Their Glittering Shards Fall

◙◙◙

Winds sensed the Darkness fall as its physical shadow swept over the world. He saw it clutch the auras of every human across the grand balcony and the courtyard below, nobles and commoners alike caught in a torment that squinted at him and passed on.

The Light had flickered out. The end had come.

|Seih.|

No response. He glanced over the souls around him, an itch creeping up through his soulcore, a twitch that pulled him to move, to find them. |Brei?|

His master remained frozen, eyes wide, mouth opening soundlessly. And the need to stay by his side tore at everything ingrained in him. He had been made to stay by his master, he couldn’t leave.

But if his... friends were clutched in this same torment—

His blades slid from his wrists without his permission, his fingers locking into fists, his feet remaining still and unmoving. Other Divinations around the balcony stood still, calm, Vines meeting his eyes from where he stood by Delryhn’s side, Stones turning to him from Firalk’s.

Remain, they said without speech or thought. You are a Divination. You serve and protect your master.

He closed his eyes, his hands twitching. Yes. And yet— and yet—

His eyelids snapped open as the aura surging around him shifted. A warning deeper than conduits flickered within him, mirrored by the spark that shot through his core as Hafest and others doubled over all around him, their souls... blackening.

The whispers within him hissed, his awareness snapping out with the full extent of his blades as the blackness within them boiled, and broke loose.

Hafest and others consumed by it howled, their forms warping, those around them stumbling back, crying out. Black claws slashed past his face, tearing red lines across skin, a woman screaming as she collapsed, Stones falling silently to protect his master, Vines stumbling back.

The Shadow of his master loomed above him, yellow eyes meeting his own in a jagged grin of snarling fangs.

...This land will be torn asunder by your own hands.

He gazed up, seeing the end in all its horror extending long fangs, preparing to lunge and end his own existence.

|Winds.|

Voice’s tone caught at something deep within him, flaring to sudden, sharp life like the fierce glint of stubborn, human determination in grey and blue eyes. A vibrating desperation, one born of loyalty to fools who saw them as more than servants, who thought a damned world could be saved.

Sweeping fluidly aside, he remembered her words. The words of a friend, determined not to let him end himself. Her offer. Her promise. Lives that were worth saving.

|Voice. Where are they?|

The answer flashed a clear path through the palace, like the claws that swept where his head had just been. Twisting aside effortlessly, utter focus running cold through his conduits, he met the glowing eyes of a monster, black dripping from those snake-like fangs, demanding his attention.

He defied it, following the path burned into his soul, the enraged howl of what was no longer his master chasing his heels. His feet flashed past the blank eyes of his brethren, broken bodies lying amidst the blood of humans. They had made their choice, to follow their commands.

And he made his.

≼≎≽

Pain shot up through Brei’s hands as she hit the floor, a choked breath hitching in her throat. At any other time she would've protested, but as she twisted to see—it wasn’t Dais, it— it wasn’t—the Shadow lunge at Seih, she could only feel a cry strangle in the back of her throat.

Her shaking limbs did their best to fail her as she fought to get back to her feet, frustration screaming in every tremor that nearly sent her falling on her face. Oh Light no oh please oh Reyahn I have to do something—

Thank Light for Voice. The Divination attacked the distorted wrulf-like figure, and she finally managed to scramble upright, eyes darting for anything she could use as a weapon. Maybe a lamp—?

The ugly crunch of metal breaking wrenched her attention back, air choking in her throat and seizing around her own ribs as her eyes widened. “Voice!”

She lunged forwards without thinking for the glint of his fallen knife, too far away to do anything, too slow to do anything but watch as Seih bowled it over and it twisted around and—

“NO!”

Adrenaline consumed her body like fire, the glint of the dagger blurring in her vision as she snatched it up, stabbing it deep into a void-like neck, and screamed. “STOP!”

Thwock!

Stars pierced her vision, hard ground slamming into her back and driving the breath from her lungs. What—

She couldn’t move, her hands shuddering into a rictus clawing at the floor, struggling to pull a body that refused to obey her commands upright, blazing yellow eyes looming above her. Trying to breathe through lungs that wouldn’t work, she gave out a pathetic wheeze, a sob clenching at her throat. “Dai—Dais—”

It approached slowly, stalking like a predator, no remnant of the boy left in the beastly form looming over her, a guttural clicking stuttering in the back of its throat, black horns dripping with shadows rising from its head and glittering drops of dark hissing liquid pattering from knife-like fangs.

She lifted a hand, staring death in the face through blurred eyes, knowing she’d feel those teeth in her throat next, just like Seih’s nightmare. “Please— please, come— come back you idiot.”

It coiled, and she shuddered, eyelids clenching tight. Why had he listened to that horrible voice? This— this could have been her. I could have—

A whoosh rushed past her face, and her eyes startled open to a glimmering blade lodged in the Shadow’s head, through one of its eyes, a choked snarl gurgling through its suddenly-slack jaw. Like her own as she stared up at Winds, his burning golden eyes locked on his target.

With one almost effortless slash, he tore the blade out the side of its head and flicked it across its neck, blood like ink seeping into the rug as he buried one last efficient stab through its back.

She stared, something between grief and numb shock occupying the space of her heart, her eyes twitching up and away from the still form as a hand offered itself, meeting Winds'. He blinked slowly, calmly, much as he had all those months ago, just as if they were at the bakery again and he wasn’t spattered with the blood of a Shadow that had once been a friend.

Wordlessly, she let him pull her up.

≼≎≽

Seih’s vision wavered in and out, gasping against a numb burn spread across his chest and turning his stunted breath ragged, lungs tight, not working.

A sound burbled in his ears, his eyelids fluttering open—couldn’t remember closing them. Hands pressed at his chest, drawing a ragged bubble of noise from his own lips. Light seared his vision, a blurry imprint of dark hair cascading around eyes so softly purple—like the dawn—wavering into focus, speaking muted words.

He tried to lift a hand, fingers that weren’t quite his own brushing at a wet cheek, and smiled at the way her face scrunched up, biting her lip furiously.

“You look beautiful,” he tried to say, a cough bringing a thick wet warmth up to bite his tongue instead. Those fingers fell away, and he didn’t feel them hit the floor. He could hear voices, though, so distantly. Voices....

His head lolled, or maybe they rolled him, a wisp of white hair fuzzing in and out of focus past a sandalled foot. He tried to reach for it, a croak vibrating in his throat. “Voice.”

It tilted fitfully, silver eyes coming into drifting view, a faint glow sputtering in their irises. |Seih.|

A flicker of panic lit inside him at the fading whisper, his chest fluttering as he tried to drag in the life to pull himself over, someone pulling him back, murmuring.

Those eyes sputtered again, a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. And they dimmed, the expression falling still, the light fading to leave dull, colourless irises.

A cool hand touched his face, warm lips pressing at his temple as his breath shuddered, droplets pattering onto his skin.

“...’ll take him to the hospital. I can use the tools there to do more. Gedahr?"

Voice, Dais... how many? Brei....

He couldn't drag in the strength to do more than gasp as he was lifted, her fingers gripping around his. Please....

His eyes slipped closed, the whirling world dropping away.