One look sent ice through my veins. Pure uncanny valley nightmare fuel. This thing looked too humanoid—smaller than the others, maybe even shorter than me, but absolutely
with corded muscle under oily black skin.
It was grinning around jagged teeth, still crunching that mana core like candy.
"Ben, I think we run. Something's—" Thea started.
We both dove apart as crackling purple lightning arced through the space we'd occupied, blasting chunks from a nearby building. Residual electricity sparked through puddles, making the rain hiss.
My gut screamed that whatever that was would've been fatal if it had hit us. Red dashed in front of me, putting himself between us and death.
The creature held out one hand, fingers contorted in a sick mockery of a mudra.
Red erupted with flame, hitting the creature so hard it staggered and fell. The pinned Voltghast zipped away, finally free.
Two more blasts slammed into the grounded Varglid as Thea's boomstick barked. I yanked mine from soul-space, slammed in a red coin, leveled it—too late.
I shoved mana into my right side as something crashed into me with the force of a freight train. My armor stiffened, absorbing most of the impact, but I went flying anyway. I slammed into rubble as the boomstick sailed from my hands and discharged, sending debris exploding into the air.
"Shit-baskets, you good, Ben?" Thea called.
I sat up. My heart stopped.
The Varglid stood exactly where I'd been moments before, staring at me with those purple eyes. It cocked its head like a curious predator.
Red was suddenly there, back in front of me, tails lashing as he shimmered with red light. His low rumble vibrated through the very air.
The Varglid's grin stretched wider. It raised both hands in those unnatural mudras. Thea's fireballs cracked against its back, but this time it didn't even flinch. Purple lightning already crackled around its claws.
I didn't think—I just moved. Pouring mana into my feet, I dashed forward, snatching Red and spinning to shield him. Spirit mana flowed from Courage as I pushed everything I had behind us, hoping Chas's advice about taking hits would work.
Pain sliced across my back like molten razors. The spirit-aspected mana absorbed some impact, sending tremors through my soul-space. My reflection stumbled.
Another blast slammed into me. This one hurt less—I'd pushed more power into the shield. But the mana drain was brutal. This was going to be a problem.
"Hey, fuck-stick!" Thea yelled.
The Varglid cocked its head toward her just as a solid bar of orange energy vaporized its arm and left side. It spun from the force, spraying black goo in a wide arc. The creature's arm and chunk of torso were just gone. The ground beneath had vaporized into a smoking crater.
Another searing blast struck its legs, liquefying them instantly. The aberration sprawled.
Thea glided over, getting in my face. "Whew! You can take a hit!" She backhanded my shoulder. "Not bad for a Seeker."
I gaped at the sheer destruction she'd unleashed. Then, screaming pain in my back and the reek of burnt flesh hit me.
I cycled life mana to the injury, feeling cool healing wash over burned skin.
Red looked completely bewildered, staring at me with his mouth open—not his usual goofy tongue-lolling, but actual shock.
"What?" I asked, scratching his head. A familiar tap on my mana made me smile.
, he sent, clear as speech.
I hugged him tight. "Always, buddy."
"Ow," I managed, squaring my shoulders. "Thanks for handling that nightmare, Thea."
Thea was staring wide-eyed at the Varglid. It was already back on two feet, watching its stump regenerate with sickening speed.
"Aspected mana is supposed to—" she started.
"Pain," the creature rasped.
Valor failed to warn me in time. One moment the Varglid was across from us. Next, it was beside Thea, and I was flying backward through something solid.
Agony roared through my chest, then my back. The impact knocked all the breath out of my lungs. That thing was impossibly fast.
I rolled over, wincing as a rib popped. Life mana mended the bone, but I was running dangerously low. I patched the worst damage and pushed myself up.
The Varglid had Thea by the ankles. It swung her like a rag doll, launching her through a stone wall. The sickening crack of impact made me flinch.
Red pressed against my side, hackles raised in a continuous growl. This Varglid radiated the same menace as Dara's golem—only this time I didn't have refined mana to save us.
Valor confirmed that Thea was alive in the rubble. Small mercy.
I focused all of Valor's attention on the creature. Even with my aura focused, I remained acutely aware of Red's position. The new bond, maybe?
The instant I targeted the Varglid, information flooded my mind. This thing radiated sickly mana that oozed from its pores like toxic sweat. It carried the same corrupt spiritual reek as Hollowflame.
And it wanted one thing: to tear me apart and see what made me tick.
The creature exploded toward me. Because I'd been focusing on Valor, I spun aside, bringing Winchester up in high guard. Pain exploded through bruised ribs as the hammerhead slammed into its chest with an orange burst, knocking it sideways.
