The morning of the attack dawns unceremoniously. The past two days have been spent fixing the airship and studying battle tactics, and they both went by rather quickly. Tommy supposed that something mystical would coincide with the soonest available date to attack Leviathan, but as Tommy stares up at the morning sky still tinged with the inky remnants of night, he realizes that today feels like any other day. The real difference is the adrenaline thrumming in his stomach, but even that can be attributed to a multitude of plans that might preoccupy his average day. There is nothing special about today, nothing to mark it as special. Though Tommy suspects that once they arrive at Acherusia, everything will change.

Crow leads the group heading for Drywaters to the airship, carrying a ceremonial torch in his hand that holds some significance Tommy didn't pay attention to. Obviously, it must involve Aeor in some fashion, and Tommy only cares about the god to the extent of his final words.

Crow stops when he reaches the side of the airship. He turns back to look at all of them, his face half-hidden in shadow by the torchlight. He analyzes them in the space of a second before bowing his head, one hand coming to press against his chest where his heart should be. "I wish you all luck. If that should fail, I pray that Aeor will protect you, both your mortal forms and your spirits should they be set free."

Crow steps to the side, getting out of their way. He swings the torch outwards, stretching his arm as far as it will go towards the airship. The firelight splashes across the hull of the flying ship, further illuminating the area in a metallic light. It is unnatural as it dances across the blades of grass, but the rest of the group around Tommy presses onward. False climbs up the ladder, opening the hatch for everyone following behind her. They fall into a semi-organized line as they enter into the airship, some of the group members a little more excited than the others— though Tommy isn't sure if that's because it's their first time in the airship or because they are ready for this fight.

Tommy lingers behind the group, remaining in the grass even when they have all clambered inside. He hears the engine begin to rev, an almost animalistic growl coming from the front. The balloon starts to rise upward, pulling the strings taut. As the airship is getting acquainted with the air, Tommy stands beside Crow, ignoring the way the firelight makes his eyes hurt. "We will be back soon, but if we do not return by three dawns, I request that you send a letter to the imperial family explaining our whereabouts and objectives."

"Do not fret, Imperial Prince. An appropriate letter has already been written in preparation," Crow reassures Tommy, though the prince finds that thought more morbid than comforting. Crow nods toward the entrance, and Tommy gets the message. He takes a deep breath, hoping this isn't the last time he will ever be in Alfheim. Even though Chromia's inhabitants have rejected him, he doesn't hate them nor does he dislike the city. It is a place in the empire, after all, and this land is his home.

Tommy climbs up the ladder to the entrance. Niki is standing at the doorway, her hand outstretched towards Tommy. He grabs onto her hand, letting her pull him all the way onto the platform. Tommy looks over his shoulder at Crow, but the elf is looking into the distance, towards Drywaters. Crow bows his head, some sort of prayer, Tommy suspects, and Tommy idly wonders if he should be doing the same thing. If only he had someone he could pray to.

Niki closes the latch once Tommy is safely inside the compartment. Tommy moves into the main room. Almost everyone else is here save for the captain of this vessel, False, and her first mate, Jimmy. They are in the operating room, but Tommy knows that they, like everyone in this room, are looking outside the window as the airship rises into the air. Tommy presses his hand against the cold glass, putting one knee on the cushioned bench to look towards the ground. His vision roams around as they gain altitude, and he sees what Chromia looks like from the eyes of a bird. He thinks, momentarily, that he sees L'Manberg in the distance, but Tommy doubts he's actually seeing the capital considering how far away it is from Alfheim. Still, the idea of home brings Tommy some much needed comfort.

Once they are as high in the air as they are going to get, the group disperses to explore the airship or maybe reconcile with the fact that this might be their last morning. Tommy remains in the main room, not caring about the airship's interior or about the fact that this might be his last moments. Tommy is, however, not alone in staying in the main cabin. Niki remains near Tommy like a dutiful guard, and Scar seems keenly interested in something out the window on the other side of the cabin. Tommy glances over at the elf, halfway surprised by his solemn expression. Tommy should expect a multitude of expressions to grace Scar's face, but he never thought he would see anything serious.

