Kirstin collapsed to the ground, sweat pouring off her in waves.

Her breaths were coming in ragged gasps, and she thought her health was about as low as she had ever known it. That she had a pretty vivid memory of dying quite recently made that recognition even more sobering. And all of that was notwithstanding the throbbing headache of mana exhaustion, which threatened to split her head entirely in two.

"No. Not quite. You pulled out too quickly. Go again."

Through bloodshot eyes, she could just make out Eliud standing a little to her left. She knew he was very conscious of the image he projected to others, so she assumed he was noisily munching an apple to make himself seem even more objectionable.

"I could eat him?" Savage bumped her head against Kirstin's own, causing a cascade of agony to run through the girl's soul.

"Tempting thought. Could you, though?"

Savage purred for a few moments, then yowled with dissatisfaction, going through a complicated stretching routine as she did so. "Probably not, actually. I sense he would cause . . . indigestion."

"You both do realise I can hear you, right? And, in any event, I am not sure how I am the bad guy in this particular situation. Should our little Celestial Harbinger have been capable of mastering this most facile of techniques, we would already be on our way. It is hardly my fault she is proving to be singularly disappointing in using her Class."

Kirstin sat up and then instantly regretted it. Her head swam, and she felt her stomach lurch up her throat. "No, stop. My ego cannot take the constant stroking."

"Take it from someone who whole civilisations have dedicated themselves to the stroking of his ego; it gets old fast." Eliud threw the core of his apple at the centre of the portal, where it exploded into a mist of juice. "I can compliment you on the sincerity of your efforts if you would like? However, the fact you've still not shorted out the portal's defences means we are no closer to saving Genoes. Perhaps it is just that I have impossibly high standards, but I thought I'd hold off on the standing ovation until - I don't know - you actually achieve something worth celebrating?"

"How bad would the indigestion be?" Kirstin found herself muttering to her cat.

*

The plan, such as it was, was reasonably straightforward.

As a Celestial Harbinger, Kirstin had a Skill that allowed her to, ever so slightly, phase out of time. Although was primarily a defensive Skill that would allow blades and projectiles to pass straight through her, Eliud theorised they could use the Skill's unusual properties to overload the defences that the Dark God had put around the portal.

His thinking was that should she stand within the portal, with active, she could trigger, but also avoid, an overwhelming volume of defensive countermeasures. Assuming that nothing was infinite in this world, Eliud had posited that the defences would - in relatively short order - be drained dry, allowing the rest of the group to pass through in safety.

So far, though, it had not been working out like that. The sense of wrongness Kirstin experienced when stood within the portal was so acute - and the pain of keeping that overwhelming feeling at bay so horrendous - that Kirstin was almost immediately forced to retreat.

Eliud offered a hand and pulled Kirstin upright, refreshing her health and mana with a careless wave. "Look, I'm not saying you're not trying your hardest; it's just - well - you must improve your resolve. Substantially so."

"Did you want to give it a go?" Kirstin snapped back. "Have you any idea what it feels like to try to hold that Skill open in the middle of that portal? It's like the Goddess herself is trying to remove me from time. If I step out, it's because it feels as if I would cease to exist unless I do!"

"Speaking as the only one of us a god has actually tried to remove from existence, I just want to flag the hyperbole there. I am sure it is very uncomfortable, but no one ever said being a hero was all sunshine and rainbows, my dear. I had thought you were built of sterner stuff."

Josul barked sharply, causing Eliud to glance down. The oversized lap dog growled and then barked again, showing glittering white teeth. The Pendragon sighed and then pressed his finger and thumb down on the bridge of his nose.

"Fine." The Pendragon turned his purple eyes to Kirstin. "I'm told I am being unnecessarily unpleasant." The dog barked again. "Fine. Kirstin, I am sorry for pushing you so hard. I spoke out of turn in questioning your commitment to the cause. Will you forgive me?"

Kirstin glanced at Josul, whose tongue was now hanging out in an entirely human expression of happiness. "Sure. You are forgiven."

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"Happy now?" Eliud directed a half-hearted kick at the dog, which it dodged with an effortless bound, yapping as it did so.

"In truth, though, I am truly sorry," he added to Kirstin. "It is not with you that I am frustrated, but rather myself. I feel keenly the passing of time on this quest. It feels like every moment we waste here on this side of the damned portal, success slips further away from our grasp."

"You think Genoes is in danger?"

"Genoes. Daine. Taelsin. The West." Eliud's face darkened with each word. "I cannot shake the feeling we are being kept away from events that require our attention. I fear we are choosing Genoes over other, arguably more weighty, matters."

"You are suggesting we abandon him?"

"No. Not for an instant. Merely that we do need to move forward with alacrity." Eliud moved over to the portal and dropped to his haunches, rolling up the sleeve of his robe to expose his bare arm.

