“Aura!” Syllis and Korman both exclaimed, running to the woman. She had been preoccupied guiding her dragon and did not have the time to prepare for the splintering shards.

Aura moaned in pain and clutched at her shoulder or what should have been. The bone? All but gone. It had shattered into countless pieces. Any bone that was left was contorted, twisted like the taran. It pierced her flesh, drawing blood and doing far more harm than good. A vase, fallen against the cold ground, unable to be put back together. Blood was sprayed behind her in arrays and chunks of flesh were held together by the slightest strands.

“What happened to me!?” Aura cried out, panicked. She continued to try and grab at her shoulder.

Syllis and Korman could only sit beside her in horror. They were mostly safe. The taran that would usually be coming towards them in waves were busy trying to save one of their titans. They were dealing with Clyde and Hfroht as well.

‘What?’ Syllis thought. The scene in front of her was complex. ‘Do I shave down the problematic bone. Do I collect her flesh and bone, freezing it all together in an awkward clump?’

The secare nymph was no doctor. Her bond possessed a quality of one, but her mind was not fit for such work. She disliked blood, immediately freezing over any wound. The adrenaline of battle was what she craved, along with the gratification of winning. Blood being shed was an unfortunate aspect of the entire ordeal.

Syllis was not sure whether collecting all of the missing ‘parts’ and freezing them together would cause infection. She had a feeling it was not a good idea to mix in dirt covered flesh. Even more obscure was the black and purple mixture that coated the flesh that had been swept from her shoulder.

‘Would that cause infection? Could taran grow within her?’ Syllis thought. ‘There I go again…’ Once again, her mind carried her through a bizarre scenario that was obscenely unlikely.

“It’s alright Aura,” Clyde said, sympathy behind his calm tone.

“Right,” Syllis chimed in, “it’s not even that bad. I’ll just—”

“Stop,” Aura spoke clearly. She felt pain but that was not enough to stop her from getting concise, truthful answers. “Your damn face tells me you’re lying.”

Syllis looked at Aura with pitiful eyes.

“It’s bad. Very bad. Not much I can do about it. Maybe the doctors in the wall will have a better idea of what to do with it.”

Aura grit her teeth, chewing against the collar of her coat.

“I see…” Aura’s own eyes held a similar pity for herself. “As long as we make it out, all can be mended. Doctor, do you have to amputate?”

“You think I have the qualifications to make such a decision? How often do people even get amputations? Such threatening diseases are rare and anathemic doctors are rather plentiful.”

“Everything will be fine,” Korman said. He held onto her gloved hand. “As soon as we leave here Edward will fix your shoulder.”

Korman and Aura’s families both had their own especially qualified anathemic doctors. They had to admit that Edward was superior to them though. The Boorne family had truly been blessed to have found such a doctor.

“Hurry up and numb the damn thing!” Aura yelled through a jolt of pain, sent through her. She was beginning to face the entire brunt of the injury.

Syllis leaned forward to get a closer look and fell over. ‘What, I thought…’

“Damn you Syllis, how dare your infection compromise my care.” Aura jested. She took Syllis’ hand and guided it to her wound.

This way, Syllis had a sense of where exactly to mend. Her vision was unreliable and she was not entirely sure if she could even trust her own judgment at the moment. ‘Or is my reluctance to trust myself proof that my judgment is intact?’

Howls and screams erupted as the taran realized their titan had fallen. Some continued to battle against Clyde and Hfroht who were making their way back towards the main group, while some went straight for Syllis and her companions.

‘This is… Troubling.’

“Korman,” Syllis said, “take Aura away. To the temporary room.”

“Alright.” Korman had no qualms.

He could save his love while also leaving the battle himself. Syllis found this a cozy position to be in. If only she had the luxury.

Clyde and Hfroht arrived back in the front lines. Syllis stood in the middle to greet them. She cleaved several taran in a single sweep.

“You two look worse for wear,” Syllis remarked.

“We are,” Clyde answered, truthfully. “I’m assuming Aura and Korman are even worse?” He swiftly peeled an amplified taran from its guards and dismembered its head.

Syllis nearly laughed. ‘If he saw the state she was in…’

“Korman’s fine, but Aura took a heavy blow. One of the splinters from the black spear,” Syllis clarified. “I’m afraid us and those two behind are all that remain of the very central group.”

“And we have to deal with that titan?” Hfroht said, more to himself than either Clyde or Syllis.

“Unless you have some unknown method to make it run away?” Syllis said, aggressively. Inwardly she hoped this elmannise man had some hidden method. But she knew it would never happen.

Hfroht remained silent.

“Hfroht!” The lankier of the two elmannise men called out.

