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Four’s stomach dropped when he heard Legend scream from the other room. He immediately dropped the ancient, rusted axe he’d been examining and ran to where he had last seen Legend.
The dungeon they had landed in was some sort of abandoned castle ruins, and while Four had been studying the armory, Legend had wandered to see what else he could find. Four found him in what had to be the throne room. It was a long, open room with the threadbare remains of a once luxurious carpet down the center, two even rows of collapsed columns, and a dilapidated throne on the raised dais.
Legend was kneeling beside the throne, his knuckles white with the force of his grip on the arm as he tried to remain at least partly upright. With the hand not clinging to the throne, he clawed at the back of his neck. Four could see pain etched into his face.
Legend’s fingers scrabbled over his skin for a few seconds before he let out a single piercing scream and finally collapsed onto the ground.
“Legend!”
Four bolted across the wide room and barely skidded to a stop at Legend’s side. He looked worse up close. His face was pale and sweaty from fighting…something, and his breathing was ragged. Both of his hands were now trying to tear at something on the back of his neck.
“What’s wrong?” Four asked, crouching, hovering. Panicking could come later.
“Stupid artifact,” he mumbled. “Cursed or something. Stuck itself to me. Can’t…can’t get it off.” He grunted, his spine arching briefly, and then he fell, boneless, the rest of the way to the floor. There was still a tightness around his closed eyes, but the worst of the pain looked to have stopped. “Fuck,” he muttered.
“Let me take a look?” Four asked. He could feel his heart still hammering in his chest.
“Knock yourself out,” Legend said. Gingerly, he rolled over so that his back was to Four.
On the back of Legend’s sweaty neck was a what appeared to be a jewel flower. Carnelian petals carved into delicate curls surrounded a pearl cluster center, and a pair of emerald leaves poked out from underneath. Silver filigree swirled across the surfaces to form veins. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of stonework Four had ever seen.
And it looked to be fused to the back of Legend’s neck.
On closer inspection, Four could see thin metal filaments poking out from the bottom where a stem would be and into the hollow at the top of his spine. Also extending out from the base of the flower was a black leather strap that formed a plain choker with no visible buckle.
Legend flinched when Four brushed his finger across a petal.
Four offered him a hand up. “You really got yourself good,” he said as he helped Legend sit.
“It was buried under some bolts of fabric,” Legend said. He hissed, riding a wave of pain, then let his head sag once it passed. “I could sense a magical signature, but I think my fingers brushed it before I even saw it.”
“Um—" Four finally got a look at Legend’s eyes. They were still their usual violet, but every couple of seconds, they pulsed with a strange glow. “I think it’s…doing something.”
Legend’s brow knitted in confusion. “Oh shit,” he said. “I think it’s…draining my magic?” Another wave of pain hit. “Yep. That’s definitely my magic.”
“I should have a couple of green potions in my bag.” He reached behind him only to remember a moment too late that he’d left his pack in the armory. “Wait here.” He stood, then paused. “Are you going to be okay? I’ll only be a minute.”
Legend waved him off, though it was clear he was aching. “Go. I’ll be here.”
Four didn’t wait for him to say it again. He was off like an arrow from Wild’s bow, skirting now-familiar corners until he found the dusty armory and his bag, thankfully untouched, in the corner of the room.
By the time Four made it back, Legend had shifted to sitting in a pose that almost looked like meditating were it not for the way his chin dipped to his chest. The curve of his spine prominently displayed the flower, and from this distance, it almost looked real.
Four had a potion already in hand as he returned to Legend’s side. “Do you want this now, or do you want to wait?”
Legend’s eyes opened slowly. “Now,” he mumbled. “I think the initial latch took a lot out of me.”
Four uncorked the bottle easily and handed over the glass bottle.
“I can open a potion myself, you know,” he groused, though he eagerly drank the liquid down.
“Let me do this,” Four said. “It’s something I can do while I figure out how to get that thing off of you.” He reached over, and Legend flinched away.
“Sorry,” he said before Four could say anything. “Caught me by surprise.” He leaned forward a few inches to give Four a better view.
Vio had always been the one most interested in obscure arcana, so Four called on that part of himself to try and find any information.
“How many of those potions do you have?” Legend asked, his voice surprisingly casual.
“Um…two, I think.” He rooted around in his bag. “Two including the one you just took.”
“I think I have two,” Legend said. His brow furrowed as he thought about it. “Yeah, I think that’s right.”
