It had been a year since Serena died.

  Since I...murdered her.

  I had enlisted with the Canadian Armed Forces to get away from it all. But it was clear that I was giving up one controlling organization for another. I'd be given a weapon and sent overseas to hunt a different kind of monster; and unleash my own against people that at least deserved it.

  Tyrfing was proving difficult to maneuver. I could feel the sword always in the back of my mind, watching and waiting. It was like some kind of shadow, under the surface of my skin, pushing me forward to action. I found it difficult not to give into the whispers of peace that it promised in the moments where I let it have control. But I knew what that cost now.

  I needed to close up loose ends before I left. I knew I wouldn't be able to get Anders to talk to me, and to be honest, I didn't care to see him anyway. It likely would have turned to violence anyway. I channeled some of my magic as I stood outside the Cathedral, disappearing into the shadows until I could become one with them. It was a weird sensation, like stretching out and becoming something more fluid than the human body could ever hope to be. Like turning into a snake made of water.

  I jumped from dark corners and unlit hallways, dancing across walls and sometimes the ceiling. The Cathedral was empty. No longer was this place filled with the chatter of my former team members. No training exercises in the dojo. No dinners in the Mess Hall. It felt like a distant hollow memory now, like nostalgia.

  I would never be able to forgive myself for what I did to Serena, but I wouldn't be blamed for the team falling apart. In this line of work, we were all trained to expect things to come to an abrupt end. Whether that was where we were placed, who we knew, or what lives we lost. It just so happened that the mission on the rig cost us three Order members. Four, if you included me leaving.

  I made my way passed the Vault's huge exterior door and stopped in it's shadow. I had wanted an Artifact so bad. I had wanted to prove that I was worthy of my bloodline. Only to be told I should be ashamed of who I was to protect Anders. Gideon sacrificed everything that I had ever wanted, so that Anders could shine brightly.

  Now he stood, shining over nothing.

  As I made my way down the hall, I knew I would find the door to the office open. When I was sure there was no one else here, I reformed from the shadows and pushed the door open slowly. Gideon was sitting at the desk, his head in his hands, fingers pressed into his temples. He didn't even look up at me.

  "Chase, why have you come?" He asked, his voice cold.

  "Closure mostly." I said, sliding inside and closing the door behind me. That caused him to raise his head.

  "What kind of closure are you looking for? Did you not get that, a year ago, when my home fell apart? When I lost too many..."

  "I don't care what you think you lost." I said, slowly. I matched his coldness and we locked eyes.

  "Your suffering does not cancel out the suffering of others, Chase." He said, folding his thick arms on the desk.

  "You know nothing of my suffering." I growled, moving closer to the desk. He didn't make any moves, just continued to stare.

  "I know that I caused a great deal of it." He said, matter-of-factly. My eyes widened.

  "Oh, now you'll acknowledge that you ruined my life? That you were willing to sacrifice my life and Rook's just to save Anders." I asked. Gideon sighed heavily and shook his head.

  "I know it is hard for you to wrap your head around, but one day, the world will need Anders. They will need him at his full strength." He explained.

  "You mean the Order of Vigilance will need him. I saw what he was capable of. All glowing and covered in Artifacts." I scoffed. "He's a weapon, just like me. Except I'm some big secret to be ashamed of. None of this would have happened if you hadn't forced me to do a second Bonding Ceremony. I wouldn't have this cursed blade. Serena would still be here."

  "I take responsibility for what I did. And I'm sorry Chase. But if I let any kind of threat around Anders, the Progenitors would have..." I didn't let him finish.

  "The Progenitors be damned! This is my life! You took that from me. Everything. My bloodline, the love of my life. And in it's place, you left me with this curse! You ruined everything for me! I came here as a prodigy, I came here with a bright future and you stole every shred of hope from me. The worst part is, I can't even die now. Did you know that? Andrea put an arrow in the back of my head, and I just got back up. I tried to swallow a bullet, and I ended up just spitting it back out. I'm trapped!"

