Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 89: The Fallen Valkyries

“BLUE!” screams Rose as a sudden flash of powerful lightning strikes him from seemingly nowhere. Ryuogriar launched herself backwards to not get caught in the same spell, but she quickly scans for the cause of the attack. The armor they’re all wearing should have been able to resist magic, especially lightning magic, as the metal is conductive enough to shunt the electricity to ground, or so Daniel has explained.

The only alternative would be if the spell was generated within Blue’s body, which would take an immense amount of precision and control, denoting a mastery of magic. In addition, it would require an extremely high amount of mana.

Ryuogriar quickly casts healing magic. Like all of the greater dragons, she can use all six of Zenkon’s magical base elements, though light magic is one of her weakest.

Getting too close to Blue is extremely dangerous, but she can try to stave off death. Rose swoops in without thinking, and Ryuogriar cries out, “No! Get away from hi-!” Ryuogriar looks down when a magic circle appears below her, and she gasps. She wasted time to be surprised and it’s now too late.

She tries to react and create a barrier, but the most powerful singular spell that Ryuogriar knows of spawns above her, shattering her preliminary barrier; Eruption of the Sky.

A devastating explosion slams Ryuogriar from above, and she cries out, feeling the concussive impact rattle and break bones, slam her teeth together, and pummel her insides. She’s still conscious, but she’s in immense pain, and she has to try to lift her head. She still hasn’t found the attacker. There aren’t many in the entire world of Zenkon that should be able to do so much damage to a lesser dragon, let alone a greater dragon. The amount of mana required should make them easy to detect, but it’s just like the two archoneldwyn assassins that nearly killed Daniel. They were undetectable until they launched their attack. It’s the same kind of spell everyone suspects Daniel uses, when in fact he had no mana to begin with.

Ryuogriar looks to Rose, who is trying to help Blue with a potation.

And, Geirahoel arrives, hovering over Ryuogriar. “Ryuo! Where is it coming from!? I can’t find anything!”

Ryuogriar decides to try one last thing. She begins channeling her mana to begin the spell to negate magic. It should be able to reveal the archoneldwyn assassin, even for a moment.

But, before she can finish her spell, at a point that is central between all four of the dragons, a sudden black and purple spark appears, and one of the most destructive dark magic spells ignites; abyssal singularity. Unlike a black hole, which is very similar, abyssal singularity doesn’t annihilate matter. But, it does pull objects towards it with powerful attraction, and if sustained, can crush them in on each other.

All four dragons, as the most massive unanchored things present, are yanked towards the singularity, slamming into each other as they scream in surprise. Again, it’s a powerful spell that very, VERY few people in the world should be capable of alone, let alone following two other similarly powerful and masterfully-cast spells.

Ryuogriar screams in pain as she and Geirahoel are crushed together in the middle, curled around each other as their bodies are being forced towards the singularity’s center with enough force to strain every joint in their body, pull their muscles painfully, and even begin cracking and breaking bones.

Dragon bones.

Ryuogriar tries to search with her eyes as her vision struggles to stay clear. That the mage attacking them is keeping them pinned so long is difficult to believe. The only reason Rose is taking less damage is the fact that she’s pinned to Blue, who is pinned to Ryuogriar and Geirahoel, making Rose the furthest away from the singularity.

Rose chokes out in terror, “R-Ryuo…!”

Ryuogriar can’t form words. She can barely think. Pain is searing through her. Geirahoel was shot by Daniel during the dragons trying to capture the Citadel, and she only technically nearly died, and there was enough time that she didn’t need a revival potation. However, she’s whimpering and screaming as well, unable to endure the pain.

Ryuogriar tries to take a breath, and she reaches out with telepathy. “R-Reina, n-no time… we’re…”

Ryuogriar hears a pop in time with a jolt through her spine and skull, and her vision goes black.

***

Daniel and his companions run to the hangar, gathering there in a state of emergency. Reignleif, who is flying over Daniel’s shoulder, found him after receiving an incomplete telepathic message from Ryuogriar, before Ryuogriar seems to have disappeared from a mana perspective.

And, so has Geirahoel.

A massive discharge of magic explodes in the hangar, dropping two massive reptilian bodies with a golem flying a little further and landing.

The two bodies are easily recognizable as a young pink dragon and a young orange dragon, but only one of them scrambles up. “Where’s-!?”

