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Wyatt Graves
I plummet into the abyss, clutching my ally tightly in my arms. Determination floods my senses as I brace for impact, hugging my friend close to shield them from the impending fall. Squinting my eyes, I reinforce my body as much as I can using Ether, with Blodwyn helping as well, preparing for the inevitable collision with the... marble floor below.
Of course, it's fucking opulent.
The descent is rapid, a blur of motion and wind rushing past now that we are so near to the floor. Despite my efforts, the impact reverberates through me, knocking the wind out of my lungs. The pain is momentarily eclipsed by the realization that we've reached the bottom, our bodies landing on the cold, unyielding surface.
Still, it doesn't hurt nearly all that bad. The fall must have been affected somehow by the substance in the air, reducing the pull of gravity. Nonetheless, Virgil spins his frame off me the second we land, reaching a crouch in only a moment. He stands in a three-point figure, one hand and two boots stable while he investigates our surroundings.
I, however, need a moment to catch my breath. As I inhale, the echoes of the mighty forces clashing nearby fill the air. The cacophony of their collisions serves as a backdrop to the unfolding chaos surrounding us.
A shout comes from Maddox in the distant tunnel lit by torches on the wall that reveal the shape and look of the whole bottom of the abyss. Everything is ornate within this circular room of marble. I stagger to my feet, feeling the whiplash of Maddox's voice.
"What are you doing!? Do you want to die!? This will only hurt us both! Are you that vengeful!?"
I can't see the two men, but I can hear them quite clearly. A vibration in the floor alongside a returned exclamation is Maddox's response.
"It is not death we should fear, Adkins. It is never living! Fight! Kill me! Live! Stop your foolish attempts at manipulation. Live until none can stop you from living! This is our rematch! No one will stop us! It is not about vengeance! It is about life!"
The entirety of the colossal hole trembles before Lennon's attack, and as it does, I stumble to the side and notice a kneeled figure beside me.
"Bonfire?"
I call out to my unresponsive friend as he emanates a silvery fire, its ghostly glow casting a dreadful light in the abyss. My heart detonates with worry as I recognize the threat this flame poses. There's a palpable sense of malevolence in the air, and the flickering flames hint at a power that transcends man.
Bonfire. The Mother Below. She's digging into him right now.
Do I have to?
I might. But that's a worst-case scenario. With a trembling heart, I stride closer to my friend with careful, cautious steps. As I near him, I discover a syringe embedded into his neck, with remnants of a deep black liquid inside it.
Concoction or Serum. No. It is an Elixer. Hidden within the depths of the vial for the instrument are hints of silver, something I've never seen before in the two lesser versions. Eli stabbed Bonfire with an Elixer.
And... I now know why they are so rare. Concoctions, Serums, and Elixers are made from Motherbound. Somehow. Someway. They must be. Nothing else possesses such a pale darkness.
That fucking bastard!
I reach out for my friend hesitantly, but as I reach forward, the remainder of the Quartet lands behind me. I twist my head back as I see Timemi, Anodra, and Natos immediately recover from the tumble and sprint toward me.
Virgil is nowhere—
There he is. Emerging behind Natos, a dagger flies for the man's neck as a scythe cuts for Anodra, distracting the Nahullo. At the same time, a dozen Sanedges seek Timemi's life, piercing toward her skull.
"Help Bonfire! Get his mind right! I'll hold them off for now!"
Virgil calls out to me as light covers him. The man retaliates desperately with Falling Rain, sending waves of gunfire toward Natos. The demon conjures a pane of light, breaking upon the fourth round. Still, it gives Anodra enough time to stand in front of her companion, soaking up the lead for him with her mighty armor. Still, the Carcass takes a beating from a Lumen. It won't last all that long.
The moment after the gunfire emerges like a series of cannon fire echoing inside this vast emptiness, Bonfire finally moves. His head rises to meet mine. My friend's left eye is utter silver, swirling with darkness. His right eye, however, is closed and flinching as if in pain.
Before I can even react, the man bursts forward toward me, igniting himself into a terrible flame. My heart pounds in my chest as I face my friend grimly, a puppet to the whims of a vengeful God. I dart to the right with a spring of Ether from Arbalest, barely dodging the heat.
