A few minutes ago

  Julian wasn’t reading the chat logs or he would’ve seen my messages.

  I tried again anyway. [Julian, we need to get to the dungeon core.]

  [I tried.] Tully lifted his head from where he was draped over a bunch of ice. He didn’t look comfortable. [Distract her again, see if you can get her to attack you.]

  John added his own, [Still Looking.]

  “Alice!” I shouted. The celestial whipped around to face me and I asked what was already on my mind. “Why are you even here? You’re the Keeper of Fate. You know Julian was meant to conquer this dungeon, and yet here you are, standing in the way of his destiny.”

  “You’re one to talk,” Alice shot back. She signalled to the giant and he climbed onto the ice spears and started running towards us. From the corner of my eye, Tully rose up to meet the giant; warhammer verses sword.

  “But I thought this is what you cared about?” I waved a hand around us. “Isn’t that why you were so angry at my intervention? Because I was changing things?”

  “I’m angry because you changed my plan.” Alice snapped. “And if I can’t right it, I can at least go after the person responsible.”

  Julian stood in front of me, “Over my dead body.”

  “As you wish.” Alice flew up into the air and pointed at Julian, “By the will of the eternal rest, [Void Arrow].”

  Not wanting to damage his new shield, Julian stepped aside. The [Void Arrow] damage struck the platform and vanished.

  “Julian,” I stopped bothering to conceal our conversation. Pram helped by shooting an [Ice Arrow] at Alice, forcing the airborne celestial to duck. He quickly followed it up with the larger [Ice Spear].

  “Go capture the Dungeon.” I told my Duke of the North.

  He obviously disagreed with my decision. “But then she could escape–”

  “You forget… we aren’t actually here to fight Alice.” I reminded him. “You're here to touch that dungeon core and she’s just a bonus prize.”

  “You can’t be serious? She’s literally out to get you.” Julian asked quietly.

  John’s shadow moved out of the ice rubble and stopped beside us. Jeffry appeared, unalive, and I bent down to give the half-elf a much needed [Resurrect] Potion.

  “Did we win?” Jeffry coughed, clearing gunk from his throat.

  “No.” Julian said, offering his hand. Meanwhile, Tully was neck and neck with the giant, and Alice swooped in to attack Tully as well.

  Considering, I pulled out a vial of belladonna poison and threw it at the beastfolk standing beside the dungeon core. It sailed through the air but was shot down by a claw strike from the same beastfolk.

  “Jeffry. Give Julian the Eye of Effeldor.” I ordered.

  Jeffry clutched at his pendant for dear life.

  “He’ll give it back.” I said, feeling a little absurd that I had to make the reassurance, but apparently I did because Jeffry struggled with himself to take it off even then.

  Julian took the broach. “Are you sure?”

  “Yep.” I shoo’d him away. “You focus on the dungeon core and we’ll focus on finding Visha.”

  [Still looking.] John sent. One of his shadows must have overheard us.

  Julian leaned forward and kissed me.

  We broke apart as a poison tipped dagger sailed between us.

  Alice was standing on an ice spear, having overcome Tully with the giant. She stared at Jeffry, “Why won't you all just stay dead? Must I [Sever Fate] all of you??”

  “He’s going to be sad he missed the fight.” I ignored Alice to irk her, and masked my anxiety with a joke.

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  “I’ll be right back. Don’t die in the meantime.” Julian told me, activating his new wings power and leaping into the air.

  He spared no time, darting straight for the dungeon core as fast as he could.

  “Wait!” Alice shouted.

  The beastfolk stepped forward to intercept Julian, changing into a half-leopard half-folk warrior. Claws out.

  Their roles weren’t evenly matched. Julian was a high- defense sword and board tank and the beastfolk was a melee fighter. Julian put all his strength behind his shield and pushed, taking a claw to the face but managing to throw the beastfolk woman. She blew through the terrain and landed against the cavern wall to the far right of the dungeon core.

  He dropped his sword and reached for the core.

  A trap went off, exploding shards of poison-tipped mithril. Julian took the attack head on, sliding back three feet and dropping to one knee.

  He could’ve probably defended against one or two shards of poison attacks… but not the ten that blasted into him.

