Into The Deep End

Dread. 

The sensation overloading Morton Fade’s mind was dread. It was sitting heavy in his chest like a ball of lead, making it hard to breathe. He only hoped it wasn’t reflected on his face; the sharks of the Depths would eat him alive if they smelled blood in the water.

“Follow.” A guard ordered and Morton did, knowing he wouldn’t be asked twice. He started to move mechanically, counting his footsteps as he went, feeling the cold stone beneath his bare feet. It was his first week in the Depths, and he wanted out.

The guard he was following didn’t turn back, nor did he speak, and for this Morton was both glad and frustrated. Socialisation was not a priority in the Depths. The prisoners housed here were the worst of the worst, the lowest of the lows, and letting them talk amongst and mingle amongst themselves was a rarity he’d yet to experience. His company had been its own for the past week, with nothing but the accursed silence of absolute isolation to hold himself over.

He walked behind the guard as the two walked under an arch, stone giving into dry sand. Morton looked up and found the abyss, hugging a titanic bubble of air which felt so very thin with an entire ocean of water laying above them. Around the edges of the prison were eight spires perfectly distanced away from one another in a lattice, edging the pocket of oxygen which kept them all from drowning in the ocean’s depths. If he had to guess, he’d say those spires were forming a giant sigil formation of some kind, using air and possibly water magic to indefinitely maintain the bubble’s structure. It was the only explanation. As an Elemental, Morton shuddered to imagine the effort it would take to constantly maintain such a thing.

A humongous dark silhouette glided through the water, causing the currents to bend, and Morton averted his eyes. This was not doing his fear of the sea any good.

“Consider yourself lucky that the Warden entertains your request, boy.” The guard spoke at last with a voice that was, like most of the Guards, distinctly Japanese. “Tread lightly and you may not find yourself drowning in the darkness.”

Morton frowned but said nothing, choosing to itch the shackles on his wrists which were a size too small. Up ahead, he saw the steel compound at the heart of the Depths, where the guards themselves lived. The two of them approached, passing and walking through the living quarters of the people who maintained the Depths. Their eyes were piercing Morton as he walked, trying and failing to ignore them.

And then, the two of them arrived at the steel door to the Warden’s office.

“I suggest you pray she is in a charitable mood.” The guard spoke quietly, then without waiting, reached for the door and pushing it open. 

Morton found an eye without an iris locked onto him, blind yet intense. Scarred flesh was what he registered next, trailing over a woman’s brow and carving a fissure over her delicate facial features. The Warden’s other eye, maroon, was boring into him, and she was smiling in a way that told him she was expecting him.

Warden Jacqueline Enmity was smiling, but it was not a real smile. Morton came from a legacy family and was taught the intricacies of underhandedness. How to spot when someone was hiding behind surface-level niceties and pick the venom out of words. How to notice when another was hiding a blade, metaphorical or otherwise, behind their back. How to stare into a mage’s eyes and tell their intent.

And it was because of all of that that, when Morton looked into those mismatched, terrible eyes, he could tell the Warden had no intention of hearing his words.

“I suppose you’d be the fresh blood.” The Warden said and smiled a smile as hollow as her right eye. “Welcome to the Depths.”

*

The shine of moonlight was basking the city of Tokyo, cleaving through the rain. It was midnight. A small form was running through the city’s dark alleys, moving like her life depended on it, because it very much did.

“Don’t let her escape!” A man’s voice came from behind Azami, not far enough, nearly blocked out by the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She was panting and exhausted but couldn’t let herself rest. The alleyway ahead came to a dead end with a bolted fence. She was trapped. 

Rather than pause or give up, she glanced between the buildings at her sides and the cracks between them. Footholds. She jumped and leaped between the brick walls of the alley like an acrobat, finishing with a spinning jump to clear the fence. On the way down, she cried out as one of the barbs caught the top of the fence, drawing blood. She landed in a graceless heap, but was scarpering onwards before the pain could even fully settle.

Like a light at the end of the tunnel, she exited the alley and came into the main streets. Nobody was in sight, civilian or otherwise. Azami motioned to flee into another alley so she could shake her pursuers off, but then a couple of men emerged. Hesitating, she turned into the streets, looked both ways, and found more men in garments like kimonos waiting for her. Katana were on their hips, sheathed alongside loaded guns. At their front was a stoic man without a droplet of empathy on his face, the tonfa on his hip oozing with a magic that seemed to devour the surrounding light.

She backed away, turned, and a punch to the throat sent her sprawling onto the concrete, gasping in pain and a lack of air.

“I apologise for the rough treatment, but you had to know what running would do for you.” The man above said, his voice a condescending drawl. Azami didn’t need to look up to know who it was. “Come now, did you honestly think that would work?”

Azami coughed, lungs and throat burning.

“Nothing to say?” He asked, then reached down, nails biting into flesh as he forced her to look up, whimpering. Zenken was smiling, his face sharp and handsome and cruel. Opposed to her haggard appearance, every hair on his head was exactly where it was meant to be. 

She tried to muster up a glare, but then his lips ghosted her lips, and she just shivered. A temptation was there to bite, but knew there would be no point.

“Do you want me to punish you?” He asked, voice edged with warning, and Azami realised he was waiting for an answer. She kept silent. Punishment was coming anyway.

The sigh he gave was long. “I’ll have to tame you somehow…” The man trailed off, frowning and looking to the side. His grip loosened, and Azami followed his line of sight, finding a silhouette watching from the street’s corner, frozen. A woman. 

A mortal.

“Kill her.” Zenken spoke aloud, nonchalant. At the order, the man in black drew his dark weapon. With a sudden jerk, the woman turned to flee, making the correct assumption she was in danger. But then the Necromancer, Yami, emerged out of the shadows behind her with an apathetic expression and tonfa poised.

“Don’t!” Azami cried out a moment before he slashed, and flesh gave way. She wanted to look away, but Senken wouldn’t let her. The innocent bystander gave a gurgle, and then she came apart, from the right shoulder to her left side. Red and innards mixed with rainwater, and she just stared, numb. She continued to stare as the death magic left in the woman started to take effect, eating away at her flesh and organs, until only a puddle of blood remained.

Indifferent as always, Yami withdrew his tonfa.

“Do you see what happens when you misbehave?” Zenken whispered softly, brushing a strand of mint-green hair off her face. Any other time, the action would’ve garnered a shudder. As she was, aside from a tingle passing over the back of her neck, she felt nothing.

She stared down hollowly.

“I don’t understand what use your father sees in you…” The wicked man muttered, then grabbed the back of her neck, fingers like iron as he rose. He addressed his men who, like him(and her) had crescent-like tattoos on their faces, marking their loyalties. “Clear away. The boss isn’t a man to be kept waiting, and frankly, I don’t think any of us want to be on the end of his temper.” 

Zenken clicked his tongue, then shook her up and down. “Speaking of, she’s going to need a new bodyguard. Any volunteers?”

No one raised a hand. Zenken pointed to a particularly uncomfortable looking lackey, his smirk stretching. “You’ll do.”

As he spoke, her gaze wandered, the rain dripping into her eyes. After having failed to escape, she should’ve felt devastated, but what was the point? All hope was lost. It was easier to drown in indifference. Now she was just waiting to return to her horrible family, to serve horrible people, and do horrible things.

She closed her eyes, letting her head loll to the side, and then, it stopped. Not the indifference, no, but when she opened it, she saw.

The rain had stopped.

“I think you should let the girl go.” A foreign-sounding and unknown voice said. She turned with Zenken to its source, and found a man in the alley, standing there, dry despite the weather. His hair was the colour of sand, and his eyes, the sea. He didn’t look remotely Japanese, she noticed, as the one gripping her hair shifted.

“And who are you meant to be?”

The caucasian man lifted his head. “Caspian Dweller.” The Japanese on his tongue was slightly broken, slow, like he had to think before speaking. “And I repeat again… you should let the girl go.”

“Oh? And how do you figure that?” Zenken tilted his head, and the men behind him started to draw their weapons, though the now-named Caspian didn’t blink.

“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill you, like he killed that woman over there.” He said, pointing at Yami for good measure. “Only much, much more painfully.”

The wicked man holding her lost his joviality. He wasn’t smiling anymore. “Do you think you’re a hero, foreigner?”

The foreigner shook his head. “No. I might've been at one point, but I'm no hero anymore.” Caspian looked down, meeting her eyes for flicker. He looked back up. “I’ve just decided that I don’t really like you.”

Zenken scoffed, then raised a hand and the men she now saw were holding their pistols pulled the triggers. An ear-splitting series of bangs followed and Caspian became peppered with bullet wounds, from his skull to his legs, stepping back as liquid wept out of the collection of holes his body was now sporting.

But what leaked out of him wasn’t blood. It was clear. 

And as he stared up, she saw crystal-blue in his skull where white was meant to be, a moment before his skin closed itself around his wounds. She stared as several men behind her cursed.

“Well, that does it.” Caspian said with a grimace, then clenched a fist, and the puddles under his adversaries’ feet frosted over, leaving the bulk of his enemies immobilised as ice covered them from head to toe within moments, leaking into their mouths. Only Zenken and Yami weren’t caught. A strangled yelp rang out from the thugs as they collapsed, and then he threw himself at Zenken, who spun on his heel and dropped her, the tattooed man engaging his foe with a snarl.

Azami groaned, rubbing her tender throat in the dirt. Her clothes were soaked through. Raising her head, she saw Yami appear from the shadows behind her unexpected saviour, raking the blade across his back. Caspian gave a faint grunt, then javelins of ice emerged from the vertebrae of his spine, grazing flesh as Yami rolled to the side. As though their job were finished, the spikes on his back shattered, their fragments raining down on Zenken like a hail of bullets that he dodged with inhumane grace.

“Your magic is powerful, I must wonder what kind of mage you are. An Elemental?” Zenken questioned, his voice steady, then he shook head. “No, that doesn’t quite feel right. This level of water manipulation is beyond all but the most elite of Elementals.”

“Talkative, aren’t you? The opposite of your friend here.” Caspian asked as he brought his arm out in a wide arc, a broadsword of deep blue ice materialising out of thin air, which he used to block the incoming tonfa. Yami's eyes were cold, though he was silent. 

“I think I might’ve heard of you before.” Zenken spoke as he drew his katana, sneaking in behind Caspian, evading his spears of ice before thrusting it through his back. The blade emerged where his heart was meant to be, yet again, drew no blood. “Hard to kill, aren’t you?”

The shadows stirred around Yami’s tonfa, and he swung, sending a stream of miasma at Caspian that was just barely blocked by a wall of ice that turned black, then broke like glass, its remnants raining down on Yami as he formed a dome of darkness as a barrier. Then the area around where Caspian had been stabbed froze over, ice crawling down steel as Zenken withdrew, and the blade shattered.

“If you have something to say, say it.” Caspian said as he glared back, crystalline ice crawling over his fists and glazing them over like makeshift knuckle-dusters. He punched, each one swift and powerful, but Zenken was slippery, evading them by a hair’s width each time.

“I’m a well-informed man, Mr Dweller.” Zenken said calmly as he threw an elbow that struck perfectly into Caspian’s eye, staggering him. “Even in the happenings of other Sanctuaries and their mages. Their criminals. I’ve heard of a group of mercenaries, new but powerful. Rumour has it that their leader is a man who can conjure storms out of water, the sole escapee of the Depths.” He tilted his head. “The Depth Dweller.”

Caspian’s face spasmed, but then Yami flung his arm and impaled him with half a dozen arrows of darkness. Pain and rage bloomed over his expression as the miasma lost its shape and started to sink into him deep, corrupting, spreading, like a virus taking root.

“I take it you don’t like the name?”

A growl emerged from Caspian throat, and Azami blinked, moving to make her way out of the streets. To escape. Then a hand wrapped around her throat and she turned, finding one of the men had broken free.

“If I return without you, the boss will have my head.” His grip tightened and she thrashed, fighting him. Over his shoulder, the other thugs within the group laid on the floor, dead, frost at the edges of their mouths, eyes glazed. She looked up grasped at the hands around her throat, tried to pry them off, and whilst she’d always been strong despite her small stature, his strength was unnatural. An Enhancer.

Nails failing to dig into his wrists, she looked over his shoulder as the rot infecting the Depth Dweller froze away and shattered. Holes were in his torso where it broke, but they were already closing. His eyes locked onto Azami’s. Frost crawled below his feet as though alive, shooting and latching onto the foot of the Enhancer, and he seemed to scream as his grip loosened.

“Get it off! Get it off!” He cried as she pushed him off, but the blue was merciless. It didn’t care about his strength. Stretching over his boot, it shattered, and all the skin of his leg was skinned off, leaving only bone and exposed muscle for him to clutch and scream at.

She took the opening and lunged, clasping the hilt of his katana and thrusting it through his eye, leaving it there as he went limp. Azami stepped back, weak, watching as Caspian endured another onslaught.

“You’re certainly strong.” Zenken said, unbothered, darting back to avoid an icicle to the throat. “But are you as strong as the rumours say, Depth Dweller?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” Caspian asked, then brought his hands down. Nothing happened. Then a dew drop hit Azami’s head, and she frowned, looking up to find ripples in the sky. 

No, not ripples. Water.

All the water the oncoming rain had built up over the past minutes crashed down onto them, peppering Azami so hard it stung. It continued on, until it didn’t, and she looked up to find Caspian’s face straining with effort as he swung his arms around, the motion becoming wider and wider as the water followed and started to rise, swirling into one.

And then he thrust his arms out at Zenken and Yami, sending a whirlpool at them.

Azami could only watch on, eyes wide, as her tormentors were caught in the spiralling pillar of water, spinning and spinning round and round, faster and faster, until the entire construct exploded. The glass lining the surrounding buildings shattered, and she was hit by the drenching recoil that soaked into her clothes, skin, and bones.

She leaned against the wall and lowered her arms to find the streets of Tokyo clear, save for Caspian Dweller, who was panting at the extreme usage of magic. Nevertheless, he turned, and she caught his piercing eyes, the colour of the water which he seemed to have mastered.

He said something, inquiring, but she didn’t hear, the world darkening as she fell down against the wall and felt the exhaustion take hold. The last thing she noticed was that it was raining again.

We know from the Vanguard situation in Dark Days that the Sanctuaries are a pretty shifty bunch, especially during wartimes, so what brutal tactics can you see the different Sanctuaries using during those times when up against Mevolent?

I'll lead by example: When their armies were being turned back by the Disciples, the Sanctuaries would find mortals in nearby villages, kidnap them, mind-break them via Sensitives, and give them injections of vampire blood. Once turned, they'd have Teleporters plant these fresh vampires near Mevolent's army bases, possibly by spies, so when night came the vampires would transform into their true forms and rampage in enemy lines.

Doing a rewrite of Skulduggery Pleasant Phase 1 was a daunting, long, sometimes downright frustrating experience which left me questioning my life choice at times. Naturally, I had to do it again, and this time. as an entire AU based on the 'what if' idea of how Phase 2 would've gone if Skulduggery Pleasant actually gave his life at the end of TDoTL. How would this affect the plot? Out beloved(and sometimes despised) Valkyrie Cain? Would the consequences be dire, or would things be better?

Let's find out together...

Valkyrie Cain #1: Hearts Unchained[2018]

(Main Villain: Lethe(Azzedine Smoke)

The start of Hearts Unchained is about the same as Resurrection. Temper infiltrating the anti-Sanctuary happens, though of course, he isn't Skulduggery's partner, but just a brave ol' City Guard. As for the anti-Sanctuary, though the members are all the same, a lot of their powers are different. Smoke's corruption is rooted in Sensitive magic, as, let's be honest, the stuff about the soul was only added to corrupt Skulduggery. Without him it's unnecessary and this is more grounded. Razzia's Murdaracles are based on Gists, she was beaten and abused as a child by her abusive dad, so her Gist developed into companions that weren't as strong as a Gist, but had none of the drawbacks. Much like Temper, they feed into her murderous impulses, but where he resists them, she relishes them. Nero has the power to open portals rather than teleport, the sigils at the Sanctuary not working against him because he isn't a Teleporter. Finally, to give him a bit of extra character, Memphis is a Necromancer with boots storing his power, adorning black but maintaining his elvis persona. Quibble still dies, but as his moveset include the ability to reanimate corpses much like Lord Vile in the Corpse Attack, he uses his powers to reanimate her. He doesn't hold a grudge because to him she wasn't gone. Lethe, Destrier, and Gant's powers remain the same. As for Valkyrie, rather than meet Skulduggery at Gordon's manor, she is greeted to Tanith. The two had been talking on the phone for some months now because of Danny, who'd encouraged Valkyrie to re-connect with old friends(and family, though that one was to little success). This led to Valkyrie visiting Ireland for vacation and meeting up with Tanith, who liked Danny without even meeting him, though he couldn't come, having once more picked up his old dream of being a rockstar with his band, Raising Cain*. At Roarhaven City, in addition to all the streets and buildings named after old characters, there's a park named Pleasant Park where a statue of Skulduggery is immortalised.

There is a brush with Yonder and his thugs, but the situation is stopped from escalating when detectives Tylent and Somnolent of the City Guard arrive. For their characters, both are righteous and intelligent, but where Tylent is stoic, pragmatist, and even unforgiving, Somnolent is more of an idealist who likes to believe in the good of others. Somnolent is an Arborkinetic, Tylent a Bonebreaker. Their methods sometimes clash, but ultimately they respect one another deeply. As friends of Temper's, they want to get him back, which is why they're willing to resort to enlisting the help of Omen.

I'll touch briefly on Flanery: he remains the American President and isn't a punching bag/trump caricature, though he retains some of his stupidity, albeit to a much lower degree... at first. He's a puppet for the anti-Sanctuary at the start, but over the course of the next few instalments, tangling with the magical will force him to become more shrewd and competent as he works with the twilight man and other mages.

Militsa Gnosis remains despite my raging indifference to her canon self, though gets a major overhaul. She remains the kind-hearted Magical Theory teacher of Corrival, but has more flavour to her character, having a few moments with Valkyrie scattered throughout the first book, but also some sections where we see her life outside of Valkyrie, namely at Roarhaven's very own Temple! It was allowed to be constructed despite the events of DB because the Necromancer who built it swore to China that its residents would fight at her word, and not a lady to turn away an asset with her aggressive expansion, she agrees. And the man who proposed this was none other than Nathaniel Quiver. He's the High Priest, wielding a bow as his item, his clerics, Militsa and Uriah Serrate, the latter for his skill in combat and devotion to the Order, the former for her great knowledge on magic and position as a teacher at Corrival.

As for how the plot progresses, the outline of it is rather the same as Resurrection, though without Skulduggery the ripples are very noticeable, and some even without him are just personal touch-ups of my own. Sebastian is entirely absent for now. Arbiters remain a thing, though the only one for most of the book is Arbiter Dusk*. He was allowed to become one by China to solidify the Fangs as assets and tie them down. Dusk works closely with the City Guards to show Vampire-mage cooperation and has a respectful relationship with Somnolent, who sees Vampires as his equals, and a cordial one with Tylent, who's mildly wary of Vampires though nothing equal to distain. Valkyrie loathes him and Vampires in general, though this will gradually change over time as the two work together.

Other changes to keep in mind include the following: Omen's friend Never is renamed to Zenith*, is considerably less obnoxious now, though not a perfect friend either. Auger is now named the vastly superior 'Augur'. Since I love the expansions on the magic system, I'll be expanding on it by adding some new Disciplines: Naturalism which lets mages control animals and magical creatures, Illusionism that lets mages conjure mirages and illusions, and Weaponsmiths, who can forge weapons with their magic made of an energy similar to Energy-Throwers.

Omen's involvement in the plot is by and large the same, playing the spy, though is told by Tylent and Somnolent to do no more. It was reckless and insane to endanger children in their line of work. Valkyrie, remembering Skulduggery, is irritated by this though says nothing. She has a brief reunion with Fletcher at the school, though his smile and words don't quite reach his eyes. The Night of Knives hasn't occurred yet, so Cassandra and Finbar remain around and help Valkyrie a little with her powers*. She's a novice with her Sensitive side, albeit one that Cassandra and Finbar see great potential in and want to train.

Detective Darkly does his thing and discovers Lilt, which leads to the confrontation at Melior's. Tanith is with Valkyrie, acting as backup. The anti-Sanctuary show up, but Valkyrie's shoulder isn't dislocated since Tanith catches her using Wall-Walking. Due to Nero being a Portal Master, the anti-Sanctuary's appearance is much more dramatic. A duel is still proposed by Lethe to make a statement, albeit one between him and Valkyrie. Bringing 'Darquesse' low would be a feather in their cap. Confident, she scraps with Lethe, though thanks to his magic, he adapts and obliterates Valkyrie. Her arm is snapped and jaw broken. The others try to intervene, but the anti-Sanctuary hold them off, and after disarming Tanith, Lethe has Smoke corrupt her. He orders Tanith to decapitate Val, but as her broadsword falls, Fletcher appears and pulls the heroes, minus a corrupted Tanith, out of danger. Because Nero can't teleport, he isn't followed and doesn't get stabbed. Valkyrie meets with China after recovering and is asked to stay in Ireland and become an Arbiter, but she declines. To keep Val safe, China orders Fletcher to take a brief leave from his job to act as her guard. This grates on him and he objects to being pulled away from his job, but is forced to agree.

The Council of Advisors have their meeting, and the layout of Vespers, Praetor, and Drang remains intact. One addition is that Guild(yes, Guild!) has been freed from imprisonment under the Supreme Mage's orders, though not without strings attached. He'd been made to re-open the Exigency Program, doing China's dirty work and assassinations to eliminate political enemies in exchange for his freedom. Out of a desire to be with his family again, he agreed. His men killed Cypher. Guild himself is a Weaponsmith. His daughter, Iris Berry, is a classmate of Omen’s at Corrival. Another note is that Tipstaff isn't a traitor, remaining a goodie* and the traitor remains a mystery, plus Weeper was amongst those lost in Devastation Day.

Omen is told to keep away from this business, but rather than it be Skulduggery, it's Somnolent, who comforts Omen when he feels down on himself in an effort to raise his self-image. This works a bit too well. Omen acts as he does in canon and infiltrates the meeting with the future members of First Wave and Lethe. He still gets dropped out the window by Nero and is saved by Peccant, then slips through one of Nero's portals. At the cells, he finds Temper, but rather than encounter Immolation Joe, he finds a rather depressed Erskine Ravel- since Skulduggery gave his life, Ravel was never killed and got sent to Coldheart Prison.

Tylent and Somnolent have been taken off the case by Hoc, who needs all hands on deck since news of the anti-Sanctuary spread, plus the two of them had kept that Temper had infiltrated the anti-Sanctuary from him, placing him in danger. Without those two, or Tanith, it's up to Dusk to go with Valkyrie. Valkyrie continues the investigation with him and Fletch, who is angered when he hears about what Omen had been made to do. When asked why she didn't just come to him, the Teleporter and teacher, Valkyrie just answers she didn't think of him, thinning his patience. The three find Melior again, and he informs them of Savant and such, and the resurrection of Abyssinia. Since Skulduggery is dead, he can't give the exposition on Abyssinia, so it's Dusk who gives the information due to advanced age and personal research, knowing that Coldheart was built to contain her heart, though it's more vague as a result. As the three leave with Melior, Smoke emerges with Tanith catches Fletcher by surprise, corrupting him too.

The chase between Skul and Val takes place with Fletch and Val whilst Dusk is held off by Tanith. Vampires cannot be corrupted by Smoke. Cornering Valkyrie, a heated talk goes on between a corrupted Fletcher and her where, without any inhibitions, he brings up what she'd done to him in the past. This includes the cheating, her and Skulduggery's treatment of him, and even Stephanie/the reflection, verbally stripping her down to bone until she finally sheds tears and says sorry. Fletcher tells her she didn't know the meaning of the word, then shoots her in the leg and teleports away, leaving her to sob until she's taken back by Dusk. At the infirmary, after she's healed, the sight of her blood invokes Valkyrie to ask about what Dusk felt when he tasted her blood years ago, though he's tight-lipped. Otherwise, the two talk about Fletcher and Tanith, with Caelan even getting a mention due to his death, and Dusk tells her she had a responsibility to those two as their comrade just as he did to the Fangs. This, alongside China's words, leads to her accepting the title of Arbiter.

More events similar to canon occur, such as the meeting with the anti-Sanctuary, though Fletcher and Tanith are present in Skul's place- Nero and Fletcher display a rivalry, whilst the threatening of Memphis is done by Tanith via sword-point before Smoke makes her stand down. She resists ever so slightly because of the Remnant magic in her system. As for the collection of the sacrifices, Nero and Fletcher go together whilst Tanith is Gant's partner. Memphis goes alone with his sister's corpse. Tanner Rut is beaten in a sword duel by Tanith, and Memphis shows up with another reanimated corpse rather than a person. Valkyrie's brush with Mr Glee occurs still, though Zenith's anger is more justified because they were Fletcher's student and were very close to their teacher. As in canon, Wicked kicks Jenan's ass.

For the final act, many events go down with a few alterations: Tanith, corrupted but able to resist Smoke's orders, forces Nero to make a portal to the Sanctuary so she could kill China, as she'd been wanting to do that for a long time. Lethe, seeing her as unimportant plus the potential benefits of the Supreme Mage dying, lets her go free. A confrontation occurs between Tanith and China where the latter is almost killed, the former revealing she knew that China had killed Cypher and had been aiming to put her tyranny down for a long time, but she's saved by the last minute appearance of Drang. The two of them beat Tanith into retreat and China decides on silencing Tanith and gets Guild. Valkyrie and China go to Byron's house and encounter Fletcher, Smoke, and Lethe, where Lethe overpowers and drags Valkyrie away, the anti-Teleporter sigils in Coldheart down since Fletcher was in their hands. Two of the three sacrifices bite it, but Valkyrie, using her aura vision and what little Sensitive magic she can harness at this point, flushes Smoke's influence out of Fletcher. He disappears and returns with the City Guard detectives, Dusk, Temper, and countless Cleavers, beginning the final battle.

Dusk pounces right for Memphis and his two corpses, and after doing away with the two then bypassing his opponent's shadows, the Vampire rips the Necromancer's throat out. Tylent and Somnolent fight side-by-side, the former breaking Nero's bones and forcing him to retreat, the latter knocking Destrier out via spores. Cadaverous tussles with Temper briefly. Valkyrie fights against the prisoners with Razzia in a spontaneous team-up, only for Temper to knock her out. Lethe and Val have a rematch scythe duel, with her getting some help from Kes in a critical moment. In the chaos, Smoke grabs Valkyrie and tries to corrupt her, and she's tempted to accept his magic. To not have to feel guilt or pain anymore and do whatever she wanted, like when she was Darquesse. Ultimately, she chooses not to be the monster everyone, including herself, thinks she is. She overpowers Smoke's magic, resulting in an AOE blast like when she first awakened her powers, turning Smoke to little more than... smoke. The Lethe-Savant reveal occurs shortly after, followed by Abyssinia's resurrection and rise, though it's far more grand. Silver energy erupts like light, causing everyone to look away, and a naked Abyssinia walked out of it. The princess stared upon them with brilliant silver eyes, the last thing Valkyrie could see before everyone gathered around Fletcher and teleported away.

As of most of the book, the epilogue remains largely the same, though Tylent is the one to speak with Omen, not Skulduggery. He's there rather than Somnolent, and whilst he admonishes Omen for running into danger, he commends him for doing fine work and thinks he has potential as a detective. He tells Omen to work on his skills before leaving, sparking inspiration in Omen like in canon, though continuing onto the next book, it'll come to fruition. On Valkyrie's end, she doesn't know about Tanith's attempt on China's life or that she was being hunted down, just that she'd gone into hiding. Following a Danny call, Fletcher and Valkyrie speak, where he asks to be excluded from whatever business she got into as an Arbiter in the future from now on. She agrees and he leaves, though not before delivering her to the doorstep of her family's home in Haggard. Knocking on the door, she reunites with her family, and Alice, her section ending as they hug. She'd come home. As for the final part of the epilogue, Flanery is in his office when he's personally met by Abyssinia, who charms and transfixes him, proposing a world where his country could stand proud and free and all he needed to do was accept her help. He asks who she was and Abyssinia tells him she was the rightful ruler of the Darklands and the last heir of the Unnamed.

Valkyrie Cain #2: Countdown to Midnight[2019]

(Main Villain: Cadaverous Gant)

The prologue is from the perspective of a man named James(OC), who's of the same species as Jack known as Fleetfoots, part of a four member mercenary group called the Crimson Strikers who also include a seven foot tall Warlock named Sevinyara(OC) from Charivari's old clan, having struck out on her own after the Chieftain's death and a Vampire hunter named Galick who's a Bloodletter, etc. a mage who can let out his own blood to manipulate it in battle, who fights using hardened blood in the shape of stakes and a crossbow with bolts to match. To spice things up, he might even have a history with Dusk, if only vaguely because he's killed a lot of Vampires. Lastly, there's their leader, the terrifying Red Cleaver, who speaks but never shows his face. The lot of them are approached by Lilt and Abyssinia, who demonstrates immense charisma. Playing on their individual hatreds for the Sanctuaries, who severely limit the activity of magical creatures like the former two so magic remains a secret and and mentioning their brutal practices with the Cleavers in the Crucible, she piques their interest and the Strikers join, replacing Avatar and Skeiri from canon.

On the flip side, Valkyrie is at the park with the rest of her family in a scene similar to one at the start of Seasons of War. Crystal has started seeing therapy about Carol's reflection and is taking medication, the sight gutting Valkyrie. After, Valkyrie gets a call from Dusk and learns of the mortals pooling into Roarhaven, causing her to ditch the Edgleys. Valkyrie rendezvous' with Tylent and Somnolent, who are helping the terrified mortals through into the Newton Dimension*. She visits the Sensitives and has another vision of Abyssinia, who is surrounded by black fire, facing off against a man in black armour. This was Caisson. The two speak briefly, with her mockingly calling him 'the Eternal Heir' before the two realise they're being watched. She's shortly banished by Abyssinia, though not before Caisson tells Valkyrie to find him.

An investigation into the anti-Sanctuary follows that leads to the Sadists' Club, the detectives and Dusk at her back, but since Serafina never got her hands on Caisson here, Quidnunc was an ally of the anti-Sanctuary's before Abyssinia's resurrection but was compromised due to Temper's infiltration. He was being hunted down by the anti-Sanctuary to be silenced. The detectives all arrive, with them shaking Quidnunc down for info, causing him to spill the beans that Abyssinia had a supposed brother, though Quidnunc's information is limited. Before he can give much more up, the Crimson Strikers come down on them at Abyssinia's orders, killing Quidnunc and scrapping with the detectives and Dusk, the latter of which is viciously targeted by Galick. The Red Cleaver grievously wounds Valkyrie, but doesn't take the chance to kill her, instead warning her not to get in his way again before leaving, the other Strikers retreating with him.

Once recovered, Valkyrie starts to investigate Caisson with Somnolent, bringing her to Clockwork House a book early, where they meet Mellifluous Golding. The secret of Kes is traded for the identity and location of the Prince of the Darklands, who they find in a remote cabin in the wilderness, living by his lonesome in peaceful solitude. As a way of maintaining his character and involvement in the story, whilst also giving Abyssinia a more ruthless edge, he is the Unnamed's son, not grandson, and indeed Abyssinia's elder brother. This was a choice made to remove the bulk of her maternal side so she's a more menacing, ruthless figure overall, plus it cuts out the drama of him being China's adoptive son. Any hint of such care she shows is done purely as an act of manipulation. With this new backstory, Caisson is also not insane, but a well-spoken and rather put-together man all-things considered. He has soul-sucking and powerful Sensitive abilities, but otherwise just relies on raw combat prowess, alongside a black crystal armour set complete with a sword and shield called the Darklands Gear, personally forged by the Unnamed using his own crystallised anti-magic. Any magical attacks, physical or mental, are useless against the armour's wearer.

It comes out that he and his sister were children of the Unnamed, with him being the eldest, mockingly named 'the Eternal Heir'* due to his father's immense power and wish to live forever. The rest of their siblings being killed by Mevolent, though Caisson managed to flee with his youngest sister and took care of her as best he could, essentially raising her like a father until she grew discontent and struck out to retrieve her birthright. Like in canon, she was betrayed and killed, then empowered by the Unnamed's lingering soul, but then the Dead Men and Diablerie came for her and her heart was torn out. Caisson killed Mevolent personally in a sneak attack, admittedly as revenge for his fallen kin, then vanished, letting the Sanctuaries take the credit. He just wanted to be left in peace. When Valkyrie and Somnolent ask for his help to stop Abyssinia, he refuses, unwilling to fight his own. He later meditates and sees a vision of his sister, floating above a mountain of corpses burning in black flames, curses, and leaves for Roarhaven.

On matters with the anti-Sanctuary, now that Abyssinia doesn't have to worry about finding Caisson, she's been devoting all her time and energy to overthrowing the Sanctuaries, gathering the forces to do so. The main perspective for now is Cadaverous, who is fast to notice the way Abyssinia approached them. She told them exactly what they wanted to hear, and always assuaged them to keep them compliant, but never actually delivered. He isn't the only one who sees this. Razzia experienced this kind of two-faced behaviour when suffering under her dad's abuse and locks right onto it, though Nero remains oblivious. Ravel is brought out, eased out of his depressive rut by a manipulative Abyssinia, who dangles the possibility for a world where mages and outcasts are free to be themselves in his face. He's not dumb enough to think he's not being played, but doesn't have anything at this point. When Cadaverous is pushed to his limit, he tricks Abyssinia into attacking the Sanctuary herself, arguing that none of her people would take her claims seriously unless she did something big to prove her claims. Whilst she's gone, he makes his move and threatens Nero into opening a portal for him, having one final talk with Razzia where she bids 'Caddie' farewell.

On another note, Omen's been doing better in school, improving his grades, having taken to studying independently. He was doing better at Elementalism, though wasn't certain it was the magic for him, leaning towards symbol magic, which he showed natural talent for. Like in canon, Omen is rejected by Axelia then meets Grand Mage Jenan, has some brushes with Augur, and volunteers at the City of Tents, meeting Aurnia, who isn't a teenager around his age, but a young woman acting as the face of the Leibniz mortals*. Yonders and the other Guards start to stir up trouble, only for Dusk to appear and scare them off, then he proceeds to extend a hand of friendship to the mortals from the other Vampires and himself as fellow outcasts. As the Vampires had been hunted into extinction by Mevolent in their dimension, she and the others are receptive. He's still called for babysitting by Valkyrie and babysits Alice, where Gant kidnaps her, but I'll get to that later.

Valkyrie and Somnolent go to China to tell her about Caisson, the Prince of the Darklands, and she collaborates his story. She suggests forcing his help, or killing him to eliminate a possible threat, though before objections can come, a hole is blasted through the roof and Abyssinia floats down. Addressing China, who was there when Skulduggery plucked out her heart, she claims that being a heart had left her used to procrastinating, then begins an assault. It's a pretty large-scale battle where China, Valkyrie, and Somnolent face Abyssinia together, brutally killing both China's bodyguards. The tower collapses, but Valkyrie shields them with a magic barrier like she could create in TDoTL, and the rest of the City Guard arrive led by Hoc and Tylent, who proceed to pile onto Abyssinia. She is overpowering and relentless, and several unnamed characters die before Caisson, adorning the Darklands Gear, makes his appearance and saves Valkyrie using his shield. He fights with his sister, and as he does Abyssinia's body starts to destabilise, the Unnamed's power and her recent resurrection taking its toll. She is at Caisson's mercy, though he can't bring himself to cut his sister down and she flees. He tentatively agrees to help in the fight against his sister and the anti-Sanctuary later, though makes it clear to China he's working with them, not for them, as despite everything he remained royalty and wouldn't be a lapdog.

The rest of the book takes place much like Midnight: the chase for Alice, the 'death' of Omen, the cannibals, and the Wild Hunt all happen, though much of the stuff actually inside Gant's domain is slimmed down and a few saw-like puzzles are in the mix*. For the final battle, the detective duo and Caisson are the ones who appear to aid Valkyrie, the former two having sharp senses that were ticked off when Valkyrie didn't answer her phone, finding Palter at the destroyed bar as a result. Caisson, who was with them at the time, scans the deceased man's mind and the detectives manage to investigate and lock Gant onto the Midnight Hotel. Caisson, who knows the pain of losing a sibling, chooses to go with them to help Valkyrie. Gant is defeated when Valkyrie cuts the connection between his house and his magic, causing the entire thing to collapse, dragging the fight outside. He emerges deformed into a demonic figure by the flames of the exploded hotel and starts to strangle Alice, scarring her neck, only to be killed by Valkyrie, who beats him to death with her bare hands in front of Alice in a brutal rage. The girl is unphased, and this ticks Somnolent off that something is wrong, his words leading to the discovery of Alice's wrecked soul. As Valkyrie cannot fly yet, she simply breaks down and has to be led away by the detective duo, an inconsolable wreck.

For the epilogue, Flanery is beaten down by Wilkes, who reveals the anti-Sanctuary were behind his election and none of his achievements could be given to him. This is done to jump-start Flanery's development, as in the next book, he'll have an epiphany with Crepuscular's help and become a more ruthless and competent figure. As for Skulduggery's old partner, I was wondering whether to feature him or not(you know, given Skul's deader than he's ever been) but no, he shall remain, though isn't the man's grandson. Just his old partner, left to die and seeking to destroy Skulduggery's legacy- who more than his reputation, more than the Dead Men, more than even his life, lives amongst them. And her name was Valkyrie Cain.

Valkyrie Cain #3: A Monarch Unnamed[2019]

(Main Villain: Abyssinia)

Around four months after the end of CtM, the plot of AMU kicks off and like the last two books, has a rough outline similar to Bedlam. The prologue doesn't introduce Christopher Reign, he'll come later, because Nye's been missing for a while now and had gone off grid. This is bad because Valkyrie was searching for him in an attempt to help fix Alice's soul. In his place, a prologue showing Abyssinia's past with Caisson the day their family was killed is shown, him keeping her safe, hidden away under her big brother's cloak as rain pours to keep her warm, and it ends when Abyssinia cuts the memory short via her mental powers. Abyssinia considers what it means to fight her brother, showing a hint of humanity, only to snuff it out. She was the sun that would light up the Darklands, and would fight for her throne, even if the one stood in her way was her kin. Yonders and his thugs aren't caught breaking and entering a shop near the Humdrums, but harassing a family by Valkyrie, who shocks them into submission when they attack her to let off some steam, warning them off. As for Alice, she visits and, in seeing her sister's lack of a soul, decides to re-double her efforts and pushes her Sensitive powers further to try and find Nye in another vision sequence. She sees an image of Greymire, but also the three locations for the soul fragments, one in each Cradle of Magic, though has no idea what they mean.

At this point, Valkyrie and Militsa aren't girlfriends, but have become close friends and the two meet up. In seeing her friend's turmoil, Militsa eases her out of it and into confessing the truth, causing Valkyrie to shed tears of guilt. Determined, Militsa says they'll fix Alice together, and using her intellect and knowledge of ancient magical sites alongside some images of the places which Val shares using her mental powers, lists the locations Valkyrie needed to visit to get the fragments. Thankful, Valkyrie hugs Militsa and leave. To find Greymire, which had been given by Militsa who'd only heard of it in rumours and was ignorant to its true nature, she goes to Golding again and, having already given up Kes, is forced to fork over the only other great secret she knew: the real identity of Lord Vile. I was considering using Guild to fork the location over as former Grand Mage, but can't think of a reason why he'd do that, and this way the Vile secret is out there, on the shelf of Goldings' cogs.

Serafina is introduced, with the Arbiters being present, Dusk doubling as the face of the Fangs. As an ally of the Sanctuary, Caisson is likewise present, the tension between Serafina and her husband's unashamed killer palpable. Aurnia is there as the face of the Humdrums and receives silent threat from Serafina, though Dusk is fast to have her back, an odd energy between them. Dusk x Aurnia, anyone? She will be a lingering presence in this book, undeniably there, and though none of the other Unveiled are shown yet, they are hinted towards.

The encounter with Greymire occurs, and Nye is revealed to be working there, finding the environment much to his liking. He has plenty of subjects to experiment on. Valkyrie temporarily goes mad, but manages to escape the asylum's clutches, aggressively beating down Whisper and shaking Nye down, but it was all in vain. There was no Soul Catcher for her here. She makes to leave but, having experienced the music box before, breaks into a room in the asylum where a woman with frizzy red hair is being mind-fucked by a box. This is Solace, who isn't an old lady, but a woman in her prime with frizzy red hair. Nicking the box, waking Solace in the process, Valkyrie pushes her magic beyond anything she'd ever done before and flies back to coast, exhausted.

Obsessed with curing Alice, Valkyrie visits all the different sites that Militsa had written down for her, one by one, becoming more unhinged with each fragment obtained whilst neglecting her duties as an Arbiter. The locations of the soul fragments have all been changed up. First, in place of Necropolis, she ventures to the fragment location in Ireland, which is a ghostly forest known as Darksoul Woods which has a death field similar to Necropolis that wears away all beings who enters there until they're mindless skeletons, that last details being one that justifies Militsa's involvement in the plot and reluctantly helping get the Necronaut Suit. Militsa will show worry for Valkyrie's spiral, and confess around mid-way through the book, though Val is too focused on the fragment search to give an answer right now. Valkyrie and Dusk go to Darksoul Forest, where the Dullahan debuts for the first time since Mortal Coil. He speaks via magic resonating off his chest, possesses a skull lantern, commands a horde of spectral horses, and wields both a one-sided axe and a whip like a human spine. Possessing a fragment in his lantern(which could house all of Alice's fragments and fix her soul), he agrees to concede it for a duel, and him and Valkyrie scrap, and though she loses, her sheer determination earns his respect. He gives her the lamp along with a charm, which will let Val summon him later, given in place of the Sea Hag's bell. As for the Hag, she does feature, but gets tore apart by mermaids who live off the coast of Australia near the Great Barrier Reef, where the final fragment is now located. Tanith is the one who takes Val there rather than Skul, his story with the King's Fury being substituted with her. As for the final fragment, it's in Africa but not with a fortune teller- it's at a ravine named the Draconic Crack in Tanzania where land-bound drakes congregate. Several Beast Masters under China's command are trying to tame them in order to use them as leverage over the African Sanctuaries, and Black Sand seek to undermine them, making a deal with Val to get the soul fragment in the process. After aiding Black Sand, the drakes are freed and, following the trip to Australia and her triumphant return, China arrests her in cold contempt.