I roll on the ground, facing Bonfire once more as the silver fire bursts forth from his form in such a way that it creates a shadow of a figure behind him. The flames dance in the shape of a many-legged spider while spewing an invasive heat that seems to melt and spread upon everything it touches.
Is... is that what the Mother Below looks like? A massive spider with endless legs? Then that thing I saw in the Cathedral... Was that her? No... it couldn't have been. It must have simply been some kind of manifestation.
Forcibly, I yank my attention back to the present as the air crackles with the intensity of the flames, their infectious heat reaching out like hungry tendrils, consuming all in their path. Together, the flames expand like they have lives of their own. Nevertheless, I refuse to let my friend fall to this God so easily.
"Bonfire! Emmet! Wake up! Fight it! I know you can! Push through the haze!"
My shout doesn't seem to do anything as Bonfire presses me again, even hotter this time. Blodwyn recognizes the threat and covers my skull with the bone of Pautuhm before I can even ask. Alongside his aid, Painsforge beats with extreme force, delivering power with every motion.
I dance and weave, desperately evading an explosion of scorching heat that threatens to engulf me. Yet, my relief is short-lived, for the silver fire catches on the marble floor beneath, behaving with a sinister intelligence. It spreads with viciously, burning that which should not be flammable, as if it has a mind of its own, creating a maze of fiery barriers that threaten to trap me.
Breathing in, I devour the Ether in the air, siphoning it all toward my body, expecting it to diminish or outright douse the flames. I nearly double over in surprise; for the first time, a gasp of mine does nothing. My focus wavers for a moment as I glance at my friend, still in the grip of the God's control. I leap over a burgeoning wall of flame, shooting out Living Manacles to latch onto Bonfire as I call out to him again.
"Emmet Knox! WAKE UP! I can't save Abraham without you!"
Despite my attempts to call him back from the abyss, it becomes painfully apparent that nothing is working as he charges me again. Even my chains do nothing, melting before they can even reach the man. The parts that hold onto the heat only manage to spread the flame, causing me to release the Ether.
If anything, Bonfire's frenzied state intensifies from my attempts, his movements growing more erratic and dangerous with each passing moment. I need to do something. But what!?
What can I do to help him!?
Fueled by a desperate determination, I continue to dodge the encroaching flames, the heat licking at my heels. My every move is a calculated effort to both evade the fiery onslaught and reach out to the friend lost within the God's control.
Meanwhile, behind me, Virgil fights a one-versus-three in a situation just as perilous, if not far more so. I glance back, finding him pushed back just as I am from the combination of the three.
Natos' light honestly does fuck with Virgil's Ether far too much. An innate counter, it would appear. Additionally, I keep retreating, not finding anything else to do. I... can I?
Can I do it?
The question is postponed as I back into Virgil, the two of us meeting. As we do, my friend slides three things into my hands with a whisper.
"I found these in the Wastes. Frozen's pack of playing cards. Clumsy's two earrings. Maybe they will help. But if they don't... you need to prepare yourself. I cannot win this fight alone. Even with my Dzil."
Then, Virgil slams into me, forcing us in the opposite direction as a cloud of steel pierces into the marble and flames eat into the steel. Staggering, I hold the objects in my hand as I call to Bonfire, waving them at him.
"Bonfire! Look! You remember these, right? Can you see through that eye? It's Frozen's cards! And Clumsy's earrings! Look at them! Don't fight me! Fight Her!"
The cards and earrings make Bonfire stumble for just a moment, as the flames cease their advance for a tiny, barely noticeable instant. Still, I latch onto that hint and approach my friend.
"You will not die today, Bonfire. Show me your flame! I want to see the beautiful fire you can create, not this... silver thing! This isn't you!"
I get within a few feet of Bonfire as the inferno calms and the heat dies down. His lonely, opened eye peers only at the ground. My hand extends toward my friend as he shudders, his shoulders shaking and buckling under an invisible weight. The moment my hand touches his frame, though, he flips his head up, opening both eyes to stare at me.