Rose, the pink dragon, looks around. She bows. “D-Emperor! Please forgive me! She’s-...!”

“Revival potation! Now!” shouts Daniel as he runs to Geirahoel’s head, which lays lifeless on the floor. “What happened!?” shouts Daniel, even more urgent and angry than anyone has heard him yet.

Xyreko, the golem that retrieved the two via teleport, reappears once more with the revival potation. She gives it to Daniel as he shouts, “Open her mouth!”

Rose, flustered and crying, complies quickly. She lifts Geirahoel’s head so that her maw is present, and Daniel climbs inside her mouth, dumping the revival potation inside, ensuring not a single drop is wasted. He then calls out, “Healing potation!”

Hekate is there, shoving the requested jar into his hand, shouting back, “It’s already opened!”

Daniel takes it, quickly dumping it down Geirahoel’s maw as well.

Vaergraes urges, “Daniel, get clear before she can move again.”

Hekate pulls him clear of the dragon’s mouth, and Daniel pets Geirahoel’s gigantic face, urging, “Come on, come on, wake up! Rose! Explain!”

Rose flinches, looking down. “F-Forgive me, your Grace! We-... It was sudden! I… We never saw the attacker. It just… Blue was k-killed so suddenly… and then Ryuogriar was hit by an explosion from above. When Geirahoel and I tried to move in, I…” She claws at her head, which is missing her helmet. She’s trying to make sense of what happened. It’s clear it was brutal and disorienting, and she still has trouble making sense of the sudden attack.

Geirahoel coughs, startling everyone, but her body comes back to life, and Daniel’s legs give out. He sinks to his knees as he hugs the end of the orange dragon’s nose. Hekate joins him, hugging her, and Reignleif pets her junior’s face as well, all three of them afraid to lose anyone.

Daniel asks, “W-Where’s Ryuo? Is Ryuo alright? And Blue?”

Rose looks away, shaking her head. “I… I had… to choose, your Grace. I…” She begins trembling, pain and sadness in her eyes. “I… I could only save… I’m not strong enough… P-Please… f-forgive me…”

Daniel is horrified, and his heart tightens painfully. He wants to scream and yell, to fight and seek revenge, and to destroy everyone and everything involved.

He manages to contain his anger and not direct it at Rose.

He knows, deep down, she’s telling the truth. She is the smallest of the four dragons that were on the mission, and she managed to rescue Geirahoel. Blue and Ryuogriar are possibly too heavy on their own for the relatively mana-less dragon to lift, and she still chose to save one of them, rather than fleeing and saving herself.

Daniel slumps to the floor, and Hekate asks, “Wh-What does this mean? Where is Ryuo?”

Daniel is unable to speak. He strikes the floor with the bottom of his fist, trying to think of what to do.

Revival potations are powerful, but they have a limit. If the soul has definitively departed from the body, the revival potation can restore the biological functions of the body, but not the life itself. That means there is a time limit, and they likely got extremely lucky with Geirahoel. Xyreko intercepted them about 20 miles away from the Grand City. At least ten minutes have passed since Rose was able to escape. Storage magic can obviously extend the time limit, but Rose did everything she could to escape. Ryuogriar and Blue are on the clock, and they are at the mercy of the attacker; likely the third archoneldwyn known as Brosjak who seems to be pulling the strings behind the scenes of the Demon Covenant. 

“Daniel, say the word and I will send the full might of the Citadel to retrieve them.”

Daniel clenches his fists. He still has his head down as he stares at the solid stone floor. “Xyreko… how many of the ordnancemen are still in the Citadel?”

“O-Ordnancemen?” asks Xyreko, surprised. In general, golems can do anything, though there are many jobs that the denizens of the Fievegal are provided to earn their keep, supplemented by golems where necessary.

The only concern with numbers that would not be able to be supplemented by golems is the one thing in the Citadel the golems cannot lay hands on. 

Daniel nods, finally sitting up to a single knee as he looks at his hands. The hands that made that terrible device.

Hekate asks, “Daniel? What are you planning.”

Daniel growls in a voice that frightens everyone near him, “The archoneldwyn want to go to war, I will show them war beyond their wildest imaginings.”

“Mukori, you can’t mean…” starts Reignleif, worried about Daniel’s cold and vicious sounding tone.

He looks at her. “We’ll find Ryuogriar first, and then I’d like to see our enemy escape calamity.”