“That’s not a lot,” Four mumbled. He leaned on Green’s steadfastness and confidence for a moment. “We’ll figure out how to remove it before we run out.”
“Mhm.”
Legend’s eyes were drooping, and he was swaying just a bit.
“Why don’t you rest a bit while I see if I can find more information? There’s probably some lore in this castle that might help us.”
Legend blinked slowly, his eyes still pulsing with that light. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”
“Are you able to defend yourself right now?” He hadn’t seen any monsters, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any lurking in unexplored halls.
“I’ve got my knife and my rods,” he assured. “I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t use your magic if you don’t have to,” Four warned. “We can’t afford to replenish it.”
“Wouldn’t want to waste it,” he agreed.
Four hesitated an extra moment before setting off in the direction he thought the library might be.
By the time he’d returned to the throne room, a moderate stack of dusty books in his arms, the light was coming in at a slight angle. The room looked the same – all the ruined columns were in place, the throne still had a fine layer of dust, even the pile of fabric behind the throne that had housed the artifact was bundled as Four had remembered it.
But Legend was not on the dais.
“Legend?” Four called. His sword was on his back, and he was ready to drop the books to draw it if needed. “Legend, where are you?”
He’d barely been able to move when Four left him. If he was gone, something probably took him. Keeping his eyes up, he placed the books on the ground as carefully as he could manage. The blade of his sword hissed when he slowly pulled it from his scabbard. He took a few cautious steps further into the throne room.
“Legend?”
He felt more than he heard the air shift behind him, and he barely managed to turn in time to stop a small blade being thrust directly at his chest.
He parried the blade easily. The song of metal on metal rang out. It was followed a moment later by the echo of the knife clattering on the stone floor.
Four barely had the chance to register Legend in front of him, snarling furiously, before hands were at his throat. Four let himself drop to the floor, pulling Legend down with him. He was able to curl his legs up and push his feet into Legend’s chest as part of the maneuver, allowing him to kick Legend away.
Legend groaned in pain when he hit the stone, and Four rolled clear to the opposite side. Once he was on his feet, he was able to relax just a touch. He saw Legend curled up on his side, clutching his head. He wasn’t going to let his guard down, but it seemed the fight had ended as quickly as it began.
“Legend?” he asked. He held his blade ready, though he didn’t point it yet.
“Fuck,” he grumbled. “There’s someone…in there.”
“I got that far.” He was worried under his wry tone. The magic drain was bad enough, but if the artifact had some level of sentience, it was going to be much harder to remove.
After a few moments, Legend was able to let his hands drop. He was still breathing heavily, but some of the acute pain had apparently dissipated.
“Wait here,” Four said. Legend made a vaguely affirmative noise in the back of his throat.
Four did not let Legend out of his sight as he picked up his bag and dug around. After a moment, he pulled out a length of rope that he hoped would be long enough.
Legend’s eyes widened when he saw what Four was planning. “No way.”
Four gave him a flat look and took another step closer.
“No. We can find another—ach-“ He seemed to fight his own tongue. “Whatever—whatever’s in there is getting stronger. Don’t trust it.”
“I’m sorry,” Four said. Whether it was in regard to having to tie him up or a broader sentiment, even Four wasn’t entirely sure. All he was sure about was that I was one of the hardest things he’d had to do in a while, and not just because Legend started physically resisting him partway through. When he was done, though, he felt some of the tension leave him, knowing that he could turn his back without worrying about a knife in his spine.
Not that he had much of a plan anyway. He started flipping through the books, looking for any mention of a ghost or the flower or anything remotely helpful. He was in the middle of a rather dry tome detailing the history of the royal family of this region when Legend let out a pained groan and slowly fell sideways onto the floor from where he had been sitting.
Four immediately dropped the book. “Legend!” He hurried to Legend’s side and helped him sit up. “What’s wrong?” Besides the obvious, he didn’t say.
“Magic’s low,” he mumbled. “Green potion?”
“Of course.” He’d laid them all out near the throne earlier, the three remaining bottles in a neat little line. He took one and uncorked it, not willing to untie Legend yet. “Here.”
Four tried to feed it to him slowly, but he sucked it down like he would die without it. Green potions weren’t awful, but they weren’t the tastiest potions Four had ever had, which is why the almost rapturous smile on Legend’s face surprised him. The fierce glow of his eyes and the matching pulse of the flower gave him a clue, though.
