Something was wrong! 

Sweat beaded Matthew’s forehead as he struggled to keep maintaining the spiritual flame burning over Jennifer’s chest.  A soul flame was a difficult magic for him to use, consuming massive amounts of his limited mana pool, and he’d never imagined that he’d have to try and hold the spell for so long.  Rebecca had only taken moments for the flames to mark her spirit for Hel’s judgement, but he’d been standing here for what had felt like an eternity now, waiting for the ritual to complete with Jennifer.

Only stubborn resolve and pure willpower was keeping him from passing out and collapsing in a wasted heap as his mana reserves went lower and lower – and then eventually ran out completely!  It was too important to hold the ritual until it was finished – if he stopped it in the middle of the ritual, Jennifer’s soul could be burnt, cracked, or even destroyed utterly!

Having no other recourse, Matthew began to make the greatest sacrifice that a caster could – he started to use his very life to keep going!

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His blue mana gauge completely depleted, the red bar which represented his life slowly began to go down as beads of pure blood began to sweat from his forehead, leaving blackish-red stains as it slowly dripped down his face.  Every moment spent trying to maintain the spell was a struggle of will and determination now, and Matthew knew it was only a matter of time before his strength gave out completely and he collapsed – but he was going to fight to prevent that for as long as he possibly could!   

Moment after agonizing moment passed.  Matthew bled.  He screamed out in agony.  His veins swelled and burst, forced to supply the energy to maintain his magic beyond their limits.  Stubborn willpower carried him to the edge of his human limits – and then beyond!

But, it wasn’t enough.

His green bar of stamina, blue bar of mana, and red bar of health had all been completely exhausted.  Darkness washed over Matthew’s mind and he collapsed, crumpling in a bloody heap, landing unceremoniously atop Rebecca’s still sleeping form.

For whatever reason, he hadn’t managed to complete the ritual, and for the first time in a long time, Matthew had failed.