Deep within the caverns near the core, Kayla knelt on the warm stone floor. Her hair cloaked her face from view, but her shoulders trembled with sobbing. Dalia and Travis had just come and gone with their report of their reconnaissance, and Kayla’s heart ached at the rebellion of her people.

“Salus,” she whispered, begging the prince to answer through the ghostly Jewel breathing in her veins. “When are you coming back to finish my training? How am I ready to lead my people offworld when they won’t even listen to me?”

Usually responding, the Jewel was quiet tonight, letting her ponder the answers to her fears. Kayla closed her eyes, keeping the tears at bay. “They hate me. They hate you. They hate the Outcasts. And they’ve combined to fulfill the Shadow Prophecy, whether they know it or not.” Grief stabbed at her heart as the many sorrows she’d lived through compounded her emotions. Exile from the Upper Realm. Being disavowed by her father. Losing Kevin to the Swamp of Sudura. The sacrificial blood transfusion. Salus’s departure. And now the loss of 95% of her people? All because she didn’t keep her promise back in Ven? The burden weighed heavy on her shoulders, spearing its talons deep into her soul.

Lucius’s words haunted her. Ah, yes, darling, it is your fault. If only you had remained faithful to the prince, then your people wouldn’t be here. They trusted you, and look where you led them. How right he was, Kayla thought. She brushed away a stray tear, and her lip quivered.

No, I must be strong. The Outcasts need a leader. Salus appointed me a leader. Kayla sighed heavily. Then why is their leader hiding a cavern, unsure how to proceed? Pretending to hold it all together?

“Kayla,” a voice echoed softly in the dark.

Her eyes flew open, and she whirled around in expectation. “Salus, you’re back. I’m-“

She stopped as her eyes revealed an empty cavern. Frustration tugged at her heartstrings, and she clamped her fingers onto her head. “Of course. It’s all in my head.”

“It’s not all in your head,” Salus continued. “Because of my sacrifice for you, my ghost lives on in that Jewel and therefore lives in you. You don’t need any more training, because I’ll be fighting IN you as well as WITH you. Just follow my lead.”

Tears pooled in her eyes. “How much longer? It’s been months since I heard from you.”

“I can’t say for certain,” Salus responded. “There’s a lot of politics involved in destroying the Hermit and his followers once and for all, but I will get you and anyone with the Jewel inside them when I’m ready. I promise with all my heart I will come back for you.”

Kayla’s heart sank, but she wouldn’t let the yearning overpower her. “What do I do now? Governor Gusteau is plotting to awake the dragon of the prophecy.”

“Remember the prophecy. The dragon will have the power to unleash global devastation on Rarogan, and only my ghost has the strength to overcome it and save people from it. You need to sound the alarm. Go out into the Villages and share this hope. Rescue as many of your people as you can.”

The burden Kayla carried crushed her spirit, and her lip quivered. “I-I can’t. They won’t listen to me. I’ve given them so much pain already. Why would they believe me? They…”

Her voice trailed off as she felt Salus’s ghost embracing her troubled heart. A comforting reminder of his constant presence. It still felt weird to be walking around with a ghost inside of her, but she loved when he touched her soul. It reminded her she wasn’t alone in the fight. That she didn’t need to hold it all together because Salus would fill in her gaps.

Her hand shifted to her sword on her belt, and she felt resolve flooding through her veins. The vigor and audacity she once saw in herself she could feel returning with reinforcements. With eyes burning with a hunger for her people, she rose to her feet.

“Show me the battle,” Kayla whispered the distinctive words of an Outcast Warrior. The ghostly Jewel granted her request, and the cavern washed in a white glow. Onkrons abounded all around her, filling up every single crevice. Must be over a thousand of them. All of them had some kind of weapon drawn, and all of them had their evil eyes glaring at her. Some of them were even clinging to her back, trying to sink their wicked talons into her head.

In a flash, Kayla drew her sword. A deft 360 and the Onkrons attached to her vanished in a thin puff of smoke. She brought her blade back up to her face and eyed the remaining Onkrons. She could feel Salus’s ghostly blade moving with hers, his arms with her arms, his heart with her heart.

Kayla smirked, and electricity sparked around her blade in little lightning bolts. “Bring it on. You ain’t ready.” She swung her sword and it glittered in the darkness. What the blade didn’t strike, the lightning bolts collected afterward, and in a matter of minutes, the cavern was devoid of Onkrons.