Apernora stood at the back of the battlefield, directing the southern army. She looked around the battlefield. Everywhere she looked, carnage ensued, with the lines of the southern army crumbling and falling apart. Already the first deserters started to appear. It would only take a few short moments for the situation to turn into a full-on rout. Mundus's brothers weren't doing any better, as both Natusoror and Feidi were able to suppress both brothers fully. Apernora sneered. From where she was standing, she could see how both her brothers surrendered, dropping their weapons and kneeling on the ground. She clicked her tongue. Their only hope now was for Mundus to win his duel with Stella. Mundus was able to stop the lizard charge long enough, for Apernora to be able to organize a defense, but now as predicted everything rested on his shoulders. If Mundus didn't win, then the defensive line would collapse, ending in a total loss for the southern forces. She watched with bated breath, as Mundus exchanged blows with Stella. Both were moving so quickly, that her eyes could barely track the movement. Suddenly Apernora heard two loud bangs in quick succession and saw a cloud of dust rise, covering the figure of Mundus and Stella.

Once the dust settled, Apernora gasped as she saw Mundus standing with four swords embedded in his back. The world around her disappeared. All she could see was Mundus off in the distance, blood flowing out of his body, staining his garments red. She was too far away to make out details, and yet she could clearly see how each drop of blood poured out of him, flowing down the hilts of the swords, where they then dropped to the ground. The colors were all wrong. The green of the field was too bright, and the red of the blood was too vibrant. Even though everything around seemed brighter than usual, Mundus seemed paler than she was used to. Mundus moved his mouth, though what he said she couldn't say. All sounds had disappeared. She could no longer hear the shouts and clashing of weapons coming from the fighters, only hearing her own heartbeat. Everything moved slowly, and Apernora could swear she could count an eternity between each heartbeat. But all she did between each eternity, between each mighty thump of her heart, was stare at Mundus.

He staggered now. He moved so slowly, it was as if the world itself couldn't believe he had died. Mundus fell over, inching closer and closer to the ground. It took an eternity for him to impact the ground. All the while, Apernora could smell the blood. The blood of the soldiers fighting and dying all over the battlefield, the blood of the lizards, slain by Mundus, and the blood of her one and all, her entire world. The smell weighed down on her, choking her out of her last breath. The humid air stuck to her skin, like a disgusting cloak, oppressing her. She could feel each droplet of sweat traveling down her body, and every pore within her body was gasping for air, only to get suffocated by that terrible humidity, her lungs were filled with the smell of blood and the stench invaded her mind, driving out every thought except for the all-encompassing pressure. Each heartbeat was mighty and powerful, threatening to burst her heart. Finally, Mundus's body impacted the ground. She could see in clear detail, how the force of the impact spread across his body, making his body bounce.

Even though Apernora could see everything in clear detail, she couldn't see Mundus's expression. It was as if there where his face had been there was now a blank mask, as if his face had been robbed from someone. Mundus wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He was the greatest warrior and hunter the world had ever seen. His feats were great and many, and there were none who could hope to match his prowess. Apernora was sure, that Mundus would soon rise and continue the fight, everything previously being a ploy, to get his opponent to lower her guard. These were the thoughts racing through her mind until she saw how a spear stabbed through his skull. Apernora's mind spun wildly, trying to comprehend how Mundus could have survived that, how this was all simply part of his plan. Her heart started beating rapidly, and she could feel a surge of energy. Her muscles started trembling and her hands and feet felt cold. She couldn't imagine how Mundus had survived that. So did that mean that he was...?

Slowly, Apernora followed the shaft of the spear, leading from Mundus's head up, up, up, and ending in Stella's hand. Stella pulled out the spear and thrust it into the sky. "Mundus is dead! We have won!" A cheer rang out from the northern army, while the southern army started to fall apart fully, everyone running for their lives, their fighting spirit fully crushed. Apernora stood stunned, as soldiers ran past her. An intense wave of hatred erupted from deep within, from the origin point of the profound pain that she was feeling. She unslung her bow and took out an arrow. She began running, weaving between deserters and ducking under enemy spears. A few soldiers tried to stab her, but she dodged their attempts and made her way past them. Had they been a full line, then she wouldn't have been able to get past them, but the northern army had given up their formation, in order to hunt down the fleeing army.

