After using his WindWard Step one hundred consecutive times, his Reserve and Stream cried out for rest. Zelek`s breathing had become unstable, and he coughed with increased frequency. Amid the dead and charred woodlands, Enril spotted a small shelter of some sort. He Maneuvered in and pulled some branches to mask them. With utmost care, he propped Zelek against a small stump. Zelek strained, lifting his hand. "Bro-Brother-" He erupted into a fit of bloodied coughs.

　　"No, don`t speak, Brother. Focus on circulating your riken. I`ll get us back to the sect and we will get you treated. Maybe Madam Yun can use her technique like before and help. I just need to roll my Filter and we will be off." Enril`s Filter appeared above his head, spun round, and revealed a four. He grabbed Zelek`s hand and smiled through his tears. A small amount of riken rushed into Enril, recharging his weary body, but his Stream stung as the fresh energy flowed within him. It wasn`t enough to refill his emptied Reserve.

　　Zelek shook his head. "Fil-Filt-er." He coughed up blood. "Take it." He coughed another mouthful of blood, gasping. "Roll&Run&"

　　Enril couldn`t believe his ears. "No, I won`t abandon you, Brother. You have to come with me." His hot tears streamed down his face. "We are brothers, we have to be together. We are supposed to grow strong so we can save those we love, so we don`t have to relive our failure with Elders Winryu and Heles. Without you, Zelek, who is Enril?" He pleaded as his furious tears dripped onto the barren soil.

　　With a strangely deep breath, he said, "You will live. Without Zelek, you are still Foon Enril. I will always be your brother. Now go, you must survive." Zelek smiled. "Or I swear on my Filter I`ll haunt you."

　　Through his tears, Enril`s emerald eyes met Zelek`s. "No, no, no, I can give you some riken. Roll your Filter and gather more. Just please, hold on." Enril attempted to place his hand on Zelek`s chest, but it was swatted away.

　　"Enril, Brother, you must know that I love you. Please, live!" The emerald light of Zelek`s eyes faded with his final words. His head rested back against the stump.

　　Vicious sobs wracked Enril`s body. He would have given his life a thousand times or endured a thousand years of torture, rather than witness Zelek`s death. He was convinced this was a dream. He punched and pinched himself, and slammed his head against a fallen log.

　　Nothing woke him from his nightmare.

　　A soft light pierced through the darkness of the stormy night. Zelek`s Filter floated, bobbing up and down. Enril reached out and tapped the golden forty-four facing him. A golden column of light beamed down as the Filter dissolved into him. His vision distorted, drawing him into his inner view. Both Filters materialized beside his Reserve. The golden forty-four faced him, but a light that looked like a plus symbol floated next to it.

　　Somehow, Enril understood. He could either accept the largest face or increase all of the faces on his Filter. He reached out and touched the golden forty-four. Both Filters began to spin. Enril`s Filter halted on a silver thirty-eight, which rewrote itself to the forty-four from Zelek`s Filter. As Enril opened his eyes, he raised a hand to Zelek`s face. "Brother&Your legacy&" He bit his tongue. He cursed at Heaven as he scooped up Zelek. First his Brother`s fate, and now his Filter only increased by a value of six? He wondered, just what had he done to piss off Heaven?

　　He heard a voice in the distance, "Hey, that column of light was somewhere over here." The two giants were rushing over. New tears, a mix of sadness and frustration, welled in his eyes. He rolled his Filter again. He heard footsteps shuffling just outside of the makeshift shelter. Another flash of light erupted, and Enril was subject to a rush of riken unlike anything he had felt. His Stream felt as though it were on fire. Was this because he exerted himself, or because he rolled so large? Had Zelek always endured this torture when rolling his largest face?

　　His full strength had returned, and his Reserve grew. Clarity returned to his mind as he focused on what direction the Vale was in. Before the giants could break into the shelter, he Maneuvered out. Over and over, nonstop he pushed himself, cradling Zelek`s body the whole way. With his last drop of riken, he reached the edge of the barrier.

　　He passed through the barrier and started trudging back to the sect. The clarity that had graced him after his second roll faded. Woe, anger, despair, rage, and sadness engulfed his heart. The only mercy he received was the stormy weather had ceased. His walk back to the sect took three hours.

　　As he reached the main gate, the sun crested the horizon. Ying Yue was leaning against the gate. "And what do we have here? Two rats crawling back?" She opened her eyes. "I should exi-" She rushed over as her sight landed on Zelek. "Enril, what`s wrong with him."

　　"Why am I alive&" he said, his head hung low.

　　"Enril, what happened to you two?" She brushed a finger across Zelek`s cheek, ice cold and stiff. "Enril&" Tears began to well in her eyes.

　　"He died because of me. It`s my fault. Call the Council. I killed him. Zelek is dead because of me." He dropped to his knees. Fresh tears stained his face as he hugged Zelek close.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

　　"Enril, as your sect master I order you to stand," she commanded, but he didn`t budge. Instead, he wept harder. She knelt beside him and wrapped him in her arms. His robe was stained with blood and sweat. Her tone softened as she said, "This is why I wanted you two to stay away from the Wild Lands. All that exists out there is death and heartache." A tear dropped from the corner of her eye.

　　Memories of her only adventure out of the Vale flooded her mind. She had cloaked herself at her husband`s urging just in the nick of time. As she sat, veiled in moonlight, her team was slaughtered without mercy.