The passage into the realm of the Dark God had taken on a slick, oily texture since they had first attempted to cross through. Standing within it, even wearing her , made Kirstin feel profoundly unclean as if the Dark God himself was stroking her face.

With a shudder, the Pendragon reached forward and thrust his whole arm into the middle of the yawning wound.

The response was instant and much the same as it had been before. The moment Eliud's hand touched the greasy surface of the portal, there was a sizzle of burning skin, and his flesh began to bubble. However, this time, Eliud did not withdraw, but—brow furrowing with concentration—he activated one of his healing Skills and sought to weather the massive damage it caused him.

The smell alone was horrific.

Kirstin watched, appalled, as the Duskstrider's arm was reduced to a smoking wreck, repaired, and then incinerated again. The scene played out over and over again without any noticeable change in the nature of the portal.

Then Josul was at Eliud's side, pressing his right paw on top of his master's hand. The dog growled softly as its own fur was burned away, but he did not pull back, even as Kirstin realised the bones of Josul's leg had become exposed by the attack.

Strain appeared on Eliud's face as he began to heal the dog, too. His voice, when he spoke, though, was calm. "It's not a question of power, you understand? I can keep the healing up for as long as I want - although why I would want to go through this any longer than I need to is a rather open question at this stage. However, while I do not have limits on my mana, I have often found there are only so many things I can focus on at any time."

The sizzle and hiss of burning flesh - human and animal - was a horrendous counterpoint to his even tone. "I could, for example, probably stop either of us feeling the pain, but then it would be hard to identify what needed to be repaired. Sometimes, things hurt because they need our attention. It is often only through a significantly unpleasant experience that we are able to grow. You would be wise to remember that."

"I don't understand what you want me to do!" Kirstin felt the edge of hysteria creep into her voice. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it!"

Savage jumped off Kirstin's shoulder, hopped onto Josul's back, and crept down onto the dog's head. Hesitantly, she reached out to place her own paw on top of the dogs, hissing at the damage the portal inflicted.

Man, dog and cat were now breaching the portal's surface, and each was paying a terrible price.

"The theory is sound. The Dark God does not have so much power - certainly not with so many of his pieces in play - to make this an impregnable entrance to his realm. He has, though, made the price of entry very high." Eliud scowled briefly as his control slipped, and three of his fingers vanished in a puff of smoke. He quickly rebuilt them, but Kirstin was alarmed to see sweat forming on his forehead.

Had she ever seen him lose his composure in such a manner before?

When he next spoke, his words were clipped with pain. "I need you to try again, Kirstin. I know it hurts, and I would shield you from that if I could, but the path to progress is not meant to be easy. Between the three of us - " he nodded at Josul and Savage - "given long enough, we can probably drain enough of the malevolence away to get through. But I cannot promise something catastrophic will not happen to those we care about whilst we wait. We need you to play your part."

Without another word, Kirstin stepped forward, dragged all three of them out of the portal and activated .

*

Kirstin hovered in the heart of darkness, her form flickering like a distant star. The swirling vortex around her was a chaotic maelstrom of energy, seeking to reduce her to ash. Yet, within her , she remained out of time, phasing just beyond the portal's lethal power.

Her Cloak enveloped her in a shimmering, translucent veil, shifting in hues of deep purples and blues that, she realised with shock, were almost the mirror of Eliud's eyes.

As before, each pulse of the portal's destructive energy brushed against her skin but seemed unable to grasp her presence in the way it had the others. However, the effort to remain intangible was monumental, and Kirstin felt the strain on every fibre of her being.

Once again, her mana drained rapidly. However, with the smell of rendered flesh still in the air, she refused to step out once the exhaustion began.

As the moments ticked by, though, it was as if began to consume her life force to maintain its protective barrier. Beads of blood formed on her forehead. It was not sweat that bathed her now but her very essence. The exhaustion was profound; her bones trembled and fractured under the weight of the sustained magic. Yet her mind focused on the face of Genoes, blocking out the fear and fatigue. She had promised to find him, and she would not allow a little - a little! - pain distract her from that.

Each second stretched into an eternity as she held her ground, the portal's energy raging impotently around her. But Kirstin could feel her mana reserves dwindling, a ticking clock counting down the moments until she was sure her would falter. And which stage she doubted even Eliud could reconstitute the dust she would be reduced to . . .

Then there was a loud shattering, as if a thousand mirrors had exploded into shards, and Eliud's arms wrapped comfortingly around her.

"That'll do, girl. That'll do."

Kirstin pushed him away, sure he was about to be swallowed up by the fire of the Dark God's wrath, but then she realised there was no pain.

No crushing pressure.

What was more, a notification floated in her vision.

has advanced to Level 2. You have gained a threshold bonus.

Kirstin barely had a moment to consider what that might mean when consciousness slipped away. For once, she welcomed its silent embrace.