"T—Thanks for helping us out," the older boy said through shivering gasps as they walked up the mountain. They had to go slow due to the downpour, which made the stone slippery. "We would have gotten lost in the dark or attacked by beasts if you hadn''t come when you did. You saved my sister''s life."


    "It''s what I do." Hope stayed in the front, keeping a hand on the donkey as she led it forward. The two siblings remained closer to the back of the wagon where the unconscious body of Druid remained. "There''s a cave up ahead we can get you all into."


    "Thank you, mage!" The girl chirped out.


    Hope frowned slightly. "You called me that earlier? What do you mean by mage? Are you talking about Supers?"


    The boy shrugged awkwardly. "Soup what? I don''t know what that means, miss, but you''re a mage, aren''t you? Your kind always wears strange clothes and can do things normal people can''t."


    "Have you seen many mages before?" Hope asked casually, though her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, trying to process everything she was hearing. There was so much about this that just didn''t make sense. Like why were there two normal humans here? They didn''t seem to be players. In fact, with the way they were acting, it almost seemed as if they lived here...


    The sister was the one to speak up next. "Of course, we''ve seen some mages. A bunch of your kind have been appearing all over the place recently. We were told you guys are here to help us."


    "Who told you that?"


    "Another mage did."


    "And you just believed him?"


    "Well, yeah?" The brother said a bit sheepishly. "We haven''t met a bad mage yet? Your people are the ones who helped us build our lands up from nothing. Our queen is a mage as well.


    Hope raised an eyebrow and looked back at the two siblings. "Queen? And you say she''s a Super as well? She couldn''t have been in charge for very long, right?"


    The sister shrugged awkwardly and looked away for some reason. "I mean, the Queen has been in charge before I was born."


    "What? That''s not right; you''re not that young, right? Chrysanthemum has only been like this for two years at the most. Don''t either of you remember anything about the outside world?"


    "We are outside, though, aren''t we?" The brother questioned. "I never heard of this Chrismum place, but my sister and I were born in Pine-Tree Village. We''ve known these woods and mountainsides for most of our lives."


    "You were born here?" Hope asked nervously.


    "Yeah? My father was as well, and the same for his father. You''re not from around here, are you, mage?" The brother hummed.


    Hope felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Chrysanthemum was only destroyed two years ago. She, like everyone else, had assumed its people were a lost cause, having long been taken over by Legend''s plague. Yet here, two people from this weird city stood, claiming they had been here for years. That meant either they were changed by Legend''s power, and the man could alter the memories of humans, or the world around them was very much real, and time had moved on within this realm. A lot of time... She was walking through history. History that no one outside of Chrysanthemum had any way of knowing.


    "You said you lived here your entire life. Is that true?" She asked quietly. "You were born here? And there are entire villages?"


    The sister nodded. "That''s right. The mages helped us build our villages, all directed by the Queen. She''s been in charge since forever, I think, constantly helping to improve the lands. She taught our ancestors how to fish, how to hunt, and so many other things. I was a little shocked when I first saw you because you-"


    Whatever the sister was about to say, she was cut off when her brother lightly elbowed her and shook his head. "What my sister says is true. The Queen has been in charge before even my great-grandfather was born. We all thought that there were only a couple of mages that existed, but about a year or two ago, so many more of you began to show up. The Queen made an announcement and said they were here to help her."


    "Help her, but not you guys." Hope looked back at the body of Druid. "From what I know, a bunch of villains were brought in here. Those are likely the ''mages'' you''re talking about. Listen, you shouldn''t trust every mage you run into."


    "Does that include you?" The brother asked, suddenly on guard.


    Hope hand waved his concern. "I''m a superhero. It''s my job to help people."


    "A soup hero?" The siblings exchanged weird looks between one another.


    Eventually, they arrived back at the entrance to the cave, and Hope guided the two siblings and their donkey inside. "I''m back." She called out softly. "Also, I brought company."


    Instantly she saw her father''s and Kevin''s eyes go wide with shock when they saw the wagon and the two kids. "Players?" Kevin asked, stunned.


