Samba could feel his Realized Soul changing his Skills. Spurred on by Mark's screaming, he pled for a change that would give him some kind of control. With his bulk and stats, he couldn't keep up with faster opponents like Tiria. He needed something to change the playing field.
His Soul responded.
Part of the change continued unimpeded to upgrade [Bubble Cure]. The other listened to his plea and shifted towards his [Fighting Style]. It poured into the skill and filled it based on his desires.
Sensing his change, Tiria darted forward as the weapons in her hands merged into what looked like a paddle. With his newly awakened Soul, he could easily tell as she dumped Aether into her Domain.
She swung and the paddle became giant, sending him crashing through the hole he'd made and bouncing back out into the town.
"Samba, help him!"
"Save Mark!"
The humans had paused their preparations for fleeing to watch the fight for Mark's life unfold. The ones that remained were far too weak to help and it was surprising to him that they trusted him to save their leader.
Maybe they'd grown closer to him than he thought. Maybe they were just desperate.
Their cries fueled his own desperation while his anger crystallized to a singular point. He would defy her. He would defy the clan. He'd defy fate itself if it tried to take Mark from him.
Stabilizing his mental state and evolving his Soul took time.
Fortunately, Tiria didn't follow him outside, unwilling to open herself up in a spot where she might be ambushed. Other than Tala, there wasn't any human or monster that could help and he'd left her to organize the retreat with the kids, but Tiria didn't know that.
Her caution was to his advantage.
The changes in his Skills finally clicked into place and his Soul allowed him to easily understand their evolutions. It was exactly what he needed.
[Bubble Cure] had become [Regeneration] and it passively healed him. It wasn't nearly as powerful as being healed directly, but it would allow him to stay on his feet longer while providing an avenue to make healing less demanding on his body.
It was powerful and he could already feel it working on the damage to his legs. It couldn't quite rid him of the exhaustion, but Tiria was a Subgenitor and he'd need every edge he could muster.
The humans continued to cry out and his Soul seemed particularly responsive to their emotions. With a roar, he flung himself back into the house, stomping one foot into the floor and causing the whole house to shake.
The stomp activated [Defiant Riptide].
An almost illusory stream of water spread out from his foot, covering the entire floor up to Tiria's ankle. It wasn't real water so Mark was in no danger of drowning, but it brought the exact same thing as the (Coastal Clinch) - Control.
Tiria looked down at it and then steeled her gaze. "Just leave, Samba. I don't want to hurt you."
"You already are."
He bounded across the space, throwing out a huge overhand. Like before Tiria moved to dodge, but Samba sent a spark of Aether into [Defiant Riptide.] Her Soul senses must have improved as well as she felt the Aether infused into it, but she couldn't stop it.
The illusory water snatched her ankle and her dodge was just a hair too slow. Samba's fist crashed into her cheek. The blow struck her so hard that she bounced against the wooden floor.
With Mark's screams still ringing out in the small space, he felt no joy or sense of mastery in the successful attack - only regret and pain that it had somehow come to this.
He started to rush forward and help Mark, but two giant maces crashed into his back, stumbling him. As he righted himself, Tiria appeared back in front of him.
She spat blood out of her mouth and dropped through [Defiant Riptide] to land right on the floor. His blow had clearly hurt her and without a healer, she wasn't going to recover during this fight.
If it slowed her down at all, Samba couldn't tell.
She was already racing forward, a regular sized mace in each hand. Another blazing haymaker followed by activating [Defiant Riptide] was his answer.
He could feel her Aether churning as she tried to protect herself from the illusory water, but it didn't work. She stumbled right into the way of his attack. The thought of hurting her again made him grimace, but it didn't slow his punch.
A massive shield made of water appeared in front of Tiria just as Samba's fist came crashing down. The water of her shield rippled at the blow, but it didn't break. This construct was far stronger than he remembered hers being capable of.
"While you've been here making friends, I waged war," Tiria said, bitterness lacing her words. "Let me show you what I learned."
Three all white otters scrambled out from behind the giant shield, each of them wielding a waterborn mace and shield. The first darted for his leg and Samba decided to eat the attack so he could focus on the other two.
His Domain flared as he absorbed the strike on his leg and he grabbed the other two otters and flung them against the walls of Mark's house. Aether trickled out of him as the first summon continued its assault.
If he was fresh, the Aether being consumed wouldn't have even registered to him, but after running for days, his exhaustion made his recovery so slow.
Tiria burst through the wall of water, plucking a spear from it, and then rammed the spear forward. Samba was out of position and could only watch as its tip pierced his chest. The damage had been blunted by his Domain, but blood still trickled through his fur.
Grunting in pain, he kicked the last summon and it poofed out in a cloud of Aether. He swung at Tiria, but she used the spear in him as a springboard to dodge out of the way. Another wave of pain hit him as the spear rotated inside him, but compared to the pain Mark must be feeling, it was nothing.
The spear inside him melted and Tiria dropped down to the ground. She flung a handful of waterborn weapons at him in a stance that seemed very familiar. Samba slapped them out of the air, but it kept him occupied as she rushed him again.