When attacked in her cell by Yonders, it's not because they're part of some organisation, they're just bastards. All of them perish in the attack on the High Sanctuary, along with Larrup, who's outed as a spy. Temper never finds Valkyrie and his Gist isn't revealed yet, and rather than China freeing Val, it's Dusk who breaks in and forces the hateful Vitakinetic to heal Val, threatening to turn him otherwise.

Other things ongoing alongside this main plot are Flanery who's started to grow a backbone and think for himself. He was the President, and no matter how he got there, he was going to act like one. The Night of Knives occurs whilst Valkyrie is in prison, an attack made by Abyssinia, who harnesses all of the Unnamed's power to create a psychic shockwave that kills most of the world's Sensitives, including Finbar and Cassandra. This will make Valkyrie's beef with Abyssinia more personal. As for Omen, he's been coming into his own as a Signum Linguist and has become a good student, earning Peccant's begrudging approval. Colleen still plays on his good side to make him help them, but before he goes, Omen tracks down the Obsidian Blade with Axelia(who he'd grown closer to as friends) and Never, then gifts it to Augur. He no longer felt overshadowed by his brother and just wanted to help him against the King. When captured, he's forced to bear witness to Abyssinia's cruelty, hardening him. At one point he gets out of his cell and, finding the inner workings of the prison's sigils, disables its anti-Teleporter ones without anyone noticing. The man with golden eyes tries to get the Spiders involved at Abyssinia's word, but the main leader of the Spiders, Silicon, is rather resigned to them being outcasts. Lashing out, Silicon just regards him with pity. She gives him some choice words, pushing Ravel to re-think what he's doing. A short conversation is had between him and Razzia, who is likewise having doubts.

For the final act, like in Bedlam, Abyssinia strikes the High Sanctuary using the Coldheart convicts, the Crimson Strikers, and Mr Glee, the latter being sent to assassinate Valkyrie in her cell. He tangles with Valkyrie, taunting her whilst invisible and rubbing the face of his blade on her skin, before disappearing when she unleashes a widescale blast that wounds him. China is fending off the convicts before the Red Cleaver comes for her, and she's saved from death by Valkyrie, who finds the Cleaver's moves familiar before beating him, Sevinyara, and James back with China and Guild's help. Dusk and Galick scrap, the raid being made to happen at night so that, when it comes, Dusk can turn into his true form and tear Galick apart. The surviving three Strikers fall back with Nero when the time comes, but the game is on.

The attack on the naval base in Oregon occurs, with heroes fighting with the anti-Sanctuary, Coldheart convicts, and the kids at First Wave. Rather than be stupidly set free by his classmate, Ravel frees Omen and later reunites with Tanith, only being saved when Omen stands up for him. None of the others are happy to see Ravel. Caisson is present, having come to stop his sister, Serafina fighting besides him begrudgingly. Without a pause to reveal Caisson's lineage, the battle goes full-scale. An all-out brawl occurs, Abyssinia's forces vastly outnumbering the good guys', causing Temper to finally unleash his Gist and slaughter a bunch of nameless convicts. Augur and Zenith are dragged into the battle like in canon, though Augur has the Obsidian Blade. During this fight, the Dullahan and his horde will be summoned by Valkyrie to help. Casualty wise, most of First Wave die, except Jenan, Colleen, and a few others, along with Lilt by Augur's Blade when he tried to kill Omen. At one point, Augur gets shot at like in Val's vision, but is saved when Omen shields him with his body, though our favourite Darkly lives because Caisson gives some of his vitality to Omen to heal his wounds via the usage of Soul Sucking in reverse. Caisson, Serafina, and Valkyrie bare down on Abyssinia, attacking her mentally and physically. At a critical moment, the naval base's mortal soldiers turn and focus on the anti-Sanctuary, forcing them to leave with Nero's help, fleeing to Coldheart. But with its safeguards gone, Fletcher teleports the Sanctuary forces into Coldheart for the actual final battle, though demands Zenith and the Darkly brothers remain behind.

Many great moments go down here. In an effort to shake her opponents mentally, Abyssinia reveals Vile's identity, and when Valkyrie can't deny it they know its true. This shakes Dexter and he's almost killed, though at the last moment is saved by Ravel, who gets wounded and dies in Dexter's arms. Amidst the chaos, Caisson bares down on his sister one-on-one, his superior skill against raw power. Eventually, she manages to overpower him, saying there could only be one monarch, then stabs her brother through the heart with his own sword. Abyssinia killing her own brother is enough for Razzia to switch sides, Destrier following out of self-preservation, though Razzia dies by Abyssinia for her betrayal and the murdacles fade away. No transplants for Temper. Provoked by all the death, Abyssinia and Val go at it 1v1, though the former had suffered so much damage from the clash with Caisson that she goes down via a blow from the Darklands Sword. As she falls, the Unnamed shoots out of her, towards Caisson's corpse, and black flames swell around him. He started to float, Prince becoming King, son becoming father, and Caisson becoming the Unnamed. Once done, Abyssinia crawls away in one of Nero's portals, only to be confronted by Crepuscular and Flanery. The former kills Nero, the latter kills the Princess of the Darklands, the mortal being egged on by Crepuscular as he shoves a knife into her throat. His use for her had reached its end.

For the epilogue, Valkyrie heals Alice but doesn't get a vision of Malice, being allowed to bask in victory. Riding on that, she meets up with Militsa and says yes, the two exchanging a kiss to seal the deal at work. Fletcher sees but is cool about it, asking if he turned her gay. But of course he didn't. That was Caelan. Val's victory, however, ends when she and Dusk talk. She thanks him for what he'd been doing the past year, helping her and Roarhaven, but then he reveals she was a Descendant of the Faceless Ones. Small change, but the ending of the book is the attack on Augur and Omen by Jenan, and when he attacks, the Chosen One dies. Augur falls and the book ends with Omen sobbing for his twin.

(First half here)

Part 6 - Trials of the Undead

In Necropolis, a couple of large developments occur: Skulduggery, once he arrives, is greeted by a cloaked and scythe-adorning skeleton calling himself Erradin Tomb, the Envoy of the End. He was sent by someone important to Skulduggery to help him master his inner demons, and means to lead him through a series of three trials. Warily, Skulduggery follows Tomb alone, his usual sarcasm falling flat in the face of the grim reaper. As this was happening, Scapegrace was drawn to the Void Sword, which he approaches only to be confronted by the Guardian of Necropolis, which in this rewrite is a titanic golem of dark stone. After being beaten down, being called arrogant for daring to think himself worthy, Scapegrace picks himself up and declares he knows he wasn't worthy, but he needed the power not for himself, but for his friends. To protect them. He'd failed Crux, but he couldn't the others. This show of humility and courage quells the Guardian and he's allowed to approach the Void Sword, pulling it from its stone and holding it to the sky. Scapegrace becomes the Ruler of the Dead.

On Skulduggery's end, he follows Tomb into the deeper parts of Necropolis and undergoes three separate trials made to help him master his inner darkness. This is all from Tomb's pov as an observer. The first trial involves Skulduggery facing his past sins: the innocents and comrades who he'd killed over the years, both as Vile and not. Most are strangers, some aren't, yet they appear as spectres to haunt and curse out Skulduggery whilst the reaper gives him armour-piercing questions and cutting commentary. Only by being honest with himself about what he'd done, and accepting what he'd done, is Skulduggery able to banish the visions and pass the first trial, a feat which Tomb praises him for. He'd managed to acknowledge what he'd done without making it about his own pain.

Next, Skulduggery goes through a series of good memories. His time when he was a man with his wife and daughter, his days with the Dead Men, and his adventures with Valkyrie. Moments where he did undeniable good for the world. When questioned on why he was being shown this, Tomb explains it was because he needed to accept that whilst he'd done bad things, life wasn't so black and white, and the good he'd done didn't/shouldn't be brushed aside so easily. He wasn't without his darkness even before he became a skeleton. A vision is shown of his childhood where Skulduggery came home to find his abusive father, Abrogate Raze, had murdered eight of his nine siblings, and was about to kill the youngest. In order to save his final sibling, Skulduggery killed Raze. The vision ends and Tomb tells Skulduggery that he was a complicated man, one with a duality to him between good and evil, but that not everything bad that happened to him was entirely his fault. He didn't get to choose his father. He didn't choose for Serpine to kill his family. He didn't choose to come back to life. It wasn't all his fault, and only by accepting that lack of control could he move on. Skulduggery, after looking at one final memory where he was with Milliarde, teaching her how to play an old instrument, her frizzy red hair the same shade as his own, does he finally ask for the last trial.

At last, Skulduggery faces his last and hardest trial. Once inside the next room, he's transformed into his old self and has a meeting with his late wife, Ornelia. The two hug and speak, and though she shows disappointment for what he'd done as Vile, she doesn't reject him. She asks Skulduggery to stay with her and their daughter. He is tempted, but ultimately declines. There was still work for him to do, and only once he'd fully atoned for what he'd done could he earn the right to be with her again. Smiling, she kisses his cheek, tells him he hadn't changed at all, then fades away and Skulduggery becomes a skeleton again. It was his wife who'd sent Tomb because she knew of the turmoil he was feeling within. Once the trial is done, Tomb declares to Skulduggery that he now ruled over his darkness, and it would not rule over him, bequeathing his robes to Skulduggery to aid him in the coming battle. When Skulduggery complains that it wasn't really his style, the robes turn into a black suit oozing with Necromancer power. He approves.

Part 7 - Clash of the Monarchs

With Vormir, she breaks off on her own towards Necropolis, having only followed the Unnamed for this long so that more rifts could be opened. So the Great Stream could expand. Now that so much magic was rippling throughout the Earth, she could enter Necropolis and become one with the Great Stream, letting her create a Death Bubble which would expand until it drained away all life on Earth. She makes for Necropolis and has a grand battle against Melancholia and Skulduggery, who no longer needed his armour to use his full Necromancer power, fighting with both his Disciplines fully armed and ready. The fight is fierce but Vormir holds strong, until Scapegrace strides onto the battlefield, Void Sword in a hand. Facing down Vormir, he uses the power the Void Sword provided to strip her khopeshes of their power, leaving them dull and brittle. Smashing them, she's left suceptible, struggling against Necropolis' effects. As the Death Bringer falls to her knees, Scapegrace stands over her and tells her she might've brought death, but he commanded it, then decapitates her.

The jubilation brought by Vormir's death is short, however, because the Unnamed is fast to arrive. With the other two tired, and knowing time was short, he commands the shadows to surround his allies. Smiling, he asks them to tell Gerald and the others that he was sorry, and he'd say hello to Remus for them, then wraps them in a forced shadow-walk that sends them right back to Roarhaven. Scapegrace turns to the Unnamed, who asks who he was meant to be. Rather than proclaim a title, he just says that he was Vaurien Scapegrace. And he was the guy who was gonna kick his ass.

Scapegrace summons his horde and the battle commences. The King of the Darklands versus the Ruler of the Dead. It starts off rough for Scapegrace, but as the fight commences, the Void Sword's power responds as avatars of undead Necromancers start to appear to aid him in battle. Morwenna, Malady, Solomon, Tenebrae, Craven, Quiver, and countless other dead Necromancers throughout the series, both good and evil, appear at Scapegrace's back to unleash their fury against the Master of Magic. Shadows swarm like storms and the Unnamed buckles under Scapegrace's assault, and as the fight continues and the King is pushed to his limits, Scapegrace strips him down. He knew who the Unnamed was, because he was just like Scapegrace. Title after title, proclamation after proclamation, yet at the end of the day, none of that changed the fact that the Unnamed stood for nothing. He fought for nothing more than himself, so that he could rule the world and live forever as a god. But he wasn't a god, just a man. A man who didn't even blink at the death of his daughter. A man who's own students betrayed him. A man who doesn't even have a name. The Unnamed's power was hollow. He stood for nothing. He fought for nothing. He was nothing. Nerves struck by Scapegrace's words, the Unnamed screams in rage and unleashes a blinding flash so great that it engulfed Necropolis.

Part 8 - No Time To Mourn

The heroes reunite at the Sanctuary and inform the others on what's been going on, and news of Scapegrace's death reaches an already despondent Clarabelle and Gerald. The Engineer has become familiar with the emotion called Sorrow. Vengeous and his forces are in New Roarhaven, and a wariness is between them and the Sanctuary, especially with Hopeless there, having guided the Leibniz mortals to the shelters. Serpine is likewise dangerous now that he knew his True Name, a fact he taunts Skulduggery about, the tension between the two high. It worsens when the Generals bring up the idea of freeing Mevolent to use as an ally and get quickly shut down. Vengeous, although a fanatic, is smart enough to know pushing would only end badly, so he simply states that no one else could stop the Unnamed. At least not at full strength.

Preparations for the inevitable battle are made and New Roarhaven is fortified. The Vampires mobilise and China has magical beasts stockpiled, brainwashed to act as foot-soldiers. She does finishing touches on a trump card she believes might stop the Unnamed. Serpine uses his new powers to restore his arm, though it's sadly not his Red Hand, and touches up with Vengeous and the other Leibniz guys. At Corrival, Valkyrie visits Winter and tries to convince her to leave, but she and her friends are adamant on staying to protect their friends and home. Skulduggery and Peccant encounter one another, and it's revealed the two were brothers, and he was the kid who Skulduggery saved from their dad. The trauma of that event had driven a wedge between them, one that only widened into a chasm over time. A few short words are given between them, and whilst it's not reconciliation, it's a start. Civilians are locked down in the shelters, protected by the City Guard, Carol and Prism building some rapport with the mortals there, including those from Leibniz. New Roarhaven becomes a fortress rather than a city. But as the preparations are coming, the Sanctuary receive a message.

The Unnamed, tired from his fight with Scapegrace, is healing at an old castle which used to belong to him. Mevolent had repurposed it rather than tear it down to master his inner demons, and so it didn't go to waste. He rests on his throne and mulls over 'the Killer Supreme's' words, unable to suppress them complete. Frillish, his last student, approaches him in his weakened state. Dialogue is exchanged between them, where it's revealed the Arborkinetic had betrayed the Unnamed, telling him the world was 'bleeding' because of him, and Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Serpine, and Melancholia wander out to assault him whilst he was recovering. Enraged at the betrayal and injured, he burns out Frillish's mind and sucks her lifeforce out to replenish himself. The castle is destroyed in the following scuffle, and he flies away, intent on bringing the battle to their own home as revenge.

Part 9 - A Ruler Unnamed

The Unnamed arrives in New Roarhaven, having gathered an army of magical creatures spawned from the Caves of the Void to use against the Sanctuary in the coming battles, but otherwise he's alone. And that's enough to get them all on edge. Monsters clash in unending waves. He floats down and all the stops are busted out against him, as the heroes(and some villains) gather and rush to meet him as their allies defend against the monsters.

The Vampire district Fangs defend their home, fighting side by side with mages, and Moloch falls in battle. Gracious defends the Sanctuary infirmary, both patients and nurses, against monsters and is about to join Donegan and Fletcher, unable to stop himself from admitting there was irony in a Monster Hunter dying like this. He doesn't fall though. The Engineer gets in their way, defending the patients and his friends, but gets torn apart as a result, the explosion from his massive form taking the beasts down. As he lies in a heap, body mostly destroyed, Clarabelle and Gerald gather around him. He thanks them for being his friends, then powers down forever. The City Guard fight on to defend the shelters and mortals, though Aurnia and the other Leibniz residents show they're not defenceless themselves by picking up weapons and begrudgingly fighting with the Sorcerers. Corrival Academy is on full lockdown, with Peccant and the other teachers defending it alongside their students and Gordon the Dragon, who's swarmed and killed by dozens of smaller aerial monsters. Naturalists who studied under Aria take command of a portion of the beasts and turn them against their kin. Zenith loses an eye saving Winter from certain death, but is saved by Miss Wicked, who's crushed by a minotaur. Many students die such as Filament and Jenan, who leaves his friends to die to save himself, only to run into a cockatrice and be pecked to death. His daddy's money didn't save him.

On the Unnamed's end, he's facing down the combined might of the Dead Men, Melancholia, True Name Serpine, and Baron Vengeous. He holds them all off, displaying uncanny magical feats that are meant to be impossible. "You call yourself sorcerers, yet don't seem to fathom the true power of magic. Let me show you." He captures and corrupts Valkyrie's magic, conducting energy streams of his own, only black rather than silver. The Unnamed recognises Serpine from the days before Mevolent betrayed him, and targets him specifically with his energy. Blasts and needles and spinning blades are shot at Serpine, and though the General remains slippery as a snake, he endures injuries which force him to heal via his new powers, only to be saved by Vengeous. Other Leibniz mages face the Unnamed, deriding him in the name of 'Lord Mevolent', and burn because of it. "Where is your precious Lord now?" Ghastly is placed in line of the Unnamed's energy streams, but is saved by Ravel, who's eyes are caught in the Unnamed's barrage. He's blinded and, forced to retreat, Ghastly dragging him away, but then Ghastly remembers something and goes away, to find China.

Valkyrie is using many kinds of magic at this point, including white flames which counter the Unnamed's black ones, though he isn't terribly impressed. A lizard trying to compare itself to a mighty dragon. He almost kills her at one point, but Melancholia takes the heat off her by utilising Necromancy at the highest level, jibbing at him not to underestimate the power of death. Scapegrace had nearly killed him once for it, and they were here to finish the job. Ticked off, the Unnamed states that he'll admit the strength of that man's magic, but she wasn't the Killer Supreme. He strips her of her armour, leaving her helpless, then ends the Death Bringer, much to Valkyrie's despair and rage. When Winter is finished with helping Corrival, she takes Ivory and Soul and leaves, getting Destrier and bringing him to the Eternity Gate, freeing Mevolent. He nearly kills Winter, only holding because they were kin as Ancients, and when he learns the Unnamed was back, agrees to fight alongside the heroes. He arrives on the battlefield as things were getting dire, Mevolent and his old master locking eyes, acknowledge each other. Then they start to scrap to the death. The two are titans of magic, and Mevolent is forced to use every bit of skill he's gained over the centuries with the elements to bully his master, exchanging cutting words the whole time. At one point the Obsidian Blade is taken from Mevolent. The Unnamed, unwilling to let this wretched weapon continue to exist, shatters it into a thousands pieces, then burns those shards into nothing.

The fighting continues and Mevolent is joined by Serpine, Vengeous, and Skulduggery, all his Generals fighting with him one last time. Mevolent bullies the Unnamed back, drawing anger from the Unnamed, who's stabbed through the heart by the Baron's cutlass. It does nothing. He's grabbed by the Unnamed, and as the flames build, Vengeous tells Mevolent it had been an honour before his following demise. Provoked by Vengeous' death, Mevolent and Serpine hammer down on the Unnamed, viciously beating him back, but the latter falls when the Unnamed uses Serpine's own True Name against him, declaring the might of True Names was as fragile as glass before erasing Serpine, leaving it to just Valkyrie, Skulduggery, and Mevolent. The Unnamed addresses Mevolent and Valkyrie as two Ancients, saying once upon a time, their ancestors had begged the Unnamed for help on their knees in their fight against the Faceless Ones, and he'd been foolish enough to grant it.

"Taking pity on your kin was my greatest mistake... one I do not intend to repeat."

The three of them clash against the Unnamed again and again, more of the city being destroyed with each clash, until the Unnamed defeats them, killing Mevolent, who dies defying his master to the bitter end. "You'll never be a true king." With his enemies seemingly defeated, the Unnamed starts to open the final rift, but mid-way through the process, he's caught by a sigil trap made and set by China. He'd been lured there by the heroes. Before he can free himself, China emerges and seals him into the broken Obsidian Blade's hilt, which he was susceptible to as a being of pure magic. Then, once that was finished, she hands the Obsidian Blade to Prism, who seals it within the timeless void of the Mirror World forever. The rift the Unnamed started to open begins to widen, however, and as the epicentre rift, if it was allowed to open, the rifts could widen until the foundations of Earth are destroying. In order to mend these rifts, someone needs to act as a focus point to tie all the rifts together and close them down. Such a task would be impossible for a living being, the sheer magic overwhelming them. Fortunately, Skulduggery wasn't living.

Just like at the end of the Dying of the Light, Skulduggery needs to sacrifice himself, only now there's no clever loopholes and Ravel can't be used as a substitute. His remaining allies gather near the rift, including Ghastly, Ravel, China, Peccant, and of course, Valkyrie. He exchanges words with China, choosing to forgive her for the part she'd played in his family's death. He gives one final apology to Ghastly, and though he's not forgiven, he's not rejected either, and gets a firm handshake. A blinded Ravel tells Skulduggery it would be weird without him, since he'd be the only liar of the Dead Men left, and gets told to have fun with that. Peccant is sad that he was about to lose his final brother, the two exchange words, and he thanks Skulduggery for saving him from Raze. With Valkyrie, at first she's resistant, scrambling for a solution, though eventually breaks down and confesses she wasn't sure if she could carry what she'd done without him. She didn't want to be alone. Skulduggery merely tells her she wasn't alone as Winter and her friends show up. He tells her to remain strong, and no matter how hard it seemed, she had to keep on marching onwards. Things may seem dark at times, but no matter how grim or cruel life could seem, if she just kept on going, she'd eventually come to a better place. The two hug, and he turns, marching into the rift and reaching out. Brilliant tethers of magic latch onto him like chains, but no matter how much they resist, he doesn't falter or yield as he reaches its centre. Then he exhales, floats, and lets himself dissolve as the rifts are sealed in a glorious display of magic that lights up the sky in every colour of the rainbow. But the Dead Man was gone. Skulduggery Pleasant was no more.

Part 10 - The End and the Beginning

The epilogue displays Valkyrie's life a few years after the rifts have been sealed, and how life has continued. She's with Winter and Prism, the former of which having Surged and locked in as a Necromancer, and are helping reconstruct their home town of Haggard. The world was torn, most of the population gone, but people remained and the magical creatures plaguing the lands had largely been killed, so it was deemed safe for the mortals to finally return home. Small towns like Haggard were a low priority, but it was allowed because the Edgley family had esteem in the Sanctuary's eyes. Valkyrie speaks with Fergus, who doesn't exactly hate Valkyrie considering her good deeds, but can't forgive her for what happened to Crystal along with Gant, plus Beryl doesn't want Cormac anywhere near Valkyrie. He wishes his niece well, but far away from them, then goes back to his newly built home. Valkyrie is disappointed, but not surprised, wishing her uncle well as she returns to New Roarhaven with Winter and Prism.

Other developments include Ghastly retiring as Grand Mage to return to his humble shop, leaving the title in China's capable hands, working it with Elsie whenever she isn't busy with her young daughter, Skye O'Brien. She had her dad's crazy hair. As for the scarred woman herself, however much she'd changed, China relished lthe power being Grand Mage gave her and started to rally the other Sanctuaries behind her. She wanted to be known as the woman who boosted humanity back after the war, and has taken to implementing sigil creations out now that magic is an open thing. Flying cars and portal-transportation via Realm Crystal on the way to becoming streamlined. Gerald has taken residence in New Roarhaven despite being a mortal, running the Pub Supreme once again, though is still wistful at Scapegrace's death. A statue was built in Scapegrace's honour, showing him holding the Void Sword, his many titles written on it. Ravel, having learned to use his magic to mitigate his blindness, has opened an orphanage for children displaced by war and tried to give them a childhood, seeking redemption for what he'd done in whatever way he could, big or small. Due to experiencing high amount of death, and the loss of the Death Bringer, Militsa becomes the High Priestess of Roarhaven's Temple, speaking with Valkyrie about Melancholia near the end. Nothing is finalised, but a spark is between them and as Valkyrie leaves the Temple, she thinks maybe she'll come back.

Finally, Valkyrie goes to Skulduggery's grave, made in his honour. Prism joins her briefly, and the two talk. Reflect on the past. The rebuilding had been slow-going, but steady and peaceful. Prism tells Valkyrie that despite everything, the ups and downs, she was glad that Valkyrie gave her life because it had been a truly extraordinary experience, then leaves. Valkyrie is alone, where she tells Skulduggery's grave that she missed him, but she had no plans to join him any time soon. She couldn't with the debt she owed. But despite everything, she didn't regret their times together or that they'd met that day. It might've sounded evil, but she wouldn't take it back, because she was too selfish for anyone's good, her own included. Only once she'd made up for the cain she'd raised would her time be up. Until then, she could only march on, just like he said.

"Until the End."

Book 1(The Last of the Ancients)
Book 2(Dancing with Darkness)
Book 3(The Cursed One)
Book 4(Desolation)
Book 5(Divine Judgement)
Sidestory(Tanith Low)
Book 6(Requiem)
Sidestory(Fletcher Renn)
Book 7(Rise of the Wicked)
Book 8(Fall of a Dead Man)
Sidestory(China Sorrows)
Book 9(Burying the Light)
Sidestory(Stephanie Edgley)
Sidestory(Winter Grieving)
Book 10(Dominion)
Book 11(Masters of Magic)
Book 12(It All Comes To An End)

First off, before we begin, I'd like to say thank you all for reading this series of mine, it's been humbling to pour so much time and brain power into writing these posts and giving my own take on this series we all love so much. I can confidently say I'm a better writer now than when I started this series because of how it's tested me. Before this begins, I'd like to take a moment to voice my appreciation for the actual series, as whether this rewrite is an improvement or not, it wouldn't exist at all without the original.

As a sidenote, there are many details about this rewrite as a whole I'd choose to redo if given the chance: I'd try and balance a consistent and in-depth magic system more deeply whilst retaining the mystique of the original series more considerately, I'd try to improve the ending of Masters of Magic and keep Leibniz Lord Vile to feature in the Dimension War instead of killing him off early, keep Caelan alive after the end of Requiem, add a Ghastly sidestory(possibly after the end of Book 3 to detail the Murder Skull search) and many more, probably dozens, of minor details that could be ironed out or refined with the benefit of hindsight.

But I don't want to get caught wrapped up in regrets. I've had fun with this series, and I can tell many of my readers did by consuming this too. So, despite it all, I can be proud of this project of mine and move onto the final:

Book 12 - It All Comes To An End(2026)

(Main Villain: The Unnamed)

Part 1 - And The Darkness Rained Upon Them

First off, this section is one I'd have preferred to have implemented in the end of Book 11 to avoid any explanation and jump right into the action, but hindsight is the worst, and thus it'll be done here. Of course, there will be some build up before the Unnamed's resurrection, so the Prologue will be one with Abyssinia that shows off all the Unnamed's different students who were revived at the end of the last book. All of them. Their magical prowess was legendary, and were known in old folklore as the 'Masters of Magic'.

First there is Vormir, who we already know as the sadistic Necromancer, Death Bringer, and close second to Mevolent in the Unnamed's teachings. New one will include Tygren the Maelstrom(OC), a Water Elemental with stark white hair and stormy eyes, having inspired the tales of Zeus in ancient Greek mythology. He was as arrogant as he was powerful, and made himself out as a God to the mortals both out of amusement, and to fuel his own ego. On the sea, he was invincible, claiming even Mevolent wouldn't stand a chance on his own domain. Frillish(OC) is an Arborkinetic, and a powerful one at that, as by her own will and magic entire forests could perish and fall with a wave of her hand, plus through intense study she'd learned to give life to plants and create creatures using them- the most commonly used of which are golems made of wood, which she uses as infantry and bodyguards. And lastly, there is Argall(OC) the Sensitive, a man who's taken his Discipline to new heights and can trap his opponents in illusions as well as predict their movements. He likes to force his opponents to relive their worst traumas. A discussion is held on how to revive the Unnamed, as unlike the rest of them, he couldn't simply be revived via Vormir's Necromancy. Vormir needed to harness a far greater realm of magic to resurrect him, a being of pure magic, thus the different students and Abyssinia make for the Caves of the Void.

The lengthy process to resurrect the Unnamed starts, as Vormir harnesses the power of a pool of pure magic within the Caves: the pools where the God-Killers were forged by the Ancients(and where Mevolent create the Obsidian Blade) plus it was where all the creatures of the caves were born. They crawled out of the lake. As the process starts, however, ripples of magic are sent outwards across the globe which Valkyrie picks up on using her aura vision and her, Skulduggery, Ghastly, Ravel, and China make for the Caves under Gordon's mansion via Realm Crystal. A scrap breaks out as the heroes arrive, and though the Unnamed's students were tough, Tygren and Frillish's magics were both limited in the cave and, together, the group hold steadfast. Valkyrie duels Abyssinia(weakened from having her father's soul extracted) and during their fight, she makes contact with Abyssinia and manages to mimic her opponent's magic by creating lightning of her own. This boost lets Valkyrie unleash Abyssinia's own magic upon her, charring her to a crisp. But Vormir's work is done and a towering pillar of pure magic explodes out of the Void Pools. A silouette becomes visible through the light, and with the Sanctuary forces and his students watching on, a man walks out, silver hair flowing in the wind and pupilless eyes scanning his surroundings. It was done. The Unnamed has returned.

The stoic, regal, almost alien Unnamed addresses his enemies, locking onto Valkyrie specifically for possessing a purer strand of magic, though not up to his own. Like her and Abyssinia, he too could see the magic, but unlike them his aura vision was more evolved and could gaze upon the fault lines within the Earth. His motivations are left bare and his origins explained as he gives a speech, about how he'd been betrayed by his most treasured student, Mevolent, and sealed away into the Obsidian Blade. In a last-ditch effort to save himself, the Unnamed had let out a small piece of his magic to wander and find a mortal woman to bond with, magically inseminating her and creating Abyssinia in the process. It's also revealed that he wasn't human despite his appearance, as one day he'd simply wandered out of the Void Pools, much like these monsters. Across the globe are seven rifts of magic(the largest of which being in Ireland), and his ultimate end-goal was to open all the different rifts and let the pure magic they contain sweep across the globe in an all-consuming wave that would eradicate mortal life and allow all sorcerers to access the Source's power unrestrained, like True Name-users. The concept of names and Disciplines would vanish, and in the chaos that followed, the Unnamed would rise as the King of the Darklands. Opening a rift takes an extreme amount of power even for the Unnamed, however, and the largest of the rifts in Roarhaven must be opened last if he wants his plans to succeed. The first of the Rifts is where he was reborn, in the Caves of the Void. He raises his arms and widens the rift, letting its magic spill out without limits- and as the Sanctuary forces retreat, they're forced to watch as the remnants of Gordon's mansion are consumed by the light. The Unnamed leaves with his students, and the rest of them can only look on, helpless. But this wasn't the end for them. It wasn't even the start.

Part 2 - Long Live The King

The final book opens displaying the Unnamed's pov as he gazes upon Earth, or as calls it, 'the Darklands' and curls his lip at its diminished state. There was much work to be done once he completed the Cleansing. He speaks amongst his different students and inquires about Abyssinia, displaying a twisted kind of sorrow that she was gone, though doesn't dwell on it. He'd created her to revive him, and she'd served that purpose. Tygren displays immense servitude to the Unnamed despite his pride, wishing to aid the man who'd taught him everything he knew with sycophantic enthusiasm. Argall is rather rather indifferent to his old master, but wants to see the world 'cleansed' to expand his research into the soul and its connection to magic, sharing in the Unnamed's love for it in a rather perverted manner. Vormir the is a rogue element of the faction due to her mental instability and extreme fixation on death, and even the Unnamed is only tentatively using her on his quest to ultimate power and to master/avoid death. As for Frillish, she is loyal to the Unnamed, but had a deep respect and worship for the Earth, one that outstripped the Unnamed, and was going along with his plan because she believed it would be good for nature. The different students are sent to varying corners of the globe to prepare for his arrival. He assigns his students to clear a path for him, then leaves to begin his conquest.

Back in New Roarhaven, Skulduggery and Valkyrie return with the rest to debate their next moves. The Unnamed needed to be stopped, but they'd lost so many good people in the Dimension War and their forces were sparce. The fighting was far from over. Valkyrie is contemplating the new powers she'd attained when she touched Abyssinia, and this plants the idea that there might be more to her magic than she thought. She speaks with Prism about this and Valkyrie ponders on a comment the Unnamed made about her being 'pure' already, causing them to realise that maybe she doesn't actually have a Discipline due to being a Nameless mage and what this might imply. Like Valkyrie, Prism also develops new abilities based that are mirror-based due to her evolution. Her powers as a reflection had evolved enough that she could access a pocket dimension called the 'Mirror World', a white space where everything that enters except her and Valkyrie is frozen. Living things can be placed into this space. After a brief bit of experimentation, Valkyrie visits Elsie at her shop and speaks about Fletcher a little to give some comfort. It works, and she's able to get a commission of armoured clothes one last time- the jacket she gets being black, the same colour she wore when she first discovered the magical world.

The Sanctuary's scientists, including Destrier, are tasked with giving them the locations of these rifts the Unnamed would be unlocking, which include the following points: Japan, the Denver mountains, the Amazon Rainforest, a valley in Africa named the Tyrant's Crevice, Necropolis at the end of the River Nile, and finally, right here at New Roarhaven. It was the biggest rift, and Destrier believes it would need to be opened lastly for this 'Cleansing' the Unnamed wished to accomplish to come to pass. It's decided that the other Sanctuaries(or what remains of them) need to be warned so measures can be taken to defend these rifts. China, meanwhile, is wondering on how the Unnamed could be killed, as Mevolent needed the Obsidian Blade to do the deed. All they have at this point is its broken hilt, the other Leibniz version of it being trapped in the Eternity Gate with Mevolent. Endeavouring to fix it, she takes a Realm Crystal and goes with Kierre to the Caves of the Void, bringing Carol and Valkyrie with her to see if their Ancient heritage will help somehow. It's a vain attempt, but they realise that magical creatures were spawning out of the cave's pools rapidly due to the rift being undone, and Ireland would be overrun by waves of monsters if they didn't close it soon.

Winter is with the rest of the Edgleys in the bunkers, who aren't evacuated because the outside world was ruined by the war and, despite everything, the bunkers remained the safest place for them. She was worried about the danger ongoing, and wants to help Valkyrie, though doesn't know how. For the time being, she just helps the teachers fortify Corrival with her friends, verbally duelling with Jenan. A wounded Gordon the Dragon, mourning Aria, is nesting at Corrival and acting as its protector, being tended to by Axelia and Aria's other students. Once China returns, she has the magic barrier around New Roarhaven raised to stop any incoming monsters, and the City Guard is put on high alert as a wave of monsters come and the Sanctuary help to fight them off at a steady rate.

The Unnamed makes his way to the Japanese Sanctuary, who'd been warned of his incoming arrival and prepared accordingly. He'd come alone, believing the mages couldn't impede him. He claimed that magic in this era was more diverse, but less powerful. Less primal. The Japanese fight with everything they have, but aren't able to hold for long, and the Unnamed arrives at Japan's rift. But just as he's about to open it, a guardian emerges to defend it, being an impossibly long white and green dragon which fights using emerald flames that clash against the Unnamed's black ones. It speaks telepathically and voices its distain for the Unnamed, claiming he was a false king who dishonoured this world simply by daring to walk upon it. It's scales were immune to direct magical attacks, and though it falls in the end when the Unnamed displays an uncanny manipulation of magic and tears it apart, it gives a glorious display which wounds the pride of a king.

Part 3 - A Tyrant's Resolve

After news of what happened to the Japanese is received, Valkyrie and the others realise the Unnamed was working faster than expected and start moving. Teams are made and sent to various rift sites to act on guard. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to the Tyrant's Crevice in Africa with Guild and his daughter Iris coming with them- Iris because she was a talented Naturalist, and Guild because he wanted to protect his daughter. Barbs are exchanged between the two old rivals, but Iris reigns her father in. It's revealed that the Tyrant's Crevice got its name due to being a ravine where dragons liked to nest, and the African Sanctuary took great care not to disturb the mighty beasts. African mages feature and some lore regarding the place is told, but when the Unnamed and Argall arrive, the peace is shattered. The Unnamed is swarmed by dragons by the dozen, and he meets them head on, haughtily claiming they had nothing on the monster he'd faced in Japan.

Bedlam erupts and Argall goes for Valkyrie, entering her mind, and finds himself twistedly fascinated by her. Like his master, she was a Nameless Sorcerer. He mentally torments her by entering her mind, but she's saved by Guild, who gets his mind obliterated much to the horror of his daughter. As revenge, she has a dragon unleash dragonfire, then Valkyrie sends him fleeing via telekinesis with bolts of white lightning. The dragons attacking the Unnamed fell, the others fleeing, and he locks fully onto Valkyrie, engaging her in a duel. She only managed to survive because he was playing with her, curious about her lack of a Name, and during their fight she's forced to re-discover her powers as an Elemental to survive. It's not enough, and she, Skulduggery, and Iris flee via Realm Crystal as the Unnamed opens the rift and leaves.

The group return in large failure, Iris mourning her lost father and getting some words of comfort from Skulduggery, but Valkyrie believes what she'd learned might be the key. At the Necromancer Temple, Valkyrie wishes to regain her Necromancer powers now that she knew what her magic was capable of and gets a gauntlet much like Winter's(albeit on the opposite hand). The training she had from Solomon quickly comes back to her with the help of Melancholia, the experience sparking something between them.

Frillish is in Brazil and goes to the rainforest. She's greeted by a tribe of Arborkinetics who've become more in-touch with nature, and their way of life earns some approval from Frillish, who held a deep respect for the Earth. A giant basilisk is sic on Frillish, but she displays immense manipulation of plant life that overshadows all the rest, giving life to golems of wood which tear the tribesmen apart. Wood erupts from the ground and skewers them whole. Once the slaughter is finished, the Unnamed arrives and proceeds to burn a large section of the forest with black flames, earning her horror. Her master claims that magic is life, and everything else is secondary, including mother nature. Natural did not mean better. There was nothing natural about the Unnamed, yet he was superior. As he opens the fourth rift, she feels heavy apprehension.

Part 4 - Battle in Denver

Gracious invents a new body for the Engineer to pilot so that he can fight, one shaped like a massive golem of golden metal, but in order to transfer over to it, the Engineer would need to abandon his current one. The Engineer, wishing to protect the friends he'd found, agrees and enters his new body. A notice and call is made by Tylent: the Unnamed was in America, heading to the rift site, and Ghastly doesn't hesitate to send to send their best forces. The battle-ready Necromancers are deployed, with Melancholia giving Militsa command of the Temple in her absence, Scapegrace amongst them. He was the new Phantom Knight with command over the Dullahan's horde. Thrasher insists on going with him, despite not having magic, and he's joined by Crux, who was being sent there with roughly half the City Guard alongside Gracious and the upgraded Engineer, with the rest of the guard including Carol staying behind to defend the city. Crux is given command over his comrades by Carol, and though doubtful at first, he's encouraged by Scapegrace and pushes past it, rallying them behind him. Along with them are Ravel, China, and Ghastly, and whilst in Denver, Valkyrie once again encounters residents of Meek Creek, who are being led and organised by Danny.

Appearing in the site, however, Vormir, Tygren and Argall intercept them to let their master work uninterrupted. Vormir and Melancholia duel again with several Necromancers and Scapegrace at her back, the latter defending the Sanctuary forces against Vormir's Death Bubble. But she starts to kill people with her khopeshes, turning them into zombies like in the Corpse Attack and pitting them against the Sanctuary forces. All the Necromancers except Melancholia and Scapegrace fall, and Skulduggery adorns his armour to join the battle of the Death Bringers as Lord Vile. Vormir merely laughs, states that Vile was no 'true' Necromancer, then corrupts his armour and turns it against Skulduggery, an act she could do because of his rejection of his Necromancer side. Two minds couldn't exist in one body without conflict.

Tygren faces Ghastly, Ravel, and China, who unveils a trump-card against him by using a Realm Crystal to spawn in magical creatures laced with sigils infused with the magic of Naturalists to force them to obey her. Arrogantly, he faces them all head-on, but his stamina starts to wane, and fire is his natural weakness as a Water Elemental. After being bombarded by flames via the two Elementalists, China opens a portal into a volcano and pours lava on him, ending Tygren. Argall targets Valkyrie specifically and mentally tormenting her by showing visions of the people she'd killed and who'd died because of her, including her parents. She manages to break his hold and fights him off with silver flames, sending him through a portal via Realm Crystal as a last resort. But she's left so physically and mentally tired by the strain that she and the City Guards are overwhelmed by Vormir's reanimates. She's about to be slaughtered, but is saved by Crux who, without hesitation, pulls her out of harm's way with the air and defends her with a magical gun. Facing them down, Crux is torn limb from limb. The Engineer goes into a wild rage after his demise and crushes the remaining reanimated in his rage, and Scapegrace and Thrasher are left in a haze of grief. On Vormir's end, once the Unnamed is finished with his duel, he calls her back, and whilst she displays annoyance at being called away from her battle with Vile, she decides to obey for now and returns.

With the battle in America done, the Irish come back. Clarabelle is informed of Crux's death and sheds tears. A grave is built for Captain Crux, small and private, but undoubtedly there. One of the Unnamed's students had died, but five rifts were open now, and they needed a better way to face this threat. The idea to get the Book of Names from the Leibniz Dimension is floated by China so it could be used against the Unnamed and his students, though leaving the Unnamed unchecked would be unwise. It's decided they'd split into two teams. Using a Realm Crystal, Valkyrie, Ghastly, and Ravel head to the Leibniz Dimension to get the Book, whilst Skulduggery, Melancholia, and Scapegrace head to Necropolis as the second-to-last rift site to defend against the Unnamed. Before he leaves, Scapegrace refuses to let Thrasher come with him. He'd lost Crux already, and refused to lose another friend. After freeing Thrasher from his binds, turning him back into Gerald, he knocks Gerald out to stop him from following and leaves him with a solemn Clarabelle. After kissing his friend on top of the head, he mounts a spectral stead and rides off, to Necropolis.