He’s not joking, he’s not making light of the situation, and he’s not holding back. His eyes are nearly empty with killing intent.

Hekate finally realizes what Daniel means, and she replies, “Daniel, you can’t. You swore you wouldn’t use that.”

“I don’t care. I’ll destroy anyone that does this to us.” He stands up, growling, “Xyreko, gather the ordnancemen. Reignleif,...”

Reignleif hugs her own abdomen, replying nervously, “I won’t help with that. You’re not thinking clearly. You wouldn’t want to normally…”

“I want to kill them all!” shouts Daniel. “I’m tired of this! I’ve had it! We try to be as reserved and isolated as possible, and they continuously try to take and take and take! I…”

Daniel flinches when his angered and wandering gaze comes across the goddess, who has appeared and is staring at him intently. “Don’t stand in my way. Please, I beg of you.”

She simply stares at him silently.

“I had nothing to lose when I came here! Now I do! And, I won’t sit by and let the people I care about be taken away without doing anything!”

“Daniel…” urges Hekate gently.

“Mukori…” warns Reignleif protectively. None of them want Daniel to do anything that he’ll regret.

Gwenesphia also tries to gently urge him, “Daniel, calm down. We’ll sort this out. Lady Geirahoel can help us find Lady Ryuogriar.”

“But this attacker, he’s likely an archoneldwyn. If he gets the drop on us…”

“Daniel,” states Ryukana finally.

He snaps his gaze to her, controlling himself enough to not snap at her. Barely.

“I will not stop you, Daniel, but I can’t say what will happen if you go through with it. Instead, I’d like to offer you an alternative.”

“What?” asks Daniel a little sharply.

“You defeated a global threat and are owed a wish.”

Daniel flinches, surprised by this revelation. “What about Shek?”

Ryukana smiles. “That was but a whim. A favor at best. Make your wish, but think about it carefully. The Daniel standing before us ready to use the worst weapon in the world is not the Daniel who will live with the consequences, nor the Daniel who so many have come to admire and care about.”

Daniel looks around himself, finally finding a shred of his normal state of being. Everyone who he makes eye contact with seems genuinely worried; Reignleif, Hekate, Gwenesphia, Treia, Aoloan, Kera’tai, Vaergraes, Illianna, Thymeria, Xyreko, Erimaya, and Wenlianna. Daniel finally softens, though he is still visibly pained. He’s still upset about his treatment of Doephluev, who should still be asleep, though the amnesia spell has been cast. He has to avoid taking his anger out on her.

And, even more importantly, he can’t direct his anger towards the people around him now, the people supporting him and offering him comfort.

Daniel exhales, trying to calm down. His heart is still tight and in pain. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have threatened… that. What are the limits of the wish, Lady Ryukana?”

She smiles in relief. “Express your desire, and I can determine whether or not it’s possible. I don’t have the full power I had, since I’m technically banished, but I still have most of my power.”

“I assume you could erase the archoneldwyn that attacked them from existence, yes?”

She is quiet for a moment, replying softly, “I would have to identify him or her first, but yes.”

Daniel nods, “What about retrieving Ryuogriar and Blue?”

This seems to restore Ryukana’s more positive hopes, and she smiles again. “If that is your wish.”

Daniel thinks for a moment. He asks the others, “Any other suggestions?”

Wenlianna asks, “Couldn’t you wish for magical power? Enough to fight and find her yourself?”

Daniel looks to Ryukana, and she nods. “You could make that wish, and I believe I would be able to grant what you need.”

Daniel looks at Nemaisol. He is fairly certain that his rising mana level is the reason Nemaisol no longer allows him to draw it freely, but he still hasn’t figured out what the source of his increasing mana is.

He looks at Geirahoel, who is breathing peacefully, her body restored, though she’s still unconscious.

Hekate offers a suggestion, “Could you wish for all of the knowledge of everything ever?”

Ryukana shakes her head. “Such wishes have been tried before. Even with the most elaborate and careful wording, the sheer volume of knowledge has reliably driven all such heroes mad. I cannot recommend it.”

“World peace!” offers Erimaya. “W-Wouldn’t that solve a lot of the problems?”

Ryukana also rejects this suggestion. “Such a thing simply cannot exist in the presence of life. War is an aspect of Chaos, and Peace is an aspect of Order. Neither can exist alone forever.”

“I-I see… sorry…” replies Erimaya.

