Austin ran towards Maya’s side. When he arrived, Sean was already there. Maya had been knocked unconscious and out of her Wolf State. Sean was already channeling his Essence into Maya. Burn marks covered her body, but they looked less severe than Austin expected. Austin could only assume Sean had been healing Maya during the fight.

  “How long have you been here?” Austin asked as he knelt next to Maya.

  “Ever since you charged the manticore,” Sean said. “I figured one of us needed to make sure she was okay.”

  “Thank you,” Austin said quietly. “I guess it should have been me. I was just so angry.”

  “We are a team. There is no way I could have handled the manticore like you and Josh,” Sean said.

  “Yeah, but I’m supposed to be her husband. I should have looked out for her,” Austin said as he lowered his head.

  “You are her husband,” Sean reiterated. “But we each have our strengths. She would have wanted you to defeat the manticore.”

  “I guess so,” Austin sighed as he moved his hand over Maya. Silver light radiated from his hand as he channeled his own Essence into her. “I at least can try to help you heal her now that I’m here.”

  Josh joined the group as well and prepared to channel his own Essence to help. “Here, I’ll help too.”

  Before Josh could start channeling his Essence, the group felt an intense wind nearby. Their concentration broke as they looked towards the source of the wind. Dirt and dust were whipped into a small tornado with streaks of blue lightning throughout. Just as quickly as the tornado whipped up, it dissipated into a calm breeze. From within the tornado, the lion man stood and began clapping his hands.

  “You are magnificent showmen! That battle had everything! It had emotions! It had action! It had stakes! I could almost cry after watching that battle!” The lion man smiled broadly.

  Austin’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “I’m glad you are impressed, but right now I’m worried about my wife.”

  “I don’t know why,” the lion man shrugged. “She looks fine to me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Austin spat angrily.

  “Why won’t you take a look?” The lion man said as he nodded his head in Maya’s direction.

  Austin swiftly turned around to look at Maya. His eyes widened as he saw her. All of the burn marks were gone. It was almost as if her entire body returned to a pristine condition. Then her eyes started to open.

  “What’s going on?” Maya asked as she pushed herself off the ground to raise her upper body. “Did we win?”

  Austin’s vision became blurry with tears as he looked at Maya. “I was so worried. I’m so happy you’re alright.”

  “What do you mean that I’m alright?” Maya asked.

  “You took a really powerful blast from the manticore,” Sean answered. “After that, Austin went kinda crazy and defeated it.”

  “Hey! I helped!” Josh said as he was offended by the omission of his part.

  “Yes, Josh helped,” Sean let out a light chuckle before turning to the lion man. “But what did you just do?”

  “This entire tower is created from incredibly dense Aether. I have control of the Aether of this tower. That’s what allows me to design the trials, but it also grants me incredible power while I am within the tower. Something like healing your friend’s wounds is child’s play to me,” the lion man explained.

  “Why would you heal her wounds, though?” Austin asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be like our enemy?”

  “I wouldn’t call myself your enemy. I just rule over the trials of this tower. Now that my trials are over, I see no reason in allowing your companion to suffer her wounds,” the lion man answered.

  Maya stood up from the ground. Her legs were still a little shaky, and she definitely felt exhausted. But it felt more like she could use some sleep, not like she was in deep pain. “Okay, so now what? We finished your trials. Does that mean Austin gets the reward of the tower?”

  “Typically, it would work that way,” the lion man said. “But we’ve reached a predicament. There are two groups of challengers for this tower, and you both have moved through the tower at around the same pace. I believe the other challenger just finished her final trial.”

  “Well, if she just finished, that means we beat her, right?” Maya asked hopefully. “So, we get the reward.”

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  “If you got through the tower at a much faster pace, I would say that is the case. But speed is not everything, and you seem to be on near equal footing,” the lion man answered.

  “What does that mean?” Austin asked.

  “That means, the two of you will have to work it out amongst yourselves,” the lion man said. “So, it is time for you to meet the other challenger!”

  On the other side of the arena, the air twisted into a vicious tornado. This one was larger than the one that the lion man emerged from. Just like his tornado, it dispersed just as quickly as it took shape. From the tornado, Natasha, Jess, and Joe emerged. Natasha wore a leather jacket and ripped jeans. Jess wore her tank top and cargo pants. Joe stood out the most as he wore a suit. While he did not wear a tie, he still did not look like he was ready for battle. Even if he stood out, it did not shock Austin. Joe was unnaturally obsessed with keeping a professional and groomed appearance.

  A booming voice echoed throughout the arena. It seemed to come from all directions, even though the lion man stood right next to Austin and his group. “Congratulations to both of your groups for making it this far! My trials are over, and you have both done incredibly well. I ask that you decide amongst yourselves who will wield my power. You may use any criteria to decide, but once the criteria are set, you cannot change them.”

