(?)
Taking deep breaths, Scathach slowly became aware that the air she was breathing in suddenly felt very different. When she at last opened her eyes, she found to her confusion that she was not in the Land of Shadows anymore.
In fact, Scathach had no idea WHERE she was...
Rising to her feet, Scathach assessed her surroundings. She was kneeling on a glass smooth floor, above her was what appeared to be the night sky, yet it was everywhere. Above her, beside her, below her... every which way. The stars were brighter than those seen from Earth, and there were immense, colorful spherical worlds in the foreground, so far yet big enough that Scathach felt she could touch them...
Where am I? Are these the heavens?
It was overwhelming to Scathach, but she could not dwell on the sheer impossibility of where she was as she detected signs that she was not alone. Looking behind her, Scathach saw that she was standing outside an impossibly large, intricate vessel, and saw the vast floor she was standing on leading towards it. What alarmed her was the sight of strange shapes emerging, slowly rising out of the floor like water.
"NOW what?" Scathach let out as she suddenly felt threatened, especially after seeing the frighteningly familiar things coming out of the floor. And there were lots of them...
"More Seraphs?!" Scathach exclaimed, attempting to summon her spear, but to her shock was unable to. The army of Seraphs rose up out of the floor and stood before Scathach, staying as still as statues despite knowing full well she was here. They stay motionless for a while, leaving Scathach in confusion.
"Huh? Why aren't they attacking me?" Scathach stays guarded, expecting some kind of attack despite how defenseless she was. While they were here, in formation and bunched together, Scathach took note of the Seraphs' appearance compared to the one she destroyed moments ago. These ones looked... basic in comparison, almost as if these were foot soldiers to the one Scathach fought. Maybe that was an elite perhaps...
(WHIR)
Scathach tensed when the Seraphs all collectively whirred to life, their singular eyes glowing blue but not red like when the other one was attacking her. Then they all turned away in the same direction, seemingly ignoring her. Scathach follows where the Seraphs were facing and sees a structure descending near them, and a staircase forming seemingly out of nothing.
The structure then opened, and Scathach saw all the Seraphs leaning forwards like they were bowing in reverence... she gets a sinking feeling when she found herself fixated on the figure who had just emerged. The figure's silhouette before the blinding white light was large and had a three-pointed crown...
"What in Lugh's name...?" escaped Scathach's lips before her mind flashed back to the Shadow's mural back at the fortress... this figure bearing an uncanny resemblance to-
"-!"
Scathach gasped in epiphany, then the figure descended the steps to where she was standing. She wanted to run... but her legs failed her as Scathach struggled to comprehend the being before her, having the presence that made her feel infinitely small and powerless as it came into view. The being floated towards her, with a visage that was oddly... human; bizarrely dressed in vivid colors, having long flowing white hair and a single horn offset on its forehead.
Scathach stood frozen with fear... the most afraid she has ever been. She fought monsters... both fiendish, bestial, and human. Yet none of them held a candle to the being standing over her, looking down at her with its golden eyes, sporting oddly-shaped pupils.
Then to Scathach's shock and surprise... this being emitted a coy, sinister chuckle, directed at her.
And then it spoke...
"I see you... QUEEN..."
The last thing Scathach felt was an invisible force seemingly crushing her from all sides, making her scream and close her eyes...
_____
"Lass! Scathach, wake up!"
Scathach gasped as her eyes snapped open. She found herself being cradled by the Shadow and struggled to catch her breath after finding herself back in the Land of Shadows.
"I- I saw it!" Scathach let out as she was reeling from the vision. "The- The...!"
Brushing some hair out of her face, the Shadow asks in a worried tone:
"What did you see?"
Scathach eventually manages to calm down while still being a state of shock.
"The Sovereign..." she revealed in a low voice. "That thing IS one of its... minions."
Hers and the Shadows' gaze fell upon the lifeless remains of the Seraph Scathach had killed just moments before; the fragments of its crystal heart scattered all over the floor of the altar.
"Well... not anymore it seems," the Shadow remarks before turning back to the still shaken Scathach in his arms. "Not so invincible it turns out to be..."
Scathach blinks before remembering why they pursued the Seraph in the first place.
"And the Eye?" she asks worriedly, only for the Shadow to calmly show her the relic in his free hand.
"Right here..."
Scathach stared at the sentient artifact; glowing violet with its pupil wide and darting around erratically. She lets out a sigh of relief as their victory over the Seraph sinks in and elation washes over her.
"Good," said Scathach as she sits up by herself. "We did it..."
"No," the Shadow suddenly refuted, worrying Scathach for a brief moment until she felt the Shadow's hand on her shoulder. "You did it, lass..."
Scathach stood frozen, gazing into the eyes of her mentor who then appeared lost on what to say next.
"Scathach, I-" he starts, unsure of himself at first. "It's... not often that I find myself surprised by whatever happens to me anymore. What I just saw from you... seeing how much you're learned and grown. I have never felt so glad... to be so astounded... and so proud in my life."
