is it a boy or girl?"

"Judging by its large fangs and sharp ear formation, boy."

"Then his name will be Kane, Kane Snow."

At this, Cyn stopped her DragonMagic and bent her head to see the new kitten. As she inspected it, she let out a great smile and said "Kane, what a wondrous ring it has to it. I can tell he will do great things, just like his father."

Blushing a little, Markus looked at Kane once more and said "We'll see, don't want him getting into too much danger, I've lived through enough of that to last four generations." In response, Kane let out one of his tiny mews, which caused everyone in the group to bawl with laughter.

****

When everyone had gone to sleep after the long ordeal, Oz and Cyn stayed up to talk and among other things, try to make a child of their own. What had started out as a serious discussion on how Kane would grow up after Markus was "gone" turned into a massive love bout on the beach yards away from where the others slept. Hoping it would increase their chances of actually mating, Cyn decided to stay in her full draconic form, leaving Oz with the problem of how to pleasure her. Because no real dragon had breasts, Oz began to contemplate using a technique the two of them had never tried in their almost full year of being together. Upon Oz's instructions, Cyn sat down on all fours and slightly raised her ass in the air, positioning her sex directly in front of Oz's face. Curious herself, Cyn asked Oz as she felt him draw nearer "What exactly did you have in mind Oz?"

Now Oz just let out a small, seductive laugh as he replied "Going to try a new trick Markus suggested to me, just sit back and enjoy." With that said, he drew ever more closely to her sex, almost to the point where his draconic muzzle would be entering her. As he felt the heat from Cyn's body flow from her sex, Oz began having second thoughts about the whole thing. The two of them knew that dragons emit a massive amount of heat naturally, even when they dared to enter their broodling forms the heat they release was known to burn the flesh straight off the bone. In the case of two dragons mating, the outer scales provide enough resistance to keep male's manhood perfectly fine, but when it came to their face, no dragon was really sure. Because the scales on the face and muzzle of a dragon are less fortified then the ones on the body, never before have two dragons even considered performing this way, until now.

Realizing that he was falling prey to untested fears, Oz gently shook his head took the risk. First, to prepare Cyn for what was to come, Oz gently massaged the almost crimson entrance to her sex with slow, light strokes. For the first second he did this, Oz felt the dragon's body shivered as if a lightning bolt was coursing down her spine. With a tone of surprise that she freely expressed, Cyn turned to face Oz and said "What on Illian was that?"

Embarrassed, Oz suddenly stopped and replied "How did it feel?"

Not quite sure how to put it, Cyn managed to say "It felt almost like a lover's caress, gently yet seductive, almost luring one in." Taking this as a signal to continue, Oz proceeded in licking Cyn's elegant sex. When the outside was coated in the light saliva Oz produced, he remembered what Markus said he should do next and slowly, yet gently, entered her pussy with his tongue. Now completely taken by surprise by the sudden rush of pleasure she began feeling, Cyn started lightly shaking her body in pure delight as the smooth shiver ran down her spine. The deeper Oz went, the greater the pleasure became, until Cyn found herself in absolute ecstasy. Not wanting to throw her mate out of her recently steaming pussy, she was reduced to kneading the sand like a newborn kitten would to massage milk from its mother. When Oz saw her in the throes of their passion, he released a small, muffled laugh and took the final step that Markus had taught him. Like before, he slowly made the full plunge into her sex, which forced the tip of his muzzle inside her as well. As he stuck his tongue out as far as it would go, Oz suddenly recalled the one tip his friend had given him; always keep movement going. With that now in mind, he slowly began twirling his long, forked tongue around the walls of Cyn's slick sex. In response, Cyn instinctively bucked forward as if Oz were using his manhood to enter her, which nearly caused the poor broodling to almost bite his own tongue off. To prevent her from doing that again, Oz placed his almost dragon like claws around Cyn's naturally large waist and secured them there. Knowing he now had her in his hands; Oz twirled his tongue faster and faster inside her pussy, changing the direction in which he twirled it ever now and then in order to keep Cyn in the full ecstasy of it all. After minutes of repeating this process, getting faster with every twirl, Cyn had no choice but to clench her sex tightly around the tip of Oz's muzzle as she hit her climax. Because Markus had prepared him for this certainty, Oz had no problem in welcoming the oncoming sea of juices, and even more readily drank them down.

