The Taste of Seduction

"The three of us were friends, but Austin was not like Marcus. He chose revenge and selfishness driven by his jealousy." She looked at Meredith and continued. "And I fear he did something worse to your father."

Meredith, Atlas, and Marcus looked at her with sadness hinted in their eyes. With a sigh, Gwen further explained to them what she meant.

"I know that he taught you, Meredith. And he is the most powerful fae. He could do amazing things if he wanted to, what more if he has the book and the crystals? I fear that he may have trapped your father somewhere like an unknown place with the help of a portal or something."

Meredith hadn't met her father yet, but knowing this, she grew worried for him.

"You think Austin would really do that?"

"A jealous man can do anything, Meredith," Marcus chimed in, letting out a sigh. "If he had gotten what he wanted after gaining our trust, I fear that what Gwen had said is right," he added, Atlas nodding at his statement as he agreed.

"The last time I remembered, I asked Austin to look for your father. He looked at me in disbelief, as if he'd do that for me, something like that," she said, her brows creasing together. "And maybe he pitied me when I passed out, because as you can see, I was kept in his palace to replenish my strength, right?"

"Yeah, and probably wait for the perfect opportunity to wake you up," Atlas connected, thinking how Austin was really driven by his hidden desires.

"This is most likely the case," Gwen said, letting out a sigh. "Then… we have to stop him. But first, we need to retrieve the crystals."

She told them that Austin probably trapped Meredith's father when he found him after keeping Gwen in a coffin for years. She then told them if that is most likely the case, then they have to get him out once they settled things with Austin so that he wouldn't dare attack them again.

"So that means… that we have to stop him once and for all, right?" Meredith asked, the three nodding at her statement.

"Even if it means killing him," Atlas said, surprising Meredith with what he said.

"We'll… really kill him?"

"We are left with no choice, Meredith," Marcus replied. "He dared attack you, stole the book from you, and now wants to rule over the four continents and vowed to involve your mother. For sure, he'd threaten your safety so he gets what he wants. If he's alive, he'd hunt you and your mother down."

No one spoke for a while. As they continued trekking at the Grand Canyon, following Gwen as she led the way, Meredith looked at her mother's back while they walked. She furrowed her brows together, asking if that's what to happen.

"Are we… really going to do it? Kill him?"

Gwen didn't answer for a while. She stopped in her tracks, the three pausing as well as they waited for her answer. With a nod coming from her, she turned to face them, a painful smile coming to her face.

"It's as if we could no longer convince him not to harm anyone. We could no longer persuade him to stop his evil intents, Meredith," she said, shaking her head in disappointment. "We really have no choice but to stop him by taking his life away from him. Or else… a lot of people will be harmed."

They understand how dire things are going to be. As they continued walking upwards toward a dead end, they reflected deeply of their intent to stop Austin, making sure that their intentions are purely driven to stopping him for everyone's safety.

As they trekked the road upward, they noticed the statues at either side of each road. With Gwen touching them with her hand, it gave a light glow, making her furrow her brows as she turned to the group behind her.

"Odd… it seems that someone had disabled my charms and have passed through…"

Meredith, Marcus, and Atlas looked at each other, then back at Gwen. With them feeling a mutual gut feeling, they couldn't help but comment aloud their thoughts.

"He couldn't possibly… be here before us… right?" Meredith asked, Gwen thinking the same.

They wouldn't want to confirm what they think, but without continuing onward, then they wouldn't know, right?

Without words exchanged, the four hurriedly ran towards the shrine. The moment they arrived, they all gasped when they saw the destroyed pedestals of the place.

The shrine holding the four crystals was broken, the crystals no longer in sight.

"Oh, no…" Gwen's hand covered her mouth in shock, shaking her head as she couldn't believe it. "He… beat us to it…"

"L-Lady G-Gwen…"

Suddenly, a glowing, pinkish orb levitated around them, its light already faint. It resembled Levi's, making them think that this mysterious voice is another one of Gwen's loyal followers, with how it addressed to her, too.

"Crom," Gwen said, looking at the faint orb. "What happened?"

"That wretched… man," he said, struggling to speak. "He came to get the crystals. I had no choice but to give it to him because he threatened to hurt the natives near the place. I couldn't let him harm him."

"Crom…" Gwen let out a sigh, her hands at the side turning into tight fists. "How could he?"

"I-I'm sorry…" Crom apologized, his power already fading. "I tried to fight him while I could, but he was too powerful. The crystals… he stole it."

Gwen shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face as she talked to him. "There is no need to apologize. You have done what you could. We will take it from here."

"Thank you, Lady Gwen." Crom thanked her, saying his last words before he completely disappears. "Please… save everyone once again."

One could say that pressure was put into the shoulders of Gwen who just fought for the previous war. She recently just woken up, hearing from her loyal followers that they trust her to win again.

However, this time, Gwen knew that she wasn't alone. She turned to the three and talked to them that they have to do this together.

And it will be the last.