Below, the two armies clashed. Blades clanged. War cries rang out. More powerful than ordinary soldiers, the darkfoe crashed into the ranks of the other armies and tore them apart. The armies retreated, panicked, no one to rally around. Brittany shouted, trying to gather their attention, but a quick jab at Clarita’s flank distracted her, and the last scrap of command vanished. The armies dissolved into panicked knots, each trying desperately to defend against the horribly-powerful darkfoe.

At their head, Sabelyn scythed through the armies. Each swing of her arms took out a dozen soldiers. Each slash of her tentacle-hair took out a dozen more. She laughed, wading through bodies, as she marched into the armies alone. “Is this all? Is this what I spent so long afraid of? I should have conquered you long ago!”

“Felix! Help!” Brittany shouted, parrying a blow from Sabelyn’s arms.

No assistance poured down from the heavens. She bit her lip grimly and patted Clarita. “We fight alone.”

--

“Twain!” Felix shouted.

The blade slid out of his hands and fell past Reihann’s flank. He stumbled backward. Plunged off her side.

Felix reached out and caught him. Magic burned around his body, strengthening him, as he drew Twain into his arms and held him tight. “Why? Why?”

“Why, dammit? You just had to stab him! Just one man!” Xenozar raged, furious. “I was so close! All those years, so close!”

Ignoring Xenozar, Twain reached out and patted Felix’s hair. Blood stained the golden-brown strands. “You…”

Felix knelt closer. Tears shimmered in his eyes. “Please, don’t go.”

“You can end this. You can… kill Xenozar. End the blight… forever.” Twain coughed. Blood bubbled up on his lips.

“Stay with me!” Felix pressed a hand to Twain’s chest. Healing light burned against his flesh, stronger than he’d ever felt before.

The blight ate it all. Too tainted. I’m too filthy to be healed. Twain put a hand on Felix’s and pushed it away. “I can’t—Felix, listen. You can end this.”

“Twain, no! I don’t care! Not if you’re gone,” Felix sobbed.

“The blight. It formed when… magic, taken out. To make… Mage-Emperor. If you… put it back, it might…” His eyes blurred. His lips kept moving, but no sound came out. The world pressed down on him, so cold, so heavy.

Twain blinked slowly. So I guess… this is the end. If Felix can destroy the blight, once and for all, then… then it’s all worth it. Though I would have liked to—

Warmth. Warmth, suffusing his body. It chased out the blight, eradicated it, and forced his wounds shut.

Twain blinked. He looked down.

Felix bent over his chest, both hands over the slowly-closing wound on Twain’s chest. He poured all his magic into Twain—not a spell, but pure, raw magic. The opposite of blight.

“No! You have to—you can’t waste that on me! Use it on Xenozar!” Twain demanded.

“No!” Felix replied petulantly.

“Felix! This is about the world!” Twain shouted.

Felix glared at him. “You are my world!”

“I—” Twain stopped short. A thought occurred to him, and he glanced down at the castle below, then back at Felix. He smiled to himself. “Alright, fine! I’ll be the world. Not just your world, but everyone’s!”

Felix frowned at him.

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Twain reached out a hand to the castle and cast the purification spell, but only the first part. The first step of the purification spell, the part where he drew all the blight into himself. Black rushed up from the castle, from the army. The rain poured down on him, soaking him in blight.

“Twain! Are you trying to die?” Felix shouted, aghast.

Reihann curled her neck back on herself to look at him skeptically.

“Keep doing it! Keep pouring your magic into me!” Twain shouted back. I can do this! It would take ages, otherwise, but if I can absorb all the blight in the world, and Felix can destroy it, then in one fell swoop, we can purify this entire world of blight forever!

“You’re insane!” Felix replied, but with a small grin on his face. He put his hands against Twain’s chest and pushed harder. Magic fought back the blight. Where the two met, they nullified, destroying one another in the clash.

The darkfoe army below slowed its charge. Darkfoe turned back into humans. Sabelyn stopped in her mad rush as her strength drained away. She stared as her hands turned pink and fleshy once more. “What—what is this?”