The expression passes as soon as Scar glances over at Tommy and Niki. A polite smile overtakes his face, and the roots of his throne move slowly, carefully, across the carpet. When Scar is close enough to the pairing, he gestures them over with his hand. "Your friend, Scar, has brought you some presents!"

Scar grows giddier the closer they get to a room down the hall from the main cabin. Tommy finds himself wearing a half-smile, partially amused by the childlike innocence of Scar's happiness. He continues to wear this half-smile even when Scar opens the door to reveal a barren room save for some boxes. One of the boxes is made from a red-brown lacquered wood with a golden framing creating adorning patterns. Scar lifts the lid off the box, peering into it with a brighter smile. Tommy shares a curious glance with Niki, and she takes the lead to stand beside Scar and peer into the box with him.

Scar taps the side of the box, his throne turning so that he might show both Niki and Tommy his happy smile. "These goods are only of the finest quality. Most were forged by dwarves or harengons.

"And what do you want in return?" Tommy asks, crossing his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow at Scar. Tommy pushes off the door frame, using the momentum to carry him deeper into the room. He stands in the space between Niki and Scar, close enough to the box to see a couple of items without peering over it.

"Nothing, of course. I am a member of this company. I only want my allies to have high quality weapons and armor. It increases my odds of survival, after all, and there is little else precious to me other than my very life," Scar remarks, tapping his index finger against his nose twice. Tommy raises an eyebrow, but Scar turns around to grab a weapon from the box. He holds a thin spear in his hands with a sharp diamond-shaped blade and long, pointy wings. The material looks black at a glance, but as it passes through the light of a window, Tommy realizes that it is iridescent like oil in water. Scar puts the spear in Tommy's hand, and the prince takes a step back to twist the weapon around, testing the weight and his control over it.

Scar leans back into the box, pulling out a sheathed dagger. He sets the hilt in Niki's hand. She unsheathes the dagger, lifting the blade up to ascertain the quality. A slow frown pulls at her face, and she looks away from her own reflection in the blade to stare at Scar. "It is a finely made dagger, but I would prefer a sword. I want to keep some distance between my body and the jaws of death. Plus, I do not have any formal training with a dagger. I fear I might not be able to keep you as safe as you want to be, merchant."

"I am afraid, too, undine, for I do not have another weapon for you. That dagger will serve you well, at least until you find your true weapon. I would not wish to make it jealous by giving you a sword," Scar admits, shaking his head sullenly, his emotions a touch towards mockery but something serious shining in his eyes. Niki narrows her eyes at Scar, but her anger simmers quietly beneath the surface as her curiosity makes itself known.

Scar reaches back into the box, pulling out a bracer. It is made from a silver-colored metal, almost blue with how refined it is. Instead of leather straps, there are two latches, one near the wrist and the other near the crook of the elbow. The surface of the bracer is engraved with flowing lines that interweave, creating a pattern that Tommy is familiar with even if he doesn't recognize it. Scar tosses it to Tommy, and the prince catches it. "That is for your mercenary. I am under the impression that he knows how to use a multitude of weapons, so I brought that one out especially for him."

Tommy runs his finger along one of the engravings, wondering what Deo's weapon mastery has to do with the bracer. Tommy doesn't get a chance to really think about it as Scar pulls out something wrapped in a thick, off-white blanket. He sets the weapon in both of Tommy's arms, forcing the blonde to carry it like a baby. Tommy cradles the weapon, trying to hold the bracer and the spear alongside the new weapon. "And that one is for the kindling. Make sure he is the only one to touch it."

Tommy narrows his eyes, staring into Scar's knowing look. The elf turns away from Tommy to meet Niki's eyes, sheepishly smiling. "I would have brought stuff for the others, but False and Jimmy have their own weapons, no? I doubt the dark fairy will want to participate. And that other fellow you have brought... the one you're hiding... he has magic. I, unfortunately, do not have any catalysts for magic on me, though I suspect he already has a grimoire. It is the first step to becoming a proper witch after receiving a Witch's Mark."

Tommy releases a breath. He should have known he wouldn't be able to hide Scott's identity from Scar. At least they were able to hide it from everyone else. Tommy really doesn't want to deal with that crisis.