The left is still devoured by the darkness, but the right is radiant. It is clear. It is unblemished, save for the bloodshot veins.
Emmet Knox, however, does not utter a word. He only glares at me with shambling lips. I lean close to hear his words in case sound does indeed come out.
But when I get within an inch, I only hear words and sounds in tongues that I do not know. Tongues that should not exist. I peel back as heat emerges from Bonfire's throat.
Opening my eyes wide, I immediately comprehend what is about to happen, so instead of diving away, I sink toward my friend. I wrap my arms around his neck and shoulders, pointing his mouth toward the night sky above.
Heat washes over me from the brilliant flame that is born above me. And at the same time, a radiance joins the abyss as I hear panic from the Trio. Virgil is using Shadowless. I haven't seen it yet, but despite how much I want to bask in the fruits of his hard work, now is not the time.
Burns appear upon my shoulder and back from the fire that isn't even touching me, only spewing past me, but I hold on as Blodwyn guards my skull and brain.
I claw for any idea, anything that may help, but it is my companion who delivers it to me first, not my own mind.
"Join his battle. Like you did for Virgil in the sands. Like I have for you against Dominus or whatever its name was."
A thin smile shrieks onto my lips as I recognize both the risk and the apparent nature of it all. Insight.
To do this... I won't be able to control my body. I remember the last time I fought the Mother Below in my mind. It was not even close to easy. I'll have to put my trust in Blodwyn.
"Can you handle this while I'm gone?"
Blodwyn waits a moment to answer me before I feel my heart pump with determination, the Arca giving me his answer simultaneously.
"Yes. Go. It is my body, too. My friend, as well."
With his guarantee, I bestow the job to him, reaching for Bonfire's mind. Ether flows to my eyes as I take in the form of my friend, allowing Insight to bloom. In an instant, I lose shape and form, my vision spiraling into darkness as I relinquish the grasp over my body.
Most Insights keep the control of my body to some extent, but some don't. I haven't figured out exactly how it all works, but I knew this one would paralyze me. I think it has to do with the power of the one I'm looking into.
What I find myself looking into is a harrowing landscape from atop a scorched mountain, an endless sea of corrupted figures and assailants, each one a manifestation of the Motherbound my friend has been waging war against within his mind for the past several months. The sheer magnitude of the inner battle overwhelms me, freezing me in shock for a moment.
When I fought, the numbers were just as endless... but... the bodies.
There are so many. Legions of dead Motherbound, still spewing out the Darklight of their kind after their death, line the vast burnt plains.
The corrupted entities claw at the center of Emmet's consciousness, their distorted forms striking at him without end. Yet, I can't afford to be paralyzed by the grim reality. Without hesitation, I sprint towards Emmet as he continues to rage against the horde, the dark flame of humanity burning within him.
The fire born of his flesh, a dark yet somber black, holds the Motherbound at bay, but he is vastly overwhelmed. Even if his very soul seems submerged in earthly fire, the Godly horde is unending.
As I approach, the silver hordes of a similar but more ominous darkness close in on me as if finally noticing my intrusion. Emmet, refusing to succumb, fights with a fierce resilience that sends shivers down my spine. A grand fire emerges from his frame, extending into the skies of his mind far beyond the clouds. Like an endless pyre, he seeks to devour himself to kill all these beings. I close my eyes only for a moment as I set myself to fight with him. But I'm still so far away.
In only seconds, everything changes as the Motherbound lunge toward me. Unfazed by their madness, I wade into the horde, my movements a whirlwind of strikes and evasions. In battles like these, I've learned from Abraham and Aniwye that the strength of one's mind is just as important as how they use their skills.
Living Manacles explode outward, stabbing countless figures as I rush forward, kicking, pushing, pushing, and leaping beyond any that I can.
However, some are a different breed amongst this horde—dangerously powerful, and all I can do is navigate through the chaos, weaving around them. Those must be the Fallen, the Angels of the Mother Below.
But why aren't they attacking us?
Surely, this is the perfect opportunity.
Could it be that if they are killed here, they, too, die? Is that why they are careful? It must be. But still... She must have Angels far beyond us. Why do I only see magenta chains?
