"Ugh," she grunts, shaking her head slowly as the last of the bolts' light fades. She wipes a trickle of blood off of her nose, "Sooo..." The girl rubs her eyes, "Are you gonna fight me properly or am I just wasting my time with you?"

"That's it, get back here, Qaa." you curse, flinging bolts at your tormentor, "You are so annoying!"

The Shifter only barely scurries around your attacks, the bolts just grazing her. She laughs wildly, spinning around to taunt you further, only to finally get struck by a particularly harsh, red arrow of light. It lodges itself in her stomach, stopping her dead in her tracks, and causing her to fall backward. She gasps for breath, staring down at her bleeding gut while she clutches it protectively.

Crashes sound from further away. The Birdman is dead.

The little Shifter girl's eyes widen as she falls to her knees. "Vuu...? No... Not you..." she asks breathlessly, weakly crawling forward with one hand still clutching your red arrow of light.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

You see L'Neeri throwing the bald man off the edge of the root. He screams as he plummets into the abyss.

Dah'Grahs gestures with his hands, motioning the wood which flows like liquid around the woman with clouds for arms, entombing her in a living prison.

Nii'ma stares at the charred remains of another Accursed, her face is full of guilt, but she is unable to communicate it.

Yyl stands in front of the man with the blindfold, his face a mix of regret, pain, frustration, and gloom.

Sel'Ozsia walks between the others, giving them a reprieve from their bodily pains. She knows she cannot heal their sorrow.

You look back at the dying Shifter girl, who weakly speaks with blood dripping from her mouth, "...Hail to the All Mother..."

And the abyss consumes her.

You motion with your hands and the bolt drags its target across the root and off the edge.

Out into the abyss.

***

"It's happening." L'Oos breathes. "Our interloper has breached the seal."

"I guess there is no delaying it, then..." Tyrr'olni'nel'mul grates, his bulbous black pools of the void undulating in the creases in his Aarkiel bones. "The All Mother will be summoned shortly."

"May I ask again where the Bind Point is in relation to where one of my shards is?"

The Aarkiel's constant and malicious grin vanishes. "A few miles east, I am afraid."

This will be a disaster...

***