"I have also brought some armor for everyone. I will admit that an attempt was made to make the armor match the weapon, so try not to grab anyone else's armor!" Scar says, his throne pulling him back to give the prince some space.

Tommy takes a step closer to the box to grab some armor for himself, but Niki's arm rises to block him. Niki glances at him from the corner of her eyes. "It is not too late to put an end to this. You can stay in the airship."

"Everyone must do their part," Tommy reminds her, taking the armor out that he assumes goes with the spear Scar gave him. They are both made from iridescent black metal, so they seem to match each other. Since Scar does not tell Tommy otherwise, he pulls the armor into his arms alongside the rest of the weaponry Tommy, an imperial prince, is supposed to hand out. Tommy snorts to himself, ignoring the odd look Niki gives him in response.

Tommy takes the armor with him to a different room across the hall. He closes the door, looking around the storage room. Tommy sets everything down on one of the shelves in the storage room. He starts snapping on the different armor pieces. He tucks the lapis lazuli necklace underneath the chestplate. It isn't a full suit of armor, of course, only some metal pieces here and there to protect Tommy's vital organs along with some other safety measures like knee-pads and shoulder pauldrons. The armor is also surprisingly lightweight, though Tommy suspects that it would be easy to wear if it were made from the legendary dwarves... and whatever harengons are. Another word Tommy is going to have to look into further.

When Tommy is finished dressing, he puts his spear in a scabbard on his back, attached to the chestplate. Tommy grabs the bracer for Deo and the mysterious weapon for Jack. He heads out of the room he occupied for himself, looking for either of them. Tommy knocks on every door, poking his head inside. Eventually, this trial and error process leads him to the room where Deo is. The mercenary is peering over a table in a room that reminds Tommy of a conference room in an office space with Hetta flying right beside him, her arms folded over the side of the table to keep her feet off the ground. Both of them look up when Tommy slides into the room, shutting the door behind him with the heel of his new metal boots. Deo raises an eyebrow, looking Tommy up and down. Hetta's eyes widen, her smile matching. Tommy flushes with embarrassment, hoping he doesn't look stupid. Before anyone can say anything, Tommy tosses the bracer at Deo. "Scar wanted me to give this to you. It's your special weapon."

"Weapon? What am I supposed to do with this?" Deo asks, quickly figuring out how to put it on his forearm. He moves his arm around, searching for a proper way to use it in a fight. Even hand-to-hand moves aren't effective since the bracer is around his wrist.

"I know this one!" Hetta pipes up, flying higher. She grabs onto Deo's arm, running her hand along the bracer's exterior. "The bracer can channel Ima-" Hetta stops, a strangely pained expression crossing her face. Tommy takes a step toward, reaching for her, but the moment passes. Hetta's eyes snap back up to Deo, a smile back on her face. "Mystery. It can channel Mystery."

Deo takes a step back. He reaches his hand out. He closes his fingers into a fist, and suddenly something is in his fist. He is holding a long sword made from yellow-gold light, solidified by its own properties. Deo twists his body, forming into another position, and the sword transforms into a bow and an arrow made from the same hard light, the bowstring pulled up to Deo's cheek. Deo turns his body, and he is suddenly hiding behind a shield. Deo throws his hand down, the weapons disappearing. Deo smiles at the bracer. "Hmm... Master would have certainly liked that shield mode."

"Scar said this stuff was made from dwarves and harengons," Tommy offers, as Hetta comes to fly right beside him. She settles onto his shoulder, folding her arms on top of his head to lean her chin against them.

"That elf is quite the collector, then. Harengons have been extinct for centuries, and dwarves almost never sell their creations to anyone other than gods," Deo notes, finding the unused part of his blindfold falling across his shoulder, tugging it gently. Tommy frowns, straining to remember what Deo got the blindfold from. Was it dwarves or harengons?

"Or demons," Another voice pipes up. Tommy looks over his shoulder to find Jack standing at the doorway. He enters the room, his bronze armor shimmering as he moves.

"Be nice," Tommy says to Jack.

The guard laughs lightly. "No, no, I'm not calling Deo a demon. I'm being truthful. It is said that dwarves sell their goods to demons alongside gods. I think we can all admit that Scar's deals are a little... devilish in nature."

