Chapter 18
The Heroes
Blaise wasn’t one to observe the formalities, ones that even the former general could grasp. Not even two seconds after Torry had made her declaration of intent to fight the Fiends, Blaise opened his jaws wide, revealing the sharpened teeth and the growing fire within. He offered no preamble to the situation, the glow of angry orange spreading down his elongated neck before bursting out with a rush of flame. The stones melted, the river evaporated just slightly, and Torry prepared to throw the waters up as her only means of blocking the attack. Krysta and Lumen managed to get there first.
“Shield!” they shouted in tandem. Light formed the honeycombed barrier, expanding outwards until it covered all six of them from the front. The fire, now turning black, struck the shield, pluming into the sky. Torry could still feel the heat on her skin, unsure if she was sweating or just wet from having landed in the water earlier. It wasn’t a question worth asking, not with Blaise’s destructive force bearing down on them. They needed to find a way to deal with it.
To that end, Walter and Charles were already acting.
“Go!” Walter shouted. His spear flashed out, Charles jumping and balancing on it for a moment before the winds raised his feet and sent him flying through the air. Charles was launched above the shield, his swords coming together like a singular great blade, his body hurtling for Warren. The general scoffed.
“Not enough!” His sword cracked outward as a whip. Charles’s swords came down to skewer the Fiend, but had barely nicked his shoulder before the whip caught his ankle. With another flick, Charles was flung around, slamming into Krysta’s shield and crying out. “Look at you, all bound once again. Did you think you’d escape being a puppet?”
He brought Charles back again, and once more struck the shield, the older man crying out in pain before Lumen and Krysta broke their defensive measures. Warren wouldn’t let up, and Torry acted with precision. “Floyd, break it!”
“Yeah,” was the only response he gave. Leaning down, the steam was exhausted from Floyd’s body, his body becoming red hot, and in the blink of an eye, he was before Warren, lines of harsh anger drawn on his face. His blades burned, and with a single slash, he managed to sever the whip. Charles hit the ground, digging one of his swords in the soft and melted ground to stabilize himself. “That’s how you Fiends view every human, isn’t it? Like we’re just some puppets. Well, we’re not!”
“Says the boy whose selfish whims started a war. All humanity is selfish, wasting away their short time to fulfill their temporary desires, heedless of the end this world is heading for. Blaise.”
On Warren’s command, Blaise’s claw came flying out. Floyd had no time to turn, and barely any time to raise his daggers in a defensive motion, before the scaled claw struck him. He cried out, his body thrown into one of the buildings. In the far distance, a similar explosion could be heard, reminding Torry that Terrill was still out there, fighting. It reminded Floyd, too, because in spite of the massive damage done, he still tried to stand in the rubble of an abandoned house. Seeing his wounds, Krysta took off, only for Blaise’s tail to intercept her.
“Agh!” she cried, and Torry could see the flecks of crystal coming from her body. She would have hit the water, but Walter used a gust to propel himself in her direction, catching her before she could. He placed her down, and wordlessly brought his magic swirling around him in a storm of gales, becoming visible as gray currents. It drew the attention of both Fiends, and Torry took the moment to drop to the floor, sliding beneath Blaise for where Floyd was.
“Draining Squall!” A thrust of his spear later and the winds flowed from Walter’s being. These were ones that Warren could not block or beat away with his whip. Blaise dispelled his own with a beat of his wings, but the winds Walter attacked with surrounded Warren in a cyclone that forced the Fiend to kneel, the currents locking his body. He began to gasp, as though his very breath was stolen away.
No one needed an order to attack next, with Lumen leaping over another swipe of Blaise’s claw to bring his blade slicing down Warren. The Fiend staggered, stumbling back through the winds that cut against his backside, but he pulled back his watery whip to block Lumen’s next blow, even as his body bled water that drenched the streets. Lumen engaged him, their swords clanging against one another, and in the distraction, Torry reached Floyd, hoisting him up. Blaise turned to take notice, his claw stomping in the water. To buy them time, she cartwheeled forward, her hand tapping the ground and sending a surge of electricity through it.