When Cyn had finally regained her strength, she released her vice on Oz's muzzle, turned to face him and said "Where in the world did you learn something like that?"

"You'd be surprised at how much Markus knows when it comes to things like this" Oz quickly replied without hesitation.

"I suspect most of that came from Kia, but wherever he learned it, praise Rez you asked."

"You liked it that much?"

"More than you can ever imagine, now that I have a basic understanding of what you did, I'm sure I can use that to your benefit as well."

With a subtle laugh, Oz responded to her by saying "Another time, my sweet queen, but for tonight, it's all about you." Knowing exactly what he meant, Cyn lowered her back end so that her now steaming sex was directly in front of the massive bulge in Oz's commonly worn brown pants. With almost no effort, Oz gently slid his pants past his kneecaps, exposing his flaring green manhood. As he plunged into Cyn's large slick sex, Oz grunted and quietly whispered to his dragoness "You may here a crack or two."

Trying to revel in the wholeness Oz provided, Cyn was able to reply by saying "You'd be surprised at how durable dragons and broodlings alike are." With this said, Oz and Cyn struggled furiously to create an offspring to call their own.

****

When Markus awoke from his long slumber, he noticed a sudden need to stare out into the ocean. Quietly, as to not disturb the newborn kitten and its mother, Markus donned his black pants, vest and Blood Oath pendant. Once he was ready, Markus used his wolfish grace to lightly tread upon grainy sand. When he began to feel the calm ocean waves lick at his furry feet, he stopped and gazed out onto the now appearing dawn making its ascent on the horizon. As his cursed left eye became ensnared in the wondrous sight he was now beholding, Markus's thoughts began drifting towards the future of his son. He could almost see young Kane being taught how to wield the magics he held inside of himself by Oz, just as Markus had so long ago. Then, Markus began seeing an adolescent Kane embarking on his very first quest, and coming home successful. Finally, he was able to imagine a fully grown Kane meeting his soul mate and marrying that special someone. Yet, as he saw all of this, one malignant force hoped to ruin it all, Valecruiz. In the blink of an eye Valecruiz send thousands of images flooding into Markus's head. While most of them contained scenes of death and misery, one image was forcibly burned into his mind forever. Sprawled on the floor laid Kia and his adolescent child Kane, most of their innards ripped out and strung about in ways only few could grasp. The worst part of it all was that it was his hands that were soiled with their blood and their innards; even worse was the rush of enjoyment Valecruiz was making him feel as this image constantly played over and over again in his head. Just as he started wishing he could shed but one tear, a voice cried out to him.

"Markus...Markus?"

Shaking his head in order to rid himself of Valecruiz's enthrallment, Markus began searching for the person who had freed him of the demon's terrible grip. It didn't take him long to realize that Kia was now standing to his right with a deep look of concern spread across her face. Before he could speak to her, she managed to whisper to him "It was him again, wasn't it?"

Markus answered her by simply replying "I'm worried about what he may do to you and Kane."

In an effort to calm his fear, Kia embraced him in as deep of a hug as her large, swollen body would let her, all the while replying "As long as you're still with me, he can't touch any of us."

Without even batting an eye, Markus bluntly told her "Eon is going to take you to safety."

Shocked, Kia let go of Markus and asked "What are you talking about? I'm safe right here."

Now looking at her with his horrific left eye, Markus snapped back at her "You know as well as I do that isn't true. He's getting stronger Kia; it's almost to the point where he can control my movements without triggering the Augment. I'm having Eon take you to a place where even I don't know its location so Valecruiz can never find you."

Furious with her mate, Kia stomped her left foot in sandy beach and retorted with "So then you lied to me when you said you'd help raise Kane, is that right?"

