An arc of brimstone shot across the sky. Beautiful, it looked beautiful. Yet it caused such destruction. Guttural screams were hollered, over and over. The taran were much more terrifying than Syllis had ever imagined. When she had examined the the day before, or was it perhaps the night? They had not seemed anywhere near as terrifying as they were at this moment. These creatures morphed, representing various forms. There was no way of knowing which one was their ‘true’ form.

‘Another demonstration of the fallacy that is truth. There's no way for me to know which form is the truth. Despite this, I am entirely confident that their mostly commonly used form—a bear mixed with a sort of spider—is their true form.’

Syllis merely sighed. There was no time to internally dissect philosophy. It was time for them to defend the wall. Her team, or more realistically Clyde’s team was only reluctantly added to the wall. Vernim had only allowed the four of them to participate because he could not get a transfusion of soldiers from Abyssia’s main body yet.

Syllis and her companions had taken seven days at the minimum before arriving at the wall. So it would take fourteen for a messenger to relay the news and for the troops to arrive. Normally this was not a problem but Vernim made it apparent that way too many troops had died and that the upcoming defenses were going to be grueling.

It would have been incredibly difficult for the wall to hold up. In that way, Syllis and her group were a godsend. Despite them only being a measly four soldiers to a normal squadron's six, they possessed superior ability. Not in the physical sense. The elmannise bested them in that way, as well as their sight, smell, and hearing. Their bonds were unique though and all suited for combat, which gave them an edge. The only minor problem was that Korman and Clyde’s bonds were not especially fit for large-scale engagements like this fight.

“Everyone, are you ready!” Clyde yelled to his party.

It was especially loud. Not only were the screams of the taran—burning in the sulfuric brimstone—guttural and deafening on their own. But the other groups were discussing their tactics. Thankfully, the elmannise groups around Clyde’s spoke a little quieter. It was as if they wanted to hide their strategies. Regardless, it benefited them.

Clyde’s group was numbered twenty-two, placing them on the left side of the central area. Vernim had not trusted them enough to be able to withstand the pressure of the taran in the core center.

“Actually I’m not so sure,” Syllis mused. This was yet another one of her acts to anger Clyde.

“Too bad!” Clyde retorted, “let’s have at them!”

“Well you guys can have at them,” Aura said, “while I’m entirely out of harm's way in the back.” She was thrilled to be able to take it easy, well easier than the rest of them.

“And I,” Korman said, “will be the second line.” He was enthusiastic.

‘Of course he is.’ Syllis mused within. She had long realized his disdain for this fable rift. He hated the fact he was trapped within. Aura was likely the only reason he had stepped into it in the first place.

‘The pressure from the Boornes and Thermans would also be a valid reason.’ Syllis rolled her eyes.

“I’m glad you’ve memorized our strategy,” Clyde said earnestly, then turned his attention to Syllis. “Do you remember our part in this?”

“I know, I know.”

Clyde raised a brow. Syllis had not been especially receptive to him since they entered the rift.

“Of course I know.”

“Then what is it?”

Syllis sighed, rolling her eyes. “Hold our position as far forward as possible,” She said. “Once the taran begin to push us back then I will conjure a wall for them to funnel through.”

“And then?”

“Rinse and repeat,” Syllis spoke plainly.

“Alright everybody,” Clyde said, “you heard what Vernim said. After the fourth volley, we begin.”

Syllis almost felt compelled to pray. It was bizarre. Ever since she had prayed at the elmannise’s church, Syllis felt compelled to pray. Even though she had not used her bond for an entire week, she felt this was a symptom. It was easier to believe a lie than face the truth: Syllis was changing.

The second volley of brimstone arrows flew overhead. Syllis found herself admiring the beauty of them. The lilifith that was mixed in provided a more violent flame that looked incredible, swirling within the black abyss. What was even more beautiful was the entrance to the chasm.

Syllis followed the arc of the brimstone volley towards the wall, where they harshly fell, igniting another array of taran. This of course brought even more screams. The first set of engulfed taran had not even entirely subsided, the world grew louder.

Beyond the horrific engulfed taran was another battle of sorts. This was the fight between the four suns’ flames and the abyss. The constant shifting, the fight for territory was like it had been when Syllis and her companions fell into Abyssia. Though, it looked more violent and unforgiving behind the scene of burning taran.

To their sides, the other forty-nine squadrons were talking leisurely. This was their sort of resting moment. Whereas the archers set down their weapons after firing all the arrows they could, the soldiers did not have to draw theirs for a while. There was a nice balance in this, Syllis thought.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Clyde had tried to approach the couple squads beside him. But they seemed entirely uninterested. It made sense, they had witnessed Vernim’s reluctance to let the four of them participate in the defense. It was only natural.

“I swear,” Aura said, “these people are just a bunch of skeptics. We’ve done nothing wrong!” She yelled the latter part out loud, hoping for the surrounding groups to hear.

A few elmannise turned their heads irritatedly. They did not wear heavy armor, or even light armor. The superior physicality of the elmannise seemed to eliminate all use for such a ‘primitive invention,’ as it had been described to Korman when he asked.

“You guys saw those big gashes on the corpses right?” Syllis questioned.

“What about them?” Aura said, disinterested.