It caught itself on its hands and twisted back up with contortionist flexibility.
I shoved light mana into Winchester's head. It ignited with a golden radiance.
Red was already moving—a crimson blur flanking the creature while I held its attention.
I cocked back and hurled Winchester like a tomahawk, the hammer spinning violently as I launched myself after it.
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The Varglid actually caught Winchester mid-air and tried to swing it at me. The hammer's disappearance threw it off balance, then reappeared in my grip as my brutal upward strike obliterated its upper half in a flash of golden light.
It was surprisingly manageable, that mana drain—less than that boar monster.
The Varglid's lower half spun, delivering a vicious roundhouse even as its torso reformed with nauseating speed.
I slammed into the ground, ribs cracking again. Life mana knitted them together, but I couldn't heal like this much longer.
"Fuck," I grimaced. The Varglid narrowed its violet eyes, clearly far from finished.
"Light," it rasped, that jagged smile stretching wider.
It took one step toward me, then erupted into white-hot flames as Red hit it with everything he had.
I shielded my face as sheer heat tore through the Varglid with brutal efficiency.
The creature let out a gargling scream, turning slowly—almost deliberately—to face Red as the flames died down.
Purple smoke rose from its form as it shambled toward Red, black ooze leaking like a sieve. I felt Red's panic through our bond—sharp and cold.
Pouring the last dregs of my mana into my feet, I launched myself forward. Winchester shifted from hammer to glaive mid-grip. I brought the light-infused blade down, slicing it cleanly in two, then reversed and slashed back in a glittering X that carved it into quarters.
Chunks dissolved into black ichor, the violet glow fading to nothing.
I was running on fumes, but that seemed to do the trick.
Dropping to my knees, I pulled Red into a hug, burying my face in his fur.
"No fucking Varglid's gonna hurt my dog," I mumbled, getting grateful licks in return.
I managed a weak smile, then let Valor's senses expand, searching for Thea.
I turned—and froze.
An orange-accented Varglid was right there, centimeters from my nose. I'd forgotten that focusing Valor made me effectively blind to everything else.
"Light!" it growled.
Its fist slammed into my head before I could twitch. My vision exploded white, followed by the sensation of a very hard landing.
Awareness returned in painful flashes. Being picked up. Red's frantic barks morphed into desperate snarls. My vision wouldn't focus. Thoughts like sludge.
I felt myself thrown onto a hard surface. Scrambling sounds and more barking as sight slowly cleared.
Red stood over me, fur back to normal, single tail wagging weakly. He was running on empty too. He faced the Varglid that had dragged me here—this one had vivid orange neon accents striping its arms and face in fractal patterns. About my height but less bulky than the first.
It regarded Red with cold indifference better suited to Maris than this aberration.
I frantically searched my soul-space, absorbing what few mana orbs remained. Pitiful, but might be enough.
A streak of molten orange energy ripped from its fingertip, heading straight for us. It struck Red's side. Deep red light flared around him before he yelped, the impact slamming him into me.
I grabbed Red, pulling him behind me, shoving myself between him and the aberration.
"Light!" it screeched, voice like grinding glass.
I hugged Red close with an arm. Valor reported no critical injuries. Hard impact, probably bruises, but no burns. Maybe his fire affinity offered protection?
My head cleared enough to realize we were on a tall building rooftop. Rain came down harder now.
And there, maybe fifty meters away, was Gu Li.
Torrents of blue energy slammed into the massive lizard from his left. He reeled, spraying shocking amounts of black and violet ichor as energy waves sliced open dozens of wounds.
The orange Varglid ignored the spectacle, neon eyes fixed on me, finger aimed like a loaded gun.
"Hunger," it rasped, licking grotesque teeth.
I dumped every scrap of remaining mana into Courage. Weak spirit-mana flooded out to intercept the incoming beam.
It did barely a damn thing.
This was it. The end. I had nothing left, and no one else to help.
Searing pain exploded in my head as the beam hit my eye. I felt a deep snapping sensation, as if I'd been cut off from my soul-space. Two more beams punched through my armor, and icy agony washed through me as I hit the ground.
My eyes shot open in my soul-space. What had I just been doing?
Something had scorched the ceiling and walls, burning away deep chunks of stone almost back to my storage space.
"Kid... you alright? Something don't feel right," Ted said.
I turned to see Valor—or rather, the lack of it.
The destroyed doorway held only the rune for Light, hovering alone. Valor had vanished. Craters marred my soul's courtyard.
"Shit," I said. "This is bad, right?"
"Yeah, it's not fucking good. You sure you're alright?"
I hadn't stepped into the courtyard since forming Valor. Now, staring at the literal shape of my inner world, it felt surreal. Haunting.