Suddenly filled with a primal anger now that someone had dared to call him an oath breaker, Markus snarled and replied "How could I have possibly seen this coming, HOW?!? If it were even a SLIGHT possibility, you know DAMN WELL I would raise Kane the best I could. But we can all plainly see, LIFE ISN'T SOME FANTASY. Oz and Cyn are having no luck in even producing even a single clutch of eggs, Eon is forced to harbor fourteen ancient souls inside his body, and I'm stuck becoming the fucking harbinger for the destruction of Illian. Now tell me, WHO'S FUCKING FANTASY AM I LIVING?" As he said this, Markus couldn't help but noticed that the Relsinger runes burned into his fur were now radiating their black malignant color. Bracing himself for Valecruiz's brutal onslaught, Markus was surprised to find that the maleficent soul living inside of the Augment was making no attempt to dominate the Evizil's body. Just as he was about to search for the reason behind Valecruiz's apathy, Markus heard Kia stifle a cry. Knowing that he should have never snapped at her like that, Markus simply bent his head down and said "I..."

Just as quickly as she had started to cry, she ended it, afterwards replying by saying "You're right...I know you're doing this to protect me and Kane as best as you can. It's just that for so long I've been holding onto the dream that the three of us would one day return to the countryside and enjoy our lives in peace. No matter how pressing the situation became, I always held hope, and now that the truth has hit me so hard in the face, I don't know what to do anymore."

Realizing he had to do something, Markus said without any second thoughts "Kia, I can't promise you that day will come, but I will promise you that I will be the best father I can be until that day comes. Look, I'll make a deal with you here and now; I'll have Eon wait until Valecruiz fully controls me to take you away. That way, I can look after you and Kane personally, and hopefully the two of you will be just what I need to fight Valecruiz off until we find the Trinity Prophet."

At this, Kia's face shone with a light not even the ascending sun could match. In the heat of her happiness, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Markus's neck, all the while saying "Markus, I knew you were my mate from the moment I saw you in Brimble all those months ago."

As the two stared at each other with a love that almost no one could hope to best, Markus noticed a strange building on the hill facing the beach. Wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, Markus let Kia down and pointed to the building, afterwards asking "Do you remember that ever being here?"

Shocked, Kia replied "No...it almost looks like a church of some sort, but I can't be sure."

Even more disturbing than the actual building was something seen near it. As he realized what the thing near the church was, he quickly looked around and asked Kia "Have you seen Eon around here?"

Surprised, she answered "No...why?"

"He may be in trouble, stay here and protect yourself and Kane at all costs. If you can, try to summon Oz and Cyn and tell them where I went to, if at all possible." With that, Markus entered the Thrall form, becoming a whopping 6'8'' leviathan and used his breakneck speed to race to the mysterious church. As Markus began thinking on how foolish Eon was for rushing into a mysterious building like that without warning a single person, he was able to get a much better view of what the church really looked like. The church was a perfect replica of the center building that made up The Church of The High Father, even the large, round stained glass window that use to welcome all that passed greeted Markus. When Markus reached the top of the hill, only feet away from the stairs that led to the church doors, the large window shattered into thousands of pieces. Nothing had broken through it or out of it, the whole thing just shattered almost like...a body was thrown out of it. Eyes wide open now that he realized this; Markus bolted towards the door and used his muscular Evizil leg to kick one of the doors in. Yet, in his sudden worry, he had accidentally used too much force, causing the door to rip right off of the hinges and fly at least five feet into the church.

As he entered the hole where the door once stood, Markus immediately called out "EON!!" The whole church consisted of one very large room, decorated with various stained glass windows depicting ancient scenes involving Rez and many of the other gods, including Izilan. Like almost every church Markus had ever seen, equally spaced pews were placed on Markus's left and right, all leading towards the large center stage. Where a large statue of the great god Rez once stood, Eon and another figure stood, both with there eyes locked on Markus. As Markus looked at the figure beside Eon, his heart nearly caved in on itself. The figure was a human female with long brunette hair, a tall, slim figure, a pair of petite breasts, and deep green eyes that reminded Markus oddly of emeralds. Not believing who he was seeing, Markus advanced to the first pair of pews before finally, his legs buckled under the imaginary weight that was now upon him. Now that he knew without a doubt the person he was looking at, Markus let out a small whimper as he whispered "Jessica..."