Part 5 - Lands Unknown

Valkyrie's group head to the Leibniz Dimension with Ravel to find Hopeless. Once they meet, it's revealed that Tome knew where it was in life, and though dead, he had the foresight to create an Echo Stone to maintain his secrets in the events of his death. Attempts had been made to use it against Mevolent in the past, but it never worked because he'd had his True Name sealed despite not actually knowing it out of paranoia. Regardless, they follow the word of Echo-Tome in order to find their way to the Book of Names, being joined by Serpine, who was aiming to nick the Book for himself. He and the Dead Men exchange witticisms. On their way to get the Book, we see the happenings of this Dimension and learn the ice city from the previous book had recently been stirring due to Mevolent's absence and the destruction of so many of his cities in the war, and in the chaos countless independent magical communities were vying for different lands. In their travels, they encounter Batu, Aurnia, and the other mortals again, who'd moved out of the old bunker out of a belief it had been compromised when Valkyrie and them escaped. Hostility is between them at first, but Valkyrie settles things peacefully by promising them refuge in the Newton Dimension, convincing them it would be better than here. But as they're taken to the other mortals and people start to walk through the portals made by Realm Crystals, Vengeous and the stragglers of Mevolent's forces ambush them. The Baron kills a few mortals, and outnumbered, Batu bravely tells Aurnia to lead their people well before picking up an magic gun and charging at the others long enough to let his people escape with Hopeless. He tells Vengeous to remember this day, the day he lost to a mortal, then gets ruptured and Valkyrie's group flee, to continue their journey.

An underground city populated by Earth Elementals and Crengarion is the location of the Book, the latter having taken refuge there to hide from Mevolent, who saw them as a threat for their intellect. It was given to them by Tome because he needed to keep it out of Mevolent's hands. The Earth Elementals live side by side with the creatures, their intellect letting them remain hidden via sigils and create other magical inventions. Sneaking into the city, yhey arrive at the Book of Names' hidden chamber, an old tomb which is defended by countless stone-forged gargoyles, along with a single massive runic golem, all formed by Earth magic. The Echo Stone is smashed in the confrontation, but once the enemies are gone, they retrieve the Book of Names only to be confronted by Vengeous again.

Luckily, before a fight can break out between them, Argall emerges, having sensed the link between him and Valkyrie via his powers when she entered the Leibniz Dimension and sought to experiment on her. Vengeous and his men, knowing how much Mevolent hated the Unnamed, are swayed by Serpine to fight alongside the Sanctuary forces against the Unnamed's student. It's a brutal clash, but ultimately ends when Serpine is told his True Name, Catalysmic, are harnesses its power to bring Argall low. No time was given to celebrate, and they all return back to the Newton Dimension, along with the Book of Names.

(Second half here)

A post I made to try and snap myself out of what feels like eternal writer's block. Based on my headcanon/rewrite of Fletcher's life before he awakened his powers. u/willboss27, if you don't appreciate the callout, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. Enjoy.

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The lights were too bright, and it was past midnight in St Mary's Hospital as Fletcher sat in his chair, fidgeting with his hands. Jittery and tired, he felt dreadful, yet couldn't find it in himself sleep. He didn't want to miss anything. Briefly, he entertained getting up and finding another nurse for an update, but the thought of more bad news daunted him.

Fletcher's knee was jumping and the sterile smell in the air was getting to him. He'd never liked hospitals. They always took his mother away from him. When he was little and she'd go off to work as a nurse, because bills had to be paid and she was the only provider in the house, she'd get on her knees, hold his hands, and explain oh-so softly and simply that she didn't like leaving Fletcher, but there were people who needed her there to make them better. To heal them. Selfishly, Fletcher had wanted her to stay with him anyway because she was his Mum and he didn't like sharing her attention, but he knew she'd be disappointed in him for thinking like that. He hadn't kicked up much of a fuss after that when she left him with her friends.

Right now, as he sat in a plastic chair that bent in ways which were probably bad for his spine and waited for his mother to leave the emergency room, Fletcher's dislike of hospitals was turning into hatredhatredhatred.

Idly, Fletcher watched a boy walk by with his mother in the hall, hand in hand. The two looked happy. He resented them for being so happy when his own mother was struggling for dear life a few rooms away. It hurt more because it threatened to remind him of all the times he'd brushed his own Mum off or failed to appreciate her or make things easier for her. It hurt because he didn't have any other family, no aunts or uncles or cousins or grandparents. No Dad. If she actually succumbed...

His hands, slick with sweat, balled as he looked down and felt his misguided anger give to turmoil. It hurt. It just hurt.

"Fletcher." A feminine voice came from above, and he found a Doctor staring at him. A rather pretty woman Doctor with a carefully professional expression but sad eyes. She was one his mother's coworker's he thought, and one of the staff operating on her. Normally, he'd probably grin and say something stupid in a vain attempt to flirt or look cool, embarrassing everyone involved, but this wasn't normal times.

"Where is my Mum?" Fletcher just asked, sounding every bit like the scared and lost child he felt.

"Laura..." The woman gave the briefest of hesitations, and suddenly his stomach was clenching and throat closing. This woman had known his mother. He saw the grief in her eyes. The pity. For him.

No.

"As you might've been informed, your mother has seemingly been suffering from a lung infection for quite some time. Conditions like this are dangerous because, whilst easily treatable in early stages, they can easily slip under the radar and symptoms can be as subtle as a cough." The woman said, slowly. "And Laura was always a very strong-willed woman... I don't think she let herself think much of it."

Fletcher started shaking his head. No.

"You did a good job bringing her here the moment you found her in your home, collapsed."

No. No.

"But it was already-"

"Is she gone?" Fletcher asked, looking up, blue eyes burning. He watched the Doctor closely, the way she ducked her head. No. The way she nodded, slow and steady, like a hammer smashing his world into a million pieces.

And it did. The world froze for a long moment, and asides from the pit in his chest, Fletcher could almost pretend he was asleep. Something warm curled in his chest, and a dull ring was in his ears as he stared, blank. But then the ringing stopped and he realised, at one point, he'd gotten onto his feet and started running.

Weird. He was never the most athletic, but somehow he mustered up the energy to rush out of the hospital and into the city.

Vaguely, he could hear the sound of someone chasing after him, but whether it was his Mum's friend or not, Fletcher didn't check. He just ran like the wind, without destination, until at one point he collapsed against the wall of an alley and threw up.

Fletcher sunk to his knees, acid on his tongue and in his chest, and wished for a moment that this was all just a terrible dream. A nightmare he could get away from. His Mum wasn't dead and he wasn't by himself in a giant city which made him feel small and alone. He just-

Something foreign stirred in his chest. He just wanted to get away from it all.

*

"Are you alright, son?"

The sun was shining on Fletcher as he woke. Green grass was under his feet. Opening his eyelids, he found a man with a moustache and a worried look about him. Around him wasn't a cold, dark, puke-smelling alley, but a public park in the early morning. A few bystanders were looking at him, some judgemental, others concerned.

"Y-Yes." He said, throat hoarse, and noticed a hand was reaching to help him up.

Half-automatically, he took it, looking around.

"Where am I?"

"Pheonix Park." The Irishman said and Fletcher reeled back. Dublin? He hadn't been to Ireland in years, since he went there with his Mum when he was a kid. "You haven't been drinking, have you? You look like hell."

"Uh, no. Never had a drop." Fletcher said, more than a little mystified. "Just... lost."

The stranger didn't seem entirely convinced, but sighed regardless. "Well, I ain't cruel enough to leave a kid gone from home. Maybe we could help you get home?"

He nodded, even though he had no intention of going back. There was nothing left for him in London but dust.

"Got a name? It'd help if we went to the station."

"It's Fletcher-" Pausing, he considered what he said next. Fletcher had never liked his surname. It was a matter of principle. It belonged to his deadbeat Dad, who'd vanished into thin air when he was a kid like a scumbag. Whether because she just didn't care or never had the time, his mother never got around to changing it back to her maiden name.

Despite everything, Fletcher straightened his back. It was time for a new life, away from his old name.

"Renn." He said his mother's name with conviction. "My name is Fletcher Renn."

(Part 1 is here)

Part 5 - Titans Clash

At some point, the situation in America gets drastically worse when the mortal bunkers there are laid under attack by the combined might of Mevolent, Vengeous, and the Diablerie, including Remit, who had blended in with the refugees and, when the moment was nigh, teleported in countless Redcoats and Leibniz mages to slaughter an entire bunker of innocents. The Irish arrive just in time to see the corpses and fight back aggressively, with the combined might of Fletcher, Emmet, and Cameron getting a fierce force together to defend the remaining mortals. The Children of the Spiders, led by the Torment, carve their way through Mevolent's armies until they make it to the man himself, where the Torment, insane and enraged, charges the man with dozens of Spiders at his back. It doesn't end well and Mevolent eviscerates every Spider that crosses his path, with the Torment being saved for last to see what he'd done. During this battle, Fletcher crosses paths with the Diablerie again, scrapping with them alongside his fellow Teleporters, but Cameron ultimately gets his neck snapped by Remit. Enraged by the death of his friend, Emmet kills Remit, and the combined might of him, Fletcher, and the others is enough to drive Rose and Crav into retreating.

Tylent goes at it with Vengeous to defend his people, breaking multiple of the mans bones, though losing a hand in the process. He nearly gets ruptured, but is saved last second by the combined team of Serpine and Skulduggery, the two nemeses fighting back to back against the onslaught of a weakened Vengeous and driving the enemy Redcoats away. Serpine will comment after the battle is done that the two of them made quite the team, two Generals fighting back to back, quipping they should team-up more. Skulduggery just says no and walks away. Against Mevolent, he seemed unstoppable until Scapegrace appeared with the Dullahan knight at his back, riding alongside the Phantom Knight, who engages Mevolent himself in a fierce duel. The Dullahan and his horde tire Mevolent into retreating now that he was alone, but has his soul slowly siphoned away into the Obsidian Blade - though before he can vanish completely, the Dullahan bequeaths his title to Scapegrace, declaring him the New 'Phantom Knight' and giving Scapegrace command over his horde.

The next city to be attacked is Tokyo, which commences with the combined might of Abyssinia and Vicious, whose leading several kaiju-scale monsters into the city on top of her wyvern. Amongst the horde is a titanic kraken, which is handled using advanced water manipulation. Standing against them are Valkyrie and the remaining Dead Men(yes, all of them), Aria(helming Gordon), the Leibniz forces, and the Japanese Sanctuary. Kumo, the Japanese Grand Mage, battles fiercely using the rare Discipline of Lightning Manipulation and engages in a glorious clash against Abyssinia alongside Yaiba, his close comrade, but despite a valiant effort, both fall to Abyssinia in a hellfire of lightning. Emmet and Fletcher are massive aids in this battle, shifting forces around to efficiently handle the monsters whilst cutting down monsters by planting bombs on them or cutting them down with portals. Eventually, however, Fletcher is caught in an ambush by Vicious and nearly killed, having to be saved by Emmet who dies in his place.

Fletcher and the Dead Men hold strong against Vicious' horde, felling them, whilst Aria faces Vicious with the help of Gordon. He engages Vicious' wyvern one on one and wounds, though is scarred and wounded badly in the process, and his rider falls, Aria being slowly asphyxiated by Vicious' whip. Once she's gone, Skulduggery goes full Lord Vile and shreds through most of Vicious' horde, but is staggered by a lightning blast courtesy of Abyssinia and battered down by the stragglers until he's just a skeleton again. As Valkyrie distracts Abyssinia, Skulduggery is almost crushed by a chimera, but is saved last moment by Saracen, who shoots the beast down, but unfortunately gets devoured by the weakened alpha wyvern. Left enraged, the remaining Dead Men apart from Skulduggery work together and, with a clutch teleport by Fletcher, Ghastly quite literally punches Vicious' head off her shoulders. Gordon gains his second wind and slays the final wyvern before it can kill anyone else, ripping its throat out. Abyssinia flies away and the rest of the kaiju stragglers are picked off- this wasn't the first battle or the last, but with Vicious dead, the enemy forces were hindered greatly.

Part 6 - No Time To Mourn

A funeral was held for Saracen, but it was nothing grand. It was small and personal, just the Dead Men and Dexter's family there. War was no time for big funerals. Ebony has no words for Valkyrie, whilst Ida and Louise seemed scared of her. She decides to leave early and goes to help Winter and try to forget about Saracen. A sense of respect has been built between them as sparring partners, it's tentative and far away from what Valkyrie really wants. Nevertheless, she trains with her sister until, one day, Winter cracks and confesses how scared she is that she won't be able to protect her friends when the time comes. She feels weak, especially after what happened with the Dullahan. Valkyrie is fast to reassure Winter otherwise, and the two of them proceed to go to Solomon and Melancholia, where Winter is gifted a single gauntlet to replace the pair of gloves she'd been using previously, as the gloves had grown insufficient to contain her own. As she has one item now rather than two, focusing their power into one caused Winter's magical power to effectively double.

With the death of his fellow Teleporters, Fletcher carves their names into a tombstone. He isn't unmoved, but knows war is no time to mourn, and he had work to do, though visits Razzia and Donegan whilst he was at it. Likewise, Ghastly is visiting Tanith with Sanguine, who leaves them alone to talk, man-to-man. Fletcher wonders aloud how many more of their friends would have to be carved onto this stone before the war finally ends. Similar thoughts cross Ghastly's mind, and a stealth mission to slay Mevolent to end the war is launched, involving Fletcher, Valkyrie, China, Kierre, Temper, and Hopeless.

Knowing this task would be dangerous, Fletcher leaves and finds Elsie at the mortal shelters along with Carol, using some thin excuse that has Carol amused at how obvious the two of them were being. Quickly leaving them alone, Elsie and Fletcher talk about the situation the mortals are under, and the conversation leads into how the both of them got involved in the magical world- Elsie because of Katana and Sean, who she just feels pity for in hindsight, and Fletcher because his mother's death. He wanted to 'get away from it all' in London due to there being nothing left for him there, since his dad legged it when he was little and he had no other family(he suspects his dad might've been a Teleporter like him, but doesn't know for sure, or care enough to confirm it). He'd even ditched the deadbeat's last name and taken on his mother's maiden name: Renn. He still misses her sometimes. Pulling out his ring, he reveals to Elsie that when she was on her death bed, his mum told him to give this ring to the girl he wanted to spend his life with. He thought it was Valkyrie at first, but when she cheated on him, he hesitated to give it to Razzia. Fletcher thought he might die soon, thus he tries to give it to Elsie for safekeeping since she didn't battle, but she rejects it, saying she didn't want it if he was looking for an excuse to give up, but if he still wanted to give it to her when the war was over, he could. Then she walks away.

Part 7 - Dublin's 2nd Fall

The group sneak into Mevolent's version of Dublin and move to disable the city's sigils which allow it to fly with Nye's help, whose compliance was force, but are caught - by Avatar and Orm. A battle breaks out Orm dies, and Avatar is left on his own as the last Triad member. Provoked by the deaths of his comrades, Avatar goes wild and nearly ends Kierre, forcing Temper to unleash his Gist to defend her, which works and forces Avatar to back off. But as he does, Temper starts to lose himself to his magic. Not wanting to become a monster, he begs for death, and his girlfriend tragically delivers it. Professor Nye, left alone, begs for mercy and receives none as a heartbroken Kierre cuts him down. As this is going on, an assassination attempt will be made on Ghastly by Scarab, sent by Mevolent to kill the Irish Grand Mage, and it will almost succeed, but it's thwarted at the last moment by Sanguine, who ambushes and has a duel with his dad's counterpart that ends with him plunging the razor Prime Scarab had made for him into his dad's neck. As he stands over his dad's body, there were tears leaking out of his hollow eye sockets and, uncharacteristically, Ghastly offers Sanguine a hand on the shoulder and thanks him for saving his life.

Proceeding this, the assassination team are found out, and Mevolent portals in with the help of a Realm Crystal, Vengeous and the Diablerie by his side along with Abyssinia, though before he can kill anyone, Abyssinia strikes with intent to kill Mevolent and fails. This gives the team a chance to escape, but the proceeding fight between Abyssinia and Mevolent catches Valkyrie in the middle - he'd strongly suspected that Abyssinia was the Unnamed's daughter due to her powers and hair before, though didn't have proof, plus she was good at doing his dirty work. The two clash and Valkyrie is injured and engulfed in a Realm Crystal explosion sends her hurdling through space until she finds herself somewhere full of snow. Mevolent battles Abyssinia without his blade, insisting on doing the traitor alone, then proceeds to beat down and fight her off, their battle blowing a hole through his throne room- after being defeated, Abyssinia contemplates remaining, but instead flies away as Dublin falls and breaks. She wanted to continue and slay him, but the voice in her head(the Unnamed) told his daughter to remain calm and act.

Back in the Newton Dimension, news of Valkyrie being left behind is caught and Skulduggery tries to get a rescue mission together to retrieve Valkyrie, though their forces were stretched thin. This reaches Winter's ear and, compelled to help her sister, she cleverly realises she just needed an Isthmus Anchor to cross the Dimensions with a Teleporter to land directly near her sister. Prism was created using Valkyrie's magic, so she counted. After getting Ivory to open a portal, she goes through with Prism to find themselves in a prison where Valkyrie was locked up using chains of ice. Busting her out, they find themselves in a city in the Leibniz Dimension made entirely out of ice, where Water Elementals were the only mages who lived there. It was in the north pole, outside of Mevolent's reach, where its population lived largely in peace. Valkyrie is touched that Winter would go to such lengths to save her. They try to hide until another portal can be made for them, but are captured by Water Elementals, frozen, and brought before Ardanach, the leader of the Ice Kingdom. A trial takes place where he refuses to help and ends up sentencing them to death, though before the order can be completed, another portal made by Zenith opens and the three sisters are dragged through and saved, being sent to Clarabelle to heal and reprimanded by Ghastly for endangering their lives like this.

Part 8 - Vormir's Rise

After her scrap with Mevolent, Abyssinia uses a stolen Realm Crystal to cross dimensions and flies to an Egyptian Necromancer Temple- the same one that Melanchoia visited during Bitter Malice. Three things had stopped her from acting thus far, the first being that the Unnamed's soul was weakened and needed some time to acclimate for its revival, the second is that it would be ideal for the two Dimensions to chip away at each other in a drawn out conflict so the Unnamed could destroy them with ease, and finally, acting whilst under Mevolent's cover would be tricky. The first was no longer an issue, the war had weakened both sides, and the third was now a non-factor, so she breaks into the Temple and slaughters all the Necromancers present there, including Malady, though the High Priestess puts up a fierce fight and would have killed Abyssinia if not for some help from the Unnamed. After a scolding from her father, she claims the khopeshes there because the original Death Bringer before even the Lord Vile, a woman named Vormir, wielded these blades in life before she met death's embrace at the hands of Mevolent's blade. She'd tracked them down previously, and as for Vormir herself, from the memories Abyssinia did have of her, she was a sadistic nihilist and bringing her back wasn't something she looked forward to- but, unfortunately, she was essential to bringing back the Unnamed and his other students. After infusing Vormir's soul into the khopeshes, Abyssinia flies away from the Temple.

News of the attack on the Egyptian Temple and Malady's death reaches Melancholia and Solomon's ears- enraging the former and worrying the latter. He is visited by Skulduggery and Valkyrie, who theorise about why Abyssinia would want those khopeshes, but Solomon and Melancholia, as Necromancers, work out together that she likely wanted to revive the original holder of those khopeshes. Reviving the dead in one piece was no easy feat, however, and such a task could only be possible in a realm where the line between life and death is thinnest: Necropolis. Figuring that Abyssinia was heading there, the four of them use a recently reverse-engineered Realm Crystal made by China to travel to the end of the River Nile. A Necronaut Suit is not required to dive into Necropolis, as Melancholia can conjure a Death Bubble to shield Valkyrie and Solomon all from its death field, so they dive into the City of the Dead.

Back with the Sanctuary, the night is young when Fletcher finds Elsie and corrects his earlier words. He confesses his feelings and that he was just being a coward before, and that he wanted her to have his ring because he did really like her, and had for while. Elsie, having wanted him to say that, reciprocates, they kiss, and the night devolves from there. A few hours after they go to sleep, however, Fletcher is called by Ghastly. An attack had been launched by Mevolent on the second biggest Sanctuary in the world outside of Ireland's. It was London. His home city was under siege.

As Valkyrie's group wander through Necropolis, Melancholia explains how Necropolis works and some history and lore about the place. It transcended time and space, much like death, and was a constant through all dimensions, meaning infinite amounts of souls flowed into there. The death field it holds has layers, however, and in order to truly reach the location where souls gather, the Well of the Abyss, they must venture deeper into the heart of Necropolis. On the way there, they reach a pedestal where a sword lies, known as the Void Sword. It was said that whoever had the ability to pull the sword from its stone would become the Emperor of the Dead can command Necropolis to their will. Thinking such a power might be useful, Skulduggery tries to pull it out, but can't, and Melancholia had already tried the last time she was there, so they move on.

After venturing deeper, they come across the inner layer of Necropolis, where the souls of the people they'd all lost become visible. Amongst these is Morwenna, who greets Valkyrie and her granddaughter, Tanith, Melissa, Skulduggery's wife and daughter, the dead Dead Men, and more. It's explained, grimly, by Melancholia that these were actually the people they'd lost, but she forces them to move on- especially Valkyrie, who nearly breaks down at registering the lack of Desmond and apologises to her mother.

They find Abyssinia, battle and injure her together(as she needed to tie her soul to her body to remain alive in Necropolis, weakening her), but are too late to stop the power of Necropolis from pouring into the Khopeshes, reviving their master in the process, and the original Death Bringer returns to life. Joining Abyssinia's side, the Unnamed's student does battle against Melancholia and Solomon whilst her ally handles Valkyrie and Skulduggery - she easily overpowers Melancholia and moves to slay her, but is saved by Solomon, who's disarmed and gutted like a fish. The remaining three of them are forced to flee and return to the Sanctuary with a Realm Crystal, but they'd failed.

Part 9 - A London Boy

An attack is launched on London full-scale, with Mevolent himself leading the charge alongside Vengeous, Avatar, and the Diablerie. Storming and rampaging through the streets, the English Sanctuary and British armed forces are overrun. Entire bunkers of mortal civilians are raided and slaughtered. Big Ben is toppled over and Buckingham Palace burned down. Redcoats battle English mages, with Frightening Jones shouting commands as Grand Mage and leading the fight with Ivy, a magically ambidextrous Elementalist/Ergokinetic. The two battle against Vengeous together and Jones is ruptured defending Ivy. Bane and Phantasma lead the English Necromancers against an armoured Avatar and his forces, the former raining blows on Avatar's armour with his warhammer, until Avatar slices him to ribbons with wind blades.

The Irish Sanctuary arrive with help from Fletcher, Ghastly leading the defence with his own forces. Kierre and her siblings go up against Avatar, the only survivor of the proceeding clash being Kierre, who loses her brother and sister to get her revenge on Avatar. Ravel and Hopeless go for Vengeous together, fighting with everything they have against their shared nemesis, clashing with enough power to drive him off. By his lonesome, Mevolent goes up against Ghastly, Sanguine, the remaining Necromancers, the Leibniz Resistance including Serpine, all of them piling on, trying to throw everything they can at him. It's not enough. People are dying, he seems unstoppable, but then Ghastly makes a call to Gracious and Destrier and opens a portal they must shove Mevolent through in order to force him into the Eternity Gate, a device which will freeze him in time, trapping him potentially forever. All of them pile on, throwing everything they have at him, Ghastly rushing at Mevolent and leading the charge personally. He's about to be flattened by a water vortex, but last moment is saved by Sanguine. His rival quips about Ghastly being useless on his own, and that was why Tanith went with him, but then he's skewered by an earthen spike, ending the hitman deluxe once and for all. Once this occurs, Melancholia, Valkyrie, and Skulduggery arrive and crash the party, and with their help they're able to shove Mevolent through the portal and into the Eternity Gate- trapping him and ending the war, once and for all. In seeing his master defeated, Vengeous takes command and orders a withdrawl, though with their leader defeated, the war was effectively over. With their leader gone, most of the enemy forces start to leave. Most. The battle isn't quite over.

As they're defending the mortals, Gallow's Resistance, China, and Fletcher are engaged by the remaining Diablerie members: Rose, Crav, and Remit, the latter-most gloating about Emmet's demise. The Resistance is occupied by the Leibniz forces. Disarmed of the God-Killer Dagger, China is wounded, and Fletcher knew he should've retreated with China, but he couldn't just leave the Diablerie to kill anyone from his home city, thus squares up to them alone. One by one, he kills them- he blasts a hole through Remit's chest, and though his metal arm is snapped off by Crav, he severs the big bastard's hands off with his portals and impales him on the scraps which remained of his prosthetic. It's Rose alone who manages to stab him in the back, but he pushes through the pain and shoves her through a portal, severing her body vertically in half. But he was stabbed multiple times, and with only China around, he falls and, as he's caught by her, he can only look up and ask that she tell Elsie he's sorry he couldn't buy her dinner like a proper boyfriend. Then Fletcher dies.

Part 10 - There is no Victory in War

Celebrations are had across the world after Mevolent is finished, at least in the areas where society is left intact, but there was little time to spare for it. Rebuilding needed to start, and there remained stragglers of Mevolent's forces in the Newton Dimension, being taken care of one by one. The dead are mourned. With such immense loss of life and lacked of leadership in the English Sanctuary, Ivy, though young, chose to shoulder the burden and become Grand Mage Animosity, enlisting Phantasma as her Elder. Hopeless returns home with what remained of his forces, hoping to return his world's path to a right one now that Mevolent's influence and generals were gone, plus Vengeous was still on the loose and needed to be handled. He bids farewell to Ravel, who feels like he's come a step closer to redemption, even if he can never be truly forgiven. Sanguine is given a tombstone by Ghastly next to Tanith.

Fletcher Renn is given a good funeral. The man was like a son to Ghastly and deserved everything he could think to give, though even that didn't feel like enough. Valkyrie is struck hard by his death and cries, even though, or maybe because the two of them never really reconciled properly in the end. She didn't go, but it was attended by his mentor, Ghastly, close friends like Gracious, Fletcher's students: Ivory and Zenith, with Soul, Winter, and Axelia acting as emotional support. The two were wrecked by his demise, especially Zenith, who viewed Fletcher like the older brother she never got to have. Others in attendance include all of Fletcher's colleagues in Corrival, Prism and the other Edgleys, and a very distraught Elsie. She was inconsolable. At first, Carol and Prism go to her and think it was just grief hitting heavy, but tearfully and quietly, Elsie reveals it wasn't only that she'd lost a boyfriend, but now she was going to have to raise it alone. As they reel from shock, she quietly confirms that she was pregnant.

Once the funeral is over, Winter goes to find Valkyrie with Prism and there's a small reunion between the Edgley sisters. She was due to graduate Corrival soon, just after the war had ended, luckily. Approaching Valkyrie, she can't fully forgive her sister, it's not her right, but she wants Valkyrie to know that she's glad that all of them survived through this, and maybe she doesn't hate her in the end after all. Some touching words are exchanged that end with Valkyrie and Winter hugging whilst Prism watches with a smile. Whilst she still had a long way to go, it felt to Valkyrie like Darquesse had truly just died.

On the epilogue, whilst things are started to die down, Abyssinia is elsewhere with Vormir, who's kidnapped three people(all mortals) to perform a ritual to revive the other students of the Unnamed. Life could not be given, but it could be traded, and Vormir was going to trade these mortal souls to revive her fellow students. A ritual where black fire consumes the mortals takes place and three figures rise from their ashes, and as they do, Abyssinia smiles. The world thought this was the end, but it was just the beginning. It didn't know what was coming. The darkness was about to rain upon them.

Book 1(The Last of the Ancients)
Book 2(Dancing with Darkness)
Book 3(The Cursed One)
Book 4(Desolation)
Book 5(Divine Judgement)
Sidestory(Tanith Low)
Book 6(Requiem)
Sidestory(Fletcher Renn)
Book 7(Rise of the Wicked)
Book 8(Fall of a Dead Man)
Sidestory(China Sorrows)
Book 9(Burying the Light)
Sidestory(Stephanie Edgley)
Sidestory(Winter Grieving)
Book 10(Dominion)
Book 11(Masters of Magic)

This one will be a biggie, though not quite the biggie, that honour goes to Book 12 after this and will hopefully provide a satisfying narrative to this little tale I've spun over the past three months. It's been a pleasure writing these, though sometimes my eye has gotten so concentrated on the ball that I forget how much pleasure I take in just writing these out... but this isn't quite about me. For now, enjoy Masters of Magic, which, fun fact, was originally named Gods of Magic, though I've made enough changes to the original plot that it no longer feels fitting. This one will deal heavily with worldbuilding and hopefully expand on magic lore whilst the plot progresses along.

Book 11 - Masters of Magic(2023-2026)

(Main Villain: Abyssinia)

Part 1 - The Beginning of the End

The prologue of this book picks up right where the last book ended: during Mevolent's invasion of Dublin. Here, Abyssinia is standing at the top of Leibniz-Dublin, which was akin to a floating fortress that, on top of being capable of floating, possessed a protective barrier and a mechanism created to let it shunt between the two dimensions at will, with all of these feats being possible via sigils. She observes and makes conversation with the voice in her head. It's not revealed exactly who until the end of the prologue, but it is mentioned that his soul was trapped in Mevolent's sword. By smashing the Newton Dimension's version of his sword in his duel with Vile, Mevolent had set the souls inside free, letting them all pool into Abyssinia. This was her plan all along when she brought Nadir to Mevolent, as she'd been searching for an opportunity to resurrect her father for centuries now, hiding amongst Mevolent's ranks, but she never got the chance. So, when Skulduggery and China arrived in Book 7, she saw a chance to potentially free her father. The Unnamed's soul had taken resident in her body, and now it was Abyssinia's job to revive her father.

With a flashback, we're shown a meeting led by Mevolent in the Leibniz Dimension, in his throne room, with all of his greatest and most loyal followers present. Of course, there is Baron Vengeous as his right-hand man, but many more are amongst them. On top of the Diablerie's remnants, Abyssinia, Scarab, and Vicious, there remained another new face: Avatar(OC), an Elementalist, and Mevolent's personal student. Out of dozens of children handpicked by his lord, Avatar was the only one who survived Mevolent's insane training regiment and emerged on the other side a force to be reckoned with- he was a vicious animal, one who set even Vengeous on edge. The reason Avatar wasn't present when the Resistance struck was because he'd been sent out on a mission: to hunt down and exterminate all the Warlocks and Witches of the Leibniz Dimension. He'd succeeded. Avatar didn't command troops, but did command a small, elite group of Elementals named the Elemental Triad, its members including Argentum(Fire), Medoh(Air), Orm(Water), and Borias(Earth). When it came to the invasion, Mevolent orders Avatar to lead the charge and show them the wrath of their magical kingdom. Avatar was more than happy to oblige, and for a moment, even Vengeous felt a spark of pity for the mortals of the Newton Dimension.

Shifting over to Valkyrie, news of the attack on Dublin reaches the Sanctuary and everyone gets into battle mode. Mages gets ready on the double, and Melancholia insists on coming with them, confident she could handle whatever Mevolent threw at her, bar the man himself. Solomon joins her without hesitation, along with Serrate, and they all teleport in to find Dublin ravaged. Mortals were being culled left and right, buildings were falling as a flurry of different magical creatures descended, on Vicious' orders, with both Redcoats and Mevolent's mages rampaging in the streets, felling whoever gets in their sights. Leading the enemy forces is Avatar himself, who fights using the elements with less power than Mevolent, but more brutality. More viciousness. His different Elementals fight on his orders, displaying the full potential of their respective elements whilst he goes for Valkyrie one on one. She battles valiantly, but remains relatively inexperienced with her magic and has to be saved by Melancholia to avoid a grisly death, Skulduggery takes on Argentum and Orm alone and, through their combined elemental attacks, is overwhelmed and forced to worked alongside Solomon to avoid an unsavoury defeat, a fact the sarcastic man gloats to him about.

Melancholia fights Avatar valiantly and starts to gain the upper-hand through raw power, but he fights long enough that her own death magic starts to attack her and she coughs blood, forcing Serrate to step in and intervene to save his messiah. He dies brutally against Avatar when he freezes and shatters Serrate into a million pieces. Engaged by the death of her kin, Melancholia forces her way through the pain and viciously wounds Avatar, but before they can finish him off, Mevolent appears and saves his student. After admonishing Avatar for his arrogance, Mevolent takes Avatar and flies away, though that's only so neither of them are killed in what comes next. A fleet of magical cannons rain hellfire on Dublin in all-encompassing waves. Solomon and a few other Necromancer defend themselves with a dome of darkness, but when it fell, Dublin was revealed to be destroyed- burned to the ground, with most of its people dead. No assurance came as Mevolent's fortress shunted away, leaving the survivors behind to drop to their knees and despair.

Part 2 - Preparations

After the destruction of Dublin, the world is given no room to breathe as more attacks starts to take place across the globe, targeting capital cities and places of strategic importance- dozens of cities are raised, millions die, and millions more suffer. Sending a video recorded on David's phone, Mevolent demands they submit to his rule or face his wrath. In response to this, knowing the threat which Mevolent poses in his conquest, old grievances are cast aside. The Sorcerers go to the mortals for help, and Cedric Clynes, seeing the threat at hand, makes peace with Ghastly and insists that he'll convince the rest of the world to lend their aid, with Elsie helping on that endeavour.

Along with this, different magical factions across the world are called the arms, which include the following: Gallow's people, now under China's leadership, make a stand against Mevolent and she makes use of her mastery over sigils to give Saracen a sigil bow with limitless arrows. She keeps the God-Killer Dagger on-hand. After hearing of the destruction of Dublin, Billy-Ray Sanguine comes out to join Ghastly's side, with several other mercenaries doing much the same, including Toxin. The Witches are enlisted through Ebony(though she slaps Valkyrie when they first meet and makes her distain of Valkyrie for her husband's demise well-known), and the Warlocks follow, though far more begrudgingly since Ravel is set free to join the war effort as, despite his crimes, several of his allies in the other Sanctuaries remained loyal to him and disunity was the last thing Ghastly wanted. Adorning a beard from his time in prison, Ravel helps create a closer sense of unity between Ireland and the other Sanctuaries, plus he uses his contacts with the Spiders to get them in on the war efforts. He tries to rekindle his friendships with the other Dead Men, but Ghastly draws a clear line in the sand and Saracen won't even look him in the golden eye.

The Resistance in the Leibniz Dimension, now led by Hopeless, start to collaborate with the Newton forces against Mevolent. Ravel meets Leibniz-Hopeless and, though not exactly the men the two once knew, they agree to help one another get revenge on Vengeous- it was only fair. The Torment(freed in the chaos of their siege and failed attempt on Mevolent's life) agrees to return to the Newton Dimension and lead the Spiders there, since all the ones in the Leibniz were killed by Avatar. He reveals to Valkyrie and the others that the reason the Sceptre of the Ancients hadn't been able to kill Mevolent was because Mevolent himself was an Ancient- taken on by his teacher, the Unnamed, who gifted the Ancients with their powers in order to fight the Faceless Ones.

Here, rather than merely be a Descendant of the Faceless Ones, the Unnamed was known by the moniker 'Master of Magic' due to being a figure of immense power, claiming godhood, though even the Torment didn't know if that held true or not. What he did know was that, when the Faceless Ones invaded Earth, the Unnamed gifted the Ancients with the ability to look upon them without losing their minds. He created the Book of Names to give them immense power. But once the Faceless Ones were gone, the Ancients turned on the Unnamed and tried to kill him, creating the God-Killers to do so- of course, they failed, since unknown to them, learning their True Names made them all vulnerable to be controlled and the Unnamed did away with them. Only Mevolent and one other(the Edgley ancestor) survived, with the former going on to forge the Obsidian Blade and finish the job his predecessors started. This is interesting to learn, and explained several things, but they also realised that if Mevolent managed to bring the Faceless Ones back again and become a vessel, he'd be able to harness their power without being controlled, just like Valkyrie did as Darquesse. He'd be unstoppable.

More preparations for the war come along. A new cleric is installed by Solomon to replace Serrate, Lucia Fade, a righteous, Spanish Necromancer who comes from a long line of swordsmen and wields a rapier for an item. Melancholia enlists the help of Malady(OC credit to u/Vesuviusblotch), the Egyptian High Priestess who she'd learned from during Bitter Malice and a close friend of her late grandmother's, so that she can get the other Temples on their side. Amongst Malady's close friends in the Order abroad is Grievus Bane(OC), a stoic and gruff English Elder(trusted by Strom and thus Jones) and Necromancer who wields a warhammer for an item, along with Bane's apprentice and cleric, Michelle Phantasm(OC), who uses an umbrella for an item. There is likewise the French Necromancer sisters of Nightmare(OC) and Nevermore(OC), who wield a scarf and an earring for their items respectively. Finally, there's Japanese Necromancer Yami Yaiba(OC), an honourable man who wields a katana for an item and adorns samurai armour in battle like in feudal times.

Between these contacts, the Necromancer Order become a unified force. Like Morwenna, Malady is a competent and powerful Necromancer, but unlike Morwenna, she possesses a hidden sadistic streak under the surface that she masks through a veil of stoicism, and wields a whip for an item(it's a handle which she can use to summon a whip made of shadows). On the topic of getting Melancholia a strong enough item, she points out that Vile's armour should be strong enough, as he was the Death Bringer before Melancholia. Skulduggery's original armour set laid unused, as he's fused with his Leibniz counterpart, so he reluctantly bequeaths it to the new Death Bringer out of practicality. They all needed to be at their strongest for the battles to come. Arming herself with the armour, it transforms into a skin-tight suit which can sink into her sigils, letting her adorn and retract it at will, and using it, Melancholia promises to lead the other Necromancers into battle as she unites the Temples under her name.

Elsewhere, Corrival is turned into a ground to train students for battle, with lessons becoming harsher and more unforgiving. Guild and Peccant are especially hard on their pupils, but Fletcher's lessons with Ivory and Zenith also get harsher as he teaches them how to create portals using Isthmus Anchors, as China hasn't been able to replicate the Realm Crystals, and they need Teleporters to be able to counter attack. Emmet Peregrine and Cameron Light are present in these lessons as aids, since although talented, Fletcher was largely self-taught and they had centuries of experience. Though Fletcher is conflicted about seeing Emmet again, he reminds himself this wasn't the man he'd once known and resolves to keep things professional. Winter and Soul start to dive further into their studies, though the former thrives in this intense instructions far more than the latter.

Aria, with help from Axelia and a few other Naturalists, along with Zenith, manage to track down the dragon who'd escaped from the Caves of the Void years prior- Valkyrie is present to help Aria, and after bearing the blunt of Zenith's verbal wrath, they work together to tame the dragon, during which Valkyrie gets badly injured from dragon fire to save Zenith, though makes a full recovery and Aria manages to get her wish and tame the dragon. After being healed, Valkyrie is given the chance to name the dragon due to her injuries, and chooses to name him Gordon. There is a spark of something between herself and Aria, but she hesitates to pursue any romance given her history.

Part 3 - Flesh for Flesh

A gradual timeskip occurs over the rest of the book, where several battles and events takes place over a three year time period as the war intensifies. Entire cities are razed, and the world descends into an apocalypse-like state beyond anything their version of Mevolent could've done in the last war. Death becomes widespread and the population is slashed down.

First, there's an assault on Paris in the Newton Dimension led by Vengeous and the Elemental Triad, but unlike in the attack on Dublin, the Newton Dimension isn't left helpless. The battle raises Paris to the ground, but the forces of the Witches(including Ebony), the Warlocks, Ravel and Saracen are present, and Valkyrie and Skulduggery are there to repel them with the French Sanctuary and its Grand Mage, Mandat. Argentum fights Skulduggery again, and though he nearly melts Skulduggery's bones away, he's taken off-guard when Skulduggery demonstrates his mastery over the different elements, overwhelming him with versatility by splashing him with a wave of water, causing his skin to melt off like wax due to his natural weaknesses as a Fire Elemental, then falls to a barrage of bullets. Next, Valkyrie goes up against Medoh, who shows a myriad of moves with the air, but although she endures several wounds due to Medoh's air slashes, she ultimately takes off two limbs- an arm and a leg, forcing Medoh to retreat. Ravel and Hopeless handle Vengeous together, the two best friends' teamwork flawless as ever despite the years apart, matching Vengeous blow for blow. Ebony almost falls in battle, but is saved by the combined forces of Saracen and Valkyrie. Mandat falls during the battle, forcing Trebuchet to take command of the French Sanctuary and lead an army of ghosts and mages through Paris, beating the Leibniz forces back in an aggressive offense that ends with his lifeforce being depleted, but the Leibniz forces are driven back. The Eiffel Tower is destroyed in the battle, toppling over on a destroyed city.

At the end of the fight, Ravel confesses to Hopeless what he'd done by killing his father figure(Deuce) and the woman he loved(Marr). He'd achieved his goals, magic was revealed, but instead of feeling satisfaction or relief, he just felt hollow. He'd achieved his dreams, but lost everyone he loved in the process and earned their enmity. Hopeless, though disgusted by what Ravel has done, remembers that his Ravel had died for him, and tells Ravel that if he's anything like the man who'd died for him, then there was still time to make up for what he'd done, if only a little. He wasn't dead just yet, and until he was, he needed to keep on working.

There is a meeting held by Ghastly between himself and several other high officials, where it's decided that it would be safest to place the mortals into shelters. After this, Winter and Carol escort Prism, Beryl and Fergus into a shelter, where it's revealed that Beryl is pregnant, despite being in her fifties. It's a stressful scene where many worries and anxieties are aired, and Carol takes this as motivation to grow into her role as City Guard Commander. Prism and Winter speak, and though Winter's feelings on Valkyrie were complicated, Prism encourages her to baby sister to reconcile with Valkyrie now that war was upon them, as either of them could die at any time. Although she dismisses this out loud, a part of Winter is tempted by Prism's words.

