A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop. 

After a few minutes, you tried to have Lucian rest a little longer, but he protested, saying that the council members could storm the library at any time. Getting up, he opened another portal with you following after him. Once out of the portal, you found yourself standing in a field of bluebells while silver birch trees grew around you. A cobblestone path swept through the fields of flowers and you could hear the sound of water up ahead. Despite the convenience of the path, the two of you traveled through the fields of flowers. You could hear two voices conversing with each other, both which sounded female. Squinting, you could make out the figures and maneuver around in such a way that you could sneak attack one of them before your cover was blown, however since you had Lucian with you as well he could sneak kill the other one. As for the one creating the barrier, you recognized the combed-back golden blonde hair and knew that it was Lord Luciel. He foolishly had his back turned towards you two.

You took the female council member on your left while Lucian took the one on the right. Quietly, you approached the woman, who wore too much jewelry for her own good. As she laughed at the other woman's comment, her jewelry jingled along in a most annoying manner. Now just a few inches behind you, you swiftly stabbed her in the chest, sending her to the cobblestone covered ground while the stone fountain sounded in the background. Before the other woman could act, Lucian had already killed her. When Lucian went to attack Lord Luciel, he seemed to vanish before you felt an arm wrap around your waist while another arm was at your throat. The flame sword was forced out of your hand before being thrown to the other side of the fountain. You could feel the man's breath on your right ear and you felt yourself tense, as Lucian glared at the man now behind you.

"Now Lucian, here's the deal. You kill yourself and I'll let the little hybrid watch, though if you do this I will spare her life. I'm sure that Regulus will have some uses for her," he stated with a smirk on his face, as you felt something sharp and cold press against your skin.

Cursing mentally, you saw Lucian glance at you and you shook your head to the best of your ability. You had to do something, for you two were so close to being rid of this battle. There was only one more location after this and then you could leave the castle and have the aid of the other mages. Not knowing what else to do, you leaned your head down just a little, allowing the blade to press slightly more into your skin. Wincing at the contact a little bit, you opened your mouth and bit into Lord Luciel's hand as hard as you could. Caught off guard by your action, he released his grip on you, permitting you to turn and knee him in the stomach. This caused him to fall to his knees, giving you the perfect chance to perform an uppercut. Your right fist collided with his face before you created some distance between the two of you. Taking the opportunity presented to him, Lucian summoned another ice spear and sent it through the man's back while a flash of light went throughout the gardens. As the man fell to the floor dead, you retrieved your sword before rubbing your right hand a bit, though you were quite proud of the combo you just performed. Sitting on the edge of the fountain, you took a quick breather before seeing Lucian coming over to you. He knelt in front of you, placing his right fingers under your chin and lifting your head just a bit.

A look of displeasure crossed his features before saying, "You have a slight cut on your neck."

You winced when he drew his left index finger over the cut before it healed. Standing up, he held his hand out for you to take. Placing your hand in his, you let him lead you into the next portal. Once again the scenery changed, gracing you with the sight of tall crimson red doors, which were surrounded by golden walls. Two eight foot gold statues stood besides the doors. Grabbing one of the gold door handles, Lucian pulled open the left door, unveiling a hall of paintings, which were highlighted by massive gold chandeliers. Scenes of majestic mountain ranges, roaring streams, and ancient forests that hid ruins came into view. Along with the images of nature's might were the portraits of people, who were dressed in the finest fabrics. Instead of seeing crowns upon their heads, you saw the mask you were wearing on their faces. Your fingers lightly traced over the mask that was still on your face. So these were Lucian's ancestors. Some of them even shared his distinct purple eyes and raven black hair.

Walking up behind you, Lucian rested his hands on your shoulders, signaling that the two of you should continue forward. Nodding in agreement, you continued down the hall, whose walls were covered head to toe in paintings and portraits, though the portraits were few in comparison to the other works of art on the walls. Your boots clicked against the dark tiled floor, as you neared the next two large crimson doors. Before you could reach them, they opened, revealing one of the male children along with a female council member. They stopped in their conversation, as they glanced upon you two.

Within a moment's notice, flames and lightning shot towards you. Raising the sword in front of you, you did the only thing you could to defend yourself. The impact never came, as you heard ice cracking before shattering. Opening your eyes, which you had previously closed, you saw Lucian now fighting the two. You were about to help, when the male young adult came flying towards you. Dodging just in time, you saw him get up and his green eyes land on you. Rolling out of the way, as a burst of fire flew just to your right, you charged towards him, knocking him back to the ground. Just as you stabbed him in the chest with your sword, you felt a sudden heat on your right arm. Your eyes widened at seeing the arm sleeve of your dress on fire. In a panic you ripped the fabric from your person and threw it away from you. Luckily, the flames died out after consuming the fabric to near nonexistence.