"Scar isn't a demon," Hetta says decidedly, her voice unusually firm. The only time Tommy hears her voice like this is when she's on the cusp of remembering her past. Tommy hopes that Hetta hasn't gotten herself involved with any demons. But, he knows, if she has, he will find a way to free her, plain and simple.

"You're right; he isn't. But I think we should all still be wary of him," Deo agrees, leaning against the table with all the papers and battle plans on it. He crosses his arms over his chest, a hard expression crossing his face as he thinks about the strange elf that integrated himself into their group.

Tommy doesn't comment since he has known to be wary of Scar since the beginning. Tommy instead sets the wrapped up weapon in Jack's arms. The guard looks at it curiously, his eyes flickering from the item to Tommy in rapid succession. Tommy shrugs, taking a step back. "It's from Scar. I'm assuming you've already gotten armor from him."

"Oh, yeah... I can't wait to see what this sword looks like!" Jack says, a joyful smile crossing his face. He unravels the wide blanket. He pulls out a sword. Before Tommy can closely examine what the sword looks like, it suddenly blazes to life. Deo grabs Tommy's shoulder, pushing him behind him. The fire descends from the sword down Jack's arms. His face is brought to life in the firelight, but there isn't any pain there. The fire dies down, searing into Jack's skin in the form of intersecting lines, the tattoos on the right made from red lines and the ones on the left made from blue lines. These lines continue up his face until they curl around his eyes, causing both of them to start glowing like stars in the night sky.  The flames flicker off the sword, revealing a blade split down the middle from red and blue metals. Jack lowers the sword to the ground, but he seems out of it.

Tommy reaches a hand towards his friend, but he has to pull away as soon as the air becomes too hot for his skin to handle. Despite Tommy being able to shake Jack out of his daze, the guard naturally comes to like someone snapping awake. Jack lifts the sword back up, looking at his reflection in the mirror. A slow smile creeps onto his face. "Ancient weapons are awesome."

Tommy stares at Jack from around Deo's shoulder. He glances at the mercenary, noting the way Deo's lips are pressed together. As Tommy's vision continues upward, he notices that Hetta is staring at Jack oddly intensely, like she is seeing him in a new way. Tommy reaches for her hand. Once he takes it, she tears her eyes away almost violently. She stares at Tommy apathetically for a long moment, but once Tommy squeezes her hand, she gives him a reassuring smile. She flies closer to his side, keeping their hands together. She doesn't explain herself, and Tommy, despite how worried he is, decides not to ask.

The tense moment is interrupted by the door swinging open. Everyone looks toward it to find Niki standing there in white armor, opposing Tommy's color scheme once more. The dagger Scar gave her is tied to her side, and she keeps one hand on it as her eyes sweep across the room. She seems to be looking for something, but it obviously isn't any of them. Niki ends her search with a sigh, shaking her head minutely to get back into herself. She hooks a thumb down the hallway. "False wants to talk to us all in the cockpit."

Despite the moment they all just had, the group files out of the room without another word about it. Really, the only sign that it happened is the tattoos now on Jack's arms and the way Deo stays between Tommy and Jack.

When they step into the cockpit, Scar gives them all an approving look. Tommy responds with a half-smile that Scar repays in full. False, however, is not impressed by their armor as she stands up from where she had been controlling the airship. She gestures into the distance, out of the large window that covers all three sides of the cockpit. "We are approaching Drywaters."

Niki breathes in sharply. Tommy puts a hand on her shoulder. She glances over at him, and they share a small smile.

"Jimmy, Scar  to the ballistas. Scott, summon your ghost. Joey, I want you protecting the airship from the outside. Everyone else-" False's words are cut off as Jack crumbles to the ground, Hetta dropping down right next to him. Tommy chokes on his breath, grabbing at his chestplate with his hand. He feels a heavy weight settle inside of him, and he knows instantly that he no longer has access to his Origin magic. It is being locked away from him, and he can hardly stand the feeling of it. False's words start filtering into his head once more. "I feared this would happen. We have now entered a bounded field. Leviathan has made the other elements weaker in his domain."

