Music is Victory by Two Steps From Hell. Play it!

******

In this moment, all becomes clear. Darkness becomes light, shadows become fire. I have to embrace my fear, wield it like a weapon, hone it to a deadly edge. I am the true Champion of Pst. Bronicus, Deathslayer, wielder of Miraterciel.

And if I am the Spawn of the Devil, well then, so be it. I will prove the prophecies wrong. I will not give up on myself just like that.

I have no reason or cause to cower in front of Diomedes.

It's so strange, how the answer to everything comes to me just like that. Perhaps I'd known it all along, and had refused to accept it. No more though. I will not deny myself any longer.

Still clinging onto the alatrigne, I slowly haul myself up onto my feet. I hold Diomedes' eyes as I do so, reflecting the steel in me. At last, I give my answer without a single tremor: "I choose to die a dignified death, rather than give in to you. I know that the others will gladly give up their lives for my decision, and I know that should they die, they will dine with the Pietists in the Seventh Heaven, finally living a fruitful, eternal life. I will continue to fight you Diomedes, no matter what you do or say.

"Because I am not afraid of you."

You have understood, my child.

For one fleeting moment, I thought that it was Diomedes who spoke in my mind. It takes a few milliseconds before I realise that it's someone else altogether. Abner? I relay the message.

I am here. Do you now accept your place as Champion of Pst. Bronicus? His voice echoes in my head. I don't even have time to be bewildered by his sudden presence. In response, I search deep within myself, for any flicker of fear, for any signs of self-loathing.

There is none.

I do, I reply, in earnest this time. Unlike the day when I'd sworn my oath during the Marking ceremony.

Then we are one.

Light pours forth from me, emblazing the scrinaius with its brilliance. Yet it doesn't hurt me, not like my own fire. Rather, it's a warm, comforting presence, a cocoon of safety. I do not balk at it. This is my light, Abner's light—our light. Our glow will be the salvation of this world, the one that will beat back the shadows that has ruled this world for far too long.

The light starts to take shape before me. A powerful muzzle comes first, followed by a thick, shaggy mane and claws as wicked as hooked daggers. The light's colour also shifts slowly, turning from a pure white into soft hues of blue. It's beautiful, like a constellation of stars spreading across its coat.

A lion.

Its head is up to my shoulder, the mane crowning it thick and majestic; its paws are massive, powerful weapons, meant to swipe their way through obstacles. My jaw drops in awe. Although I have never seen a real life lion before, I know that this one is far larger than normal-sized ones.

I look at it disbelievingly. Is this really my power? The power I never knew I had?

Hello, Constantine. The lion slowly turns to look at me, its glowing orbs entrancing me in my footsteps towards it.

Abner, is that you? Tentatively, I touch the lion's mane, marvelling at the silky, immaterial substance running beneath my fingers.

It is. Now if you don't mind, keep the questions for later. We have a necromancer to defeat.

We turn our attention upon said necromancer. He's backing away from us, lips curled into a snarl. The fear I once had has now been transferred to him instead. He continues to gather his shadows, wrapping them around himself tightly, as if it could ward our attacks away. I don't bother to steal the darkness away from him.

Because I will dissipate the darkness.

Together, with light still emanating from my body, we charge him. I don't need to observe him to know that Abner will charge through the wraiths first, clearing a path for me. It's odd that we're so in sync with each other, but I won't complain.

With a flash of his wicked fangs, Abner tears through the ghosts, shredding them apart in a mere blink of an eye. I follow suit, destroying the spirits as soon as they come in contact with my light. I don't even have to use Miraterciel—so much power. It's a wonder that my predecessors didn't go mad when they had this ability in use. So much power, I could just use this and all would bow to me. I won't have to—

Constantine, says Abner in a warning tone.

I regain control of my senses, shaking my head vigorously. I force myself to continue to fight my way through the ghosts. Still, I feel temptation hanging on the tip of my tongue. My mind seems to be drunk on my own light. This must be the reason why Abner had said that this power was so dangerous. If my guide weren't here, I suspect that I would have fallen prey to this extreme ability.

I find Diomedes backed up against a corner. Without further hesitation, I close the distance between us, wrapping my fingers around his throat and keeping him firmly pinned against the wall. "I still have your soldiers in my grip," he croaks. One final attempt to stop me from killing him.

"If you even dare to think about harming them, I promise you a fate far worse than Death itself," I hiss. I don't know how I'll do it, but I mean it. I'm sure Abner can easily find a way for me to do so.

If not him, then my newfound abilities will.

"This isn't over. The prophecy has just begun to unravel, and there's nothing you can do to stop it from taking its course!"

"Well, no matter what, I'm sure that killing you will be the start to defeating whatever great evil that's coming along," I say carelessly, tightening my grip.

"Fine. Do it." His lips split into another grin. I hesitate a little. Why has he suddenly given up so easily?

Do it, Abner urges. I steel myself. Whatever the future brings, it all starts from here. Whatever dangers may come, I will have to get through this hurdle first. In order to bring peace, I must wage war. This is my duty as Champion.

I pour my light into him, letting it eat into his darkness, destroy his very essence. I watch impassively as the light rips his flesh apart; I blank out my mind as I watch his quickly eroding face contorting in agony.