Sighing in relief, you looked over at Lucian, who had his right arm covered in vines, as the female council member chuckled lightly. She made the mistake however of standing too close to Lucian before she struck him with a bolt of lightning. Before she could send the fatal blow, Lucian used his free arm and pulled her to the ground, slamming her into the tiled flooring. The vines weakened their hold on him, allowing him to rip his arm from their them. In a swift movement the flame sword rested in her now lifeless body. With both of them being nothing but ashes, Lucian and you proceeded forward.

Now in the next section of the painting hall, you saw Rayna up ahead. She turned to greet the two of you before resting her hands on her hips and shaking her head lightly. When she glanced back up at you two, she smirked and threw her hands forward, sending a wall of wind in your direction. Both Lucian and you threw yourselves to the ground with the gust of wind just missing you two. Another gust of wind came your way and you rolled out of the way, but were met with a wall. On the other hand, Lucian stood back up, as he threw a layer of ice in front of him and utilized it to slide into Rayna. Colliding with her, Lucian skidded to a halt while Rayna flew backwards, impacting the wall behind her. Pictures shook on the wall and couple fell around her. Recovering herself, she managed to just block Lucian's ice shards.

More wind filled the room and you covered your face with your arms, as you collided with the nearby wall. Your uncovered arm hit the edge of one of the picture frames, causing the frame to stab into your skin. You could feel your blood run down your arm, as you pulled your arm away from the frame. Another wall of ice shards flew towards Rayna while she shattered them to pieces with a gust of wind. Dodging another one of her attacks, Lucian threw several fire daggers at her. She maneuvered around most except for one, which pierced her right shoulder. Falling to her knees, she tried to regain her composure, but howled in pain when she removed the dagger before she was set aflame. Her left hand was clearly badly burned afterwards. When she finally managed to stand, it was too late, as Lucian forced the sword into her heart. Coughing up blood, her eyes flashed for a moment before they went lifeless and she turned to ash, as light cased the entire room. At last all of the barriers had been destroyed and the light vanished.

Giving you a gentle smile of relief, Lucian went to walk over to you, but never made it, as both of you were slammed into the walls once more. Coughing up some blood, you fell to the floor, supporting yourself on the palms of your hands while your sword lay a few feet from you. Glancing up, you saw Regulus standing in the room, grinning uncontrollably. Looking across the room, you saw Lucian try to get up, but he fell back down. You could almost hear his silent curses, as Regulus came closer to you. Before you could stand and defend yourself, Regulus lifted you off of the ground, holding you by the front of your dress. Your gaze hardened, as it turned into a glare, but he only grinned at you. In the next moment, you saw him grab the right side of your mask before ripping it from your face. A piercing scream left your lips, as you felt tears cascading down your face. They mixed with the blood that draped down your face as well. Dropping you to the tiled floor, you found yourself unable to do anything; your face hurt too much.

Blood blurred your vision, as Regulus's laughter filled your ears. You tried to wipe the blood away, but it seemed to keep coming. As if to mock you further, you began filling dizzy, as your gaze fell on Lucian. Regulus held the mask in his left hand while closing the distance between himself and Lucian. Your ears didn't seem to work properly, as Lucian's voice sounded so faint. He called out your name, but it sounded miniscule in comparison to your pounding heart. Out of your blurred vision, you saw red, but you could also see a rapier incased in ice held at Lucian's throat. Your lips wanted to part and scream at Regulus to stop, but you were too tired to even do that. No, the two of you were so close; you had destroyed the barriers. Why, why was this happening? (E/c) eyes gazed at the ring on your left ring finger. Tears streamed down your face, as you tried to find your voice. Where was it? The blade seemed so close to his neck, yet you were on the floor with blood hindering your sight. Just as Regulus started to move his arm, you found it.

Propelling yourself forward after picking up your sword, you let out a scream similar to a battle cry, as your feet moved you forward. Time seemed to tick by slowly in your ears, or maybe that was your heartbeat. You weren't sure. All you were sure of was that you needed to keep moving. Your time was not going to stop now, nor was Lucian's. Regulus turned around ever so slightly, his eyes widening just a bit at seeing your approaching form. It was now or never.