Finger after finger, bone after bone, sounds of smashing glass shattered the night, bright purple flashes shining from within the gruesome wounds. The air was filled with droplets of blood, bone splinters and sparkling pearls. The man lost both of his palms, his boots soaked in blood and torn by exploding bones of his feet. Crazed look was focused solely on Sirius, as he stumbled on his mutilated legs, eyes shining like two crimson suns. The mana was still flowing towards him, entering the body and leaving the shattering bones, only to go back inside right after. He began screaming, his voice distorted by vibrating air. Foreign voices began screaming with him, forming a cacophony of wailing, as the man stumbled towards stunned Sirius. He fell, as his legs were torn away, but still moved forward, crawling with his stumps. Sirius saw the body of the man begin to glow from inside, making him shake away the shock. Ignoring the shooting pain in his leg, he hit the ground with his staff and swung forward, condensing the semi-spherical shield of rock. He crouched and stiffened, bringing every bit of his mana into a stone shell, the only thing between him and the mage.

The bright light illuminated the area.

Half-meter thick rock heat up, froze back, turned into metal, then back into sand, covered with water and riddled with holes. Sirius quickly adapted to the transmuting shell, forcing the mana into a suitable state for each material. The edges of the shell were blown away anyways, and through the holes Sirius saw the blinding wisp of light, that quickly changed colours. It continued to scream with ethereal wails, full of pain, rage and sorrow. After several seconds, the raging mana began calming down a little, giving Sirius some breathing room, as the shell of crystalline material was slowly turning back into stone.

"[email protected]_p." As the raging storm eased its fury, Sirius began discerning the stray words. ".D_ie..m..3e."

Unsure if what to do, Sirius hardened the shield with even more power, as he felt his very soul vibrate under the screams of pain. From behind his barrier he tried looking with his Mind's Eye at the strange creature, but failed, as the thin veil of mana was torn away from his control and sucked inside the insatiable whirlpool. After a deep breath, Sirius remembered his first experience in the Astral World. Something inside him was trying to come to surface, but failed. Standing on all fours, Sirius tried focusing on this inkling, and then suddenly...

Silence...

Sirius slowly lifted his head. He saw a bright world, where light was passing through the grey cubes, surrounding Sirius. The shining white net covered the black sky, slowly shifting, connecting, separating, moving unstoppably, crawling towards and away from thin strands, going up and down, connecting the sky with the ground. The vast distances felt so close, yet so incredibly far, as raging mana flowed like a river as above, so below the surface. Sirius heard a sniffling, and looked in front of himself.

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Like a shadow, his own body crouched on the ground, covered by the shining sphere, behind which was... a kid. Around the kid the dense mana swirled like a blizzard, changing colours as the kid curled in the centre and quietly cried.

"Mom... Dad... Help..." The kid whispered amidst the sobs.

"Hey..." Quietly said Sirius, making the kid shudder.

"Who?..." The kid looked at Sirius. "Divine Child?... You came to help?"

"I..." Sirius looked at the glowing and pulsing ghost of a kid, whose eyes shined with crimson. "Yes."

"So much... Pain..." The kid curled back.

Sirius was unsure of what he could do. With a part of his consciousness he still heard the terrifying wails, raging storm of mana ploughing the river bank. Where was the bright wisp was this kid, covered by the thick whirlpool of wild energy, that tore at the world itself.

"Gods... Please... help me... Let me die..." Came the wailing voice of the child, that gradually lost its humanity.

Sirius felt the pressure of the world on him and looked up. The bright net clumped right above them and slowly formed a drop, that moved down, slowly, like a cold honey. He could not see, but something gave him the idea that the same was happening below his feet.

"Let me get to you!" Shouted Sirius, while getting closer, but was ignored. He stretched his arm, but the sharp mana slashed at his ethereal palm, nearly ripping it off. Sirius retracted his arm in paid and watched the blue mist exit the rapidly healing cut, as it was disappearing without a trace. he felt irritated for some reason. He condensed a layer of dense mana around his body and began slowly threading through the ethereal wind. The pressure was unbearable, the sharp energy threatened to enter his shell, opposite energies crackling on the edge of Sirius' shield. He moved forward, withstanding the raging uncontrollable power, and closer to the centre felt the storm weaken. As he crouched above the curled kid, barely ten years old, two blinding red suns looked at him.

"Help me..."

"How?" Asked Sirius.

"Help me die..." The sparks shivered, as the ethereal tears streamed from the boy's eyes.

"Is if that painful?"

"Very..."

Sirius looked at his palm, feeling the handle appear inside. The short hunting knife he used at Rivervale filled his grasp. Sirius did not know how it got here, but right now it mattered not. He solemnly held it in two arms and pointed to the boy's chest.

"Help me meet the Divine Twins..."

"Call me Sirius."

"Brother Sirius, I don't want to die..." Whispered a kid.

"No one does." Sirius was tearing up.

"Thank you..."

Sirius took a deep breath and thrust the blade in boy's chest, feeling just a little resistance, as the ethereal blade quietly entered the translucent ghost. The cut began bleeding with dense mist, as the body was losing its light and shape. Not even a minute later, Sirius was kneeling amidst the soulless stone cubes, wailing from sorrow and filling the surroundings with anguish and hopelessness. He was felt pulled by his heart, his body weightlessly coursing through the ethereal world. In the last moments, as Sirius was floating face up above his body, his gaze fell upon the large droplet of raging mana, hanging from the bright net in black skies.