Glyn awakens sitting up and looking out on the beach to see Miller and Sam looking over their equipment. Mila sits nearby him looking down on his with a smile on her face. She hands him a bowl full of soup.

            “What’s this?” He asks.

            “Fish soup. Brother and Sam found some fish while exercising,” Mila says.

Glyn nods. “So, Sam’s getting used to their female body seems like.”

            “Seems like it. Brother is paying a lot of attention to them.”

            “Jealous?”

            “No. I’m happy. Sam and Brother seem to have fun together.” She smiles, staring out in the distance. “I wonder if I can be that courageous.”

 Glyn stares at her for a moment. “You’re plenty courageous of yourself, if you ask me.”

            “I’m not brave. I’m a coward, I can’t even….”

            “You’re braver than you think you are.”

She turns to him, lowering her head. “How do you know? You’re brave and strong and….”

            “I’m plenty scared.”

            “Huh?”

            “Everything. I’m trying to come up with a plan. I’m scared. I know I’m putting all of you at risk and so I need to come up with a plan as perfect as I can. If I don’t, then I….” Glyn takes a breath. “I’m scared one of you could die. I don’t want to win at the cost of your lives. You’re my allies in this stupid game, after all. Even if our bonds are temporary, I want our parting to be a pleasant one.”

            “Does it have to be temporary? These bonds, as you say?” Mila moves closer to Glyn, sitting next to him. “I…. personally I….”

            “Glyn, you’re awake!” Miller walks up to the pair with a smirk on his face. “We’re planning to explore more of the island today, aren’t we?”

Mila blushes, shooting up and moving past Miller. Sam spots her and shakes her head, smacking Miller in the back of the head.

            “Boss, you need to be a little more sensitive to certain matters,” Sam says.

            “Huh? What did I do?”

Glyn smirks and drinks some of the soup. “Yeah. We’re going to break this island’s mysteries in half!”

            “At the very least, we need a way past that barrier.”

            “Yeah. But Mila mentioned something. She said it smells like we’re underwater. What do you think, Miller?”

Miller sniffs at the air. “Something is strange. I can breathe the air, but….”

            “But it feels like we’re underwater in some way? Like a strange unexplainable pressure?”

            “That’s right.”

Sam nods along. “So, what does that mean?”

            “I can’t confirm anything yet until we check the jungle. If I’m right, we’ll find something in the center of the mass worth all this mess.”

            “The center?” The pair ask in unison.

 

Elsewhere on the beach, Isaac sits staring out at the sea with his partner flying down next to him. The pair sit as the waves come in and their stomachs roar with hunger. Isaac reaches into a bag between his legs and pulls out a chunk of bread, handing it to her.

            “Xia. You need to eat.”

She turns away. “I can manage. I can go longer without eating compared to a human child.”

            “But you’re also fighting. Anytime you go into that jungle, you’re going to get attacked. I can tell you have more wounds than last time.” He says.

She shakes her head. “If either of us is going to survive, it has to be you. I…. I can’t avenge them. You can.”

            “No. We’re going to avenge them together.” Isaac lowers his head and holds out his hand. A Chess Piece appears in his hand and he drops it into the bag as a somber expression comes over him. “That was the last Pawn Piece.”

            “Then that’s everyone. It’s just you and me left at the end of this.”

            “She tortured them. I know it. I could feel the pain echoing through the pieces when they came back. A punishment for me failing as a King.”

Xia lowers her head. “We have to avenge them. If we don’t, then none of them will be able to rest in peace.”

Isaac tries to speak only for him to sense something. “They're entering the jungle.”

            “How many this time?”

            “Four. I guess Glyn’s making his move.”

            “What should we do?”

            “Observe. He’s a wild dog who betrayed his master. I do not know what that man is trying to do with the game. But I don’t trust him.”

 

Glyn and his group move through the forest with Mila raising her tails and keeping the flames around them burning. Miller joins in, holding his hand with a burst of flame erupting from his palm. Sam does the same as they light the way, with the jungle growing darker as they travel. As the surrounding mist thickens, everyone prepares for battle as the monsters take form, waiting to attack.

            “We’re getting closer, I bet. Everyone, let’s break our way through. There should be a safe zone nearby.”

            “What?” Mila asks.

            “How do you figure?” Sam asks.

            “Just trust me on this. If I’m wrong, we’re all dead, anyway.”

Miller nods and draws his sword. “These are enemies we can’t cut, so using magic tricks is our only way through!”

Sam nods and charges ahead. Flames erupt from their blade as they swing, cutting a hole open in the mist. “Then let’s get moving!”

Everyone charges ahead with monsters clawing at the group. Sam and Miller move to defend, blocking the attacks and dismissing the monsters. The group charges ahead with a break in the tree line appearing before them.

            “Mila now!” Glyn yells.

Following orders, Mila launches a fireball as everyone rushes through the opening and making it to the clearing. They tumble in as Glyn stands up to confirm their surroundings. A large glowing spike stands in the middle of the clearing, radiating with an odd power.

            “What is that?” Mila asks.

Glyn walks forward and touches the spike. “Oh yeah. This thing has a lot of miasma coming from it.”

            “Miasma!?” Miller asks, shooting up. “Isn’t that stuff poisonous?”

            “Somewhat. But I have some immunity because of the curse. Either way, this confirms it.”

            “Confirms what?” Sam asks.

            “This place is a Dungeon.”

            “A what?” Mila asks.

A shadow flies overhead, with Xia and Isaac landing on the other side of the clearing. “Look who showed up.”

            “I had hoped you wouldn’t find this,” Isaac says.

            “Why? I knew you didn’t save us just to be good. But I never expected you’d already solved the riddle here.”

Xia snarls. “Fenwick’s Dog!”

Glyn pauses. “Since when does Fenwick factor into anything right now? Last time I checked, he was dead.”

            “I knew it.” Isaac steps forward. “I heard he was, but I didn’t want to believe it was true. I knew I couldn’t count on any of the other candidates, just a taste of power and all of you go mad.”

Xia brandishes her spear. “I’m ending this now. At the very least, we can claim his King Piece and take the power for ourselves.”

            “Who’s the one driven mad by power now?”

            “Enough! Xia Bai. I order you to take out Glyn and his Pieces and put an end to this!” He yells.

Glyn smirks. “I figured it’d come down to this. Miller, I assume you can handle this.”

Miller draws his blade, stepping forward. “I can. Leave this to me!”

            “Let’s see who wins. Your Queen or my Pawn!” Glyn yells at the top of his lungs.