It took hours of silence for night to fall, but Eldrazi waited through each one, watching stars start to twinkle or shadows grow whenever Gavin refused to look at the sky for him. It was painfully boring, and even pacing in the boy's mind quickly grew dull, but finally the black and yellow sands of Tercia began to glitter under the light of the moons, and Aoife pushed herself to standing.

She raised her arms above her head, stretching first one way, then the other. "Well, I guess it's time. I haven't heard or seen anyone in a while."

"I think most Eunsis tend to rise with the sun, so we should be fine." Selatan gave her a nod, and his hand was back in his knapsack, digging around for the map. "Now to actually find the thing."

He squinted at it, turning it first one way, then the other. "Well, Róhain only circled the city centre, same as all the other times. As for anything more specific..." He trailed off, giving Gavin a look, although it went deeper than that, his eyes searching for someone else. "Eldrazi, you think you can taste for it once we get further in?"

Sure, Eldrazi went to say, but it only echoed as a thought. He bit at his lip, shouting louder. Sure!

Still, it wasn't as though Selatan could hear him in here, and reluctantly, Eldrazi pushed a hand against the scene in front of him. Not full control– that would be wrong– but he did yank at the bond, trying to grab Gavin's tongue just to speak.

A sharp, stamping pain bit his words off, and the metallic taste of blood hit Eldrazi before he was forcefully flung back into the mist.

"We don't need to have him taste for it. We can find it without him," Gavin spat, and the world around Eldrazi grew red.

He watched as Aoife gave Selatan a look before turning back. "But he's still part of our team. Come on. It's been a week now. Can't you both just talk it out already?" She frowned, arms crossing. "This is the last mission. I don't need you both messing this up because you're still angry. I want to get this over with already."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like we were still fighting." Eldrazi felt the floor drop lower, as if Gavin flinched in on himself. As if his shoulders were dipping to make him seem more submissive. Innocent. "We already did talk things out. This is our compromise. He's just been letting me have some space, that's all. It won't affect the mission, I promise."

...what?

Eldrazi barely heard the last sentence, the one before repeating in his mind again and again.

"We already did talk it out."

No. No they hadn't. The world was still out of reach. Gavin was still out of reach. Those were one and the same, and they were both so numb, so far away. And now they were turning to the horizon, in a way that made Eldrazi unsure if he was dragging him along, or leaving him behind.

"Now let's go."

Selatan shrugged, taking Aoife's hand and moving to face the town. "It's just strange. He's a man of many things, but I didn't think shutting up was ever going to be one of them."

"I know." Gavin's voice sounded strangely choked, and the scene tilted until all Eldrazi could make out was the sand below them, broken up only by the movement of their brown boots. "It's... awful not to have him around. I miss him."

The scene jostled, moving until Eldrazi could make out Aoife's face, close, as if she'd wrapped an arm around Gavin's shoulders, although he couldn't feel the warmth of her touch. "I'm sorry. I'm— I'm sure he'll come around eventually. He always does. Things will get better."

"I hope so."

That was all he said, and the embrace fell away with Gavin turning back to the town. It was difficult, seeing out of only one viewpoint, but Eldrazi could tell the houses were drawing closer with their flat, sandy roofs and windows with no glass. Inside were surely hundreds of Eunsis, lying with no sheets, all asleep under the weight of the desert heat. Marketplace stalls, alleys, stables for camels... they passed them by, ignoring them all for the sake of a single building: A temple made of more pillars than walls, a single spire reaching for a Dust-ridden sky.

In front of that was a carved statue of Eór, a rock hollowed out to thin whips to support a head with pricked up wings for ears... and Cearte. Lots of Cearte, all standing at the ready in their white robes.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise. No doubt once the word of their mission had spread, the Goddess' army had all moved to save the final sword piece. After all, it had to be. Gavin's mind was alert, the very space that Eldrazi was stuck in tight and tense, as it always was whenever he was in pain. There was magik in there, no doubt growing stronger with the two pieces within their pocket, and to Humans, it was enough to be sickening.