This is all so confusing. There must just be some kind of limit to her power. She is still asleep, after all. Perhaps the Elixer makes a direct connection between Her and the Darklight within Bonfire? If that's the case... I need to figure a way to remove that connection.
Nevertheless, I don't have any idea for now, so I fight relentlessly toward Bonfire, aware that each step forward is a step into the heart of the war that rages within my friend. The stakes are high, unlike any of the games we used to play together, but I refuse to back down.
However, as I navigate through Emmet's tortured psyche, the extent of the internal war becomes painfully clear. The landscape within his mind mirrors the devastating aftermath of an apocalyptic conflict. As far as my senses can perceive, while my Living Manacles protect me, the earth is scorched and desolate, a barren wasteland marred by the relentless onslaught of the dark flame.
Mountains stand as skeletal remnants, their once majestic peaks reduced to ashen spires. Rivers, once lifelines, now run as streams of molten silver, their courses warped by the searing heat. The very fabric of the earth is faded, drained of vitality and color, echoing the toll of the protracted battle that Emmet has fought.
Bonfire has endured this nightmarish existence for months, clinging to survival in a realm that mirrors the bleakness of his internal struggle. The scars of the war are etched into the landscape, and it becomes apparent that his resilience has come at a dire price.
Every single day, Emmet loses just a little bit more of himself. If his personality wasn't so... emphatic, I believe he would have long lost the war. And as I get closer, I see that there are veins of pulsing dark silver in the sky, as if injected unnaturally into this mental scape.
That's from the Elixer.
Inhaling a deep breath, I kick the earth as powerfully as I can, layering a dozen Arbalests together. The damage I feel is not to my leg. Instead, it's mental. A spike of pain as if overextending my mind emerges. I ignore the pain, locking in onto my friend as he, too, notices me. A grand smile falls onto his face, even as he kicks away a melting figure. I land beside him as the fires contort and twist, shrouding me protectively.
Bonfire is the first to speak, pointing toward the horde.
"They will never stop coming. Never. Until we kill them all. Once they die here, they actually die in their bodies as their brains explode. At least, that's my guess, as none that I've killed have ever returned. And I find the idea of their heads exploding funny."
I meet his gaze, incredulous my his nonchalant explanation. He doesn't even seem all that worried.
"Are you okay? You're trying to kill me out there. Was it always this insane?"
Emmet Knox shrugs, annihilating another wave of Motherbound with his dark fire. He then faces the Angels that hover ominously in the distance.
"I know. I'm trying to get out, but it's not easy. Before, there weren't any Angels and far less Base and Wondrous than there are now. Whatever Eli did to me opened that connection I had even further, allowing multiple times more through than before."
I nod, clenching my fists together in frustration. I wish I had done more for him. I wish I had thought of this before.
"Well, what can we do to give you control back to your body?"
My friend smiles and points into the distance, his finger landing upon a shattered, rupturing crack in the atmosphere of his mind.
"That. We need to close that."
I stare at him and let out a nervous bout of laughter.
"And how do we do that?"
Bonfire glances at me through the side of his eye, both unblemished in this place. Then, he puts his hands on his hips, the limbs unscarred, unlike the real world. Luckily, he's cleared out a substantial portion of land, giving us a few moments of peace.
"Well, we need to get past those eight Angels. Beyond that... I don't know. We can do it. I know your soul is mighty strong. That's what matters most here, not the mind, but the soul. I've heard enough whispers and offers from the bitch to know that much."
I rotate my body to face the horde as the Angels line the peaks of the nearby shattered and broken mountains, staring down at us. Squinting, I realize that not a single of them is human in frame; all are some other kind of race, whether with wings, claws, or horns of some sort.
Still, they are all humanoid in shape.
The soul, huh?
What did my Sigil do again? Right...
The soul...
It seems I'm uniquely qualified for this. It's too much of a coincidence. The Philosopher. What is it really? Why did I get it?
Does... does She have one, too? No. I doubt it. I would have felt the resonance by now, nor does any of Her abilities align with mine. But still... is it truly just a coincidence? I find that hard to believe.