Lifwin was no longer Lifwin. But, was Lifwin ever Lifwin in the first place?
The proper definition of Totems by Ivanhoe, the young Sullivan is that they are gifts earned by staying true to one's Virtues. That was true both in the abstract and literal sense. Equinox was certainly not aware of why the black murk stops him from using Lifwin's powers, or summoning his spirit, but he did not really need to think about it when the Totem itself already allows him to easily remove the restrictive murk.
However, when a person uses the same dangerous tool inappropriately for far too long, there are bound to be consequences in the long run. Yaga might not be aware of a lot of things about this prophet she was created to guide, but even she knew of the proper and improper usage of a Totem. The effective usage of such a powerful Totem requires the literal part of 'staying true to Equinox's Virtues'. And that was the problem.
———
The moment of respite was short lived, and the screams began anew. Of course, this wasn't the first time Equinox would hear the dreaded screeches. They were around for a while after the stone spirit had stolen his memories after all. Only now, the screeches sounded so painful, he felt like his ear drums would rupture.
Ikky groaned, falling to his knees with his hands covering his ears, desperate to resist the mental invasion. Fortunately, just as he felt himself reach the brink of resistance, the screams vanished for a few seconds with the power of his Night Chant virtue. But as a Vice, the veins in his right arm suddenly burst from pressure, his skin peeling off, before immediately getting replaced by the Vrykolakas of the Puppet Knight.
He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to bear the pain. "This feels horrible!"
"It's either this or you turn into a mindless zombie. Now turn around!" Yaga directed him back into the tunnel.
It seems the screams had no effect on those who had reached the exit tunnels of the underground shelter. Most likely because the tunnels were already inescapable domains of the stone spirit. But that was just Ikky's guess.
Equinox tried to use the greatsword in his hand as a crutch to haul himself onto his feet, but even he was only slightly taller than the 1.8-meter blade. So, using a sword that was nearly as long as he was to support himself was not so effective. Nevertheless, he lifted it by the hilt and turned to the direction he had come from, dragging the blade along.
"Who am I kidding, Yaga, I can't use this thing!" Ikky complained. However, before Yaga could add a snarky remark as usual, Equinox seemed to catch a small golden light from the corner of his eyes, followed by a familiar voice.
"Of all the constructs in the world, you choose to represent your Virtue in such a way."
Ikky quickly replied, "Well, Izel didn't make me one, so we had to come to promise!"
Yaga sighed, correcting, "Compromise..."
"Wait... who said that?" Ignoring her completely, Ikky turned around.
He couldn't put a finger on where he had heard that voice. He took a look, expecting to see someone familiar, only to find a tall humanoid golden spirit with a black Zweihander in her left hand.
Equinox frowned. There are certain people he felt like he could never forget. The sword in the woman's hand was property of one such person.
"The tunnel, Nox. Go into the—"
"Evil spirit." Equinox's eyes were wide open and unblinking. In his left hand were floating black letters that soon scrambled and reformed into a serpent with four legs and a slit on its head far too long for the mouth of any serpent. Holding his hand above the raised greatsword, the dragon fell with its six punctured wings and took over the pristine white blade. It turned bigger as it slithered all over the sword, like an encroaching entity of darkness. Before long, an entire edge was simply restless darkness, at times baring its teeth outside the blade, searching for a victim to maul, and at times turning to the hilt of the sword itself and consuming bits of it.
Equinox swung the unholy blade and held it to his side, the sharp blade making a high-pitched screech as it moved through the air.
"What are you doing with that sword?" Equinox pointed, his essence as unrestrained as ever. But now he knows it does not spread out of his lack of mastery, but as another Vice for the Night Chant's ability.
Astrid felt a sudden cold wind blow through her body, and a white crown appearing over her head.
Seeing this, the Seer frowned.
"You would point your sword at me?!" She placed her hand on the floating crown above her head.
"Nox!" At Yaga's call, Equinox lifted the darkened blade across his chest when Astrid's own sword immediately clashed with it and sent him flying.
Taking Yaga's advice as he flew through the air, Equinox placed his feet on the ground and slid a couple meters across the muddy floor. Without a second of rest, his sword, held in both hands to the side was already rushing for a diagonal slash at the upcoming spirit. He blocked another attack, however, with his poor grip, Astrid managed to use his own upward force against him to knock the blade out of his hands, and into the ground.
With the fear of death in his eyes, Equinox watched as the spirit instantly shifted her stance at a preposterous speed to thrust the blade into the Seer's stomach.
Equinox's arms begun moving during this short fraction of time as he aimed to slam her body down with his fist. Alas, he really could not keep up. Astrid's blade... or rather, the blade of the King of Nocturni punctured right through his stomach and shot out of his back.
Astrid took the punch to her head and did not budge. With one hand grasping onto the Zweihander's hilt, she lifted Equinox's body up.
Another punch hit her face, making it tilt to the side a little, then another and another as Ikky's legs dangled in the air, trying to resist the spirit. He clenched his right arm strengthened by the Vrykolakas before summoning all his might in his fist and surprisingly punching Astrid's head off.
The other previous punches were also with Ikky's full strength. The only difference between those and the last blow was that Equinox had stopped using the Night Chant right before that final punch.
Astrid snorted, throwing him aside along with the blade. Her decapitated body walked over to pick its head before swallowing it with her stomach and regrowing the head above her neck.
"All I need from you is that you harbor no ill intentions against me. Your Virtue somewhat provides that assurance, so I'll spare your life for now." She turned around to watch as Equinox pulled out the strangely harmless blade from his stomach and throw it aside.
"Follow." She ordered, not even waiting before walking back to the heart of the shelter.
Equinox took one more look at the blade, then held his arms up before asking, "Where did you get that thing?! Who even are you?"
Astrid took a few more steps forward before stopping. She turned her head around, her white eyes squinting as she replied, "That is one of the only tangible possessions I have left of my sister... My sister whom your father killed."
"Wh— What?"
———
Equinox's legs staggered backwards in disbelief. "That voice... That's where I'd heard it." He finally remembered. "So that knight is..."
He had only met that woman for a very short time. However, the fact that she had saved his life yet had gotten killed by the hands of someone related to Ikky himself, cut deeper into his chest than any knife.
"That... That bastard!" He turned to Yaga, "You said it was fake, Yaga. That he would disappear! I thought... I thought first omens were just stories... I-Illusions!"
"That's not how it works. Every world within the realm of Augury is as real as the last, all connected to each other in ways we can't always explain." Astrid clarified.
With the thought that the man who had been the center of Nocturni's misery, his mother's death and the source of all his curses might still be alive, Equinox's breathing became heavy with dread, "Is he still..."
"I don't know."
"Oh." His heart dropped.
However, Astrid soon added, "The last memories Bright sent me was of everything everywhere being black and cold. I doubt even he would survive in that vast nothingness."
"All the worlds in the Realm of Augury are connected. That's about as much info as I need then."
Astrid stared at the now pensive Seer, saying, "Resolve and purpose carry half the sword's weight. The blade will be light in no time." She held out her hand and summoned the eerie black Zweihander.
As soon as the blade met her hand, Astrid lunged forward with the intent to strike.
Equinox also took hold of the self-eating greatsword and arced it behind him. His sword met with the upcoming strike of a stone spirit, while Astrid's cut it completely in half.