  And at the same instant, Alice portalled on top of him, a beautiful beaming smile on her face. “Got you.”

  Julian slumped forward, asleep and dying.

  When he was beside me it seemed like there was no way we could lose. A certainty that with Julian, everything would turn out fine. I knew his dedication, how hard he’d trained to be here. I knew that despite everything I’d done to alter the course of his fate… it was still his fate.

  But I was wrong.

  And even though we outnumbered Alice, watching her stand over the love of my life finally broke me.

  “Alice!” I shrieked, jumping down from the platform and sprinting towards them. Jeffry tried to grab me but I evaded. The precariously icy terrain made it difficult, but my Dexterity kept me going. At the very least, I could offer to trade myself.

  I was the one she actually wanted. “Wait! I surrender!”

  “You think I trust you?” The celestial pulled out her short sword and stabbed it downward… into the shadow beneath Julian. Right between his arm and his chest.

  John let out a strangled cry, appearing against the left wall where Visha was still buried. He had a gaping hole in his side and was fumbling for a potion.

  Alice let go of the hilt of the sword and it stayed upright.

  “You can’t kill him, Alice!” I yelled, now half-way across the cavern. I was trying to reason with the celestial even as I knew that she didn’t care. “He has to defeat this dungeon. You know he does! Fate—”

  “No. He doesn’t.” The celestial said. She shifted her head to dodge a sword aura strike from Jeffry.

  Alice laughed. “You have the audacity to say that I’m not allowed to change Fate? When she’s already abandoned me?”

  I was almost there.

  “He will never defeat this dungeon.” Alice decided, a soft smile lighting up her face. “And if I take him with me, you’ll be the one chasing me for a change.”

  She reached up for the dungeon core, hesitated for the barest second and then touched it.

  Divine magic swirled around her. Unlike a mortal’s coloured mana, the motes of shifting rainbow light were like glittering gemstones like Experience Points.

  It overwhelmed the celestial. She screamed and sank to her knees at the foot of the pedestal.

  A divine voice resounded in the cavern, burning into the soul of everyone who heard it. My own knees gave out, only a few steps from reaching Julian.

  “A vow given. A vow broken.” Fate spoke into the air. It was nostalgic, familiar and yet unknown. It filled my body with purpose, and it promised the future. Like hope, but there was no uncertainty.

  There was only Fate.

  “I swear to Fate that I will end you…” A ghost of Alice’s own voice echoed around the chamber beneath the goddesses words. “I will end you and right destiny….”

  A circle of that shimmering crystal light wrapped around the celestial, lifting her a few feet off the ground.

  “Alice Smith, Keeper of Fate, Chosen of Mine.” Fate’s voice hitched with the slightest emotion. Something deeper than her accusations and stern punishment.

  It was sadness. Regret. A deep unending sorrow.

  “You have sworn by my name and you have betrayed that vow.” Fate continued. A firm resolve shook reality around us. I fought the pressure, but my body was weak against the force even as my mind kept some clarity.

  [Mental Resistance] for the win. Again.

  “By the Rule of the Gods, I hereby strip you of my touch. You are forever banned of My Temple, and you are never to know the weave again. Be glad of my mercy, daughter of my heart.”

  Alice slowly lowered to the floor as the Goddess withdrew her presence from the room.

  But before she was entirely gone, I felt a kiss brush against my cheek and a small secret whisper in my ear. “Thank you… and I am sorry.”

  [Status ailment: [Sever Fate] has been undone.]

  “Fate!” The celestial was crying, and angry, shouting at the ceiling. “Come back! You can’t do this!”

  Which was when Julian, sword in hand, lunged up from the floor and stabbed Alice through the heart.

  I cleaned up that chapter a bunch with Jolly's help, and reposted t, so if you read the original but didn't read the updated correction version, here are the specific lines from Ch 75 that relate to Alice breaking the vow.

  nothing of her will.” Alice spoke with unadulterated loathing. “You have ruined my life and my life's work. Even if you ran, I would hunt you to the ends of Valaria. I swear by Fate that I will end you and stop at nothing to right destiny, if it takes my whole life to do so.”

  want what was fated for us?”

  you would say that! You weren’t even supposed to be here! You were meant to die in some misbegotten troll village!”