“Lumen, break off!” The blond did as asked, pulling his sword back, though receiving a wound on his shoulder for his troubles. It nevertheless got him out of harm’s way before the lightning shocked the entire pool. Blaise yowled with pain, retracting his claw, while Warren’s body smoked. It was all Floyd needed to grip Torry tight and bring them both racing back to their companions. The second they stopped, he dropped, clutching at his ribs. This time, Krysta was able to reach him with her healing light.
“No, don’t use its power, Krysta.”
“If I don’t now, we won’t stand a chance later,” Krysta assured him, pressing to his torso and healing his broken ribs.
Warren recovered just as quickly. He hadn’t expected them to get that kind of drop on him, and with a wave of his hands, the waters of the river rose once again from behind. Torry turned to it, her entire being focused on those cascading waters. She pushed against it, feeling the strain it was taking as she fought against Warren’s own force. Charles ran back for him alongside Lumen, but Warren deflected them both with his blade, having no issues. It made Torry realize all the more that she would never force the waters back down.
She chose to not try.
Clasping both fists, Torry pulled the waters towards her. The force swept into everyone on the bank, but Torry had a specific target in mind. Dragging the element out of Warren’s control, the Fiend was forced to turn his sword into a larger one that deflected both Lumen and Charles. It left Blaise wide open.
“Aqueous Cage!” Blaise was baffled by this turn of events, and he opened his talons to try and pierce the great globe of water that was surrounding his figure. It failed to do so, and he opted for burning it away, only for the water to seal around his figure. Torry snapped, hoping her magic could contain him. “Freeze!”
With a flash, the water turned to ice, encasing the dragon that was troubling them and leaving Warren as the only active force on the field. He tossed off Lumen and Charles, a small flood at his feet giving him distance from them. His sword transformed back and he raised it high into the sky.
“Clever, but not half as clever as you believed. Jet Stream!” The pressurized water ascended into the air, reaching a certain altitude before it broke apart and fell back towards the ground. Torry brought more water out, but the pressurized jets broke through the surface.
“Ah!” One of the needles struck her arm, and another into her foot. She wasn’t bleeding, but there was no denying the blunt force they had, and it only became worse the more that fell. They peppered the ground, breaking apart the stone that remained, cutting into the crystal there. Torry attempted to dodge, as did the others, but they were so numerous and so pointed that it was impossible. One barely missed Torry’s head, and another shot straight through her arm. She nearly bit her tongue in pain.
Worst of all was that each of those needles had chipped away at the ice containing Blaise the dragon, and when just enough had cracked, his wings broke out, shattering the ice. His claw smashed through tile and crystal, now enraged and furious, his next attack indiscriminate. “Purgatory Flame!”
Where his claw struck, a line of fire churned beneath the ground, surging through to where they were all standing. Floyd jumped out to greet it, his own blades wreathed in flame. Once it reached them, the fire exploded in a great column. Floyd met it head on, his fires straining against the black ones produced by Blaise. Blades rattled and ground shook, melting away more and putting everyone else off balance. Sweat dripped into Torry’s eyes, making her already hazy vision worse, and when she managed to wipe it away, Floyd failed in his matchup of fire against fire.
Blaise’s spell overpowered him and the column turned to a wall. Torry threw up a quick measure of water, only for it to evaporate. As though it had been shoved forward, the fiery wall pushed against them and sent them all tumbling back for the river, though its decreased margins had them landing on sand and mud, providing them few footholds to pull themselves up by. Warren walked forward, his armor clanking with his sinister intentions.
“Look at you. Calling yourselves heroes while you let the world waste its way on. By now, you know what a Fiend is. You know what we aim to do. You’re not so different from us; you just weren’t cursed.”
“Why bother explaining things to such heathens?” Blaise growled, his draconic lips turning up with a sneer. “They do not know of hell.”
“We have enough of our own hell,” Walter said in challenge, pulling himself up by his spear. Burns covered parts of his body and his thigh continued to bleed, but he straightened to be as tall as he could be. “We all know what it feels like to be where you Fiends have been.”
