The forest had fallen into a deathly silence.
Only the smoke from the distant, burning town rose into the sky, the stench of ash and blood mingling.
Lysera was slumped on her knees.
She pressed her hands into the earth; the tears streaming from her eyes seemed to flow toward Thalos's head.
Auren was silent—but it wasn't a child's silence, it was the silence of someone whose world had been shattered.
His eyes were vacant; as if a piece of his heart had been torn away.
Sira…
The pain of the arrow embedded in her chest had seeped into her very soul.
But more searing than that pain were Thalos's lifeless eyes.
For an instant, in those eyes, she saw the past: the centuries they had spent together, the wars, the laughter.
And in that moment, something inside her shattered.
Rrnaun kicked Thalos's head aside.
Blood smeared the edge of his armor, but he didn't care.
A haughty, mocking smile spread across his face.
Rrnaun:
"What a touching scene...
You see your loyal friend's head, the children are crying...
Truly, a family portrait."
Sira's vision darkened.
She slowly raised her head, her voice was hushed but cold as death:
Sira:
"...He wasn't my loyal friend. He was my brother.
You... with that head, you have sealed your own doom."
The mocking expression on Rrnaun's face froze for an instant.
His brow furrowed, a brief flash of confusion in his eyes.
Rrnaun:
"Your brother?..."
He paused, then laughed harshly.
"So he was your brother... How sentimental."
He tilted his head, looking at Sira; a cruel amusement in his eyes.
Rrnaun:
"What difference does it make?
You'll be joining him soon enough, you Elder's dog."
A dry twig under his foot snapped.
And in that silence, the space between two breaths ignited the fuse of battle.
Rrnaun:
"What was the dead one's name... Thalos, was it?
What did he say to me, ah, yes—
'You cannot stop the darkness, Rrnaun,' he said.
But I didn't stop it—I added him to the darkness."
At that moment, Sira's breath hitched.
Something inside her was obliterated.
Her pupils trembled; as her hands clenched, her nails tore into her palms.
Sira (screaming):
"Do not take his name in your filthy mouth!"
Her voice echoed through the forest.
As tears fell from her eyes, the runes on the ground began to glow of their own accord.
The air grew heavy; the wind changed direction.
The magic was responding to her rage.
Lysera's breath caught, Auren's face contorted with anger—but neither made a sound.
Because in that instant, the very air around Sira had changed.
The ground trembled.
The shadows of the trees recoiled.
The blue luminescence of the runes rose from beneath Sira's feet and began to envelop the entire forest.
Rrnaun started to laugh—but the laugh died in his throat.
Rrnaun:
"Hah... rune magic? It's been decades since I saw one of these.
Still playing those old games, I see."
Sira straightened, clutching her bloody chest as she spread her hands to her sides.
Symbols formed, twisting in the air; each born from an ancient tongue, an echo of a forgotten age.
Sira:
"These 'games' you speak of were once the languages that even the Gods feared."
Her eyes blazed.
One rune, then another—they merged in the air.
A circle formed; in its center, the shape of a spear materialized, spinning from pure light.
The wind intensified, and the trees groaned.
Rrnaun smiled; an admiration mixed with madness in his eyes.
He raised his sword—broad, black steel; it vibrated with energy that flowed like red veins across its surface.
Rrnaun:
"Languages even the Gods feared, eh?
I do not fear those the Gods fear.
I learned to kill them."
And in that instant, the ground exploded.
Rrnaun lunged—his movement too fast for the eye to follow.
One strike cleaved a tree in two, another split the earth and unleashed light.
Amidst the wind swirling with magic, Sira raised her hand; a blue barrier formed.
The sky shook when Rrnaun's sword struck the barrier.
Sparks scattered like lightning.
Sira's arms trembled, but the barrier held.
Rrnaun pulled back, changing his angle of attack as he spun.
The moment he was behind Sira, he brought his sword down from above—
But without turning, Sira merely whispered:
"Rynn'eth."
The barrier instantly became a sphere.
The moment Rrnaun's sword penetrated it, the magic resonated;
a shockwave erupted—Rrnaun was thrown into the air, his armor cracking.
Sira raised a hand; one of the runes flared.
The air behind Rrnaun tore open like a knife.
Thorns of earth, fused with wind, shot toward him.
Rrnaun gripped his sword with two hands and landed.
He shattered the earthen thorns—each blow creating an explosion.
Rrnaun:
"Good! Very good, Sira!
So you still know how to fight like the Elders' lapdog!"
A tear rolled down Sira's cheek, but her voice did not waver.
Sira:
"I was never a dog to anyone, Rrnaun.
I only protected the balance of this world."
She pressed her palms to the ground.
The runic circles spread into the forest's roots, the light shooting toward the sky.
The leaves on the trees glowed, roots tore free from the earth.
Blue chains formed, wrapping around Rrnaun's wrists—holding him fast for a brief moment.