Daniel pats her head gently. “Don’t worry about it, Erimaya. Thank you for the suggestion. I’ve made my choice. Ryukana, please…”

Clapping draws all of their attention towards the hangar entrance. The intruder is somehow inside the Citadel’s hangar, not far from the group and completely undetected until he drew attention to himself. He's wearing expensive looking armor, either sharmellkolle or orichalcum, given the ostentatious coloring and shifting magical effects. Just his armor alone will make him a pain to deal with. But, unlike Daniel in full armor, the intruder brazenly has his head uncovered, smirking devilishly at the group.

“What a sight,” states the obvious archoneldwyn warrior arrogantly. “Dragons sobbing, the former Demon Queen at a loss, a human princess far away from home, and the Harbinger of Calamity weeping like a child. How marvelous.”

“Who are you!?” shouts Hekate as everyone stands up and goes on guard. It's obvious that something is very wrong. 

Golems appear in force, armed with heavy machine guns and grenade launchers all aimed at the intruder. Ucahote’s voice threatens, “Hands up and don't make any sudden moves.”

“That’s not very polite,” retorts the intruder in a feigned tone of pouting. His voice darkens as he smirks, “After all, you don’t even know why I've come. Or, what I'm offering.” He activates a magic bag on his belt, withdrawing something that sends a chill down everyone's spines. He doesn't withdraw the whole thing right away, but what does emerge is very obviously the head of a blue lesser dragon, wounded and showing no immediate signs of life.

Rose starts to move, but Reignleif stops her. Rose should know better than anyone that it’s a trap. If this particular archoneldwyn is the one who ambushed them during their attack, he’s somehow the most powerful mage any of them have ever seen.

Daniel growls coldly, “Where is Ryuogriar?”

“Hmm? Do you perhaps mean the white female dragon? I barely noticed her existence. I wonder where I left her…”

Daniel clenches his fist. He’s not baited by the taunt. It’s an obvious attempt to unbalance Daniel through his emotions. But, he’s worried sick about Ryuogriar, and they don’t have unlimited time. He ponders what the right course of action is. He doesn’t take his eyes off of the attacker. He’s almost certain this is Brosjak, the mysterious archoneldwyn that Doephluev mentioned. Daniel could try to taunt him in reply, but Daniel has more to lose, most likely. In fact, he’s certain of it. There’s a very long list of easy to see reasons why someone so powerful would make the efforts he has. In fact, Daniel would be willing to wager a great deal that Brosjak followed Xyreko through the lingering magic effect of her teleport, which, however he specifically did it, allowed him to bypass the Citadel’s defenses. It’s something Daniel should have been mindful of. There was a movie like that, just from the teleporting sense, and pursuing spaceships through faster than light travel methods, something Daniel has included in his own sci-fi writings, is similar. He should have known better. They use it casually like an everyday tool, but it’s recklessly dangerous, as demonstrated in this case.

Daniel decides to try to fish while not being too combative yet. Brosjak isn’t the only one who can make educated guesses.

“If you’re here to retrieve your comrades, I would expect that ours are still within the window of recovery.”

“My comrades?” asks Brosjak coyly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Doephluev seems to be convinced that you would come for her.” Though, I agree with her that you’d come just to silence her, most likely, thinks Daniel to himself.

“Ahhh. So, she is alive again? Fascinating. That’s helpful information.” Brosjak stores Blue’s head back in the bag, making sure it’s secure on his belt. Daniel can’t explicitly make his request to Ryukana, and he hasn’t looked away from Brosjak since he arrived, so he’s not even sure if Ryukana is still present. She has to be careful not to be identified by dangerous individuals, because she’s not all powerful. She could likely stop Brosjak with ease, but Daniel needs something more specific from her, and he didn’t get the chance to orate his wish. If you’re reading my thoughts, Ryukana, please, I’ll buy as much time as I can, but please grant this wish; I wish for you to recover Ryuogriar and Blue to safety, alive and well.

He doesn’t hear any reply, and he carefully stays on guard, glancing at Hekate, who is standing next to Daniel. Everyone is on the defensive, ready to strike the intruder down, but waiting for some cue.

The archoneldwyn shrugs. “Those two were already dead in my eyes. You can do whatever you want with them. They should die anyways for losing to mere dragons.”

Again, Daniel doesn’t take the bait, but he is really wanting to get revenge.

