Nýchta took deep and evenly paced breaths as Nionyn walked up to her.

[Agnófós, coat our blades in your light.] She said and, after shattering into countless pieces, one of the eight streaks of light around her wrist made its way towards her daggers and Nionyn's sword.

“A blessing from the gods?”

“No. Although it will help us cut through the dark fog ahead.”

“I see. Well, many thanks. Now, let us finish this!”

Nýchta nodded while raising her daggers alongside Nionyn who raised his sword.

He then charged head first towards the remnants of the man once known as Agnótis.

However, just as Nionyn took his first steps, Agnótis dashed towards him with a frightening speed.

His steps were quick, his stance low, his shield raised and his spear poised. His body, although ethereal, was covered only in the many scars his brothers had given him before he fell.

Nýchta rushed forward to assist Nionyn who swung his sword towards the approaching Agnótis only for the Fallen Legend to charge forward and bash him with his shield.

Nionyn fell backward but before Agnótis could raise his spear to stab the falling swordsman, Nýchta charged forward with her daggers raised.

Agnótis saw this and bashed her with his shield, sending her crashing into the mud.

“AARRGGH!” Nionyn yelled while crawling onto his feet.

He then charged towards Agnótis again and this time, when the Legend tried shield bashing him, he took it with his shoulder.

“Nýchta!” He cried prompting Nýchta to frantically slither towards Agnótis, who tried stabbing Nionyn repeatedly, even stabbing through his dark shield, but Nionyn used his sword to deflect the spear.

Nýchta threw herself forward and stabbed Agnótis in both sides of the neck in an attempt to decapitate him and although this would have been fatal on even the Fallen in the swamps below, Agnótis let go of his shield and used his freed arm to punch Nýchta in the face before dashing away.

Nionyn rushed to Nýchta's side as she got up.

He then joined her in watching Agnótis as he held his spear upright with both hands.

Swirls of corruption then started gathering around him in an area that covered the entire cliffside.

The vortex of darkness around him grew taller, reaching even the clouds above and it generated winds that threatened to lift Nýchta away but she lowered herself all while Nionyn stood completely upright.

Nýchta gasped upon seeing, swirling within the vortex, countless faces.

They all let out low, pained howls as they gathered around Agnótis who tapped the ground with his spear and this seemingly forced all of the darkness into his spear which now burnt black with a near palpable amount of malice.

He then raised it and pointed it at Nýchta and Nionyn who responded by charging towards him.

[Agnófós, Grant my ally and I two of your Sacred Bubbles!]

Countless wisps of white light gathered around Nýchta and Nionyn in the form of a bubble.

“This will only protect us from the darkness of one of his strikes!”

“Alright!” Nionyn nodded while rushing towards Agnótis with a raised sword.

Agnótis swung his spear backwards a bit and, in an act that shook the air, he swung it towards his opponents, sending out a wave of darkness.

Nýchta crawled onto her belly while still slithering forward and Nionyn charged ever forward.

The wave hit him but thanks to the bubble of light, which shattered upon impact, he remained mostly unharmed and, upon getting close to Agnótis, he swung his sword down only for the Legend to deflect it with his spear and kick Nionyn in the stomach.

Nýchta rushed in to finish cutting off his head which stood only by the strands of flesh around his spine.

He glared at her and swung his spear but she, along with her serpents, hissed at him before slithering through him.

She then turned around and tried finally chopping off his head but he let out an inaudible cry sending forth a wave of darkness that sent Nýchta flying backwards, shattering her bubble in the process.

She quickly got up and glanced at a distant Agnótis to find five Elite Fallen gathered around him only they stood completely still.

Nýchta let out a frustrated groan before rushing back to Nionyn’s side as he poised himself for battle.

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It’s here that she noticed that Agnótis was using his spear to stand and the flame it previously had was dead.

“Of course he would use such a tactic.” Nionyn coughed.

“I don't suppose you have a viable strategy to deal with those five? Because, as much as I hate to admit, I don’t think we’ll be able to just run in and cut them to pieces, hehe.”

Nýchta scanned her six opponents.

“I have a plan but we need to see just how much of Agnótis’ strength remains.”

“So…?”

“We rush in and try to hit them but be careful.”

“Alright! Forward, then!” Nionyn yelled before yet again charging forward.

Nýchta following closely behind him and watched keenly as he swung to attack the foremost Elite Fallen.

As she suspected, the foremost Fallen blocked Nionyn’s attack and the other Fallen tried attacking him but he carefully backed away.

This allowed Nýchta to slither towards Agnótis but, as she had suspected, he was still able to defend himself because, as she swung her daggers diagonally, he used his spear to block the attack before dashing away, allowing the Fallen to charge towards Nýchta who returned to Nionyn who stood poised, although his armour was covered in burns.

“Alright. I need you to close your eyes again.”

Nionyn nodded before doing as instructed.

Nýchta then quickly sheathed her daggers and removed her helmet and just like before, her eyes rapidly absorbed the essence of the five Elite Fallen.

They all tried charging towards her but by the time they reached her, they had all turned to ash.

