He didn't understand.

Couldn't understand – not as the Aphyre's Mana imploded against Iliya's in a blast of light and fire.

Sorein's screams were washed out by the sound of fractured crystal shards and wind, a wicked storm of power slamming Iliya into the metal plated walls.

She choked, gasping for breath on the floor and pushed onto her elbow.

He launched into action, dropping to his knees next to her. Sorein wrapped them in a cloak storm and static, attempting to shield them from the erratic fire consuming the chamber.

"Sorein," she rasped, coughing again.

He noticed the small drip of blood in the corner of her mouth, his heart racing.

"What? What's wrong?"

"R-Rein," she stammered again, trying and failing to sit up. "The portal..."

The walls rattled around them, chunks of the ceiling collapsing until holes revealed the Sanctuary above them. Scooping her body up off the ground, Sorein dragged Iliya away from one of the larger panels of metal.

She was trembling against him, smacking his arm. Hard. Iliya hissed out words that were covered with the building's collapse, her free hand pointing behind him.

To the portal.

He turned just in time to see the Taqrias climbing out of the portal. A dozen of them with solid, muscled forms and brazen red eyes. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he realized what she'd meant. They weren't simply the mindless creatures from Niorier, these were souls. Corrupted souls with consciousness and Mana.

Iliya pushed his chest, separating them as she crawled to her knees.

"What are you doing?" he snapped.

She shook her head, head lolling as she tried to support herself. No more words, only actions.

Golden strands of light ebbed from her fingertips as a cold smirk lined Iliya's lips.

"They have souls," she muttered, studying her fingers. "They have souls this time."

"What are you talking about?"

Iliya shook her head. "So long as they have souls, I have the upper hand."

Sorein drew his sword, steadying his mind before he lunged inward. He didn't want to find out what she had in mind, only aware that her Raesa held power over the living.

He knew the Taqrias were undead.

They fought in sync, side by side as if they'd been training together for centuries. When he would slash one down, Iliya would guard and dismantle the next.

Sorein watched her cleanly rip into the soul of each demon one by one, her golden light purifying them from the inside out.

His teeth gritted from the impact of a blow to the ribs, Sorein couldn't regroup fast enough to protect Iliya from a blow to the side of her head.

There were so many of them. He cut two more down in time to see Iliya swinging back into the battle impulsively. As she ducked beneath the thick punch of her current target, the claws of another on her right slashed over her waist.

Blood poured onto the floor and Iliya staggered backwards, knees buckling.

"Irie!"

Wide green eyes turned to look at him as she cupped a hand over her stomach. Red cascaded over her hand, trembling. Iliya loosened a scream, throwing out her free hand.

Sorein wasn't prepared for golden threads of light to shoot from her in every direction, locking onto every single Taqrias demon. He stepped back as her scream broke the air and shook the building.

Every single demon caught on fire before Iliya clenched her fist and tore their essence from them.

She coughed again, two streams of blood running from the corners of her lips. In one fluid motion, Iliya whipped their tainted mana back through the portal and released one final blast of molten liquid.

Acting like sap, her Mana sealed the portal.

Sorein knew it would be temporary, the room still quaking underfoot. For the first time, he realized how much of the Aphyre had shattered.

Crystal dust littered the floor around them, shards mixing with pools of black and red blood.

He blinked, ears ringing.

Behind him, Iliya dropped to the floor, her ragged breaths coming out in short, broken pants.

"No," he ground out. "No, no, no!"

Sorein slid to the ground next to her and wiped the hair out of her face. Blood smeared against her cheeks, but her eyes only shuttered beneath the lids.

He hooked an arm under her legs, then her back. They had to get out of here, they had to make it to medical care. Sorein still didn't understand how no one had come running when the Aphyre shattered.

Still, he carried Iliya out of the wreckage and climbed out of the rubble.

"Ezre!" he yelled.

No answer.

"Ezre! Nixian!"

The Sanctuary was empty, dust fluttering through the now silent air.

Cursing under his breath, Sorein hurried out of the Sanctuary into the hall, where he had last seen the King of Chiori. Nothing.

Iliya groaned in his arms, the sound growing less human. She was fading, quickly.

Screams echoed from upstairs.

Sorein kicked down one of the Temple doors, scaling the stairs with ease as he fought through waves of panic and adrenaline.

He couldn't control his breathing anymore.