“Then, what do you want in exchange for Ryuogriar and Blue?”

“Hmmm…” hums the intruder in feigned deliberation. A devious, toothy grin spreads across his face. “I suppose I will accept the Citadel.”

Everyone tenses, and Hekate sucks her teeth. “Over my dead-...!”

Daniel puts his hand on her head, halting her. She looks up at him, and she whispers sharply, “Daniel!? You can’t be serious!”

“Obviously, you know I can’t simply hand it over,” replies Daniel, doing his best to maintain his composure. The others can fight this guy and stand a chance of winning. Especially if they see him coming. In contrast, Daniel has only survived as long as he has thanks to an immense amount of luck coupled with his weapons proving strong enough to ambush enemies and catch them by surprise. But, the archoneldwyn could easily wipe Daniel out -the main prerequisite for turning over ownership of the Citadel- in mere seconds. It would likely take a single attack, even if Daniel sees it coming. Unless Nemaisol helps him, he’s powerless against magic, and he can only get the upper hand if he has the element of surprise. Especially knowing that the archoneldwyn can somehow defend against his rifle.

“Even for someone carrying your child?” asks Brosjak with a poisonous smirk. Daniel assumes he has some sort of spy within the Citadel. Daniel has been pretty lax with what information has gotten out, and he’s reaping just a taste of the repurcussions of that fact. Even an amateur spy would know certain things about those closest to Daniel, so again, he’s not particularly moved by Brosjak’s attempt to rattle him. At least, not those to spur him into flying into a rage. Daniel is still panicking internally, and he’s running through every thought he can muster to try to find any way to outmaneuver and defeat Brosjak.

“If I defeat you here, we could simply tear apart the entire world until we find her,” replies Daniel, doing his best to maintain a composed facade.

Brosjak laughs. “There it is! Very well. I accept your challenge, oh ‘Harbinger of Calamity’.” He continues laughing, calming down as the women glare at him, but Hekate keeps his hand on Hekate’s head, keeping her calm. She knows he’s signalling her not to lose herself to rage, either. The others have just enough self-control not to outburst. Everyone senses how precarious the position they’re in is. 

“A duel?” asks Daniel.

Brosjak grins wickedly. “Naturally.” He feigns pouting, “After all, I couldn’t possibly hope to defeat everyone here. And, if I should die, you’ll never find your beloved white dragon.”

Hekate’s ears flick as she sucks her teeth, but Daniel -somewhat unintentionally- tenses his hand on her head. He isn’t so out of control that he hurts her, but it reiterates that she needs to hang in there, and that he’s just as angry as she is. 

She looks up, whining sharply, “You can’t seriously be considering it, Daniel!”

“M-Mukori?” asks Reignleif, horrified at what Hekate just revealed to everyone, which shocks everyone else around them.

“Daniel, don’t fall for it…” urges Vaergraes. 

But, Daniel replies as calmly as he can manage. “I’m not falling for anything. He did the courtesy of coming to me.” He still needs to buy time. He has his small void bag on him, as well as Nemaisol and a pistol loaded with mithril bullets. He has an assault rifle in his bag, as well as extra magazines for both the rifle and pistol, a couple weeks worth of rations, one of each of the potations -minus the revival potations-, some medical supplies, and some basic hand tools, as well as a couple different kinds of grenades. Daniel is always trying to come up with ways to defend the people he cares about -and by extension, himself-, so in addition to his flashbang grenades, he came up with one that should hopefully buy him time. But, he’ll have to extract it.

Hekate tries to take his hand with hers to plead with him, and he replies gently, kneeling before her, “Don’t you trust me?”

She stares at him, her eyes wavering as they threaten to tear up. “I… You… Can you…?”

“Yes.” Daniel smiles as he pets her head. “I’m the strongest sorcerer in the world, remember?”

Brosjak scoffs, but Daniel ignores him. Seeing Hekate worried has given him resolve. When he needed it most, when he needed something to fight for, Hekate was his reason to shed all of his own worries and focus on the task at hand. And, she’s not alone. He looks around at everyone watching him in horror. No one thinks he can win. It’s understandable. Daniel can’t win in a straight fight. But, he hasn’t won any of his fights in a standard straight fight. He has to use what he has available to him.

He notices Ryukana isn’t present anymore, but he has no idea when she left. She most likely vanished before Brosjak could figure out who she is. He was going to try to sneak her his wish, but it seems to be too late for that. So, he looks to Xyreko. “Xyreko, my armor if you’d please.”

