A forge crackles with the heat of a hearth. The room smells of burning coal, and the rhythmic clang of hammer on metal echoes. A young girl, no older than fourteen, stands at the anvil, frustration etched on her face. Her hands tremble slightly as she attempts to shape the heated metal, but it’s not working. The metal bends incorrectly, and she sighs deeply. The mentor, an older ‘smith, watches from a distance. He approaches her quietly.

  [Golgheim Vast] You have been at it for a while now. How do you feel?

  [Tokyo Twice] *Throws the hammer in frustration* I feel like I’m useless! No matter what I do, it’s wrong. I can’t get the shape right. I just... I don’t understand how you make it look so easy.

  [Golgheim Vast] It is never easy. Not at first. But you know, Tokyo... metal is like a puzzle. You cannot rush it. It has a rhythm, a life of its own. You need to listen to it.

  [Tokyo Twice] I don’t get it. Why isn’t it working for me? I’ve been trying for hours, and it still looks like a pile of scrap!

  [Golgheim Vast] *Picks up the hammer, running his fingers along the steel.* I have seen you make progress. You have learned the basics quickly, faster than most. But the key... the key is patience. Metal does not bend to impatience. It bends to understanding. To the time you spend learning its character.

  [Tokyo Twice] I don’t think I have the patience for it.

  [Golgheim Vast] Oh, you have it. You just don’t realize it yet. Patience is not something you just have; it is something you grow into. It comes from the quiet moments, when you stop forcing it and just... feel it. Watch it. *Steps closer, lifting the hammer from the anvil and positioning her hands on the tool with care.* Every strike you make... you learn more about the metal. It is not about getting it right instantly. It’s about learning how to listen to it. What does it need? What does it tell you as you work? That is where you’ll find your strength. Not in the hammer or the metal itself, but in your own heart.

  [Tokyo Twice] But what if I fail? What if I mess it up again?

  [Golgheim Vast] You will. Fail, I mean. You will mess up plenty of times. But that is the beauty of it. Each mistake... each misstep... it brings you closer to the next strike. The next time you’ll be better. You’ll see the metal differently. And soon, you'll hit it just right.

  *Motions toward a few of his older, completed works—blades, tools, and intricate pieces of art.

  Look at these. They weren’t born perfect. Each one took time, sweat, mistakes. But in the end, they became something more. Just like you will.

  [Tokyo Twice] You really think I can get there?

  [Golgheim Vast]I know you can. The universe has a way of showing us that we can do things, even when we don’t believe it ourselves. And right now, you are on that path. You just have to trust yourself—and trust the process. Sometimes, the hardest part is simply believing that you can. And I believe in you.

  [Tokyo Twice] I won’t give up. I promise.

  – Tokyo Twice, Conversation with Golgheim

  Chapter 41 – The Beat of our Steps

  Toki stepped onto the gravel path that wound its way into the woods toward Golgheim estate cabin. Her boots crunched softly against the stones. The sound was an anchor against the confusion and dread that swirled inside her. She attempted to steady her breathing by focusing on the rhythm of her steps, but her heart thumped erratically, betraying the chaos in her head.

  As she advanced, the path seemed to narrow ahead of her. Toki's mind, slipped through the years like pages in one of her worn storybooks, landing upon a day drenched in sunlight—a stark contrast to the present drizzle and gloom.

  She was young then, her hands clumsy and her grip uncertain on the cold, heavy hammer that Golgheim had placed in her palms. Back then she did not understand the rhythm of it – the affair between smith and metal – unlike Golgheim who demonstrated it with an effortless grace.

  There was warmth in his gaze as he watched her fumble, then slowly improve. Toki did not know it then, but he shielded her, away from the disapproving glares of the clan elders who saw her as nothing but a shadow of her family's illustrious past. A shadow to Oberon, who they wished inherited her Authority.

  "Focus on the beat, not the chaos around," Golgheim had advised, words that resonated now more than ever. Within the safety of his cabin, she had found guidance in the tumult of her own self-doubt. He had been her anchor, grounding her.

  But that was a memory—one that seemed increasingly distant with every step she took toward the reality that awaited her at the cabin.

  Toki's boots sank into the soft earth as gravel gave way to mud, a muffled squish against the silence that enveloped her. The path to Golgheim's estate cabin was quiet. She halted, for just a moment and took in the chill air as she searched the barren branches for any sign of movement, any flicker of life. There was none.

  The white strands of her hair fluttered in the breeze, despite the unsettling stillness that had seeped into the woods. Toki’s mind once again turned to Golgheim—a heaviness pressed upon her heart, squeezing until it hurt to draw breath.

  As Toki gazed toward the path that wound its way to the inevitable confrontation, she struggled with the jagged pieces of the man – the man who had defended her, who had given her hope when she felt lost, and the same man whose secrets now cast long shadows over her and the entire planet’s future. How could the protector of her youth be the architect of such darkness?

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The trail to Golgheim’s estate was familiar. She had spent many nights admiring Amithus at the cabin, often watching Alabaster Ring from above, observing the hustle below. She tried to shake away the flood of memories, but his chuckles were all-encompassing – they were proof that warmth and wisdom could coexist within one soul, unlike Elara who contained all of the wisdom, but none of the warmth.

  Toki couldn’t help it. Now, those same guffaws rang hollow in her ears. Where had that Golgheim gone? Or had he ever truly existed beyond her na?veté?

