"Nymira… no, no, no, no… hold on, please…" Zhavros stammered, his voice breaking. His hands trembled as he held her, trying desperately to keep her with him.
"Aelira! Lyris!" he shouted loudly, but there was no response. He couldn't see them amid the chaos around. No one was there.
Eldrek saw the terrible scene and ran to find Lyris or Aelira, hoping that maybe they could heal her wound.
Nymira's eyes, usually full of curiosity and innocence, were glassy. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak, but she could barely form words. Zhavros leaned in close, hoping to catch anything she might say.
"Zhavros..." she whispered, her voice barely a murmur. "Why… why am I so tired?" Her words were simple, almost childlike, as if she didn't understand what was happening to her.
Zhavros felt a knot in his chest, tightening until he could barely breathe. His heart pounded, but he had nothing to offer her. Nothing that could save her. He tried to smile, though fear gnawed at him from within.
"Just… just stay awake, Nymira," he said, his voice breaking. "Aelira will be here soon, I promise… you'll be fine..."
But Nymira didn't respond. Her eyes, which had been focused on him, began to slowly lose their light. The brightness faded, and a tear rolled down Zhavros' cheek.
"No… don't go…" he whispered, his body shaking. "Please… don't leave me..."
Nymira took a labored breath, her lips curving into a faint, weak smile.
"Zhavros..." she said, her words dragging, as though searching for strength she no longer had.
"Did you know...? I think I won't be able to annoy you as much as I used to…" Her voice trembled as she attempted a weak smile. Devastated and desperate, Zhavros replied, barely able to breathe, "Keep doing it, just hold on a little longer."
Nymira, touching his face one last time, let out a final smile and murmured, "Thank you… for accepting me." Nymira's last breath escaped her lips, her arm falling limp to the ground as her body lay still in Zhavros' arms.
Nymira's words pierced Zhavros like a spear. He could feel the pain tearing him apart from the inside. And then, with a heartbreaking sob, he broke down in tears.
"No… please, Nymira!" he pleaded, his voice an echo of despair. But it was already too late.
At that moment, Eldrek crossed paths with us as we headed towards them. Out of breath, he shouted what we already knew: Nymira was in danger! Without thinking, Eldrek raised an earth barrier to protect us from the creatures following us, while Lyris and I rushed towards Zhavros. Lyris immediately knelt down, attempting to heal Nymira, her hands glowing with healing magic.
The scene was devastating, and while Lyris concentrated, I watched with helplessness. But I couldn't just stand still; I looked around, searching for Aelira in the distance, where I could see her and Lyastra battling the dark being.
Aelira skillfully countered the enemy's attacks, moving with precision while Lyastra supported her, covering her flanks. Every time Aelira spotted an opening, she unleashed purification magic that struck the dark being forcefully. The creature emitted a pained growl with each impact, visibly weakening.
The combination of their light attacks seemed to be working.
"Eldrek! I need you to boost me towards Aelira's location; maybe with her and Lyris, they can heal Nymira." Without hesitation, he used his magic, and the earth and rocks lifted me from under my feet, hurling me towards her. The force almost made me lose control as I landed. I rolled to cushion the impact, stopping just a few meters from her, and immediately shouted.
"Aelira! Nymira is... she needs help, now!" I yelled, dodging the creatures around me.
Aelira looked at me, bewildered, then glanced quickly at Lyastra. She hesitated for a moment, knowing their attacks were slowly wearing down the dark being, and leaving the battle now could give the creature an advantage. But the urgency in my words weighed more.
"Go, Aelira! I'll hold him here," Lyastra told her without hesitation, blocking a blow from the dark being with her light sword.
In the distance, Aelira took flight, reaching Zhavros, Lyris, and Nymira. I quickened my pace, trying to catch up. From afar, I could see the panic in her eyes as she landed and took Nymira's still body from Zhavros, who remained in shock, staring silently at the ground, motionless.
"Lyris, combine your magic with mine! Quickly!" Aelira ordered desperately.