“We’ve also seen these elmannise pull off some crazy things.” Syllis said. “Like when—”

“What’s your point?” Clyde interrupted.

“My point,” Syllis said, “is that these peoples’ legs are three times as strong as ours. When Korman tried arm wrestling Jhornin, he shut him down in an instant—”

“What is your point?” Clyde said, growing agitated.

“If their bodies are getting shattered and broken by the taran despite their physical superiority,” Syllis said, “then what’s going to happen to us.”

“I don’t know,” Clyde said, defeated. “But is there any point in thinking about it now? We might die, we could live. There is nothing we can do about it, so what is your point, Syllis?”

‘What a guy…’ Syllis moved over to Aura in the back.

“Are you worried at all?” Syllis wondered.

“I agree with Clyde,” Aura spoke plainly. “What’s the use in discussing something that cannot be changed? Then again, I’m in the back. I might have a different opinion if I were in the front.”

“Maybe,” Syllis said.

“Do you know,” Aura said, “what you’re going to do when we get out of here?”

“A bit presumptuous—”

“I’m serious,” Aura said, cutting the secare nymph off. “You’d be out of your contract with the Boorne family. Could do anything you want really.”

“I don’t know about anything,” Syllis said.

“Not anything,” Aura admitted. “But your bond is useful for a wide variety of tasks. You would have no trouble being hired for any number of jobs.”

Syllis’ expression fell when she thought about being pushed into another contract.

“I disliked my contract with the Boornes. Being tethered,” Syllis said, “was a pretty terrible feeling.”

“You think that’s why you’re being so hard on Clyde recently?” Aura asked, curious.

“No,” Syllis said, “he deserves it. Every last bit of it.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Not Clark for making you the contract when you did not know the full scale of it?” Aura said. “What about you for signing it so quickly? You knew that Clyde has a moral compass that points to the true north.”

“I thought he was an innocent kid not a suicidal maniac,” Syllis dissagreed. “I will admit that I should have looked into the contract for more than all of five minutes. But Clyde is anything but innocent.”

Aura stayed silent with a solemn expression on her face.

Noticing her reluctance, she tried to change the topic. “What kind of effect do you think our anathema will have?”

“That's being presumptuous,” Aura replied.

The third volley of brimstone fell from the sky, engulfing another group of taran in screams. These creatures were smart, sending out their small fry. No amplified taran had entered yet. They had the potential to be severely harmed by a brimstone arrow. It was a nice idea for the taran to think of, wasting the elmannises’ resources. They had far too many arrows and far too much tar and sulfur for that though.

Knowing that the fourth volley would come soon, Syllis got in position next to Clyde. They were the front line. Supposed to deal with most of the anathema—with support from Aura’s ephemeral dragon.

This had been her creature of choice since they arrived in Abyssia since it was her sole creature that could fly for an extended period of time. The crows could only remain airborne for a maximum of ninety seconds. Not nearly long enough to survey the land.

Syllis looked at Clyde beside her, conflicted. ‘What should I say? We can’t survive this without communicating.’

“Syllis.”

“Yeah?” Syllis responded after a moment of hesitation.

“When we get out of here,” Clyde said, “I’ll make sure my father pays you a huge bonus.”

A couple seconds passed before the secare nymph responded. “I look forward to it.”

Syllis smiled. She was appreciative. But she could not focus on that for the moment. Getting out was the least of their concerns at the moment.

Survive, all of them needed to survive. This was at the forefront of their minds. They could not afford to lose a single one of their group members. Each of them had a crucial component to their bond, a necessity. Except for maybe Clyde, but he had something even more important. He held the team together. Without him, they would surely fall apart.

After what felt like a mere ten seconds, the final volley of arrows was shot across the top of the abyss. The brimstone was vibrant and threatening. A symbol and a promise, of death. Death to the taran.

“Death to the taran!”

“Death to the taran!”

“Death to the taran!”

Nearly every elmannise began chanting this promise. If the taran could speak, they would certainly be chanting the opposite. They were not all too different from the elmannise. If the superior elmannise had their position swapped with the treacherous fiends, it might have turned out nearly the same way.

More blood-curdling screams emanated from the new wave of taran that invaded. Pop! The taran—afflicted with the curse of brimstone—burst open. Their inside and outsides merged, becoming something new all together. The black sludge and pink goop mixed together making a putrid smell.

The elmannise all covered their noses and shied away. Clyde, Korman, Aura and Syllis, each of them would have done the same if blessed with the curse of the elmannise.

‘It’s time.’ Syllis thought. She rushed forward, simultaneously with Clyde who maintained an even pace. Korman was not far behind and Aura followed, slower than the rest.

It seemed counter intuitive. She was vulnerable, yet she was moving up? Truly, what was safer than staying idle at the foot of the wall was being behind Korman. Syllis had no doubt that he would protect Aura with the entirety of himself, even giving away his life if need be.

As Syllis and Clyde continued to rush forward, they nearly stopped, dead in their tracks.

They had finally arrived. While a handful of amplified taran had snuck in with the last wave, the brunt had come out now. And behind them… Hulking monstrosities that were each twisted in unique ways. They were not bound to conformity like the normal and amplified who shared common forms. Each of their forms were horrific and daunting in their own ways.