And then I saw her.
A woman sat on the distant railing, back to me. A flowing dress of white and gold fluttered around her, caught in a wind I couldn't feel.
I froze, pins and needles crawling across skin I probably didn't even have.
Ted narrowed his eyes at the same spot.
A line of light stretched faintly across the courtyard from the Light rune's core, straight toward her.
"Uh," Ted muttered. "That's not normal."
I gathered what courage I could and stepped through the doorway into my soul. It took enormous effort, like pushing against hurricane winds.
Emerging into the courtyard was pure agony. Scorched stone pulsed beneath me, radiating soul-deep damage. I dropped to my knees before realizing I was falling. Everything shimmered, blurry and warped.
I turned to see Ted frozen in the doorway, blinking too slowly. Like I was moving a hundred times faster.
Pain surged through my eyes, steady and deep. I forced myself upright and pushed forward. The air thickened, resisting every step.
Several paces from the woman, I stopped and dragged in a breath that took too long.
"Who are you?"
She straightened, startled. Her head tilted, unsure if someone was really there. Then she spun with effortless grace, dropping from the railing to land before me.
The thread of light connecting her to the Light rune pulsed. The pressure vanished. I could breathe.
She met my gaze. Her irises glowed like molten gold, surrounded by etched glyphs that flickered with every blink. Long white-and-gold hair flowed past her waist. Her ears were pointed but spread sideways—ancient, not Elven. Regal.
She opened her mouth. Her voice rang like a bell struck too hard. The mountain behind me shook. Clouds scattered. Her face twisted in frustration.
"How did you get here?" I asked.
"I..." Her voice softer now, steadier. "I am."
"You... are?"
She nodded.
"I'm Ben. How are you here?"
She pointed behind me. "I." A pause. "Me?"
I followed her finger. The thread of light stretched back to the Light rune.
"Valor?" I guessed. She shook her head.
"Light?"
She clapped once and nodded. "Me."
"Ben," she repeated, pointing where my Seal should be. "Broken."
"Yeah. I think I... fucked up."
She scowled, frustrated. Like trying to speak when neither of you shares a language.
"Fucked," she echoed, then perked up. "I can mend."
"You can fix my soul?"
She hesitated and shrugged.
"Valor. I like Valor. Valor new, like Ben."
"How?"
She held out a hand. "Deal... Agreement... Promise?"
Something clicked. Oath. Paladins were supposed to have oaths, right? If not for the Oathbound in Sylvarus, I might not have made the connection.
"An... Oath?"
She clapped again. "Oath! Partnership."
Understanding flooded through me.
"Are you... some kind of God?" I whispered. Everyone said the Gods were dead. Swearing to one didn't sit right when I knew nothing about them.
Her face darkened. She looked genuinely hurt.
"Not God," she said sharply. "Wrong... shape?"
She pointed toward the Light rune again. "I am."
"You're Light, I know."
She pointed at herself. "Fucked." Then at me. "Fucked." Then at the rune. "Fucked!"
I couldn't help laughing. Was she saying we were all broken?
The pain in my head returned as whatever she'd done faded. Clouds rolled over the courtyard as an ominous feeling crept up my neck.
She thrust her hand out again. "Oath."
"What do I need to do? What's the Oath?" The feeling that something was wrong was getting worse—not here, but somewhere else. I had seconds to decide.
"Help Light. Help Life." She got a distant look. "Conflict."
That should have worried me. But the ominous feeling crescendoed, pain in my head hitting a breaking point.
I hesitated only a moment before taking her hand.
A surge of pure mana tore through me. All I could see were her eyes—radiant golden glyphs flooding my mind with concepts that threatened my sanity.
Lost in the concepts, I opened my mouth to scream. No sound escaped, but visions kept flowing. Time dissolved.
I thumped backward onto the stone courtyard, vision snapping back with a wave of vertigo. The sky churned with golden fractals stretching forever.
Panic flickered when I recognized familiar patterns, but this golden light felt different. Comforting. Serene. Like something genuinely good had arrived.
And then I felt it.
Mana. An insane amount flooded the air, all rushing into me, into my soul-space.
The fractals shifted and compressed, forming a pulsing ball that washed over me until a single golden sun—made of swirling fractals—hung in my inner sky.
The woman leaned over me, holding out her hand. I took it. Another concept flooded my mind.
My mind locked onto the idea, guided to follow this photon. Moving so fast, it seemed still. Time didn't matter as velocity became pure stillness. The space between where it started and where it was—became everything, holding back total nothingness that somehow shone with pure black darkness.
Existence itself was a fight. Constant struggle against the void. Stasis born from war, balance, and violence. The dead-center place between eternity and complete obliteration.
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