    "Nope. Just a bunch of other questions that need to be asked." Hope said, letting out a heavy sigh. The two siblings were also staring in shock at Kevin and the large wolf that was in the back. If they hadn''t been convinced she was a mage before, this would likely have set it in stone for them. "My name''s Hope." She said, getting their attention back on her. "That guy over there is my dad, Alexander, and the weird red blob is-"


    "I''m Shift," Kevin stated in a blunt tone, using his Super name. "And this guy is Lycaon." A red tendril flowed out of Kevin and rubbed the head of the wolf, who leaned into the touch. Apparently, the two of them had become friends while she was gone. He also apparently named it.


    "Lycaon? What was wrong with Wolfy?"


    "Everything," Kevin said flatly.


    Alexander cleared his throat and stood up. "Hope, who are these two people?"


    The brother stepped forward slowly and gave a small bow. "H- Hello, mister. I''m Nikos. This is my younger sister, Cora. Our father has recently become ill, so he sent us out into the woods to hunt. We heard this weird noise, though, and found the body of a mage. She looked to be hurt really badly, so we put her in our wagon and were getting ready to take her back home, but then this storm came out of nowhere. That was when your daughter showed up and saved us. A- Are you all also mages?"


    "Mages?" Alexander gave the boy a weird look.


    "He''s talking about Supers." Hope stated in a quiet tone. "The two of them claim they were born here."


    "That doesn''t make sense; this place should have only existed for two years," Kevin argued.


    "Does that mean time is moving differently?" Alexander questioned. "Like it''s only been two years in our world, but for these people, could it have been a lot longer? Twenty or even more years?"


    Kevin''s ball-like form shook as he jumped up on Lycaon''s snout. "No. That can''t be. That wouldn''t make any sense if it was. Let''s say time is moving faster here or something, but that wouldn''t explain how I got here. If it''s been twenty years here, and it''s only been a little under three years in the real world, then that would mean that time is moving much faster here than it is out in the real world. A few seconds in the real world would be days, possibly even weeks, in here, yet when I died, it was the same day you guys had arrived, right?"


    "Maybe the time distortion turned off?" Hope said unhelpfully. "If there even was one in the first place."


    "Maybe..."


    "W- What are you talking about?" The sister, Cora, asked hesitantly.


    Hope looked at the girl, but just like outside, Cora turned away from her. "We''re just a little confused, is all. We don''t call ourselves mages where we''re from. We call ourselves Supers, and the lands you live in used to be cities in our world that got destroyed two years ago. We''re just trying to put it together."


    "I don''t think I understand." The brother admitted sadly.


    "That''s okay. Why don''t you and your sister take a seat near the campfire and warm up? I''m to go place Druid further into the cave."


    "Druid-" Kevin glanced at her with wide eyes as she took the unconscious woman out of the back of the wagon. "You brought that psycho bitch here with us?"


    "She would have drowned if I hadn''t."


    "So?"


    "Look, I''m not fighting you on this; I''ve made up my mind," Hope said, letting out a weak sigh. "I''ll keep an eye on her. Besides, I have some questions I''d like to ask."


    Cora sat next to her brother as they allowed the fire to warm them up. The girl quietly stared at Hope, watching in silence before finally speaking up once more. "D- Do you not like that mage?"


    "She tried to kill me," Alexander said flatly.


    "Oh..."


    "Why would she do that!" Nikos asked with wide eyes. "That doesn''t make any sense? You''re all mages, right? Shouldn''t you be working together? The Queen is always saying mages are meant to work together to make the world a better place."


    "Sorry, but it doesn''t work out that way," Hope said in a slightly somber tone. She was still holding Druid and carried the woman to a spot near the back of the cave, away from everyone else. Druid''s body was wrapped up tightly by Kevin''s torn-off tendrils, forming a thick rope of muscles, and bandages covered the woman from head to toe. She likely wouldn''t be going anywhere even after she woke up. "I wish everyone could work together and better the world, but that isn''t how things work. Not even in here, I bet."