But as much as Eldrazi could offer to alleviate some of it, it was like bargaining with a wall. A wall that was striding forward, about to move past the final building they were hiding behind to take them on alone.

"Uh, hey!" There was a sharp whisper, and Eldrazi found Gavin being whipped back around, assumedly a grab to the shoulder as Selatan sternly watched the boy's face. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To get the Relic?"

"So you want to just waltz right through the main entrance? There's guards!"

The window narrowed as if Gavin were giving the Demon a deadened look. "You mean guards that we can take out easily. All we need to do is get in there, and put the pieces together. They can't stop us after that. This isn't a mission of sneaking. It's speed."

Selatan gave him a look of complete bewilderment. "But that's just asking for more trouble. Aren't you supposed to be the reasonable one? We could die!"

"Actually, he has a point."

The boy's head turned, and Eldrazi caught Aoife nodding along before her gaze dropped to the ground. "We- we don't have Talus to sneak us in anymore, and Weiss isn't here to tell us if there are any back entrances or where the guards are inside. The more time we waste trying to find another way, the more time that gives them to catch us." She shook her head, brown hair whipping about. "We'll end up fighting them either way, so we might as well just stick together and force our way in." She clenched the poi's chains in her hands tighter, jaw clenched and eyes set.

Her hand was caught, Selatan clasping onto it desperately. Like it was the last time he'd do so. "Aoife, please. I have a bad feeling about this. Like— like..." His lips pressed tight, and Eldrazi could swear that for a moment, he caught a flicker of blue in his eyes, as if he were trying to glimpse at the future to no avail as it was snuffed out. A sharp gasp for air left him, and when he opened his mouth again, his voice was cracked. "Like I might never see you again."

She stopped, staring at him. Then she yanked her hand back, tossing a brash grin over her shoulder. "Silly, I can't die. You know that." Leaning back, a single finger extended as she reached down to bop his nose. "I'll be fine. Don't worry so much. Now come on." Her violet eyes caught Gavin, and for a moment, they almost seemed to perfectly meet Eldrazi's own as she continued with that same, hopeful smile. "We've got Cearte to beat and freedom to win."

The bottom of the window lifted, as if Gavin crinkled his eye in a smile, but Eldrazi couldn't be sure, considering the fog around him was a flat grey, as apathetic as ever. Still, his voice sounded high, pleased once he finally spoke. "Yes. Let's."

With that, Aoife rushed for the temple, crying out as fire rippled down her arms and legs. It lit up the night air in rich, amethyst hues, alighting guards faces as she drew closer, not on the sand, but right above it as she dashed on the flames themselves, arms bent back and ready to swing.

The metal cage of the poi veered out, bashing hard into the face of an Eunsi girl caught off guard. Ironic really, now that Eldrazi was thinking about it, because that was all he really could do as Gavin shot forward, bow and arrows in hand. After all, he wasn't allowed to feel the excitement of the battle, the rush of adrenaline nor the sting of a good hit. There was only watching, and waiting as the arrow shot forward, a guard with blue wings sent to the ground only to be replaced by more.

Shouts broke out, the Cearte lining into formation, and Eldrazi could tell there were about eight in total. Lunging forward, one peeled to the side, spinning on his heel to sink his sword into Aoife's shoulder.

She screamed, fear crawling through Eldrazi as blood sprung from the injury. It laced down his spine, cold and electric. Hurt. She was hurt. It was bound to happen, of course, but he wasn't there to protect her. Not when he was locked away like this.

Gav! Let me 'elp! he shouted, fist raising to pound on the window. Not that it hit anything. It just passed through the emptiness like anything else. I can fight! You know I can!

But Gavin didn't answer, and when the boy drew the knives, he drew them of his own accord, weaving forward until he was in the crowd itself. Eldrazi could hear a hiss of pain, and the strange sensation of blood coating his pants. Still, even as he looked down, there was no pain to back that, or the wound appearing on his arm. It was so... distant. Unreal.