  "Chase..." Gideon's eyes had gone wide. In my anger, in all of my torment, I had drawn Tyrfing and not even noticed. The sword's own hatred and anger pushed me onward; spurred me to find a different kind of closure.

  "Shit." I looked down at the sword, my knuckles going white around the hilt. I stared at the three red gems, only two remained glowing. Would this be my second great betrayal?

  Gideon sighed heavily, backing his chair up slowly. I could see a sadness in him, but there was no fear.

  "I know what must be done now, but can you give me a moment to get my affairs in order?" He asked, moving to his computer, but not taking his eyes off me.

  "Quiet now, let me handle the rest." I heard the sword say in my mind.

  "I don't know how long I can hold it off for." I told Gideon, looking down at the blade as it shimmered. Gideon went to work, typing quickly, and trying to do what he needed to do. He would look up at me periodically to see if I was going to jump the table.

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  "Child, stop resisting. Let yourself drift into peace, while I do what must be done." Tyrfing cooed in my ears.

  "No." I said out loud, causing Gideon to freeze. I looked at him. "Please hurry."

  "Just let go." Tyrfing said, a little more forcefully.

  I watched as Gideon got up, careful to give the sword and I distance, as he grabbed a bunch of files and things from a cabinet and proceeded to lock them in his desk. He looked at me with pity, and it made me feel sick.

  "It is fitting that the sword would try and kill me." He chuckled to himself. "Almost like it was destiny, meant to be."

  "I don't think that's funny." I said through gritted teeth. I could feel the tendrils of the sword's influence creeping through my body, wrapping around my limbs like a warm blanket. It was trying to coerce me to let go, but I didn't want this. The same way I didn't want it with Serena.

  "He's right you know, he has this coming. He did this all to you." Tyrfing's tone changed in that moment. It was no longer trying to comfort me. It came across almost snarky.

  "Gideon..." I pleaded.

  "Yes, I understand. Follow me." He stood from his desk and moved beside me, opening the door. My body almost jerked to strike him in that moment, but I did what I could to hold back. Gideon didn't flinch.

  I followed him down the hallway, all the motion lights clicking to life as we walked. He kept a careful distance ahead of me, but not far enough that would give the indication he was trying to flee.

  "Get it over with already. He's old and sad. Just get it done." The sword complained. I shook my head, trying to rid the words that bounced around in my skull.

  We walked up the iron staircase to the secret door behind the bookcase in the small office. I followed him into the main floor of the abandoned Cathedral, clutching at my head. I stumbled around the podium, watching him walk to the center of the room.

  "Are you ready?" He asked me, calmness radiating through him. I stared at him, confused.

  "Are you?" I half-laughed, still stumbling forward, dragging the sword across the stone ground. I could feel myself slipping. I could feel Tyrfing taking control, and this time it wasn't going to wrap me in a warm blanket and put me in the trunk. This time it was going to shove me into the back seat and make me watch.

  I watched as he looked up to the vaulted ceiling, his hands before him. There was a flash of sunlight and Mmaagha Kamalu, his broadsword, appeared in his hands. It glowed with a fierce red light, alerting him to the presence of evil. My evil. I stared at him, in shock.

  "Did you think I was going to let you kill me without a fight?" He asked. It was the first and only time I had ever seen the man smirk. "Come then."

  Tyrfing used my body as it wanted, I stumbled forward until it found sure footing. We charged in, and Gideon brought down his sword with a heavy two handed swing. I brought Tyrfing up to block, but the weight of the blow caused me to buckle. He shoulder checked me, knocking me back. I stumbled, trying to gain my bearings, the blind rage of Tyrfing only growing. Gideon kicked me in the kneecap as I came forward again, and I cried out in pain. His massive blade came down again, and I had to dodge to the side to avoid being cleaved in half.

  Mmaagha Kamalu pulsed with red the closer it got to me, glowing brightly. The ancient blade had existed longer than most other Artifacts. It was said to have been forged in a temple, with a blend of various metals from all over the world. It was infused with celestial energy, pulled from a sacred tree. Warlords and peacekeepers alike had wielded it. Tyrfing was not as confident as it normally was. There was no guarantee we would win this time.