This seemingly enraged Agnótis and so he charged towards her and although strands of his essence were flowing into Nýchta, he showed no signs of turning into ash.

“He’s coming! Open your eyes!” She cried while putting her helmet back on.

Nionyn complied and without saying a word, he rushed towards Agnótis while raising his sword.

Nýchta followed closely behind and so when Nionyn swung his sword downwards, Agnótis predictably blocked it but this gave Nýchta the opportunity to finally sever the last bits of flesh that held his head up but just as she swung her daggers, he let go of his spear, grabbed her throat and punched her in the face, sending her falling backwards but just as he began walking towards her, Nionyn swung his sword yet again, finally cleaving off the Fallen Legend’s head.

Nýchta watched as it fell and as it did, his body crumbled, turning into dark wisps that seeped into the ground.

Her gaze then rose to meet Nionyn’s but she quickly realized that he had been hurt by the blast from before and so rushed to his side.

“Mmm? What are you doing?” He asked as she placed an open left hand on his chest plate.

[Agnófós, cleanse us.]

Two of the now ten streaks of light around her wrist shattered before seeping into her body and Nionyn’s armour.

“AH!” The two cried simultaneously and while Nýchta was able to remain standing, Nionyn suddenly fell forward from the pain but Nýchta held him up and looked into his eyes while he healed.

He then removed his helmet, revealing to Nýchta a proud, bloodied smile.

“We did it.”

“Yes we did. Come. There is clear land just ahead.” Nýchta said before leading him to a patch of green grass that sat at the foot of a distant northern hill.

The two sat down and looked out into the dark plane on which they had just fought.

“Hehe.” Nionyn chuckled.

“HAHA!” He laughed before striking the air with his fist.

“We battled and legendary warrior and not only that, we won!”

“True but-“

“No. I feel as though I know what you are going to say and I do not want to hear it. Let the pigeon that flutters in my bosom fly as though it were on of the hawks, or even the eagles for but a moment.”

Nýchta tilted her head in confusion for a moment before smiling in acceptance.

Nionyn nodded and joined Nýchta in the silence of the plane.

“So… where are you off to now, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“I’m going home. To the underworld.” Nýchta said.

She noticed that her words had caused Nionyn to stare at her serpents with comically narrowed eyes and so she had one of them hiss at him but, to her surprise, he wasn’t frightened.

“Mmm… if you truly are from the underworld, then the world is far bigger than I could have ever imagined.”

“True. A man could walk from one end to the other and still not have seen much at all.”

A moment passed as the two sat.

The sky above continued to churn and the planes around Castle Toniróon remained tainted but Nýchta took comfort in believing that the spirits of the fallen had found rest.

“Anyway, I suppose we should part ways.” Nýchta said as she got up.

“Indeed.” Nionyn said as he stood up as well.

The two then looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity before smiling.

“Goodbye, my friend. May we meet again.”

“Goodbye, Nionyn-“

“Please, when we next meet, feel free to call me Nyn.”

Nýchta nodded before turning to the north and her smile dimmed somewhat as her gaze locked onto Mount Olympus.

She slithered towards it and although hatred threatened to snuff out the small flame within her heart, she took deep and calming breaths, fanning it and keeping it alit.

.

..

Hours passed as Nýchta travelled and she eventually came across a stone road that came from the west.

It stopped by a small outpost town before going north towards a distant city and the road itself had a few patrolling guards along its length but that wasn’t what Nýchta was focused on.

The hill she stood atop was covered by a handful of trees but large portions of the land beyond, although partially covered with water, was flat and without trees.

Nýchta glanced at a line of trees to the far east. They grew along the length of a river that ran from the north to the south.

Nýchta nodded to herself before making her way towards the river all while keeping beneath the shade of the hillside trees.

She crossed a few abandoned farms all while scanning her surroundings.

Her eyes then widened upon seeing that not only was the river surrounded by trees, it was in a low lying area which was nearly entirely covered with water.

She hurriedly slithered into the cold water only for her stomach to growl.

She came to a stop and eyed the waters that ran past her which were clear, revealing the long grass below.

Nýchta’s eyes shot open as a small fish swam past her.

She sighed before unsheathing her right dagger and making her way deeper into the river.

She then used her tail to create a funnel that led to the riverbank and waited.

A moment passed in the tranquil business of river.

Nýchta’s gaze went from the rustling leaves above to the rushing waters below.

She watched as it ran along her tail which looked quite beautiful beneath the shadows.

She reached out to touch it and felt her rapidly cooling scales.

Her hands slid up to the skirt part of her chainmail under armour and she lifted it, revealing the boundary where her tail stopped and her torso began.

She gently rubbed the soft scales above her belly before gasping as a sound from the riverbank caught her attention.

She looked up and saw a young soldier staring at her with eyes that couldn’t be any wider and, although he wore the weathered armour of a hoplite, it did not fit his small frame at all.

Nýchta stared at the seemingly petrified soldier for a moment before glancing at his belt.

Hanging from it was a freshly killed rabbit.