A cry of pain tore Eldrazi's gaze back up, Selatan at the edge of his peripheral, broadsword nearly clean through a guard's leg. It distracted another, and Gavin twisted towards a brown-haired Human, coursing the knife to slip beneath the soft flesh under their ribs. Around Eldrazi, the fog shot orange: guilt and regret, but once Gavin pulled the blade back out, fair skin becoming drenched in red, there was little he could do. Eventually, the poison would set in, and that would be that.

The ground suddenly launched forward, Gavin falling until a boot covered up most of Eldrazi's vision, pressing deep into the boy's face. The guard it belonged to said something, but whatever it was, her voice was too high-pitched for Gavin to pick up clearly, and he struggled to look at her face, writhing under her hold.

A heavy weight pressed into Eldrazi's chest, wrenching at his lungs, his heart. He could push back. He could fix this, and yet he couldn't help. He wasn't allowed to.

The woman leaned closer, her sword's edge glinting in the moonlight as she lowered it closer to Gavin's neck, and he closed his eye, unable to watch the strike. Then a bright light pricked at their eyelid as a veiny orange, the air filling with screams.

Their eye snapped open, and as Eldrazi looked up to find the woman frantically patting at the purple fire lapping at her clothes, Gavin moved to shove the guard off him. Immediately, his hands drew back with a hiss, like he'd been burnt, but he still managed to topple her as he got up, the scene rightening as he examined Aoife standing there looking horrified, then the area about them. At least, everything but the source of the screams behind them slowly dropping to a quiet sizzle as the flames made their mark.

With her taken care of, Eldrazi noticed that most of the guards were gone now. Enough to get them a decently clear path to the temple... at least, until more came. He should've been able to tell that sooner: how many, what was happening, but it was nearly impossible keeping a clear track of the fight from where he was. Not like this.

"Thank you," Gavin whispered, the words cutting through Eldrazi's thoughts, though the boy got little more than a nod in response, Aoife more concerned with clutching her bleeding shoulder. Still, he seemed to care little, instead turning to the Demon, keenly watching as he wiped blood from his blade.

"Selatan," he began. "I think you should stay here while Aoife and I head further in."

"Huh? I thought the plan was to stick together?" His tiger tail flicked behind him, voice uneasy.

Blond bangs were tossed in front of the window as Gavin shook his head. "Too risky. No doubt they'll call for backup. We can't have Aoife getting attacked from behind while trying to rush one exit. Defend her flank by staying out here."

"What?" Selatan demanded, eyes narrowing. "Why don't you stay out here then, since you're so full of ideas?"

"Because he already is carrying the first two Relics, numbskull!" Aoife shot back, and Eldrazi saw her already moving for the temple steps, towards the door to face even more people, with or without them. "Come on! There's no time for arguing, just listen!"

"I—"

Whatever Selatan said next, Eldrazi never heard, because he was being tugged along, up the steps at Aoife's side. Because apparently she could be trusted to fight alongside Gavin. She could be trusted to press against the boy's back, shooting him a confident smile as she swiped to send her poi through another, this time a Cearte whose white robes quickly blackened under her touch.

Well, I did tell 'im to get close to them, didn't I?

"Why, 'Drazi? Do you want me to replace you? I don't need any friends. I've got you, remember?"

The memory squeezed at his throat, the pressing weight returning. Right. This was exactly what he'd asked for, wasn't it? This was why he was locked up in the boy's mind, forced to watch as he shot another arrow into a Cearte only for him to duck, swiping an axe at his ankle, which was nimbly dodged. This was all to show that Gavin didn't need him.

But he needed Gavin.

There was nothing clearer to him now, now that he was here, forced to witness it all. It was more important than being alive, it was more important than escaping Astren. It was a necessity, every second he was forced to spend in this infernal place of fog pure torture. Fixed. It needed to be fixed, because this was a cage, a prison worse than anything. The bars were built of shame and past mistakes, and they closed in tighter than the confines of any cell, deeper than eternity's monotonous burden. It didn't have a lock, because locks promised keys, and keys promised freedom.