“Ah, ah. You just said you’re the strongest sorcerer,” objects Brosjak. “I’ve already burned through a lot of my mana getting to this point. I think it’s only fair.”

Daniel looks at him, and Hekate objects, “Daniel! You can’t accept!”

Daniel would like to use his full capacity, but if Brosjak is afraid of some trickery, he’s going to have to stick with what’s on his person. It’s not ideal, but if he can get the opening gambit, he can turn the fight to his favor. Maybe.

“Fine. But, do you mind if I get a drink out of my gear bag before we begin? If we’re going to do this, I’d rather not be sober.” Brosjak cocks his head, but he nods, and Daniel faces Xyreko as he removes his magic gearbag, extracting two things; a metal flask with his Citadel-brand rum, and another similar canister.

Though, this canister is made of lead.

Xyreko, who seems to also be at a loss like everyone else, looks directly at the lead canister, and she doesn’t say anything, accepting his bag as he explains, “I have some important documents in there, just in case this gets hairy.”

“Be careful, Daniel. You still owe me that favor.”

“Technically, I won the bet, Xyreko.” He winks at her, unscrewing the flask as he hooks the spoon of the lead canister to his pants pocket. He’ll be using it soon enough. He takes a heavy drink of the rum, exhaling a hard, almost outward gasp from the sharpness of the alcoholic drink. He shakes his head, toasting the flask to Brosjak. “Thanks. Came into this world with this. Be a real shame if I go out without it.”

Brosjak chuckles. “You’ve got me curious. Let me try this precious drink, human.” He gestures his hand, and Daniel shrugs. He tosses the flask underhand after capping it, and the archoneldwyn easily uses magic to levitate the flask to his own hand, inspecting it. He recoils at the smell a bit, but then smirks. He likely thinks it’s a potation.

Sorry, buddy. Just a really strong drink. I’m hoping it’ll help my nerves.

Brosjak takes a long drink, powering through the strong alcohol to finish off the whole flask. While it wasn’t part of Daniel’s plan, he might have just gained an advantage, though it’ll take a little bit to take effect.

Brosjak tosses the empty flask aside with a burp, saying with his devilish smirk, “Now, order the caretaker to recognize me as the new master of the Citadel when I win.”

“Xyreko, if Brosjak wins the duel, you will grant him control of the Citadel.”

She hesitates, but acknowledges quietly, “Very well, Master.”

Brosjak chuckles deviously. He’s completely certain his magical power far exceeds Daniel’s.

And, he’s correct. Daniel has almost no magic.

“In return, if I win, you’ll hand over Blue and Ryuogriar without delay,” replies Daniel confidently. He has to be confident. He can’t win if he falters, and the only thing that can happen to him is death. He was resigned to that fate a long time ago when he had nothing and no one to lose. To protect those he has now, he is ready to risk everything. Being yelled at by the living is worth wagering his own life to ensure they’re there to yell at him. Even if that means they curse him posthumously.

Brosjak, at Daniel’s demands for the duel, simply laughs. “Whatever you say. I’m not even sure why we’re playing at this farce.” He casts a spell, which creates a glowing circle of glyphs on the ground, spanning about 20 yards across. He states, “This will be our dueling circle to keep any interference from happening. To surrender, you simply have to lay face down and say ‘I surrender’, and the duel will be over. Feel free to do so at any time.”

“Interesting,” replies Daniel. He, naturally, has no means to identify a magic circle or its effects, but he can see the faint lines of wispy magic energy rising like a sort of perimeter around the circle. He gingerly tries drawing Nemaisol, but once more, the sword firmly resists him. He pleads in his own thoughts, Please, Nemaisol, I’m begging you. I know I one-sidedly rely on you way too much, but help me this one last time, and I’ll do everything in my power to grant you whatever wish you want. I know you’re in there. Please help me.

Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t get a response, and he can’t delay much longer. Brosjak is already inside the circle, waiting on him patiently. 

Daniel cautiously walks towards the circle, and his many companions all take a moment to wish him luck. Daniel smiles at them and nods, trying to reassure them. He has a plan.

He has some ideas.

Maybe he has some options.

Daniel sighs as he crosses the threshold of the magic circle.

Daniel will have to do the one thing he has always done.

He’ll have to do his best to survive.

***