Two maces in each hand, she began a furious assault. With her speed, it was everything Samba could do to block them and she seemed to slip away from every strike. [Defiant Riptide] grasped at her ankles, but she used a summon to help reposition herself and absorb his attack.
It finally clicked for him.
She was mimicking the fighting styles of the Underbridge Elite. The dual wielding that she favored was Kumo, the summon usage was Gi, and he thought the stance she adopted while throwing might have been the twins.
There was something more than just a mere copy though. She was threading each of these styles into something unique. Pulling from each at just the right time in a way that could only happen if she'd had a wealth of experience fighting like this.
Other than his fight with Junior, he'd really only fought newly awakened monsters that threatened Wavecrest. In a way, she had surpassed him.
That realization proved true as she slowly started to pick him apart. Even worse, [Defiant Riptide] saw even less utility as Tiria had some new ability that allowed her to step in the air. She had to be burning through Aether, but she must have an upgraded Soul just as he did and it made her use of it far more efficient.
Little nicks, stabs, and impacts from Tiria's [Waterborne Armory] slowly started to build up. Samba was built for a war of attrition, but the real problem was that he found himself moving further and further away from Mark.
His Heart shivered in helplessness. A glance at both Alice and Rae showed him that they were despondent. Tears fell openly down Rae's face, but they had could only have been fighting for minutes. Mark's unending scream was the only thing that could be heard in the small space and every fresh rip of his throat caused Rae to flinch and shut her eyes.
Samba wracked his brain. He had never been the smartest of the Elite, but he had to find something to change his situation. If he could ju-
Mark's scream stopped.
A dread settled onto Samba's already quaking heart. As much as his best friend's screams had hurt, them stopping hurt more.
With horror, he saw the doll had grown taller. Mark's arm was still in its mouth as it drained his very soul, leaving his friend half hanging from his mouth. His body didn't seem injured at all, but it looked almost unreal as though Samba was simply looking at a painting instead of a real person.
"Oh god," Alice whispered, but it carried in the sudden silence. "Rae, close your eyes. Don't look."
The doll turned its gaze on Samba, its eyes endless black voids. It didn't speak or move anything more than its neck, but it taunted him - dared him to defy Mark's fate.
Growling, Samba charged forward. His first step was halted by a waterborn spear, but he snapped it off and took another step. Three summoned otters grabbed at his legs while another shield was summoned in front of him. He took another step, dragging the summoned otters with him and breaking through the reinforced shield with a single blow.
Tiria wasn't idle. Strikes of her dual wielded maces rained across his head and shoulders. Blood poured down his neck and chest as his Domain and [Regeneration] couldn't keep up with the damage.
The process isn't over. I can still save him...
His vision was blurry from the endless rain of blows, but his walk forward continued. Each heavy footfall bringing him ever closer to the quickly dwindling flame that was Mark's Soul. He had to have only been a dozen steps away from Mark, but with Tiria's expertise, each one felt like he had to push through Junior's entire army.
In a fury, he swiped at Tiria and her summons, but each time, she dodged or burned Aether to keep him chained down and straining with each step.
When he was two steps away, only the whites of Mark's eyes were visible, playing counterpart to the dark voids of the doll that continued to draw out his Soul.
I just need to...
Samba lashed out, his giant arm like a spear that would tear off the doll's head before it could finish its grim work. His newly heightened Soul senses told him that Mark was still alive, but only just.
A summon tried to dive on his speeding arm, but it was torn apart by the sheer power.
I can do it. I can save him.
Samba's entire body wrenched to the side. Tiria had grabbed his head and one of his arms and yanked him off balance. The exhaustion from the run followed by Tiria's attacks was too much for him to catch himself and he fell right at the doll's feet.
That was... the (Coastal Clinch). She used...
He tried to ignore the despair that tried to drown him. His Soul had been reborn in defiance and he couldn't stop now. He had to-
Mark's Soul was snuffed out.
The barest remnants of his Aether fluttered out of his body like smoke from a dead candle and disappeared into the air.
At the fight against the Spiked Eagles, Samba had given his all to protect the clan. When his injuries had forced him back before the battle of Igna, he'd always wondered what would have happened if he'd been there.
Could he have protected Gi? Would Wax still be alive?
Now, he had his answer.
Mark's lifeless body dropped to the ground.
A wail of pain from Alice was cut off as the entire world went white.
Samba was lifted up. A warmth enveloped his body like a father who'd returned after a long time away to wrap you in his arms. He could feel his path to the peak being repaired and the universe once again opening up to him.
The old clawing wound that had been so raw after the battle of Igna filled and the exuberance of the world was restored to him. It should have been a moment of joy for any member of the Underbridge Clan, but for him, it wasn't.
Even as the rupture in his Soul was restored, it did nothing for the newest wound to his Heart. What was the wonder of the universe without a friend to share it with? His world opened up, but at the same time, it pushed everything else away, leaving on a loneliness behind.
As the light disappeared and Mark's cabin returned to its mundane glory, Samba fell back against the ground. Alice's wail renewed, but who was he to help her?
What use was a broken shield?