Tommy glances upward. False, Deo, Scott, Joey, and Scar are unaffected by the bounded field. Jack and Hetta have taken a strong hit, and Tommy is barely managing to stand upright. Jimmy seems a little off-kilter. In contrast, Niki seems to be glowing as she summons Merling to her side. The water elemental twirls in the air as smoothly as she moves through water, moving cyclical around Niki. The knight smiles, glaring at the approaching lake. "If Leviathan has made water stronger, he's in for a nasty surprise."

Niki starts running towards the deck. Merling follows after her, flapping her fish-like tail to gain momentum in the air. False glances at the people she gave orders to before they entered the bounded field. Jimmy tries rushing out of the room, but he nearly trips over himself, unused to his weight without his wings providing a counterbalance. Scott grabs onto Jimmy, helping the canary hybrid out of the room. Joey sits on the back of Scar's throne as it moves out of the room. False turns around to start flipping switches, preparing herself for the fight ahead of her.

Jack rises unsteadily onto his feet, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. His eyes begin glowing brighter, and even the tattoos shimmer dangerously across his skin. He glares into the distance. He speaks in a voice that isn't quite his own, "I'm going to kick that little kepie's ass."

Jack leaves the room, gaining sure footing the more he moves. Hetta reaches for Tommy, grabbing onto his anklet. She turns into a capelet around his shoulders. Tommy grabs the clasp, squeezing it gently as if to reassure her that they are going to be fine. Tommy turns to follow the others to the deck, but he feels Deo grab his hand. Tommy looks over his shoulder. Deo is shaking his head, one hand on his forehead. Tommy fully turns around when he realizes Deo just had a vision. Tommy waits for insight, and Deo finally tilts his head upward to look at Tommy. "We need to throw Niki overboard."

"The fuck?" Tommy mutters, narrowing his eyes at Deo.

The mercenary's grip on Tommy's hand tightens slightly, and he takes a step closer. "There is something Niki needs in the depths of Acherusia. Something we are all going to need."

It sounds crazy. It sounds like nonsense. It sounds like a sure-fire way to get Niki killed. Yet, Tommy trusts Deo. He believes Deo, and if Deo thinks this will be for the benefit of everyone, including Niki, Tommy is going to put his faith into that.

"Fine," Tommy nods. Since they have that settled, Tommy starts dragging Deo out of the cockpit and to the deck where everyone else is. Tommy releases Deo's hand as he approaches the railing. Tommy puts both of his hands on the metal, peering over. Acherusia is huge, almost a sea instead of a lake, though Tommy can see the remains of a city in the distance rising above the waters. Something else begins rising out of the dirty brown-black water.

Leviathan is a giant beast. It resembles a long serpent, but it has long horns twisting backwards. The main body is shades of blue with black and purple dorsals traveling down the spine, each curving line barbed. There are flowing appendages resembling fins branching off of the main body at different sections, each one moving like silk in the wind and colored a glowing white-blue color. Leviathan's eyes are two deep pools, as dark as the ocean's depths. Its legs are hidden behind some of the fins, but the sharp claws easily catch and reflect the sunlight. Leviathan steps on the air... or rather, it forms the rain falling from the dark clouds above their heads into platforms where it can step. It stops moving when it's eye level with the airship. Its long, steel-colored whiskers move in a wave-like motion, and its tail snaps behind it, the fins there flaring out in agitation.

"You are out of your mind," Tiberius reminds Tommy, landing on the railing right beside. Tiberius is not getting wet from the rain like the rest of them, but the patterns trapped within his body are becoming blurrier, showing that even he is affected by Leviathan's storm.

"Just like Zero," Tommy responds, half-conscious of his own words.

Tiberius hums, spreading his wings out. "Then, I shall assist you as I did Zero."

Tiberius flies at Tommy. Instead of hitting him, Tiberius turns into a circlet much the same way Hetta becomes elemental armor. Instead of granting him increased speed and agility, Tommy grains strength– both physical and magical. Tommy does not dwell on how familiar this power coursing through him is as he pulls his spear out, preparing for the battle ahead of them.

The ballistas start firing off blasts of energy that Tommy doesn't recognize. Niki pulls the dagger Scar gave her out of its sheath. She points the blade at Leviathan, narrowing her eyes. Merling merges with the armor already on Niki's body, giving the white material a tint of blue and pink.