A few months after the attack on Paris, a counterassault on the Leibniz Dimension is called, though instead of sending an army, Ghastly was using a small, elite team of Valkyrie, Melancholia, Fletcher, and Gracious to destroy one of Mevolent's strongholds to weaken the enemy army. On Valkyrie's part, she's been training as an Energy-Master intensely with masters like Guild and other Ergokinetics. She and Melancholia had grown closer during their time off. Using Fletcher's portal powers, they sneak into one of Mevolent's floating fortresses in the Leibniz Dimension, located with the cooperation of Hopeless, with their goal being to lay countless sigil-powered charges that will bring the whole thing down. A cold sense of cordiality is between Valkyrie and Gracious, earned because she'd been a big part of the war, and Fletcher is much the same, though he wouldn't let anything happen to Valkyrie or Melancholia if he had a say in it. After laying the charges, they set a timer for them and make to leave, but before they can, they're discovered by Vicious and the surviving members of the triad(Medoh had gotten an artificial leg and arm to replace her destroyed ones), and a battle commences:

Melancholia handles Vicious' monster horde head-on, felling them one by one, her raw power as the Death Bringer on full, magnificent display. As for the others, Borias manages to trap Gracious and is about to squash him between a pair of boulders, but Valkyrie saves him by trapping Borias inside a cocoon of energy, cutting off his contact with the ground, and crushing him to death inside of it. Medoh is furious at the death of her comrade, plus she holds anger at Valkyrie for destroying her limbs, and tries to kill Valkyrie, but is simply outclassed, as Valkyrie had gotten a far greater handle of her magic. Fletcher is able to hold Orm back because his arm had been equipped with a cannon akin to the Engineer's by Gracious, though needs to be helped by Valkyrie, who drives Orm off. After getting all of his allies out of there, they blow the fortress sky-high and return victorious. Valkyrie is sickened by the fact they'd just destroyed a city of thousands- Mevolent's soldiers, yes, but still people, and even with the war desensitizing them all, she couldn't help but feel distraught, inciting Melancholia to give her some comfort.

Fletcher's arm was damaged in his battle against Orm, and he's accompanied by Elsie to get it mended by Gracious. She'd taken on the task of managing the mortal shelters. After receiving some assurance for what happened with Razzia, Fletcher agrees to help her manage the mortal shelters later on, a fact which has Gracious encouraging him to pursue Elsie, since it was clear the two of them like each other. Personally, Fletcher feels it was too soon. He didn't want to burden Elsie, and she's been there for him as a friend for years- he didn't want to ruin that. At least that's what he tells himself.

Part 4 - Downtime

Another time skip occurs, and more death is dealt in the background, including an ongoing conflict in the US where New York is mostly razed and Grand Mage Tylent has set up strongholds in the American Sanctuary and other key locations like Washington to defend the mortal bunkers as best they can- Frieda and the American army are working with their mages side-by-side. The mortal soldiers had been equipped with sigil-based blasters and strength-enhancing suits that had been reverse engineered with the help of Serpine, Gracious, and Destrier, the most former of which hadn't been told his True Name because of the carnage he could sew if he knew it. Beryl and Fergus' new child, a boy named Cormac, is born without complications in the bunker and all the Edgley family except Valkyrie are present. Even in dark times, the sight of new life rather than the taking of one earns some hope. At Prism's insistence, Winter goes to Valkyrie, and, though Winter isn't quite willing to forgive her estranged sister, she wants to become a better fighter and wants extra training in combat- a decision which Solomon encourages. Though nothing is immediately forgiven, it's a start. The two talk with Valkyrie taking responsibility for their parents' deaths and what she did as Darquesse, but making it clear that she'd spend the rest of her life trying to make up for what she'd done even if she would never be forgiven. This earns her some unspoken respect from Winter and they become regular sparring partners.

Whilst this is going on, Scapegrace and Thrasher are at the Pub Supreme, which the former had let be converted into a bunker for mortal refugees displaced by the war to sleep and keep warm in. He felt bad though, like he wasn't doing enough to help Valkyrie and the others in the war. A couple of his old Roarhaven acquaintances try to cause trouble with the mortals, but Scapegrace sticks up for them, and the timely arrival of Captain Crux is enough to send them scrambling. Crux has been taking his job seriously, especially since it's war times, but wanted to stop and see his friends. It's mentioned that things had been quiet lately, and that's because Mevolent's forces in the mountains nearby had been wiped out. Reports said it was due to Dullahan, the Phantom Knight, but even in the Sorcerer world he was taken as a myth. Scapegrace is unconvinced and goes to High Priest Wreath at the Temple to possibly enlist Dullahan's help, and it's revealed that Dullahan is indeed real, but was known for being dangerous and volatile- he was a Guardian of Ireland, but no ally to the mages there. Especially Necromancer. Solomon didn't like Scapegrace, but orders him not to look into the matter further before shadow-walking away to fulfil his busy duties.

Of course, Scapegrace doesn't listen and plans to go anyway, though Soul and Winter overheard the matter and insist on joining him. With the birth of her baby cousin, Winter wanted to do anything she could to help against Mevolent to protect her family, even Valkyrie. Since they threatened to tattle on him if he did otherwise, Scapegrace reluctantly agrees and they rope Ivory into the matter to act as their Teleporter. Along with the three girls, Scapegrace, Thrasher, and Crux head to the battlefield where the Dullahan was spotted to track him down. At first they get nowhere, but with some work, Soul is able to use her abilities as a Necromancer to capture some of the death in the air within her necklace(her Necromancer item) and then use that necklace in conjunction with her Sensitive powers and Ivory's abilities to teleport somewhere near the Dullahan's current location. After doing so, the group ends up at the Sorrows Cathedral from Dancing with Darkness, where they find the Dullahan, who is a headless, armoured, spectral warrior who wields a large, one-edged axe.

Scapegrace tries to enlist the help of the Dullahan, who is an abrasive yet honourable warrior that holds a distain for Necromancers due to their wish to defy and tamper with the Cycle of Life and Death. To them, Necromancers were arrogant, greedy, short-sighted fools. He recognises that Soul and Winter were pre-Surge, children, thus not true Necromancers, but the same is not true for Scapegrace. The others try to defend him when he attacks Scapegrace, but the Dullahan summons his horde of spectral horses, which hold them back and pin down Scapegrace. Each horse is a soul who the Dullahan captured and transformed into his servant, and tells Scapegrace that he'd do the same to him. At this, a panicking Scapegrace calls the knight out, poking at his sense of honour, saying a duel was in order. Him and Scapegrace, blade to blade. If the Dullahan won, Scapegrace's soul was his, if Scapegrace won, he joined the Sanctuaries in their war effort. The Dullahan agrees, and the two scrap sword against axe- the entire time, the Dullahan is mocking Scapegrace for his lacking skills, calling out his mistakes, jabbing his insecurities, etcetera. This starts to get to Scapegrace, until his friends reassure him and he gains his second wind, and though he doesn't manage to beat the Dullahan physically, Scapegrace's resilience and determination earn the Phantom Knight's respect. He agrees to fight by the side of the 'Zombie King' and blesses Scapegrace's sword, telling him that, if he called, the Phantom Knight and his horde would appear to aid him, then vanishes.

(Part 1 is here)

What original Magical Disciplines can you come up with? I'll go first:

Bonecrafter: A Bonecrafter possesses the ability to grow, break, and restructure their own body's bones at will, letting them grow claws and spikes from under their skin, strong enough to rival steel, and manipulate their ribcages for armour as well as mend any broken bones they endure at will. The downside to this Discipline is extreme, constant pain whenever a Bonecrafter uses their magic.

(The first part is here)

Part 5 - The Crux of the Matter

Once the two days are up, Skulduggery, Valkyrie, and the rest of Team Newton shunt into the Leibniz Dimension and advance on to kill Mevolent. As they travel, Skulduggery and China have a talk where China humbles herself and apologises sincerely for killing Skulduggery's wife and daughter, saying she didn't expect or deserve forgiveness, but wanted him to know she regretted it more than anything she'd done in her entire life. Skulduggery, unable to forgive but unable to condemn, acknowledges but doesn't quite accept her apology, and the two agree to work together.

As this is going on, Valkyrie also apologises to Saracen and Shudder for killing Dexter, and whilst Saracen just tells Valkyrie that she should be apologising to Dexter's family, not him, Shudder brushes off the apology. Signate consoles her after the apology, proving to be a good listener. She eventually gets onto the topic of Winter being unwilling to forgive him, and how it was too late. Here, we learn that Signate came from a family of Teleporters where he had many siblings, but he didn't have the necessary affinity to become a Teleporter like they did. He held them in contempt for many years for this, but the Teleporter Culling killed them all, and he'd regretted having such petty grievances ever since. He tells her that he knew what 'too late' looked like, because it was when your family was in a coffin, and tells her not to lose hope. Even if Winter hated her today, that didn't mean she'd hate Valkyrie forever.

Back in the Newton Dimension, Carol has been working as a Captain in the City Guard, and Crux is amongst those under her leadership. He'd struck out on his own, separating from the Pub Supreme to join the City Guard, unwilling to stop trying to be a good detective despite their success. Him and Scapegrace were fighting. He was working with Yonder and the rest of his thugs(who aren't part of an evil organisation, they're just simple dickheads) and distained their shameless abuse of power, his experiences having given him enough humility to seek real justice rather than fame and attention as he once did.

One day, when Yonder was bullying a regular citizen, Crux stood up to them and the two had enmity between them ever since. He found that Yonder and several of his goons were working with Brate to spread Splash over New Roarhaven. He went to Captain Carol previously so that she could handle the issue for him, as he considered it above his payroll, but when she went to report it to Commander Hok, she went missing. This worried him. Crux was later attacked by Yonder and the others, forcing him to defend himself, jump out of a window, and flee for his life.

With Scapegrace, he's running his pub with Thrasher, finding himself genuinely fulfilled. Business is booming, he's got his sword, and has several good friends, amongst which only one is a robot. What more could he want? Then, during closing hours, Crux walks in, beaten, telling Scapegrace to bring Clarabelle here rather than take him to her. It wasn't safe. After doing what Crux asks, she comes with the Engineer and Crux is healed and allowed to rest. Whilst resting, Yonder and his thugs come over and the Engineer humiliates Yonder and his thugs into leaving with some polite words and a well-placed punch.

After Crux wakes up, he explains what's happening and how they needed to help Captain Carol. A few harsh words are exchanged over Crux deciding to leave the Pub Supreme, but it's ended when Crux says he needs Scapegrace's help, since he's the only one Crux can trust and rely on. He'd been attacked by his fellow City Guards and couldn't trust anyone, but after everything they'd been through, he could trust Scapegrace with his damn life. Hearing this is enough for the group to reconcile, and with Skulduggery and Valkyrie gone, they go to attend to these matters themselves.

Part 6 - Invasion

Tylent and Toxin arrive in Ireland and make for New Roarhaven to try and find Valkyrie or possibly alert Grand Mage Ghastly. They aren't able to get to Ghastly, but are sent to Hok, who identifies them as fugitives and attacks with Yonder and the rest, forcing them to flee. They're cornered, but are ultimately saved by Scapegrace, Thrasher, and Crux, who were likewise avoiding the City Guard. After leaving Toxin with Clarabelle to heal, they explain their situations, and when Splash is mentioned Tylent starts to have doubts about the City Guard. This leads into an investigation that sends them to find Carol in one of the City Guard's prisons- beaten and tired, but very much alive.

But before they can free her, Yonder walks out, being joined by Hoc, who reveals himself to be a traitor working for Flanery. He'd been warned about Tylent ahead of time and sent them running so they couldn't get to Ghastly. After intentionally leading Tylent, Scapegrace, Thrasher, and Crux, he reveals himself to be a Signum Linguist and traps them in the basement in a magic-binding sigil barrier, saying they'd stay down here until Ghastly was killed. And hired just the man for the job. Just the hitman deluxe.

Back in the Leibniz Dimension, Valkyrie and the group are wandering to Dublin(which is a floating city) in an attempt to kill Mevolent, and infiltrate his city to do as much. He was like a king there. Techno-magic flourished with inventions like the Whispering being revealed, and the Redcoats patrolling the streets were armed with armour and stun/kill magic cannons. Within the city, it's revealed that Mevolent didn't just kill mortals, he had a very clear 'only the strong survive' mentality that extended to all of his subjects. If one couldn't prove their magical power, they were killed to maintain the 'strength' of the kingdom's bloodline. Children deemed to have high magical potential were taken away from their parents and brutally, relentlessly trained to hone themselves in whatever Discipline they chose. People with high magical potential were paired together to similarly strong people to encourage this strengthening of the gene pool via their offspring. All of this resulted in the mages in Leibniz being superior in magical power on average to the people of the Newton Dimension.

Whilst wandering the city, Valkyrie goes off from the group when a woman's son is taken from her by Mevolent's forces because he was deemed to have high potential as a Sorcerer. At her request, Valkyrie tries to get him back, but is betrayed by the woman and handed over to Abyssinia, who doesn't recognise Valkyrie because she never went to the Leibniz Dimension before. After breaking through Valkyrie's mental defences, it's revealed that she can also 'see' magic in a similar manner to Valkyrie, and she learns all of the plans the Dead Men have to kill Mevolent, but chooses not to expose Valkyrie. She had her own plans.

Valkyrie is brought before Mevolent, who is easily able to deduce she was from the Newton Dimension based on her clothing. He tells Valkyrie that her parents and siblings were going to burn, then sends her away to the dungeons to await torture. There, she's locked up and meets the Leibniz counterpart to the Torment, who'd been tortured for centuries and makes his distain of her known.

It's not long before she's taken away and finds Professor Nye waiting for her. Professor Nye examines Valkyrie, a pair of guards at its back, and the appointment almost feels like a standard doctor's as she reveals she'd lost her True Name and gained a unique kind of magic. It's intrigued, but after some questions where she reveals she was from the Newton Dimension ultimately moves to dissect her, and after desperately stating she was with Skulduggery Pleasant, that's when Hopeless reveals himself to be one of the guards, in disguise. After killing the other guard, he saves Valkyrie and frees her, then both of them thoroughly question Nye together.

It reveals the forces of the Leibniz Dimensions, which includes hundreds of thousands of mages, thousands of Redcoats, and countless weapons of various kinds- all of his creation. It also unveils that it had done work for Reign at Abyssinia's word. After leading into it's laboratory, where Nadir is present and sedated like he was in the prison, only now he's being harvested for his magic to create Realm Crystals, Nye manages to make its escape by throwing some Redcoats at them.

Moving through Mevolent's Castle, Valkyrie and Hopeless talk and bond. The Resistance has been doing as much as it can to impede Mevolent over the past decade, but that sadly wasn't much, especially with news of a rising star in Mevolent's ranks known as Lysandra Vicious(OC). She was as nasty as her name suggested. The two manage to sneak around, but eventually encounter Skulduggery and the others, who'd gone looking for Valkyrie. Hopeless and Skulduggery have a tense reunion, and the other Dead Men are stunned to see him in the flesh, but it's short and pushed to the side. There were bigger things to focus on. In an attempt to hide from Vengeous, China and Gallow wander off from the main group to distract him, whilst the rest wander down into the basement of Mevolent's Castle... which proves to be a nesting place for dozens of varying magical creatures, including a manticore, griffin, wendigo, and even a giant wyvern!

The Dead Men sneak around, but Vicious wanders into the basement, revealing herself to be a Naturalist and the Commander of Mevolent's force of magical creatures. She wields a whip in combat. After noticing them, she sics her beasts on Valkyrie and the others, and whilst most of them avoid death, Signate is snatched up and ravaged by a cerberus whilst the others escape, but without their Shunter a way back seemed impossible. All they can do is leave China and Gallow in the castle and push on with Hopeless to find the Resistance and retrieve this world's versions of the God-Killers.

With China, she and Gallow wander through Mevolent's Castle, using disguises to mask their scar and arm. Whilst doing so, they encounter the Leibniz variants of Rose and Crav, luckily separate from their own counterparts. A Realm Crystal was in reach, however, so they act their part. After some conversation, however, the Diablerie notice they're acting off, and things break out into a fight, one which ends when their Leibniz counterparts arrive. Outnumbered and outmatched, the two are no match for the Diablerie, but in a final act of sacrifice, Gallow uses the air to knock the Realm Crystal into China's hand before he gets his throat cut by her counterpart's blade. Left with little choice, China runs, telling her variant that she was going to pay for that as she closed a portal behind her.

Part 7 - Broken Things

Ghastly is working in his office, regretting that he couldn't have gone with Valkyrie and the others to stop Mevolent, but two Elders being gone was pushing it as is, and the Grand Mage couldn't just abandon ship whenever he wanted. As he's doing some paperwork, however, Sanguine appears with his razor out, and Ghastly gets prepared for a fight that doesn't come. Rather than fight, Sanguine reveals that he'd been working under Flanery's payroll for a while, cutting the throats of his rivals and, honestly, it hadn't felt as good as it once did. Usually he didn't care about what the sickos he worked for did, but times had changed. He puts his razor away and tells Ghastly that Martin Flanery had sent him to kill Ghastly to sent the Irish Sanctuary into a panic, especially with the other Elders gone, then he'd declare war on Ireland with the Americans whilst they were vulnerable. Also that Hoc was a traitor. Alarmed but suspicious, Ghastly asks why Sanguine was telling him all this, and Sanguine confesses that maybe Tanith had gotten to him more than he thought. He honestly didn't really want to kill Ghastly. Then Ghastly insults him, and he takes it back, but still offers to lend a hand. He hadn't been lying back then, at Tanith's grave.

Over with Fletcher, he's called over by Elsie to come to the shop, only to find that Razzia was there as well. Elsie and Razzia weren't quite friends, since their personalities didn't exactly mix, but Elsie was friends with Fletcher, and knew he'd been feeling turmoil because of what Razzia had done. She wanted the two of them to talk and resolve this. He'd been avoiding Razzia, weary both because of his messy past with relationships, and because his feelings were complicated. He still cared about her, but felt betrayed, confused, and a little angry.

After being left alone, the two of them finally air all their grievances about each other. Razzia reluctantly confesses, with a lot of pushing, that she left because it felt like she was becoming someone else when they were together, someone she couldn't reconcile with the image she had of herself- of the killer, the lunatic. The monster. So she left, because she thought everything would just go back to the way it used to be. The way she used to be. It didn't work. Fletcher is conflicted once he hears Razzia out, especially knowing her past with her dad. He'd been burned before, and didn't want to just brush what she did off, but couldn't deny that he still had feelings for her. Fletcher agrees to take her back, much to her jubilation, but emphasises this was the only second chance she'd get out of him. Razzia, relieved, hugs him and they share a kiss.

But then Elsie comes back in, Ghastly and Sanguine behind her, and after the situation with Carol is explained, they all head out, with Elsie joining them- she might not be a mage anymore, but she was close friends with Carol and didn't want to leave her friend hanging. With word from Clarabelle, they head to free Tylent and the others with a recovered Toxin and head to where they're being locked up, but before they can free anyone, Hoc, Slate, Brate, and Whisper emerge and a 6 v 4 duels wages itself:

Ghastly engages Hoc mono-e-mono and unleashes his rage for his betrayal - he's disadvantages at first, with Hoc having laid sigil traps across the area, but with a timely assist from Elsie, he's able to laced his knuckles with intense pockets of air and break Hoc's skull between them. Sanguine and Slate enter a Tunneling fight which leads them underground, where Sanguine slashes Slate's throat, telling him he was just a cheat knockoff of the real deal. Toxin occupies Whisper, spitting venom at her ex-girlfriend and keeping her on her toes with some creatives uses of Arborkinesis, including a spore which leaves Whisper dizzy and forces her to retreat.

At first, Brate is on the defensive, but then Hoc manages to disrupt the sigils enabling Fletcher's prosthetic to function, causing him to lose the use of an arm. A Teleporter fight ensues, but Fletcher is beaten back due to being crippled and about to be strangled to death. Razzia manages to save him, but then Brate gets her by the neck. She tells Fletcher that she loves him a second before its snapped, causing Hansel and Gretel to fade away as Brate escapes with Whisper. It's a technical victory, but Fletcher is left behind with Razzia's corpse, despairing.

Part 8 - The Siege Begins

On Valkyrie's end, the group are nearing the Resistance's base in Haggard. It was near the entrance to the Cave of the Void, underneath Gordon's mansion, and was perfect for their purposes. It's here they reunite with China, Realm Crystal in hand, and when asked by Skulduggery why she didn't use it to return, she states that she didn't want to leave them behind, plus she wanted to exact revenge on her counterpart for Gallow's death. After reuniting with Tome, he learns of their objective to kill Mevolent and scoffs it off at first, but then he learns of their plan. The Sceptre of the Ancients of this world had never been discovered, so since Valkyrie and Skulduggery knew where it was, they could go get it, then use it to kill Mevolent. Killing him was entirely possible. He tells them to prove it, eager to finally take care of Mevolent, so she and Skulduggery head to the Cave of the Void.

Whilst going through the caves, they talk on recent events and Valkyrie admits that, despite everything, adventuring with him here made her feel alive. The two find the chamber where the Sceptre is being kept, but this time it's not just waiting for them. It's in the den of a dragon. Sneaking around, they manage to get the Sceptre, but the dragon wakes up in the process and they're forced to flee as it rampages, almost being consumed by dragon fire before Valkyrie manages to charge the Sceptre and uses it to eviscerate the beast at the last second.

Holding the Sceptre, they reunite with the Resistance and hatch plan for a siege. Amongst them are Cleavers, a one-handed Serpine(who is vexed to receive scorn due to his counterpart's actions as Catalysmic), Emmet Peregrine, Cameron Light, and several other known characters' Leibniz counterparts. The God-Killers are prepared, with Saracen taking the bow, China the dagger, Shudder the sword, Hopeless the spear, whilst Skulduggery has the Obsidian Blade and Valkyrie the Sceptre. Armed with a host of God-Killers, they used the Realm Crystal to warp into Dublin and begin their siege. Team Newton charges right for Mevolent's throne room whilst the Resistance handle Mevolent's forces in an epic battle throughout the city. Hopeless meets Vengeous' cutlass with the God-Killer Spear and Serpine at his back, who uses his Ergokinesis to form a hand of red energy to replace his missing one. Cleavers meet Redcoats, who are armed with spears rather than scythes. Abyssinia eviscerates Resistance soldiers using her lightnings before Tome gets in her way, and she mocks him, calling him a feeble old man, before he outsmarts and gets a heavy swing on her. "Not too old for you."

Valkyrie knew the location of the throne room because she'd been there before. With the rest of his forces occupied, the Dead Men square up to Mevolent with their respective God-Killers. He rises up from his throne, without his sword or armour, asks what they intend to do with him, as he wasn't so weak as his counterpart to fall to a few of snivelling weaklings. Valkyrie tells him not to be so critical of himself, then points reveals the Sceptre and fires... only for the bolt to destroy Mevolent's tunic, leaving his chest bare. Otherwise, he was unharmed. Mevolent dusts himself off, asks if that was their big plan, then pulls out a Realm Crystal of his own and, using it, creates a portal that he reaches into. Plucking out his own Obsidian Blade, Mevolent tells the Dead Men that their name was about to be a lot more literal than they might've liked, and a true battle erupts.

Elsewhere in the Leibniz Dimension, the Diablerie are cutting a swathe through the Resistance's forces. Crav is crushing skulls, Rose is slitting throats, and Remit is engaged in a Teleporter bout by Emmet Peregrine. Leibniz-China is leading them until China Prime sneaks up on and ambushes them. She ignores Crav and Rose. She goes for her counterpart's throat with the God-Killer Dagger, but unfortunately, Gallow ends up taking the hit and dies. Before the Diablerie can recover, she charges and tackles her counterpart through a portal. They separate off as they appear in the Newton Dimension, in an isolated, old manor. Their shared childhood home.

The two of them share some scathing dialogue between them, where some details of her childhood are unveiled. She killed her grandmother, but she didn't stop there. As a young woman, she'd had a large family, and more siblings than just Bliss, and after he left, she'd eventually killed them all, one by one, in a grab for power. By the end of it all, she'd stood alone. Leibniz-China calls Bliss weak, and that China had become the same. Weak, soft, hideous. China says she knows what she is, but she'd rather be all of those things than what she'd once been, she tells Leibniz-China that she feels sorry for her and a vicious duel breaks out between the Chinas. It's close, but China Prime proves superior and, with the God-Killer Dagger, snuffs the life out of her other self. She wipes the blood off her dagger with her counterpart's exquisite face, then moves on.

The battle between Mevolent and the Dead Men is, despite their best efforts, going horrifically wrong. The Sceptre is taken and snapped in half(it was useless anyway), forcing them to engage him head-on. It might have been five against one, but Mevolent easily holds his own despite being outnumbered. He spends a little bit going easy on them. It wasn't often he got to let loose, and he wanted to savour it. Several magical feats he pulls off include the creation of a massive water vortex, flinging sharpened slashes of air at them, and both redirecting and amplifying Skulduggery's fire. He seemed unstoppable. One by one, the other God-Killers are destroyed, the sword being the last to break when Shudder squares up to Mevolent, using every bit of skill he has to match Mevolent in sword-play, impressing him, but eventually he stops playing with his food. He breaks the God-Killer Sword over his knee. As a last desperate gambit, Shudder unleashes his Gist, but it dissipates when Mevolent rips off Shudder's head with his bare hands.

Left with no choice, and driven by anger at Shudder's death, Skulduggery unleashes his armoured dark-half and squares off with Mevolent in a glorious duel between magical powerhouses. The Obsidian Blades from the Newton and Leibniz Dimensions collide, but unfortunately aren't equal and Vile's Blade is shattered, with only the hilt remaining. The two continue to scrap, but Vile was Mevolent's subordinate for decades, and it shows when Mevolent unleashes an onslaught of overpowered elemental attacks that bully Vile back into a fine-suited skeleton. Mevolent is left winded, but moves to kill Skulduggery.

The last-second arrival of China with the Realm Crystal proves to be enough to pull Skulduggery out of trouble. Valkyrie and Saracen, unable to face Mevolent alone, run and catch Abyssinia on the way down, but she doesn't stop them. She just smiles, thanks them for giving her exactly what she wanted, then flies away. The two find Hopeless and Serpine, along with a beaten Vengeous, and a retreat is issued. But Mevolent, arriving on the battlefield, isn't about to let them just go. Left with no choice, Tome bequeaths the title of Resistance leader to Hopeless before going to face Mevolent on his own to stall for their escape. He fights a battle he had zero chance of winning, but buys time for his allies to run and ends up missing an arm, on the ground, bleeding to death. When Mevolent mocks him, Tome does the same right back and says that Mevolent never once picked a fight he didn't know he could win. That's why he had to stab his own master in the back, because deep down, he was just a coward. Those words cut a nerve and Tome's head is sliced off, but at least he could meet Eachan and Morwenna again with his head held high.

Returning defeated, Hopeless resumes control of the remnants of the Resistance whilst China finds them with the stolen Realm Crystal and brings the Dead Men back to the Newton Dimension, having taken control of Gallow's own resistance upon his demise. They'd solved nothing, all the God-Killers except for the dagger were destroyed, plus Shudder was dead. They want to resume the mission after recovering, but after meeting with Ghastly and learning about what happened since they were gone, their chances of rest vanish and their priorities are forced to shift onto Reign and Flanery. Tylent believes that stopping them is in all their best interests, and Ghastly agrees, but before Valkyrie even has a chance to catch her breath, American soldiers and mages start to appear in the streets.

Part 9 - Reign Ends

Time for the grand finale. With a quick shift to Reign's pov, it's revealed that after Hoc's discovery and death, him and Flanery had no reason to hold back and decided to dispatch their forces and launch a full-on assault on New Roarhaven. Their team was damaged by the death of Slate and Hoc, yet their inner circle remained strong with the following players: asides from Reign and Flanery themselves, there was Brate, the Teleporter of the group and Fletcher's arch-enemy after the death of Razzia, assigned to teleport and spread around the squads of Splash-charged mortal soldiers around the inside of New Roarhaven to sew carnage and destroy what they can. Whisper is the Necromancer of their group, acting as Reign's assassin/bodyguard.

The Seven-As-One are following along with Flanery under his orders as acting American Grand Mage to assist in the attack on New Roarhaven, being exceptionally powerful Sensitives and combatants given their flawless teamwork, and leading a team of American Sorcerers who are also doing as Flanery ordered, though far more begrudgingly. Frieda was, reluctantly, following the orders of her president and leading a squad of mortal soldiers into New Roarhaven that are armed with guns and magic. Lastly, the sickle-wielding Witch Ajouga eagerly jumped at the chance to attack New Roarhaven, viciously seeking revenge as usual.

Flanery, wanting to kill as many 'degenerate weirdos' as possible, deliberately chose to target vulnerable spots such as the Sanctuary, civilian areas, hospitals, and schools. Frieda is sent with a squad of soldiers and American Sorcerers(Gepard amongst them) to attack the Sanctuary and its infirmary, but several mages get in their way, Tylent and Valkyrie amongst them. The two try and reason with Frieda, but its to no avail. Upon learning that Corrival was under attack, Valkyrie immediately makes to defend it, to defend Winter, leaving the rest alone. The Seven-As-One are amongst them, killing many Sorcerers and almost getting to Ghastly, but Finbar is present and, wanting revenge for Cassandra, engages them in a mental battle that gives Ghastly the chance to pick them off, though he suffers an aneurism in the process and perishes. Gepard and Skulduggery fight amongst themselves, but the latter manages to talk the former into reason, and Gepard convinces his Sorcerers to stand down, only for the mortal soldiers to gun them down for their 'betrayal'. Tylent and Frieda have it out, and with a boost from a strength-Splash, she overpowers him and enters the building, only to find Clarabelle and Reverie standing in front of the infirmary, along with several other care workers to protect their patients. She drops her gun and surrenders, letting Weeper cuff her.

Over the rest of Roarhaven, the mages there are making their own defences. Gallow's resistance is led by China against the invaders, being joined by Moloch due to the Fangs having a vested interest in New Roarhaven's survival, plus some goodwill never hurt anyone. The City Guard is rallied to defend the people by Carol, but Yonder and his thugs make a break for it now that their abuse of the law was catching up for them. Unfortunately for them, Scapegrace and Crux get in their way, and after a scuffle where Crux tells Yonder he's pathetic, he puts a bullet in Yonder's skull.

American soldiers and mages attack the Necromancer Temple, but with the Death Bringer herself present, it's a fool's errand. Along with Serrate and Solomon, the Necromancers their counterattack in a brutal wave with Melancholia at their helm, massacring the American forces. At Corrival, the staff and students are attacked by an assault force led by Ajouga, who was targeting Winter specifically. If Valkyrie wanted to take her sisters away from her, then she'd take Valkyrie's. The force have sheer numbers, but the teachers all show their mettle as educators/warriors, showcasing their various Disciplines. Energy attacks plunder the invaders, whilst the elements are shown off by Peccant, and even Aria even unleashes a manticore on the soldiers to defend her students, stone-cold as it tore them apart on her orders as a Naturalist.

Brate tries to teleport more mages in, but Zenith engages him in a tussle to defend her fellow students, one she loses, but is saved by Fletcher, who takes on Brate with anger in every blow he deals- ruthlessly driving his metal arm through Brate's skull as a finishing move to avenge Razzia. On Ajouga's end, she locates and isolates Winter and her friends and the Last Blood Tear starts a one-sided scrap with the school girls. Ivory tries to teleport Ajouga out, but gets a few fingers sliced off and is knocked out with a kick whilst she howls in pain. Soul tries to defend Winter, but the necklace storing her power is shattered along with her ribs before she's thrown aside, cut up.

Winter, now alone, has to fight with everything she has to hold out long enough for Valkyrie to arrive and begin a new fight - one where Ajouga spits venom at Valkyrie, raging at her for killing all Ajouga's friends. Her sisters. Valkyrie is hesitant to end Ajouga and gets slashed, but when Ajouga threatens to gut Winter, she goes beast mode and blasts a hole through Ajouga's chest. The assassin dies, and Valkyrie apologises for what she'd done to her as Darquesse as she does. Thanks to Brate's death, no more reinforcements are coming, so the remaining soldiers can be handled, but there was no time to rest.

Before the soldiers are even done, piggybacking off Fletcher, Valkyrie, Skulduggery, Toxin, and Tylent teleport to the White House. Led by a shackled but willing Frieda, they find Flanery and Reign overseeing the attack on New Roarhaven like a pair of Generals in a secret tunnel under the White House. The two were arguing about the attack going sideways when Valkyrie and the others crash the part, causing the men to curse and flee, ordering a mixture of Splash-enhanced soldiers and Reign's machine-gun wielding mobsters to cover their escape. Fletcher and Skulduggery take them on whilst Valkyrie, Tylent, and Toxin go ahead to hunt the mortal masterminds down. During their chase, Whisper gets in their way, and though she couldn't handle them all at once, time was of the essence. Unwilling to let Reign and Flanery get away, Valkyrie rushes ahead alone whilst Tylent and Toxin engage Whisper in a duel that ends when Tylent deals crippling damage to Whisper with his Bonebreaking, letting Toxin strangle Whisper to death using overgrown vines.

Arriving at the Oval Office, a panicked Flanery is bickering with Reign, who along with Acantha was growing of Flanery's pompous attitude. The two are pinning the blame on one another, and things take a dark turn when Flanery tries to talk Reign into holding Valkyrie off long enough for the Secret Service to escort him out, and Reign's response was to pull a gun out on him. There's a faceoff between both sides until Valkyrie storms the place, writhing with silver energy. Proceeding this, Acantha tries to fight Valkyrie only to be non-lethally blasted aside, whilst the Secret Service are likewise stunned into submission. Scrambling as Valkyrie approaches him, Flanery tries to negotiate and sweet-talk Valkyrie, only to be denied any of that when she knocks him out cold on his own front deck.

Left alone, Reign drops his gun but doesn't submit, choosing to stand unafraid before Stephanie or Valkyrie or Darquesse or whatever she called herself. If this was the end of Percival Reign, then he was ready to admit it, he'd had a good enough run. But just before she kills him, Valkyrie restrains herself, choosing not to give into her violent urges, no matter how much he might deserve it. The others arrive to find the bad guys incapacitated but not killed. Reign and Flanery are dragged away to be used as scapegoats, and whilst the threat was over, the day didn't feel won.

Part 10 - No Rest For The Wicked

A week after Reign and Flanery are locked up, the blame pinned firmly on them, things settle down just a bit. Left without their leader, Reign's empire starts to sputter, and with the help of Sensitives, information on his operations is gained that helps them cripple his empire. Splash is still circulating, but it's no longer under production and was due to die off. The American Sanctuary used Flanery as a scapegoat for their actions, but many people died in the attack on New Roarhaven.

Ghastly looks for an Elder to fill Shudder's spot, and ends up giving it to China, both to gain support from Gallow's and hers' resistance, but also because she'd proven to be a capable leader. With Hoc being a dead traitor, Carol is promoted to his old post and Crux does the same for her, then Scapegrace throws a small party at the Pub Supreme. With his name cleared, Tylent returns to the American Sanctuary and, because the Elders are all gone, starts the process of finding a new council to replace them, though it's slow-going and he's started acting as Grand Mage Regent until he can find a suitable replacement.

In the Sanctuary infirmary, Valkyrie finds Winter with Prism, Soul and Ivory, who'd been fitted with prosthetic fingers to replace the ones she lost. Valkyrie tries to approach her, but is coldly brushed off by Winter who blames Valkyrie for Ajouga's actions. She leaves Winter be, but Prism assures her not to give up on Winter just yet. Fletcher, who's anger over Razzia's demise had faded into sadness, visits his student in the hospital and assures her that she'll get some prosthetic fingers if he had any say in it. Ivory didn't know Razzia, but comforts him regardless.

A funeral is held for Shudder, hosting his friends from his times as the Midnight Hotel patron and as an Elder, one which Valkyrie and Skulduggery drive up to in the Bentley, taken out of storage. Some faces are hostile, others less so. Ghastly is there, and Elsie too to act as emotional support, and whilst there's a sense of cordiality between him and Skulduggery, there's no reconciliation despite Skulduggery walking free. Saracen speaks with them and, despite the turmoil of recent events, is willing to forgive Skulduggery for what he'd done as Vile- time was short, and the time with their friends, shorter. Valkyrie, on the other hand, he can't do the same. She'd killed Dexter, Saracen's best friend, and he'd spent the past decade watching the consequences of her sins by helping Dexter's family. It wasn't his right to forgive her anyway. It was theirs.

After the funeral is over, Skulduggery and Valkyrie drive and talk in the Bentley. About everything. She says that she does want to be partners with him again, because they were a team, but she couldn't do that if he wanted thing like they used to be - when she was arrogant and violent and selfish. She wanted to be a better person, and he had to be as well. Skulduggery, after a moment of thought, agrees.

In the epilogue, we see the perspective of a mortal teenage boy in Dublin called David, who's utterly unremarkable by all measures of the word. He was at a park in the city centre, on a bench, when he's approached by a strangely dressed tall man. A very tall man, who David realised was probably a mage. He speaks with the stranger for a little while, who asked him some odd but easily answerable questions, namely about the technology mortals used in their world, even asking to see David's phone. Begrudgingly impressed by these mortal inventions, Mevolent tells David that maybe this world wouldn't join his dominion as quickly as he thought. The sky was blotted out by the flying city of Leibniz-Dublin as it shunted into the sky, its shadow titanic and overwhelming. As Mevolent's forces started to descend on the city, Mevolent created an air bubble around David and, after thanking the mortal for answering his questions, since it was good to know one's enemies, he oversaturates David's lungs with the air until they explode.

AN: This one took a lot of thought for me because I had to fit so damn much into it. Hope it came out somewhat comprehensive.

Alright, after a couple side stories of setup, we're now back on track. I imagine these last three main books would be pretty long to wrap everything up effectively, so you'll all be in for a ride. It'll be difficult to top the scale of Burying the Light, but where there's a will there's a way, and I've got will to spare. I sincerely hope that none of these books get stretched out into three parts, that would just be excessive, even for me.

Book 10 - Dominion(2023)

(Main Villain: Percival Reign/Mevolent)

Part 1 - Making a Splash

The prologue kicks things off by showing us what Flanery and Reign have been doing since their alliances with Abyssinia. The modified Splash that Flanery wanted was produced with the help of Professir Nye, and Reign been rolling it out to the man in question, but also learned from his mistake in underestimating Flanery before and kept things steady between them. Flanery had been organising squads of mortal soldiers under his command using the Splash, whilst Reign had been building up his magical forces by employing more elite mages. The two were begrudging partners. Like it or not, they were too deeply entangled with one another at this point. If one went down, the other would follow.

Valkyrie has been working on the Splash case, trying to pin down Reign and get revenge for Somnolent. She'd heard about what happened with Gant from Prism, and that particular nugget didn't help her guilt at all, which only caused her to dive deeper into the Splash case. Tylent was working with Valkyrie during the case, and though they weren't partners, he remained civil and didn't mention Darquesse. It was a joint project between the American government and Sanctuary, as this concerned both sides.

Working alongside Tylent, Valkyrie pins down a politician working for Reign(though was introduced to him via Flanery) to help with the sale of Splash in exchange for money. He vaguely hints at Flanery's involvement with Reign, and of someone else much bigger, but before anything more can be revealed, their interrogation is crashed by Whisper and, surprisingly, Ajouga. She'd become an African mercenary after the deaths of all the other Brides, becoming known as the 'Last Blood Tear', wielding a pair of sickles on the job. She'd joined up with Reign, but not for money. She just wanted revenge on Valkyrie. Along with Whisper, she attacks, choosing to occupy Valkyrie by nullifying her magic and dealing heavy damage with her sickles, only to be stopped by Tylent when he intervenes and breaks some of her bones, though her distraction was enough to let Whisper kill the politician. Wounded, Ajouga flees in a shadow-walk with Whisper, though not before telling Valkyrie she was going to pay.

At Corrival, Winter is finishing a day at school. She was in her third year now, and her reputation had yet to recover from the reveal of her being Darquesse's sister. She wasn't at risk of being attacked, especially given Wicked and the other teachers made their stance on the matter clear, but many students at the academy had lost loved ones to Darquesse and avoided her. She was having nightmares and was seeing a therapist for what she did to Gant. Soul and Ivory remained close, however, so it wasn't all bad, and she'd been spending less time on campus and more at Solomon's Temple to train her Necromancy.

She arrives at the Temple with Soul and Ivory, and finds the Temple lively because Melancholia had returned from her pilgrimage. After answering some questions, and dodging others, the other Necromancers are dismissed and Melancholia speaks with Winter's group, answering several of Soul's questions. When asked why she doesn't need an item, it's revealed that she'd been searching for one, and had actually gathered many different and varied kinds of Necromancer items during her pilgrimage, to the point where she had a collection of them. None were suitable to contain her full power, much to her frustration, but she liked having them all for bragging rights.

After speaking with Alice's group, she has a meeting with Solomon and the clerics. He was proud of how far she'd come, Serrate wanted to spar with her to test his mettle against the Death Bringer, and Militsa, whilst disapproving of Melancholia's violent past, was willing to look past it. She was writing a book on Necromancy, and having the Death Bringer's account would be a great boon.

With Reign, he's has been distributing out regular Splash in the streets whilst avoiding Valkyrie and Tylent's trail, and was making more money than ever due to expanding into the rest of America and parts of Europe, but remained bothered. Abyssinia had been using him more like an underling than a partner. More like a pawn. He didn't like taking orders, and was experienced enough to know where blindly following her would lead him. He gets into contact with Flanery again, alone, having figured out that Abyssinia was using him too, and Flanery is quick to piece together that an invasion was coming. It was what he'd do. Despite their mutual distain, the two of them hatch a plan together to deal with the Leibniz Dimension, as Mevolent's arrival wouldn't bode well for anyone, not even Reign. Both were mortals, and didn't much like the idea of being enslaved, so they hatch a plan to deal with the Leibniz Dimension, or, more precisely, set someone else up to handle the issue for them without having to lift a finger.