No, the only thing that would let him out now was starting over. The right way, this time.

Somewhere, Gavin screamed and Eldrazi was launched to the side, nearly tumbling into Aoife. A quick turn of Gavin's head, and he could see the boy's left arm hanging limp at his side, the white fabric of his sleeve blossoming crimson. The bow fell from his grasp, clattering onto the floor. And so he switched tactics, craning his head to bite into the man's muscular arm, still outstretched with its bloody axe. No taste hit Eldrazi from within the boy's mind, but he could tell the bite was deep from the small trail of venom left in the cut's wake. Then Gavin retracted, glancing about.

To his right, Aoife was caught up with two more Cearte, barely dodging being nicked with a sword, while a Demon man crouched at her side. Yet, Eldrazi noticed Gavin's focus was more attuned to the left, towards a familiar flight of stairs leading to where he knew would be a pedestal, the blade of a sword rested in proud display much like it had four years ago, when Eldrazi and Gavin had stood as one, hand in hand with an Eunsi Dávoln at their side. Or so they'd thought.

Eldrazi blinked as the boy continued to eye the marble. ... You're gonna 'elp Aoife first, arentcha?

Gavin bolted towards the stairs.

"Gavin!" Aoife called from behind them, the desperate tone to it making Eldrazi's heart sink, and thankfully, Gavin froze in place. "Where are you going?"

"I know where it is!" he shouted back. "I'm getting it before someone stops us."

"But—" She was cut off by the swing of a blade, and she jumped back, clearly torn and panicked by the wild look in her eyes. "But how would you know that?"

"Don't worry about it! I'm going to get it. For us." The sound of a harsh swallow echoed through the headspace. "Follow me when you can."

"Oh no you don't!" a voice growled beside them, and Eldrazi caught sight of another man, this one tall and thin, with violet wings spread and taloned hand reaching for Gavin's ankle. He snatched it, and as he pulled back the stairs shot forward, stone rising up towards Gavin's face.

A crack sounded, and somewhere, Eldrazi could feel the bones in his nose shifting yet again. Another break to match the two he already had. Part of him wondered if it'd finally even the crooked thing out, but immediately, he cast the notion aside. He shouldn't be thinking about that. Again, Gavin was hurt, and again, Eldrazi went to grab the bond, because he could heal this. All of this.

Not yet though, as much as it stung. The stairs still stretched so long ahead while the Eunsi man stood behind them, curved blade in hand.

Immediately, Gavin rolled, and the sword dug into the stone next to him. A hand blanketed a part of Eldrazi's vision as the boy clutched at his nose, but he could still make out him scrambling to his feet, dashing up the stairs as the assailant regained himself. It was jolting to watch, but at least Gavin was smaller, faster as he made his way to the top. It gave them distance, and the world cocked to the side as Gavin looked at the quiver attached to his hip, arm reaching back to grab for his bow.

It wasn't there.

Gav, ya left that behind with the man earlier, remember?

"Oh. Wonderful! Thanks for reminding me now, when it's oh-so helpful!" Gavin cried, words dripping venom.

Words were words though, and Eldrazi clung to them. It was something. He said something.

You are terribly welcome, my friend. And as for the man...

The rest didn't need filling in. Gavin was already taking hold of the knives, a bloodied left arm raised higher than the right as he dropped his stance. The man was almost upon him now, the curved sword angled just as low.

Leg strike. That's what Eldrazi knew it would be, and Gavin adjusted accordingly, sidestepping back and up. A small glance, and the door was spotted only a few feet away, magik thrumming through the air. They were close. Just one more Cearte out of the thousands. It was horrible that he had to die for such a stupid wish, but Eldrazi shook it off. That damn sympathy, always getting him into trouble. Not for much longer though. Soon it would all start over, the way it was meant to be.