    Nikos frowned but didn''t challenge her on her point as she placed Druid down in a corner. "Who are you people? Where did you come from and why?" The brother asked as she walked back over and took a seat down next to the fire, causing Cora to look away again.


    "My daughter and I were sort of dragged into this place," Alexander said sheepishly. "We''re not here to hurt anyone; we''re just looking for a way out of here."


    "Here?"


    "This world," Hope stated simply.


    Cora''s eyes lit up for a moment. "The Queen could-"


    "Cora." Nikos cut his sister off, looking at the girl again.


    "B- But they should know," Cora complained. "The Queen is rumored to be from another world as well."


    "I imagine all the ''mages'' are from other worlds," Kevin called out. He had adjusted himself and was now resting on the wolf''s stomach, seemingly getting ready for bed. The rain didn''t look like it was stopping anytime soon, and the sun had set a while ago. "I bet they''re all the villains Lucifer brought in. Actually, does that name mean anything? Lucifer?" Nikos and Cora both shook their heads. "What about Gabriel? Is she the queen? Again, they shook their head. "Hmm, Fairy Queen?"


    "We don''t know any of those names, sorry," Nikos said, shaking his head. "I might have seen some of them, but I don''t know the names of any mages. They tend to keep to themselves and stay outside of villages. Pine Tree Village has a scholar, though. He''s this real old guy; he might know more."


    "After the rain settles, do you think you could take me to Pine Tree Village?" Hope asked.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Nikos awkwardly scratched at his chin. "I don''t know... You might be treated a bit weirdly there..."


    "What do you mean?"


    Nikos shook his head. "Never mind. It''ll be fine... I''ll take you there."


    "Okay?"


    The two siblings were certainly odd, that was for sure. Then again, she imagined anyone who grew up in a place like this would be odd. Who knew just how old these lands were? It seemed as if this really was its own entire world with full-blown villages and people. Just what had Legend truly created and why? She was noticing small things about it as well, like how the two siblings were dressed like Myth or the names of the villages.


    In the real world, cities, towns, and villages were all named after flowers. It had been something that was started by the first ever group of humans that survived the old world''s collapse. She wasn''t sure why they picked flowers, but they did. That tradition carried all the way to the present with Oleander City and other such places being named after flowers. Pine Tree Village, though, was obviously named after a pine tree.


    She had a pretty good idea for why it was named after a tree instead of a flower. A tree was simply bigger. Legend had a big ego; that was something she had witnessed firsthand through the memories Avalon showed her. She wouldn''t put it past him that all the villages and towns in his own personal world were named after trees simply as a way to make them sound bigger than the cities in the real world, which were named after flowers. It was petty, childish, and, most importantly, something someone like Legend would likely do. If that was the case, though, did that mean Legend was the Queen? She had been assuming he was in charge, but the siblings kept insisting the world was ruled by some woman.


    Hope was deep in her thoughts when she noticed Cora staring at her once more. She looked to the younger girl, and again Cora looked away. It had been happening a lot. It was the same look she would sometimes get when she was out in costume. Like civilians wanted to get a closer look but didn''t want to be caught staring. At first she had assumed it was because she was a Super. Cora and her brother seemed to like them, yet Cora wasn''t staring at Kevin or her father with that awestruck look. It was just her.


    "Is something wrong, Cora?" Hope asked sheepishly. Cora jumped a bit as she used her name. "You keep staring at me."


    "W- Well, it''s, uh, well..." Cora looked to her brother, who looked uncomfortable. Finally, Cora took a deep breath. "You look almost exactly like the Queen."


    Hope''s smile faded instantly, and the air in the room seemed to shift. Kevin sat up fully awake now, and Alexander shifted slightly. Hope looked at Cora, staring the girl dead in the eye. "What do you mean?" She asked quietly.


    Cora flinched and looked away from the intense look, clearly embarrassed. "It''s nothing-"


    "No. What do you mean, Cora?"


    Cora looked back at her, shaking a bit. "W- Well, you have the same face, you know..." Cora said awkwardly. "You and the Queen look so much alike. Though she has golden hair and red eyes..."


