For hours, Ed’s consciousness floated in the void, unaware of anything happening. The last thing he remembered was feeling an unbearable amount of pain, then blacking out. Unknown to him, hours passed as his brain slowly stitched itself back together. He had no clue how long he had been there, nor anything that had happened since he blacked out.

His entire body felt like it was on fire, while his soul felt bloated and content. Ugh. What happened? He tried to sense the outside world, but his mind felt like it was running in quicksand, stopping him dead in his tracks.

So, he sat there. Simply sinking into the void, trying to manage the burning pain he felt. Slowly, the pain began to fade, replaced by exhaustion and a mild headache.

His body had stitched itself back together, but he knew he wouldn’t be feeling good for a long time unless he found someone to do something about it. Buddie won’t help. He’s probably enjoying my suffering. Maybe Elaine has a healer?

“..!”

What was that? A faint whisper bounced around his head. He was unsure of what was said, or if it was even real, but it felt strikingly familiar.

A warm feeling seeped into his body and soul, chipping away at the haze keeping him trapped in the void. His senses began to roll out, searching the room. Everything was blurry and out of focus. Like the static on an old TV.

“------, ---- -- -- ---------.”

Again, another sound filled the void. This time louder, but still entirely indecipherable. The static faded slightly as he made out the blurry figure of one blob charging at another, larger blob.

The first figure slowed down dramatically, as the larger one broke into multiple parts and spread throughout the room. He tried to defend himself as the largest part approached him, but he still could not move.

“No! -et aw-y fr-- --m!”

He could hear fragments of the sentence. Words spoken at such a slow speed that he could pick up pieces of them even through the static.

Why does that sound so familiar? He waded through the clouded parts of his newly mended mind, searching for where he had heard the voice before. However, the same distortion that allowed him to hear it was also stopping him from making the connection.

Faded mumbling grew louder and louder as the static and fog started to clear. The information he was picking up was getting clearer, and he began to make out more coherent shapes. The blob surrounding him split off into four discernible figures, vaguely resembling that of humans.

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More and more details slowly started to filter through as he began to wake up. Struggling to open his eyes, he relied on his other senses to figure out what was happening. He noticed Ulric, Elaine, and Lola all standing around him. What is she doing here?

Confused, he forced his eyes open and looked at her blurry face. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Simply swallowing air felt like his throat had been set on fire.

He did however notice that they seemed to be looking off in another direction, not currently paying attention to him. Struggling to turn his head slightly, he looked over and was completely shocked by what he saw.

Zara charged towards them in slow motion, a familiar looking battleaxe in her hand. A pair of angel wings flapped behind her, trying to increase her speed in any way possible.

Thousands of questions stampeded through Ed’s mind. He stared at her wings, mesmerised by their elegance. His heart pounded in his chest as worry etched itself on his face. How did she get here?

He was scared that she had done something foolish, somehow enraging Buddie further.

Zara and Ed locked eyes for a moment. “Ed!” She redoubled her efforts, trying to force herself to his side.

Her shout drew the attention of the group surrounding Ed, who finally realised that he was awake.

“Glad to see you aren’t dead.” Wilfred said.

“Do you mind telling us what happened?” Elaine asked, using her powers to help him to his feet.

Ulric stepped forward to support Ed, finally revealing himself to Zara’s senses, who was shocked by the sudden appearance of another person.

Having already sensed him, Ed wasn’t nearly as surprised. He tried to speak, but his throat was still burning.

Seeing that he was awake, both Invidia and Balthazar turned their attention to him. Noticing that he couldn’t speak, Invidia stretched her hand forward and stole the damage that had been done to his body.

Reality took a moment to rewrite itself, repairing his body at an incredibly fast pace.

The pain he felt seemed to just disappear, and all he was left with was the bloated feeling in his soul.

Zara dropped to her knees with a gut-wrenching scream as Invidia flicked her still outstretched hand towards her, transferring the pain to her.

Ignoring everyone, Ed charged forward, quickly reaching Zara’s side. He stood between her and Invidia, his threads bursting from his back furiously. “Stop hurting her.” He barked, prepared to defend her from any more attacks.

Ulric’s eyes widened as he saw the threads, taking a step back and preparing himself for battle.

Invidia smirked, intrigued that someone so weak was ordering her around, and for an angel no less. She wanted to rip them both apart and take everything from them. But, having noticed Elaine’s previous behaviour of helping Ed to his feet, decided to let this one slide.

Zara continued to struggle behind him, now unable to even make any sound as she writhed in pain.

Ed’s heart swelled with pain and rage, fury etching itself onto his face as he prepared to attack Invidia. More threads spread out from his body, carefully wrapping around Zara to protect her from any more attacks. His threads quickly spread out, blocking the exit back to the stairs. I don’t care who she is. I will win.