Ahead, the sword moved down, swift and angled, only to get caught on the edge of the knife. Gavin pressed it up, further and back, but as much as the man tried to tug his arm back, his elbow hit the rounded, stone wall. Because he was right handed, lower on the steps, unaccustomed to fighting someone who always used the other, and, ducking under the man, Gavin drove the blade into his ribs.

There was a clang, and the knife skipped uselessly along the man's chest until it hit nothing but air. The boy stumbled forward, boot slipping on the steps, and the glinting armour beneath the man's ripped robes drawing closer. Then a wet sensation spread along Eldrazi's back.

"Aw. So close, and yet so far," the man cooed, and he backed up, wrenching the sword from its place, only narrowly having missed their spine. Still, Gavin slumped against the wall as black started to coat Eldrazi's only sense of vision. "A shame for you, little snake, but I must thank you. After all, I'm sure the gods will grant me more of their Will since I was the one to take you down."

He moved closer, the sword dipping under their chin. Gavin looked up at him lazily, and for a single, fleeting moment, Eldrazi felt a flicker of warmth against his subconscious. It was like the welcoming light of home in the distance, inviting him back. The bond was open, and slowly, desperately, Eldrazi went to reach for it.

"You soih!"

Aoife's cry echoed off the stone, and the man was tackled as her hands pulled the chains of her weapons tight, pinning his neck to the wall. A choke escaped him, purple wings beating frantically behind him as she continued to press. It didn't matter though, his face already turning a matching colour, and eyes bulging. Her head whipped towards them, giving Gavin a fierce look. "Well? What are you doing? Run! Once he passes out, I'll be there."

"R-right!" Gavin replied, and instantly, Eldrazi was cut off from the bond. If it had been an inviting, held-open door before, then now it was one slammed shut as the boy faced the final steps.

It took no time for him to scramble up them, drawing up into a perfectly circular room. Pillars of white stone rose to hold up a flat ceiling, so high above, but most important to Eldrazi was what lay in the centre. For there, on an altar decorated with chalice of cleaned water and white feathers, lay the blade of a sword.

The final Relic.

A laugh escaped Gavin's lips, and he ran towards it. The bottom of the window rose again, and Eldrazi could tell the boy was smiling as his fingers lifted the metal, caressing its shining form.

Frantically, his head snapped to his satchel, and he was yanking out the handle and hilt of the sword, all shimmering with their strange, iridescent glow. It was quick and reckless how he handled them, but if the magik hurt him, he didn't seem to care as they clicked together, held together through power and power alone. The room grew brighter, encased in a warm, yellow light, and Eldrazi could see blond strands of hair whipping about, caught in a wind that didn't exist. As the light grew closer together, Gavin stepped back, awe filling him as it flowed into the silhouette of a woman.

"I did it," he whispered, nearly breathless. "I actually did it."

No Gavin. I did.

With that, Eldrazi plunged into the bond, squeezing his eyes shut. Usually, it was a warm, soft thing. It wasn't supposed to carve into his heart with a searing hatred, but even as he gasped and choked, he continued to pull. Because it didn't matter if it burned, if the bond bit at his soul and coursed fire through his veins. His skin pricked, the feeling only aided by the visions of fire running through his mind. Of a scaled claw being placed upon his chest, a great maw opening to spew pure flame. But it didn't matter how similar it felt if it was Gavin causing it. He could push past it, for him. He could be stronger, for him.

And so, he yanked.

Gavin screamed, but it was in the back of Eldrazi's mind now, like a desperate animal clawing to be let out. But, even when it felt like holding onto a leash of thorns, Eldrazi gripped the bond tight, and when he breathed out of his lungs, that was what they were. His lungs.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm real sorry Gav, but I 'ave to."

"I knew it! I knew you were going to betray me! Because you're a liar, Eldrazi. You never loved me! It was always about you!"