Deo uses the shield function of his bracer to push Niki overboard. Her voice is lost to the throes of the roaring wind as she plummets toward the ground. Tommy hopes Deo's vision was right as he watches Niki's body drop into the brown-black water.

"You two are reckless fools," Jack's oddly layered voice declares with a slight laugh, but he doesn't dive after Niki. He instead points his swords at Leviathan, every raindrop instantly turning to steam as it lands on the metallic surface. Jack jumps onto the railing, the metal glowing red under his feet. "This has been a long time coming." He glances at the others. "Remember to aim for the core." He leaps from the railing to the dragon, landing on its back and disappearing from view.

With Jack missing, Tommy can see Kathie standing in her watercolor glory. She is wearing her spiky armor, a battle axe ready in her hands. She nods at Tommy and Deo before joining Jack on Leviathan's back to start dealing damage up-close. Deo transforms his shield into a bow, pulling back a knocked arrow to aim at the beast, anywhere the ballistas aren't hitting. Tommy twists his spear in his hands, activating his stance. He tastes sand on his lips, and the rain grows warm as it falls across his skin. When Tommy opens his eyes, he sees the golden aura surrounding him. Tommy bends down, using Hetta and Tiberius' gifts to launch himself from the deck of the ship towards Leviathan. He does not land as steadily as the others did, but Tommy jams his spear into the main body to keep himself from sliding down the creature's back.

Tommy tries ramming his spear in deeper, hoping his aura will flood the space between the scales. Unfortunately, those same scales are tough and difficult to penetrate. He tries every stance he remembers Sam teaching him, using all of his strength and dexterity. When nothing happens, Tommy pulls his spear out, materializing golden spears around him using his signature magic. Each one crashes into Leviathan. While they do a little more damage than Tommy's regular spear, it is certainly not enough to make this beast fall.

Leviathan attacks the airship. It puts his claws on the edge of the ship, digging into the metal as if it were a tin can. Tommy runs toward the airship. Leviathan opens its jaws, ready to swallow Deo whole. Tommy leaps off the dragon's back, tackling Deo across the deck. Leviathan's mouth closes down on nothing, barely scraping the top level of the airship's deck. Tommy lands on one of his knees, and he stretches his hand towards Leviathan as if he were holding a throwing knife. Instead of a knife, a ball of white energy shouts out from Tommy's fingertips like a shooting star. When it lands against Leviathan's scaly maw, the Cael explodes with an intense light and flash of heat.

The dragon makes a growling noise, and Deo launches forward. His bow and arrow turns into a hard-light sword. He stabs the material into the Leviathan's eyes, letting gold blood leak from the creature's eye. Leviathan rears back, making another unholy noise. The mighty roar makes the storm grow harsher, lighting flashing between the clouds. The rain begins feeling more like needles, sinisterly cold and painful. The dragon glares at the airship with one eye, and all of its fins expand as far as they can go. In the shadow of these fins, two magical glyphs appear around the largest of the fins, rotating endlessly as they begin to charge up. Deo stands in front of Tommy, bringing up a shield to protect the prince from the blast of white-blue energy. Tommy closes his eyes firmly, waiting for the energy storm to pass.

When it does, Tommy opens his eyes, peeking over Deo's shoulder. He instantly sees Jack and Kathie working together to cleave into Leviathan's neck. The dragon seems to understand what they are doing, because it summons more glyphs, including one coming from the tail that coils upward, aiming the glyph at Jack and Kathie. Deo keeps his shield up, protecting himself and Tommy. The prince, however, drops onto the ground. He closes his eyes, focusing all the energy in his body. The EXP inside of him bustles to the surface, and he materializes all of it as giant spears. Tommy opens his eyes to aim them, and they are sent colliding with the distant glyphs. Some of them don't hit, resulting in the shield Scar set up around the airship being hit and cracked, but the ones that do shatter the glyphs, saving Kathie and Jack.

Tommy deflates on himself, feeling wrung out immediately. Deo looks over his shoulder, lowering himself to make sure that the shield is covering Tommy. "The dragon is weaker than it should be."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Tommy asks, feeling like this has been difficult enough.

