{-Rennyn-}

“Rennyn, you need to stay focused!” Kaylin shouted. “Don’t let this—”

Kharis shook his head, then created a wall of fire to separate the others from Rennyn. “I would advise against getting involved. I’m afraid we’re going to have to do more than simply ignore you if you get in our way.”

Rennyn glared at Viragi. “What are you trying to do?”

“I would’ve thought that much would’ve been obvious by now,” he remarked. “We want you out of the way—by Allyna’s request, preferably not dead. As long as we don’t cross that threshold, then we’re more or less able to do whatever we want.”

“The others aren’t involved in this. I’m the only one you need out of the way, right?”

“Of course. You are, after all, the hero—without you, your little companions have nothing else they can hope to achieve. But if you don’t cooperate, then I’m afraid things aren’t going to be pretty for anyone. And as you just said yourself, the others aren’t involved in this…”

Rennyn shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it. He readied his sword and made it clear that he was ready for a fight. “I’m not going to back down. My mission is to defeat Dhymos. Just leave the others alone.”

Viragi gave a wide gesture—rock formed all around the two of them, trapping them in an arena-of-sorts. But it wasn’t so high that the others couldn’t watch. “As long as everyone behaves, I respect that wish. I’ll leave Kharis and Ether to decide for certain what might count as an interference, however.”

Then, he made another motion, causing some rocks to float around him. “Now, Songbird… I’m interested to see what you might have to offer.”

~~~

“Your allies will be your strength.”

He wouldn’t be able to say how many times he’d heard someone say that; it seemed to be something that he couldn’t avoid. Whether he was just starting his journey and needed the help, or later on he—driven by memories—adamantly opposed it, he seemed to be unable to escape the advice.

What only a handful added was what he ultimately found more important: “But they can also be your greatest weakness.”

The weight of the world was one thing—it may have involved each and every person he met along his journey, but it was also people who were only names and faces. Allies? There was no level of separation, not when they chose to join him, not when they fought both literal and figurative battles together.

In the end, however, it was his responsibility to make sure they all came home safe. He failed so much, yet he had to keep trying.

He felt as though he would fail again, even if he could not swim above the water he was drowning himself in.

~~~

He knew what was in front of him, and he knew what was at stake. But everything he did felt sloppy, nearly every single one of his reactions just barely too slow.

After getting some distance between himself and Viragi, Rennyn wiped the blood from his nose and tried to think of a better plan of action.

Unfortunately, he also looked up to where the others were.

Allyna was holding back Kaylin, no matter how much she struggled to break free; Kharis and Ether were on either side of Seldir, Lyrei, and Noa, none of which seemed sure of what to do. Seldir had just dropped his sword, too, and kept his hands up in perfect view. They were all but defeated.

“What’s wrong, Songbird?” Viragi asked. Surprisingly, he wasn’t smiling—he didn’t seem to take as much joy out of this as Dhymos might have. Perhaps it was because he had to hold back, if not just a little. Rennyn doubted it was because he disliked what he had to do. “You’re the reason your friends are in this predicament. It’s a shame you won’t just make this easier for everyone and give up, though.”

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“If I give up,” Rennyn mumbled, “then Dhymos wins. And I didn’t get this far just to let that happen.”

So he readied himself, and prepared for another attempt of attack.

~~~

“Songbird.”

The one common nickname that tied everyone from his past to the present. But it felt like it was taunting him now, hearing it again and again. It was in the voices of enemies, of allies—of people who wanted to harm, and who were desperately trying to get him to save them. They were from people that he had tried everything in his power to protect.

Yet still, in one way or another, failed.

“Songbird,” one would say, “you need to focus.”

“Songbird,” another cried, “we need your help!”

“Songbird,” a third mumbled through tears, “where were you?”

“Songbird?”

“Songbird!”

“Songbird.”

The voices of present and distant friends and acquaintances rang out all around him. Their faces circled him, flashing in and out, changing who each one belonged to each time he blinked.

And he knew, right then and there, that he had no chance of winning.

~~~

Rennyn was slammed against the side of their makeshift arena. Even though every part of his body was getting ready to quit, though, he still forced himself back up again.

“By now, nearly everyone else would’ve given up,” Viragi remarked, tilting his head. “Oh, well, I suppose I have the time to wait for even your adrenaline to wear off.”

“I—I’m not going anywhere,” Rennyn muttered. “I’m not going to let Dhymos win.”

Viragi hardly looked at him before kicking him back to the ground. “Quite the resolve, for someone who doesn’t have a lot more fight left in you. Let’s change that, shall we?”

~~~

They didn’t believe him. They never believed him, no matter what he told them, no matter how many times he’d seen something like this. This wasn’t really happening. He knew it wasn’t. But he couldn’t do anything but listen, watch as they didn’t pay attention to what he was really saying.

“You’re just worried,” one of them might say. “You can stay here if you want, but we’re going in. Alright?”

“Don’t overreact,” another might tell him. They might’ve meant to sound caring, but they were still just distant, and his fears kept him from trying to actually take their advice to heart. “The best way to handle this is with a clear head. You’ve got to stay focused, alright?”

“You can’t do this alone.” That was one that he wanted to believe, but he could never get himself to actually do it. “You need someone with you. And we’re all willing to be those people.”

It didn’t matter what he told them; they stood by what they said. He wished they’d believe him—that somewhere was dangerous, that they were walking into a trap, that he was fine on his own.

He didn’t want them to get hurt. It was the only thing they ever seemed to do, no matter what he tried to do to stop it. And they kept doing it anyway, kept adding on to the weight on his shoulders. He couldn’t blame them, not really. But he had so much more to consider then they did—an understanding of what needed to be done, and exactly what it would cost to do it.

But no matter what, it was his task to protect them.

And he failed.

~~~

“Rennyn!” Kaylin’s voice felt even more distant than it actually was. “You have to get back up!”

He tried, but it felt like every part of his body refused to listen. His nose and arm were bleeding. It hurt just to breathe. Every part of his remaining consciousness was spent trying to keep himself from blacking out completely.

He had lost.

“Are you done now, Songbird?” Viragi teased. His voice sounded distorted, even when he knelt down to Rennyn’s ear to whisper it. “You fought for nothing but a fragment of your pride. Your friends remained unharmed. You fought, and you lost, over nothing. Let’s keep it that way, shall we? Just stay out of the way…”

Rennyn didn’t hear the rest, as his vision faded to black. The last thing he acknowledged was the earth rumbling—Viragi removing the earth that separated them from the others?—and, soon after, a hand on his shoulder.

~~~

No matter what, he always seemed to lose. He knew anyone close to him would get hurt, and he told them that, but they went along with him anyway; he did everything in his power to try to keep them safe, and the worst still happened.

“You’re the reason they’re dead.”

Those words stuck with him for a long time, far past the life in which that had happened. They’d only ever been spoken in a handful of voices, but he seemed to hear it everywhere—whenever he made a mistake, he knew that it was all on him.

How was he supposed to save the world when he couldn’t even save his friends?