The owner of the voice appeared at the other side of
the room, opposite the door, surrounded by an inferno. He
wore the hooded navy cape of their enemies. ‘Hello
Enigma. Nice of you to join me. You know, I have had some
offers for your services by many slave dealers.’ he
laughed wickedly, drawing back his hood to reveal his
face. 
  Enigma armed his sword. 
  ‘I have a friend of your’s who’s been dying to be re -
aquatinted with you.’ He clicked his finger’s. The
ceiling opened up, revealing an old friend.
  Enigma watched as Sly, tied up by the hands, came
dangling down from a rope above on of the fiery pits. He
began to move forward in her aid.
  ‘I wouldn’t take another step if I were you.’ the 
Master warned. ‘You may do some things that you’ll 
probably regret.’ He clicked his fingers again. The 
ceiling above the opposite pit opened. Attached to a rope 
was the Platinium Stone.
  Enigma cursed.
  ‘Exactly. Let me explain. We have two objects tied to a
rope - in this case, the Platinium Stone and your beloved
Sly. It is the same rope, and they are evenly balanced
with extra weight. Take one object away and the other one
falls. It’s called the Knife and the Axe, a test that is
given to the cult members that have been called. Usually,
we use a knife and axe - hence the name - but this time
we’re adding a little spice to it. Also, we’ve added a
little something extra to make the fire extremely hot,
hot enough to melt, say, a stone perhaps. Your task,
Enigma, is to try and save both items.’
  ‘What happens if I only save one of them?’
  ‘You get to leave free with that object. The rules are
that you, and only you are allowed to participate. A
spell has been created, so that if any one of your
friends tries to help - at all - both objects will fall.’
  ‘That’s impossible, even if I can do it. I know you. 
You’ll get involved, and probably make them both fall, if 
I even look like coming close to completing the task.’
  ‘Me? Don’t be silly boy. I thought you knew I’d enjoy
watching the anguish on your face when the other object
falls. Trust me, I won’t get involved.’
  ‘Trust you? I don’t think so.’ Enigma stretched out a
hand. A yellow aura abruptly appeared around the Master,
capturing him temporarily in a magic blocking barrier.
  ‘Save the stone.’ Sly commanded with little strength
left in her body.
  Ignoring her, Enigma’s other hand began to glow a dim
blue, eventually taking over his body. He began to divide
down the exact middle, both side’s walking apart from
each other. Once fully apart, they began to grow
separately. At the end of the process, Enigma had created
a duplicate of himself.
  He had to concentrate hard now. He was controlling two
bodies. Moving the two in sync to the objects he desired,
he began undoing the knots. They were both different,
which made things a little harder. His grip on the Master
lessoned.
  ‘Dam you boy.’ The Master growled. ‘You weren’t
supposed to succeed.’ breaking totally free from Enigma’s
grasp, he clicked his fingers again, cutting the rope.
  Just in time, he managed to rescue both before he lost 
them for good. He handed the stone and the limp girl to
his friends to concentrate on the challenger.
  ‘Well done.’ the Master lied. ‘And I think for your 
troubles, you should be rewarded.’ His hand slowly began 
to rise.
  Sly lifted her head wearily. ‘Enigma.’ she was barely 
audible.
  Worriedly, Enigma turned to answer her call.
  ‘Look out.’ she said. Mustering up her strength, she 
broke free form her exhaustion, to fly through the air, 
knocking Enigma out of the way, taking a powerful blow 
meant for her rescuer. In mid flight, she was thrown back
against the wall with a bone crunching thud. 
  Everyone immediately ran to her aid.
  ‘Your going to be okay.’ Enigma convinced himself,
cradling her. 
  ‘Finish what you set out to do, Enigma.’ she replied in
a weak voice. Then she slowly faded away.
  He looked up at the Master with tearful, yet deadly,
dangerous eyes. 
  ‘Sorry Enigma.’ the evil man apologised. ‘I didn’t know
she meant that much to you.’
  ‘She saved my life.’ His voice was deathly quiet.
  ‘Yes, I can see that. What a waste.’