    "What''s the Queen''s name?"


    "Q- Queen Cinder."


    "Oh. So this is where she ended up."


    She found the fake Cinder. Skin Walker was here in Chrysanthemum.


    The conversation died out after that. The revelation that Skin Walker was here left a sour taste in her mouth, and even Kevin and her father seemed affected by the reveal. Perhaps sensing her anger, Cora and her brother didn''t say anything else for the rest of that night. It didn''t take long for her father to fall asleep, the older man finding a quiet corner in the cave. Nikos and Cora both also didn''t seem to have any issues with sleeping in the cave and soon drifted off. Kevin was the last to sleep, the red blood wrapping himself entirely around the wolf, snuggling with it. He constantly put on an act, pretending to be tough, but at the end of the day, he was like a big softie getting along with the Pod just as fast. That left her as the last person awake.


    She didn''t sleep.


    She just wasn''t tired. Maybe it was something she got from being a Super. Her stamina always seemed superhuman looking back at it. She normally would sleep like a normal person, but staying up late didn''t really tire her out unless she did so for several days in a row after fighting a lot of intense battles. Still, there was some sort of change within her; she could tell. She hadn''t gotten to properly rest since the fight with Golden Weaver, which was just a couple of hours ago.


    So much had happened in such a short amount of time.


    "Am I still growing?" Hope glanced down at her hand, balling it into a fist. She was getting stronger. She could tell. Yet the Brightest Star still remained silent, and not a hint of her flames. "Why won''t you talk to me?"


    A quiet groan broke her out of ramblings. She had taken a spot all the way in the back of the cave, away from the others, with only one person to keep her company. Druid shifted slightly before the older woman opened her remaining eye. The other eye was hidden behind a series of bandages, many of which clung to Druid''s body since the woman had been pretty banged up when the siblings found her. A red tendril of rope was also tied around the woman, holding her in place, and Druid''s eye instantly filled with rage as the woman thrashed around.


    Druid opened her mouth, about to scream something out, but a hand suddenly silenced her. Druid glared up, staring into the eyes of Hope, who looked down at her.


    "Don''t move around so much. You broke a lot of ribs from being crushed by all those birds, and I hit you harder than I should have. You''ll hurt yourself more if you try to break out of Kevin''s lasso." Hope said casually. "I''m going to remove my hand, but if you scream, I''ll knock you out again. Got that?"


    Druid''s eye was still filled with rage, but the woman didn''t yell as the hand was removed from her mouth. "W- Where''s my staff!" Druid hissed out.


    "Are you talking about this?" Hope reached up to where her bag was. The sword rested on one side of the backpack, hanging off the side of it in its sheath, and on the other side was Druid''s staff. It was made of wood, and at the end of it, the thing twisted into a sharp scythe-like blade, a green gem at the end of it. She took it off of her bag and held it away from Druid. "I know how your powers work. You can''t use them without this staff right. Your actual ability is to create various magical staves. You used to go by a different name, going by Magical Girl, and you used a staff that could shoot out bursts of energy. You used to be so full of energy and hyper, dressing up as some sort of magical girl from a comic or something, but after a horrible loss at the hands of Fairy Queen, you completely rebranded and became a villain."


    Druid''s jaw clenched, and the woman looked uncomfortable for several moments. "How do you know all that?" The villain finally demanded.


    "I love superheroes." Hope shrugged. "I collect a ton of their figures. I even have one of you back when you were a hero. You used to be so cute running around in a pink costume with ribbons in your hair-"


    "Shut up!" Druid sounded almost embarrassed. "Those days are over."


    "Because you became a bad guy." Hope let out a sigh and shook her head. "You really changed." Druid''s costume was no longer that cute pink dress, nor was the villain young. Magical Girl had been a younger woman, being in her early twenties, but Druid was well past her youth, her hair being mostly gray now with only a few streaks of black in it, and stress lines were all over the woman''s face.


    "Why are you bringing this up?" Druid asked quietly. "Why did you even save me?"