He couldn't understand how this was happening.

It took him mere seconds to clear the distance between the Sanctuary and the front entrance, slamming through every door until he stood outside.

Sorein couldn't believe what confronted him.

The City of the Lost was a battlefield for the undead. Ezre and Nixian were fighting off the Taqrias, shielding the archways in an attempt to protect the outside world.

The outside world that should be protected.

Yet as Sorein searched he realized the barrier was gone. The rolling mists protecting the island had cleared, the crystal runes light dim and fading, some even broken. His home was dying.

The island was dying.

"Ezre!" Sorein yelled again, storming down the stairs with an unconscious Iliya swaying in his arms. "Ezre, get her to the boat. Now!"

The King's eyes hardened, locking onto his granddaughter in shock. "What in Heilos happened!"

"Not now!" Sorein barked back.

He shoved Iliya into his arms and turned on his heel. Noah was ushering the citizens back inside their homes, yelling out orders.

His friend was doing everything in his power to manage those who couldn't defend themselves. Exactly what he needed.

"Noah," Sorein called out. "Follow Ezre, guard Iliya!"

Pausing, his gaze locked onto him and then Ezre. Noah watched the King as he carried the Princess away and stepped into action immediately.

Temporary relief flooded over him as Sorein turned and observed the scene before him. Nixian, the battle hungry fool, was swinging his spear around and destroying any demon he could. The Guard and Elliott blockaded the archways as Ezre disappeared.

He only had a few minutes to get back into the Temple and reach the tallest chamber.

Once inside, he could reseal the Island, even if it would come at a cost.

Sorein sprinted through each hallway with ease, running up every flight of stairs and busting into the Cihneon of Azuris. A chamber where rituals were performed.

He could see some of the cracks in the Aphyre had reached the tip of the quartz.

Summoning his sword again, Sorein channeled his Mana into the blade and drove it into the gaping crack.

He was born to protect this island.

These souls.

Sorein emptied his entire wealth of Mana through his sword and into the Aphyre. The seams of magic filled the cracks within the crystal, beams of silver flame streaming from the point and into the sky above.

"Mah Theileh ti, Aida..."

He chanted the prayer repeatedly.

Over and over again, he blessed this land and the world around, pouring his Mana into the Aphyre.

To protect and serve.

To save his people.

To save Iliya.

Sorein felt the deep well of his magic leave him and cast into the world around them, panting as he collapsed onto his knees.

Out of gas.

Blinding light burst from the crystal, purifying the Island around them and once again wrapping them in veiled mist.

He knew the solution was temporary, but he needed to protect the City until Andrin returned. Together they could repair the wards and heal the land.

Crawling to the stairwell on shaky limbs, his strength failed him as he threw his feet over the edge.

"Sorein! We need to leave!" Nixian yelled from the base.

"How are the wards?"

"Holding! The Aphyre destroyed the Taqrias and purified the souls, the citizens are safe."

He breathed a sigh of relief, the adrenaline gone. It would take a week for him to regain a fraction of his Mana. A month or more to be fully replenished.

"We need to leave. Now!"

Sorein's body refused him.

"Is Iliya okay?"

Silence followed and for a moment, he thought the Nerydian had left him.

"It's not good..."

Panic gave him the necessary energy to drag himself down the stairs, sending one last prayer to Aida to watch her. Save her.

Iliya was naive and young, he knew she hadn't known better. Not when no one mentioned his mother or the portal to her. She'd been trying to save them all in her own impulsive way.

Sorein shook his head, sighing.

She was sheltered and kept away from the politics and reality of life. So much so, she kept herself hidden from those truths voluntarily.

He needed to make sure she was okay.

She needed to live.

Nixian's grave expression greeted him near the base of the stairs, his eyes scanning Sorein as if he saw how empty he truly was.

They launched into a quick walk, nearly sprinting back to the docks.

He hated the sight before him.

Noah sat on the floor of the boat, one leg extended as Iliya lay propped in his lap. She was out cold with dry blood smeared over her cheeks, her breathing shallow.

Ezre sat on the bench above them, checking the runes burnt into her arms.

"You have some explaining to do," he said, his voice low.

Sorein nodded.

He opened his mouth as auras plagued his vision in dark blankets.

The darkness wrapped around him, his words dying in his throat.

The last thing he felt was wood colliding with his knees.