"Leviathan was supposed to be the protector of Drywaters," Deo claims, nodding his head at Leviathan. "Does that seem like the power level of something that was meant to protect Drywaters?"

"Drywaters no longer exists," Tommy murmurs, looking into the distance at that ruined city he saw when they were approaching. They are closer to it now, so Tommy can truly see the devastation that was wrought upon it by the Night of Pollution. "This must have weakened Leviathan."

Deo's response was cut off by a terrifying roar. Leviathan starts hurtling towards the airship, running across its rain-formed platforms. Tommy watches as Kathie climbs onto Leviathan's head, sitting between its horns. Her watercolor appearance ripples, and suddenly Shrub is sitting there, her karma swirling around her dangerously. This karma suddenly drops down, entering into Leviathan's eyes, including the one that was stabbed. Leviathan rears upwards suddenly, exposing its stomach. Jack vaults over Shrub, falling to the ground. He twists his body midair, creating a slash of fire with his sword that hurdles directly towards Leviathan's belly. As soon as it lands, searing the soft flesh, the ballistas fire their energy in roughly the same spot, resulting in a tear opening. Golden blood spills out like a waterfall, dropping all the way to the brown-black water. This reveals a shiny lapis lazuli core, the one quality shared across every monster besides their bloodlust.

Tommy doesn't even know he's moving until he hears Deo yelling for him to stop and trying, but failing, to stop Tommy himself. Tommy leaps off the railing of the airship, twisting in midair. He conjures everything inside of himself— Hetta's elemental power, Tiberius' Cael, the Art of the Golden Tempest, and his EXP— and throws his spear forward. It glows brilliantly, shooting forward with as much power as a storm, a meteor, surging sand, filled with whatever makes Tommy a Fatebreaker. The spear, infused with all this power and barely recognizable as a spear due to how brightly it shines, slams directly into the lapis lazuli core. Part of the gemstone cracks, and Leviathan begins falling towards Acherusia.

Tommy, too, begins falling. Hetta and Tiberius are gone, and Tommy feels the backlash of overusing their powers flare up inside his body. He tries summoning his wings, not even caring about his secret, but his Origin magic does not respond to him. He is still within the bounded field, after all. If it is, Leviathan must still be alive. Tommy curses, feeling tears rise to his eyes in frustration and at the harshness of the wind batting against his body.

Tommy slams into the waters of Acherusia. Pain shoots through his entire form, and he gasps at it, letting the murky water fill up his throat. His vision is blotchy in a matter of seconds, and his consciousness struggles to remain firmly in his body. The only thing keeping him there is the pain his body is experiencing, the coldness of the water, and the surging panic that claws desperately at his water-filled lungs. Tommy really hopes that the other Transcendants can break fate, and that the others defeat Leviathan for the sake of the Antarctic Empire... Tommy's home, and his family, and everything he has ever cared about.

Tommy's last wishes are cut off by someone grabbing onto his hand. He is pulled in some direction, and he only realizes that it was upward when his head breaks the surface of the water. He starts coughing immediately, and someone drags him onto a solid surface. They pat his back, helping him puke up all the water. Tommy doesn't know if he says it, but he definitely thinks, I fucking hate water, recalling the last time he almost drowned. That time, Techno and one of his water elementals saved Tommy.

His eyes flutter open to discover who saved him this time, searching for what happened, and he realizes that he is lying on Acherusia's surface. It is still water, Tommy knows, but he is laying on it as if it were ice, or even a solid wooden plank. Tommy looks up quickly, and he meets the warm brown eyes of someone he knows all too well.

While her eyes are the same, the rest of Niki is different. For one, her ears have turned into pink and blue fins. Her hair is solidly pink, reminding Tommy of his older brother. The parts of her body that Tommy can see have some splatches of scales, pink and blue, and this coloring bleeds into the skin around it. She still has feet, but there are fins on her calves and forearms. She stares at Tommy, and there is something strange in her eyes that Tommy recognizes yet is completely unfamiliar with. She shakes her head, standing up on the water's surface, keeping her eyes on him. Tommy notices now that she is wearing a new outfit, though it looks very similar to Merling's elemental armor, so Tommy doesn't think it's anything special. What is special is the mirror she holds underneath one arm and the hilt without a blade in the other hand. Niki drops the mirror down beside Tommy. The water splashes, but the mirror does not sink.

