Your mind was slowly returning from the darkness. The first sensation was cold—the wet, bone-chilling cold of the stone you were lying on. The second is the chains that bind your wrists and ankles, in which there was not a single break, not the slightest weakness. At the age of 950, you couldn't remember the last time you felt so helpless. All of your power, all of the power accumulated over almost a thousand years, was simply sealed away. You were in a cage, deep in the dungeons of the Citadel.

And then a shadow appeared in the dim light of the torch. Gradually, an awe-inspiring silhouette emerged from the darkness. It was a Torendo. He moved with the grace of a predator, his long blond hair was combed back, and his eyes, like two fragments of gray-blue ice, sparkled in the semi-darkness, without expressing a single emotion. He was dressed in his invariable burgundy cloak, thrown over a dark blue shirt, and behind his back, like majestic banners, were huge wings, iridescent from bright gold at the base to snow-white at the tips.

He stopped right in front of your cage, looking down at you from the height of his greatness. In his hand, he clutched a staff with a pulsating blue ball, which seemed to absorb the remnants of heat from the air.

"You and I have lived too long to waste time on empty conversations,— his voice was dry and devoid of even a hint of sympathy. — You have a reputation that you value. I know that you're willing to do anything for your goal, and that's the only thing that matters right now. The plague ordered me to get an artifact, and you are the only one who can do it. I am ready to turn a blind eye to your past sins.

Torendo slowly ran his hand over the bars of the cage.

— This is not a request, but a statement of fact. I am ready to offer you not only freedom, but also something that I know you really want. In return, you will help me carry out the order, and then we will forget about our meeting. Otherwise...- The light in his staff flashed, casting ominous shadows on his face.

— I will stand over you until you agree. I'm sure you know that I can be very persistent. You've already figured out that I'm going to get what I need, one way or another. So is it worth wasting my time to convince you?

He waited, and his cold, calculating gaze did not leave the slightest hope for mercy. Your life, your freedom, and everything you valued now depended on one word spoken in front of this soulless henchman.