A woman stepped into view just as Nyxis stood up to join Xanthy. She's a peculiar woman who wore a black coat buttoned up to her chin. It's like she decided to suddenly be one of the Unities but with a darker coat and more...feminine.

Nyxis's heart pounded in his chest as the woman strode towards them past the bushes and branches dividing the space between them. Tight, horse-riding breeches hugged her slender legs before being tucked into heeled, knee-length, dark, leather boots. A thin rapier swayed from her belt with every step she took. Medals of different sizes and shapes on her coat glinted whenever her form was at an angle that reflected the sun.

Xanthy took a sharp breath from beside Nyxis as the woman closed the distance and extended a gloved hand towards them. "The Chalice and the Virtakios, please," she smiled, her round face and pointed chin elongating in a slender curve. Wine red lips framed pearly white teeth in a grin that made it took like they were friends for a long time.

It was a smile that could win people, and ultimately, nations.

Short strands of limp brown hair fell out of the woman's strict bun and framed her forehead. Just from the stance alone, she was used to being the dominant one in any given room.

Xanthy's arm shot up almost as if at the woman's request. Nyxis slapped it down. "Who are you?" Xanthy asked instead. Her voice carried some sort of quiver in it.

The woman chuckled. "My, we met many times already," she put a gloved hand to her chest. "You should be able to tell it by my voice."

Nyxis's throat closed up. Voice...

From beside him, Xanthy narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?" her voice was a little louder this time. Firmer.

"I am the Heiress," the woman's eyes were nothing but an empty landscape as they ran over Xanthy up and down. "I will have your heads if you don't give me the Chalice and the Virtakios."

Nyxis's breath hitched. The Heiress. The name struck a chord inside him so hard he could feel it vibrating to his toes. This was the woman that wrecked his life and that of his family? This...

She was nothing more than an average fairy.

"Come on," the Heiress had her eyes on Xanthy whose lips quivered. "Be a good girl and surrender."

Xanthy's chest rose and fell in great heaves. "Not a chance, old hag."

The Heiress hummed. "We do this the hard way then," she extended her arms. "Maaterparka."

Xanthy threw up a cover spell just as Nyxis dove and hauled Juen off the ground. Distance. They'd need distance from the Heiress if they were to survive this. The earth swirled like water as the Heiress' chants floated in the air. Ancient words slammed into Nyxis's ears as the Heiress' eyes turned fully black. Branches crunched and flew towards her. His eyes widened when they disappeared into her coat like the Heiress was not made of anything.

Absorbing...The Heiress was absorbing things. Why? How?

A hand gripped his elbow. Xanthy held up a crystal ball to Nyxis's face. "Grab tight," she said.

The world swirled around them and the next thing Nyxis knew, they were well away from the Heiress' swirling storm of magic. A loud explosion racked the whole forest as whatever spell the Heiress concocted slammed into the place where Nyxis and Xanthy had just been.

He glanced at Xanthy and nodded. Together, they tore through the forest, searching for salvation that would never come. Blood was thick in the air as the earth itself seemed to have imitated its scent. "Just a few minutes more," Xanthy breathed beside Nyxis.

He fixed his grip on June and propped the half-blood at his back despite the wounds on his arm and shoulder. Another explosion rocked the forest. Birds scattered in the air. Pained animal shrieks rang through the canopies before they were snuffed out as if they were sucked into a vortex.

Given the Heiress' ability to absorb living things, they probably were.

They continued backing a few steps at a time until the forest opened up to a clearing that ended in a cliff. From below, the churn of the ocean slapping rocks and waves could be heard. Xanthy turned to Nyxis. "Stay here," she said. "I will lead the Heiress into that clearing and deal with her."

Nyxis reached forward and grasped Xanthy's arm. "I am not going to let you go into danger," he set June down on the ground. "Not again."

A smile passed across Xanthy's face as she removed his grip on her arm. "I was born to live a life of danger, Nyxis," she stepped forward. "I will come back to you, always."

Nyxis watched Xanthy run forward just as light speared for the clearing and the Heiress sauntered into view. It was a fight she might never emerge alive from. Worry soiled his senses as he crouched in front of June and drew out a sedative from his satchel.

Explosions racked the whole forest as lights flashed and turned the sky into an electrified painting. Shouts of spells battled the hungry waves below them. Xanthy needed his help out there.

Nyxis turned back to June and unscrewed the potion's lid off. This should plunge the half-blood into a deep sleep. There's no assurance that June wouldn't feel the pain but it's enough to give them a few minutes of bliss before everything ends. It was the best death Nyxis could offer his friend. Should they fail and should June never wake up again, this was the best solution.