At this, the woman's face lit up like a candle as she said "Eon has told me much of what has happened to you two. It is nice to see you, Markus Ealar."

Since now, Eon had been silent, until he finally spoke up by saying "While it is true I have told her about the present, she has told me much about the past. In particular, the day she died."

Not understanding, Markus looked at Eon, then back at Jessica and said "Then...you're still..."

Now Jessica Wyrmheart brushed away a strand of her brunette hair that had managed to hang over her left eye as she replied "Yes Markus...I am still among the dead."

As a sudden question burned in his mind, Markus asked "What does Eon mean by the day you died? We saw your father push you out of the center window."

Out of nowhere, a great expression of anger flashed across Eon's face as he said "It isn't true Markus, that's not how she died."

Before Markus could fight back at what Eon had said, Jessica put her hand up in silence and said "He's right Markus, my father didn't kill me, you did."

Suddenly, Markus's world began falling apart. Now in pure denial, Markus shook his head and said "I would never hurt you Jessica, NEVER. I...I loved you; I loved you the moment I met you. You always stood by my decisions, and even helped me take care of Eon when his parents died when he was still young. Jessica, you were always there for me when I needed you, I had no reason to kill you."

"Yet still you did."

Sad and furious at the same time, Markus shouted at the two of them "I WAS OUTSIDE WHEN I SAW YOU DIE JESSICA. HOW COULD I POSSIBLY HAVE THROWN YOU OUT OF THE WINDOW WHEN I WATCHED YOU DIE!?!" Suddenly, the runes on Markus's body began glowing with there horrible light once more as Valecruiz immediately took over Markus's body without giving the Evizil a chance to fight back. Right before he was flung into the darkest regions of his mind, Markus couldn't help but shudder as he felt the horns return to their rightful place on top of his forehead.

As he fully ascended into control, Valecruiz let out a large, malignant laugh as he said "Oh Jessica, it has been SUCH a long time. How is death been to you, I hope not too rough."

Now, Jessica's eye widened as she said "I...I remember that voice...you...you're the one that threw me out of the church window!!"

In response, Valecruiz let a large smile unfold, revealing Markus's fangs in a way that showed no pleasantry, replying "Thank the gods you finally figured it out, I was afraid I'd have to throw your already dead carcass out the window again to prove it. And I see the young Eon has come here to join us, hope there's no hard feelings about me skewering you with these horns of mine."

Before Jessica could say anything, Eon's eyes took on a red glow, signaling that Rilus had made his way into Eon's head, as he started advancing towards Valecruiz and shouted at him "You BASTARD, I'll kill you for what you did to Jessica." As he said this, Eon drew forth a bronze longsword that he now only used when times pressed, and charged at his former friend. Right as he got within distance, Eon jumped forward and prepared to slice Valecruiz straight down the center of his body. Yet, before the sword hit its mark, Valecruiz raced behind Eon, jumped up and forced him to the ground.

As the young human male hit the ground with a bone shattering thud, Valecruiz picked Eon up with his dominant left hand and drew the boy close. With a large snarl, Valecruiz drew the boy closer and said "You foolish boy...you would risk your life for an already deceased woman, in the process killing your only friend left on this sad plane of existence. Now, before you meddle in my affairs, BE OFF!!" With that, Valecruiz threw Eon straight threw the large hole where there great stained glass window once stood.

When the two of them heard no more of the young male, Valecruiz turned to face Jessica and said "Now let's make this reunion a little more...private." Valecruiz now placed his left arm behind himself so that his palm was facing the direction of the door and the large hole. Instantly, a wall of dark purple magic filled in the holes where the door and the window once stood.

