"Much as you can overpower the spirit of another with enough time and preparation, you can do the same with a severing ritual," explained Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death. "It will take time to prepare, but with the power of your phoenix it will be much faster for us than for anyone else at your level of strength. A few days, rather than two weeks."

Nearby stood Alahira Inferna, the Demonic Prune Tree. Zu Mari watched in morbid fascination as she teasingly caressed her victim, Ozyri Tori secured firmly and helplessly in her branches despite his best efforts to break free.

"The sooner we can break his connection with this, the sooner we can kill him properly and end this," prompted Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death, who despite being a sword and having no stomach at all, had no stomach for the sort of things Alahira planned to do to Ozyri.

"Set up the ritual." Zu decided. He wasn't sure if it would be wise to try to deprive Alahira of her fun; he'd come very close to being prey himself in the past, and without the protection of the time loop he’d have been the one in Ozyri’s position.

He did have to admit, Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death wasn't wrong about the disturbing nature of the demon tree's desires. He didn't particularly want to imagine what she did with the men she ensnared; the casual way she'd ripped out Ozyri's tongue didn't bode well for the wellbeing of her toys.

No, no. It wasn't Zu's problem. Leaving Ozyri with Alahira would keep both of them out of his hair for a good long time, especially if he let Alahira keep believing that to kill Ozyri would mean the end of all things.

Alahira could have her fun without harming any innocents, Ozyri wouldn't be able to bother Zu, and Zu would be free to leave and continue his quest to ascend to the heavens. Really, everyone got what they deserved.

He followed Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death's directions in setting up the ritual, then sat at its center and meditated for three days and three nights, pouring all his and his phoenix's energy into the spell.

By the time it was ready and he emerged from the deep meditation, Alahira had reformed herself completely around Ozyri, an impression in her trunk perfectly molding itself to him, while small branches still held him caged in, even as they grew slowly closer around his remaining visible body. Which seemed to have been dispossessed of any covering. (Zu was both grateful and mildly disturbed that Ozyri now faced away from him.)

"I'll need a drop of his blood," Zu told Alahira, who used a single twig sharpened to a needle point to slice into the back of Ozyri's neck. He didn't even flinch.

"I don't like this at all," whispered Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death. "This is wrong."

"He wanted to kill me a thousand times, destroy my soul, and murder my entire family," Zu reminded the sword. "And you saw him, systematically hunting down and killing the very family who took him in and trained him? He was mad, and dangerous, and needed to be stopped."

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"But like this?"

"If there was another way, I do not know it," Zu said. "We do what we must, with whatever allies are at hand."

Zu placed the cube at the center of the ritual, then dripped Ozyri's blood atop it. Energy flared up and rushed in, a sound like the sky breaking resounded in Zu's chest and sent him staggering back under the weight of the sudden flare of power and a rush of wind.

For a moment, his vision darkened. When he sat up, the amber-frozen walls enclosing them had vanished, leaving the cube white and empty.

"How do I claim it for myself?" Zu asked, eagerly picking up the cube.

"With your own blood."

Zu pricked his finger against the sharpest tip of the cube, then let his blood fall into the blank opening. It fell halfway into the cube, then hovered there, growing and morphing, turning gold and sending out tendrils to cling to the edges of the cube until it looked like a gold version of the blue thing that had resided in it before.

Zu felt the presence of the cube only faintly, more like a shadow or an echo than anything solid. It bore no resemblance to the deep connection he shared with his inner phoenix or Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death, and only vaguely reminded him of the familiar bond with Death Shadow.

"How does it work?" Zu asked, turning the cube over and examining the symbols. Each tendril from the glowing gold core within the cube connected to the same spot as one of the symbols on the outside. He tapped on one experimentally, but nothing happened.

"Too bad we can't ask Ozyri about it," the sword said. "If we hadn't maimed him already, he could answer questions now that he won't be able to revert time again."

"You care too much about someone who means us only ill." Zu pocketed the cube. "We will find the answer someday. For now, we have places to go. I still need to meet with the Chartreuse Cougar leadership and resolve this whole mess little Kayli started."

He would speak to each of the Eight Wild Clans, clear up the confusion, perhaps train with them and learn their secret techniques, then move on. The further he strayed from Mari territory, the more dangerous his life would become. He patted the cube in his pocket. As strong as he was, he'd learned very vividly the past few days that strength wasn't always enough in the face of cheaters like Xashu and Ozyri. In the rest of the world, he'd be sure to find countless cheaters. He'd need to figure out the cube sooner rather than later if he wanted to have a chance at surviving long enough to ascend.

He called Death Shadow to him, and prepared to take off into the sky.

"Beloved, you are leaving?" Alahira called plaintively, snagging his foot with one branch.

"I am," Zu said regretfully. "I must go on, but know that our bond will linger on forever. One day, I shall return. There are other obligations here which I must fulfill, after all. Until then, wait for me, and take care that Ozyri Tori never leaves." He felt Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death's disapproval, and amended, "But the ritual we performed has negated his dark soul powers, so if you end up killing him it doesn't matter. You don't need to try very hard to keep him alive or anything."

"Ahhhhh," Alahira breathed, her branches quivering happily. "That makes things so much easier." The touch against Zu's leg stroked him gently once, then retracted. "I thank you, dearest Zu. You have been better to me than anyone else ever has, and I will never forget your kindness or your love. Return to me soon, or send others if you have need of my services."

"I will remember you," Zu promised, then fled.

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