An anonymous hint is dropped at the footsteps on the detectives, which leads them to some remnants of the Church of the Faceless huddled in a chapel, which had been buying Splash from Reign even though he was a mortal. A raid is organised, and amongst those involved are Edward Dauntless(OC), a close friend of Tylent's and a mage who practices the almost-extinct Discipline of Kineticism. His powers allow him to absorb and re-distribute physical forces for explosive bursts of strength, increasing his defence and offense, even with bullets. And on the mortal side, there was mortal soldier and gun-wielding badass lady, Frieda Chapman(OC), who'd taken a name but just went by her Given Name. She reminded Valkyrie of Tanith, though where Tanith was quite a renegade, Frieda was the picture-perfect soldier and often followed orders down to the letter, though had an innate sense of justice that sometimes got in the way.

A chapel is raided, where several cultists consume Splash and strike, but amongst the cultists are two supposedly dead members of the Diablerie: he Murder Rose and Gruesome Crav. Or rather, their Leibniz variants. Once those two join the tussle, several mortal soldiers and mages die until Frieda and Valkyrie engage Rose, with Valkyrie's silver energy being unveiled to keep up with Rose's insane acrobatics, and though both of them get stabbed, they manage to beat back Rose. Tylent strikes at Gruesome Crav and is joined by Dauntless, who bears the brunt of Crav's attacks on Tylent's behalf, and when his friend dealt some damage to Crav with his Bonebreaking, Dauntless went on the offensive, beating a wounded Crav into submission. The Diablerie are forced to retreat when reinforcements show up via a sigil-engraved crystal called a Realm Crystal, a sigil creation made with a combination of Shunter and Teleporter magic, to open a portal and flee through it.

Part 2 - Crazy Ladies

With Razzia, she's in New York, doing as she always did by bouncing town to town. It's revealed that she and Fletcher had gotten into a relationship during the ten year gap between here and now, but she'd been too restricted by his mortals and ultimately decided to leave without telling him. But her time with Fletcher had softened her, and she wasn't able to kill with the same passion she once held, often finding she'd target people only to spare them, and was growing frustrated with herself. She missed him. But as she's going around, she stumbles across a Splash dealing with Brate as its ring leader, who was harassing and blackmailing a family man who'd gotten entangled in their dealings. Normally, she'd just walk away, but she had unfinished business with Brate and strikes, killing several mobsters and letting the guy run, but gets shot non-lethally and is forced to flee.

With Fletcher, he was teaching Ivory and Zenith when he received a call from Razzia. She was weak and asking for help. He tells his students that class was cancelled, wishes them luck, then teleports to Razzia(who'd lost a lot of blood) and brings her to Reverie. The two talk and, in her delirious state, where she flirts with Fletcher and she says she might be a little in love with him, since she thought of him quite a bit during their time apart. She hadn't been able to kill like she once did because of him. Fletcher isn't sure how to take that, but tells her to rest up well before leaving, saying Brate wouldn't get to her if he had a say in it.

After licking their wounds and questioning the fanatics they'd captured, Valkyrie and Tylent learn of the upcoming invasion. This revelation causes Frieda to go to the American Government, whilst Tylent goes to the Sanctuary and finds Kerias' corpse in her office, assassinated along with the rest of her Elders. Chaos erupts in the Sanctuary, and Toxin is framed as the culprit, an act made easy because she was already technically a criminal, just one who occasionally worked with the Sanctuary.

Flanery 'hears' about the upcoming invasion(despite being the one who tipped off the Sanctuary to begin with) and whilst he doesn't announce war was coming since he was certain Abyssinia had spies planted around, he uses the vulnerable state of the American Sanctuary to claim authority over it- this decision meets heavy pushback due to him being a mortal, but he'd been working closely with the Sanctuary for years, seemingly advocating for closer magic-mortal relations, and had a great charisma about him that smooths the takeover. Obviously, he distained them, and his real plan was to use them for his own ends that involves a gradual takeover of the world. Reign was supporting the war to rake in his profits, and Ireland was his first target due to the War of the Sanctuaries, which resulted in some American Sorcerers still having bad-blood with the Irish.

Part 3 - The Return

Due to the revelation of the Leibniz wanting to invade, Valkyrie steels herself and gets in touch with Ghastly, telling him everything to garner his help. After a tense call and a sincere apology, he tentatively agrees to accept her help given the Splash issues which Ireland were facing, plus the Leibniz Dimension's involvement, but won't send Fletcher to collect Valkyrie. She'd have to get there by herself. As she packs to leave, Tylent stays, wanting to continue working with Reign in his own country, so after saying goodbye to Danny and the rest of Meek Creek, who hold a touching surprise party for 'Stephanie' the day before her plane ride. Danny has feelings for Valkyrie, and thinks about confessing them, though in knowing how much she was going through, he decides to withhold and just be there for her as a friend.

With a heavy heart, Valkyrie returns to Ireland and visits the ruins of Gordon's mansion, lingering on how she wasn't even present when Gordon's Echo Stone was smashed. There, she finds a group of Naturalists, Aria Centaura amongst them, who'd been assigned with examining the cave and studying its magical creatures, commanding them to remain docile. It irked her a bit to see them under her uncle's house, but she and Aria get talking and there's an easy connection between them. Remembering the dragon she'd seen during her fight with Vile, she asks Aria about him and learns the dragon had been spotted, but was elusive and none of the Naturalists who'd tried to find him before were able to tame him with their magic, so it was out in the wild, though didn't seem to be causing trouble. Aria wanted to be the one to find and tame it eventually, but for now settles for bringing some magical creatures back for class at the academy to encourage her students, showing off a manticore she'd tamed.

Valkyrie makes for New Roarhaven, and when she arrives, High Priest Wreath is there to meet her with his usual dryness. The two hug, and even though she's hardly a Necromancer anymore, he says she'll always be his pupil. He spares them an unpleasant trip through the streets by shadow-walking them into his Temple and showing her around. It was one of the largest in the world, with a huge library, sparring areas, a blacksmith who specialises in commissioning Necromancer items, and, most importantly, it had proper air conditioning. Scapegrace came to the Temple sometimes, but doesn't live there and Wreath found him annoying.

During their tour, she asks about Alice, or rather, Winter, and learns she was a fantastic student. She reminded him a lot of Valkyrie in that regard. Their tour is cut short when Melancholia finds them, and she and Valkyrie have a somewhat awkward, but not totally unfriendly, reunion where Valkyrie apologises for being so vicious to Melancholia when they were teenagers. She's forgiven shockingly easily, as Melancholia felt she couldn't hold Valkyrie in contempt after what she'd tried to do. This gives Valkyrie a bit of extra hope.

After the tour is finished, Fletcher comes to the Temple to retrieve Valkyrie. He's somewhat friendly to Melancholia due to her actions in the war, particularly when she saved Elsie's life, and even asks about her time abroad, but is curt towards Valkyrie and not many words are exchanged between them before they teleport to the Sanctuary. She reunites with Ghastly, his Elders, and Elsie, and whilst there's an overall sense of civility, it's clear no one's forgotten about Darquesse. Like in Seasons of War, a plan is hatched to send an elite team from the Newton Dimension(the term which Shunters coined for the 'Prime' dimension based on the mortal scientist) into the Leibniz Dimension to kill Mevolent, but their Shunter escort will be Creyfon Signate rather than Luke Skywalker.

With rising tensions between mortals and mages, an invasion by Mevolent could permanently ruin the reputation of the Sorcerers and any chance of peace in the future. Ghastly knows that extreme measures had to be taken, and so goes to Skulduggery's cell and, after informing him about Mevolent's impeding invasion, cuts him loose. He hadn't forgiven Skulduggery, but the world was potentially at stake so he offers Skulduggery immunity if he helps stop Mevolent. After a moment, Skulduggery just asks where he can find a suit and a gun, and before they leave, Ravel offers to lend a hand. Ghastly tells him to shove it and leaves. Skulduggery just glances at Ravel for a brief moment, then moves on.

Skulduggery returns, adorning a slightly worn but still exquisite suit. He was once more handed the Obsidian Blade for the job of killing Mevolent, and though he accepts it, comments he was starting to hate this stupid sword. As the other members of the group are being considered, Valkyrie immediately offers to go, seeing it as a form of penance for her past crimes, plus she cared too much about Skulduggery to just leave him be. Creyfon Signate, who was acting as their shunter, comes out of necessity but is gleeful at the chance to explore another world.

Saracen and Shudder volunteer themselves to come along for the ride- Saracen because he wasn't willing to let the people under his leadership fall into the horrors of war(and because he wanted to be there for Skulduggery) and Shudder both to protect Saracen, one of his few remaining friends, and because he didn't want to delegate such an important task to someone else. China, having been called in because she also has experience in the Leibniz Dimension, shows up and volunteers to accompany them, though Skulduggery refuses to give his thoughts of the matter. Lastly, Gallow, offered full immunity for his past crimes if he risked his skin, also hops on the chance to join their crusade, but there was also a part of him that liked the idea of being able to continue his work even outside of this one, plus to keep China safe. Gallow's resistance has been allowed to take residence in New Roarhaven for the time being, with Temper being left in charge.

After the team is decided, Ghastly gives them two days to get their affairs in order, then dismisses them. After the meeting, Skulduggery fully reunites and catches up with Valkyrie after spending ten long years apart, but things are awkward and a bit tense between them- everything she'd done as Darquesse, their alter-egos being revealed, and him ultimately trying to kill her, even as a form of mercy, weren't so easily brushed under the rug. He commends her for continuing to do good even after everything, and she appreciates his words. But when he asks about possibly being partners again after everything going on was dealt with, she hesitates, not outright rejecting him, but tells him that going back to what they once had just wasn't possible. Not after what she did.

Part 4 - Not Enough

In Denver, Tylent tracks down Toxin with Dauntless by his side. He was acting without informing the Sanctuary because his instincts told him that something was off, since the attack on the American Elders felt too well-timed and convenient for Flanery. His senses were being ticked. He and Dauntless find Toxin in a back alley, and after a brief faceoff, Tylent questions her and figures out that Reign and Flanery must've been working together and framed Toxin, but before he can leave to warn the Sanctuary, he turns to find Ajouga, Slate, and Whisper waiting for them. He's offered the chance to leave, but Tylent is fast to refuse. He might not have liked Toxin very much, but he wasn't going to let her face the music for a crime she hadn't committed, especially if it was for Reign's ends. After trading banter, an all-out brawl breaks out in the alleyway.

Toxin faces off against her ex, trying to see if she could tug on any of Whisper's heart strings - only to get wounded by shadows, forcing her to defend herself by Arborkinesis and other forms of plant life. Slate and Ajouga keep Tylent and Dauntless occupied, forcing Tylent to break several of Slate's bones to back Toxin up. He saves Toxin from getting her throat cut, but is wounded himself, and is only saved when Dauntless gets in Ajouga's way and rips his guts out. Tylent and Toxin run with their lives, but now Flanery and Reign knew the jig was up, and Tylent was declared a traitor within the hour.

Valkyrie is wandering the Sanctuary, thinking about what to do with her time before leaving, and after her reunion with Solomon went so well, she thinks about potentially reconnecting and making amends. Then, as she's walking, she runs into Gracious, who was with Destrier. He talks friendly to her at first, thinking she was Prism, but then he notices the hair and lack of a bad eye and his demeanour flips into fury. Gracious attacks Valkyrie, inflicting her with broken ribs before she unleashes her energy to defend herself. The fight attracts Skulduggery's attention, who upon seeing Gracious attack her, makes to pull out his gun, but then Fletcher arrives and intervenes. He reasons with Gracious, telling him she wasn't worth it, and the final nail in the coffin is when Valkyrie apologises, for the cheating, for taking Fletcher's arm, and for killing Donegan. It wasn't enough, but she was sorry.

"You're right, it's not enough."

Gracious walks away, and Fletcher teleports Valkyrie to the infirmary before leaving her behind to check on his friend. Whilst in the infirmary, she meets a recovering Razzia, who grumbles that Fletcher stopped at the infirmary but didn't visit her, but shows a friendly side to Valkyrie. She is tended to by Doctor Clarabelle and the Engineer, who greets her as 'Mrs Darquesse' before she corrects him, and Clarabelle is friendly at first and interacts with Valkyrie like normal. She tells Valkyrie about how Scapegrace and Thrasher were the rather successful owners of the Pub Supreme, and how Crux was working under Carol. He was currently working under Carol.

When she asks about possibly meeting up with them, however, Clarabelle becomes deathly serious and tells Valkyrie about the damage she'd done as Darquesse. The people she'd hurt. Who Clarabelle had failed to heal. She doesn't hate Valkyrie, she didn't think she could hate anyone, but tells her to stay away from Clarabelle's friends. Physically healed but emotionally wounded, Valkyrie leaves and rejoins Skulduggery.

In America, Tylent and Toxin are struggling as fugitives, and are forced to go to Danny for shelter to let their injuries heal. Tylent doesn't plan on staying, however, and wants to wrestle control of his Sanctuary back from Flanery and Reign. He and Danny talk about Valkyrie, and even Somnolent, and when Tylent gets the advice to seek help from Valkyrie and the Irish, he scoffs off the idea of running from his problems, but is talked into getting help and coming back later, and thus he leaves with Toxin to go to Ireland to resolve this issue, as if the world stood divided when the Leibniz forces arrived Mevolent would face no resistance in slaughtering them all.

The next day, with Winter, she's at Corrival when she hears rumours about Darquesse having been spotted in New Roarhaven and at first dismisses them as Prism being in the city and being mistaken for Valkyrie again. But she learns from Ivory that Mr Renn had been acting strangely in class today, and when Zenith pushed him on the rumours, he'd given something away. She calls Prism, who can't lie to save her life, and when pressured she learns the truth. Valkyrie was back and within arm's reach.

After rushing to the Temple, Winter encounters Valkyrie and Skulduggery and the two sisters reunite after years apart. It's not a happy reunion. Winter is furious at Valkyrie, letting loose all the frustration, anger, and hatred she feels for Valkyrie in an explosive, heated scene. She tells Valkyrie the deaths of their parents were her fault, and lays into her for leaving Prism to raise her alone, along with the people she killed on Devastation Day. Tears fall on both sides. Skulduggery tries to intervene, but is loudly told to butt out of it. Valkyrie tries to apologise, but Winter isn't hearing any of it, telling Valkyrie they were not sisters. The woman standing before her killed her sister, and all she saw was an imposter wearing her face. An imposter she hated with all her heart. After letting it all out, Winter shadow-walks away, leaving Valkyrie heartbroken.

(Part 2 is here)

Things get very Phase 2-ish from this point on, but I'll reiterate that this series is just a continuous Phase 1, just with an extra trilogy. If written out, I might have to expand it into 15 books rather than 12, but for now this is just a summary, and I'll write it out as such. I might write out eventually, as I've done and am doing large writing projects before, but I'm swamped as is, so if I do write all of this out, it'll take a while.

Also, I have included a couple of OCs from other artists on this subreddit(with their permission, of course) and they will be marked with '()' to give said credit.

Sidestory - Bitter Malice(2022)

(Main Villain: Cadaverous Gant)

Part 1 - Inductions

The book kicks off with a prologue marked nine years prior. Cadaverous Gant isn't a psychotic murderer, but a largely regular man in Roarhaven, just like everyone else. He was together with his son, Jeremiah, his granddaughter, and his daughter-in-law. Gant had a good life. Although he was a rare case of two Sorcerers having a magicless child, like Batu, and it had caused him issues, he was fine to be functionally mortal. He was content to live a short life with his loved ones, knowing he'd live on in their memory.

But when Darquesse destroyed Roarhaven, the explosion reached his house. He survived through dumb luck, but his family didn't. He dug for over a day straight before he found their bodies, huddled together. Heartbroken and hateful, he swore to get revenge if it was the last thing he did, his raw trauma, pain, and hatred invoking a dormant Surge.

Alice Edgley is present in New Roarhaven. She was twelve years old, and had taken the name Winter Grieving at this point in remembrance of the family she'd lost, though doesn't much mind which name someone calls her by- going by Alice in the mortal world and Winter in the magical one.

With both her parents gone and Valkyrie having left, the responsibility of raising Winter was left to Prism, though Fergus' side of the family helped out as much as they could. Winter doesn't tell Prism this, but she'd come to see her as the parent she supposedly never had. The two of them were very close, but hadn't been living together for a couple of years because Winter had been enrolled in a special boarding school in New Roarhaven: Corrival Academy, named after Deuce in his remembrance.

Like in Phase 2, Corrival Academy is an institution for traditional learning and magical studies to prepare young Sorcerers for the real world, with many of them being foreign, prestigious, or just extremely talented. Students are able to select their classes to a degree, being able to choose between one and three Disciplines to practice, though magical theory, combat, and all 'mortal' subjects are compulsory. Classes between the six years will sometimes mix with older and younger years(though it's limited to the first or second half so that a first-year will never be with anyone beyond a third year) to spark a bit of healthy competition.

The teaching staff at Corrival is comprised largely the same as in canon, though there are a few notable changes: The janitor, Cadaverous Gant, supposed magic-born mortal. Guild has moved to New Roarhaven and been made into the Ergokinetics and Geography Teacher, and nobody dares speak out of line when he was around, fearing the verbal abuse he'd fling their way. Militsa Gnosis remains the kind-hearted magical theory teacher, Arabelle Wicked teaches combat and History, Peccant is still the Maths and Elementalism teacher(though he also wished to set up and teach a Signum Linguistics class), Fletcher is the English teacher, though also teaches a sub-class for Teleportation that's comprised of just two young prespects. And finally, there's a recent addition to the teaching staff named Aria Centaura(OC), a cheerful and passionate woman who teaches Biology, however also teaches a voluntary class for the obscure Discipline of Naturalism, which lets Sorcerers command animals and magical creatures. She wished to increase the popularity of her magic.

Winter walks amongst fellow students, catching some eyes due to having a bit of a reputation for winning several duelling competitions held around school, even when faced with older students. She was a talent with the combat applications of Necromancy, wielding a pair of fingerless gloves that store her power, and was receiving extra training at a nearby Temple whenever she had spare time. Being a favourite student of Arabelle Wicked meant that she had an abundance of knowledge on combat, though slacked on the history and religious teachings of the Necromancer Order itself. She was on amicable terms with Wicked, Militsa, and Fletcher especially.

Winter was rather reserved, though hardly friendless. She had two bunkmates, one of them being her best friend and the other a friendly, if quiet, acquaintance who she thought just preferred to keep to herself. Her best friend was a confident and earnest exchange student from the German Sanctuary named Soul Blade(OC credit to u/NrXVPhea), who had ancestral ties to Ireland and a fellow student in the ways of Necromancy. However, unlike Winter who favoured the combat applications of Necromancy, she enjoyed the rich history and magical theory, particularly in regards to the soul. She also had a notable gift for Sensitive magic, though she had the habit of neglecting that side of her magic.

Winter goes to History and fails to answer several questions about Necromancer history that are correctly answered by Soul, with the topic of Necropolis being brought up. A mysterious domain of death, where not even those with Necronaut Suits could dive too deep. Only a Necromancer powerful enough to conjure a Death Bubble could shield themselves and reach its darkest depths, aka, the Death Bringer. In class, a boy named Jenan and his friends mock Necromancy and its teachings, decrying them as mass-murderers for the Passage plot, and even jibbing Winter and Soul for picking it. This earns him a detention from Wicked, much to his agitation.

In Africa, Melancholia is shown to be present in a Necromancer Temple in Egypt, as African Necromancers were taught different practices and beliefs towards death magic than the Irish. She'd been to all over the world in recent years, going to different Temples, trying both to learn everything there was to know about Necromancy and understand death on a deeper level in a bid to become the one true Death Bringer, and to find a Necromancer item for herself. She'd yet to find an item capable of housing all her power, and whilst she could manage without one as her power had mostly stabilised, she still suffered the drawbacks of housing so much power if she pushed herself too aggressively. Within Egypt in particular, there were a pair of khopesh blades stored in a Temple which were said to be the items of the original Death Bringer, before even Lord Vile, and though she came before them, she wasn't able to use them. They were still loyal to their original master, even in death.

After finishing her time in Egypt, having visited all the major Temples in Africa, and set off to find the last destination of her pilgrimage. A sacred place of death at the very end of the River Nile. Necropolis.

Elsewhere in school, Fletcher is teaching his Teleportation class, adorning a metal prosthetic to replace the arm he'd lost saving Gracious. It was a piece of techno-magic created by Gracious, who'd joined the Sanctuary's scientific division, and who did regular upgrades and repairs to Fletcher's arm. He was a permanent resident in New Roarhaven, as adventuring just wasn't the same without Donegan. Fletcher has just two students, the first one being Zenith(name credit to u/Vesuviusblotch and u/Willboss27) who is the counterpart to genderfluid character Never, though they are slightly less obnoxious and more considerate of others, and instead of only their brother dying in Darquesse's rampage, it was their entire family.

His second student is a skittish young girl named Ivory Lens(OC credit to u/StarSight_) who was Winter's second bunkmate, but due to her withdrawn nature, wasn't able to make proper friends with her and Soul, even though she dearly wanted to. She was a Natural Teleporter, a bit of a loner, and was very into photography, carrying a camera everywhere she went and snapping photos when Fletcher took them to other countries during their lessons. One day, she wanted to have a collection of photographs from all the world's wonders.

Zenith had a bit of an issue with Ivory, believing it was unfair that she took to teleporting so easily when compared to them, with Ivory's modesty often irking her. It didn't help that since she'd joined school, Fletcher had to divide his attention, when it used to be only the two of them. She'd gotten very comfortable with that arrangement, partly because she didn't have parents of her own, and disliked sharing his attention. During their lesson, they showed some bitterness for this, snapping at Ivory, who doesn't know how to handle the situation and teleports away. Fletcher proceeds to admonish them, but that only made the situation worse, and after an outburst at him, Zenith teleports away too. Fletcher is left wondering if he was a bad teacher for being unable to properly manage two students.

Part 2 - The First Shot

Lunch time comes and, during it, Jenan is irritated that Winter got him in trouble and targets Ivory with his gang to recover his ego, since she was Winter's bunkmate and he thought she was a quiet weirdo, plus an easy target. She is defended by Zenith, who wasn't Ivory's biggest fan but didn't like bullies, and another older student named Axelia Lukt, a popular but kind-hearted girl from Iceland and a budding Naturalist. His bullying is turned on him, and he scarpers away in humiliation. Ivory tries to thank Zenith afterwards, but gets coldly brushed off and told to stand up for herself next time instead of being a meek doormat.

After the school day is finished, Winter walks through New Roarhaven with Soul to go to a nearby Necromancer Temple that was constructed at the behest of Solomon, who'd become High Priest Wreath at this point. He was more than happy to provide lessons to them due to his history with Valkyrie. His Temple was popular and filled with many foreign Necromancers who'd followed Melancholia into battle during the war, with the Death Bringer herself having set out on a pilgrimage to broaden her horizons some years prior. His two clerics were Serrate, chosen for his strength, stoicism, and intimidating reputation, and Militsa, who'd been picked for her approachability, pacificism, and vast knowledge on magic, as well as her position as a teacher at the prestigious Corrival. The two had very different strengths, which worked to his favour, but also butted heads and barbed each other because of it, reminding Solomon of his dynamic with Craven.

As this is going on, the new council of Elders are holding a meeting. Shudder remains largely his usual self, but Saracen, with the weight of leadership and Dexter's death on his back, had taken on a more serious demeanour to handle his new position. He's with Ghastly and Shudder in a meeting with Cedric Clynes, who was speaking for the mortals' sake. Whilst a bit silver-tongued and distrustful, that was only because he felt the need to hold something over Ghastly and the others due to their power and presence, and he wasn't about to let the voice of the mortals' be silenced. Elsie was also there, acting as an Emissary of Roarhaven and an intermediate between both parties, having been busy with that role since the Reveal of Magic.

The issue of there being wide-scale distributions of Splash by Reign's empire, which had leaked into Ireland and the rest of Europe, is brought up by Clynes in an effort to put pressure on the Elders, but it's revealed they know that Clynes himself had been siphoning small amounts of Splash into a reserve for the Irish army for years. He doesn't bother denying it now that it's got out, and when admonished for lacking trust, he just lists their own unethical actions in regards to the tampering of mortal minds in the past to keep the Sanctuaries a secret via magic. How was he meant to trust them when he potentially couldn't trust even his own thoughts around them? He claims the Splash won't be used so long as they continue to be trustworthy, and Ghastly decides to leave it at that rather than escalate the situation, but makes it clear to Clynes the reverse also stood. After the meeting, and being reassured by Ghastly, Saracen goes to visit Ebony and Ida, who'd settled into New Roarhaven. Louise was at Corrival in her fifth year, and so wasn't present. He'd sparked up a kinship with his late friend's family, and checked up on them every now and then to make sure they were doing well.

Jenan is smarting over his recent humiliations to his lackeys, who were largely only his friend because he was the son of the Bulgarian Grand Mage. His pride was hurt, and he wanted to recover it. He wanted to take someone down. Later on, when he returns to his dorm, he finds a folder on his bed that holds a flashdrive and a note to use it to ruin Winter Grieving. He opens it and is shocked.

Within Corrival, it's revealed that Winter is Valkyrie's sister. Jenan was the culprit, having spread around the evidence given to him. It was a nightmare for Winter and she can barely look at Soul. Out of anxiety, she runs away to an empty classroom, trying to compose herself. But then she's cornered by Jenan and his gang. After mocking and jibbing a distraught Winter, they viciously attack. She's not able to get her gloves on in time and, though she fights back well, she's outnumbered and in a poor state of mind. She gets brutally beaten down.

But before anything worse can come, Ivory appears and, taking Zenith's words to heart, decides to stand up for herself and Winter by punching Jenan in the face and teleporting away with Winter.

Part 3 - Broken Echoes

Over in America, Reign has started working with Flanery since the last time they met. He'd been playing on the President's fear of mages to sell Splash to him, hoping to start a war between the Sanctuaries and the mortals so that he could make a killing selling Splash to both parties. The two are in a meeting, discussing their partnership and exchanging jabs. Meanwhile, Flanery wants to wage war against the American Sanctuary and conquer it, but he needs Splash for the job, ideally a variant without the addictive properties so that his squads of soldiers aren't reduced to a bunch of unreliable addicts.

After a bit of back and forth, Flanery manages to make Reign agree to his terms when it's revealed he's outfoxed Reign and had hard evidence against him and of all his operations, forcing Reign to either have his improved Splash or go down via blackmail. Infuriated at being backed into a corner, Reign is forced to concede. After Flanery gets Brate to return him to the Oval Office, he calls, and it's revealed that Flanery only managed to get such hard evidence on Reign with some outside help. Abyssinia answers on the other end, and when he asks what to do if Reign couldn't get the Splash he needed, she tells him not to worry. She had it handled.

Winter wakes up to find the Engineer, a smiley face drawn on its head. It had remained active even after the Accelerator was shut down, and left without a purpose, decided to find one itself. It now went by 'he' and he was acted as a part-time nurse for Clarabelle at Grouse Hospital, and spent the rest of his time as a bartender at Scapegrace's newly built pub: The Pub Supreme.

Ivory waits for Winter to wake up, but fell asleep during the wait. The two speak when she wakes up, and after thanking her, Ivory takes the chance to ask if she wanted to be her friend, clearing up that she wasn't an ice-cold loner. She was just awkward. The two laugh over the misunderstanding, and the Engineer tries to laugh, but it comes out wrong.

Whilst being checked up by Doctor Clarabelle(she'd been promoted from nurse over the years) and after being totally healed, Winter is visited by Soul. After being assured that her relation to Valkyrie meant nothing, but that she was a little hurt that Winter thought it would matter, a few tears are shed by Winter and they make up, with her promising not to tell any more lies.

The next ones to arrive are Prism and Fletcher, who'd called her the moment he learned about the incident at school. He's concerned that she got into a fight, but is proud she stood up for someone else and makes it known. Prism, meanwhile, is worried for her sister and knows things would get a lot harder for Winter from now on.

After seeing Winter off, Prism goes out to meet with Carol, who'd gotten a job in New Roarhaven. Prism had cut her hair short to try and distinguish herself from Valkyrie, with the bad eye and added years helping, and she'd thought that would be enough to hide herself. She was wrong, and is attacked in the streets, only escaping the crowd when Carol appears and gets them to back off. She was a member of the City Guard, which was established by Shudder in an effort to maintain order in the long streets of New Roarhaven, and after saving Prism, boasts that she'd been promoted to Captain, just under Commander Hoc on the totem pole.

The two of them get together, and after talking about their lives and developments, go to the tailor shop that Elsie had set up with Ghastly's help. After catching up and complaining about her duties as an Emissary, along with the slippery world of politics, Elsie offers to make Prism some protective clothing to show off her skills since the last time they'd met and Prism takes it up. Prism agrees.

Winter is advised to take some time off from Corrival, but isn't willing to run away from her problems. She needed to return and face her peers. Jenan had been suspended for his actions, but the secret was out, and a lot of people in Corrival were against Winter, though she sticks close to Soul and Ivory. At one point, she's forced to separate from them during Peccant's Elementalism class, as neither of them had picked it. During this class, she's confronted by Zenith, who loses it and verbally wails on Winter for what Darquesse had done to her family. Winter talks back. Before things could get physical, however, Peccant stops the situation. He tells Winter to think with her head, not her fists, and Zenith to act her age and manage her emotions, then gives the two of them detention.

Soul, because she's a budding Sensitive, is given special lessons with Finbar- who'd taken a liking to her and even given her a few tattoos, though drew the line at piercings, oddly. Whilst strange, he is a fantastic Sensitive and thinks she has potential, drawing similarities between Sensitivity and Necromancy due to them both involving the soul. He claims she's like him, naturally powerful, but she needed to put in the work if she wanted to be truly awesome like his late friend Cassandra. He claims that despite her supposedly being a 'low-level' Sensitive, she was a better mage than him, and says he misses her.

Winter and Zenith have detention together, where they butt heads and air their grievances. Zenith learns that Winter's own parents had died because of Valkyrie too, just in an indirect sense, and that she'd been living under the shadow of what her sister had done. She concedes that maybe the anger at Winter is undeserved. The two aren't friends at the end, but a sense of understanding is over them as they part ways, and Winter is fast to find her aunt and uncle waiting for her at Corrival's gates. They'd learned about the attack on Jenan, and having wanted to surprise Winter, they came but were forced to wait due to the detention. After complaining about the wait, hugs are exchanged, with none of them knowing they're being watched.

A day passes where the Edgley family all go out to dinner, and afterwards Fergus and Beryl get settled into a motel room with Echo-Gordon. Neither liked being in New Roarhaven, no matter how grand it seemed, though endured it for the sake of having the family all together for once. But whilst settling in, they're attacked. The attacker knocks Beryl out and goes for Fergus, who uses what little he knows about the elements to defend himself, being cheered on by Gordon, but is ultimately subdued when his Given Name is used against him. Cadaverous Gant smiles and orders Fergus to break his brother's Echo Stone. Fergus, horrified and unable to disobey, is forced to listen to his brother's final words being cut off as he smashes the stone, erasing Echo-Gordon. Relishing the turmoil he was causing Fergus, Gant tells Fergus that he was going to help him with his revenge, then knocks him out.

A scene follows where Gant is driving away with Fergus and Beryl in his car's trunk. He'd killed the previous janitor at Corrival a year ago so that he could assume the position himself, playing the part of the harmless, grandfatherly old man so that nobody suspected ill of him. Using his position, he snuck into and accessed Corrival's student files, finding out about Alice's home life. About her family. He knew that Darquesse was somewhere out there, hiding, and wanted to wound and smoke her out by harming her family.

His revenge had been building for years, and the first shot was fired when he left that evidence for Jenan, aiming to discredit Alice/Winter out of spite. And now, as he arrives at his home, he drags Beryl and Fergus inside and closes the door behind them. If Darquesse wanted to take away his family, then he'd take away hers too.

Part 4 - Jigsaw Bullshit

Soul is settling in for the night when she receives a call from Fergus' phone. Ivory and Soul are with her as they listen to Gant, and when flipped onto facetime, he reveals himself along with a tied-up, gagged Fergus and Beryl. After dismissing Winter's threats to let them go, he gives them his address and tells them to come to his house. Calling for help would result in Fergus and Beryl's deaths. He warns them that for every hour they're not there, he'd take one of Fergus' fingers, then declines. Winter wants to go alone to spare them, but neither of her friends allow it. After getting changed and grabbing their Necromancer items, Ivory teleports them to Gant's.

With Winter's group, they arrive at Gant's house, and like in Midnight there's a whole other world in Gant's domain. The man himself is there to greet them, and though they attack, it's pointless. Their attacks do nothing. Like in canon, his magic enabled him to warp reality within his own home to an absurd degree, and he was essentially invincible when inside it. He believes his magic awakened like this to help him get his revenge, but really it was because, deep down, he just wanted a world where he couldn't be hurt by anyone ever again. Where he could have his family back.

He unveils to Winter his reasons for doing this: out of revenge on Darquesse. Ivory and Soul try to reason with him, but it's no use. He just wanted to hurt Darquesse, and tells them to go through his house of horrors if he wanted to find them on the other end. A few rooms were prepared for them, and if they wanted to save Fergus and Beryl, they'd have to get the keys inside those rooms. Then, he flies away and they go to his house, entering to unravel all its horrors.

With Prism and Carol, the two had tried to call Beryl and Fergus for a mundane reason, but they weren't picking up. After getting to the motel room to find it destroyed, along with the shattered remains of Gordon's Echo Stone, they realise something happened and investigate the scene, drawing on Valkyrie's memories with Skulduggery and Carol's training under the City Guard to do some detective work together. After questioning a man next door, who saw a Cadillac driving away after hearing a bit of a commotion earlier, they go to the receptionist and learn he'd been paid off. After drawing the name Gant out of him, and knocking him out, Carol calls Hoc to picks him up for arrest and leaves with an adamant Prism to get her parents back.

With Beryl and Fergus, the two of them manage to undo their bindings with Fergus' limited mastery over the elements, but are caught by Gant before they actually get anywhere. He contemplates killing them for trying to leave, but wanted to save that for when Winter was there to see it, so he doesn't kill them. He'd just take one of their hands each to teach them a lesson.

When he moves to take Beryl's, Fergus pleads to Gant, who actually listens and gives him a new offer. He wouldn't take Beryl's hand, but he'd take both of Fergus'. Grimly, Fergus accepts, and Beryl is brought to tears as Gant mutilates her husband.

Winter's group go through Gant's prepared rooms, each of their individual skills shining through in the twisted puzzles Gant prepared for them. The final was the simplest, and involved a room where a swarm of Valkyries are present, motionless. In order to get the key, they just had to kill them all, and after the recording breaks they come to life and their expressions turns haughty. They were modelled after Gant's vision of Darquesse and it showed in their vicious words and attacks. At first, Winter hesitates, but after Ivory's nose is broken she goes mental, using the shadows to skewer and slaughter the visages of her sister one by one with the shadows and elements, leaving her traumatised.

Prism and Carol arrive at Gant's house and enter, quickly finding themselves in a town where many versions of Gant's family lived but no versions of Gant himself. It was called Gantville. They learn that he'd created this place after Darquesse killed his family so that he could see them again, and one version of Jeremiah, the mayor, shows a degree of awareness over what Gant was doing. He was technically a piece of Gant's magic, his soul, and thus he's able to unveil what Gant's motivations were. And the two also learn that Alice and her friends were already here, and after getting directions and help from Jeremiah, they set off to help before it was too late.

After getting the keys, Winter's group unlock the door to find her aunt and uncle, with Fergus being mutilated and weak, but not dead. After the horror of what was going on settles in, Gant reveals himself. After relishing the horror, anger, and hatred on Winter's face, he proclaims his desire to kill them all and give their severed heads to Darquesse as payback. He strikes and Winter orders Ivory to get her aunt and uncle to safety, and with some coaxing, she teleports away with them to help Fergus before he succumbs.

Soul and Winter fight Gant, but neither of them are able to do anything to him. Soul is swatted aside and he grabs Winter by the throat, moving to snap it. But just before he can finish the job, Carol arrives and staggers him, freeing Winter, then Prism kicks him in the face. Upon seeing the visage of his most hated enemy, Gant loses it and his house comes crashing down.

Part 5 - The Monster Within

After shielding them with an air barrier, Carol frees them from the rubble of Gant's house and a whole new fight continues. Carol is the one who puts in the most work, having built on the training she was put through by Ravel over the years, and after outmanoeuvring Gant and freezing him solid with some nearby water, shoves a spike of stone through his eye. All it did was piss him off, and after recovering, he breaks Carol's arm for it. But as she's thrown back, Mayor Jeremiah shows up with the rest of Gantville at his back, mutinying. He calls his father out, saying he'd stopped being the victim and started being the monster. He was every bit as bad as Darquesse now. Jeremiah pleads with his dad to stop, saying he wanted to deep down. That was the reason he was even here.

Gant doubles down, burying his conflict by deleting the residents of Gantville, casting his doubts aside. He claims that revenge was all he had left, and he'd sooner die than give it up. Gant continues to attack, and the group continue to defend as they tire. Things seem lost until Soul gets an idea when remembering her lessons with Finbar. After sharing her plan with Prism, she proceeds to put on a show by taunting Gant, causing him to lose it and attack. Prism is hurt, but Soul manages to get her hands on Gant in the process and, groping into his mind, cuts the link between himself and his domain.

The world they're in starts to crumble and fall apart. Gant himself is left powerless, and his mind starts to fall apart like his home as the rest of them leave him behind, running for the exit. Carol is injured, but carrying a broken Prism one-armed. The sky is literally set on fire, but just as it seems like they're not going to make it, Ivory returns and manages to bring them to the exit and just in time for Gant's house to explode in hellfire.

Carol and Prism collapse from their wounds and exhaustion, whilst Soul gets a nose bleed and loses consciousness from pushing her Sensitive powers. Ivory called for help, which would arrive soon, and Winter is left feeling tired as she sits down to rest. But as she does, a figure emerges out of the rubble.

He was monstrous, disfigured, and burned, closer to demon than man, his nails and fingers melted into claws, but his mind had been broken. Gant no longer felt pain. He no longer felt anything except a need for revenge. Gant strikes and claws at Ivory's face, casting her aside, then goes for the image of his absolute hatred.

He grips Prism by the throat, his claws drawing blood, wanting to strangle the life out of her, and very nearly succeeds. Then a shadow tendril pierces his back and he's pulled off Prism, where Winter proceeds to unleash all the rage she felt towards him for what he'd done. She strikes with shadow-enhanced punches, screaming and raging and cursing, but in her mania, she continued to beat him long after he stopped struggling. And as Fletcher and the Sanctuary final arrive, she realises what she'd done and stares down at Gant's ruined body.

"I... I thought you were stronger."

And then, Winter fell to her knees, having claimed her first life at the tender age of twelve, and cried.

Part 6 - Stained Souls

The day after Gant died, the aftermath is being managed. Carol is devastated when she sees what Gant did to her dad, though Fletcher is fast to get Gracious on the job to get Fergus a pair of prosthetic hands. He takes the offer and gets his hands, but Beryl makes it clear they were staying out of New Roarhaven from now on, as well as the magical world as a whole. Nobody blames them.

Prism makes a full recovery, but has scars from where Gant clawed at her, and Ivory has the same across her face. At first, she feels insecure, but Fletcher is fast to reassure her, and even Zenith does the same when she stops by briefly, saying it made her look tougher. She denies caring and is abrasive, but Fletcher is happy all the same.

With Winter, she was reeling from the fact she'd taken a life, and though she's reassured by Soul, she feels wrong. Dirty. Solomon makes time in his schedule to visit, and he speaks to Winter about death, and whilst soft in voice, he tells her the dirtiness she was feeling probably wasn't going to go away. She'd just forget it was there sometimes. But she was strong, and if she ever wanted to speak about it, he was here as a teacher and friend. Necromancers were experts on death, after all.

Finally, when Prism visits and Solomon leaves them alone, Winter is thanked for saving her from Gant. The two talk about the meaning of life, specifically what it meant to take one, and Prism even brings up her own viewpoints as a reflection. Winter doesn't regret killing Gant if it meant saving Prism, but still felt horrible. Darquesse and Valkyrie are brought up, and Winter feels immense resentment towards her sister. If she hadn't killed all those people, she wouldn't be having problems in school, or have been traumatised by Gant as an act of revenge, or needed to take a life. It feels like Valkyrie had ruined Winter's life without even being there. Prism knows she can't control how Winter feels, so the two just hug.

Finally, in Denver, Reign is shown meeting Abyssinia at night. He's on guard, unwilling to trust her, but she'd given him an offer to help commission the upgraded Splash that Flanery needs. After being introduced to Professor Nye, the Leibniz counterpart to Doctor Nye, he asks what was in this for her, and she justs smiles, then tells it simply:

"War."

Book 1(The Last of the Ancients)
Book 2(Dancing with Darkness)
Book 3(The Cursed One)
Book 4(Desolation)
Book 5(Divine Judgement)
Sidestory(Tanith Low)
Book 6(Requiem)
Sidestory(Fletcher Renn)
Book 7(Rise of the Wicked)
Book 8(Fall of a Dead Man)
Sidestory(China Sorrows)
Book 9(Burying the Light)
Sidestory(Stephanie Edgley)
Sidestory(Winter Grieving)

Yet another side story here for you guys, I just can't seem to make enough of these, it seems! Not sure how this would pan out if it were a proper book series, but the fun of fanfiction is that I can afford to expand on stories excessively. This will be focused on what Valkyrie is doing 7 years after the events of Burying the Light, and how she's dealing with all the horrible things she did as Darquesse. She's gone back to living as Stephanie Edgley to detach from her guilt, living in Collorado as a regular detective.