“To be sure,” Warren said. The sounds of further battle elsewhere in the city echoed, but neither side allowed it to distract them. “You, yourself, were tormented twice over by the nature of this dual world. Now you stand here, helping a killer you’ve condemned for years! It escapes all reasoning and logic!”
“Nah, you’re just so twisted up in your own logic that thinks you need to kill everybody who’s not just like you that you can’t see how it makes sense,” Floyd said. Krysta was near him, her healing powers helping him to stand and fight, though she clasped to her neck, where more of her body was breaking down. “Thing is, unlike you Fiends, we live and grow. You guys have hundreds of years but are still stuck in the past. We don’t have that long, so we make the most of what we do. We get everything done in the time we do have, whether that’s growing up, finding love, moving on.”
Torry smiled. She had never seen Floyd’s shoulders so broad, or his back so tall as he walked forward to confront Warren. If they weren’t pitched in battle against such powerful forces, she would have told him as much, and part of her wanted to run home to her father and convince him that Floyd was the only one for her. Instead, she took his words to heart and walked forward herself, leading the other four in backing them up. “That’s why we’re here. Because each of us has moved beyond the despair of that Shadow. We’ve learned…heh, we’ve learned to be a little more like Terrill. We’re protecting people, and it starts by taking every Fiend down first.”
“Hah, if you can. Do not think your victory over Clay will make it any more possible. Blaise, kill the girl, keep Lumen alive. I don’t care what you do with the rest. Eat them, if you must.”
“With pleasure.”
Torry refused to give the chance. Blaise opened his maw, the fire swifter than ever, but she was more focused on a different task. Plunging her hands to the ground, the earth shook. After all her combos with Terrill, she knew she could do this properly, and set her mind to do so without uttering a single spell name that could give her idea away. Floyd saw it early enough, grabbing Walter and Charles and stepping aside just as the thick stone slab emerged from the ground, separating Blaise and Warren. It didn’t stop Blaise from firing his molten breath.
“Luster Cannon!” Soon as Torry’s wall was made, she tossed herself on the ground, and from behind pierced a beam of pure light. It met the dragon’s breath, blocking it in a way that Floyd’s fire had not. The two attacks shot towards the sky upon meeting, cancelling each other out but not shaking the wall that had been made.
“Let’s take advantage. Blaise is the brawn, so Floyd and the others will take down the brain. Lumen, surf it!” Flipping on her feet, Torry’s hands washed forward, summoning the river. A breeze blew from behind, carrying the wave as it got larger. When it reached Lumen, the young man jumped upon it, the edges freezing with Torry’s work.
“Get out of the way! I’ll kill the wom-gah!” The wave crashed upon Blaise’s body, his wings crumpling under its force and his draconic body crashing through the homes and storefronts that populated the street. It made him oblivious to Lumen getting above him. His blade shined with great light and he thrust downward.
It drove straight through the scales and Blaise roared with a cry so deafening it shook stone. He thrashed about, Lumen hanging on as best as he could. He didn’t last long when the wound inflicted sprayed cinders that upon touching Lumen ignited into flame. He yanked his sword out and fell off, rolling out of the way of the stomping hindlegs. Torry looked to Krysta, the girl reading her message with a nod.
With Blaise still flailing about, his tail crumbling houses, Torry siphoned the remainder of the wave upwards, while Krysta snapped. More crystal veins stretched up her neck, but shards of light appeared in the air. With a wave of her hands, Torry wrapped the water around the lights and froze them. Krysta pushed them forward, and the frozen shards rained down upon Blaise.
“Hellfire Rain!” Blaise bellowed before the shards reached their destination. His attack hadn’t begun yet, and he was struck by the projectiles, some of which broke through Torry’s own wall, providing a glimpse of the battle taking place on the other side. She had little time to appreciate Blaise’s cries of pain, though, as his claws dug into the earth and it glowed red, but not the same as what Alexander had caused. “Your water can pierce my scales, girl, but the fires of hell burn hotter than all. Your souls shall be incinerated!”
Torry gasped, the soles of her shoes beginning to burn. She stepped back, but found Blaise’s fire had infested the very ground, something that no amount of water was going to prevent. It would only make the battle more difficult. Krysta appeared unaffected, however.