  Enigma’s muscles tensed up. 
  ‘I will miss her though. She was such a great dancer.’
  Hearing enough, Enigma once again gained control of the
Master’s body, drawing the evil man towards him through
hell fire and brimstone. Still without saying a word, he
lifted the Master into the air, and to the shock of the
rest of the group, set his whole body on fire.
  He wailed nauseatingly, struggling, trying to break 
free. His skin began to peal back. Most averted their 
eyes at the horrible sight, but Enigma watched on, 
enjoying the spectacle. Soon, the Master was burnt to 
ashes.
  With a silence came another, all to familiar laugh. ‘He
was a pawn, anyway.’ the voice said. It was Velyaha.
‘Seriously, Conscripted Boy, you don’t think I was going
to let you get the stone that easily, do you?’ The
Platinium Stone then vanished. ‘It would have been just
to easy. Your going to have a heck of a time getting out
of here.’ Then the voice dissolved.
  Uttering neither a word, nor an expression, Enigma
picked Sly’s carcass up and threw her over his shoulder,
then withdrew his sword with the other.
  The halls were filled with cult members, all armed,
ready to fight with the group till the death.
  ‘Enigma, their coming at us in full force.’ Power
warned.
  The boy didn’t flinch. Instead of running like he
normally would have, he walked on calmly, simply cutting
down those who dare get in the way of his wrath. 
  The rest of the group followed. They were uneasy about
the whole affair and wanted to run, but couldn’t bring
themselves to do it. 
  They soon began down the stair case. Many members of
the Revolution were slain there by Enigma’s single hand.
He didn’t stop for anything. 
  ‘Come on Enigma.’ Power said, fending off attackers 
from behind. ‘We have to get out of here.’
  Still, nothing. He just kept on walking.
  Eventually, they made it outside into the poring rain. 
Foolishly, there were still a few patriotic members who 
tried to halt the groups proceeding getaway, but most 
stood at the door and shouted disgrace. 
  The desert hounds were next to try Enigma’s patience.
They circled the group in anticipation of attack. But
Enigma just kept his eyes forward and continued, much to
the trauma of his allies. 
  Without sleep or rest, Enigma dragged his group in a
southward direction. A great number of desert hounds were
following them. None of them, though would attack. 
  Enigma remained in the lead the whole way, with the
group straggling quietly behind. Inevitably, some group
members became sick with the lack of sleep. They
eventually convinced Enigma to stop for rest periods
after intense begging and persuading. As they did so, the
broken - hearted boy merely stood, his eyes never drawn
from the direction he was headed.
  Terrol hypothesised that they were being taken to a
forest between the towns of Endo and Avio, but for what
reason remained a mystery to them.
  After several weeks, they eventually entered the lively
forest. It was lush, filled with tropical animals that
playfully chirped and sang. The rain from the north had
been drawn down to the south, making their forest journey
cold and chilly. 
  Several more day’s, and they were in the heart of the 
forest. Enigma stopped at a tree that bore the carving  
Ksid had explained. As the group caught up, he stuck his 
paw over the marking, and fell asleep.
  ‘Hello, Conscripted Boy.’ a quiet voice said. He opened 
his eyes to look upon a man with dark, scruffy, black
hair. He had tanned skin underneath a neat, silken, white
robe.
  Enigma sat up, and looked around. He was in the
familiar room with shelves and shelves of books lining
the walls. A fire place burning brightly between a couple
of marble stair cases, and a large table bearing a
banquet for all.
  ‘My name is Yecart.’ he introduced himself.
  Grief suddenly overcame him. He searched for Sly’s dead
carcass, and found it sitting within a coffin, a light
shining in her face.
  The rest of the group awoke as he walked slowly over to
the person formally known as Sly. She had been captured
within a glass coffin. Her head lay upon a soft, white
pillow. Her arms had been crossed over her chest. She
bore a pleasant look on her face.
  ‘He’s lost it.’ Power told Yecart sympathetically. 
  The man frowned. ‘Was he like a zombie, deprived of 
sleep and food?’