Niki turns away from Tommy, turning her attention to Leviathan. An iridescent sheen expands from the hilt, creating the blade from magical energy. Niki marches toward Leviathan unflinchingly. The creature lifts its head slowly, and Tommy realizes that its eye is no longer bleeding. Tommy should have known a dragon would have a healing factor. He tries getting onto his feet to help Niki, but he collapses back down immediately, tired from both almost drowning and overexerting not only his power but that of his contracted creatures. Tommy still scrambles forward, but he stops when his hand lands on the mirror. He jerks away immediately, feeling like he's just touched lightning. He decides to worry about the mirror later as he stares up at Niki, hoping that he doesn't watch her get devoured.

Instead of immediately stabbing the creature, Niki puts her hand on Leviathan's snout. Tommy isn't able to hear her, but he knows that she is speaking to the beast. Tommy watches on, confused, and it only gets worse when Niki leans forward to kiss the creature's snout between its exposed nostrils. Surprisingly, Leviathan lies down, setting its head against the water's surface, half-submerged but still floating. Niki remains close, rubbing Leviathan's snout.

Kathie climbs over the side of the monster. She slides off of it, landing on the water's surface. The water ripples underneath her, but she doesn't sink. Tommy taps the water, wondering what the secret is. Does someone have to hit it hard enough to sink? Or did Leviathan do something to it? Did Niki do something to it?

Tommy is about to call out when he notices something in the corner of his eye. Not too far away from Tommy, the brown-black water begins to bubble as if it were boiling. It continues, the bubbles getting larger, until a hand reaches out of the murky water. The hand grabs onto the water's surface, pulling the rest of the body up. A creature made from shadows, mud, and, dangerously enough, the Taint. The creature stands upright. The veil of shadows disperses for a moment, and Tommy recognizes Shrub standing there. She has a pained, strained expression on her face like she's fighting off something painful. Tommy sees regret shine in her eyes as the Taint covers her face, covers her entire body, creating the substance of her body and the disharmony of her soul. The only part that isn't swathed in the Taint are the two glowing eyes that stare out from the shadows, acting like two lighthouse beams in the misty night.

Tommy remembers, passively, quickly, regrettably, Shrub asking him that if she ever became visible, he would kill her. Tommy remembers these words, this half-made promise, as the Tainted Shrub howls with the ferocity of a two genocided species wanting revenge for their untimely demise given to them by one swift, merciless hand.

Immediately, all hell breaks loose.

—

A figure moves through the Taint, humanoid yet inhumanely agile. It moves with a single-minded purpose, a steady pursuit through the darkness. It does not stop even when its hands wrap around Ranboo's throat, only slowing down momentarily to account for him now being dragged through the dirt. Ranboo reaches a hand up, creating a portal that the creature unintentionally tosses him into. Ranboo pops out several feet away, rolling as soon as he hits the ground.

The creature stops moving, noticing that its prey is gone. It snaps its head around in a way that would surely break the spine of any normal person. The creature only stops when the vines erupt out of the ground around Ranboo's wrists, tying him to the ground. The creature lowers itself onto its hands and feet, closing the distance between itself and Ranboo in a matter of seconds with animalistic bounds. It grabs Ranboo's throat again, shoving him into the ground. Its head vibrates, twisting left and right, up and down, back and forth, examining Ranboo from every direction in rapid succession. When it identifies him, or maybe doesn't, the creature leans in close. The Taint around its face pulls back slowly with a design like spiderwebs but definitely not moving like them. When enough of the Taint is gone, Ranboo's eyes widen in recognition.

"Scott?"

The creature laughs, but it doesn't sound like Scott. Doesn't sound like a laugh, either, but Ranboo considers it one because of the horrid smile that appears on the Scott-like face. Except, it isn't Scott anymore. The facial features physically move, tearing apart to form into a new face, one Ranboo doesn't recognize. It is a petite woman, he supposes, with golden Fae eye and pointed ears. It leans in very closer, whispering  a song directly into Ranboo's ears. "Guess again, Enderian! Guess again, voidwalker! Guess again, scourge of life! Guess again, killer!"