Reveria forces herself to look into Orako's glazed eyes. Life seems to be nearly drained from them, like freshly caught fishes dying out in the sun.
Krim planted a knee into the sand beside Orako's shoulder, letting himself sink to the same level. The sight of open wounds, still shedding tiny streams of blood, caused Krim to frown the best he could.
"He is not in the right condition to live. I don't even think he is still alive," Krim commented. "But we shouldn't leave a father without his son. Even if his son is dead, his father deserves him back."
"I agree, that's why I'm going to bring him out of here. I promised Ukaley that I'd bring him back," Reveria replied.
Possible hope of putting her partner's soul to rest lingered in her voice as she fell silent again. Leaving Krim with a bitter taste in his maw.
Distant cannons boomed, unleashing a furious volley of cannon balls to Volknair and the still fighting Infinus forces. Each ball leveled the battlefield and pummeled ancient memories to dust.
Except for the memory of Ukaley. The days of standing by her lover's side still holding onto aspects of Reveria's mind. A serious problem that she had to take care of.
"My good... friend," Krim turned to look at her. "I have a gift for you, maybe you will reject it instead of accepting it. But can you please listen for a moment?"
Reveria pulled her bow onto her back, letting her arm pin it in place. "I'm not your friend, Krim. But quickly tell me. We are wasting time."
Krim stood up, showing off his tight muscles and seemingly menacing figure. "Your partner meant a lot to you, and I can see you are suffering because of it. To me, one needs to move on."
Upon hearing the suggestion, Reveria balled her fists and readied herself to kill Krim. "Don't tell me what to do!"
"I'm not, I am suggesting you should seek the affection of another partner. And my request is you take one of my female Ferals as your new partner," Krim continued. "She'll keep you company."
She scoffed, before shrugging off his request. "Ferals understand other Ferals better than a Thawed can understand one... but I have been very lonely and inactive. No promises that I'll accept, but the ability is open."
That response was enough to satisfy Krim. He had been thinking about that for a long time, wondering if both parties would agree. So he would sometimes ask young females if they'd give a female Thawed a chance.
Most responded with the simple answer of, 'we'd give her a chance if she promises to help me raise an adopted cub.'
Krim and Reveria got to work on fixing Orako's body enough to have him situated on her back. By the end, they both agreed she should carry him on her shoulder.
Orako groaned with pain, but in a defeated tone. The willingness to survive was still there, but his ability to respond with strength was not.
Before Reveria took off running, Krim pointed something out. He noticed no cannon fire went off while they were fixing Orako. Instead, distant booms and cackling of electricity went off.
It was the perfect opportunity to escape, now that their Weavers were keeping them busy. Reveria sprinted up the hill, effortlessly holding Orako in place.
His body danced to the frantic tunes of dying groans and pained grunts. Despite how much pain he was in, there was still plenty of fight left in him. He wanted to live, run back to his family.
Like how Decka taught him, the only time that he should stop fighting is when he has no more limbs. Even the chin had to be defeated before Orako could finally rest.
Infinus forces parted, letting Reveria pass through them with the injured Feral over her shoulder. While she ran away from the fight, these warriors were rushing to finish off what little enemy forces remained.
A sickening sense of distortion clouded their minds. Nobody was safe, especially Orako, who attracted them. The restlessness and pain made these creations curious and hungry.
Which eventually began to impact Reveria. She felt discouraged to continue running, a sinister voice was whispering into her ear. Telling her to put Orako out of his misery. But she was firm in her decision.
Something an onlooking entity admired. Demon emerged from his pocket universe, feeling stronger than ever. His maid and butler emerged alongside him, except they were invisible to most eyes.
Reveria slowed down upon seeing the twisted spin-off of Valentine. She felt frozen in place, unsure of what her instincts should do. But Demon cocked his head back, showing he wasn't there for them.
"Bring Orako to me, I'll send him straight to Ether's grasp," Demon ordered.
"No! How do I know you're not going to hurt him?" Reveria asked, visibly shaking.
Demon opened his arms. "Because Orako means a lot to Ether, he needs his son in his arms. Just as I need you by my side. Let us clean Volknair, pluck all these wretched creations off and kill them."
Orako mumbled. "N... eddy.... N - Neddy..."
Hesitation held Reveria back for a bit, until she finally cave in and handed Orako to Demon. Now with the young Feral in his arms, Demon let harmless Syndicate Dust consume him. Causing him to reappear back home near the fire.
This time, there were no tricks. Because Demon's attention came down to luring out the Seeker once again. So he could kill whatever that thing was for what it did to him.
"Give me your bow. I will perfect it, so you can start killing Distorted," Demon requested.
Once again, Reveria cave in and handed her weapon to him. Which he took with one hand before running his other hand along the entire weapon.
Now the regret, shame, and depression was growing stronger. Invisible Distorted closed in on them, ready to feed off their past mistakes.
Demon then handed it back to her. "Do not worry about the arrows. It'll keep shooting. Because our unwanted visitors will not let up until they have corrupted you, so you must not let them speak."