  At the end of the lion man’s announcement, the two groups walked towards each other. Once they reached each other, Austin was the first to speak. “I’m guessing you aren’t going to give up the treasure to me?”

  “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. We both know I should be leading the town. Once I have the treasure, everyone will see it,” Natasha’s eyes were cold. She no longer had her friendly facade. Instead of a friendly politician, she looked like a ruthless killer.

  “I figured you would say something like that,” Austin sighed. “I’m not going to give it up either, but I really don’t want to fight you.”

  “I figured you would say something like that,” Natasha’s voice grew angry. “Always trying to compromise and make peace. Just like you did with those orcs!”

  “What would you have done?” Austin asked.

  “I would have killed every last one of them,” Natasha said as her face twisted into a vicious grin. “And that’s what I’ll do when I return with the treasure of this tower. The only thing that matters is the survival of humans. So, I’ll kill their leader and take the other tower's treasure off his corpse.”

  Austin felt a jolt of adrenaline and anger flood his veins as Natasha talked. He could not believe how casually cruel Natasha truly was. He knew that she wanted power, but he did not realize the extent of her beliefs. It made him wonder if others saw this side that Austin did not see. He thought their differences could be worked through, but she made it clear that was not the case.

  “Sorry, Natasha, I’m out,” Joe said as he walked away from her and towards Austin’s group. “I thought you were a different person than you were. That’s why I supported your leadership. I’m not going to support needless slaughter, though.”

  Natasha’s brow furrowed at Joe’s declaration. As rage rose up inside of her, black and purple shadows began to form around her arm. Once her arm was completely covered in shadows, the end of it transformed into something like a curved blade. She immediately swung the blade at Joe as he walked towards Austin’s group.

  “If you aren’t with me, then you’re against me!” Natasha yelled as the blade grew closer to Joe.

  Joe spun around to see the oncoming blade, but could not stop. Then a silver disc flew past Joe and hit Natasha in the chest. Natasha staggered backward as the disc flew back to Austin’s arm. Everything happened so quickly that it took Joe a moment to realize what happened. Once he did, he realized that Austin quickly used his shield to defend Joe from the attack. He did not allow himself to gawk too long. If he did, then Natasha could recover and attack again. So, he quickly moved to Austin’s side and gripped his spear tightly.

  “You’re a much different person than I thought,” Austin said coldly. “I really thought that no matter what happened, we could still work together.”

  “I can’t believe you. You stole leadership from Natasha and still think that you could continue to work together!” Jess spat angrily.

  “I’m disappointed you feel that way. I never wanted to make enemies with either of you,” Austin sighed. “I really just wanted to do what was best for everyone.”

  “You are so annoying!” Jess replied. “You always act like this. I can’t stand your so-called righteous behavior.”

  The lion man watched with his arms crossed as the group debated back and forth. He almost seemed to be judging Natasha and Austin. Austin noticed this and thought it was strange. The lion man told the group to decide amongst themselves. So, he really did not need to judge at this point.

  “I really don’t know what to tell you two. You both know I’m not in the pursuit of power for myself. I seek it for my family and for the people of the town,” Austin replied. “I don’t see the point of power for power’s sake.”

  Shadows crept across Natasha’s body. They now covered her entire body except for her face. The shadows formed around her body perfectly, except for small wisps that floated off. “It’s about asserting your dominance and ascending to a height above everyone else. The leader should make that clear. Their subjects exist to prop them up and make them stronger. If they don't do that, then they are useless.”

  “The leader exists to prop up their subjects and provide them with safety,” Austin argued. “You are not talking about leadership. You are talking about tyranny.”

  “This new world needs a tyrant. Safety is for those who follow the demands of the stronger,” Natasha said. “That’s why the orcs must be killed. They will never fully follow a human.”

  Austin shook his head. “You are very disappointing. All the people who gathered around you believed in a person who cared about others. Yet you are no different than the people we fought against.”

  “I had to weave that narrative. I needed to gain support somehow. Now that I’m stronger, I don’t need some stupid narrative like that,” Natasha replied. “The truth is, Luke was the one who was correct in the approach of a leader. Draw as many people as possible to you, then force them to submit.”

  Before Austin could counter, the lion man uncrossed his arms and clapped his hands together. “I have heard enough from both of you. Neither of you will decide who wields my power. Instead, I, Regulus, will make the decision.”

  “You told us to find a reason to pick amongst ourselves! Now you’re taking it back?!” Natasha protested.

  “Quiet, girl,” Regulus snarled. “This is still my tower and my decision. So, I have final say. Sit back as I decide who will have my power.”