Once this was done, Jessica looked deep inside the pure blue eyes that carried only evil within them and said "What do you want, demon?"

In a mocking tone of sadness, Valecruiz briefly placed his left hand over his muzzle, afterwards replying by saying "I feel hurt Jessica Wyrmheart, all I wanted was to talk to you and here you are calling me names."

In a tone of pure anger, Jessica merely said "My apologies dear sir, now return Markus and Eon to me and leave us."

"Tsk tsk, I'm sorry my dear girl I'm afraid I can't do that for you see, I need your precious Evizil here to take back what is rightfully mine."

"And what would that be, may I ask."

"Why, Illian of course."

"Hmph, Illian belongs to no one but Gree himself: only a foolish demon like you would even consider this place to be ruled by someone else."

"Jessica my dear, I know that the current ruler of Illian is that pitiful god known as Gree, but with the combination of Markus's powers with my own, I can rightfully reclaim the Crown of Darkness and make this world bow before me."

"The Crown of Darkness...then you're..."

Now, Valecruiz bowed and placed his right arm across his chest as he said "Valecruiz of the Void, in the flesh; well...almost."

"But...you were banished to the Void over 300 years ago."

"You know, that's the first thing people say to me...I guess it's just too hard to grasp the concept that simply sending someone to the other side of the universe just isn't enough to stop someone like me."

"But...why go through the hassle of killing me?"

Now, Valecruiz started advancing towards Jessica as he said "Because you were getting in the way. Markus was fighting back my suggestions and ideas all because you were there to guide him. Soon enough, it got to the point where he merely refused to listen to me anymore, so I took out the source of the rebellion. You know, it was such a shame I had to end your life, but it had to be done." As he finished speaking, Valecruiz had fully made his way to Jessica. Now that the two were face to face, Valecruiz tried stroking the young woman's cheek with the back of his hand. Yet, as he did just that, sudden memories of Markus's childhood experiences started flooding his head. Moving backwards in full recoil, Valecruiz simple looked at the hand that had touched her and yelled "What in the hell was that?"

For Jessica, the touch had been entirely different. When contact was made, the dead woman had entered Markus's mind, watching as the poor Evizil valiantly tried to regain control over his own body. Suddenly, as if brought to her by one of the gods, Jessica got an idea. Slowly, she started advancing towards Valecruiz, bringing her hand up as she did. Now taking by complete surprise, Valecruiz could do nothing as the young woman reached him. Wrapping her unused arm around Valecruiz's waist, Jessica brought her raised hand gently up to the Evizil's left cheek and brought their heads together. Within moments, their connection began again, this time Jessica felt Markus gain an upper edge against the demon.

As Jessica held the connection, Valecruiz tried to push her away by thrashing about, but with her arm around his waist in a death-grip, he could do nothing but swear. As he felt Markus suddenly regain control of his body, Valecruiz stared at Jessica with a look of pure malice as he said "Bitch, know that your day is coming, and when it comes, I will send your soul into the deepest pits of Rea for all of eternity where you will burn by my hand." Soon after, the runes stopped glowing and the large horns retreated back into the poor Evizil's head. Knowing that the demon was sealed away for now, Jessica let go of Markus, causing him to slump on the floor as his legs buckled beneath him. Gasping as if his head were held underwater for a long time, Markus was able to say "Jessica...I'm..."

Now, the young woman bent down towards Markus and said "It's alright Markus, I understand everything now. Markus...I'm going to help you before I go, but the process will hurt."

"What do you..." was all Markus was able to say before Jessica placed her hand on his cheek once again. This time, their connection had caused Markus to trigger violent amounts of dark magic energy to swirl around the two of them like an unstable hurricane. Despite this sudden rush of magic, Jessica was determined to free Markus from what she felt was torturing his mind. Like before, Jessica was able to enter Markus's mind, and there she found so much sadness, guilt and hatred that she nearly collapsed. Knowing she had to do something about these feelings, Jessica steeled herself and charged straight and the large collection of these emotions. The moment she got near them, Jessica was hurled into a collection of memories. First, they started back when Jessica had first died, but slowly they made their way to the point when Markus had first fought Felix, and every so slowly, all the way to the present.