  As the path curved away from view, Toki's pace instinctively quickened, driven by a restless energy. He sent me down there, knowing full well the danger and the futility of it. He had already taken the core. The more I find out… murder, conspiracy… the more I can’t trust him. But why is it so hard to let him go?

  Her heart clenched as she mourned the loss of the man she thought she knew. Trust was not easily shattered, yet here she walked amidst the shards of her own.

  With the cabin's weathered wood creeping into clear view, she halted as hesitation rooted her to the spot. How would she face him? She knew that she needed answers, that she needed the core. He always talked about patience and balance, but I know him better. I’ll have to fight him.

  The cabin door, once an inviting threshold, now loomed. Her hand lingered over the hammer at her side.

  In the stillness, Toki's thoughts careened towards darker shores, pondering the ripple effects of Golgheim's hidden dealings. The biggest question she held still was why Elara was forced to meet the dragon. It was a betrayal so deep, that Toki questioned whether he would just kill her off as well.

  A flicker of movement in the periphery of her vision caused her to pause, heart leaping into her throat. But it was only the wind, playing tricks with the leaves. She almost wished for an unseen enemy to leap from the darkness—an opponent she could face head-on rather than her doubts about Golgheim.

  Either way, there was no turning back; the truth lay ahead, concealed within the walls of that cabin. She moved forward, not as the na?ve girl who once hung on Golgheim's every word, but as a woman reborn from the trials of the weaver, the prime speaker of Aris, the [Elite].

  She closed her eyes, allowing herself one final moment of respite. Inside her mind, she crafted the image of the mentor she once knew, letting it fill her with the courage she needed. Then, casting aside the last vestiges of doubt, Toki opened her eyes, her gaze hardened with purpose.

  Toki used her hammer to break down Golgheim’s estate cabin door sending splinters into the warm entryway. She strode into the estate cabin, her face etched with a seriousness that seemed foreign on her usually playful features.

  "Toki, my dear! What a pleasant surprise," Golgheim exclaimed, his voice warm. Toki remained silent, her frustration simmering beneath the surface.

  Golghiem pressed on, "Tell me, how goes your training? Have you grown stronger since we last spoke? And what of your lawyer—any news on that front?" How he spoke struck Toki like a hammer to the chest.

  Toki suspected that he was fully aware aware of the storm brewing within his protégé. She held back the tears that welled in her eyes, struggling to contain the torrent of emotions threatening to spill forth. How could he be so callous, so cavalier?

  "Why?" The word tore from Toki's throat, raw and anguished. "How can you be so flippant?... You were my mentor, and now you're content to watch me march to my death? Did you know of Two – of Hammaltin? Did you know they almost killed me down there? Very nearly killed Edgar!" Her voice cracked, betraying the depth of her pain.

  Golghiem's expression remained steady. "Toki, it is not my place to control the path you walk or the destiny you fulfill. In fact, I can not. My duty as your guide is to ensure that you have the tools and the strength to face whatever challenges lie ahead for you, to give you the best chance of survival in a universe that is unforgiving."

  He paused, his ancient eyes filled with a wisdom born of millennia. "The choices you make, the battles you fight—those are yours and yours alone. I cannot shield you from the consequences of your actions, nor can I spare you the pain of loss and sacrifice. If I did, I would only be pulling a plant by its roots."

  She understood, on some level, the complexities of his role, but understanding did little to ease the ache in her chest, the sense of betrayal that gnawed at her. She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms as she fixed Golgheim with an accusatory glare. "How can you stand there and speak of paths and destiny when you've done nothing but deceive, manipulate, and control? My own path included!" she spat, her voice trembling with barely contained fury. "You talk of choices, of sacrifices that must be made, but what about the people you've sworn to represent? What about the lives you've destroyed in who knows what purpose? You belittle me talking of choice. I had no choice – down there, I had force the choices into existence!"

  She took a step forward, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "You murdered the Primes, the very beings you were meant to serve. You've played games with empires, pulling the strings from the shadows like some kind of puppet master. And for what? To protect what? It obviously wasn’t me. Obviously not Elara! Obie!"

  Toki's voice dropped to a whisper, raw and ragged with emotion. "Tell me, Golgheim, do you even care for the people? Are they just pawns in your cosmic chess game against Pendulum?" She laughed then, a bitter, mirthless sound. "Perhaps I'm the next prime on your list. Will you strike me down too, if I don't fit into your carefully laid plans?"

  Golgheim watched her in silence, his expression unreadable. Then, with a wave of his hand, the cabin estate around them began to dissolve, the walls and ceiling crumbling away into nothingness. The ground beneath their feet shifted and churned, the earth itself responding to the ancient being's will. With a wave of his hand, he transformed the surrounding land into flat earth.

  An arena.

  "Is that why you've come, Toki?" he asked, his voice low and measured. "To fight me on the very order of things?" He shook his head, a flicker of sadness in his eyes. "I had hoped for better from you. Of greater understanding."

  Toki stood her ground, even as the world fell apart around her. "I came for answers," she said, her voice cold and hard as steel. "I came to understand why you've done the things you've done, why you've betrayed everything I thought you stood for. I’ve come for the dragon’s core, Golgheim."

  Golgheim sighed, a sound that carried the weight of ages. He looked at the hammer in Toki’s hand "Of course," he murmured, reaching for the hammer at his back. "We are people who seek answers with our fists, who settle our disputes in the dust and the blood." He met Toki's gaze, a challenge and an invitation in his eyes. "So be it, then."