Light lanced through, leaving lacerated lines across the landscape. His lids felt like lead, light bleeding luminous loops.

It was immensely dizzying, and more than painful enough. Still, not a single sound escaped his lips...other than the screaming, of course.

The sphere of light behind him grew larger, more consuming with every passing moment. From just a small ball spreading the area Root encased, it grew into an encompassing explosion.

Until now, it was mostly harmless, acting as nothing more than a second sun, burning eyes and emitting immense heat, setting random things on fire. It was after Leonidas had vaulted over the wall surrounding them and run past multiple fallen trees and craters.

He had reached the sturdy obsidian walls of the Sanctum, but even then, he continued. There was no telling how massive the explosion would be, and the Sanctum had proved itself ineffective under the absolute assault of Root.

It had broken, toppled, collapsed. Leading Leonidas to an untimely death, one he had already predicted.

So no, he wasn’t going to use it as a refuge, but what he was going to use it for was a barricade. He jumped over another crater, then slid straight behind the Sanctum, Willow running by his side.

The light was growing past the initial explosion that had consumed Savior. A sound tore through everything, breaking past its own barrier, a supersonic noise that had manifested into reality.

Leonidas clutched his ears, blood seeping from them, reminded once again of the damned bell that had done it for the first time. The dizziness intensified, causing him to lose his footing and stumble.

"Focus, you forsaken idiot!"

Willow grabbed his good arm and pulled, her touch snapping Leonidas back to reality.

Right...focus.

He tried...he really did, but at that exact moment, as if it had been waiting for the perfect opportunity, the domain of light, which had swelled into something resembling a literal sun, detonated.

The sound had already reached them, but the magic behind the bomb of Insenium came later...so deceptively cunning with its timing that Leonidas almost believed that he was safe.

A sudden surge of heat shattered his naive hopes. However, the tempest of fire that followed was what destroyed his dreams, plunging him into a depression so deep it would put the ocean to shame.

He was hidden from the heat of the roaring flames, protected by the high towers and balconies of the Sanctum of Sacrifice.

Alas, it didn’t last. A groan echoed somewhere deep in its obsidian foundations, climbing upward through the walls, through the floors, through every chamber he had bled and healed and slept and nearly died in. A sound like a grumbling dragon, a ferocious beast.

The tempest of flames struck, blackening walls that were already darkened to the highest degree. The obsidian towers vanished underneath the orange storm, removed from existence.

The Chamber of Blue Fire was extinguished, the abysmal torches snuffed out by a brighter, more devastating flame. He knew because he felt his connection to the Sanctum flaring. There was a thin thread of awareness binding him to his Nexus—one that didn’t yet have a domain to command.

And it was because of that exact awareness that he knew, without a doubt, the Sanctum of Sacrifice was about to be destroyed.

Savior was already out of commission for who knew how long, could he really afford to lose his portable home as well?

The answer was no, and so he wouldn’t. Leonidas reached for the invisible thread, conceptual as it was. Instead of letting it burn, he cut it himself.

A brilliant silver flame burned inside the roaring tempest of abysmal fire, bright and unburdened. The Sanctum would vanish on itself, returning to the mutated expanse of his phosphene space.

Nothing in its way, the storm grew faster, more consuming. The fire crashed against his back, burning his clothes. The pain was exquisite, but Leonidas wanted nothing of it. It was like...like a dish, one you’d rather appreciate for the craftsmanship, rather than eat it.

Through the heat and haze, Leonidas saw a hand...Willow had her arm outstretched, screaming something, her voice lost in the deafening cacophony of the storm.

He reached without thinking, and she, in turn, pulled. Their bodies hugged each other, faces mere inches apart, breaths mingling. Willow’s demonic armor rippled, shooting out around them, forming a sphere of black metal, rippling like an onyx liquid.

The shell encased them in complete darkness, the sound of the tempest a distant ringing. The shell faced the full force of the explosion, nearly shattering, held together only by Willow’s unnatural control over her Edict.

Leonidas didn’t stay idle either, forming a second layer of ruby, much similar to what he had made on his way down from the god-damned wave. His expression soured at the thought, but he kept his mind on the task at hand...around his hand.