He tipped the half-blood's head back and forced the sedative down June's throat. Nyxis held his breath as June slumped against his grip. The flickering trail stabilized enough for Nyxis to make it out against the blaze of other trails around them. That should be enough. Just for a few minutes.

Nyxis stood up and ran towards the fight. The Heiress was the only imperfection Nyxis has to remove from this world. If it meant Xanthy not sacrificing herself to the chalice and if it meant Xanthy to not run for her life any longer, then Nyxis should do everything in his power to give her that.

That was the only thing left for him to do.

The ocean roared. The wind sent shivers up his arms. This...all of it for Xanthy. She has to live. She has to. Even if she already decided her fate with the chalice, she has to live.

The fight came into view. Xanthy screamed as she demanded to know why the Heiress did what she did while throwing a mess of spells. The Heiress answered by just absorbing the spells and flinging them back towards Xanthy.

Xanthy's clothes hung in a tattered mess over her form. Her hair had been chopped and singed from one side. The virtakios was just a minute sputter in the trail dimension. The Heiress stood a few distances away, chanting something Nyxis knew to be a destructive spell should it finish.

Nyxis got to Xanthy's side and helped her stand up. "Where is June?" she drew away from him. "What are you doing here?"

"He is fine," Nyxis jerked his chin at the forest he just left. "Go to him. I will handle it here."

Xanthy lunged for his hand the same way Nyxis lunged for hers back then. "She is too strong," Xanthy's eyes were wide with fear. "We need to get out of here."

"That will only buy us a little time," his heart pounded in his ears. "I can buy us more than that. Go on without me."

Xanthy's grip on Nyxis's arm tightened. "No, we go together."

Ah, Xanthy. How little she knew of the world and of the reality around them. The Heiress' spell crawled to completion. They didn't have much time. Nyxis summoned his magic to the surface, grateful that it answered him one last time. He pushed Xanthy into the direction where June was.

"Go, I will follow shortly," his stomach sank, roiling to match the waves churning below the cliff. Xanthy searched his eyes. Nyxis forced out a smile. "Go, I will follow shortly," he said again. "I promise."

Like a rekindled fire, those two words brought understanding in Xanthy's face. She trusted Nyxis to always fulfill his promises and never lie to her. She gave him a small smile as she turned and began running towards the forest.

Nyxis ran the opposite way.

Towards the Heiress whose incomplete spell now formed a ball of crackling energy between her fingers. It's a spell that could disable Xanthy forever should it hit her. Nyxis's magic formed his own spell. He opened his mouth, yelled at the top of his lungs, and slammed into Heiress, jerking her out of her incomplete spell. As incomplete spells go, it fired back, crackling towards the both of them in its hazy energy. Nyxis wrapped his arm around the Heiress' waist and drove her towards the edge of the cliff. He pressed his hands into her chest and barked the last spell he would probably cast.

Lightning flashed in the sky as the waters raged below them. The Heiress's spell hurtled and slammed into Nyxis's back. His magic went dark. Pain danced in his body. The Heiress screamed as her form buckled when Nyxis's spell took effect in her veins. Tothrima pilo—his latest creation and his deadliest.

They slipped off the cliff's edge. The raging ocean grew nearer. Nyxis kept his hold on the Heiress's torso and planned on not ever letting go. This was the plan. If he should be the one to die then he must take the Heiress with him. If his spell somehow failed, then at least hurling the both of them into the ocean would surely do it.

The wind pushed his hair off his face. The Heiress's bun came loose and webbed across her face. That didn't hide the smile plastered on her lips as she looked up at him. "A valiant but fruitless effort, my dear," she crooned through the roaring wind and water waiting to claim both of them.

The Heiress pressed her fingers against Nyxis's forehead. Pain shot into his veins as his vision darkened. His head pounded; his heart stopped. His grip around the Heiress loosened. A hand tapped his cheek lightly. "I have more tricks up my sleeve and falling into the water will not kill me," she giggled. "Just so you know."

Her lips moved in a silent spell and she vanished into thin air. Nyxis's reality shattered. He failed. He didn't do what he promised himself he'd do for Xanthy. The Heiress was still alive. Xanthy was still unsafe and he left Xanthy on her own after lying to her.

He failed. Colossally.

Nyxis slammed into the angry waters. His bones shattered. His magic deserted him in the dark depths. It's cold. Violent. Dark...

He sank slowly as if fate was mocking him for not giving him swift justice. He called on Pidmena to take him. He didn't deserve to live. Please. Quickly. The darkness and pain devoured him. They devoured him whole. As they tore at his form and at his soul, one thing ran over and over in his mind—in the end, he was the imperfection that needed to be removed. Now, fate itself did. Good.

Nyxis closed his eyes. That's probably the only good thing he's done.

With that, he surrendered to the currents to take him to the Land of Wonders.