“Burn in your own hell, Fiend.” In Krysta’s hands, she formed her rapier, and with one swift movement, stabbed the ground. On Blaise’s backside, Lumen did the same. “Shining Saber!”
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“Your light is worth nothing! It is a false light!” The light entered the ground, the crystal cracking as it broke apart the very fires that tried to immolate them. Blaise did not leave that as his only attack, his claw coming for Krysta. Torry snapped, a shield of ice intercepting the blow and causing the Fiend to recoil. One of his wings clipped the earthen wall, creating an ever-larger hole where Floyd could be seen.
He was moving fast as Warren attempted to get a lock on him, looking utterly displeased with the three who opposed him. Torry found it fitting, watching as Floyd, who he had manipulated into his greatest regret, zipped around, the whip unable to catch him. Floyd was no longer the fool, and with a fiery purpose, he drove a foot right into Warren’s face. The Fiend cried out, already looking wounded.
“Human form not cutting it, is it? Looks like you Fiends are nothing without your special powers, ‘cause you never learned how to reach your own potential!” The whip came down, snapping away more of the wall, but this one was deflected by Walter, who rushed in, a shield of wind surrounding him and Charles.
Torry returned her attention to Blaise, her feet no longer burned or smoking as Krysta and Lumen’s shockwaves of light met in the center, and with a driving force, pierced through Blaise’s body. It broke his scales, but his nostrils curdled with smoke, which soon billowed outwards, consuming almost all visibility of his body. The orange glow from within was the only hint of an attack that roared outwards for the two girls. They fell aside, and Torry felt the heat on her ankle, until she looked down and saw that the flesh was burnt. She resisted the urge to squeal; there was no need to distract the others in battle, particularly as she saw Charles get bound by Warren’s whip and slammed down again.
“Learning and growing? No, you all revert to your old tendencies.” Warren yanked up, suspending Charles in midair before them. Torry flicked her eyes between their battle and Blaise, wondering the dragon’s next move, only to see the tail come hurtling out of the smoke. She tried to run, but found the burn on her ankle made it unbearably painful. The tail caught her, its spike driving into her abdomen with a scream. “Hear that? The sound of the girl you threw it all away to save. Will you not run to her? And will you not kill the man who made it all possible? I know you still harbor that hatred. Holding a grudge for many centuries tells much of man’s greatest demons.”
“You would know about being a demon,” Walter said with a chuckle. Torry’s hand felt for her abdomen, bleeding now, and sure to leave a scar, but she could feel the increased wind speed. “Yes, I do hold hatred, but I also know choice. I choose to not give in the way you did, and let him make his own choices to try and earn forgiveness. I won’t let him die so easily.”
“And I trust Torry, the same way she trusts me. The same way Terrill trusted all of us. So, you can shut the hell up!” Torry couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out from her. It hurt, but hearing Floyd’s faith in her made her hand grip on her wall, holding up for another swinging tail. This time, she tapped the wall, but instead of earth, icicles jutted out, impaling the tail before it could reach her. On the other side, Floyd spun his daggers, the flames wildly spraying, buoyed by Walter’s wind.
“Ah, I love that man…” Torry groaned out, pleased to see Blaise’s writhing. She could feel Floyd’s heat, and soon the steam that mixed with the smoke to cover Priscus in a veiling mist. It wasn’t enough to stop Floyd, whose burning outline could be seen flying through the cover, supported by Walter’s wind. His excess speed put force behind his blazing kick, and with it, he nailed Warren in the stomach. The Fiend held for a moment, or must have, because after a couple seconds, he was sent flying out of the mist, his whip broken. He landed atop the bridge, but the three did not pursue.
“Warren!” Blaise boomed, twisting his massive body around. Torry ducked, the wings just missing her as they broke through the barrier. With a slide, Krysta and Lumen reached Torry, the former hoping to heal her, but there being no time to. The second wing was coming around, walloping all three of them as the tail nailed Floyd, Walter and Charles. The latter attempted to block the blow, but all six of them were spent spiraling for the river.