    "I didn''t save you, though I guess I should have," Hope said, giving a sad smile. "Someone else got to you first and brought you here. You''re lucky because you would have drowned. I only went back for you because I think the old me would have. I don''t really know when I changed, but it feels like I''m not the same Cinder. Maybe it''s because my identity was leaked or that the world around me shifted and changed, but I keep telling myself I''m still the old me, and then I do stuff like leave you to die. If I''m being honest, I don''t think I changed all that much, but I feel like the old me wouldn''t have been happy with me just leaving you out to drown like that. I dunno, I''m still just a kid. I''ve been struggling to figure out what it means to be a hero. I keep getting told different things and seeing different points of view." She sighed again. It felt like she did that a lot lately, and she leaned against the cave wall. "There was another reason I brought up that I knew your past, though."


    "And why''s that?" Druid growled out.


    "When you became a villain, you rebranded yourself, got rid of your old costume, and used your power to make a new magical staff. One that summons animals. You ended up losing again, this time to Ocean Empress, who beat you about ten or so years ago. The loss was so bad that you vanished off the face of the Earth." Hope looked down at the older woman and cracked a half smile. "I actually own the game that was based on that fight. So needless to say, I''ve seen your face a bunch of times, and that''s why I know something is wrong here." She reached out, and Druid flinched a bit as she ran her hand through the woman''s hair. She took a few of the gray locks in her hands and studied them. "Why are you old?"


    "What?"


    "You were only about fifty or so when you fought Ocean Empress. That was ten years ago, so you''d be in your sixties now. Normally, that''s the point a human starts to get gray, but you aren''t a human. Supers with enhanced bodies age slower or at least remain in their youth longer. It isn''t until around their eighties that the age catches back up with them, and they begin to rapidly get old. In the fight with Ocean Empress, you still looked like you were in your early thirties, but now you look like you''re at least sixty or seventy. What happened? You''re older than you should be."


    "You''re quite clever..."


    "I have my moments," Hope said, smirking a bit.


    Druid glared back at her once again but grumbled something. "I shouldn''t have to explain anything to you. We''re enemies."


    "We were enemies. I beat you, so now you''re not my enemy anymore."


    "What sort of ignorant logic is that?"


    "My logic." Hope shrugged. "Just go with it. How long have you been here? The one who told you to come after me was Skin Walker, wasn''t it?"


    Druid shifted awkwardly. "If I tell you, what do I get?"


    "I won''t punch you-"


    "I want out." Druid hissed. "I want to be let go with my staff. You already beat me once, so I know I won''t be able to get the jump on you, especially since there are so many more of you now. I''ll leave, and in exchange for letting me go, I''ll tell you whatever you want to know."


    Hope studied Druid''s face for several seconds. For some reason, she actually found herself thinking back to the first time she and Mr. Larison went out on a mission together. They had run into some guys who were selling drugs, and Mr. Larison had agreed to let them go in exchange for information. This was a little more high-stakes than that, though.


    "Okay. I''ll do it. I''ll let you go. But only after you answer my questions."


    Druid''s eye narrowed. "How do I know you''ll actually let me go? You agreed to that fast?"


    "You''ll just have to trust me. Now, was it Skin Walker who told you to come after me or not?"


    Druid finally nodded, giving a slow grimace. "She calls herself Cinder now. I saw you on the news. Watched your fight with the Beast. I knew she wasn''t the real deal, but she''s strong. Maybe just as strong as you used to be, and the fire she has is dangerous."


    "She has fire powers?" Hope frowned at that. She had assumed Skin Walker was just a shapeshifter. When she spoke to the Emperor, he explained the woman''s powers to her, but he didn''t mention anything about fire control. Then again, he had no reason to be honest with her.


    "She does." Druid shuddered a bit. "I watched her burn some guys down to ash in an instant. She''s dangerous. Not someone you want to mess with. She''s also the one that brought us all here and the only one who can get us out."


    "Get you out? You''re talking about the realm, right? She actually has a way out?"