When she was finished experiencing every memory that had caused Markus all of these feeling, Jessica realized there was one simple way to end the torment. While still keeping their connection strong, Jessica looked at Markus and said "Markus, you have to let it all out."

Confused, Markus looked at her with wide eyes and said "What?"

"You've never shown any of your deepest emotions since the day I died, and all of that has caused a massive swelling of these feelings inside of your mind and soul. Markus, you have to release all of these pent up emotions, otherwise Valecruiz will start using these against you. Not only that, but you've become more susceptible to Valecruiz because you've lost faith in your own abilities. Please, let them out Markus, for me and those you now hold dear."

Feeling their connection grow stronger, Markus was forced to relive ever single memory since the day Jessica had died. Suddenly, he knew what she meant; inside each and every one of his memories laid a gateway that Valecruiz could use to gain control. Yet, despite all of this, Markus couldn't let them out." Shaking his head, Markus said "I...I can't Jessica, I just can't!!"

Ignoring what he had said, Jessica now was forced to yell over the sound of the furious storm of magic as she said "LET IT OUT MARKUS, LET IT OUT!!!"

In his mind, Markus suddenly began to feel these memories and the emotions they brought with them pulsate, almost as if they desperately wanted to be released just as badly as Jessica wanted them to. With each pulse, each of the memories flooded into his mind at once, until finally, they became too much for the young Evizil to handle. Letting his body take over, Markus raised his head towards the sky and released a howl so loud and so full of fury and woe, every window in the church shattered into thousands of pieces. Even the magic walls Valecruiz had put up shook, until finally, those too collapsed underneath the pressure of the furious howl. When the howl finally ceased, the dark energies surrounding the two dispersed in a massive shock wave that shook the entire church to its very foundation. As the church regained its stability, Markus looked back down at Jessica and collapsed into her, all the while emitting a massive series of sobs. Yet, as her past lover sat crying in her chest, Jessica couldn't help but smile as a sense of pride swelled inside her ghostly heart. Comforting Markus, Jessica began petting the Evizil's head and whispered "It's alright Markus, you've done well today. It took a lot of guts to finally release those emotions, and you did it."

****

After spending a few hours releasing every emotion he had kept hidden for over six years, Markus walked outside of the church, and as he did so, the entire place seemed to vanish before his very eyes. As he looked back inside, Markus could see Jessica start to fade as well, but before she did, she waved at him for a final time. Sadly, before he could wave back, the church finally dissolved, taking Jessica along with it. With the church gone, Markus finally noticed that it was about noon, meaning he had spent well over six hours inside the church with Jessica. As his large canine eyes adjusted to the ever so bright sunlight, Markus saw a red dragon advance towards him from the sky. When it finally got near him, Markus also noticed that it was carrying three passengers, not an easy task for any creature, even if it was a dragon. Suddenly, the large dragon asked "Markus are you alright? I had to catch Eon as he was thrown out of the church, and before I could let anyone inside, all of the entrances were blocked off by a wall of magic."

Grateful that Eon had been saved, Markus just smiled as he replied "I'm fine Cyn; think you have room for one more?"

Cyn merely let out a draconic snort as she said "I guess, but no bickering back there or I'll deal with you myself." With that, Markus let out a yelp of joy and used his muscular Evizil legs to push himself into the air, in the end landing on Cyn's back, right behind Kia. When Markus was finally comfortable, he let his emotions fade away as he slipped back into his Lycanthrope form.

As Cyn began lifting herself, along with the others, into the air, she turned her large dragoness head towards Markus as she said "Where to?"

With a sense of determination and confidence that he hadn't felt since the day he had fought Felix, Markus looked towards the east and said "Rea." Filled with a sudden disgust at the very mentioning of the name, Cyn and the others merely shuddered; yet deep down, each and every one of them knew it was were they must go if they ever hoped of defeating the horror that was the Malar.