Sidestory - Reign of Terror(2020)

(Main Villain: Percival Reign)

Part 1 - Taking the Reins

Set in Denver seven years after the events of Book 9, where magic was exposed to the world, we're first introduced to a crime lord by the name of Percival Reign in the prologue. He's a renamed counterpart to the canonical minor villain in Dead or Alive Christopher Reign, and upon learning about magic, immediately took a name to avoid any risk of being controlled by others. It's known as his new alias in the Sorcerer world now. He'd once upon a time felt like he was the biggest fish in his pond, the uncrowned King of Denver, but ever since magic was exposed, he'd been forced to humble himself. There were forces in play now he could barely comprehend.

His ambitions and slickness remained immense, but now that he knew of the Sanctuaries existence, he'd been forced to adapt so that his criminal empire could survive in this magical new world he'd found himself in and gotten a handful elite mages under his thumb: Carver Slate(OC), Coda Quell, Adam Brate, Whisper, and Morvin Glaive(OC).

Morvin Glaive is the unwilling pawn within Reign's inner circle. He's a powerful Sensitive who's family had been taken hostage by Reign, forcing his compliance and helping him cover his tracks from the Sanctuaries, whilst doing all-manner of other dirty dealings under Reign's word. Carver Slate is an elite Earth Elemental who's with Reign and does his bidding, but makes it no secret he's fence-sitting and waiting to see if Reign is worth following in full. Brate is the Teleporter and Reign's transportation, sticking around for the money, but also because he was intrigued by Reign's charisma and ambition, wanting to how high he could climb. Coda Quell isn't an ex-Cleaver like in canon, but rather an Enhancer who'd been taken by Glaive under Reign's word, mind-broken, and turned into his bruiser. His choice of weapon was a spear. Lastly, there was Whisper, acting as the Reign's bodyguard and assassin, though he keeps her at arm's length.

Reign felt assured with his gang and empire at his back, and wanted to make a statement to the world that he was still on top. And he had an idea of where to start, with a hot new drug called Splash- it could enhance a Sorcerer's magic, or give magic to a mortal for a temporary time period. It was also highly addictive, which sounded like money to his ears.

Stephanie has been living in America since she left Ireland, having forged the documents to become a member of the police force, a job which was easy enough with her training under Skulduggery. She chose a small, quiet town by the name of Meek Creek to settle down in, and remained undisturbed. She had exactly two friends, Danny, who remains largely unchanged from canon, and her mortal partner in the force, Simon Lent. She was trying to create a new life away from the horrible things she'd done, and magic in general, especially given that she couldn't use it anymore, though deep down felt empty without magic. She wanted it back, but also knew she didn't deserve it.

Thanks to Ravel's work over the decades, mortal-magic relations weren't horrible, but weren't perfect either, and constant work was required to keep things running smoothly. Stephanie once had to save a mage who was going to be killed by a group of radicalist mortals on the rise, the X-Forces(named after Department X), and it was sadly not the only hate crime floating between the two sides. Zafira Kerias, the new American Grand Mage, was a follower of Ravel's and was working closely with the American government, and part of that involved integration of magic-mortal occupations such as the police force. These policies had been installed in larger cities like Denver sooner, but were spreading rapidly, and one day at work, she was ordered by her superior to work with a Sorcerer detective who'd been sent by the Sanctuary to spread a more unified message.

The Sorcerer she was ordered to collaborate with was called Tylent, a stoic, intelligent, righteous Bonebreaker. He hated his Discipline. He'd picked it during his youth when he was a bad person, and thus he tries to rely on physical combat when possible. Stephanie started to work with Tylent, uncomfortable at the thought of being recognised, and he even notes she seemed familiar.

Simon is friendly, occupying Tylent and asking about Sorcerer life, curious about customs and their different world views. The two get along swimmingly, but it's cut short when they find a few thugs in an alleyway selling a magic-enhancing drug named Splash. All of them were mortals except one, being Brate, who was transporting the product around, spreading it into the streets, trying to give Splash a big name on Reign's word.

A tussle breaks out with a lot of gunfire, and Brate is fast to make a retreat, being able to take all but one of the thugs with him, with that one being captured along with a stray crate of Splash. Bringing the thug back to the station, an interrogation takes place where the name Percival Reign is plucked out of him, along with the fact that little was known of him besides that he operated in Denver. An argument is made over whether the mortal police force or the Sanctuary should handle the Splash case, but whilst it's going on, Carver Slate tunnels into the police station. After destroying the Splash taken, then tearing through and killing several mortal officers, he makes it to the thug's cell and silences him. He greets Stephanie mockingly as she arrives, then tunnels away.

Part 2 - Mad Ambitions

A meeting was arranged between Martin Flanery and the American Grand Mage, Zafira Kerias to discuss recent conflicts between both sides. He remains arrogant as in canon, but rather than be a Trump caricature, he's a cunning, devious politician who fears and loathes those with magic and sees them as a threat to his country after their reveal. But he wasn't dumb enough to let that distain shine through, and kept up an amicable mask. He wanted to destroy the Sanctuaries, but didn't quite have a solution just yet.

In Denver, Slate returns to Reign, having handled the situation on his word. Curious, he asks about Reign's plans. There, it's explained that his plans were just limited to Colorado for the time being, but he planned on expanding if things worked out, going nation-wide, or maybe world-wide using the Splash drug. The money was nice, but mostly Reign just wanted to see how much he could expand his empire, relishing the challenge and vision of the idea. In seeing the mad ambition in Reign's eyes, Slate is convinced to stay with him. He was special, despite the lack of magic.

Enraged at the loss of several good men and women, Simon goes to Tylent and demands to work with him on this case, and Stephanie is fast to follow. Tylent and Stephanie try to dissuade Somnolent, but he's stubborn. Eventually, Tylent caves, but on the condition that Simon picks a Taken Name, since he'd be vulnerable otherwise. He chooses a fusion of his first and last name: Somnolent. Stephanie, not wishing to leave him be, goes with him and Tylent.

The three of them head to Denver, investigating the matter of Splash, Reign, and the mysterious earth-specialist. Their investigation leads them to Toxin, a mercenary, but one who often worked for the American Sanctuary as the one handled their dirty deeds, rather than be on the payroll of any criminals. That was why she'd been working with the Americans during the War of the Sanctuaries. She reveals the one they were after sounded like Slate, who she knew as a fellow merc, and he worked for Percival Reign. She also reveals that Whisper, her ex-girlfriend, was also working under Reign. He seemed to be the face behind Splash, but no one by that name had existed until seven years ago. The Sanctuary couldn't find records of a Sorcerer by that name.

It's here, however, that Stephanie remembers her experiences with Batu, the alias of Patrick Hanratty. The Sanctuary had been so convinced that mortals were harmless that they'd been blind to the fact the culprit was right in front of them, her included. She shares this thought with Somnolent and Tylent, and with this new line of thinking find a trail that leads to a business man named Chris Rein, who they think might be Reign.

The three of them go to Rein, but any attempts at wordplay are matched. He remains cool as a cucumber. Stephanie tries to use the tactics that Skulduggery taught her to intimidate him into submission, even using threats of physical violence, and following through when Rein calls her bluff by smacking him, but Somnolent is fast to stop her. They're forced to leave him be- his secretary, Acantha, waving them off with a sweet smile.

Once they leave, Reign's rubs his cheek and orders Acantha to look into the dark-haired one. He wanted her hands sliced off for that.

Part 3 - Lowly Whispers

Stephanie is forced to return home by Tylent, who took issue with her methods. Somnolent can't bring himself to approve either, much to her chagrin. But she does leave, and is fast to go to bed, but ends up having nightmares. Visions of the people she'd killed as Darquesse, fuelled by guilt. She wakes up gasping in the middle of the night and gets up, reflecting on the years that had passed, and what she'd done. She and Prism had remained in contact, her reflection stubbornly keeping her updated on recent events regarding Alice and her old friends, but she can't bring herself to go back to Ireland and face them. She wasn't ready. Maybe she never would be.

The next morning, Danny arrives and delivers her food, like he did, and the two speak. He had a feeling that something was off about Stephanie from the moment they'd met, and even thinks she might be in Witness Protection. He doesn't bring that up, and he's about to leave, but then the shadows curl in the corner of his eyes. He stares, perplexed, until Stephanie tackles him out of the way and Whisper emerges from the shadows and strikes.

Stephanie tells Danny to run then engages Whusper, but without any magic of her own, she's at too big of a disadvantage. She's on the ground, wounded, about to be killed, but luckily Danny came back and throws a plant pot at Whisper's face, giving Stephanie the chance to rally herself and kick Whisper between the legs. Whilst the Necromancer is down, she takes out a Splash, having nicked some earlier before Carver destroyed it. A mortal could consume one and use magic for a limited time. She takes one and, for the first time in years, magic surges in her fingertips.

Stephanie engages Whisper again, this time able to use her old Elemental powers again. It's unexpected, but powerful, and the onslaught is enough to drive Whisper back. Stephanie can't stop grinning afterwards. She loved the feeling of having magic again, and when it fades she's just left with a deep hollowness, along with this building pressure. But then she sees the way Danny was looking at her and forces herself to calm down, telling him to leave and forget he saw anything. She leaves to find Somnolent and Tylent with two more Splashes left.

A beaten Whisper returns to Reign. He'd ordered that Stephanie be disposed of, partly because she was on his trail, but also spite. After getting a written report, he deduces Stephanie wasn't an ordinary girl, as she was too skilled with magic to be a mortal, and just as he finishes that thought, his secretary arrives. Acantha had looked into Stephanie Edgley's origins and quickly found her home, but with some digging managed to find that she was connected to another name. Another life. She asks Reign if he'd ever heard of Valkyrie Cain.

Part 4 - Ambushed

Returning to Somnolent and Tylent, they go back to Chris Rein's office only to find him absent. They are, however, greeted to Coda and Carver and a 2 v 3 brawl breaks out- and despite having the superior numbers, two of them were mortals, and Tylent was hesitant to use his Bonebreaking. Coda beats Stephanie down with his enhanced strength and moves to kill her with his spear, and she's about to allow him, but Somnolent stops him, though is wounded in the process. Desperate to save her partner, Stephanie consumes some Splash and attacks, fighting skilfully and blowing Coda through a wall in the process. He retreats before the dust can settle and Carver does the same.

After the battle is over, Somnolent and Tylent demand an explanation out of Stephanie for the Splash, but that's not all. Tylent calls her out for the advanced usage of magic, and she chooses to a half-lie, saying she was an Irish Sorcerer who'd left the Sanctuary after Darquesse's rampage killed her family. Not technically untrue. Somnolent buys it, trusting her, but Rylent is a bit suspicious. After this, Glaive proceeds to defect and go to the Sanctuary and the detectives return to interrogate him. After explaining his story, he's told by Tylent that he would still face justice for his crimes, but him complying would lighten his sentence heavily, and they could help his family. Relieved, Glaive tells them everything he knew, how Reign wanted to expand across America, and of the Sorcerers under his control. Somnolent thanks him for his cooperation, and him and Tylent promise to try and get his family to safety, bringing Glaive to tears.

With Reign, in hearing that about Glaive's treachery, he contemplates killing the man's family, but ultimately shrugs it off. Nothing was to be earned by killing them, and effectively disposing of a body was a lot more difficult than one might think. Glaive had done some fine service, forced or not, so Reign was fine with letting Glaive's family go free... but Glaive himself would have to go down. He didn't tolerate traitors.

More importantly, he'd learned about Stephanie's identity as Valkyrie Cain. As Darquesse. But he wasn't scared, far from it. He wants to take her down to assert to the magical world that Percival Reign was one of the top dogs. He thinks about the details compiled about her, then gives his orders.

Danny is working in his shop at night when Slate comes to kidnap him on Reign's orders. He fights back a little, but is knocked out and Slate tunnels away with him. Danny wakes tied up in a chair, with Reign across from him, Whisper and Brate at his back. Reign explains that he was going to be the damsel in distress, and threatens to have Coda bust his kneecaps if he tried to run. Danny complies and Reign smiles.

Following this, a call is made to Stephanie using Danny's phone. Reign is on the other end, and tells her to come to a warehouse in Denver, and to bring Glaive with her, or else he'd drown Danny in a river. The call ends, and Stephanie realises she'd gotten another good person caught in the crossfire of her actions. The guilt eats at her, but she resolves not to let Danny get killed and goes to get the others, knowing she couldn't do this alone.

Part 5 - Phyllic Failure

Stephanie arrives at the warehouse in Denver with Somnolent, Tylent, and Glaive. It was night time. It wasn't just Reign's inner circle who was there, but also several of his mortal underlings, led by Acantha, armed with guns. Somnolent asks if they have a plan, but then Stephanie hits the accelerator and takes off, ducking to avoid bullets as they slam into several underlings, bringing them down and getting out the car. The rest of the fodders go down with little difficulty, and though Acantha gives Stephanie some trouble, she eventually manages to shoot Reign's secretary in the ass, then knock her out. Once the underlings were down, they enter the warehouse, where Reign was waiting with a gun pointed at Danny.

To start, Reign states that he didn't particularly want to kill Danny, since they'd talked and he honestly seemed like a swell guy. But if pushed, he would. Brate, Slate, Whisper, and Coda were all at his back. He tells 'Darquesse' not to make any sudden moves, revealing to everyone present who Stephanie actually was, and what she'd done. Tylent is grim, whilst Somnolent is stunned his partner was capable of such a thing.

But, near the end of Reign's monologue, Danny suddenly bites his hand, causing his gun to drop. He can't even be mad, he was kind of asking for it with the yapping. Stephanie takes the opening to consume a Splash and uses the air to blow the gun and rush at Reign, only to be intercepted by Whisper. Eventually though, her Elementalism starts to sputter out for some reason, and she's injured in the chaos. Brate underestimates Somnolent for being a mortal and gets shot in both legs. He goes down screaming. Tylent is forced to break Coda's bones to keep him down, but gets stabbed in the process.

Glaive can't help himself- he charges at Reign and touches his head, trying to viciously break his mind in revenge. But he underestimated Reign's mental resilience. Whilst he can't break Glaive's hold, he can resist it long enough to shakily pick up his gun and shoot Glaive in the stomach, ending him. Somnolent goes mad and raises his gun, but Slate grabs his ankle and tunnels his legs into the ground. His shot misses, and then Reign turns his gun on Somnolent. He pulls the trigger, causing Somnolent to eat lead.

Something snaps inside Stephanie. She fights and, suddenly, silver energy manifests and she beats Whisper into submission with it. But she's wounded, and can't get to Reign before he orders a retreat, not wanting Brate to bleed out. He needed his magical transportation. Slate tunnels himself and Reign away and Whisper quickly follows in a shadow-walk, taking Brate with her. Reign flees with minimal losses, and Stephanie is once again left with nothing but defeat, blood, and an injured partner.

And then, as the Splash-high reaches its peak, the pressure in the back of her mind finally snaps as she collapses, entering a Surge.

Part 6 - Surging Conflict

When Stephanie wakes up, she has magic again. Permanently. Splash normally worked by amplifying a person's existing magic, even a mortal's, because everyone had at least a sliver of it- but for Valkyrie, who had no magic at all, she was hit with a blast of undiluted magic, triggering a Surge. Unlike in canon, where she possessed white lightning, here she possesses the ability to use a hyper-malleable kind of silver energy that is, on the surface, not too unlike that of an Energy-Master. In addition, she also possesses aura-vision like all those close to the Source.

The nuances of the Splash case are brought to light and complaints were brought to the Sanctuary, as they'd assumed complete control of the situation, yet never considered that a mortal man might be behind it. Percival Reign's reputation as a crime lord rose, and with this attention came more problems, but also more opportunity. The idea of a drug that levelled the playing field between mages and mortals intrigued many mortal radicalists, and the thought of an enhancer for magic attracted many mages. Reign would find plenty of business.

Tylent approaches Stephanie about her being Darquesse, demanding an explanation on her intentions if she didn't want him to expose her. Reeling from Somnolent's death, but in no position to argue, she explains everything to him, and how she was trying to make up for her past mistakes. A cord is struck in him. By having the whole picture and considering his own troubled past, Tylent says he'll keep her identity a secret, but if she ever veered from her path even a little, then he wouldn't hesitate to take her down.

Danny returns to his home in Meek Creek and checks up on Stephanie. She's despondent due to Somnolent's death, partially because she'd often been dismissive of him. The Splash withdrawals were starting to hit. She was not doing well. She is abrasive at first, but eventually he wears her down and it all comes spilling out. Danny is saddened, but reassures her. He tells her that it didn't matter what other people thought of her, and that the past didn't have to define her. It wasn't about where she stood, but where she was looking, and if she had the courage to take just one step in the right direction. And she'd taken it. She'd saved him.

His words strike a cord. Stephanie reflects on everything she'd done, and though she'd told herself she left for everyone else's sake, really she was just hiding from her sins. She couldn't hide anymore with Reign out there. She was done running from the past. She tells Danny to call her Valkyrie.

Meanwhile, in the White House, Martin Flanery gets a call. It's from Reign, who knows about Flanery's efforts to start conflict with the Sanctuaries, and Reign thinks they can help each other. After a moment, Flanery says he's listening.

Book 1(The Last of the Ancients)
Book 2(Dancing with Darkness)
Book 3(The Cursed One)
Book 4(Desolation)
Book 5(Divine Judgement)
Sidestory(Tanith Low)
Book 6(Requiem)
Sidestory(Fletcher Renn)
Book 7(Rise of the Wicked)
Book 8(Fall of a Dead Man)
Sidestory(China Sorrows)
Book 9(Burying the Light)
Sidestory(Stephanie Edgley)

(First half can be found here)

Part 8 - What The Deuce?

More Sanctuaries turn over the globe, with the Kith swarms being dealt with one by one. Several of Ravel's supporters had been ingrained in the Sanctuary so long that they'd already elevated themselves to high positions, with some even being Elders. Ravel's politician friends would smooth over mortal relations as best they could, whilst his friends in the Sanctuaries who'd taken up high positions over the years acted to further Ravel's agenda. He was revealing magic to the world in a way even better than his original plan, and with magic exposed, the Children of the Spiders could come out of hiding, satisfying Mist.

A meeting is held between him and the Spiders to discuss their success, and Deuce and Ghastly find themselves near it, having tailed Ravel since Deuce felt something was off with him. During their meeting, Portia makes a snide remark about Marr and how she'd never suspected she was lying with the traitor she'd been searching for all along, causing Ravel to punch him. Stunned, Deuce and Ghastly move to back away, but are revealed, causing an emotional battle to break out.

Portia, Syc, and Vizor attack whilst Mist hangs back, and Ravel, not wanting to hurt them but unwilling to let Marr's death be in vain, goes for Deuce. Deuce is outraged, asking why he betrayed them, and Ravel argues right back, saying he was stuck in the past. Always telling people to limit themselves for the sake of mortals, but magic wasn't something which should be pushed down. It should be allowed to thrive, open and without shame, no matter the cost. When Deuce asks if that meant his own lover, Ravel says yes. And he'd do the same to his mentor if needed.

Ghastly fights well against two Spiders, but barely manages to keep up. Deuce fights fiercely and manages to kill Syc in an elemental display, though is shortly beaten by Ravel and goes down. Ravel tells him that he'd always been charismatic, and if he escaped, then he couldn't say for sure there wasn't a chance he'd undo all Ravel's work. He couldn't allow that.

"You were like a son to me."

"I know... and I'm sorry."

Ravel ends Deuce. Portia and Vizor are about to kill Ghastly as revenge for Syc, but Ravel stops them, saying he'd be kept prisoner until mortal-magic relations had stabilised and it was too late to do anything. Mist, knowing it wasn't worth it to make enemies of Ravel now, orders them to stand down. Reluctantly, they obey, and when Ghastly demands to know how he could do this, Ravel just says all of them had to make sacrifices for the sake of a better world. He was just making his.

Part 9 - Rising Armaggedon

Darquesse has been feeling unhappy since the confrontation at the pyramid. She sneaks into Roarhaven, knowing she'd be attacked immediately if sighted, and goes to Argeddion's prison near the Accelerator. She couldn't find the Obsidian Blade, but wanted to make sure all threats to her were gone. She meets the Engineer, who is refreshingly unafraid of her, and learns that it was due to explode in mere days. After everything that's happened, she briefly considers entering the Accelerator, since she didn't seem to have anyone left. But the thought is quickly cast aside. She didn't come here to die. She goes to Argeddion, one of the few people who could kill her. He'd let Kitana and her friends run amok, taking countless innocent lives, and with the Accelerator about to explode, his prison wouldn't hold for long. Feeling justified in his death, she burns him up, ending the one person who could stop her once and for all.

Elsewhere, Elsie is in Dublin with the Necromancers, Fletcher, and Razzia, having been tasked with helping slay the Kith forces with her. She's charging a fire stream when suddenly her magic leaves her, and she's swarmed by Kith. Argeddion had died, taking her powers with him. She's about to be torn apart, but is saved by Melancholia at the last second, who shreds every Kith in the area.

Skulduggery goes to the reflection, wanting to know how to stop Darquesse, but she is quick to correct him. He speaks of them like they're different personalities, and Valkyrie just needed to wake up again, but he's wrong. At one point, they were separate, but time and Darquesse's repeated awakenings had caused them to fuse. He asks the reflection how they can save Valkyrie, and the reflection says she doesn't know.

With Sult, he'd returned to America with Brate, only to find his position in the Sanctuary undermined by Zefira Kerias, who was acting under Ravel's orders to end him and take control of the American Sanctuary. She tries to ambush him, but he manages to flee with Whisper's help, leaving her behind as he escapes to Dublin with Brate. However, upon learning that Sult had more-or-less been usurped, Brate realises there was no money in it for him anymore and teleports away. Sult, suspecting that Ravel set things up, steals a car and drives to Roarhaven to confront Ravel himself.

Scapegrace's group, having seen Deuce die and Ghastly be captured, comes forward to the reflection, and thus Skulduggery, who'd been feeling suspicious about Ravel himself. As this is being declared, Sult arrives, having lost everything and wanting to take Ravel down. He makes a deal with Skulduggery to stop Ravel and leaves with Tanith and Sanguine to save Ghastly, jibbing them over the death of Bisahalani. They sneak in to get Ghastly out, reaching his cell. But Ravel had been cautious, and kept Carol on hand along with Vizor just in case Skulduggery put the dots together, counting on his fellow Dead Man's intellect.

Threatened by the Sceptre, Sanguine retreats with an unwilling Tanith, leaving Sult and Skulduggery on their own. Skulduggery tries to reason with Carol, to tell her about Deuce and Marr's deaths, but she knew about his history as Vile, and when added onto what happened with her cousin, she doesn't take his word for it. Sult loses his cool and tries to attack, but is no match for Ravel and a Spider at the same time. He's stabbed in the heart with a dagger made of ice, calling Ravel a filthy bastard before he dies. Ravel doesn't repute him.

Ravel throws Skulduggery in a cell with Ghastly, saying they could leave once things had stabilised. After enduring their verbal wrath, he leaves.

Part 10 - Falling Low

In the cell, Skulduggery tries to make a joke, but Ghastly isn't laughing. The two speak, and everything that Ghastly had been holding back at Skulduggery comes out, until the reflection appears and frees them. She'd snuck in with the help of Weeper, who was enraged by the death of Deuce and Marr, and wanted to help. Along the way, they also reunite with Sanguine and Tanith, who'd come back at her insistence, and even nabbed the Obsidian Blade from its storage in the process. They make to leave and find the other Dead Men to come back and handle Ravel, but find themselves obstructed by Portia, Vizor, the Black Cleaver, and Nye.

Weeper is angered and tries to throw himself at the Black Cleaver, but is swatted aside. Ghastly, Sanguine, and Tanith strike at the Black Cleaver together, who defends Nye, whilst the reflection and Skulduggery handle the Spiders. At first, things are even, but the commotion is great and Ravel soon appears with Carol and Mist at his back. He tells Skulduggery to stand down, and naturally he refuses.

Nye flees and Ghastly, Sanguine, and Tanith engage the Cleaver together in a gnarly three-way duel. It more than holds its own now that it doesn't have to worry about Nye, shadow-walking the three of them away, and once again proves to be too much for them to handle. It beats them all back, the Obsidian Blade leaving Tanith's hand. She says that she loves them, the target of her affection dubious, but for a moment Ghastly sees his Tanith, and not the Remnant-possessed madwoman who'd indirectly started a war. The woman he fell in love with. And then her head is taken off by the Black Cleaver, and his heart breaks all over again.

Ghastly picks up the Obsidian Blade and, with help from Sanguine, shoves it through the Cleaver's chest, absorbing its soul and turning it into a shell that Ghastly burns to ashes. Nye tries to run off, but Sanguine catches up to it with Ghastly. Left cornered, it begs for its life and Ghastly tells it to explain Ravel's plan, recording the whole thing. Ghastly keeps his word, but Sanguine never promised anything, and tunnels his hand into Nye's chest, scrambling its inner organs and leaving it to die slowly.

Skulduggery and Ghastly is with the reflection again Ravel, Carol, and the Spiders, and were losing. Badly. The reflection tries to reason with Carol, who actually hesitates and starts to doubt Ravel, though she's disrupted by Portia, who injures and is about to kill the reflection. In seeing the image of Valkyrie about to be killed, Skulduggery's internal conflict comes to a peak, and he unleashes his shadows, skewering Portia and saving the reflection. Vizor tries to do the same, but is killed, and the same happens to Mist. Carol tries to fire the Sceptre, but the reflection gets in the way of it, and it does nothing.

Vile tries to attack Carol, but Ravel saves her and gets injured himself, forcing the two of them to retreat. The reflection is approached by Vile, but then a grim Sanguine and Ghastly emerge. Ghastly gets in Vile's way, staring him down.

"Will you kill me like you killed my mother, Skulduggery?"

Vile's shadows withdrawn and Skulduggery comes back. He tries to apologise, but Ghastly just tells him to get up. He does, and all of them go after Carol. Whilst this is going on, Carol is dragging Ravel through Roarhaven. As they're running, she questions him. He hesitates, but ultimately lies again. Carol isn't completely fooled, but she also isn't able to accept the mentor she'd been following was a ruthless killer. She chooses to believe him and returns with Ravel to the house where the Edgleys had been staying to recover. She enters to find Darquesse.

Part 11 - Judgement

After killing Argeddion, Darquesse felt low. She wanted reassurance that she was still loved. She sneaks around and goes to see her father, who's with Alice, Beryl and Fergus. Echo-Gordon is there too. She tries to be normal with them, but it's no use. Desmond pleads for her to come home, Fergus and Beryl unleash the anger at her for keeping the death of Crystal from them, and Gordon tries to calm the situation to no avail. Things only gets worse when Carol and Ravel arrive at the house, the both of them wary of Darquesse, adding to her inner turmoil. The arrival of Skulduggery and the others, with him having deduced where Carol was heading, wasn't helping anyone. Everyone is speaking at Darquesse, all in different tones, until she's overwhelmed and black fire starts to creep.

Carol fires a black lightning bolt on reflex, but because it can't harm an Ancient, it does nothing. Nothing except set Darquesse off, that is.

Darquesse takes the Sceptre away from Carol and erases it from existence in a display that destroys the house. The commotion draws attention to Fletcher and many of their other allies, including Saracen and Dexter, the Monster Hunters with Elsie and Razzia, plus Melancholia and Solomon, who'd returned to Roarhaven via teleportation shortly before this. The Kith were largely handled, so they'd left their remaining forces behind to handle the stragglers, wanting to investigate what happened to Argeddion. They see Darquesse and a crowd of citizens forms against her. A hostile one.

Faced with so many people, all of them wanting to attack her, Darquesse reveals that she'd destroyed all the God-Killers and slayed Argeddion, hoping they'd fear her enough to stand down. And this does get the smarter ones to submit, but several citizens of Roarhaven are only enraged further by this and crowd at Darquesse whilst spitting venom, attacking as one. She strikes right back, unwilling to take their resentment lying down, and people start to die as she unleashes a wave of black fire.

Dozens of people are killed. Everyone is looking at Darquesse like she's a monster, and she hates it. She makes this dislike audible, and gets a hole blasted through her by Dexter, who acts in response to her aggression. Orders are being yelled as he moves, the Monster Hunters following, and Fletcher starts to teleport people away, wanting to get them away from Darquesse. As she regenerates, she is hurt. She thought they were friends, but looking around, she realises she had no one left. No one except enemies. She has another outburst that kills Dexter and Donegan, and almost kills Gracious, however Fletcher is able to teleport him out just in time. But his arm was grazed by those flames. Once lit, that fire would spread until it consumed him. He couldn't put them out. Not without a sacrifice. He uses a portal to sever his own arm, leaving him mutilated.

Something inside of Darquesse snaps. She tries to apologise to Fletcher, but he pulls away, and she sees the hatred in Gracious' eyes. When the reflection's group arrives, she sees the looks her family was sending her. That her dad was sending her. Unable to stand them, she feels like the world is against her and wants to teach it a lesson. To teach them never to so much as look at her wrong again. She screams and unleashes an explosion of light follows that flattens Roarhaven.

Part 12 - Remains

Darquesse flies off after destroying Roarhaven, leaving the survivors to pick up the pieces. Melancholia managed to shield those closest to her with a dome of darkness, but hundreds of people were dead. Over a thousand. Ghastly and Sanguine reunite with the main group at last, showing Nye's confession to Ravel's betrayal to the group, causing Carol to realise he'd just been using her. She leaves his side and goes to her parents.

Left alone, Ravel's explanation of having built a city in secret to replace this destroyed one is cut off by Skulduggery shooting him in the chest. He's about to finish the job, but is stopped by Saracen. His betrayal and the death of Deuce is explained, but even then, Saracen still won't let Skulduggery kill Ravel. He'd just lost Dexter, and the idea of losing another Dead Man today was more than he could take. He tells Skulduggery that if he kills Ravel, that was it for them, then leaves to go find Dexter's family and tell them what happened. Skulduggery is about to kill Ravel anyway, but is surprisingly stopped by Ghastly, who tells him that Ravel could still be of use to them with his contacts and the replacement city for Roarhaven. Too much was at stake to just off him. Besides, killing Ravel after all this would be a mercy. Skulduggery puts his gun away.

A clean-up takes place, amongst which is Scapegrace's group. Their pub had been destroyed, but they were eager to help and bring the wounded to Clarabelle, who heals all her patients as best she can. The Necromancers led by Melancholia are also there to offer their aid, and Solomon even thinks about what to do with all of them, given many of them had betrayed their home countries to flock to their Death Bringer's side. He thinks about opening a Temple. High Priest Wreath did have quite a nice ring to it. The mortal ambassadors also arrive to find the city destroyed, and in seeing the hard times their fellow human beings were coming across, call humanitarian aid.

Fletcher is dealing with his loss of limb, though Gracious manages to offer some comfort since he'd lost an eye. He apologises for not saving Donegan too, but Gracious just hugs him. He tells Fletcher that sometimes the best way to help yourself is to help someone else, encouraging him to help with the cleanup, and the two head out to do their part. Elsie joins, despite being mortal again, and Razzia does the same because she doesn't want to be left out. She asks if some of the corpses can be fed to Hansel and Gretel, and gets a resounding no.

The reflection is found by Desmond. Alice is with him. He's not sure how to process what Darquesse had just done, and neither can the reflection. It was a living nightmare. Skulduggery approaches them and says that he was going to handle Darquesse, then goes to Ghastly, who'd assumed command given all the Elders were dead and Ravel was a traitor. He tells Skulduggery that he was going to face punishment for his crimes, both as Vile and for keeping Darquesse a secret. Skulduggery doesn't argue, but instead asks for a chance to fix the mess he'd created, and to give his life to the Accelerator once it was done. He tells Ghastly his plan and is begrudgingly allowed, with Ghastly even giving him the Obsidian Blade for the job. He goes to the Accelerator Room, pushing it to its absolute limit. The Engineer tells him just a few hours were left on its countdown, but he wasn't worried. By then, he planned on being back to offer his own soul.

Part 13 - Until The End

It wasn't hard for Skulduggery to find Darquesse. He knew her too well. He arrives at Gordon's mansion and finds her in the living room. It looked exactly the same as on the day they'd met. The two have one final conversation, where they're almost like normal asides from the building tension, but the illusion comes crashing down when Skulduggery unsheathes the Obsidian Blade. He reminds Valkyrie that he wished he stayed dead when Serpine killed him, before he became Lord Vile, and he was sorry, but he had a promise to fulfil. She is silent, then asks if he hated her like everyone else, and he shakes his head. He could never hate her. She'd always be his partner, right up to the moment he killed her.

"Until the end."

"...until the very end, partner."

Skulduggery transforms into Lord Vile, his armour and magic supercharged by the Accelerator, and with an explosion of shadows that obliterates Gordon's mansion, the two begin a battle to the death. The ground crumbles and shatters, exposing the entrance to the caves below, and during their fight they dive into it, killing countless magical creatures in their proceeding struggle. It was a glorious battle where Vile's undead nature works in his favour, as Darquesse's black flames were useless, and his Necromancy is stronger than ever before. During their fight, a hidden section of the cave is destroyed, and a massive dragon emerges from it and flies into the sky, halting them both for a moment. Magic truly was incredible.

But with an explosion of light, Lord Vile's shadows are tamed, and a battered, bare skeleton is all that remains. Darquesse had beaten Skulduggery. With the Obsidian Blade kicked aside, Darquesse approaches a downed Skulduggery, who asks if she could really destroy the world. She says that at first she didn't think so, but considering all that she'd managed to do at this point, she thinks she could if pushed. And everyone seemed intent on pushing her. If they died, it was their own fault.

She makes to kill him, but before then, the reflection arrives with the help of Fletcher. She picks up the Obsidian Blade and approaches Darquesse, but when their eyes lock, she sees how little light there was inside them. It had been buried by all this destruction, pain, and power. She drops the Obsidian Blade and chooses to hug Darquesse, who is confused, but doesn't push away. The reflection says that she forgives Darquesse, and that she doesn't hate her or want to fight her. They were still friends, despite everything. Darquesse, in looking at Fletcher who'd been mutilated because of her, and Skulduggery who'd tried to kill her, tries to bury the guilt. She tries to push the responsibility onto other people, even blaming 'Darquesse', but the reflection corrects her. They didn't kill those people. Valkyrie did.

Anger flares, but Darquesse quickly breaks down, crying. Realising what she'd done, and as an act of self-loathing, she uses her powers to target the dark power she absorbed all those years ago and destroy it. Along with her magic.

Valkyrie collapses, being left magicless and mortal. Skulduggery asks for Valkyrie to take him to the Accelerator, since it was on the brink, but she leaves him. She goes to Fletcher, who's beyond simply hating her at this point, and asks for him to take them to the Accelerator. She wanted to do something right for once. Wanting to be rid of her, he complies and takes Valkyrie, defying Skulduggery who wanted to go there in her place.

As they go, the reflection links up with them and arrives in the Accelerator room. Knowing that Fletcher would try to stop what she was about to do, the reflection apologises and knocks him out, leaving her and Valkyrie alone. She tells Valkyrie that she wasn't lying when she said she didn't want to let Valkyrie die, and wanted to save her friend no matter what. She planned on being the one to sacrifice herself. Believing she had a soul, she declares that she was no longer just a mere reflection of Valkyrie, but her own person now. A person named Prism.

Valkyrie was touched that the reflection- no, Prism, was willing to save her even after all she'd done. But she also wasn't about to let her only friend and sister die in her place and a magicless brawl breaks out. The two are desperate to save the other, and fight with a brutal lack of restraint, perfect equals. It ends when Valkyrie gets a lucky shot and gets Prism down for the count, limping towards the Accelerator with broken ribs, intent on ending her own and everyone else's torment. But then Desmond emerges.

Desmond tells Valkyrie that Edgleys never took the easy way out. It was unlike them. Yes, she was technically not an Edgley anymore, but semantics. He wasn't letting any of his daughters die. She desperately tries to move him, but she was left too weak. Desmond tells Valkyrie that he loved her, and he'd say hi to their mother for them, and tells Prism she was as much a real person as anyone else, then walks into the Accelerator, shutting it down at the cost of his own life.

Part 14 - Dawn Breaks

The 'death' of Darquesse was spread throughout Roarhaven, but it was a cold comfort. Over a thousand people remained dead. Mortals were working alongside Sorcerers to help the survivors, and the ambassadors were looking for a representative of the Sorcerers to collaborate with and smoothen things over. As a mortal that had close ties to the magical community, Elsie steps up to become that representative, speaking on behalf of both mortal and Sorcerer, given she'd been one for a time.

Guild once more shuts down the Exigency Program, this time permanently, discharging Serrate from service to follow his own path. He's offered to take up the position of Grand Mage again, as he was the only one with experience in this department, but time alone with his daughter, Iris, had tempered him. He declines, wishing to live a quieter, less violent life and be there for his daughter.

With a heavy heart and with nobody else to shoulder the burden, Ghastly steps up as Grand Mage, choosing to install Saracen and Shudder as his Elders, since they were the only Dead Men left alive who he could trust. Their reputation was exactly what was needed to create some order. Creyfon Signate is imprisoned, but like in canon he was oblivious to Ravel's actions and, horrified by what he'd done, cooperates with them and shunts the city they'd been constructing into the Prime Dimension. It was deemed New Roarhaven, and Signate earns his freedom, becoming a Sanctuary agent. A grave is made for Tanith at Ghastly's request, and Sanguine visits it, where him and Ghastly speak about her. After trading insults, he tells Ghastly that if he ever needed a Hitman Deluxe, he was open for business, then tunnels away.

Ravel is shoved into a cell for his crimes, but not executed. His supporters were too numerous to count, and many were in high places. Everything could fall apart if he was killed. Even just his imprisonment angers them, but Ravel orders them to cooperate with Ghastly for the greater good. He'd made his bed, and he deserved to lie in it, even if that bed was in a prison cell. He's visited by Carol, who slaps him and demands to know if he was using her, and with some pushing, he reluctantly answers yes. He tries to assure her that he did care, but Carol leaves, though not before telling him that if people he cared about all ended up like Deuce and Marr, then she preferred just being a pawn to him.

It's not only Ravel that's thrown in prison. Ghastly's conflicted feelings meant that he didn't want Skulduggery dead, but people had been asking for him to be punished for a while, and Ghastly was one of them. Tanith's death had embittered him. He makes good on his earlier words and throws Skulduggery into a cell next to Ravel, saying the traitors could talk amongst themselves, denouncing them as his friends and shutting the door. Skulduggery doesn't resist, though does refuse any and all olive branches offered to him by Ravel.

Following this, Fletcher finds Ghastly. Ghastly assures him that no expense would be paid to get him a prosthetic hand. But it's not that. He wonders how he could have ever loved Valkyrie when she was so twisted deep down. In response, Ghastly states that bitterness and hatred didn't suit him, and Fletcher asks why not, since being considerate had never gotten him anything. Ghastly tells him that was the thought process of a weak man. People like Valkyrie and Skulduggery, despite all their power, were weak because they gave into their darkness. He tells Fletcher not to be weak, and they hug, both shedding tears over their losses.

A funeral is held for Desmond in Haggard, one where Prism is present with Alice, knowing she'd have to take care of her sister on her own from now on. Echo-Gordon is even in attendance, acting as emotional support. Beryl assures Prism that they didn't hold her accountable for Darquesse's actions, stating that Melissa was her best friend. Only friend, since she wasn't really very likeable. Hearing this causes Prism to cry, and she hugs Beryl.

Valkyrie is there too, albeit watching from a distance. She couldn't face her family, but had to be there. But Carol notices her. Valkyrie tells Carol that she was going somewhere far, far away from here, and they'd never have to see her again. Carol, knowing she had little room to judge too harshly given she'd helped Ravel, lets her go and returns to the funeral, choosing not to say anything.

AN: And that's a wrap for the first nine books! Oh man, oh man, what a journey this has been, though I'm not quite done yet. I've had too much of a blast writing this for it to end, and there are still so many loose ends to tie up. No rest for the wicked, and all that.

Book 1(The Last of the Ancients)
Book 2(Dancing with Darkness)
Book 3(The Cursed One)
Book 4(Desolation)
Book 5(Divine Judgement)
Sidestory(Tanith Low)
Book 6(Requiem)
Sidestory(Fletcher Renn)
Book 7(Rise of the Wicked)
Book 8(Fall of a Dead Man)
Sidestory(China Sorrows)
Book 9(Burying the Light)

Alright, this is the end of the 'Judgement Day' trilogy, incorporating elements of LSoDM where I can because I love that book. Whilst there will be one more trilogy after this one, this is technically the canon 'rewrite' since everything after this will be more-or-less original material. A good number of OCs will feature, mostly to spice things up at certain points and to fill roles that aren't there in canon characters, plus a decent bit of Phase 2. Hope you enjoy both parts!

Book 9 - Burying the Light(2013)

(Main Villain: Darquesse)

Part 1 - Goldeneye

The book kicks things off over a month after the end of Fall of a Dead Man, and starts the prologue with a chapter from Ravel's perspective for the first time as himself, and not the man with golden eyes. Ravel is with the Children of the Spiders, led by Mist, and they're discussing their new plan, one which might actually work better than the original. With the Warlocks in no condition to fulfil their role after Charivari's death, they've decided to substitute them with the Kith, and with some help from Nye, they'd managed to track down more of the Kith clusters whilst rigging them to awaken with the flip of a switch. He didn't see Sorcerers as superior, but knew that with advancing technology, the reveal of magic was a question of when, not if, so he hoped that by engineering it himself, he'd at least be able to control and mitigate the fallout. But the Sorcerer world was in no condition to be exposed right now, as the image of war wasn't what needed to be given to them for optimal mortal-magic relations. He planned on fixing that.

The conflict between Ireland and the other Sanctuaries has been simmering, with Darquesse's arrival and Skulduggery being Vile acting like a constantly fog over everyone's mind, on top of the War of the Sanctuaries which had been raging for months now. Instead of being out there in the action, Skulduggery was confined to house arrest. Instead of seeing him, we follow a series of battles between Ireland and the Supreme Council, which mostly consists of European Countries and America, along with some from Africa. General Mantis was as unrelenting as in canon, if not more so, forcing Corrival Deuce to take up the mantle of General once more to counter him.