Both of them joined their healing magic. Zhavros, now standing with a vacant expression, whispered, "It's too late… Nymira is gone…"
"No…" Aelira, with tears in her eyes, refused to accept the reality. "No, it's not like that! There's still time…" Tears streamed down her face as Lyris did what she could, her hands trembling and her voice breaking with pain.
But Nymira lay pale and motionless. There was no response.
Meanwhile, Eldrek was fighting to protect the perimeter and helped clear the way for me to return to them. His exhaustion was evident; he had never been a warrior and was too old to keep up that pace.
I joined him in fighting, and from the corner of our eyes, we observed the scene with concern, sharing the same helplessness as Zhavros, unable to change the fate unfolding before us.
Zhavros, still in shock, began to move slowly. With automatic movements, he rummaged through his outfit until he found the ancient artifact we had discovered in the Ticaros region.
Eldrek, fighting beside me, saw it and shouted at him, alarmed, "Zhavros! What do you think you're going to do with that?!"
Zhavros didn't respond. He began to levitate, rising into the air, his face contorted in a mix of pain and fury. From above, his defiant gaze fixed on the dark being, who had already noticed his presence.
He gripped the artifact tightly, concentrating as a powerful energy began to form around him.
"Darius, Zhavros is about to pull something big!" Eldrek yelled to me. "Call Vaelor! We'll cover him while he prepares the spell!"
Without hesitation, I looked for Vaelor, who was fighting exhausted in the skies. I called out to him, and he immediately understood what was about to happen, descending with his winged draco, ready to protect Zhavros just as we had done when we faced Ticaros.
Meanwhile, the rest of the allied forces were fighting to distract the colossal beasts, but without being able to harm them. Gradually, they were falling under their claws. The creatures were slow, but their resilience and strength surpassed the warriors' abilities.
Aelira and Lyris continued to fight to save Nymira, but the pain on Aelira's face was evident when she finally said, her voice broken, "We're too late…"
"No… I won't stop… there's still hope…" Lyris, crying, continued trying.
Finally, Aelira stood up, embracing Nymira's lifeless body tightly. With a defeated look, she told Lyris, "Go… join the group. I'll leave the battlefield to put her somewhere safe…"
Lyris, with restrained anger and tears in her eyes, nodded and went to join us, preparing a shield for Zhavros, who was now muttering in an unknown language as flashes of energy surrounded him, signaling that something was about to happen.
The dark being, now aware of the danger, threw Lyastra aside with a powerful strike after a direct hit, advancing towards us with overwhelming fury. Nothing could stop it. It shoved our allies and the creatures out of its way with relentless strength, determined to reach Zhavros before he finished his spell.
But before it could reach him, Vaelor intercepted it in the air with his winged draco, facing it head-on.
"It's time you paid for all the harm you've caused," Vaelor said with a voice that resonated with justice. Seizing the moment, he used his psychic ability, infiltrating the dark being's mind and causing it a momentary instability. Then, he ordered his draco to unleash a fireball, hitting the creature and knocking it to the ground, within our group's reach.
This time, we'd all attack together.
The dark being lay motionless before us, recovering from the impact of the fire. Suddenly, Grimmor, who had been hiding, appeared from the side, attacking Lyris immediately with his sword, catching her off guard. She barely managed to block it with her dagger.
We all knew he had been the one to kill Nymira, and before anyone could react, Lyris, enraged, shoved Grimmor's sword away, lunging at him with everything she had.
"Lyris, wait!" I shouted, but it was useless. This time, she wasn't going to listen to anyone.
Lyris moved swiftly, and though it looked like she was aiming for Grimmor's face, she feinted and directed her strike toward his legs, catching him by surprise. Her blade left a deep gash in his thigh.
Grimmor let out a pained groan, clutching his wound as blood began to seep out. "Damn girl!"
"This time, I'll make sure you don't escape," she said, her words laced with the pain of losing Nymira.
Meanwhile, the rest of us charged at the dark being. Vaelor dismounted his draco and began attacking it with his magical spear, while Eldrek supported him, hurling stone projectiles. Lyastra, who had been knocked down earlier, rejoined the fight. And I, wielding my chaos-infused sword, lunged at the creature, unsure if it would truly harm it.
