The woman walked closer to Charlotte in slow, sure steps. Charlotte fought to move but she still could not move, then she also tried shaking her head, which did not work as well.

She felt stuck, and the woman kept coming closer at her.

When she got close enough, she nodded at Charlotte while her hands came to Charlotte's temple, and massaged the temple. That woman's fingers felt cold on her sweaty temple. The massage, along with a chant of some spells that the woman whispered, served like a key that opened a door in Charlotte's mind. A door that had so far blocked memories, memories of all that had happened to her during her vacation a few weeks ago.

"I am Valis. I am a servant of Lady Sylve, from the Order of Guardians of the Abyss. By permission of Lady Sylve, I have come to let you remember again, and I have come to you bearing a message from Lady Sylve. Rogh has arisen again, and we need your help."

Tears started falling in Charlotte's cheek the more she remembered. Along with her memories, she also regained her ability to speak and move.

"Arran." That was the first word from her remembered memories that she uttered. "I remember all again. Arran! How is he?"

The woman, Valis, sighed and took a few steps back. "He is not doing well. Lady Sylve and I have had to chain him again. Rogh got so much stronger in his mind now. And immora—"

"What happen to it?"

"It has refused to move at all, we cannot pick it up from the ground. A day after you left, it flew by itself to the back garden, fell dead on the ground and we have not been able to move it or pick it up. We are in trouble, Charlotte. Immora does not work, Lady Sylve is much weakened now, Arran is hanging by a thread, if he turns to darkness too, we will lose this battle for all eternity. Rogh will release his demons to devour humanity."

"Then-then what can I do?"

"Immora wants you. Arran needs your light. It is hard to believe, after all the centuries, this battle will be decided by a-a human. A human girl. Like you."

"A human girl like me—" Charlotte repeated that, and felt it was special indeed. A human girl who loved to eat her spicy ramen directly from the saucepan, who was a clown-for-hire for kids birthday parties, who planned to learn balloon art, who was still grieving the loss of her mom ...

"Would you come with me? To the castle?" Valis looked at her with eyes full of worry.

Charlotte froze for a few seconds—what a weird turn her life had taken. But Arran was back in her mind again, Arran who was always special for her, someone whom she could not lose.

"For Arran ... I would do anything to help him after what he has done for me." Charlotte now knew, she had seen Arran in his fight against darkness in her dream. Weakened, exhausted, and on the brink of letting go his battle to stay in the light—Arran had come to see her.

Valis nodded.

"But-but how about if I cannot help? If I fail?"

Valis shook her head. "I do not think that is a good thing, Charlotte."

Charlotte stood for a moment, toying with the idea if she could call Dad and Ellie. Would she be back in time for their wedding? Would she survive? Would humanity survive so Dad and Ellie could celebrate their wedding?

"We have to go. Now."

Charlotte stuttered some answer, and she nodded. No need to call Dad and Ellie. She had no idea how, but she would try her very best to be back safely, to be at their wedding.

Valis took her hands, and asked her to close her eyes. She did exactly as such.

From her memories that came back, Charlotte knew she had had some strange, really strange and scary experiences, but this moment with Valis' hands grabbing hers was something else.

It was as if Valis took her to dive into a deep water, she could feel sounds of gurgling and swirling of waves, her body sank then floated. But she knew she was not in a body of water because she could breathe just fine and her clothes was not wet. At some point she could feel strong wind caressing her face, and she kept closing her eyes.

At some point, she felt that she spiraled gently and she could feel the sole of her shoes touching the ground again.

Valis let go of her hands.

"Open your eyes."

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Her breath paused as she took in what she was looking at.

She was in the back garden of the castle. The castle she was taken to after immora stabbed her. She remembered the garden was green, full of life, with fruits and vegetables that had grown so well because Arran took care of them well.

Not the garden she was looking at now.

All dead. Trees, shrubs, grass, all had turned brown and dead.

The blue sky was gone.

It was grey, filled with ashes that fell on them and thick smog that began to choke Charlotte's lungs.

"All ... dead," from her trembling lips came her first observation.

Valis nodded, and her voice broke as she replied,"Yes. Arran has lost his ability to to keep anything alive. Lady Sylve is too weak to use her sorcery for anything. I am not a great sorceress, I try my best to keep some plants alive, but they die too."

Charlotte stood, her knees started trembling and her lips shivered. Then her eyes saw Lady Sylve, kneeled in the middle of the garden. Her head bowed down, and she held on to her walking cane to keep her from slumping on the ground.

Valis nodded at Charlotte, a sign that she should approach the leader of the Order. Charlotte walked slowly to the old sorceress, and when she got next to her, she saw what Lady Sylve was looking at.

Immora.

The enchanted dagger laid on the ground, rust and dust covered it. It looked like an old dagger from the shed that was no good for anything other than being thrown away.

"You have come, Charlotte," Sylve nodded, her voice was filled with sadness and broken from tears.

Charlotte nodded, at lost for words. She lowered herself, kneeling next to Sylve.

"I am sorry I have to send for you, Charlotte. But for the first time in so many years, I am-I am desperate." Sylve coughed, and continued,"Immora, we need immora. Maybe you can awaken it, turn it to be on our side again like last time."

"Sylve, I do not know how ..."

Sylve shook her head and sobbed gently."There must be a way for you to awaken immora again, to ask for it to help us. There must be a way! It has to be! We cannot end this way!"

They were all still for some time, pondering the brutal end that seemed to get much closer and the desperation that grew thicker in the air.

Charlotte sighed and slowly stood up again. "Where is Arran? Please-please let me see him."

"Valis and I have had to chain him again. Rogh is on his way to claim him, the demon has healed and now is back for revenge. Arran is growing darker by day, Evinia's necklace is getting weaker, he begged me to let him come see you in a dream, and I have granted him that wish. I hope so much for that meeting with you in a dream would help him—"

"And it does not help?"

"It does help, but Rogh gets so strong. Look at this place! Everything is dead because of his dark energy and my weakened sorcery fails to counter it!"

"Let me see Arran."

Lady Sylve gazed at Charlotte for a few seconds, then she nodded. Valis came and helped her leader stand up, and the two sorceresses started walking, followed by Charlotte.

They walked the same path that the eagle had led Charlotte the day she found Arran chained. The vegetables and trees that used to line the path were now all dead. No green leaf, no moist soil, no chirping of birds. No life.

At the end of the pathway, on the elevated stone pavement, Arran was chained in between the pillars. A metal chain chained his right wrist to the right pillar, his left to the left pillar. Charlotte knew there was a wall, invisible one, that separated Arran from them. The wall that had thrown her before.

Charlotte stared at Arran. He looked so different, the kind of different that made Charlotte's heart weep and tremble in fear at the same time.