Saddled with leadership, in some ways above even Ravel, Deuce made the call to pardon Guild from his house arrest and bring him back into the fold, as they needed every asset possible. Guild was a bit hesitant, since being left to raise his daughter by himself for a few years had softened him, and he wasn't looking forward to a life of violence again. He'd lost his spark. But he knew what was at stake and reluctantly gathers whatever scraps remained from the old Exigency Program together. There weren't many given how many years it had been disbanded for, most were dead or had found other lines of work as assassins or mercenaries, but amongst the available was his old second-in-command, Uriah Serrate, a cold, ruthless glaive-wielding Necromancer. With Skulduggery's secret coming out, and Ravel as Grand Mage, Ghastly starts acting as the Dead Men's field leader, corresponding with Guild to sabotage the Supreme Council's efforts behind the scenes.

Fletcher is a central part of Ireland's tactics within the War of the Sanctuaries much like in Last Stand of Dead Men, but in addition to Mantis' forces, an American Teleporter by the name of Adam Brate was hired by Sult to help them, much like he did Whisper. He escaped Batu's Teleporter culling because he was in prison whilst it went on, but after experiencing numerous losses at Fletcher's hand, Sult offered immunity to Brate if he helped the Supreme Council counter Fletcher. Brate accepts for freedom, money, and possibly the chance to kill Fletcher. It was nothing personal, but being the only Teleporter in the world would make his services priceless.

Through Guild's spies, an attack is made on a harbour in New York, where the Supreme Council wanted to dispatch their forces to land in Ireland. Fletcher, Razzia, Dexter, and Saracen sneak by with the aid of Serrate, who helps them by shadow-walking them into the ships with Saracen's help to plant the bombs. It's revealed that Saracen's Discipline gave him X-Ray vision here. He was just a Lynceus. Dexter is a bit underwhelmed, but Fletcher thinks it's kind of cool and pretty handy, earning a high-five. Razzia tactlessly asks if he can see people naked whenever he wants and Saracen refuses to answer that one.

With Saracen's help, they plant the bombs in vulnerable spots to sabotage and sink the ships, but end up being caught in an ambush. Brate is amongst them, along with Whisper, but also Gepard, Adrasdos, and several others. Gepard was put in charge, and tells Dexter to hand over the detonator and escape whilst he had the chance. When he refuses and blows the ships up, setting the council back, Gepard goes for Dexter, who's backed by Saracen and Razzia. Whisper and Adrasdos double-team Serrate, who proves his skill by handling them both single-handed. Brate does his job and engages Fletcher in a Teleporter bout.

"You should know, this is nothing personal kid, just good business."

"And you should know that's not original."

Despite his portal powers and immense talent, Brate's experience shows and he grapples Fletcher. The two of them return to the harbour, and he's about to have his neck snapped, but is saved last second by Razzia, whose Gists bite off a few of his fingers. He teleports away in a rage, swearing to pay her back. Serrate slays Adrasdos, forcing Whisper to retreat, whilst Dexter and Saracen wound and incapacitate Gepard and the rest of his men, but don't kill. It was unnecessary. They manage to escape with Fletcher, but the worst was yet to come.

Part 2 - The Night of Knives

With the reflection, she's been living quietly with Desmond and Alice in Roarhaven as the war raged, even meeting with Scapegrace's group at some point when they went to his pub when she showed him around Roarhaven. He/she joked about having tried to kill Valkyrie once, and Desmond isn't amused. The Engineer is at the pub, working as a bartender in its spare time, though has the nasty habit of asking everyone it meets if they'd like to offer their soul to the Accelerator, putting them off. The reflection believes she has a soul and contemplates offering her own, but is dissuaded from Desmond, who'd grown attached to the reflection and couldn't bear to lose anyone else.

After this, the reflection decides to come clean about another matter that Valkyrie had kept hidden from them: Echo-Gordon. She brings the Echo Stone containing Gordon to her father and Fergus, with him and Beryl having been brought to Roarhaven so the council didn't use them to get to Carol for the Sceptre. The Edgley brothers reunite, and Gordon even gets to finally meet Alice. It's sweet, but the heavy matter of Darquesse is brought up, and Desmond becomes distraught. The reflection promises that she'll do everything she could to bring Valkyrie back to him, not because she was a servant to Valkyrie, but because she was family.

With Brate's help, a mass-attack is orchestrated on the Sensitives of Ireland via assassins, and they manage to do so with the help via a group of Sensitive-linked septuplets called the Seven-As-One, who cause a widespread wave of magic across Ireland that scrambles the powers of all Sensitives temporarily, making them vulnerable in an event which would become known as the "Night of Knives". Finbar, whose an especially powerful Sensitive, manages to survive via a poisoned mug of tea, but the same cannot be said for Cassandra. She's assassinated by Whisper. This was the first time she'd come back to Ireland since she left the Temple. Since she left her despicable father, Craven. In her final moments, Cassandra asks for her eyes to be closed so that it just looked like she was sleeping. Once dead, Whisper complies with that request and leaves.

In light of these losses and the council's additions, Deuce is trying to think of a solution to give them an edge. With China Sorrows missing, he needed the help of a Signum Linguist to stop Roarhaven from being infiltrated, so at the very least an army couldn't just appear in their back garden. He gets into contact with Uther Peccant, who was a sigil master, and after being brought to Roarhaven, Peccant taps into the barrier to create a perimeter that bans Teleportation directly into the city. However, if the barrier was destroyed, all bets would be off. Peccant also goes to Fletcher and carves a sigil onto him that would stop the barrier from keeping him out.

Whilst Peccant is working his magic, Deuce learns that Clarabelle has been secretly supplying Moloch and his Vampires with serum and had built up a bit of a rapport with them. This incites him to go to Moloch, where he strikes a deal to gain the aid of the Vampires by offering them another block of flats once Roarhaven was rebuilt. If that wasn't enough, Mist brings the Children of the Spiders out to help out. Of them is Syc, a Spider who possesses poisoned nails and claws, Portia, who can extend four spider leg-like limbs from her back, and Vizor(OC), who can eject webs from her wrists. Ravel goes over Deuce's head and promises the Spiders that, if they help, they could take residence in Roarhaven out in the open, and given there weren't many options, Deuce is convinced to agree.

Solomon is with Melancholia, routinely checking up on her like had become usual, both out of guilt and her connection to his teacher. But whilst there, Darquesse visits. He's on guard, but it turned out that she was weighed down by the guilt of what she'd done to Melancholia, feeling like her past actions were on her head. She wakes Melancholia up, and after a brief reunion where she explains what happened, she's disappointed to see that even the Death Bringer can't understand her and leaves. Now alone, Solomon apologises to Melancholia and, after a bitter conversation where she learns of her heritage, Solomon comes up with a plan to keep the Irish Sanctuary off her back.

Part 3 - The Darkness of Warfare

The Midnight Hotel is struck by Mantis, but Tanith and Sanguine had infiltrated the American Sanctuary and learn of their plan beforehand. But they're discovered by Sult, who easily recognised his teacher's killers. Tanith is captured whilst Sanguine manages to escape and warn Ireland of Mantis' plans. Mantis was also laying a siege on Roarhaven as this was happening with Brate's help, aiming to attack the Irish from both inside and outside Roarhaven to take the city in a seamless pincer. This forces the Irish to divide their forces.

Fletcher rendezvous with Sanguine along with Shudder, Razzia, and the Monster Hunters, their aim being to take the Midnight Hotel back in America. Gracious brought a bomb in case worse came to worse and they needed to destroy the hotel, but Shudder is vehemently opposed to the idea. Although the circumstances were grave, Shudder takes an interest in Razzia and her Gist-based abilities, though she herself finds his words on restraint and self-control boring. He might've chosen the Discipline and adapted to it, but she was a Natural, born into Gisting, and didn't see an issue with her murderous impulses. This opinion earns the disapproval of Fletcher, and she tries to brush him off, but his words still sting.

Mantis' forces had managed to take control of the Midnight Hotel's shifts with the help of NJ Maverick, who is not China's student like in canon, but a Signum Linguist under the Supreme Council's command. Acting as NJ's bodyguard is yet another mercenary, a rare Arborkinetic named Toxin(OC) who demonstrates the understated power of her Discipline by turning the inside of the hotel into a fortress of vines, thorns, and other fauna. Cadaverous Gant is also being held hostage, and isn't a murderous old man, but a middle-aged receptionist at the Midnight Hotel who had a family back in Roarhaven. Sigils are how the Midnight Hotel shifts to different locations, and NJ managed to hack it, so if the Supreme Council captured it, they'd have a direct path into Roarhaven. With sheer numbers and time against them, Shudder plants and arms Gracious' bomb, heart heavy.

"Goodbye, old friend."

After linking up with Gant and the rest of the group, Fletcher teleports them out a moment before the bomb went off and destroyed the Midnight Hotel.

Roarhaven's barrier is up, but the Supreme Council's numbers, comprised of mages from multiple Sanctuaries, were too great. There were thousands of them. When night fell, Moloch is there with the rest of the Vampires, who enter their true forms and jump off the wall to strike back against the Supreme Council in a vicious rampage. Many of the Supreme Council are killed, but they hold out and several of the Vampires die, though Moloch makes it out. Nobody except Clarabelle is very sad about it. It takes every last bit of strength the Irish have to defend the wall, but eventually the barrier breaks and all hell breaks loose.

A huge battle takes place, with some of it spilling into Roarhaven itself. All the Dead Men, Deuce, Elsie, a Sceptre-wielding Carol, Fletcher, the Monster Hunters, and Peccant, are there and fighting for their lives, with the Spiders joining them back-to-back along with whatever Vampires had chosen to remain in their human forms. But whilst this is going on, a group of enemy mages breach Roarhaven and head for the Accelerator Room with orders to seize it and supercharge themselves, but the reflection and Scapegrace's group get a hint. Desmond leaves Alice with his brother and rushes there with the reflection, unwilling to leave his daughter alone again. They arrive just in time to find the Engineer standing in the way of the council's soldiers.

"Did you know my creators invented me not only to monitor the Accelerator, but also defend it?"

Then, the Engineer arm transformers into a magic-powered cannon and it unleashes a barrage of attacks, alongside pre-programmed karate skills. Once joined by the rest of the group, they manage to defend the Accelerator together, though Desmond is hurt protecting the reflection. He has to be taken to Clarabelle, but regrets nothing.

Elsie is on the battlefield. She's fighting, but very defensively, as despite everything, she couldn't bring herself to take another life. But her hesitation costs her, and in the chaos, Saracen is captured. Brate teleports in a second wave of Sorcerers, and it seems that all hope is lost.

Then, men and women start to drop and Melancholia arrives in a wave of darkness with hundreds of Necromancers at her back. They were from across the globe, rallied together under the name of their messiah and Solomon Wreath. In a valiant, devastating assault that decimates the Supreme Council's forces, they turn the tide and save the day, increasing Melancholia's rapport with the Irish and ensuring that none of the Elders could act against her unless, of course, they wanted every Necromancer in the world out for their blood.

Deuce approaches Solomon after the battle to tell him he knew what he was doing, and would allow it, but warns that if Melancholia proved dangerous, there would be no amount of politics large enough to stop them from cutting her down. After the battle, Melancholia tries to speak with Fletcher, but he makes it clear that he's not forgotten what she did to him and walks away.

Part 4 - Impending Darquesse

With Darquesse, who's been reflecting over the months on whether to destroy the world or not, she decides to visit Skulduggery out of loneliness, and to ask where the Obsidian Blade was being held. But Skulduggery believes that Valkyrie was being suppressed by Darquesse, like all the other times she'd taken control, and asks for his partner back. She tries to tell him that Darquesse was no longer an alter-ego, but he won't listen. He says that if Valkyrie truly was gone, then he knew she wouldn't want this, reminding her that he wished he'd died before he became Lord Vile. He knew she'd be the same.

His words cause Darquesse to have flashbacks to Valkyrie's vision of him killing her when Nye sealed her name. Scared, she reveals that she'd snuck around and destroyed all the God-Killers except for the Obsidian Blade, even teleporting in their shattered remains as proof. She warns him not to act against her, then teleports away.

The next stage of the war involves less all-out warfare Ireland has proven themselves too powerful to handle in a direct confrontation, especially with the backing of the Death Bringer, but Mantis was nothing if not adaptable. Saracen is interrogated and, despite his resistance, he's ultimately not able to keep the Sensitives out. They learn everything, which wasn't much because the Dead Men were very spontaneous, but they learn about Dexter's family before throwing Saracen in a cell. Tanith is his cellmate.

Mantis changes its approach to something more ruthless- it was taking hostages to hold leverage over Ireland's forces. It orders that Dexter's family be taken. When the agents come, Ebony resists with surprising effectiveness, giving Ida and Louise the chance to escape, but is ultimately beaten, captured, and thrown in with Tanith and Saracen, who she bonds with over their connection to Dexter.

After a call from Ida that had Fletcher picking them up, Dexter reunites with his daughter and granddaughter, learning of Ebony's capture. Dexter goes to Ravel and demands they mount a rescue and Ravel, knowing that Dexter won't take no for an answer, has Deuce organise one with the other Dead Men. But just as they're wondering how they'll find Dexter's family, Skulduggery walks in, stating that it sounded like a job for a detective.

Part 5 - Blood-Stained Trickery

The Dead Men finally confront Skulduggery about his lies and actions, and he doesn't defend himself. He was a hypocrite, a liar, and a murderer, but not a coward. When he tells them about Darquesse and shows them the destroyed God-Killers, then offers up the Obsidian Blade, plus with Saracen, Tanith, and Dexter's wife at stake, the Dead Men are delicately willing to accept his help. But they make it clear nothing has been forgotten, let alone forgiven. He doesn't push, instead helping them come up with a plan to save their hostages.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Council is wavering. Many Sanctuaries had lost a lot of people in the siege at Roarhaven, and being reminded of the cost of war, started to cut their losses and withdraw their forces. Sult, having been pressured to enter war by some of them, decries them as cowards. Deuce, in seeing the council's weakness, sends Fletcher and the Monster Hunters to some of the Sanctuaries who'd backed out, one of which is Mozambique, who send a representative. Little do they know, this representative was killed and replaced by Ajouga, who blatantly comes onto Fletcher in an attempt to enamour him.

Witches specialise in laying curses on others, so when Ajouga made casual contact with the three of them, she unknowingly cast a spell on them which muffled their ability to use their magic. Using this, she takes the Monster Hunters off-guard and knocks them out, but Fletcher had his guard up the whole time due to his experience with Myra. When he realises he can't use his powers, he engages her in a magicless brawl, which with his experience and training under Ghastly, was surprisingly effective. It's not enough though, and he goes down after getting Ajouga's veil knocked off and bloodying her nose. Rather than be mad, she just gives him a manic, blood-stained smile, telling him that she liked that he could resist before knocking his lights out.

The Dead Men, Skulduggery, and Sanguine are trekking through Europe with Skulduggery towards the French Sanctuary, knowing where their hostages are being held because Finbar, fuelled by the deaths of his fellow Sensitives, aggressively pushed his powers and gained a vision of the Eiffel Tower. He remained behind with Dexter's family, offering to take them to have a wicked curry with Sharon to take their mind off things. Amazingly, Sanguine isn't the one who's singled out. Several heated discussions about Skulduggery's betrayal are told, with him trying to apologise to Ghastly, but he's not hearing any of it. Skulduggery had killed his mother. There was no letting that go. Even when they wander into a ghost town and Skulduggery manages to save Ghastly's life, he gets no thanks from him.

After heading to Paris, they find Mandat, who is initially mocking of their predicament, but Dexter proceeds to instil the fear of God into him. He agrees to take them to the hostages, though Dexter threatens to blow a hole through his torso if he was deceiving them.

Donegan and Gracious call from Mozambique, informing the Sanctuary of Fletcher's kidnapping. With the other Dead Men gone, Elsie and Razzia decide to hold a rescue mission themselves to get Fletcher back, planning to rendezvous with the Monster Hunters. But before they leave, they're joined by the reflection, who wants to help Fletcher because he'd really helped her during their talk about Valkyrie, and she wanted to return the favour.

In Roarhaven, Nye is finished with its preparations and can place Scapegrace's group into their cloned bodies. It came with a catch, however, because the bodies Nye had given them were technically dead, their magic was just preventing their bodies from rotting and keeping them alive. It was an odd state of being, not too dissimilar to Skulduggery's. They'd be able to continue on as normal for the most part, however, and so they celebrate, with Crux even deciding to stick around at the pub and shave his beard off. He was no longer ashamed of his lacking jawline.

With the other Dead Men gone and the war cooling down for a bit, Ravel decides that it's time to make his move. He gets into contact with Frightening Jones and asks if the English Sanctuary, as neutral ground, could be used as a meeting place for him and Sult to speak, claiming he wanted to get their hostages back and possibly end the war. He promises there won't be issues, nearly begging, and after playing to Jones' righteousness, he gets a yes. Perfect.

Part 6 - Bon Voyage

In Paris, Dexter forces Mandat to bring them to Mantis' prison, which laid under the Eiffel Tower. There, Sanguine sneaks into the prison and lets them slide in, but Mantis' best forces are there to get in his way: Ashione, Regis, and Metric are there, and so is NJ with Toxin as a bodyguard. Mantis threatens Ebony and tells Dexter to turn against the Dead Men or it would kill her. Left with no choice, he reluctantly turns on his friends.

Metric and Regis go for Skulduggery, who isn't backed by the others, and whilst he holds his own for a bit, their teamwork is impeccable, and Metric catches one of his fists and snaps his arm in half. Desperate and alone, he ruthlessly shoves his arm through Metric's eye, then impales Regis. NJ is using several sigil traps to stall Shudder and Ghastly, who are against Mandat and a half-hearted Dexter, but in the chaos Sanguine managed to free Tanith, then free Saracen. Toxin tries to defend NJ, but Saracen and Sanguine manage to beat her back and knock NJ out, forcing her to flee. Mantis moves to threaten Ebony to get Dexter to fight harder, but Tanith is clinging to the wall behind it and slices both its hands off, saving Ebony and kicking the Crenga down, screeching.

Dexter goes to Ebony, and after making sure she was alright, goes to a pained Mantis and blows a hole through its chest. No quips or lightheartedness, just ice-cold rage. But before he could end Mandat in his wrath, he's stopped by Skulduggery because killing a foreign Grand Mage would only lead to further issues. They spare Mandat and leave with a captured NJ in tow as a POW.

Donegan and Gracious lead the reflection and the others to the pyramid where the Brides gathered to rescue Fletcher. After entering, they split up to find him, with the reflection finding Darquesse there, relaxing and trying to lay low after destroying the God-Killers. When the reflection asks for her to come home and gets a negative, she then asks her to at least help save Fletcher, and again, Darquesse is dismissive. He'd made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her, so why would she bother to help him?

Frustrated, the reflection leaves, choosing to keep Darquesse's presence a secret for everyone's sake. The Monster Hunters had been neutralised, captured, and shackled next to Fletcher, and Ajouga reveals her breeding plans for him. He's flattered by the offer, but says no. Ajouga laughs and asks why he thought he had a choice, moving to take off her top, about to ravage him in front of Donegan and Gracious to prove a point. But the reflection emerges and attacks Ajouga before she could finish, winning after a minor tussle because curses couldn't be laid on reflections. She frees the three of them, but they can't use their magic because Ajouga's magic remained in their systems. After reuniting with Elsie and Razzia, they make to leave, but get lost in the pyramid and find themselves surrounded by hundreds of Brides. It was over for them. But then Darquesse reveals herself.

She asks the Brides to step back or she'd kill them all. Slowly. When they don't take her short warning, she mercilessly kills every last Bride with her black flames, arguing she wouldn't be taken seriously if she didn't make good on her threats. She turns to her 'friends' and is confused to see them fearful. Those Brides had been willing to hurt or even kill them, just like Kitana or Glee or Catalysmic, so why was she the bad guy for killing them first?

Razzia tries to lighten the mood with a joke, but it doesn't land. Elsie is horrified. The Monster Hunters condemn Darquesse for her actions, and she gets irritated. Fletcher gets in her way, talking and stalling for time, then tries to teleport them all away the first chance he gets, but Darquesse blocks him. She gets more agitated, asking why they're so afraid of her when she saved them, citing that she didn't want to destroy the world. She just wanted to keep herself safe. The reflection asks her to let them go, and Darquesse reluctantly does. As they leave her behind, she feels well and truly alone.

Part 7 - Reveal of Magic

Ravel arrives in London with Carol at his back and meets up with Jones and Ivy at the English Sanctuary. He's confronted by Sult and several other Grand Mages, standing before them, with Sult not bothering to hide his distain. It was Ravel who'd started this war, and now he claimed that he wanted to end it? During their meeting, a wave of Kith are awakened by Ravel's followers and set on London. A modest batch, a few hundred, but people are terrorised and their attack is public. Too public.

The English Sorcerers are forced to reveal themselves to cut the rampaging Kith down, with Jones and Ivy leading the charge through London. Ravel is fast to join them with Carol by his side, helping quell the threat he'd engineered himself. Lives were lost, yes, but his plan to show the Sorcerers as a positive force was set in motion.

His decades of planning were coming together as magic is revealed to the world, though unlike in canon, Ravel wasn't only friends with Sorcerers. He'd allied with several mortal higher-ups to smooth over magic-mortal relations, and even journalists, so that when his plan came to fruition, he'd be able to control how the news spread. With the help of said allies, a news broadcast at the BBC is held throughout the UK, where Ravel explains magic society to the world on his own terms, telling his fellow Sorcerers that they could hide no longer.

The Dead Men return to Ireland just in time to find Dublin being attacked by Kith. It wasn't only Dublin. All over the world, dozens of Sanctuaries were experiencing these attacks, which were too numerous to cover up, and with horror they realise that magic had been revealed to the mortal world. They fight nonetheless, defending civilians out in the open. The same was happening all over the world.

Ravel is confronted about recent events when he returns along with his news broadcast, since he'd given up any chance of them covering the reveal up, but he fiercely argues that this was a chance for them to come out of hiding. They were out in the open now, and needed to change with the times, or die with the past. He leaves, wanting to prepare for a group of mortal ambassadors that he'd arranged to come to Roarhaven in a few days time.

(Part 2 can be found here)

Funny idea, but what would happen if, during Seasons of War, Skulduggery and the others found Ravel as the Resistance leader rather than Meritorious? Or just encountered him there in general, but because of the state of the world here, he never turned traitor? How do you think that would play out when it comes to interactions and stuff?

I'm sure everyone is curious about what exactly China is doing after the end of Fall of a Dead Man, and you know what, so was I, do this sidestory will be centred around what everyone's favourite bombshell. It'll be pretty short and sweet, probably, but that's basically sidestories in a nutshell. Now, without further ado, let's dive into it.

Sidestory - Burning Wrath

Main Villain(Eliza Scorn)

• Part 1 - China's Sorrows

The prologue is displayed just a few days after the end of Book 8, and shows Eliza Scorn's approaching a gang of American Sorcerers and mercenaries alone at night, which consisted of the following: Samuel, Obloquy, Mercy Charient, and their leader, Vincent Foe. Samuel remains a Vampire and Mercy is an Energy-Master, but Obloquy is a Neroteric who can deal immense pain to others simply by touching them rather than a Sensitive and Foe himself is a fire-specialised Elemental. Unlike in canon, Foe's gang were never sent to prison and broken out by the Supreme Council. They were just a gang of mercs/nihilists. Eliza was now the leader of the church, and whilst none of them were the religious sort, they liked the idea of the Faceless Ones, not as gods, but as world-destroying monsters. When approached by Eliza, they are intrigued and hear her out.

Next, we cut to China approaching the library, still reeling from the fact her greatest secret had been laid bear, and had been losing sleep over it. She had half been expecting Skulduggery to show up one of these days and finish the job, but he'd been isolated to house arrest once him being Vile came out. Though it might end badly, she wanted to visit him, if only so she could receive his judgement. But then, one day when she was opening the library, Eliza showed up by her lonesome.

After an exchange of barbs where Eliza makes sure to gloat, expressing jealousy that Catalysmic had been the one to shatter her pathetic relationship with her old love and not her. She supposed she'd have to make up for that.

It's revealed that after disarming the sigil protections around the library, Eliza had planted a bomb. And the detonator was clasped in her hand. She sets it off, destroying the library in front of China, and leaving her rival even more distraught than ever. Approaching a despairing China, Eliza calls her rival pathetic and, after kicking her several times, spits on her and leaves China to drown in misery. But this wasn't the end. It was barely a start.

Weeks pass, and during them, Eliza used what resources the church had left to viciously target all of China's properties and burn them down. One by one, piece by piece, she took everything that China held dear. China was forced to retreat to a quaint home in the countryside. It wasn't one of hers, but rather an estate own by Bliss. She thought Eliza wouldn't be able to find her there. He'd always been modest, and that worked to her favour as she remained there to hide from the world.

Bliss' tomb is close to the house, and she visits it often, pondering on their family history. The Sorrows family had been hugely influential in the past, but in spite of all their family name meant, all it brought, Bliss chose to forsake it entirely and ran away when he was a teenager, joining the Sanctuaries' side. She'd heard that it had taken immense dedication to prove he wasn't a spy, or a traitor waiting to happen. He'd given up everything he ever knew just to join people who rejected him, all for the sake of doing what he thought was right. It was a level of righteousness which was almost puzzling. At the time, she'd thought he was a fool, and tried to kill him many times, but as she felt the consequences of her past actions and was forced to take shelter in her late brother's home, China had to wonder if she'd been the fool all along.

She leaves Bliss' tomb and goes to bed, but doesn't sleep. That works in her favour, because when the protection sigils she'd built around the house went off, she was wide awake and ready. She goes outside to find Vincent Foe, his arms pulled back, and bolted just in time to avoid a stream of fire that set Bliss' home alight, and China barely leaves before it came crumbling down.

China runs towards the stables nearby, but is blocked by the duo of Mercy and Obloquy. A brief scuffle breaks out, with Mercy firing in a razor-thin stream of energy that carved through tree like paper and nearly took China's head off. She uses a pair of sigil blasts to cast Mercy aside, but Obloquy manages to graze her and she feels a wave of pain so immense that it almost incapacitates her, and is only saved when her horse ran through and kicks Obloquy in the head.

Thanking the horse, she gets on and they start to rush out, but stops when she saw the reason why Foe hadn't given chase. He was under orders from Eliza to destroy everything that China held dear, and follows through with that threat as he sets off a series of explosives, desecrating and ruining Bliss' tomb. She promises to make him pay for that, but is forced to flee as Samuel emerges and tears his skin off, entering his true form and giving chase. Only when her horse takes flight with energy wings is she able to shake him off, fleeing with all her might.

• Part 2 - Rock Bottom

A few weeks follow, where China is constantly avoiding the Foe's gang, whilst her remaining assets were destroyed one by one via Eliza's contacts. Assassins were constantly targeting her, and she barely slept out of paranoia. She barely had anything now, besides the potential for revenge on Eliza, and she grips it with two hands.

She hitches a ride of a ferry to American and arrives in New York, but is attacked by a Necromancer assassin before she can even settle in. As they fight, China quickly recognises the assassin she was fighting. She was a mute assassin by the name of Whisper, who was quite well-known in America, and like in canon she stored her power within a cloak.

After a heated fight, she's injured and forced to jump out the window, landing cleanly on the streets without injury due to her leg sigils. She runs, not even taking the little luggage she'd brought from Ireland with her. She manages to shake Whisper off, but China wasn't given a break. Foe's gang had gotten a hint that she was heading to America, and when she runs into an alleyway to hide, they corner her. He says she looks like shit, then they attack whilst China is weakened.

China fights back, but is wounded, tired, and hungry, and gets burned by Foe's fire and thrown down, his boot pressing her face into a dirty puddle. It was then, as he grounded her down, that she realised she'd truly hit rock-bottom.

Foe takes a moment to gloat, then moves to incinerate her, but a blast of air throws him off and a few different magical attacks rain down on the gang, and China is greeted to Jaron Gallow's face a moment before she passes out.

A meeting is held between Whisper and the one who'd hired her to take down China: Bernard Sult, who is displeased with her failure. He and the Supreme Council were at war with Ireland, and had agents hidden on their grounds. He'd gotten a notice that China was heading for America, and when presented with the chance to take down one of the Irish Sanctuary's best assets, Sult hired Whisper to take her down.

Reading the written report his silent assassin had given him, however, he realises he might've been off the mark, given Vincent Foe's gang were hunting her down. It seemed China Sorrows was wanted dead by more people than just him. He decides to redirect Whisper's services elsewhere, thinking China was done. There was a war to be won, and he wanted to avenge his mentor above all else.

China awakens to find herself clean and uninjured, but weak and very hungry. She reunites with a Gallow upon waking up, who'd managed to aquire a prosthetic since their last encounter, albeit a rather middling-quality one. He'd heard about her trouble in Ireland, and after a brief talk, he cuts to the chase upon her demand. The reason he'd saved her was because he wanted her to join his resistance, as with her skills and family history, she could help them sunder the church once and for all, Eliza included. He even offers to make her his second-in-command. China thinks on it and is tempted, but ultimately declines, saying she was commanded by no one.

Gallow is disappointed, but doesn't push too hard, though offers to shelter her from Foe's gang anyway. He owed her that much. He also adds that a raid on the church was about to occur and asks if she'd join, since Eliza might be there. China, eager for payback, says she'll join him just this once.

• Part 3 - Bringing Sorrow

Raids come down on the remnants of different church branches in America, with China helping plan these assaults to great effect. Amongst Gallow's followers in the resistance, asides from Temper Fray, is his girlfriend Kierre, along with her two siblings Rune and Strosivadian, who are not related to Mevolent's wife, but used to be fanatical followers of the church regardless until Gallow helped them see reason. A few scuffles take place, and with China's help many fights are stopped without even coming to blows thanks to her glamour, but there is no sign of Eliza.

Eliza was in a foul mood due to the Resistance's efforts. She'd fantasised about being the leader of the church for centuries now, but now that she was finally here, everything was falling apart. Catalysmic might've been gone, but the aftermath of his schemes had left the church as a shell of what it once was- with the Faceless Cathedral destroyed and legions of their members turned into Kith. With Gallow and China's efforts to thwart the church, she was at risk of not being a leader of anything.

She receives a call from Abyssinia and the two meet face-to-face. The two talk, where Eliza learns of the Leibniz Dimension and how the Church of the Faceless thrived over there. Abyssinia says she knew the church of this world was crumbling, but this was a chance for Eliza to save it. All she needed to do was let the church here be absorbed into the other one.

A few weeks after joining the Resistance, China grows restless and makes to sneak out of a warehouse where the Resistance was sleeping at night. But Gallow catches her and he argues why she should stay, claiming she'd done a lot of good in a very short amount of time. His words fall on deaf ears, however, before she can leave, Vincent Foe and his gang emerge.

After taunting China about Bliss' body burning up, Vincent sends a fire stream at them, which Gallow blocks using the air and tries to douse Foe with water, but Foe was aware of his weaknesses and burns it away. China goes for Mercy and tries to blast a hole through her, but Samuel enters his true form and saves her, forcing the two of them to work overtime to handle the gang's assault.

The commotion gains the attention of the Resistance is caught, with Temper and Kierre rushing outside. As they join the fight, Foe realises he wouldn't be able to kill China like this and orders a retreat, but not before Obloquy moves to attack China, but Gallow pushes her out of the way, being dealt intense pain and getting knocked out. All of the gang make to leave, except for Samuel, who was blood lusted, and with a heavy heart Foe makes the call to leave him behind and rush away with Gallow.

Samuel's makes to attack Kierre, and to save her, Temper unleashes his Gist to tear him apart. With some soothing from Kierre, Temper's Gist is quelled and he returns to normal, albeit extremely tired. But Gallow was gone. China is confronted about Foe's gang by the Resistance, with Temper and the others being mad their leader was kidnapped. She thinks about just leaving, but feels strangely guilty about what happened to Gallow because of her, and so she decides to take them with her for what happened next to retrieve him alive.

She reveals that she'd snuck a tracking sigil onto Mercy whilst they were fighting, since they were likely taking Gallow to Eliza, since she no doubt had a bone to pick with him too. She rallies the Resistance behind her makes to find Foe and Eliza, intent on making both of them pay.

• Part 4 - Sentenced to the Gallows

Gallow wakes up in the basement of a church to find his one remaining arm chained up, his prosthetic removed. Eliza is there to greet him, and proceeds to torture him magically. She's about to rupture his heart, but stops herself, knowing that killing him would end the fun, and he hadn't suffered enough. Not yet. She painfully inscribes a torture sigil onto his neck that would deal him 23 hours of agony, with a single hour a day to rest, telling him to enjoy as she leaves him behind, screaming.

Foe and his gang are left sullen after Samuel's death. When Eliza comes back to them, having just finished with Gallow. She expresses disappointment to them about having been unable to finish the job, but gives them slack because it's China, though makes the mistake of insulting Samuel, calling him a 'beast' and earning Mercy's anger. She and Samuel had been lovers. Eliza insults and moves to strike Mercy, but Foe gets in her way, saying no one struck his gang and forcing her to back off, but just before situation could escalate further, the Resistance arrives.

The church is attacked by the Resistance, who clash with the member there, with the Unveiled trio being chief amongst them. As this is going on, China sneaks into the church and finds Eliza alone, on a stage where they'd once pray together. The two discuss the past, when China had been like a princess in the church, and how Eliza had been her willing servant and second-in-command as the leader of the Diablerie. They'd been like sisters in more ways than one, both cruel beyond imagination. China had been a true monster.

Eliza says that people cannot change their natures. At best, they change the way they present them on the surface, but not what was underneath. China remained a monster, just one who'd gone soft. Weak. China says that she wrong... she hadn't gone soft. Not one bit. And if Eliza didn't believe her, then she just had to look into China's eyes as she was choking to death on her own blood and try search for that softness she claimed China had earned.

A duel begins between China and Eliza, and the two have it out brutally, knives crossing. Several sigil traps are sprung on China throughout the fight, but she outdoes them all, and manages to blow a hole through Eliza's torso, but as she goes down, Eliza lashes out and slashes her across the centre of her face with a sigil blade. She tells China that at least she got to die beautiful, whilst China had to live with being ugly, then dies with a smirk on her lips.

After the fight, although wounded, China searches and manages to find a screaming Gallow. She breaks his torture sigils, but can't undo his magic-binding cuffs, so is forced to just break the chain and help him walk out. But whilst leaving the dungeons, Foe's gang swoop down. They'd seen her duel with Eliza, but chose not to interfere, smarting over Eliza's comments about Samuel. None of them were getting paid now, but wanted to kill her regardless, and it should be an easier job now that she was tired and beaten.

China just smiles, sets a brutalised Gallow aside and, whilst wiping the blood off her face, tells them that men and women far greater than them had tried and failed before. She liked her odds.

A battle between China and the gang begins, and it's three against one. Using the members of Foe's gang as shields, she takes on Mercy first, bypassing her thin lasers and slitting her throat. Then, when an enraged Obloquy charges at her, she puts two more knives in his stomach, though he manages to use his magic anyway. She screams and ceases up in pain but, powering through, bites into his throat and rips it out, killing him and spitting his flesh out. There was meat between her teeth.

Foe, outraged at the deaths of his friends, aims to attack not China with fire, but Gallow. He wanted to take a friend from China like she had from him. But before he dies, China gets in her way and activates a special, last-resort sigil. It was created in case she was ever cornered, and converted her magic into heat which was being perfectly cycled outwards, acting as a defence and offense rather than burning her, but if kept on for too long then it would cause her to overheat and be burnt from the inside-out. It was called the Supernova sigil.

Blocking the fire with her body, China rushes through it and bear-hugs Foe, turning his own heat against him. She cycled his fire inwards and sent it back, feeling immense pain, but the heat was great enough that she started to burn through even Foe's natural defences. She hugged him until he burnt to death, and only then did she turn the heat down, but by that point she was in too much pain to continue and passes out.

• Part 5 - Sorrow turns to Bliss

Bliss is the first thing China sees when she wakes up. The two talk for a bit, and China tries to seem like her usual self, but is confused. Bliss explains she wasn't dead, just unconscious, and she isn't sure whether to be happy or not. The two speak until she asks him if he's real, or just a figment of her imagination, and he says he wouldn't know. After a brief talk, she apologises to Bliss, and asks if he would ever forgive her. He already had. They hug, and China opens her eyes.

China wakes up to find herself with the Resistance, healed, except for the scar on her face. The flames had cauterised and sealed it shut, marring her beauty. But she doesn't ask if there was a way to remove it, seeing the scar as a reminder to never let things go back to how they were, and to never repeat her past mistakes. It also helps that she doesn't feel too insecure, as the smitten nurse treating her proved that her glamour was unaffected.

After recovering, China speaks with Gallow. After everything she'd gone through, after losing everything, she should've been solemn, but instead she felt resolute. Eliza had taken everything from her, but in the end none of that was what really counted. It only blinded her to what was actually important. She tells Gallow that she'd like to take him up on his past offer, if it still held.

This is yet another 2-parter because Reddit isn't built to hold posts this large. Part 1, which you'll have to ready for the context, can be read here.

Part 6 - Nemesis

In the aftermath, Skulduggery returns to a ruined Roarhaven, silent in the face of destruction. He doesn't tell anyone about China, but does tell them that Nefarian Serpine had returned going by his True Name, and whatever he was going to do next, it would happen in America. He wanted them to go there. It was a trap. Skulduggery didn't much care, and neither did Valkyrie, the Dead Men, or anyone else.

The Engineer informs Scapegrace's group about the prototype of its brain which existed in London, and although telling someone more capable would have been the smart thing, they never claimed to be smart. Thrasher tries to discourage Scapegrace, but Crux is enticed by the idea of saving the day for once instead of Skulduggery, so they end up leaving with Clarabelle and the Engineer coming along for the ride, heading for London.

In America, Catalysmic is basking in the news of Roarhaven's destruction and the lives lost. His enjoyment interrupted by Kitana, who confronts him in front of the team, cocky because of her supercharged powers, which wouldn't fade for almost a month. She tries to stand him up, to which he laughs, then shuts off her magic with a wave of his hand, leaving her mortal. He can do this because Argeddion was providing her with his power via an invisible Sensitive tether, and because he could see magic, and Kitana had never bothered to learn mental defence, cutting it was a simple matter. He proceeds to tear her down in front of the others, telling her to know her place and that Valkyrie Cain was his to kill, not hers.

Myra mocks Kitana as she leaves, then moves over to Nero. She wanted to finish Fletcher, and another Teleporter would go a long way for that. She bats her eyes at him, playing to his ego as she seduces him, and having a score to settle with Fletcher himself, he eagerly complies.

Heading to America was asking for the Supreme Council to take action, and with Roarhaven up in flames, this was a horrible time for war. A group was assembled consisting of the Dead Men, Valkyrie, and Carol, who were going to America to handle Catalysmic. Skulduggery grabs the Obsidian Blade, certain he'd need it to kill his nemesis. Elsie remained behind as a last defence and deterrent, whilst the Monster Hunters and Fletcher would remain as security with the reflection and Alice. Deuce was placed in charge as they were teleported to Washington via Fletcher and left to stop him.

We get some more Dead Men interactions, with Valkyrie and Carol both being made into honorary Dead Men, and with the knowledge that the church had been taken over, they go to one of them seeking further details. Here, they end up encountering Jaron Gallow, who remains the leader of the Resistance, with his second-in-command being a former member of the church who'd become disillusioned just like him: Temper Fray, who greets Shudder, saying he was a fan. Shudder can sense why, but doesn't say anything. When Gallow asks about how China is doing, Skulduggery just says not well, then leaves it at that.

Through him, they learn about Kith, since Gallow had spies in the church. Catalysmic had been stockpiling an army of them to release in America with Nye's help, and all he had to do was press the button, and thousands upon thousands of Kith would awaken, rampaging through entire cities, taking countless lives and exposing magic to the world.

Scapegrace's group arrives at their destination, and they threw a hoodie, a mask, and baggy clothes over the Engineer in a fool's attempt to hide its appearance. The English Sanctuary was neutral ground, so they weren't in hostile territory quite, but it was a close thing, and the Engineer is the voice of reason of the group. It takes them to the Sanctuary, directing them towards its prototype brain in the museum. They get close, but Ivy encounters all of them except Crux, who was hiding, and thrashes Thrasher and Scapegrace without breaking a sweat. Ivy tells the Engineer and Clarabelle to surrender, and they just hold up their arms.

In Roarhaven, Fletcher is going to the reflection and Alice to check up on them. The two talk, and in seeing a chance to get some closure, he asks about Valkyrie's feelings for him. About what he'd actually meant to her. When he learns she never loved him, he's hurt, but accepts it. The reflection doesn't come onto time him like in canon, but she does ask him if he saw her as someone different from Valkyrie. He asks if she wants him to, and she isn't sure how to answer. He tells her that she wasn't Valkyrie, and not to let her connection to Valkyrie define her. He'd made that mistake before, and it nearly killed him. He leaves, and after shutting the door, he returns to his room to rest and finds Razzia waiting for him.

She regards him playfully, and isn't intimidated when he demands to know why she was here. After placating him, she tells him that she'd gotten bored of Italy fast, so she bounced from place to place, and at one point even joined the church when she was in Paris, thinking it would be fun. It wasn't and she found them bland. However, when she tried to leave, she stumbled across a group turning themselves into Kith, following them to find an army of them had been sitting dormant under the capital. A Kith army wasn't just present under America. An army of them was underneath every branch of the Church of the Faceless in the world, in over a dozen Sanctuaries, all set to awaken at any time.

Fletcher is horrified, and when asked why she was helping them, Razzia just tells him that she wasn't heartless. She killed sure, gleefully, but the idea of millions dying and society collapsing wasn't something she wanted. She liked her creature comforts too much. So, from now on, she was a part of his team, whether he liked it or not.