Flying through the air, Torry could see Warren coming to a stand on the bridge, his body smoking and bleeding water. He looked furious, and the waters rippled around him. His form bubbled and began to shift, marking a change in how serious he was taking the fight. Torry took action, twisting around and angling herself to hit the water first. Before she could, she touched to it, a quick spell taking effect and freezing the river. The others landed on it, some rolling along and others managing to stay upright. They all scrambled to do it, particularly when there was the outburst of energy from Warren’s body.
The water erupted like a geyser around Warren, splitting the bridge in two. His form undulated within, and Torry knew what would come next. The Fiends were playing for keeps now, and knowing that, she backed up, feeling herself against Floyd. Krysta was on her other side, and forming a circle with them were the last of their group. A mighty hurricane almost pitched them over, Torry watching as Blaise took to the skies before her eyes looked to Warren, emerging from the typhoon now overtaking the streets. Rain fell on them, some of it as cold as ice, but it didn’t stop Warren from being visible in his snakelike form. He slithered off of the bridge, hitting the ice and breaking it with his tail.
“Tidal Glacier.” The command was a simple, but very effective, one. His hands had created twin swords that cut at the ice, turning it into a growing tidal wave. Not just on one side, either, for when Torry turned, she saw another wave coming from behind, leaving all six to balance on a single ice floe that spun in the wake of the growing wave. Worse yet was that the twister Warren had formed was tossing more pieces of ice in their direction that Walter sent away while Floyd attempted to deflect. In all of the madness, Warren slithered beneath the surface of the water, and with a piercing roar, Blaise came at them from above, his jaw alight with flame.
“Crap… There’s no way we can outspeed them both,” Floyd said, his body’s steam slowly eroding away the platform they were on. He was slowing, too, and Torry knew he was cursing himself for being unable to move faster.
“Longer this goes on, the worse off we are, too. Clay was challenge enough,” Walter said. His winds were petering out. They were each reaching the end of their magical reserves, and they still had a fight ahead of them. “I don’t know if we can handle two Fiends.”
“Then leave it to me,” Krysta said, motioning for them to huddle together on the ice. The waves had crested, and beneath the surface, the shadow of Warren approached. It was a two-pronged attack with nowhere to run. Torry bit her lip, questioning whatever Krysta planned to do, and thought of just taking Floyd’s hands to melt the waves, as useless an option as that was. Krysta had words for her, as if reading her mind. “This place is a font of light that I can use. If we can weaken them enough, I can finish them off with one blow.”
“If we can manage that. Take cover!” Charles shouted. Their backs pressed against each other and the waves came crashing down. They held what weapons they had in its direction, as if it could fight nature, but accepted the inevitable result.
Said result turned out to be their piece of ice set adrift by the colliding waves, with no damage done to them as a translucent bubble emerged around them. When Krysta began to drop to pass out, Lumen and Walter noticing and moving to support her back, it became obvious how.
It didn’t stop the assault from above or below.
“Brace!” came the shout, and all of them heeded. The fire rolled out, striking the barrier that Krysta struggled to uphold, even while Lumen chose to feed his own magical energy to the cycle. Blaise did not stop coming, intending to rip through the barrier with his claws, and Torry saw Warren’s great blades come soaring upwards.
Timed so as to strike simultaneously, the Fiends struck the barrier, scales and steel attempting to penetrate it. At this, Krysta smiled.
“Burst.” It was the only word she needed to utter, and the five of them gripped tight to one another. The shield cracked, becoming transparent, but not from failing in its defense. Instead, it was turned to offense, as each crack glowed, the ground glowing with it, the skies growing darker. Then the shield exploded, like painful shards of light that embedded themselves in each of the Fiends to send them flying backwards.
Blaise’s wing was crippled, and Warren hissed with pain as he was flung out of the water and back on the banks. Their group wasn’t safe, either, not with the debris of the bridge floating in the water and hitting their ice, which was already beginning to crack. It wasn’t helped by how fast the Fiends were recovering. Floyd bent low, and Torry saw his steam dissipate, replaced with his hands turning blue.
“Floyd, you don’t need to slow this down. I can refreeze.”
“Save your magic for what’s needed. You’re the best magic force we have, Torry,” Floyd assured her, looking up with his ever-cocksure grin. “Trust in me.”