Sira took a deep breath, thrusting her hands forward.
Spears of light began to form in the air—hundreds of them, all aimed at Rrnaun.
Auren:
"Sira, stop! You'll kill him!"
But it was too late.
Sira's eyes closed, a prayer spilling from her lips.
"For Thalos."
All the spears launched.
The sky turned to daylight; explosions, lightning, screams…
The spot where Rrnaun stood vanished in white light.
Silence.
Then, a shadow emerged from the cloud of dust—Rrnaun.
His armor was shattered, blood pouring from his shoulder.
But he was still alive.
Rrnaun:
"Did you say 'For Thalos'? How strange...
I started this war for him, too."
Sira's eyes widened.
A silence, then Rrnaun took a step.
The light of the runes was beginning to fade.
Sira's every breath was mixed with blood.
Rrnaun:
"And now... it is time to close the final curtain."
He took one step, and the ground cracked.
He moved toward Sira like a storm.
The first blow was like lightning; the barrier shattered.
The force of the strike sent her staggering back several steps.
When the second blow came, the very wind from the blade cut her flesh;
blood dispersed in the air like a red mist.
Sira fell to her knees, her left arm falling lifelessly to her side.
Rrnaun was laughing—a short, deep, disgusting laugh.
He raised his sword to Sira's chin.
Rrnaun:
"I told you it was over.
Like your brother... you will die in the mud."
Sira (whispering):
"Thalos... forgive me..."
Rrnaun turned his head, looking at Lysera and Auren.
Auren's eyes were filled with terror and rage; Lysera's hands were shaking.
Rrnaun:
"Only you two left, eh?
Look at how you tremble."
Then, looking back at Sira:
"You were lions under the protection of an Elder,
now that lion is crawling on the ground."
Auren:
"Don't talk to her!"
His voice cracked.
Rrnaun's smile widened. He changed direction, pointing his sword at Auren.
Rrnaun:
"Then I'll silence you first."
He closed the distance in an instant.
His sword fell—but the blow never landed.
A body moved between them.
A flash of blue light, a scream, a spray of blood...
Sira.
She had moved in front of Auren.
Rrnaun's sword was buried deep in her chest.
Time froze.
Auren's eyes widened; he flinched at the warmth of the blood that splattered his face.
Sira's body slowly recoiled.
Rrnaun stepped back, looked at the blood on his blade, then muttered mockingly:
Rrnaun:
"How... dramatic."
Sira was on her knees.
Blood poured from her chest, her hands trembling.
But a faint smile appeared on her face.
Sira:
"...Don't... back down."
Lysera was crying, Auren was shouting, but Sira's voice was now a whisper.
Sira:
"Run... whatever happens, get... away from here."
Lysera shook her head, screaming through her tears:
"No! You can't do this! We won't leave you!"
Sira smiled with effort.
A thin line of blood trickled from her lips.
Sira (in a strained voice):
"I am already... long gone."
In that moment, the runes exploded again.
Earth and light merged, a blue dome separating them.
Rrnaun was left on the other side.
Rrnaun:
"That wall will burn you as well as me! What do you think you've gained, witch?!"
Sira:
"I've gained time."
She raised her hands.
The last of the runes' light rose to the sky—
and then everything went white.
The explosion was silent.
Only the howling of the wind remained.
Rrnaun fell to his knees.
He plunged his sword into the earth, catching his breath.
Ashes drifted around him.
When the light faded, Sira was still standing.
But her body was spent.
Her armor was in pieces, her eyes half-closed.
Lysera and Auren, inside the magic dome, looked at her through their tears.
Sira slowly collapsed.
Her eyes drifted to Auren, then to Lysera.
A faint smile touched her lips.
Sira (whispering):
"...I'm sorry."
A single tear fell to the earth.
And in that moment, her breath stopped.
The light of the runes flared one last time, then extinguished completely.
The dome cracked, then shattered.
The wind carried Sira's blood into the soil.
Lysera collapsed to her knees and let out a scream—
a scream so raw that even the forest's silence could not hide its echo.
Auren tried to hold her, but he couldn't hide his own tears.
Auren (in a choked voice):
"We have to go... This is why Sira did this... we have to go..."
Lysera (sobbing):
"I won't forget her... ever..."
Auren pulled Lysera by the arm;
both of them, covered in blood and ash, ran into the darkness of the forest as tears streamed down their faces.
The wind seemed to carry Sira's last words:
a prayer, a whisper, a farewell...
And Rrnaun, rising from the wreckage,
fixed his gaze on the two silhouettes disappearing in the distance.
A shadow crossed his eyes—
whether it was anger or regret, it was impossible to know.
Then he sheathed his sword on his back and turned away.
He muttered in a cold voice:
Rrnaun:
"Another Elder's dog is gone...
But this war is not over."
The forest was never the same again.
Sira's runes faded,
but deep in the earth, a warm, blue glow...
lived on.