  Power nodded. ‘He wouldn’t stop. He just kept on
walking.’ 
  ‘That was actually, partly my fault.’ Yecart explained. 
‘You see, I received instructions from Lord Ksid about 
Sly’s passing.’
  ‘How did Ksid find out that Sly had passed on?’ Ice 
asked. 
  ‘He felt Enigma’s pain. I had to lure him here in case 
he did something stupid. To do that, I took over his body
and guided him here. I apologise if it caused you any
inconvenience.’
  Arem looked around the vast room curiously. ‘Where is
here, exactly?’
  ‘Your currently with in the Warlock Network. It is a
network originally created by Lord Ksid himself. There
are thousands of us all around the world, each with our
own little place to ourselves.’
  ‘What exactly do you do?’
  ‘We try to look after the world in Lord Serenity’s
absence. It’s a very tough job, especially with all the
uproar nowadays.’ He looked understandingly at Enigma,
brooding over the coffin. ‘I think Lord Ksid may want to
have a talk to you all.’
  It was hard convincing Enigma to leave Sly’s side, but
it was done with much un - enthusiasm. They came to a
side door that none of them had noticed before. Behind
the door, they took a short walk down a hall way that
resembled a mine shaft, before reaching a second door. 
  Ksid sat at his table, his head stuck right into a
thick book.
  ‘This place is exactly the same as yours.’ Terrol
realised.
  Yecart chuckled. ‘I’m afraid not friend. All the places
are different. You just have to look past what you see to
view what’s really there.’
  ‘Thank you Yecart.’ Ksid said, not bothering to look up 
from his text. ‘That’ll be all.’
  Yecart bowed, and left the group with his leader.
  ‘Where about’s in the world are we now?’ Arem asked.
  ‘Your in Ediug, Korutiania.’ he replied. ‘Just trust
me. It’s hard to explain.
  Enigma wandered off on his own, away from the group
with a negative expression.
  ‘I heard about what happened to Sly and the stone.’
Ksid said quietly with his heart in his throat. ‘I should
have seen it coming. In the mean time, any suggestions
what we’re going to do about Enigma? He’s the heart of
this whole operation, and without him, we can’t really
function.’
  Iikin sat down. ‘He needs some sort of closing. He
can’t except the fact that Sly’s gone.’
  ‘Like a funeral, perhaps?’ Power asked.
  ‘Maybe. But no one can know if Enigma will let the 
body go.’
  ‘That’s all well and good,’ Arem added, ‘but where do
you plan to bury her?’
  ‘We take her home.’ Ksid replied. ‘You just let me do 
all the talking. I’ll see if I can get Enigma to play 
along. Moving on, I must say that I was able to settle 
the disputes - rather successfully, I might add. Your
father was really helpful, Arem. What did you say to
him?’
  She smiled, ‘I told him that if he didn’t do as you 
said, I’d never forgive him for letting me get 
kidnapped.’
  Ksid grinned. ‘Diabolic, but thank you, because it 
seemed to work.’
  ‘How are Reenoco and Orpten, by the way?’
  ‘They were all to happy to return home. But, because
their your personal slaves, they have nothing to do. So
their on holiday’s until you get back. Some how, I think
that this was all planned from the start. Anyway, enough
of that. Getting back to what I was talking about before,
I was able to find out who the king’s of the south had
been speaking to, and each person described one of three
people. Putting two and two together, we were able to
find out that the “Master” was one of the six unknowns.  
With the Master in Cult Mountain, and Velyaha and Vulture
in Krestia, Eucros and his men had to be causing the
trouble here in the south.’
  ‘But how does that information help us now?’ Terrol
asked.
  ‘Well, knowing that it was the “big six” who put this
plot together, with only three of them doing all the
dirty work here, I didn’t have to worry about eliminating
the many individual people I once thought were right in
the ears of the power.’
  ‘So you don’t have any trouble countering their plan.’
Iikin added.