Eldrazi only shook his head, and he looked down at the Relics in his hands. He'd never been one for swords, and it felt awkward to hold such a thing, but he grabbed it all the same, raising it high as his face began to feel strangely wet. "No. That's where you're wrong. I'm doing this all for you."

The light was so bright now, and he swallowed, clearing his throat as he faced it. "Well, uh, Goddess? S'pose I never really respected you all that much, but I need to ask a favour now, all right? Last time, I promise."

"Eldrazi?"

Behind him, there was a shout, and when he looked over his shoulder, there was the girl, standing bloodied and beaten at the edge of the stairs. Her eyes were wide, shoulders limp as she stared. "What... what are you doing?"

"I—"

He cut himself off. No. This wasn't about her. She'd just been dragged along, and maybe that too, he'd ask forgiveness for one day, but right now, Gavin was the priority. Again, Eldrazi faced the light, and when he spoke, the words were final.

"Akasha, I'm askin' you to pair me with Gavin Myres for the rest o' this life, and every single one thereafter. Wherever he goes next, I want to be there. For forever and a day."

His vision blurred, knuckles turning white as he gripped the sword handle tighter, feeling the air tighten under the Goddess' magik in its absolute. Never. Never would he have thought, given any wish in the world, that sticking with a measly Human would be his choice, but it was done now. There was no going back. He continued, voice choked. "I... I don't want to die anymore. Not truly. I don't think such a thing is possible anyways. All I want is to not be alone. Please, Akasha. Just 'im and me. 'Ts all I want."

"What makes you think I would ever give you what you want, Nðx?"

The bright, orange flavour to the air around Eldrazi instantly soured, and he flinched, stepping back. Before him, the silhouette of light flashed violently, and he flung his hands over his eye. It took several seconds for it to die down, and slowly, he lowered them from his face.

There, in the centre of the temple room, stood the Goddess. She was tall, terrifyingly so, in embroidered, beige robes that didn't make it to her bare feet. Three faces orbited around her: a hardened old woman, a corpse child, and a furious mother that took precedence as she strode forward, fixing Eldrazi with an enraged, twitching glare.

"What?" Eldrazi blinked, and his thoughts scrambled as he looked for an answer. "Nðx? Isn't that one of your gods? Or a story? Or—"

"Just how much have you forgotten?"

Uldyŋ's voice echoed through his mind, and Eldrazi frowned, taking another step back from the Goddess. No. Something wasn't right. He shook his head. "Sorry, I think there's been some kinda mistake."

Blue eyes examined him, and then Akasha laughed, a sharp, haughty thing. "Oh. How convenient. So you get to just mess around in the mortal world and forget everything you did to me?"

The last words came out as a high-pitched screech, and she bounded forward, expression wild as she reached out fingers for his throat.

"H-hey!"

Aoife ran forward, fire igniting in her palm, but Akasha only lifted another hand, and the girl just... froze midstep, unmoving. The room was uncomfortably warm now, bathed in light that was too bright, yet aided with shadows that felt equally too dark. It was welcoming; it was sinister. Something sweet was in the air, and something was burning. It was Balance, but it felt skewed, unnatural as time itself bent to the Goddess' Will, leaving only them.

She turned back, and the fingers fully wrapped around his throat this time. Eldrazi's head was wrenched up until he was staring at her face, or the lack thereof as the yellow light around her head orbited, shifting until he was looking at the face of the Child.

Its flesh was black, slimy in a way that hung loosely to the structure of what once had been a bright, smiling girl. Rotted, black eyes rolled around in sockets oozing with filth, and as fear curled through their spine, Eldrazi tried to wrench away.

The hand– formed of bones– only gripped tighter, a now-rusty voice scraping at their ears. "No! You're going to look at me! You're going to remember, because I want it to hurt this time! No more running, Nðx!"

Something was changing, shifting, pulling at both their bond and their form in a way that was beyond Eldrazi's control. He tried to look away, tried to look at what she was doing to them, but their head was yanked up painfully once again, and this time, when their eyes met hers, there was no moving.

There was only the wave of everything else.