Despite our efforts, the dark being proved capable of fighting us all at once, though our exhaustion was starting to catch up with us, wearing down our stamina.
Grimmor laughed derisively at Lyris' attempt, taunting, "You're a clever girl, but don't think that…"
She didn't let him finish. Taking advantage of her upper hand, Lyris lunged at Grimmor again, attempting to slash his throat. Surprised, he barely managed to dodge, but not entirely—her blade left a new scar across his face, opposite the one she had inflicted in their previous fight.
Grimmor, furious, pressed his hand to his wound, trying to stem the bleeding. His eyes burned with rage as he cursed, "Argh! You stupid girl! You'll pay for this!"
But Lyris remained unfazed. With a fixed gaze and fierce determination, she raised her weapon, showing no trace of fear.
"Do you think your threats scare me, Grimmor? Today will finally be your end!" she replied, her voice firm and defiant.
Without waiting for a response, Lyris charged at him again, moving with speed and precision.
Grimmor did his best to dodge Lyris' attacks, when suddenly, Aelira, flying at high speed, returned to join the battle against the dark being.
The dark being immediately noticed the new disadvantage approaching. It retreated a few meters with a powerful leap, raising its hand to summon its chaos magic. In that instant, everything around us changed. It seemed to have called upon all the creatures still fighting on the field, including the colossal beasts that had remained at a distance until then.
Grimmor, realizing this, started laughing again.
"Sorry, but it looks like we'll have to postpone our fight for another time," he said in his usual mocking tone. Behind him, the colossal creatures were dragging themselves determinedly toward us.
I looked at Lyris and saw the worry reflected on her face. There were too many of them. Hundreds of creatures approached, and we couldn't understand how so many were still left. The dark being, motionless, watched us, confident that the horde would handle us. We braced ourselves for the worst, forming a defensive line with the rest of our group.
Vaelor's warriors, along with the allies who had joined at the last moment, tried to hold them back, but they were outnumbered.
Suddenly, a sarcastic laugh echoed from above. I recognized it instantly—it was Zhavros. His laugh, though tired, carried a mocking tone. Still levitating in the air, visibly exhausted from the spell, he plummeted to the ground. We couldn't catch him.
"Zhavros!" Lyris shouted.
Eldrek ran towards him to make sure he was okay. "What have you done, Zhavros?" Eldrek asked, struggling to keep his composure. "What spell did you cast?"
Zhavros, lying on the ground with a weary smile, could only murmur, "Help… is coming."
No one understood what he meant. The creature horde continued to advance with force towards us, and behind Zhavros, a glow began to form, like a crack in the air. We realized it was a portal, and as the rift expanded, the shimmering lights made it appear as though the portal was alive.
What we saw on the other side of the portal made my blood run cold. It was the cavern where Zhavros had hidden for so long. And in the distance, something I never expected to see again came into view: Ticaros.
The colossal beast we had faced before let out an ear-splitting roar from the other side of the portal. Spotting the open rift, it started charging toward us.
Panic spread through the group. "Zhavros! What the hell did you do? That beast will destroy us all!" I shouted, unable to contain my desperation.
Zhavros, panting and still visibly exhausted, responded with an ironic smile, "Not this time… The artifact I found wasn't just a map… it's also a weapon, a key to control Ticaros."
Eldrek looked at him in disbelief, surprised. "Zhavros… you're truly insane."
Lyris, still recovering from the fight, looked at Zhavros in astonishment. "I knew you could read the glyphs in the chamber where we found the artifact. You lied to us!"
Zhavros let out a weak laugh. "That's right… I lied. The artifact… contained the key to control Ticaros."
The massive beast stepped through the portal with overwhelming force, its towering form dominating the entire landscape. Despite Zhavros' words, the entire group took a step back, awed by the respect such a creature commanded.
Ticaros roared once more, but this time, the roar wasn't directed at us. It aimed it at the creatures that were approaching rapidly.
Immediately, all the creatures froze in place, paralyzed by Ticaros' presence.