“Hlorndt, she’s—”

“She’s dead, Hlorndt is dead.” The bulkier elmannise man interrupted. Time was of the essence, he understood this well. It was the reason he and Hlorndt along with the rest of the team were saved. And it was also the reason she had died.

Hfroht remained silent for a moment. Solemnity emanated from his eyes as he turned to face his companions.

“We’ll talk later,” Hfroht said. “For now, hold down the back line.”

The two elmannise ran back with disdain in their eyes.

“Let’s think then…”

The three of them thought of countless plans. They exchanged them as they slaughtered group after group of taran, mixed with the occasional amplified. Now that they had adapted to both Clyde and Syllis’ bond, combined with her lackluster vision made them a clear threat. To Syllis at least.

Only three titans were left on the field. There was the spear thrower in the central line and one on both the left and right. Most groups set their attention on the sides, taran were mischievous and could easily seep through the cracks in the walls of the abyss. So the central area was composed of Syllis’ ramshackle group and only a couple others to their sides.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The titan eventually arrived within its main striking distance, but it did not attack. It was ominous. It had not attacked since throwing the replicated spear. Instead, its six terrifyingly large arms remained at its sides. They reached for the ceiling as if it were piles of gold. The arms bent at unusual angles and consisted of five or six joints forming jagged and uncanny appearance.

This titan did not have teeth all over it. Instead, it was littered with pitch-black scales that reflected nearly all light. The titan gleaned the entire battlefield with twelve eyes, each set an equal distance around the perimeter of its head. Above, thorns. They formed a crown or forbidden halo. As if this ‘thing’ had been exiled by god. Assuredly, it was merely waiting to witness another one of Syllis’ attacks to mimic. Then, it would use it against another of her companions, making her indirectly responsible. It was soul-crushing. This titan was as if not more physically capable than the others, yet its psychological component seemed vastly more terrifying.

‘I won’t give it the chance.’ Syllis felt guilty for Aura, but she knew this was the titans intention. It was to cause rifts in teams. This titan was vastly more intelligent than the rest, it wanted to break the wall from the inside, mentally rather than with pure strength.

Syllis had previously dismissed the idea of dropping a colossal spike to pierce the titan, but it was becoming more and more likely to be the perfect plan.

Firstly, it acted in accordance with what she knew. This titan was slow, and though she had been duped before, this was a quality she needed to consider. It would presumably be unable to escape an attack of the scale she was planning. Secondly, it did not require accuracy. Syllis did not have the strength in her arms to propel another javelin so far. Even if she had, she could not control the waves with enough precision to complete the throw without stumbling. Her vision was the largest obstacle for her on this battlefield.

It was the perfect theoretical plan. In reality it could be a disaster, but what could be done? They needed to do something, but Syllis was the only one who could. At least, she was the only one who could without any casualties.

Syllis had long been hearing whispers. Her mind was crowded. ‘What’s a couple more?’ She mused, cleaving a couple taran before looking at Clyde and Hfroht.

They were weaving through taran and defeating the powerful amplified. As expected from an experienced soldier and a man with a mysterious bond.

“Clyde, Hfroht!” Syllis called out to them. “Deal with that titan for a while. Bring the other groups in too! And do not climb onto it. Let no one!”

Clyde nodded in agreement while Hfroht shivered slightly. He was experienced but possessed a potent cautious attitude. Hfroht sighed before following Clyde. Together, they rallied the teams to their sides and stormed the titan.

‘This is good…’ Syllis heaved. Her heavily injured abdomen was taking too much sanity, she relinquished control over her ‘bandaid.’

There needed to be as little a chance of the titan catching on as possible before it was too late. Now, with the assault of the three groups, the opportunity had arrived.

Syllis focused intently. She squinted her eyes, thinking that would cause her vision to level out. It did not help, but it mattered not. She willed a great sheet of icy-blue above the titan who seemed like a god compared to the five that had fallen already.

It grew, from a sheet to several. They thickened and merged, condensing into something greater than the sum of its parts.

‘More…’

Syllis shaped a large array of needles which protruded from the bottom of this condensed sheet. They were rough, unrefined. But they did not remain that way for long.

‘Refine further. Refine the needles further.’

The secare nymph heard the whispers evolve to a stage she had never heard before. These were not whispers anymore. They were more than that. An audience of inputs, each speaking to her of obscure gods and artifacts.

“Withering Moon, Ciros!”

“Coryzan, Visitor from beyond!”

“Knowledge incarnate, Docterine!”

“Satell, Hidden from Sight!”

“Rearsire, Almighty Witness!”

“Mischievous Meddlers, Lara, Moro and Turu!”

