The sun was already beginning to break through Steelmind's aura, very soon, the sun itself would kill him before the sword did.
The Sword God feared killing him, so he left Steelmind to die on his own.
Steelmind wished to focus on the sword, but the pain and anger he felt in his heart toward the Sword God and the others could not be so easily forgotten in this moment. Even forcing himself to think of the sword instead of the Slayers was an obstacle.
'Kill! Kill! Kill!'
The spirit's words kept pounding on his head as if they were his own heartbeat.
Only after he destroyed the sword would it stop. Or after he destroyed the spirit.
Steelmind looked down at his hands that were now decrepit. They still held on to the sword as if it were his only lifeline. He could not let go of the one thing that was killing him.
"You want me… to kill myself?" he asked, unsure if he was speaking to the sword in his hand or the Sword God before him.