A brilliant crimson encased the raven shell. It burned just as quickly as it came, but that was expected. His crystalline roses were nowhere near the same durability as Willow’s armor, which was, at the lowest, a tier 3 artifact.

Tch, nobles and their damned money.

There was the fact that he himself was a royal, and the fact that Willow had gotten the shiny armor from her first trial. But you only see what you wish to see.

And I don’t want to see that.

His mind, buckling under strain, kept thinking useless thoughts, yet it was these exact thoughts that kept him level-headed.

The sphere flew; the explosion had flung it far, far into the air. It was like a comet of raven and crimson, tearing through the air.

Since the shell was small in size—barely enough to cover both of them—there wasn’t much crashing. What there was, however, was a lot of sweating and swearing.

"Damn it, Art, stop sweating! It’s disgusting...get your hand...watch where you’re touching me!"

He was about to apologize—not for the sweating, that he couldn’t control...they were being cooked alive—but for touching her... 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

His face heated up, either from heat or embarrassment. But suddenly, he didn’t feel like apologizing.

"Not my fault! It’s not my fault this god-damned thing YOU made is moving like this. As if I’d touch you like a pervert..."

He paused, then spoke in a hesitant tone.

"Maybe I would...but this was wholly unintentional! Trust me..."

Had everything not been engulfed in darkness, he was sure he would’ve seen a disgusted expression on Willow’s face.

Their conversations kept moving along the same lines. His very existence would piss Willow off; she would scream and curse at him, and he, in return, would curse back.

Thankfully, their adventure was about to end. Little by little, they slowed, until eventually, the shell started moving...downwards this time.

Oh gods no.

He had already experienced this once before...and it wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences.

"Willow, get ready to dismiss the shell the moment I say so."

His voice was serious, and Willow knew the danger in what was about to come. They fell, piercing through the treeline with a violent shake. Despite the limited space, Willow slammed into Leonidas, who was holding on for dear life.

Something smashed into them, the sound of tearing making its way into their ears. And the fall continued.

Another crash, this time he slammed into Willow, elbow tearing through her stomach, knees pressed together.

The scent of sweat, mixed with the lingering blood that covered their bodies, made for a disgusting stench, one that clung to them like a shroud.

They crashed into something else, this time much harder than before...the perfect opportunity.

"Now!"

Woosh—!

The shell around them dispersed, leaving them with a final crash. Their bodies, still tangled, crashed into something, the world finally slowing down.

Ughh. Never again. I’d rather be burned than do this damned thing again.

His cerulean eyes slowly opened, adapting to the sudden exposure to light, however dim it was. His eyes traveled over everything.

He was still in the same forest, with the dead-looking trees, and a canopy of branches that blocked out the sky.

His gaze traveled until his eyes landed on Willow...who was standing there without armor. It was the first time he had seen her without the demonic thing, and no matter how much he hated doing it, he had to admit...she was quite beautiful.

Her long obsidian hair fell over her back, matted with dirt and crushed green blood, yet flowed normally. Her eyes, the deepest pits of black, were staring blankly at the sky, more specifically at the hole they had made. They contrasted sharply with her skin, which was deathly pale.

"Ahem...you might want to look at yourself."

Paired with the fact that she was wearing nothing but a mostly see-through black nightgown...it was a sight to behold.

Her eyes traveled downwards, regaining the flames that burned in them...and slowly, an almost imperceptible blush crawled up her ears, tips turning red.

Leonidas blinked, wanting to confirm, but there was nothing.

Am I overthinking? Did I really see that?

It had vanished so fast he doubted it, but after fusing with the Shroud of Sacrifice, his memory had turned near perfect. Hell, if he really wished to, he could probably remember the moment of his birth...

Leonidas shivered, definitely not something he would wish to remember.

The sound of rushing water brought his eyes back to Willow. Her armor was reshaping itself over her body, covering everything, a sight that left Leonidas strangely disappointed.

"It would be best for you to forget that." Her voice was cool, almost emotionless. "And what is that strange mask?"

He realized then that he had still been wearing the Shroud of Sacrifice.