“And all of us!” Walter roared. His spear was surrounded with a squall that he used to launch himself upwards, towards Blaise. The fire came for him, but he spun his weapon, the wind rotating in such a way that it began to spin the fire out of Blaise’s control, dispersing it entirely. “We’re not in this alone. Each of us has our role! Lumen! Charles! I trust you!”
“Spare me your flowery sentiments!” Warren said in a booming voice. Water spouted beneath him, carrying him towards their current location, his blades becoming an even larger whip. Walter began to fall, but he whirled his spear around and lobbed it straight for Warren, piercing the snake body of the Fiend. He cried out.
“It’s not flowery. It’s faith, so that creatures like you are never born again!”
“Born again? We are ever born again!” Blaise screeched, only for Walter’s winds to buffet him. He tried to beat his wings, but like Warren, was held in paralysis by the rotating gales. The immobilization enraged him. “Who do you think you are? You’re not special! Not one chosen by fate! You’re just like that fool, Eric North, thinking your blessing can allow you to fight Fiends. But he died a failure! Alone!”
Krysta whipped a glare to him, bringing a brighter light than any she had manifested before, only to see that the Fiends were to be intercepted.
“Except we’re not alone!” Lumen had broken away a piece of ice, and Torry saw for where he was aiming. She pushed the waters to bring him to Warren as Walter sent Charles rocketing for Blaise’s side. “So, we won’t fail!”
“We’ll not permit you to, boy!” Warren recovered enough to bring his mighty, watery blade into a clash with Lumen. The boy grit his teeth, pushing back against the power of the Fiend, his fist shining with a light. Up above, Charles avoided a claw, landing upon it and leaping for the dragon’s back. He slashed down, and Torry understood their plan. She locked eyes with Floyd as Warren continued to speak. “No matter who wins in their fight, we will see ourselves freed, and this world punished!”
The sword broke through Lumen’s defenses, setting him adrift, only for him to leap. His momentum carried him forward, and with a shining fist, he punched Warren’s jaw, throwing him upwards. At the same time, Charles slashed through Blaise’s wing and claws, a strong kick sending him flying to where his form met Warren’s.
“Torry, go!” Floyd took his hands away, done holding together the ice as their trio of companions fell, plunging into the freezing water. His whole limb burned up, and Torry felt him reach for her. “It won’t be long, but only you can make it. Acceleration Burn: Aura!”
“Floyd…?” Torry’s quizzical look drew laughter from Floyd, even as his legs turned to jelly. Her body felt hot, more than it ever had before, and she felt every vein open up, her body becoming fast. Warren and Blaze growled and roared, attempting to untangle their forms, and she knew she couldn’t question it. Floyd thought so, too.
“I can’t just stay selfish. I gotta give something, too. Hit ‘em with everything!” Floyd grabbed her, one hand behind him. Flames rocketed out, sending the pair of them flying high for the Fiends. Upon reaching their apex, he let Torry go, and she kicked off of him. Her increased speed sent her farther than she could have dreamed, and while she did, her hands reached for every element in the vicinity.
Stones gathered together into a tight orb, before that was covered in flames to become a meteor. Wind surrounded it, and water rose to swirl in conjunction. The spell grew larger and larger, drawing all of her magical energy into this one spot. It was magic, pure and simple, everything she had built for in life.
A spell even she didn’t know… Torry said to herself, combining those elements together until she no longer could, and her body started to drop. Blaise finally kicked Warren off, but not enough to gain distance, and not fast enough to avoid Torry’s sped-up body. She flung her spell forward, its whirling motion gathering all the elements from the air to its focal point. “Elemental Fusion!”
“That spell!” Warren shouted, but could not avoid. The attack struck both, pulling them inwards like a well of gravity, and then ripping apart with great force. Torry fell down towards the river with satisfaction, watching as every element ripped and battered at the Fiends. Just Warren was able to recover, drawing his massive, aqueous blade and cutting through some of the elements, only for a shining light on the last remaining piece of ice to grab his attention. He angled the blade down to cut Krysta in two. “No matter how many elements you have, and no matter how much strength you possess, you cannot defeat us, lowly humans!”
