"What the—?!"
Harita yelled in surprise. Who wouldn't be? At a time like this…
A dark shadow, one big enough to engulf the world itself, hang overhead, covering the tall canopy that the enchanted forest provided. It crashed onto them like a tidal wave, swallowing them.
Before Lieren could even react, he was already drowning in deep, inky darkness, carried by the dark waves of the merciless abyss. Even hope couldn't save him from this.
"L-Lieren…!"
Harita reached his hand out, reaching for Lieren. Just before his slender hand could reach the boy, he too was carried by the depths of darkness.
"H-Harita—"
Just as Lieren yelled for his Aegis, he felt water enter his mouth, closing off his trachea, drowning him. He felt breathless for the first time in a while, all the air in his lungs sucked out and replaced by cold and merciless black water.
Lieren slowly felt himself losing consciousness, swallowed by the dark water of the abyss, drowning by his own foolish mistake.
'I never should have... huh?'
Before the darkness could fully envelop him, he felt something warm and powerful course through his cold veins. It overpowered all his other senses, until all he could feel was the electrifying radiance circumfuse his drowning presence.
It was wonderfully intoxicating.
"…Huh?"
Liren opened his eyes, expecting a dark expanse of great nothingness. As if to further imply his lack of insight; nothing was there. Or rather, everything was there. The towering trees, the lush flora, and the faint scent of burning flesh was still there, like it was meant to be all along.
…A late spark of realization brought Lieren back to reality.
"Magic Resistance!"
Of course! That enormous tidal wave of deep darkness must have been something conjured by somebody, meaning that it was magic. While Lieren wasn't sure if the water was actually real, or if that was just a prerequisite to the spell; he was certain that the drowning effect—or at least the illusion of it—was a byproduct of the spell, and thus fell into the kind of magic that his ability can dispel.
No matter how powerful, if it was considered magic, he could easily dispel it, as long as it was targeted at him, no matter if he was conscious of it or not.
But what about everybody else?
"H-Harita…?"
Snapping him out of his trance, the cold reminder of dark reality slapped him in the face. A cold epiphany washed all the relief and wonder he had been filled with just a moment ago.
Lieren looked around, searching for his Aegis, only to realize that he was nowhere to be found. Indescribable despair filled the young boy's heart as his mind arrived at the worst case scenario.
A field of consciousness extended away from the boy's body.
Like a flash of lightning, it told him where his Aegis was—just a couple of meters away.
Lieren quickly rushed to where he was, a worried expression on his face.
What he saw shocked him.
"H-Harita…?"
His bright and powerful Aegis lay there, clutching his own throat, as if he was being choked out by an invisible snake. Serpentine marks appeared on his neck, wrapping around it dangerously as Harita clutched an invisible creature, his eyes bloodshot as his face turned red from asphyxiation, soon to drain of all color in a matter of seconds.
Lieren kneeled down beside him, panicking.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening."
The boy's breathing became unsteady, hyperventilating from the mental pressure the situation presented him with. His rough breaths reminded him of his Aegis' failing condition, which made him panic even more, which made him hyperventilate even more. He wanted to calm down his twitchy nerves, take a deep breath, and process everything; but even that felt like a grave sin, which made him panic even more in a never-ending route.
He rapidly muttered in between breaths:
"W-w-what do I do? I can't share my… hah… Resistance with him. I don't even… hah… know how it works! If only I could, this… hah… would make things much easier. Oh go, oh god, oh god."
As Lieren spiraled out of control, his mind a chaotic mess from the sudden influx of information, he could feel his world crumbling once again, tore down by a force he can do nothing about as just another powerless creature.
He never should have asked him to come. If it was only him…
Without anything to do, he grabbed his Aegis' arm. At the very least, he could be there for his last moments.
And that was when it happened.
"Ow!"
A powerful shock of electricity ran from the palm of his shaking hands, into the arm of his Aegis, traveling at great speed through the binding chains that held the two of them together. It ran through Harita's body, destroying whatever phantasmal force was contaminating his body, the power Lieren resisted with his ability just earlier.
"…What?"
The serpentine scale marks in Harita's lean neck dissipated, fading away into nothing as the man it belonged to heaved for breath, his eyes wide-open, woken up from near-death.
The boy's eyes began to water.
"L-Lieren…? Did you do this?"
He hugged his Aegis with a sob, feeling a wave of relief wash over the dread and despair.
"I-I thought I was going to lose you."
Harita patted his head, a serene smile on his face.
"Me too."
He looked to the source of the scent of burning flesh, narrowing his eyes.
"We have to continue."
Lieren poked his head out. His eyes swam as he doubled back.
He wasn't so sure about doing this any more.
"But, didn't you say that…"
"That what?"
His voice was reduced to a whisper.
"N-nothing."
Harita chuckled.
"No, it's fine. You don't have to worry. Besides, this was your idea to begin with; I'm just following orders."
Harita stood up, peeling the sobbing boy away from him and pointing to the center of chaos they were very close to with his eyes. His eyes heled a sincere resoluteness, as well as austere sovereignty.
"I've changed my mind. We need to kill that thing, no matter what. It cannot leave this place at all costs."
A worried look overcame Lieren.
"Harita..."