Each voice grew louder with each chant of their respective sentences. Syllis had no clue what any of it meant. Perhaps nothing at all, yet it could also be the key to everything.

‘Stop… Stop it.’ Syllis stumbled backwards and continued refining.

“Further, smoother. Refine it further. Re—stop it now. Why now? Why is this happening now!” Syllis yelled.

The secare nymph fell to the ground. She continued to refine her needles though. They would pierce this titan.

Once she could not bear the shouting anymore, she dropped the sheet. There was only a single thing she needed to worry about. Syllis needed to dismiss the sheet before it reached Clyde and whoever else was standing around.

Various needles pierced the titan and it let out a series of shrieks. Every single one, more wretched and loud than the last. Syllis did not care, her mind was already occupied with voices a dozen times more irritating.

Black tar and purple-pink guts were expelled from the entry holes once the sheet was dismissed. Any and everyone in the area was covered entirely. No one spared.

“What are you looking at?” Syllis said. She stumbled over her own feet while studying the pitch-black creature in front of her. A taran.

It walked towards her and brandished its fingers as weapons, they were unnaturally sharp.

“A desperate loser who killed her friend.”

“Aura isn’t dead!” Syllis yelled. “Everything I’ve done is to help them!”

“To help yourself,” the taran said.

“No—no I am helping them!” Syllis refuted.

“Because you want to help yourself,” it furthered.

“That's it,” Syllis said. Her voice rang out with irritation and bloodlust. “I’ll pull your long limbs apart.”

Syllis charged forward. She did not have the sanity to form a weapon. Her hands would have to do. Blood. It seeped from her forearm. The taran had carved a neat cut into it with its blade-like fingers.

“Blood. I’m bleeding!” Syllis exclaimed. She pushed backwards.

The taran that had been mouthing off suddenly fell forward. Purple-pink guts fell through a hole in its chest.

Behind its body, Clyde stood still.

“It’s done,” Clyde said. “Good job, Syllis. That was a damn good job!”

“Good—I did a good job,” Syllis said before cackling.

Clyde walked up to her and grabbed her arm, wrapping it around his shoulder. Syllis was losing a considerable amount of blood. Soon enough, her legs would buckle under her own weight. It was best they retreated before that happened.

The wall was far from them. They were pushed back, yet still had a hundred meters to walk. They should have thought of how happy they were. To be done with the battle, to remain alive, the lives that were saved. Yet they did not talk, or relish in their victories. The corruption had taken over the majority of their minds. In a way, they were not entirely themselves. Bits and pieces were replaced, albeit temporarily. For this short time though, they laughed. Fully, like a lunatic, they laughed.

‘Hell, so similar…’ Syllis thought. She began walking forward faster, her vision was continuing to blur. It felt like her eyes had when adjusting to the fable.

Clyde was forced to match her pace, he was taken aback.

“Right? Are you—right?”

“I’ve,” Syllis said, “never been alright!”

Syllis continued to laugh. Scenes of her communion ritual returned to her mind. The fights with her mother afterwards. Every single time she blamed her for their terrible lives. Syllis had never been alright. But she was forced to think she was. The nymph was not nearly as volatile or openly hurt or damaged as a criminal or addict on the outer ring. Her pain was a silent kind, without the flashiness of violent crime or insane actions. But she still hurt, she had always been hurting.

And then the scenes of Clyde, Aura and Korman each stepping through the ethereal tear to another world—the fable rift. That hurt her again. In a way, it was even more painful being hurt again. Right when she had finally made a step in restoring her life. Right when she made friends. Right when she had made friends. Right when she had fallen victim to the fallacy of hope. Syllis was hurt again.

The secare nymph continued to speed up. She wiggled loose of Clyde’s arm that was wrapped around her back. She wanted to get away and leave the tether and beginning of this hope behind.

Syllis nearly crashed through the door to the temporary room. Instead, she crashed into a chair within. The glow-tree chair made a loud knock as she hit it. Korman—who was sitting on that such chair—turned away from Aura and her shattered, bandaged shoulder. He faced Syllis donning a look of confusion.

Syllis stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. She turned to Aura.

“You love her.”

Korman’s face flushed red. It was an unusual occurrence.

As the world gradually darkened, Syllis continued to laugh. She carved her nails into the floor, at least she tried to. The room was met with a large scraping sound.

And then, the world faded away entirely.

“Syllis!” Clyde called out to her. He was not met with a response.

Syllis could not speak. ‘Why does god hurt me? Why does god… Why does god hurt? Why me?’

Soon after, her thoughts were lost as well. Syllis had fallen asleep and into a dream. She deserved it.