  I brought Tyrfing under one of his swings, but Gideon reversed his momentum, slapping me in the arm with the broad side of his sword. It was like being hit by a train. I growled, Tyrfing driving me through the pain, pushing my body forward. I slashed out viciously, and Gideon only needed to step back out of the way. I was being sloppy, fueled by the swords rage and my own mess of emotions.

  I cried out as threw myself at him, holding Tyrfing in both hands, driving forward. Gideon brought his sword around and swatted me away with so much force, I crashed into the pews.

  "I'm old, but you will have to do better than that. Have I not trained you well?" He said, slinging Mmaagha Kamalu up and over his shoulder with ease. I could feel Tyrfing tugging at the back of my mind. It needed control; complete control. Even though it drove my body forward, it was only slashing wildly. I knew this wouldn't end until one of us was dead.

  I pushed off the pews and lunged forward, ducking under another downward swing, rolling to the side. The glowing red blade followed me, faster than anyone should have been able to wield it. I had to move fast to get out of the way. Another kick to the chest sent me rolling back to the podium, knocking it to the floor.

  "Tell me Chase, is this how you thought it would go?" Gideon asked, stalking towards me. I pulled myself up the small stairs, and pulled myself up on the massive statue of crucified Jesus.

  "I didn't want this. You know that." I managed to growl through Tyrfing's hold on me.

  "I will fix my mistake then, and secure Anders' future." He said, and lunged toward me with determination. I knew in that moment that I hadn't mattered. None of us did.

  Gideon's family was Anders. The rest of us were just extras, to be swapped out and replaced as needed. Background for the rise of Pendragon. The Order had tasked Gideon with this, and he would see it through. He would watch Anders rise to whatever it was the Order had planned for him and everyone else be damned.

  I let Tyrfing have what it wanted. Complete control.

  I watched from the back of my own mind as Gideon drove his massive blade into the statue behind me. I realized that Tyrfing had access to my magic; we had become a shadow, shifting along the dark Cathedral walls and around the man. We popped back up behind him, the glorious red shimmer of our own blade shifting in the light filtered through stained glass.

  "Poor Chase, so lost and forgotten. So much promise. And you took it all away from him." I felt my mouth say, but they weren't my words. Gideon used his foot to pry Mmaagha Kamalu from the Jesus statue, and it crumbled, shaking the Cathedral.

  "You drove him right to me. So in a way, you're right. This was fated. I should have killed you back in the office." I continued. Gideon charged me with ridiculous speed, but this time we lunged to meet him. Our two swords clashed, this time, dark shadowy tendrils braced my arms and back, pushing me forward. Sparks flew off our swords as we repelled each other. We clashed several more times like this, Tyrfing and Mmaagha Kamalu smashing into each other. When it became clear we were on the same playing field, Tyrfing pushed further.

  We stumbled back and I could feel the shadowy tendrils leave my body. They stretched out wide and far, covering the Cathedral. It shut out the lights from the stained glass windows, and covered the pews like ink. Gideon and I stood across from each other, only our glowing red blades visible in the thick, inky darkness of my shadow magic.

  There is a moment where even Tyrfing's light goes out, and I realize we have entered a shadow state in the floor again. We popped out, again and again, slashing at Gideon, tearing away at vital points; cutting his Achilles' tendon, slashing his inner thigh, driving our blade into his arms. As he turned to try and swing, we were already gone, back into the darkness. Consumed by shadow.

  Gideon fell to one knee, and drove his sword into the ground. He was bleeding from thousands of cuts, some of them draining blood into the inky darkness. Tyrfing absorbed every drop, only fueling our barrage. The shadows sucked back into me, and I stood over my former Master, Tyrfing raised above my head. Gideon looked up to say something, but Tyrfing came down on his face, and the only sound he made was a pained gurgle. I let out a primal, cathartic scream as I drove the blade down through his body.

  In that moment, I realized that I had regained full control.