Yet I feel that something is wrong. Threads of darkness are attempting to bind him, trying to piece him back together—I can see it in the tears in his flesh. My mind begins to tire. Take all of this power, a voice in me urges. Every single drop of it. Use it to your own will. It is yours. Just as I contemplate giving in to the suggestion, I feel Abner's power flowing into me, lending me strength.

I finally, truly erase Diomedes from the surface of the world.

This is only the beginning! An alien voice screams in my head. I reel back in shock, almost releasing Diomedes.

The necromancer's body disintegrates in a pool of light.

My fingers no longer latch onto flesh. All that's left behind are ominous curls of smoke wafting through the air. Eventually, that fades away too. Abner, still in lion form, prowls up to my side, purring in satisfaction.

You've done well, Champion, Abner says, pride ringing in his tone.

Thanks to no small part of yours, I reply.

It was all about you, Constantine. I barely did anything. You had to accept yourself and come forward to claim your title as Champion, to have no fear in the face of danger. It is all your work.

Acceptance does not necessarily mean to embrace; but to embrace, means to accept? I recalling those cryptic words Abner had said to me during our first encounter, all those months ago.

Indeed. Now I must rest. And so will you.

But there are so many questions I have, I protest.

Another day child, when you're not so weary and bone-tired. For now, attend to your fellow Champion. I imagine that he had quite a bit of a shock at the sight of the both of us.

Gilbert! I quickly rush over to him, feeling Abner's lion disappear as I do so. Just as well—the sight of a glowing, larger-than life predator cosying up to him will certainly do him no good to ease his mind. He's still awake, the glazed over look in his eyes slowly fading away.

"Constantine, did—did you just glow?" he barks disbelievingly.

I consciously look down upon myself. No more glowing. It seems that Abner's leaving signals the end of my borrowed time for the Champion's ultimate power. I look back at Gilbert, expecting to find amber eyes, only to meet bovine brown ones instead. "You look better with dark hair and light eyes," I say stupidly.

He merely laughs at this. "And you look much better with red hair and stormy eyes. Really, the blue you're wearing makes them look too calm. It's unsettling."

I grin, trying to hide the burning heat at the nape of my neck. I suddenly remember the leg. It's still twisted at the wrong angle, looking so useless. I release a low hiss. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Aside from hurtling through the catacombs at full sprint for more than ten minutes, getting smashed into a wall and having my leg broken? I'm okay, I suppose."

"Gilbert, this isn't a time for jests!" I shriek. "I thought you almost died back there!"

"Well, I'm certainly alive," he says too casually. He winces as he tries to shift his leg. "I was remarkably useless back there."

I shake my head vehemently. "You sang. That was enough. You saved everyone."

"I sang. Oh, how the squires will tease me because of this! Gilbert Falkner saved Gaiatea because he sang. That's a far better tale than any bard can spin. One that would no doubt let the whole court roar in amusement too!"

That's true. I rather pity the boy. Best we keep the singing out of the records, Abner's voice rings in my head.

Abner? What are you still doing here?

Ah, I support I forgot to mention. I will be a permanent fixture in your mind from now on.

So, I will have an ethereal advisor talking in my head for as long as I live? I ask dourly.

Why yes. You no longer have to enter your own mind to find me anymore. You should be pleased. How can he still sound so smug?

As pleased as a predator letting its captured prey getting stolen by vultures, of course.

You wound me. But I won't disturb you. Not very often, at least. He feigns hurt in his tone, though something underlying in it quirks my lips into a smile.

It better stay that way, I mock-scold him.

"Constantine, what are you doing?" Gilbert's voice pulls my attention back towards him.

"I'll tell you later." I wrap his arm around my shoulder, trying to get him to stand up. "For now, we'll need to fix up that leg. And we have to find the others."

We hobble back unsteadily; I feel tempted to reuse my light, just to get Abner in lion form to help us. However, I know that it won't work this time. Adrenaline of the aftermath had fuelled me back down there. Now that it's gone, I feel weariness sinking into my bones. I drag my feet, feeling it a challenge to support my own weight, let alone Gilbert's.

"Constantine, Allura...She—she really was Diomedes?" Gilbert asks abruptly. I look at him, startled. His eyes are pinned forwards, looking focused and determined, yet I can see the sorrow underlining them. His face looks so weary—so much older. The betrayal had hurt him as much as it did to me.

"She—" I break off, emotions choking off my voice. A false start. Calm down, I tell myself. You've known this for a week already. You had sufficient time to recover. "Yes, she was Diomedes. Or rather, Diomedes was her."

He gives a curt nod, opting to stay silent for the rest of the walk. However, I can feel the grief hanging in the air, an unwelcome stranger stubbornly tailing us. We'd both known. I'd told him during our journey to Cordair. He didn't believe me then, but he trusted me anyway. Now this heartbreak is the price we pay.

Stop it, Constantine. Stop hurting yourself.

Even as I tell myself to stop feeling though, the tears that I held back streak down my face.

******

A/N: Now it's time for things to cool down. Two more chapters to go guys! *waves flag* You can do it! And please remember to vote, comment, share and recommend!

Dedicated to FlorGuppy. Thank you so much for being one of my Champions and your unwavering support of Constantine (the girl, not the book)!