“Your foolish plan, falling apart!” Brittany declared, a bright smile on her face. She raised her sword and batted Sabelyn in the head with the flat, then collected her unconscious body onto Clarita’s rump. Her smile turned evil, and she patted Sabelyn’s body. “We’ll make sure you get good and punished later, princess.”

More and more blight poured into Twain. The world around them brightened. The rain stopped, and the skies opened up, letting sun out into the world. The blight moved slower, less of it reaching Twain. Resistance met his probes. He reached out, feeling the shape of the resistance, then turned to Felix. “Release the Barrier.”

“The—the Barrier? But—”

“We have to eradicate all the blight in the world, not just the blight inside the Barrier!” Twain grit back. “Hurry! I can’t last forever!”

“Got it!” Felix frowned. The pace of magic surging into Twain fell, and the blight bit into him again, torturing him as horribly as it could. He bit his lip against the pain.

With the sound of glass shattering, the Barrier burst.

Blight poured into Twain, faster than it ever had before. He coughed and spat up blood, blood laced with black.

“Twain!” Felix shouted, scared.

“Keep going! We can do this!” Twain replied, brows furrowed in determination.

“No!” Xenozar burst out of the castle and charged at the two of them. His blond hair swirled around him, long and flat, eyes narrowed, snake-eyed pupils vicious. He clawed, and a claw of black flew through the air at them.

Reihann dipped her wings and dodged. The claw sought after them, refusing to miss. Felix tensed, bracing for impact.

Twain reached out and absorbed the claw. A blast of blight slammed into him, and he winced, then pressed on. I can do this! I can end it all!

“I won’t let you! For so long, I waited! For so long—”

“You didn’t want to blight the world,” Twain said.

Xenozar stopped midair. “I—”

“You wanted to have friends. You wanted to live like the rest of us. If you didn’t, then why create the dark races? But the blight kept you apart.” Twain held a hand out to Xenozar. “Let me purify you. Then, at last, you can walk among us, as an equal, not as a Dark King to be feared.”

“I…” Xenozar laughed. “I am a being made of blight. I have no place in your purified world.”

“Then—”

He waved his hand. “Mortals would never understand. I only hated the gods, never you. Hated the gods for creating me, something only made to be destroyed.” He turned his eyes upward, and anger flashed through them. “But… they remain beyond my reach.”

“Spite them, then. Spite them by refusing to fight. Spite them by refusing to be evil,” Twain replied.

Xenozar shook his head. “You are a sweet talker. Charmed even the Mage-Emperor, didn’t you?”

“Xenozar. I mean it,” Twain replied.

“I know you do. I know. I made your race. I know your strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. Know your sincerity better than anyone.” Xenozar bowed his head. “Even though it’s impossible, you’ll try to find a way for me to live alongside everyone.”

“Of course,” Twain vowed.

“My lovely moon-elves. So pure. So beautiful. You were the first to leave me. But… is it alright if I believe? Just this once?”

Twain held his hand out to Xenozar. “It’s all up to you.”

“You are my oracle. The one to show us the way,” Xenozar laughed. “It was nonsense when I said it, but now I wonder.” He reached out and took Twain’s hand.

Xenozar crumbled, slowly. The furthest parts of him went first, his hair, his rear hand, his back leg, but it spread rapidly. His body faded to black, then vanished into Twain to be purified. Last to go, his hand turned to dust in Twain’s and blew away on the wind.

Farewell, my child.

--

Felix collapsed. The last light of magic faded from his hands as the last black blot of blight faded from Twain’s body. “It’s all gone. I’m empty.”

Twain caught him. “It’s alright. It’s over. The blight is gone, forever. Thanks to you.”

“Thanks… to us,” Felix corrected weakly.

“Yeah. Thanks to us.”

Sounds of battle faded. The human soldiers gave up their weapons and surrendered. The other armies busied themselves collecting the soldier’s weapons and tying them up, while Brittany paraded around with Sabelyn on Clarita’s rear, showing off her prize to all sides. Beside her, Gawain hopped up to get a better look. Eleda caught him looking and waved. Twain laughed at the sight of it all, then closed his eyes, exhausted. He patted Felix’s back and sighed.

Reihann drifted on the updrafts, barely flapping her wings. She peered over her shoulder at the two sleeping on her back and smiled quietly.