“Let’s…try to conserve those as much as possible.”
“I feel so much better,” Legend said. The cadence of his words wasn’t quite right. “I think keeping my magic up will help me fight off whoever is in that artifact.”
“I’m not sure. I’ll keep looking for a way to remove it.”
Legend snarled briefly as Four started to look away but smoothed his expression back over quickly. Four tried to keep his own expression neutral. Whatever was in the flower was getting stronger, and he didn’t want to let it know that he was catching on yet.
It took several minutes of trying to focus on reading, just starting to make some headway, while keeping an eye on Legend and whatever was possessing him before Legend took a turn for the worse again. His skin was ashen, and sweat made his hair clump together. His ragged breathing had grown more pronounced the longer he sat. Four was intimately familiar with magic overuse symptoms, and he knew Legend was going to need another potion soon or else risk hurting himself.
Legend’s half lidded eyes glowed for a long moment, then settled. A few minutes ago, the glow had only flared for a second or two at a time.
Four didn’t want to risk Legend overdrawing his magic reserves, but if this thing fed on magic, it would only keep getting stronger, and it would be harder to extract it. He was half tempted to rip the thing out by force at this point, but he had no idea how deeply it was rooted, and he didn’t dare risk hurting Legend’s spine.
“Potion…” Legend groaned. He was staring at the remaining two bottles perched well away from him.
Four hesitated. When Legend was abruptly wracked with heavy, dry coughs, Four made his decision. The small bottle felt heavy in his hand. He helped Legend drink half of it before pulling it away. Legend tried to follow it, but Four stopped him easily.
“We have to make them last,” he said.
Legend’s strength was already returning. “Please, I need it.”
“I’ll give you more later.”
“Now.” He surged forward but collapsed almost immediately. With the magical weakness and no use of his hands, he fell forward into Four’s lap. “You will give it to me now.”
Four pushed him away and stood. “Release my friend.”
“Or what?” the spirit asked in Legend’s voice. “You can’t hurt me like this.”
He raised the half full potion above his head. “I will starve you out if I have to.”
The spirit laughed. “I’ll just run him dry.”
“And then you’ll die permanently.”
It narrowed Legend’s eyes. “I’ve drained enough from this host to get my hands on you, too. My reign will continue.”
“Your reign?” He thought back to the dusty history book and tried to remember the details he’d learned less than an hour ago.
“Over this kingdom! I wasn’t going to let a thing like death keep me from my birthright. I was born to be king, and king I shall remain.”
“Who are you?”
The spirit shifted to sit up more primly, though it was diminished by the rope holding Legend’s arms in place. “I do not blame you for not recognizing me in this state. I am King Reinhold the Fourth, and you shall bow before me.” He paused. “First, you shall provide me the other mana potions so that I can release myself from this prison.”
Four’s fingers tightened around the bottle. “You will release my friend, so I’ll make sure you stay in that flower for another hundred years.”
The haughty laugh was eerie coming from Legend. Four couldn’t imagine him sounding like such a pompous noble. “I don’t think you are in a position to bargain, child. Do as your king commands.”
He decided to ignore the child comment. “You’re nobody’s king. Not anymore.” He waved a hand around the dilapidated throne room. “Your kingdom is in ruins. Your legacy is a footnote.”
Reinhold growled. “You lie.”
“Release my friend.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe I’ll just drain him completely on my way out. I have enough magic to break out now.”
“If you did, you would have done it already.”
“I was going to get the last of those potions from you first.”
“You’re stalling.”
All of a sudden, the air turned electric. Four could feel a hum under his skin as he watched Legend’s muscles tense. His eyes glowed steadily, and Four pulled the knife from his boot as a burst of light exploded behind Legend’s head.
Four dove forward and tackled Legend to the ground. With the light blazing, he could barely see and had to scramble to get his hand around the jewel flower. But as soon as his fingers closed around the thin spikes, which had started to slide out his neck already, Four yanked as hard as he could.
The scream Legend let out was agonizing and double voiced. He fell hard onto Four, shivering and fully unconscious. There were a few small streams of blood dripping down the back of his neck, matching the bloody spikes on the base of the still-glowing flower.
After several seconds, the glow in the jewels dissipated, and Four tossed the thing aside. He wasn’t sure what state Legend would be in when he woke up, but he could only hope that the spirit was separated. He’d just have to wait and see.