'I'm so sorry.' Acala said while taking Dawn's wounds on himself to allow her to keep fighting to the peak of her strength. 'If only I were a better host, we too would have achieved Fusion like Verhen.'
'How can you say that?' She replied. 'Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I'm not as good a partner as Solus.'
'It's possible, but unlikely.' Acala telepathically shrugged. 'You are born for that. I'm the messed-up one.'
'Well, I disagree!' She snarled, releasing enough power from her steed to dispel the abnormal gravity of Collapsed Sun. 'I don't know what we are doing wrong, but there's one thing I'm certain of.
'Your desire to protect me matches mine to protect you, and we'll reach Fusion. Maybe not today, but someday we will!'
"Cursed be you, undead!" Ruugat conjured a second Cruel Star, and this time, there was nothing to stop the spell from reaching Dawn.
***
