I staggered backward, shaking my head in defiance.

"I-It can't be. I'm not even undead. How--?"

Ebony replied sadly, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten tagged. Then, maybe I could've saved you from this fate. I'm guessing that since you were in shade form, you were counted as undead. Same goes for you, Drake. I don't understand how they could make us one of the Banished, though."

"What's the difference? Either way, we're in Lithaniel."

Ebony shook his head. "There is a difference. If we had just been transported to Lithaniel, we would be in the forms we were before we went through the portal. How I know that we are one of the Banished is because we are in our original form."

I glanced at Ebony's body, realising that he was no longer a shade. He was a pale white, though everything in Lithaniel is monotone. His eyes, however, were the only thing that shone with color. His eyes were the most beautiful brown, with flakes of red mixed in. His muscular arms twitched impatiently as my eyes roamed his ripped body.

I tenderly asked, "E-Ebony? Is this the body that was taken from you?" He nodded curtly, tears forming in his eyes.

"It happened long ago. This is my original form. How I was before I became a shade. Before all of this happened..." He trailed off, lost in his memories.

Drake interrupted, "So how do we go back?"

Ebony laughed bitterly. "Back? There is no way back. Welcome to your new home for eternity." He walked away from us, and lay down on the coarse sand.

"There's got to be a way back," Drake shouted to him. I nodded, urging Ebony to tell us. Ebony sighed, and turned around.

He motioned for us to come closer. When both of us took one step forward, he shook his head.

"Only Harley!" he shouted. Drake looked at me in surprise.

I walked toward Ebony. He glanced around us before whispering, "Do not trust Drake."

I cocked my head, furrowing my brows. "Wh--"

Ebony cut me off. "I believe that he's a traitor." I let out a little chuckle.

"Jealous much?"

He shook his head, pressing his hands into mine. "Whenever anything happens to us, he's always out of our view. He keeps pushing us to go to the Vengeful world. I don't trust him, and neither should you."

I shook my head, insisting, "No. Drake can't be. I agree that sometimes Drake is out of our view, but most of the time, he's with us. And the only reason he wants to go to the Vengeful world is because of me. He cares about me, Ebony--"

Ebony locked eyes with me. His face showed the hurt that his eyes didn't. "But I care about you, Harley."

I smiled sadly. "If you did, you would stop trying to cut Drake out of the picture."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'm the one cutting him out? Do you even listen to yourself? Ever since he's arrived, it's like he's cast a spell on you. It's all, Drake this, Drake that. He's up to something, I promise you."

I laughed. "Really? You're the one throwing random accusations around, even though he hasn't really done anything. I believe that he wouldn't lie to us--to me-- for no reason. Whatever is going on between the two of you--that's your problem. But this quest is about the fate of the world, not just me or you or even Drake. The world, Ebony."

"So you'd rather believe him over me?" Tears stung my eyes.

"No. I'm just--it's just--"

He sighed, "What is it? I know something's on your mind."

The words bubbled to the tip of my tongue, and it all spilled out. "How do I know that you aren't the traitor, Ebony? How do I know that you don't want me to be isolated so that you can strike? You yourself said you were supposed to kill me when you first met me. The answer is: I don't. So, if I can trust you, I most certainly can trust Drake."

When he answered, his voice was stone cold. "I get it. So, you can trust an almost complete stranger, but you can't trust me. After all we've been through, you still believe that I might be a traitor? I lost my brother because of you. Because I couldn't kill you. Anytime I wanted, I could've ended your life and saved me all this trouble. I would've been a hero in the Vengeful world, one of Death's most loyal advisors...but I didn't. And what did Drake do? You survived one task of the Skull Games, one mind you, and you believe that you can trust him. I just don't get your logic, Harley."

I began to interrupt, but Ebony held up a firm hand and continued on, "I think, Harley...for the good of you and me...that we should...go our separate ways."

I felt like I'd just been slapped in the face. "W-Why, Ebony? I just told you that I trust you..."

Ebony smiled, tears glistening in his eyes. "And I'm grateful for that. But if after all this time you still have that question lingering in the back of your mind, then that isn't true trust."

"But Ebony--"

"Goodbye, Harley."

And just like that, Ebony walked away from me. Away from the friendship we had. Away from his problems.

A cold, ruthless killer. Except this time, the victim was our friendship. I sunk to the ground as tears overwhelmed me.