　　Ying Yue continued to hold Enril until Vice Master Ling happened upon them. "Ah, Ying Yue, what is going on?"

　　She stood and wiped her eyes. "Two disciples decided to sneak out during the night. They entered the Wild Lands and& only one returned alive&" she folded her arms to hide her quivering hands.

　　"Well, it`s a miracle even one returned. Come, we need to bring him in." Ling looked at the face of the deceased. He recognized him in an instant. A pang of grief rang in his heart.

　　"My clan&parents&Uncle&Aunt&" Enril stood and plodded to the East, toward Foon territory.

　　"Wait, Enril, come ba-" Ling tried to chase, but Ying Yue held him back.

　　"Let him go, Ling. He needs time. Their pouches are missing. Something they had put a target on their backs. The Seekers outside the Vale are&monsters." She watched as Enril disappeared in the distance. The pain of her loss from decades ago flooded back as if it were yesterday.

　　Enril cradled Zelek close as he continued to Foon territory. Halfway there, his enhancement began to flicker on and off. Unwilling to take the time to stop and recover, he pushed on. He forced his enhancement off, relishing in the suffering of each step. On this painful journey, many thoughts crossed his mind.

　　He`ll wake up once we get back, I just know it. The clan will be excited to welcome us back and we`ll celebrate once more. If I suffer enough on the journey home, he`ll wake up, right?`

　　Enril came into the village as the sun peaked in the sky. Word spread like wildfire, and Xing and Di Yu rushed to meet him.

　　"Enril, what is the occasion? What`s happ-" Xing`s words caught in his throat. Di Yu brought a hand to her mouth to conceal her wicked smile.

　　"He`s dead&I was weak&Why am I worthless&" Enril`s words were flat and devoid of life. The emerald of his eyes had dulled to gray. Xing stepped forward and reached out to Enril, unsure of what to say. Enril dropped to his knees and offered his neck. "Please, Patriarch, free me."

　　Xing stood and drew his katana. The blade hovered centimeters from Enril`s neck. "Enril," Xing`s voice was hoarse. "This is your fault? What happened?" The five Elders joined the gathering. A small crowd of clan members had also gathered.

　　"It`s all my fault. I`ve dishonored the clan, my sect, and&" his voice choked with pain. "And Zelek." He thought all the liquid in his body had been used up, but new tears of misery defied that notion.

　　Xing`s katana quivered. "You heard him Xing. He`s dishonored the clan," said Di Yu.

　　Enril and Zelek`s parents shoved their way through the crowd. His father batted Xing`s katana away, slicing his hand in the process. He grabbed Enril`s shoulders, "Enril, my son, what happened?" His mother stood next to his father in silence. Her son`s pain was her pain.

　　"Enril." Zelek`s mother knelt and brushed Zelek`s forehead. "Can you please tell us what happened?" She burst into tears as she caressed her son`s cold face.

　　With a hushed and monotonous tone, Enril recounted the night, each and every painful detail. Xing and the Elders were the only present with the knowledge of Enril`s eventual fate.

　　"I can say one thing with certainty," his aunt spoke through her tears. "He would never blame you. This was his gift to you, and he passed knowing you would continue on." She hung her head and sobbed again.

　　Zelek`s father stepped over and placed his hands on his wife`s shoulders. He looked to Enril and said, "He would have berated you for giving up. You are not weak, Enril. If you die, then what`s left of Zelek`s memory? His mortal existence may have ended, but he will watch over us all from Heaven." Enril heard sobs escape his uncle.

　　"Please, son, be proud of your survival. Zelek would want you to grow stronger. Don`t give up," his father`s voice trembled. "You are strong."

　　"What are you waiting for, an invitation? Deliver his punishment for dishonoring the clan," Di Yu demanded.

　　A bell rang and everyone froze in place. A mote of light flashed. "Foon Enril, is it true that you killed Foon Zelek?" Madam Yun appeared behind Enril.

　　"Yes," his answer was flat.

　　"Did he die by your hand or in the Wild Lands?" she asked.

　　"He died because of me." Anger and sorrow crept into his voice as he shouted, "It`s all my fault he`s dead." His Aunt and Uncle relieved him of Zelek. He stood and continued his tirade, "He died and it`s my fault. That`s all you need to know." He stared Yun in the eyes.

　　"You will answer my questions with the truth. Tell me what happened," she demanded, and he refused to answer. "Answer me now, or face the consequences." He locked eyes with her in defiant silence.

　　She charged a needle-like knife with her riken. It squealed with power. Enril didn`t flinch. Yun slammed him to the ground, holding the collar of his blood-stained robe. She thrust the needle toward his neck. It stopped a centimeter before contact. The power singed a small portion of his skin but didn`t penetrate his body. She released the boy from her grasp and put away her Tool.

　　Di Yu stepped forward and shouted, "What are you doing? Are you simple? Do what you came to do. Punish him."

　　Yun looked at her in disgust, "How dare you talk to me that way. This boy is beyond exhausted. He fell asleep before he hit the ground. Let him rest, and when he wakes, I will speak with him again." Yun smoothed a wrinkle out of her purple robe.

　　"If you cowards won`t do it, then I will." She snatched Xing`s katana from him and plunged it toward Enril`s heart.