My spells were weakening as fire burst from my hands in intervals. I had no idea what was going on, and I looked at the shadows closing in on me in a panic.
Within seconds, tiny shadows were spilling out of me. My dark powers battled the lost souls that were surrounding me in a circle.
It took a huge drain out of me because the shadows were part of my soul. I had been relying on my fire for this very reason.
My powers had never failed me like this. I didn't understand what was going on.
There have been countless times when I was completely exhausted but my powers worked perfectly. Something was wrong.
I was holding my knees as I struggled to get my breathing under control. My legs felt like jelly, and I felt they would give out any second.
Shakily, I lifted my head and looked into the forest. The shadows were busy fighting each other, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to sneak away.
Something shiny caught my eye. It was sparkling a few feet from where I was standing. I squinted, trying to figure out what it was but it was too dark.
Slowly, I dragged my feet. I was grateful that none of the shadows had noticed me. I escaped out of the fight, breathing harshly.
My feet dragged behind me as I continued. I knew I had to find out what was going on as soon as possible.
There was a timer going on in my mind, predicting less than a minute before I collapsed from exhaustion.
That would be a huge problem, which is why I had to push past the pain.
As I neared the object, I found that it was the knife one of the shadows had stabbed me with earlier. It was one of those rare occasions when I was overpowered and tried to defeat all my enemies at once.
At the time, I hadn't felt the stab at all. But as I focused on my blood glinting on Azrael's blade, panic flitted through my mind.
Everyone knew the one purpose that Azrael's blade was used for. You only used it when you wanted to take someone's soul.
My knees buckled underneath me. The knife's poison was slowly spreading through me. I had almost thirty seconds before my soul was transferred to Limbo.
A sort of desperate plan came to my mind. I grabbed one of my own blades, using it to slash my wrist open.
As blood poured out, I used it to draw a circle around me. I licked the wound to seal it up once I was done.
Then, I called forth all my shadows until I was soulless. Luckily, no one would be able to penetrate the circle unless I invited them in. So I didn't have to worry about the lost souls.
My shadows took shape. I chanted a few words as the wind swept past my hair. I had only twenty seconds left now.
The wind picked up as my spell progressed. My voice got louder speaking over the increasing wind.
Then, I held out my hand, desperately hoping my fire would come forth. Thankfully, it did. I plunged my soul into the flames. It spread in a whoosh of light, heat and darkness.
The exhaustion hit me like a pile of bricks. Everything was silent as I collapsed within the circle, grasping Azrael's blade to my heart.
Slowly, my eyes closed. Just like that, Náli was dead.