I gritted my teeth once more, forcing myself to move from one point to another and keep him suspended in the air as I hacked away at his floating body. It got to the point where I nearly crashed into a streak of my own scarlet mana that was still performing a cut across his torso. From the outside, it must have looked like a pane of scarlet glass was shattering before even touching the ground.
Strike after strike, slash after bloody slash, I carved into every single nook and cranny that I could, the air around us both becoming a mist of blood and entrails. Just as I moved in for what would be the final strike, there was a split second of Ed, not Mideia, looking at me with a similar look that Balgrim had given me.
His eyes widened in the heartbeat it took for him to take in my different colored hair and eyes, but I could tell at a glance that he knew I was only doing what I could to save him. I felt bile rise in my mouth as both the physical and emotional pain I was in were beginning to be too much to bear.
Seeing him like that, with no limbs and minimal blood remaining in his body to speak of, was a gut punch worse than the one Mideia had given me only a few moments prior. My heart and core ached, but the look of acceptance on his face reminded me of something I'd nearly forgotten.
He was my oldest friend, and I trusted him with my life, just like he trusted me with his. The weak smile he gave me told me everything I needed to know, and the courage to land the final blow.
"Sunder," I said, my final swing carefully carving around his core as the other slashes finally caught up to what I was doing. Each one was carefully aligned so as not to harm his core with a slash or the impending explosion, like what had happened with Balgrim, but I knew that the most challenging part came after the final cut landed.
Through the misty remains of my best friend, I grabbed his core and encased it in Wraith mana, much like I'd heard from Mom that Ren had done with the dericoed's. There was no sound of his remains hitting the floor, not a whisper of his cry for help echoing throughout the chamber.
There was nothing but silence, both in my mind and in the air around me.
I landed back on the floor as gently as I could, given my current state, but the weight of the core in my hands was far heavier than anything I'd ever felt before. I stood there, in motionless silence for a few moments, mourning the loss of my best friend. My ears were ringing, my entire body was a scarred, bloody mess, but none of that mattered to me in that moment. I just stood there, blankly staring at what I'd done, what I'd been forced to do, and felt the tears stream down my face.
I heard the gentle crumbling of Devyr's kataki shield as it was drawn back into her, but I couldn't bear to look. I couldn't look them in the eyes after what had just happened, and so I did the only thing I could do.
I dropped to my knees and wept tears of anger, regret, and sadness all at once.
Kavrass itself had allowed me a few moments of solace before the brutal reality settled back in. Through the sound of my sniffling, I heard a faint humming growing louder and louder right in front of me, and I realized what had happened.
"The bindings… they're gone," I said, the sinking realization that there was nothing left to keep the giant orb stable anymore. "I know," Ysevel's voice came from behind me, her hand in the middle of my back, using her mana to heal my wounds as best she could. "Just like old times, right?" she said idly, as we watched the orb grow increasingly unstable.
"No, not this time," I said, struggling to get to my feet, tripping more than once along the way. "What are you doing?" she asked, catching me just before I tripped over my left foot. "We're not getting lucky a second time; it's time to make our own luck," I said, clutching Ed's core tightly to my side.
"Will you help me?" I said, sharing my intent through our connection. "Always, my love," she smiled weakly, giving me a knowing look. "Thanks," I said, turning to look at the orb as she helped me hobble toward it.
Mom and Kalia came as well, following just behind the two of us. I could feel their eyes burning into the back of my skull with their questions, but those could wait, and they knew that just as well as I did.
We reached the base of the platform, and I found it challenging to get up onto it so I could put my hand to my core. Mom gingerly stomped her foot on the ground, creating a platform to lift me. Thanks, Mom, I sent her with a pained smile, earning me a solemn nod.
With Ysevel's help, I approached the unstable orb and reached out my hand. My hand and fingers, for the most part, were still a bloody mess, but they were now only tired, rather than slashed. My hand shook as I drew more mana than I could mentally bear into me, and then out into the surrounding area. The others followed my lead, supplementing my spell with their own mana, but we were all exhausted from having used so much.
My spell wavered a little as it began to envelop the orb, but as it spread nearly halfway over the orb, I heard the sound of massive beating wings.
Fucking give me a break, I sighed, not knowing what sort of creature was heading our way, but it somehow felt like I knew who it was.
I couldn't attribute the feeling to anyone I could think of in my injured state, but I knew I had to accept whatever or whoever it was, with caution.
As the sound grew louder, the air suddenly grew close, as if the realm was waiting to bend to whatever will drove that creature here. "Oh, shit. Move!" Mom said, grabbing me by the waist, while Kalia pulled Ysevel to safety. As we fell backward, I saw a bright beam of white light descend like the brightest morning sun on top of the orb.
Time, once again, flowed strangely as I watched the bright white beam entirely consume the orb.
Is that…mana? I thought, before the sound of shattering earth and crushing rocks bore down on all my senses. It lasted, perhaps, the entire time it took me to perform an odoruki technique, but I could hardly tell with my eyes burning from the light. The shockwave blew us back a reasonable distance from the platform, which, in turn, made us slam into the ground, sending pain through my entire body.
I nearly lost consciousness, but I wanted to know who could have possibly had enough power to do that. I blinked slowly, and when I reopened my eyes, I saw the silhouettes of three figures where the Orb once was. While I could roughly make out two of them, there was one I couldn't visually place, but I knew they were extremely powerful.
I didn't know what they were saying since my ears were ringing and my vision was extremely blurry, but I could have sworn I heard Ysevel say something. She had a surprised look on her face, and while I wish I'd heard what it was, my mind was just too foggy to understand what was happening.
From what I could tell, given the others' reactions, they were allies, but the pain in my ribs raced through my body now that my adrenaline was wearing off. I knew I wouldn't be conscious much longer, but when I saw Bernar's worried expression drawing nearer, I offered him a weak, confused smile.
I have no idea how he's here, but I guess I'll figure that out later, I remember thinking before allowing myself to sink into darkness.