  ‘Good boy. I visited Jalaf near the end of my journey 
and found out a little more information. His spies 
informed us that as soon as the war between the north and 
south get well under way, they were going to come across 
the sea - our enemies that is - and strike whilst both 
forces are getting stuck into each other. At the moment, 
their building up their forces, and are ready to be 
dispatched at any second. So, what I’m planning to do is
create an illusionary war so the Neekkentian spies will
go back and tell their leaders that everything is going
according to plan. As they try to bring their forces
across, we’ll be gathering up our forces, and hiding them
for a surprise attack.’
  Power was confused. ‘Why would the cult want us to kill
our own people, when what they really want is our minds?’
  ‘Your forgetting that their leaders have been corrupt 
under the hand of Thanatos. Everyone want’s power, 
everyone wants to conquer. It’s the human way.’
  ‘Won’t Velyaha and Vulture be able to pick up the fact
that the war’s illusionary?’ Ice questioned.
  ‘Even a fool can be fooled.’ Ksid answered. 
  The next several day’s was spent preparing the funeral. 
Enigma took no part in it. He sat in a chair by the fire 
place, starring into the heart of the dancing flames, his 
mind clear of all hardships, but his spirit aching with 
desolate sadness. The time soon came to put Sly’s 
lifeless body to rest.
  The sparkling river trickled a soothing calmness, as it
rushed on down stream. Salt water fish swam in schools,
launching themselves playfully into the air, and
torpedoing back down again. 
  The surrounding mountains were snow covered, with a 
general rush of water cascading down each one, as it 
melted helplessly beneath the warm face of the sun.
  It had been almost a year now, since Enigma had last 
seen the house that he and Sly had built. Nature had
looked after it well, whilst he was gone. The tiled roof
still remained intact, though, it had been weathered. A
few wild animals had infested the inside, but the houses
owner didn’t mind - as long as they kept it clean. 
  Nothing in particular, ran through Enigma’s mind as
Ksid delivered the sermon. He stared at Sly’s face the
whole time, through the glass coffin. She seemed placid,
just simply lying there. She had done what fate had
wanted her to do, and she was pleased.
  As the coffin was lowered into the ground, the song of
a thousand angels filled the air out of no where, singing
a sorrowful song of remembrance in lamenting harmony. A
chilling chorus it delivered with an impact that hit each
and every one of them. They looked upon her face for the
last time, as the earth began to swallow up her body.
  He opened his special book to a new passage, after it
had called him the usual way in the midst of the burying.
It read: “Of tearful sorrows, of last good - bye’s, her
laughter and beauty, seen in all eye’s. Care and hope,
from heaven, she brings, her love, unto you, forever she
sings. May she rest in peace.”
  Enigma could not keep his suffering inside any further.
He burst into tears, finally realising that she had gone.
A supportive princess comforted him, watching the last of
the hole disappear. 
  A tombstone that Power, Iikin and Terrol had created 
for her, was placed at the head of the grave. Ksid 
sprouted a few roses at the flick of a wrist, sprucing 
the sight up a little. She had been brought home by 
friends, and that, Ksid thought, was what she would have
wanted most.
  They spent the next week in Ksid’s home, mourning. 
Enigma felt a little better now that he had gotten all 
the bottled up anger and remorse out of his system. He 
spent the whole time in the same chair by the fire place, 
just thinking. Getting him away from that same spot was 
what Ksid would now have to work on.
  ‘I know it seems heartless,’ Ksid tried to explain.
‘But we can’t waste any more time.’
  ‘I’m not going any where.’ Enigma replied.
  ‘What do you mean your not going anywhere?’
  ‘I don’t want anything to do with it any more.’
  ‘But you have to. We can’t complete our task without 
you.’
  ‘Then your going to have to find another way.’ He was
calm and collected.
  Ksid snapped. ‘Stop thinking about yourself! I know
your still aching over our loss, but there’s nothing we
can do about it! Your not the only one grieving over
this, you know! It’s now all in the past! Do you want to
just sit there, or do you want to try help us get back at
the one person that started all this?’
  He continued to stare at the fire.
  ‘Well, do you!’ Ksid grabbed the boy by the face,
making him look into his eyes. 
