With a rattling hiss, the towering serpent crashed down on the armored Malaki, swallowing them whole until their armor only served to cook them alive like steamed crabs. The other children around Kaara cheered, but she knew better. She had no control over this serpent. When she had called for Chompy, this serpent had forced its way out instead. It was taking all of her magic to maintain, and she could not dispel it.

She turned to the rest, “Run-!”

CRAASH!!!

Cheers turned to screams as the serpent’s boiling body crashed down on the unsuspecting group. Their skin seared and boiled in an instant. Kaara’s ears were ringing from the roar. She could hear her own racing heart thrumming in her head. She watched the children struggle and thrash about inside of the serpent’s body. Boiled alive just like the Malaki.

“Get out of here! I can’t control it!” She shouted. The remaining children stood frozen in terror as the massive serpent turned its glowing eyes towards them.

Kaara gritted her teeth, her mind racing for a solution. She couldn’t leave them to suffer the same fate. She focused all of her magic on the serpent, trying to get it to disappear, but it wouldn’t budge.

It wasn’t just that. It was getting stronger. Every moment that passed, she could feel the serpent’s power swelling her soul. Was it going to break her like this?

Twas the cold of the monsters that did steal the warmth of our souls

The Oskuutor did not just absorb magic. They could hijack her summoning spells too. They had waited for it. As if they knew what she was capable of. She glanced at the edge of the clearing. Reflected back were the many eyes and grins of the Oskuutor. Only now did they want to be seen.

Where was Deka?

Where was Corvio? Arik, Tadios, and everyone else?

She was alone, watching the serpent kill the children she tried to save in slow motion.

As its boiling tail crashed down on another group, Kaara screamed out for it to stop. The serpent lashed out at anything that moved. Everything except her.

Stones rose out of the ground to defend the other groups, a gust of wind sweeping past her. A spear thrown through the serpent’s body like an arrow. The air freed victims from the elemental’s body, leaving them to slump into the cold snow.

“Corvio?” She looked up, seeing Rixam.

“If you can’t control that thing, then get it under control!” He shouted.

Gornax crawled out of the ground next to her, “I made a tunnel for the others to follow, where are the rest?”

“Over there, Gornax!” Rixam pointed.

The noxa nodded, disappearing underground and opening a hole for the unconscious children to fall through. The serpent roared, chasing them, only to crash into sealed soil.

Rixam grabbed Kaara by her waist and picked her up, springing into the air with his wind magic, “Snap out of it! You summoned this thing, so you gotta get it under control!”

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Kaara blinked. How could she stop it? She already had her soul boosted by the power of their ritual dance. Meditating would do nothing. This serpent was expanding its power, and it would soon break her limit. She could not dispel it.

The serpent’s body crashed through, opening its maw to swallow Rixam, but eating a boulder launched in its face instead.

Rixam landed, taking off at full speed into the trees, “Shit! Say something!”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? Just dispel it!”

“I’m trying, but the Oskuutor won’t let me!”

“Oskuutor? What? How?”

“The invisible malaki hijacked my summon, and now I can’t control it. It’s like they’re using my soul to keep it out.”

Rixam landed on the branch of an ingen tree, springing forward and narrowly avoiding another crashing wave of steam. Wind encircled him, keeping his body insulated from the heat, but Kaara could tell he was at his limit.

He clutched her close to him and tumbled to the ground. Gornax poked his torso out nearby, “This way!”

Rixam set her down and pulled her with him, jumping into the earth like it was a pool of water.

It was pitch black. Even with her night vision, Kaara could not see a thing. She fell deeper and deeper into the earth, until she could feel something solid under her feet. It was colder down here, but not nearly as frigid as the winter air.

“Anyone got a light?” Gornax said.

One of the other children ignited a flame in their palm.

“How many are still alive?” Rixam asked.

“Managed to pull a few out of the fire- er steam. The ones who couldn’t make it are already buried.”

“I see.” Rixam raised his hand, a soft wind circling through their little pocket of earth. There was a rumbling above them, specs of dirt and stone falling from the root covered ceiling.

“What do we do about that thing?”

“We kill the red-haired harlot who casted it, of course!” One of the other children spoke up.

“We’re not doing that.” Rixam said, “The malaki took control of-”

“Shut your mouth Noxa. Do not dare speak over your betters.”

“Nope, aint dealin’ with this shit. Gornax!”

“Already on it,” Gornax said, scooping the two of them up and disappearing into the earth. Another bubble formed isolated from the rest of the group they saved.

“Honestly, you’d think they’d know better.” Rixam spat, crossing his arms, “Ungrateful little chrometails.”

“You think they’ll follow us?” Kaara asked.

Rixam shrugged, “Doubt it. Even nobles can’t keep up with Gornax’s ability to move through the earth. Unless they’ve got four arms like he does, they won’t be able to dig to us very easily.”

“Well, they were right about something,” Kaara said, “That serpent won’t stop rampaging until I'm dealt with.”

“Yeah, but we aint killin’ you, kid.” Gornax said.

“It might be better if you did. I’ve already caused so many problems for everyone. The ones you couldn’t save are because of me.”

A comforting hand rested on her shoulder in the darkness, “You said it yourself. The Malaki did that, not you,” Gornax said.

“But still.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve got some responsibility too, but you shouldn’t blame yourself for what monsters do.”

“When are people going to stop forgiving me over nothing? I’m dangerous to be around! People are dead because of me!”

“What do you want us to do?”

“I don’t know? Get mad? Yell at me? Try to kill me?”

“Would that solve anything?” Gornax said.

“It’ll get rid of the serpent! And…”

“And put blood on our hands. There’s a better way to go about this. If you can’t dispel it on your own, then we’ll help out.”

The ground rumbled again.

“How are you going to do that?” Kaara asked.

“We’re gonna knock you out.”