Krysta’s eyes flashed as Torry hit the water, showcasing the weight of strength and wisdom behind her thousands of years. The words that accompanied such a glare were just as cold and biting as a giant bow of light manifested, nocked with multiple arrows. “Try again, pitiful Fiend. You’ll not manipulate them any longer. Shining Barrage!”
The crystal around the city glowed, and Torry could swear to it getting thinner as Krysta let loose the arrow. Warren’s blade could not cleave it, and with widened eyes, his chest was pierced, just as Blaise’s torso was. The fire in his throat and belly died in an instant with the shriek. Another arrow fired, this one ramming through both of them and carrying their forms to the other side of the city, where they crashed through more houses. Krysta tightened her fist. The light exploded in a cloud.
Nothing more stirred.
Torry waited, wondering if the Fiends would recover from the blow and attack once again, but after a minute of waiting, there was no sign, and she righted herself in the water. The boys were already swimming to the opposite embankment, but Torry looked to Krysta, who had completely fallen over, her other arm nearly crystal.
“Krysta, hold on!” Torry swam over with a large breaststroke, reaching her friend. The girl felt cool to the touch, but not from the frigid waters. It worried Torry, and she hooked Krysta’s arm around her. The older blonde was barely moving as Torry cut a path through the water, and when she reached the other side, Floyd and Walter were there to pick her up. She instantly sought to roll up Krysta’s pantleg, seeing that the crystallization had progressed significantly, almost at her knees.
“I can…still…go on…” Krysta groaned, pushing up from the ground with one hand. “Just a little further and I can…restore my energy…”
“Krysta, you push too far and there’ll be nothing left of you!” Floyd argued, holding her up when she staggered. Krysta pushed him off, shuffling forward to the row of ruined houses, though her eyes were drawn to the larger buildings.
“I need to do this. I need to know.” Every step brought further strength to her gait, yet betrayed her weakness. Torry chased after her, right onto grass that rested on a lonely island, a solitary building standing there.
“What in the…?” The space flickered, like some sort of bizarre projection, back and forth between the island and the city. Behind them, Lumen gasped, gripping his heart and falling over. All of it was met with callous laughter that soon became a hacking cough.
As the city restored itself, the island fading away, Torry looked into the buildings to see Blaise and Warren lying there, unable to move, disappearing into the air with their elements. “Adversa and Dimidia…are nearly one… They’re beginning to overlap…”
“What, so you think you’ve won?” Torry asked. Blaise scoffed.
“There is no winning…so long as the goddess…has her way…” He raised a hand towards the burning sun, as if he could grasp it, but his strength gave out first. “But I will defy her… I will…”
Blaise faded into mere sparks, leaving just Warren, staring at them with disdain and amusement. “You cannot win. If the Lifebloods fade, then humanity as you know it will be gone, but if you keep the cycle intact, then we will be born again and again. Fate will win out. As it always does.”
“Then I’ll beat it!” Krysta screamed. It was taking every effort she had to keep standing, her knees knocking together and her legs buckling. “I’ll make the world whole, and I’ll bless the whole world if I have to.”
“And that, too, is fate…” Warren chuckled once more, spluttering water as his body had nearly transformed. “I’ll have no part of it… Fate is just…pain.”
His body transformed into water, splashing on the floor before it dried up under the sun.
Only Golbrucht was left for them to confront. Terrill would have to take care of Winifred, the din of battle indicating he had crossed over to this part of the city.
Krysta didn’t care about any of that, steeling her emotions and picking herself up to take strides across the city. Hoping to not have Adversa begin bleeding through again, Torry gave chase, with the others behind. Only Lumen was slow, supported by Charles, and the girl began to fear for what kind of omen it portended.
She had her answer very soon as they finished wending their way through the silent streets to the library, a large chunk of the stone walls sheared away, and on the ground was Atrum, clasping his chest with a bloody wound.
Standing above him was Alexander, the man’s staff pinning his throat. On their approach, he looked up, and offered a welcoming grin. At least, it was welcoming to one of them. “Welcome back, my Lifeblood of Light. It has been too long. Let us begin.”