Carried by the water, Atreo fought to stay conscious. Desperation had driven him to survive, but now he paid the price for his actions. Like the world’s most dangerous waterpark, Atreo and Kore collided with the low-hanging ceilings, bruising flesh and bone. Blood poured from the hole in his chest, and he struggled to breathe. He knew for certain that he’d die if this nightmare didn’t end soon. With a sudden burst, the pair shot out from the cave's mouth, hanging momentarily in the air before plunging into a vast lake below.

As they hit the water, Atreo immediately began to sink. He’d lost his weapon along the way and, with his weakened body, struggled to stay afloat. He reached for the shoreline but made no progress, only watching as the object of his desire grew blurrier, fading into a distant memory. Something brushed against him, but he was too tired to care. He closed his eyes and felt his body drift along with the ebb and flow of the infinitely expanding pool.

Kore had tried to stay close to Atreo as they tumbled through the cavern’s depths. She followed the trail of blood but lost him between moments as she submerged to dodge the encroaching ceiling. As the light approached, she lost sight of him completely. She slid for a few heartbeats longer and breached the cavern, paling at the distance to the water below. She gathered her courage, forcing her eyes open and fighting through the water that stung her eyes. She looked for a shape below, but at this height, everything looked the same. Finally, after what felt like too long, she noticed a ring of red in an abyss of blue, right before she hit the lake like a comet crashing into the ocean.

She gasped; her parents had never had the chance to teach her how to swim. Panic began to worm its way into the recesses of her core, and she kicked hard with no rhythm, doing everything she could to stay afloat. Her breathing came broken, filled with breaths full of water.

“Is this how I die? I survived years of pain, suffering, and torment only to drown at the bottom of a lake?”

“Calm down,” she told herself, as she let her body fall further into the icy depths.

She felt the lake bottom touch her feet at last, and she gave a mighty push. Her rising emotions spurred her on and fueled her muscles to push hard. As she glided, she grabbed the water in great handfuls, kicking her feet behind her. She saw a shape sinking before her and grabbed at it with reckless abandon. It was Atreo, but he was too heavy. As she held him in her arms, they sank to the bottom. She didn’t have the strength to drag them both to shore. Hell, she didn’t know if she could make it herself. The last few bubbles of air spewed forth from her open mouth as she let out a silent scream.

“I’m not going to die here, I’m not going to die here,” she thought to herself as the convulsions came. She felt it then, a fish swam by in her senses, and she clung to it in desperation, devouring its life essence, then another, and another. She drained them all, gorging on their energies, fueling her body through her lack of oxygen.

She moved, draining everything within her power along the way. She walked across the lake floor, placing one foot in front of the other. After a few moments, her head rose from the water, along with Atreo’s, a trail of dead life receding back into the waters behind them.

Kore gasped for breath, her lungs burning as she struggled to pull Atreo onto the shore. Her entire body ached, but she couldn't afford to stop. Finally, they reached the lakeshore, collapsing onto the cold, hard ground. She lay there for a moment, catching her breath, before turning to check on Atreo. He was unconscious, but alive.

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Atreo’s eyes fluttered open slowly, unsure of their purpose. He coughed, heaving up enough water to fill the Mediterranean, and rolled to his side. He couldn’t remember where he was or what had happened. He lay upon the lakeshore at the bottom of a small hill. He looked around, wiping the water from his face, and made to stand. He climbed the hill and came to its summit, where he was hit with a wall of memories.

For fifty feet in every direction, the ground was charred with the deep black of decay. Spotting a lone figure at the center, he sprinted towards it, certain it was Kore. The terrain crumbled beneath his feet as he rushed towards the solitary figure, sitting like a dark sentinel amidst the desolation.

"Kore, is that you?" he called out, sidestepping to get a clear view before approaching. He noticed her hair first—no longer streaked with gray—and the skin on her arms appeared fresher and healthier than he had ever seen. She seemed perfectly healthy, and Atreo couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. "Are you okay?" he asked, taking another step closer. "Are you hurt?"

Her sobs quieted, and she looked up, revealing her tear-streaked face. She began to murmur, "I am death," repeatedly, her eyes pleading for help. But Atreo knew better. Despite her appearance of weakness and helplessness, he knew that Kore was anything but.

Now was not the time to reach for her. He didn't think she'd appreciate it, suffering or not. "I like your hoodie," he said, sitting down in front of her. "It suits you, or at least it used to with that skinny, craven look and all."

Kore quieted, her head still resting between her knees, and began to laugh. "You are such an ass," she said quietly, but with a little more life behind her words.

"Whoa, whoa," he said. "All I'm saying is you'd be perfect for marketing the brand!"

"I should have let you die," she whispered, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Are you okay?" Atreo asked, his tone more serious. "You seem pretty shaken."

Kore looked at him, really looked at him, and said, "I think so. Even though I have this power now—and all I've ever wanted was the power to fight back—I didn’t realize how overwhelming it would be. I feel like death incarnate because when I start to drain, Atreo, it feels so good, and it takes everything to stop. I’ve been hungry for so long, I’ve been weak for so long, and now I finally have the power to protect myself. But all I leave behind is more death and destruction."

She gestured to the decayed landscape. "Look at what I did. If I hadn't stopped to heal you, I think I would have drained this whole dungeon, or cave, or glade, or whatever the fuck this is. I’ve been scared before, but I’ve never been more scared than I am right now—of what I am, of what I could become."

Atreo sat in silence, waiting for her to finish. This wasn’t a conversation that required him to talk, just to be present, and that’s exactly what he did. He listened to Kore with an attentive ear, and when she finally fell silent, he looked at her and said, "It’ll be okay, Kore. You might fear what you’ll become, but I will always know you as the girl who gave almost everything for a stranger she didn’t even know. You’d been beaten, starved, and worse, and even then you found the kindness in your heart to help another. The light that you carry in here," Atreo said, placing his hand on his heart, "is more powerful than any darkness. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and it’s blinding."

She smiled at this; it seemed she had never received a compliment before, and it showed in the way her beautiful cheeks, mismatched in color, both took on a red hue. Embarrassed, she looked away, hiding her face between her knees again, out of Atreo’s sight.

"Go away, weirdo!" she yelled from her curled-up position.

Atreo stood there in shock. "Women are weird," he thought, turning to walk away. As he took a few steps, he heard Kore lift her head and yell, "Not away away, just away!" before hiding her face again.

Atreo shook his head, raising his hands questioningly, dumbfounded. "You’re impossible," he muttered under his breath, but a small smile tugged at his lips. He paused, looking back at her. "Just call if you need me, okay?"

He didn’t wait for an answer, knowing she probably wouldn’t give one. Instead, he walked a short distance away, giving her the space she needed but staying close enough to keep an eye on her. As he settled down, he couldn’t help but marvel at the strange bond they were forming, one built on shared pain, resilience, and a dash of humor in the darkest of times.