  ‘With a passion.’ Enigma replied with ice in his veins.
  ‘Then work with us. We’re all in this together.’
  The next few day’s was spent planning. A suggestion was
put forth for the king’s to meet to discuss matters and
to get to know one another. That way, there would be some
alliance, and they’d at least, start to get used to each.
  ‘Oh my goodness.’ Iikin shrieked one morning. ‘Oh my
goodness.’
  ‘What’s the matter?’ Ksid rushed over.
  Kolga was layed out on the table, with Iikin leaning
over the top of her. ‘Something’s wrong.’
  The old man examined her. ‘I’ll tell you what’s wrong.
She’s about to give birth.’
  Iikin’s face lifted. ‘But how could she - ’ He looked
over at Arem. ‘Betra. And behind my back.’
  Arem pulled Betra out of her pocket. ‘But when did they
- ’
  Ice laughed. ‘You remember the time in the city in
Krestia, when we were in that tower and about to be
attacked. Where did you put the two mice?’
  ‘In my pocket.’ Then her expression changed. ‘In my
pocket. That’s disgusting. I’ll never be able to wear
these trousers ever again!’
  After only a little hassle, Kolga gave birth to a
lovely little offspring.
  ‘Congratulations Kolga.’ Ksid complimented. ‘You have a
healthy little - something. I wouldn’t have a clue how to
tell what sex it is.’
  They celebrated the birth with a little meal that 
night, then got straight back to work. 
  Histaus, they decided was the ideal place for a 
meeting. Enigma knew the king, and it was basically in
the centre of the continent. They travelled to the quartz
city the next day.
  ‘It’s good to meet you again, Enigma.’ King Rehsab
admitted, as they entered his study. ‘I do believe you’ve
grown since the last time I’ve seen you.’
  ‘Hello Rehsab.’ Ksid said.
  ‘Lord Ksid. I certainly hope you’ve calmed down since
your last visit.’
  ‘I have, somewhat.’
  ‘What happened?’ Power asked.
  Rehsab laughed. ‘He came in here screaming, and left
screaming.’
  ‘The whole continent was being totally absurd,
squabbling amongst themselves.’
  ‘So what brings you all here now?’
  ‘We’ve organised a meeting,’ Ksid informed him, taking
up a seat, ‘and have decided to have it in your palace.’
  Rehsab blinked mildly. ‘Did I make that decision? Was I
drunk at the time?’
  ‘We’re sorry we didn’t make that decision with you, but
it’s just that your right in the middle of the
continent.’
  ‘How many people did you invite?’
  ‘Every king of every country in Korutiania.’
  Rehsab felt a sudden head ache pain his mind. 
  ‘Is there a problem, your highness?’ Ksid grinned.
  ‘No, not really. I guess I’ll have to force my cooks to 
make something edible.’
  Ksid had ordered his followers from the under ground to
be his messengers. The kings all began to show up slowly
- months quicker than any of them had eexpected. Frasian,
ruler of Vinmac, was the first to turn up. 
  ‘How on earth did I get here so fast?’ he asked,
scratching his bald head, whilst taking a long swig of
ale.
  ‘Why?’ Ksid asked. ‘What happened.’
  ‘I was talking to some old guy in my home, then I fell
asleep, and now I’m standing here talking to you.’
  ‘Good.’ Ksid rubbed his hands. ‘Then they should all be
here real soon.’
  The rest of the kings turned up, each on the same day.
It was Yalerkûm who turned up last though.
  ‘Arem.’ The king hugged his daughter. ‘I’ve been
worried sick.’
  ‘I’ve been in good hands, Father.’
  ‘Lord Ksid. One of your men gave me a message to give
to you.’ he handed him a sealed note.
  Quickly reading over it, he began to frown. 
  ‘What is it?’ Enigma asked.
  ‘When we thought that the cult were gathering up their
forces in Neekkent, we were wrong.’
  ‘Is that bad.’
  ‘No. Not really. But, what is bad is that, apparently, 
they’re already here.