Gallow and Temper lead the group towards another church where Catalysmic was set to make another speech, where they hope to ambush him and have Carol kill him with the Sceptre. Once there, Saracen manages to locate Valkyrie's parents, alone, so she breaks off from the main group to make a bee-line for them with Skulduggery following. But as the others try to follow, several Cleavers teleport in between them and drop into their way via Nero, who is there with Destrier.

A fight breaks out, and Valkyrie decides to leave them to get to her parents. Skulduggery follows, leaving the Dead Men and Carol behind to engage the Cleavers. But something is different about them. Whilst some remain white and showcased enhanced strength, others are red, blue, brown, or green, and showcase the use of different elemental magics based on their colour. All in all, they put up a scarily good offense. Carol is stopped from using the Sceptre via Destrier's time powers. Ravel and a one-armed Gallow try to disrupt his focus with flames, but a red Cleaver gets in their way, blocking the fire.

Nero tries to teleport Ghastly away, but he's used to sparring with Fletcher, who was much more skilled a Teleporter, and predicts him movements. Ghastly breaks Nero's nose. Shudder uses the Cleavers' own weapons against them, Dexter blows holes in them where he could, and Saracen manages to sneak up on Destrier, breaking his focus and letting Carol free, where she proceeded to eviscerate the rest of the Cleavers with the Sceptre. The Neoterics retreat, but they were just a distraction.

Valkyrie and Skulduggery arrive in a room with her restrained parents and Catalysmic. She moves to free them, but the Black Cleaver emerges from the shadows, adorning armour enhancing its strength, and clashes against Skulduggery's Obsidian Blade. When she moves to help him, Catalysmic comes out, applauding her, saying she was as reckless as she was the day they'd met.

She tries to attack him, but he easily beats her down and restrains her. As he does, he starts to ramble, talking about how she'd managed to earn a wrath of his which he thought was only reserved for Skulduggery. An impressive feat. It was only fair that he do to her what had been done to Skulduggery by taking her family away right in front of her.

Catalysmic, as Valkyrie is helpless, turns to Desmond and Melissa and smiles. He proceeds to tell them everything that Valkyrie had been hiding from them. Her life-or-death adventures, the reflection, how she'd barely interacted with them for years on end, and how Fergus died because of her actions. And then, noticing a Sensitive block had been placed on their memories, he undoes it, and it's revealed that Valkyrie had their minds tampered with to keep them ignorant. All the lies come out. Desmond and Melissa are hurt, disappointed, and angry. But it didn't end there.

Cheerfully, Catalysmic tells them not to worry. They wouldn't have to live with the shame of raising a failure of a daughter for much longer. He proceeds to inject them both with the Kith Serum. Luckily for Desmond, he was a Descendant of the Ancients, and had immunity to the Faceless Ones' powers. He doesn't turn into a Kith. The same can't be said for Melissa.

Melissa screams and transforms into a Kith, horrifying Desmond. Valkyrie's heart and mind crack at the sight, and though Catalysmic is confused on why Desmond didn't turn for a moment, he quickly facepalms. Ancient blood. An oversight on his part. He says he was hoping to turn them both and have them tear her apart, but this was possibly better. He orders Kith-Melissa to kill Desmond in front of Valkyrie.

The Kith moves to do so, with both Valkyrie and Skulduggery helpless, but then the Dead Men and Carol kick down the door, arriving. Seeing her uncle about to be killed by a monster, she instantly turns Melissa to dust with a bolt of black lightning. Before the Sceptre can be turned onto Catalysmic, he fires an energy beam and Carol dodges, but before she can strike him again, the Black Cleaver goes for her and knocks the Sceptre out of her hand.

A stand-off occurs, but before anyone can make the fatal move, a commotion is heard as more people enter the church. Catalysmic smiles and reveals to Gallow that he'd been the one to tip him off so that he'd take Valkyrie and Skulduggery here. And he wasn't the only one he'd tipped off. With a flare, he teleports away with the Cleaver, leaving just in time for the American Sorcerers raiding the church to find them alone, with Bernard Sult at its head.

Part 7 - Enemy of my Enemy

Fletcher returns to the Sanctuary with Razzia and the Monster Hunters and tells Deuce about what they'd found out, and he knows all bets are off. This wasn't just about Ireland anymore. He gives them the go-ahead to go to America and help the others, and Elsie comes along too. She asks to enter the Accelerator, since she'd need the extra power to fight Kitana. Deuce, knowing what was at stake, says yes, then after she proceeds to do so, she teleports with the Fletcher's ragtag team of heroes into Washington. But before that, he brings Deuce to London, since Irish Sorcerers had been found trying to steal from a museum and Frightening wanted someone over to handle this.

Deuce meets up with Scapegrace's group in London, angrily asking what they were thinking, then gets the full scope of the situation from the Engineer. He admonishes them for not telling him sooner, going to Jones to explain the situation, but before then, child-Crux sneaks into their cell through the top vent, fitting easily because of how small he was. He'd managed to nick the keys to their cuffs, and after getting the prototype, they make to leave, only to be stopped by Ivy, Jones, and Deuce. A deal is struck to leave all of them except the Engineer and go back, but the Engineer, having grown fond of these idiots, chooses to put his foot down. He won't help if they don't come back with him. Jones, not will to risk the world's safety, backs down and lets them leave with the prototype.

Valkyrie, Carol, the Dead Men, and Desmond are taken into custody by the American Sanctuary, with the Sceptre being taken away from Carol. Desmond is grief-stricken and demands to know how Stephanie could do this to him and Melissa, and Skulduggery tries to intervene and calm him down, but gets scream at. Desmond didn't want to hear anything from him. She wants to explain herself, but words fail her. What could she possibly say to make something like this right?

Whilst in custody, an attack is made on Valkyrie's life by Mr Glee, who'd already received his pay, but offered to do a freebie for Catalysmic because he'd developed a creepy fixation on Valkyrie. He tells her she'd be prettier if she smiled more, then moved to slice her chops open into the shape of one, but then Sanguine tunnels in and punches him away. He'd been hired by Catalysmic to kill Valkyrie's father whilst Glee handled Valkyrie, but in the end she was too close to Tanith, and he didn't want to hurt his girlfriend. His razor meets Glee's knife.

"You might be a hitman, but you're no hitman deluxe."

He fights off Glee and frees Valkyrie, finding little resistance as Glee had killed many guards on his way over for kicks. He does the same to Skulduggery, and reluctantly Ghastly, but then Sult comes along and finds them with Sanguine. Seeing so many guards with their throats cut, he thinks it's Sanguine. He thinks the Irish Sanctuary is working with one of the men who'd killed his mentor. He loses it and calls his troops, but before a fight can break out, they all huddle up with Sanguine as he tunnels them all away. He'd never done it with three other people before, and hopefully would never have to again.

Valkyrie and Ghastly reunite with Tanith at a warehouse in Washington that Sanguine brings them to, but is ultimately too changed for them to accept with open arms, plus her killing Strom and Bisahalani was part of the reason war was near. This hurts Tanith and angers Sanguine. After a debate, Ghastly and Tanith remember the cathedral where they stole the Obsidian Blade, how it was important to the church, and Skulduggery says that Catalysmic was definitely there. He was always a drama queen.

But all of them agree they're in no shape to face a True Name-user, especially since he seemed to have orchestrated the attack on Roarhaven and had the church under his thumb, so they agree to investigate and scout the matter, then return with reinforcements for a proper assault. Then make for the cathedral together.

Whilst this is going on, Sult speaks with Ravel and Marr, and, unsurprisingly, it goes exactly nowhere. Sult wants Ireland to bend the knee to avoid war, but Ravel is unwilling to back down.

But then, Lethe, Smoke, Nero, Destrier, Myra, and Kitana attack with several of Serpine's upgraded Cleavers, with the aim of their strike to be to talk control of Sult and the American Sanctuary, along with the Supreme Council due to him being their designated leader, to finish the job Glee began by killing Valkyrie's father, and to slay the Dead Men on top of that. Fortunately, Fletcher's group had heard word of the Irish Grand Mage being captured and went to the American Sanctuary to free them just as the attack struck. A battle begins and Sult, knowing there was a bigger issue at hand, frees Ravel and the other Dead Men to help whilst Carol protected Desmond.

Elsie goes right for Kitana, the two being supercharged thanks to the Accelerator, equals in power, but Elsie had the benefit of Ghastly's training. She asks Kitana if she was feeling lonely again, taunting her as they fight with excessive strength, neither backing down.

On the ground, the Monster Hunters go for Smoke, but he was hiding behind Lethe, who'd seen them fight before and gets the upper hand. But Gracious and Donegan were a good team, and are determined, so together they manage to hold Lethe off and keep him guessing.

Myra is soloing Fletcher and Myra. She recognises Razzia, and not in a good way. She orders Nero to keep Fletcher occupied whilst she handles the other Australian girl. He does so, but proves to be all talent and no training, whilst Fletcher is a master Teleporter at this point. After a tussle, the two land in the Sahara, where Fletcher makes his first kill since Caelan by snapping Nero's neck, and returns after insulting Nero's hair one last time. He finds Razzia bloody and beaten, being held by the hair as Myra prepared to finish her off, but then he opened a portal and threw her own punch back at her face, staggering her and freeing Razzia. Seeing that Nero failed, she calls him useless, then proceeds to continue fighting, gaining the upper hand, but is surprisingly betrayed by Destrier, whose doubts about continuing to serve Smoke had reached their peak and he decided to turn coat. With his help, Razzia had Hansel and Gretel pierce Myra's skull, ending her. She proceeds to rob her corpse of the skintight suit she'd been wearing, thinking it would be handy.

Lethe and Smoke cut their loses and leave with Kitana, who'd been unable to get the upper hand on Elsie, but her opponent hesitated to make the killing blow, leading to Kitana bolting it and fleeing when the fight turned.

When things calm down, Sult, having been saved by Ireland's forces, is more willing to hear them out. After getting the full scope of the situation from Ravel, he decides enough was enough and agrees to give them all the help he could give. But only if he agrees that Ireland submit to the council after this. He'd held off the rest of the Grand Mages for as long as he could, but they were a hair's width away from defying him. War would break out if Ravel didn't agree. He says that he does, and with their animosity laid to rest, they shake hands and make preparations to stop Catalysmic, as Destrier knew the location of his fortress.

Valkyrie's group arrive at the cathedral and sneak into it with Sanguine's help, barely avoiding the Black Cleaver walking the halls and walking into a laboratory where Nye is present, exhausted and having been forced to work by Catalysmic more-or-less around the clock since its capture. They interrogate Nye, who immediately folds to save itself, and explains Catalysmic's plan regarding the Kith, his plans to unleash them upon the world, and whilst it didn't know the exact location of where the Kith were being held, it did know there were dozens of clusters of them hidden around the different Sanctuaries, each one consisting of members of the church who'd transformed themselves, and random mortals who Catalysmic had kidnapped to bolster their numbers.

After making a deal to help them stop Catalsymic, they take Nye with them and make to leave, on their way running into Eliza, but she doesn't stop them. Catalysmic had butchered the church's teachings for his own gains, spitting in the face of her gods by acting like he was one, and so she lets them by unmolested, saying she was going to sneak out by herself and finish her business with China.

It seems like they'd escape without Catalysmic noticing, but he'd counted that his rival would track him down and came prepared. He's at the head of his remaining forces, which consist of his religious zealots, Cleavers, Kitana, Smoke, Lethe, and even Mr Glee. It seems like they're horribly outnumbered, this was the end for them, but then a series of portals opened behind them. Ravel and Sult step through with the Dead Men, Fletcher's team, and countless American Sorcerers, coming to their back and facing down them down, army-to-army. Two men who'd defied death were facing each other, the heads of their armies. One would stand, one would fall.

Part 8 - Catalyst of Darkness

An all-out battle breaks out. Most of the followers of the Faceless scream their mantra and transform themselves into Kith, however some of them had since become disillusioned with Catalysmic's claims and don't turn themselves, and thus get attacked by the Kith who transform near them, but a handful are saved by Gallow and Temper, who rally and turns them against Catalysmic.

Unconcerned, Catalysmic commands the remaining Kith to strike and tear his foes apart, meeting the American Sorcerers and the Dead Men. Temper steps forward, but is held back by Shudder, who unleashes his Gist to meet them as the other Dead Men join him in crowd control.

Catalysmic tells Skulduggery to say goodbye to his friends, raising a hand to annihilate them all. Skulduggery, left with little choice to face his nemesis, transforms into Vile and raises a wall of shadows to block the oncoming attack and protect his friends. Everyone witnesses this, Sult, Marr, the Dead Men, and Ghastly. Lord Vile, the Obsidian Blade on hand, charges and meets his nemesis is a glorious clash that sends them soaring to the top of the cathedral to engage their bout uninterrupted.

The Monster Hunters, Fletcher, and Razzia, are facing down Smoke and Lethe, with the former essentially only doing this because he was in too deep with Catalysmic, and he tries to plead with them to just let him go free, but unlike in Australia, he gets no mercy. Several Cleavers are being controlled by Smoke and used as fodders, but Donegan picks them off with Fletcher's help whilst a one-eyed Gracious faces Lethe, trying to leverage his greater strength. But Lethe had faced Gracious before and outdoes him in spite of his enhanced strength, making to kill him with a dropped Cleaver's scythe. But Destrier, who needed to prove himself to the Sanctuary, saves Gracious and gives him the chance to knock Lethe out, though doesn't kill him for Savant's sake. Then, with no more underlings and surrounded by only enemies, they move onto a lone Smoke. He tries to run and pleads when that fails, though nobody says anything as Razzia finally gets her dearest wish and feeds Smoke's heart to her Gists.

Kitana and Elsie meet in one final clash with Carol at her back. The two seem like equals, but when Kitana promises to kill all Elsie's friends, her mercy breaks and she starts to fight with a viciousness she didn't know she had, impaling her and casting her down. Carol approaches a broken Kitana, tells her to rot in hell, then uses the Sceptre to turn her to dust, avenging Crystal.

Valkyrie advances into the cathedral with Tanith, Sanguine, and Ghastly, but a group of elemental Cleavers, one of each element, stood in their way. After a short fight, where each of the Cleavers have the weaknesses of their sole elements exploited, they move on, coming near the top of the cathedral. But the Black Cleaver stands between them, and when given the choice to stay behind and face it with the rest of the group, or help Skulduggery, she chooses Skulduggery, thinking they could handle themselves.

The Black Cleaver proves to be too strong and slashes Ghastly's side, then moves to kill him, but he's surprisingly saved by Sanguine, who's razor is deflected and he also goes down. Before it can finish them off, Tanith faces the Cleaver one-on-one with the God-Killer Sword, but lowers her guard when she lands a slice, thinking it was done. But the Black Cleaver was made to return from death, and not even the sword could kill it. It recovers and strikes Tanith, but before it can make the killing blow, Ghastly and Sanguine jump in and force it back, forgetting their differences for a short moment. Seeing that, Tanith forces herself to get up, and after Sanguine tunnels and trapping its legs in the floor, she proceeds to shove the God-Killer Sword through its body and, whilst it was stunned, throw it off the Cathedral's roof. Wounded, they made a run for it whilst the Cleaver was down, aiming to aid Valkyrie.

Valkyrie finally arrives at the top, where she's greeted to the sight of Vile being sent flying by Catalysmic. As strong as he was, Vile was no match for a True Name-user, and though he'd dealt some vicious wounds, his nemesis beat him back into a skeleton. Catalysmic mocks him, saying he'd revealed his big secret for nothing, then raises a hand and proceeds to torture Skulduggery by inflicting cracks onto his whole body. Before Valkyrie can intervene, a knife jabs into her back and she goes down. Mr Glee looked like he was a hair's width away from licking his lips as he unveiled himself and closed in, wrestling with a wounded Valkyrie and proceeding to stab her multiple times, toying with her before finally going for the kill.

But she's saved, not by Skulduggery, but Desmond. He'd refused to leave his daughter behind as she went to battle, believing he'd failed to protect her enough, so despite all Valkyrie had done, he courageously followed the Sanctuary forces. He takes Glee's knife and sinks it into his throat, telling him to keep his hands off his daughter before throwing him down to choke on his own blood.

Desmond helps Valkyrie up, but then Catalysmic decides that he's done playing with Skulduggery and throws him aside, turning his eyes onto the Edgleys. He says to Desmond that he couldn't seem to leave well enough alone, and it seemed to run in the family. Catalysmic tells Desmond to give Gordon his warmest regards. He raises his hand and, unwilling to lose another parent, Valkyrie gives into the darkness.

Darquesse engages Catalysmic as Desmond watches on in concern, amazement, and horror. Ghastly, Tanith, and Sanguine arrive, watching on as the calamity wearing Valkyrie's face did battle, and Ghastly drags a beaten Skulduggery over to get him away from the aftermath. The fight is glorious, with Darquesse fighting using black flames, but it ends when she reaches into his chest. She'd been observing Argeddion when he went to unseal her True Name, and does the same to Catalysmic as she breaks the sigils over his heart down, then slams him through the cathedral until they reach the bottom floor. Then, in front of everyone, Darquesse controls Catalysmic and orders him to kill himself with his own hand. He dies screaming.

Darquesse proceeds to announce her identity to her friends and allies, giving an impassioned speech which she admits to a profound desire for destruction that she'd felt ever since she was first born, but over time, as the line between her and Valkyrie blurred, the resolve she'd once had to destroy the world had wavered. She was confused and was undecided, so for now she'd search for the answer and to deliver judgement. All of them could wait for her answer, since their lives were in her hands.

Desmond tries to reach 'Stephanie' and all of Valkyrie's friends, like Tanith, Ghastly, Elsie, Carol, Ravel, and of course Skulduggery do the same, but it doesn't work. She tells them that she's still herself, just even more herself than ever, then leaves.

Part 9 - Backstabber

There was a sense of defeat even after the Sanctuary's supposed victory. All the Irish Sorcerers return to Ireland with Fletcher's help, proceed to come back to find Deuce looking grim. The Engineer had been fixed by Clarabelle, and with its help, they had a deadline of a single month to shut the Accelerator down by feeding a soul to it. This news doesn't lighten their spirits. The Black Cleaver went to Nye after the death of Catalysmic, as it was tampered with to act as its bodyguard, whilst Nye itself was ordered to be put to work at the Sanctuary by Ravel, who argues that tough days were ahead of them, since he had no plan on handing Ireland over. They'd need all the help they can get.

Fletcher returns to Australia with Razzia, where Savant reunites with Melior. He asks Razzia if she wants to go home, since he had a feeling things were only going to get more ugly from here, but she refuses, stating that he was her closest human friend and she wanted to stick close to him since the world might ends soon. He thinks about the morality of being friends with a killer, but he'd taken life himself, and all of them might die any day now. He says yes, but affirms that she couldn't just kill people whenever she felt like it if she wanted to stay. After stating that he drove a hard bargain, they shook hands and went back, with her asking if he'd make her a new tuxedo in honour of their new friendship, since if she was dying, she wanted to go out with style.

Skulduggery is confronted by Ravel, the only one of the Dead Men who was able to speak with him face-to-face after the truth came out. Ravel tells him sadly that after him being Lord Vile had come to light, the news had spread like wildfire, and people were out for his blood. He tells Skulduggery that he's under house arrest, and any breach or violation of this order will result in severe punishment. He tells Skulduggery that, for what it's worth, he still considers him one of the Dead Men before walking away. It was a cold comfort.

The reflection talks with Desmond when he returns. After learning of what a reflection was and what Valkyrie had done, he wasn't sure how to treat her, especially since she looked identical to his daughter. He thanks her for taking care of Alice, and after learning of the circumstances which led to her gaining sentience, she confesses to feeling unsure if he'd even love her if he knew the truth. He hugs tthe reflection, saying that he's sorry for never noticing, but he still considered her a part of the family. The two cry together.

Sult is left seething when Ravel goes back on his word. He'd looked Sult in the eye and swore, only to say no later, and after losing so many of his men in the battle against Catalysmic, a man who the Irish Sanctuary let go, his thinning patience finally snapped. Ireland had spit in his face for the last time. He rallies the council together and declares war.

Ravel is present in Dublin, underneath it where a legion of Kith, likely transported in by Nero. They were dormant, but could go off at any moment. Marr had led him to it, having caught a vision of the Kith. Whilst Marr is speaking, a knife is shoved into her back by Ravel. She topples over, and Ravel kneels to finish the job, heartbroken. He apologises, but doesn't stop. If someone else knew where the Kith were lurking besides him, then his plan wouldn't be salvageable now that the Warlocks were gone. He says sorry again with tears in his eyes and shoves his knife into Marr's throat, and as she dies, she stares into Ravel's eyes with an expression of pure betrayal. Into those beautiful eyes which she could get lost in for hours. Those golden eyes.

Book 1(The Last of the Ancients)
Book 2(Dancing with Darkness)
Book 3(The Cursed One)
Book 4(Desolation)
Book 5(Divine Judgement)
Sidestory(Tanith Low)
Book 6(Requiem)
Sidestory(Fletcher Renn)
Book 7(Rise of the Wicked)
Book 8(Fall of a Dead Man)

This is technically an original book, since the plot of this one takes place between the events of Kingdom of the Wicked and Last Stand of Dead Men. I did this because, in my opinion, LSoDM was more-or-less where Phase 1 peaked, which is why TDoTL felt a bit underwhelming to me, because it was following such a huge climax. I'm not ripping on the last book, it was great, but it felt like its highs didn't reach its predecessor's, with a lower word count, some dissatisfying conclusions, etcetera.

So, consider this one a prelude to the Sanctuary war if you will, with it being a prelude to the end of the series!

Book 8 - Fall of a Dead Man(2013)

(Main Villain: Catalysmic[Nefarian Serpine])

Part 1 - Tide of War

The prologue is shown from Nye's point of view. He's been kidnapped and strong-armed into working for Catalysmic, being forced to seal his True Name, and help him with various experiments. Despite everything, even through his distain for Catalysmic, Nye still found himself fascinated academically.

After taking over the church and masquerading as Creed, Catalysmic had almost endless resources at their disposal, and so did Nye. They'd colluded together and started a number of projects to aid with his master plan, and not only that, but he'd been getting a group together to make his revenge as excruciating as possible, and planned to take everything and everyone that Skulduggery and Valkyrie held close and dear. A whole year had been devoted to this plan, and it was almost ready.

Catalysmic's scheme was horrible. Even Nye, a soulless creature, couldn't help but pity them. They didn't know what was about to strike.

Valkyrie and Skulduggery are in Dublin, investigating an American killer named Shakespeare Gleeman, otherwise known as Mr Glee. He remains the same twisted sicko as in Phase 2, and when they finally catch up to him, he locks onto Valkyrie. After separating Valkyrie from Skulduggery, he turns invisible and gives several light brushes of his knife's face against her skin whilst invisible, expressing a desire to strip her down and slice her up all over.

But despite his invisibility, Valkyrie had been getting better at reading the air currents, and manages to get a lucky shot with a shadow-enhanced punch and Glee goes down. Valkyrie violently pummels him without mercy, but unlike in canon, Darquesse hadn't been getting louder and egging her on, in fact she'd been getting quieter. But as she did, Valkyrie started to have those violent thoughts on her own. She'd become brutal when engaging criminals, using excessive force even by Skulduggery's standards.

Shadows spike over her fist and moves to cave Glee's skull in, but then Skulduggery arrives and grabs her arm, telling her that was enough. He didn't do it for Glee's sake. She didn't want to go there.

After throwing Glee into a cell, they report back to Ravel, who over the past year has been trying to ease tensions with the Supreme Council to no avail. Bisahalani's death had emboldened them, and they would only accept utter submission on their end. Frankly, he was surprised that outright war hadn't broken out yet, but tells them to be ready. It was on the horizon, and Ravel didn't think he'd be able to stop it, and a recent visit by Illori Reticent regarding the Accelerator wasn't helping his worries at all.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie stop by China's library, but as they're entering, a sour-looking man is exiting, holding a book. He stops when he sees Skulduggery, and vice-versa. With a glare he greets Skulduggery, who greets Uther Peccant back. There was tension in the air and Valkyrie asks if he's got a problem. He says he does, then walks past Skulduggery, goes over to a Mercedes, then drives off.

As they enter, Valkyrie asks about Peccant, and just receives the answer that he was an old friend. One who didn't want anything to do with him, and was right to. Before she can push, they meet China, who'd been trading books with Peccant, who she hadn't been able to scam him with her glamour and drove a hard bargain. She seemed happy about that for some reason.

The two speak with China about the upcoming war, as Ravel wanted Ireland's foremost expert on sigils on their side if worse came to worse. She thinks about it, and surprisingly agrees to lend them her aid, unwilling to let Skulduggery and Valkyrie fight alone. She also congratulates Valkyrie on turning eighteen tomorrow, which was her birthday. She'd remembered.

Part 2 - Refusing to Cave

With Scapegrace's group, they'd started running his old bar again, mostly going about their lives as normally as they could in their new bodies, though always made stops at Clarabelle's hospital regularly to see if she'd made any progress on her research into their bodies. Unfortunately, she hadn't had much time to do that, since she'd been working on restoring a broken old robot that Kenspeckle had stashed away in his supply closet. He'd mentioned it one time when talking about his old projects, and she found some old notes of his, saying it was important for the Accelerator. All the other scientific experts they had on hand were studying the Accelerator itself, and told her to do the same, but Clarabelle ignored them. It felt like it was important.

She was mostly done with the Engineer, but its power core was missing a rare kind of magic-infused gemstone that helped it run without traditional energy and made it autonomous. She needed either a new crystal, or something equivalent. Crux, remembering that the Sceptre was powered by a special crystal too, suggests it could be used as a substitute, and they resolve to take the Rust Bucket and return to the caves under Gordon's mansion.

When it comes to Carol, over the past year she'd been hard at work whilst the reflection lived her mortal life for her. Ravel himself had been acting as the Grand Mage, so he didn't have the time to fully devote himself to their training, but he was a popular man with many friends who were skilled instructors. Normally a single year wouldn't be enough to get Carol ready, but a Shunter friend of Ravel's had access to another dimension like he did in canon, but because their timestreams differed, a day in the Prime Dimension was five days in this other world. She'd technically spent years in this other world, getting into shape and learning how to use magic, and when introduced to the huge city that resided in that dimension, she was told that it was built in case of an emergency where Roarhaven was destroyed.

It was gruelling work, but driven by a desire to get revenge on Kitana, Carol endured and her Surge came, locking her in as an Elementalist. She was training in this dimension when she got a mission to fix the Sceptre because of the war on the horizon, and Ravel wanted them to be as ready as possible. Marr goes with Carol to keep her safe, the two of them being well-acquainted due to their connections to Ravel. She'd been unable to find the one who destroyed the old Sanctuary, and felt like she'd hit a dead end, and Ravel soothes her because of this, directing her to do some good work elsewhere.

Skulduggery, Marr, Carol, and Valkyrie go down to the cave under Gordon's and retrieve another crystal. A few monsters come at them, and Carol shows off some impressive skills, dispatching them with notable ease. This doesn't escape the others' notice. With some clever wordplay, Marr learns about Ravel's Shunter friend and the other dimension, which was why Carol had grown so much in a 'short' amount of time, though Carol omits the fact a city was being constructed there. Marr is confused about why her boyfriend would hide this from her and the rest of his friends.

At one point, Valkyrie and Carol are separated from the detectives during a cave-in and have to advance alone, nicking more than one crystal together just so they wouldn't have to come back down to the cave again. But as they're leaving, they come across Anathem Mire, who wished to finish the job he hadn't been able to years ago. He almost succeeds, but Scapegrace's group are there to help them, buying enough time for Carol to shove the crystal into the Sceptre and smite him down. After explaining their situation, and as thanks for helping them, they give Scapegrace one of their crystals, which they leave with to take to Clarabelle.

In America, Sult is addressing the rest of the council in a meeting, which includes Wahrheit and Mandat. All of them have separate issues with the Irish Sanctuary for varying reasons, one of which includes Mandat currently having conflict with the Warlocks, who assumed that he gave away their location and had started picking off French Sorcerers at the borders. Sult had succeeded his teacher as Supreme Leader of the council, and despite everything, he was trying to placate them. He reminds them all of the cost of war, and yes, maybe they could defeat Ireland together, but asks what the price for that would be. All the blood and bone they'd have to trudge through to do so on both sides. He tells them to be patient. They are Sorcerers, and even if war is inevitable, they are in no rush. He adjourns the meeting.

Elsewhere in America, Fletcher is with Donegan and Gracious in Washington. It had taken a while, but they'd managed to finally pin Smoke down and follow him into a church, which they infiltrate to ambush him, but they stumble into a room where a skinless man, Catalysmic, was giving a speech. He'd taken to doing so in his skinless form, as he was selling the message that he was a prophet of the Faceless Ones themselves, sent from on high to deliver justice on the ones who struck down their gods, and the worst sinner of all: Valkyrie Cain. He talks about how those in the church would be given the chance to not only worship chaos, but become chaos itself through transforming into Kith, the Spawn of the Faceless, making a show of having it sound like a grand, noble sacrifice, rather than a grotesque, painful transformation into a monster.

Fletcher listens to this, then notices that Gracious was gone, and spots Nero, who runs when he sees Fletcher. It had been a trap, set by Smoke. He teleports out to the corridor, punching Nero and pinning him down, demanding he teleport to where Gracious is, threatening to break his arm. They move to a dark alleyway, where he finds Gracious on the floor, beaten with a gouged out eye. He barely turns in time to avoid a knife coming for his neck, and find the face of Myra, who was wearing a strange bodysuit covered in sigils.

A short fight takes place, but something is wrong with Myra. She was meant to be a mortal, but she was being enhanced by that bodysuit to a level which rivalled Gracious' strength. She splinters his ribs and nearly guts him. He's forced to flee with Gracious in tow, returning to Donegan and teleporting back.

Part 3 - Shattered Mirror

Elsie is with Ghastly in his shop, having been taken on as an apprentice by him. She'd changed a lot in build, demeanour, and clothes, donning a spiffy tuxedo, but remained the same sweet girl as ever. She'd taken to sewing well, but not fighting. It just wasn't her nature. Ghastly mentioned that she reminded him a bit of Fletcher, and before she can ask about him, the man himself teleports in with Donegan and Gracious, injured. Speak of the devil.

Smoke is at a table, and Catalysmic sat at its head, the Black Cleaver at his back. Asides from the Neoterics, Lethe, Nero, and Destrier, there were more people who'd been selected to be part of his team. Nye is there, the gangly thing sneering at everyone, unhappy to be here but having no choice, though it does take some pride in the work its done. After killing Creed, the two of them had stolen Mevolent's armour, which Creed had inherited in addition to the Obsidian Blade and still possessed, and managed to reverse-engineer it, though doing so was time-consuming and the results weren't as good as the original. Nevertheless, the copy suited Myra just fine, who despite being mortal was able to tussle with Gracious and come out on top.

Other than her, there was Eliza, who sneered at Myra and was sneered at in return. She hated not being in control and that Catalysmic was selling bullshit to the church for his own plans, but was willing to follow him to ruin China, plus she was his second-in-command. Otherwise, there was Kitana Kellaway, still wearing Valkyrie's red jacket, who'd joined up with Catalysmic when he approached her and offered a plan to pay Valkyrie back and sew carnage.

At the head, Catalysmic steals the scene, gesturing to Eliza and Myra that some of them might not like each other, but all of them had a common goal in mind: revenge, and petty grievances needed to be put aside to settle their pettier grievances. He points them all out, swaying their minds and uniting them. The time has come to spread chaos.

Valkyrie returns to her home, where she speaks with her family and a growing Alice, who was three now. Desmond gives her the Oompa lumpa for her birthday, and the whole family would be going out for dinner tonight. Desmond gets emotional, because she was an adult now and he wouldn't be able to protect her as much anymore, and Crystal's sudden demise reminded him of how fragile life is. She assures him that he'd protected her well, and she'd always need his help, then afterwards goes up to her room and receives a call from Skulduggery. She needed to go.

The reflection comes out of the mirror, and she shows disapproval of Valkyrie for blowing her parents off like this at Skulduggery word, but she waves her off, saying this was a good thing since the reflection would get to spend more time with her family. The reflection tries to argue more, but Valkyrie leaves out the window to find Skulduggery, who was waiting outside in the Bentley, where they drive and have a meet-up with Solomon.

After a typical standoff between him and Skulduggery, he gets unusually serious and tells them about an encounter he'd had with a few stray worshippers of the Faceless Ones, and he needed their help to investigate them. After this, he takes them to the church in question, where they sneak in and go through their supplies, finding a huge supply of injections, which unknown to them was a perfected version of the Kith Serum.

A church member notices them, however, and they seem to seethe with hatred and anger when they see Valkyrie, and a fight takes place where Valkyrie is on the ground being kicked around. Skulduggery and Solomon work together for once and unleash a barrage of shadows and bullets, laying them all down, but aren't able to take any of them prisoner because they activate suicide sigils branded onto their nicks, reciting the term 'all is chaos' before dying and taking any explanation down with them.

The three head to the infirmary in Roarhaven, intent on getting the injection analysed, where Fletcher is being treated along with Gracious, who'd lost an eye. Donegan explains the situation, how Smoke was working with the church and they were targeting Valkyrie in their speech. The church might've been driven out of Ireland, but he tells her to keep her guard up, because they sure as hell would be.

Valkyrie doesn't go to Fletcher, who'd made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her. Instead, after Skulduggery and Solomon go to Reverie to get the serum analysed, she speaks with Elsie, who shows worry for Fletcher, since the two of them had become close through Ghastly, and couldn't help but question her own pacificist stance. She wanted to help her friends, but didn't want to hurt anyone. In return, Valkyrie says that if she wanted something in life, she had to take it, and sometimes that meant violence. She tells Elsie about Glee, how the world would be better off without people like him, and asks if she'd let Fletcher get hurt to spare people like him or Kitana. Elsie isn't able to answer, and Valkyrie pushes until Ghastly interrupts, telling Valkyrie she'd said enough. Seeing the way he sided with Elsie over her hurt. Everyone seemed to be growing distant from her, and she felt like she had no one except Skulduggery in her corner. Well, him and the reflection.

The reflection is returning from dinner with Valkyrie's family. Fergus and Beryl had been present, along with Carol's reflection, with them all having grown closer after Crystal died. She felt horrible about not telling them about what actually happened to their daughter, but couldn't speak out. Despite everything, she was still a reflection, and couldn't disobey Valkyrie.

The reflection takes off her shoes, then goes to her bedroom. She notices something is off, then a knife slashes over her eye, blinding her.

Mr Glee reveals himself, thinking she's Valkyrie, but realises she was just a reflection. His glee is soured a bit, but he still licks the end of his blade, saying she'd do, as he'd been hired to kidnap her family anyway. Plus, he could still have his fun.

The commotion draws her parents' attention, however. Desmond tries to attack Glee, but is swiftly knocked down. He gets cocky, believing mortals to be helpless. Then Melissa steps in and breaks a vase over his face, sending him staggering into the mirror, shattering it. She tells the reflection to run with Alice, and she does, sprinting through Haggard with a crying Alice and no shoes.

Part 4 - The Truth Comes Out

Valkyrie gets a call from the reflection, and answers, learning of its situation. She gets over her fear of a healed Fletcher and pleads for his help, which he gives without being told twice because, despite everything, a part of him still cared about Valkyrie, plus her family were innocents. They teleport into Haggard and take the reflection and Alice in, where it's healed but blinded, left without an iris in her right eye. Valkyrie tries to create a new mirror for it to go into, but the usual sigils for a reflection aren't work, and the reflection wasn't able to go back into the mirror. The reflection could no longer act as a reflection.

Gracious tries to look on the bright side by saying they match, but fails to get a smile, and the reflection is left despondent and quiet. What was her purpose now? In seeing the reflection wounded so badly, and learning that Glee, the man she'd let live, was the culprit, Valkyrie swears that next time he was at her mercy, she'd cut him down.

The results for the serum come back, and Reverie tells them it was a mixture of something they can't identify and Valkyrie's blood. This was a perfected version of the Kith Serum, which was made by mixing the Grotesquery's blood with Valkyrie's to heighten the purity of the Faceless Ones' DNA inside of it, resulting in the strongest Kith possible. Upon learning what it was, Skulduggery deduces what it did due to his time with the Faceless Ones, and now his suspicions were confirmed. The church were up to something. He goes to China to ask if she heard something, but Valkyrie chooses to stay behind with the reflection and Alice, unwilling to leave them alone.

Skulduggery goes to find China at the library, wanting to ask about the Kith Serum and what the church might be up to, and the two speak when he arrives, but are interrupted by the arrival of Catalysmic. He'd tracked down and studied his old rival, and now that the stage was set, his beautiful revenge could commence.

"Don't tell me you thought death would be enough to keep me away from you, Skulduggery. It certainly didn't keep you from me."

The two have a heated discussion, where Serpine flickers into his real, skinless form, saying they'd both been disfigured by their rebirth, before flickering back. He and Skulduggery trade barbs, then he proceeds to unveil the horrible truth that China had helped him kill Skulduggery's family. It had been just the two of them involved, and with Serpine dead China though the truth would stay buried for good.

Catalysmic mocks Skulduggery for being capable of loving the one who'd gotten his family killed, but doesn't move to kill him. The time for their final showdown wasn't quite nigh. He tells Skulduggery to linger on what he'd learned, but to know this was only the start, then teleports away.

Skulduggery refuses to look at China, who tries to speak with him, but then he started to shake with rage. She backs away as the shadows curl around him, and for a moment she thought he was going to transform into Vile and tear her apart. But after a moment, he forced the shadows to reign themselves. He tells China never to get within his sights again, then walks away, leaving her all by herself.

Part 5 - The Siege

In Roarhaven, the worshippers of the Faceless Ones emerged, planted there by Nero. All of them were given a syringe of Kith Serum. All of the followers here were from Ireland, and volunteered to do this because Catalysmic wanted them to cleanse Ireland. One by one, they start to shout 'all is chaos!' and inject themselves, turning into Kith and rampaging in the streets, killing everything in sight.

Clarabelle has managed to edit the Engineer's power core enough for it to accommodate for the black crystal's energy rather than its usual one. It boots up, then informs them of its purpose being to shut down the Accelerator in case it began to overload, explaining it was an unintentional doomsday device. Unlike in canon, its memory processor remains intact, so it can get to work right away. But then a Kith finds them and attacks, and whilst the Engineer isn't destroyed, its memory processor is damaged when it strikes. Scapegrace, Thrasher, and Crux save Clarabelle just in time for Donegan to arrive with Fletcher, and they slay the Kith, but the Engineer was damaged.

People die, and Sorcerers try to act, but as they do, an army appears outside of Roarhaven. An army of Warlocks, also teleported in by Nero. Charivari was a part of Catalysmic's team because he was promised the chance to end the Irish Sanctuary, and after learning one of their Sorcerers were behind his peoples' death, he was out for blood and was willing to partner with an outsider to get it. Marr hadn't given the justice she promised, so he laid siege to Roarhaven, willing to drown the city in blood just to get to his killer. The Dead Men and Ravel rally their Sorcerers together and counterattack both the Kith and Warlocks. The reflection is told to keep Alice safe by Valkyrie as she leaves, joining the fight and killing the Kith, who seem to be unsure of how to regard her. It was unsettling, but she uses the chance to slay them. Elsie is there, who'd since her talk with Valkyrie re-evaluated her pacifistic stance. Thinking about Argeddion, what he wanted to do and was willing to let slide for the sake of pacificism, she ultimately dumps her old ideology and attacks the Kith, saving countless lives.

The Kith are culled, the Warlocks are in the middle of being beaten back, and things start to look up. Then, in the Accelerator Room, Kitana emerges and kills a few guards, going up to a Cube-entrapped Argeddion. After mocking him, she walks into the Accelerator and emerged supercharged. Catalysmic had given the simple order to supercharge herself and rampage, killing as many people as possible, and she was happy to comply. After exiting the Accelerator, she went to the surface and destroyed rows of buildings and legions of Sorcerers and civilians, relishing the pain and death she was causing, and the looks on Valkyrie and Elsie's faces.

"This is what happens when you don't finish the job, Valkyrie."

A fight occurs between the three of them. Valkyrie isn't able to fight for long, lacking the raw power to keep up. Elsie tackles Kitana. She remembers her lesson with Ghastly and throws mean punches, but unlike Kitana, she isn't supercharged. Still, she fights with everything she has, knowing she was the only one who could put up a fight, and gets brutalised in response.

Outside Roarhaven, Ravel is fighting Charivari and the Warlocks with the Dead Men, Fletcher, and the Monster Hunters. There are no organic Hollow Men here, it's just Sorcerers against Warlocks. Marr is fighting at Ravel's side, and they confront Charivari together, who's disappointed to know she hadn't found the traitor and calls her a liar, moving to kill her, but Ravel saves her at the last moment.

Then Carol shows up with the Sceptre, killing dozens of his men. He strikes at her, wishing to slay her for ending his brothers. But Marr jumps on him from behind and grabs his head, choosing to attack him mentally rather than physically, and manages to out-will Charivari, shredding his mind and turning him into a vegetable. And then, when he's down, she unleashes a round of her gun into his head for good measure, firing until the bullets are spent.

Elsie is on the ground, being strangled by Kitana. As she starts to lose consciousness, Kitana starts to rant and confesses to Elsie that she'd been feeling lonely since Sean and Doran died, and now, with Elsie gone, she'd be completely alone. And that made her sad. She was her own biggest victim. Kitana tells Elsie to take her weakness down with her, then tightens her grip, but Carol shows up, pointing the Sceptre at Kitana.

A standoff happens where Kitana uses Elsie as a human shield, causing Carol to hesitate. More Sorcerers start to appear, and Kitana realises she's outnumbered. She throws Elsie at Carol to block her and uses the chance to leave, flying off into the distance at breakneck speeds, leaving a destroyed city in her wake.

(Part 2 can be read here)