Morden’s heart raced in a sudden panic, but Julian was nowhere to be found.

With all the energy he was left with, Morden dragged himself out from the ruins, making his way across the glass shards lying on the ground. As he gritted his teeth while forcing himself to get up, he tasted a certain sense of powerlessness he had always dreaded—which was why he's going to find Julian, and give him a taste of the suffering he put Ben through in the past month.

When he finally got up, he rested his throbbing head against the wall. The additional light-headedness didn’t help with the growing pain in the slightest.

As he closed his eyes, he felt a rush of peacefulness akin to death itself. It was a tempting, soothing silence where he felt as if he could see Tucker again—only if he gave in to this feeling.

Morden bit his tongue, just to ignite the life inside him. He couldn’t give in. Not right now. Not if he had yet to avenge Ben, and make General Julian taste his own medicine. Just like how Julian attacked Ben—no, death wouldn’t be enough for the damned general. It would be too swift, for someone who made his last friend go through a month of suffering.

Did Julian even see the broken look in Ben’s eyes, when he threatened him back in the hallway? If he didn’t, then Morden would be sure to shatter him, and turn him into one of the shards lying on the ground he walked on.

Morden made his way along the wall, following the small glass shards on the ground, his injured leg leaving a trail of blood behind.

Morden couldn’t give in, even if his legs and breath grew shaky. If he mustered enough energy, he would’ve run already. He would’ve killed Julian with his hands. He would’ve made Julian pay the price. But right now, he just needed to find Julian, wherever he was.

The sun felt as if it was burning him from the inside, as the sounds around him drowned away. His legs felt as if they were set aflame in this heat, but Morden knew he had been through way worse. He just needed to try harder. He could handle this. He could find Julian—

His legs finally gave in, sending him to a collapse.

As the world turned dark around him, Morden could only hear a faint voice calling out his name.

No matter how much Morden screamed at himself to move, his body remained still, lying cold. He couldn’t even muster the energy to open his eyes, and to look at the person who was calling him.

Maybe Tucker was already calling out for him, from the underworld.

As Morden’s eyes remain shut, he felt someone shaking his body. Even if he couldn’t tell if it was really Tucker, or someone else, he reached his hand out for them.

Whether Morden would wake up to the underworld with Tucker, or back to the land of the living—the uncertainty was enough to render him frozen. Sure, someone would be bound to get him, whether it’s an ally or an enemy. But for a moment, just a little moment, he basked in this calmness and silence.

“Morden!”

With just a little rest, he finally realized it wasn’t Tucker.

“We’re fucked, Morden!”

With that sentence alone, Morden woke up.

Iris’ green eyes stared down at him. Her hands were grabbing his shoulders shakily—almost matching the panic in his own heartbeat. Now that his vision had gotten clearer, he realized he had never seen Iris with such a fearful look before.

Iris was still alive, and so was he.

“W…What happened?” Morden asked, as Iris’ expression turned into a serious one.

“Where’s Neviro and Ben?”

“...The throne room?”

“The reinforcements are gonna come after us, and we’re getting them out of here.” Iris then moved to his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and getting him up. “You still there?”

“Yeah…”

“Alright, let’s go!”

Morden’s legs still hurt like hell, but at least, it reminded him that he could still do something, even if Julian was nowhere to be found. Together, with Iris, he had to make sure Ben and Neviro would get out of Ravenna alive.

“Did that hurt?”

“I… I think I can still walk.”

“Really? Your legs looked messed up.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

“Just let me help, and tell me if it hurt, or whatever. If you keep interrupting me, I’ll leave you rotting there.”

“Oh, okay…”

He couldn’t refuse Iris’ offer to help either, but it’s not out of her empty threats that he had gotten used to in the past few weeks. Sure, he hated to weigh her down, but he came to quickly realize that he couldn’t afford to waste both of their time to find Ben and Neviro.

For a moment, Morden wondered—would he feel this strongly, if Julian were to capture Iris instead of Ben?

The answer came to his mind quickly, almost like it’s an obvious one.