    "She does. I''ve watched her create a doorway through space. She just tore it open with her bare hands. If I didn''t know any better, I''d likely assume she really was the Lord of the Sun and Cosmos, given the powers she wields. If not for the way she acts, at least. She''s a right bitch. She gathered a bunch of us villains up and demanded we help her build these lands. Forced us to create entire mountains, forests, oceans, and other such things. It used to just be flat sand lands, but after so many years of nonstop work, it eventually became what you see now."


    "I guess that explains why mages are so popular with these people." Hope hummed. "Nikos was serious when he said you guys helped create their land. But why would Skin Walker get a bunch of villains to do that, and why would they listen to her?"


    "We listened because of the power she wielded. She''s strong." Druid shook her head angrily. "As for why she forced us to create this world, your guess is as good as mine. I don''t think she is really the one in charge. We were all told that if we did as told, we''d get to play in this year''s Murder Games and that if we won, we''d have a place on either Lucifer''s or the Emperor''s team. So many villains would kill for a chance to work under either of those two. Literally. I haven''t seen either of them or their teams, though. Just a bunch of us low-level trash being ordered around by ''Cinder''."


    "Please don''t call her that... The only Cinder is me." Hope folded her arms and hummed. "Where is Skin Walker now?"


    "I don''t know; I avoid that bitch as much as I can. As soon as we were all set free and told to hunt, you guys were separated. I don''t really know anything about this realm. I created all of the wildlife, but that''s it."


    "Did you create the locals as well?"


    "Of course I didn''t." Druid snorted. "Creating life like that is impossible unless you''re a Lord of Life. I can make animals, but that''s it. Even with a stronger staff, I''d only be able to make stronger animals. The kinds of things Red Ape would make. The people were likely forced in here and over time forgot about the real world after the fifth or sixth generation."


    "Over time? I figured these weren''t the people from the original Chrystanthum since Nikos said he was born in this place, but just how long have these people been living in this world?"


    "I''d say about two or three hundred years, give or take." Druid chuckled darkly. "Most of them were street rats from all over the world, stolen from cities. Just like us, Cinder dropped them all off in this place, and they did what humans do best, which is breed and create babies over time; as the elder ones died out and new humans were born, they forgot all about there being a real world and just accepted this place for what it is now."


    Hope felt her eyes go wide for a moment. "That doesn''t make sense, though. If this place really has existed for that long, you''d be dead as well. Supers might age slower, but most tend to die of old age the same way as humans do. It''s only the Lords, or a select few, that have long-lasting life spans."


    "We weren''t here the entire time." Druid rolled her eye. "It would take years to create a world you know. I was only in here for about twenty or so years. I constantly popped in and out, and each time I came back, so much time in here would have skipped forward. That''s how Cinder made these people think she''s some immortal queen. She''ll appear before them, say a few words, and then leave, and then ten or so years later, she''ll reappear looking the exact same when in actuality, she just stepped out of this realm for a second or two before reappearing. Once we got all the trees, grass, and oceans created and gave the people the supplies they needed to build and live, it was easy enough to leave this realm. We came back the next day, and it was as you see it now."


    "So time actually is moving faster in here than in the real world." Hope nodded slightly, though the things Kevin said earlier still confused her. Was time always moving faster, or was it just something they could turn on and off? "How does it work?" She asked.


    "Beats me. I doubt even Cinder knows, though if you find her, you''re welcome to ask her." Druid shrugged, or at least attempted to. "Look, I answered your questions. Are you going to let me go or not?"


    Hope looked down at the woman and held her hand out, placing it on the red muscles that formed the rope around Druid. "I was trained by someone that called himself Battery. He changed a lot, but there was a lesson he taught me once."


    Druid gave her a weird look. "And what''s that?"


    "Don''t actually let the bad guys go." Before Druid could move, she flicked the woman on the head using a small bit of strength, instantly knocking Druid out once again. That was the way Battery had done it the first time she worked with him. He hadn''t let that drug dealer actually go. She glanced down at the unconscious form of Druid with a bit of sadness. "Sorry."