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Apernora emerged from the backside of the northern army's spear line and knocked an arrow. She pulled back the sinew and aimed. Stella was bleeding heavily from her stump. She used her powers to halt the bleeding and it seemed like she was distracted with her missing arm and wasn't paying attention to Apernora. Apernora released the arrow, letting it fly true. Apernora was the inventor of the bow and was the undisputed master of it as well. If one were to ask her, she would confidently answer that this arrow was the best she had ever shot in her entire life. It was aimed perfectly, accounting for the wind, the drop of the arrow and even for the slight imperfections in the arrow itself. Apernora knew that this arrow would fly true. In that moment she was one with the arrow, letting it carry all her rage, anger, grief, and hatred. The arrow would fly and pierce the heart of Stella, giving Apernora the revenge she so desired. And yet... "Watch out!" A bronze sword flew out, the inscriptions flashing, sending out an invisible kinetic strike. The sword was too slow, yet the invisible strike hit the arrow, shattering it in the air.

Feidi appeared from the side, halting in front of Stella while glaring at Apernora. She formed a defensive stance, protecting Stella from any other arrows. "Thanks, Feidi. You saved me there." Stella let out a weak smile while holding her stump with her left hand. The bleeding had stopped, the arteries and veins manually closed with Stella's powers. The wound was exposed to the air and looked quite gruesome. Apernora let out an animalistic roar before sending another arrow aimed at Stella. Feidi effortlessly blocked it, before dashing toward her, bronze sword flashing. "Wait! Don't kill her!" Feidi stopped herself from piercing Apernora through the chest and instead punched her with the pommel of the sword in the stomach. Apernora doubled over, bile rising in her throat. She could feel her bow being ripped out of her grip and the arrows slung over her back being removed.

While still bent over, Feidi couldn't see her hands. Apernora grabbed the obsidian blade from her hip and, straightening to her full height, dashed forward aiming at Feidi's neck. Feidi showed a shocked expression, before dashing backwards. Apernora was about to pursue, when she suddenly couldn't move her hands anymore. "Remember, don't kill her." Stella's voice rang out from behind. Feidi simply grimly nodded her head. Apernora tried to move her hand, but it was fixed in place. She could feel how Feidi's powers were starting to grip the obsidian knife. Apernora would soon be weaponless. She suddenly sneered and rotated her body. Her hand was fixed in a spot, holding the knife in one position, but she could rotate her body around the elbow, like a door to stab.

Apernora felt the blade pierce her heart, yet the pain she felt wasn't worse than the pain she already felt in her heart. She felt how Feidi released her grip from her hand, allowing Apernora to move freely. She dropped her hand and turned around, the obsidian blade still buried in her heart. Both Feidi and Stella were wearing a shocked expression. A small flash of triumph and smug satisfaction appeared within, but it was quickly smothered out. Apernora began to stagger forward, walking past Feidi. Feidi was about to do something, yet Stella called out to her not to do anything. Apernora could feel a metallic taste in her mouth, yet this taste was different from the taste of blood.

She stumbled step by step closer to Stella. The colors started to fade, no longer were the greens too bright and the reds too vibrant. Everything was losing color as if the world itself was being drained of its life force. Step by step she got closer to Stella. She tripped over a fallen corpse and almost fell, yet she remained standing. She knew that if she were to fall now, she would never be able to rise again. The sound of blood rushing behind her ears now no longer sounded. Now she could only hear the strained breathing coming from her lungs. She felt like they would stop sucking in air at any moment, yet she willed them to continue drawing breath. She took one step, then another. Her world shrunk down to herself and her goal. No matter what, she had to get there before the end. Various scenes flashed before her mind's eyes, mostly of her and Mundus with a few scenes of them together with their newborn son. She smiled weakly at the thought of him. She could only hope Dolo would take good care of him. Step after step, until in the end, she stood before Mundus's corpse.

The thunderous heartbeat that had been plaguing her the moment her world had died was finally quiet. No longer was it beating and no longer would she have to fight. Together they had dared resist God, and together they will die during their resistance. Apernora thought it would have been poetic, perhaps even beautiful, if it weren't for her and her everything that were dead. Apernora collapsed, reaching out a weak hand to grasp Mundus's yet her strength failed her. Her hand dropped halfway between them. A flash of regret appeared in her eyes. One more regret atop a pile of many more. Suddenly, a pair of boots stepped next to Apernora's head. The boots belonged to Inpar, with the enchanted bronze strips embedded into the clothing. A hand reached down and took hers. The hand then brought her hand over to Mundus's intertwining the fingers together. Apernora felt a brief flash of relief and breathed out her last breath with a weak smile on her face.