Scathach's eyes soften, seeing for the first time her mentor... not as the Shadow... but a parent proud of their child. It was warmth she had never felt since before her original home was destroyed. The Shadow's gaze then fell as he continued...
"There's a reason why I wanted you to take my place as Guardian of the Gate of Skye. Before you left... I saw in you... not only the ability to match me..."
The Shadow's eyes then met Scathach's once again.
"But also surpass me..."
Scathach was left speechless... never in a million years did she ever think that she would hear her mentor say such a thing... not when she did not believe she could even be as skilled or powerful as the Shadow was.
At first, Scathach thought her mentor was just pulling her leg, but could see plain as day that the Shadow was being dead serious.
"You fought so hard for all the people back at the village who were counting on you," the Shadow then said to her. "Not just them, but for everyone everywhere else as well. I know that the Eye would be safe in your hands... and I'd rest easy if you were the one to end me."
"Shadow..." Scathach lets out, knowing what else she could possibly say as she was too stunned and astounded. Seeing her trying to respond, the Shadow gives her pause.
"It's alright... you deserve more than this. You not only have great power, but you have the heart to wield it with great responsibility. Even if you decided to be a queen, I'd know you would make for one not half bad..."
The Shadow then let out a deep sigh and at last said to Scathach:
"I'm sorry... for the past seven years..."
Scathach felt like crying. Despite having killed the Seraph and retrieved the Eye, Scathach did not feel worthy of such words, especially not after days ago when she wanted nothing to do with her mentor and acted rudely towards him... when she had a lot that she owed to the Shadow...
Her ideals, her outlook on her powers, sharing her lessons with others... Scathach would not be half the person she is without the Shadow's guidance, making her go after the Seraph even when Scathach swore to herself that she would never have anything to do with the Land of Shadows. And what did she give him in return?
Grief...
"I should be the one who is sorry," Scathach found herself saying. "I had no idea what watching over the Gate has done to you... I was selfish for not seeing how important guarding the Eye is... and the cost of neglecting it."
Taking a deep breath of her own, Scathach proceeded to admit the one thing she had been holding back from the Shadow since their spar days ago...
"You've been the closing thing I had to a father in so long... I would have been lost without you, my mentor..."
The Shadow smiled... it never ceased to surprise Scathach whenever he did. He then revealed:
"Scathach... I'm not your mentor anymore. You've outgrown me..."
Hearing that, Scathach felt oddly humbled... and then she found herself curious as to the one thing she did not know about the Shadow. With a coy smirk, Scathach asks cryptically:
"If I can't call you that... then what should I call you?"
Thinking about it, the Shadow shrugged to himself and replied:
"By my name... Breyr."
Scathach smiled, having at last learned of the Shadow's name. Who knows how long he went without sharing his name with anybody... Scathach took it as a great privilege.
"Alright... Breyr."
The Shadow then chuckled as he rose to his feet, realizing the absurdity of what he just done.
"It feels so good to say it after all this time," he remarked before returning to his gruffer, albeit lighter, demeanor. "But don't get used to it lass... Come on. We should return the Eye before the local monster realizes the Gate is open-"
(RUMBLE)
Another earthquake interrupted the Shadow, and one that persisted as the ruins around him and Scathach began to crumble. Scathach quickly got to her feet (with some difficulty) and turned to see the Shadow looking at the lake of fire, horrified.
"No..." he whispered. "We were too late! The Coinchenn is awake!"
Just then, the lake erupted; tsunami level waves of flame washed the shores of the ruins, submerging all but the altar Scathach and Breyr stood as an immense mass arose from the surface. Scathach stood witness to the emergence of this giant, kaiju-like creature; not so dissimilar to the Curruid she was familiar with; only with black and red scales with a spiky, Eldritch appearance, reminding her of the monster from the Shadow's mural.
"By the Gods..." Scathach lets out as the monster towers over her and the Shadow like a living mountain, even letting out a roar that shook all corners of the Land of Shadows. The ancient abomination that was the Coinchenn looked down at the two warriors like they were mere ants.
The sight of this monster would forever be burned into Scathach's memory.
Panic setting in, Scathach summoned Gae Bolg, but then felt a hand on her arm, stopping her from attacking. She looks back and sees the look on the Shadow's face, telling her facing this creature was akin to suicide.
"You can't fight this thing!" he told her with utmost seriousness and fear. "The Coinchenn is beyond both of us... Run, lass! YOU CAN ONLY RUN!"
As soon as reality set in, Scathach had the mind to obey Breyr with no thought of arguing. Just then, they heard a roar from the Coinchenn, and they wraith-dashed away to avoid getting trampled. Taking the Eye, Scathach and Breyr fled the ruins and made their way through the caves from which they arrived. Emerging from the other side, Scathach thought they lost the monster UNTIL it blew apart the mountain behind them; the ensuing shockwave knocked them out of wraith-form and they both crashed on to the dunes below.
The Eye landed several feet away as Scathach and Breyr struggle back to their feet. The Coinchenn came looming behind them as its massive body glowed. Scathach looks up to see the glowing Eye of Odin becoming consumed in a growing, intense sandstorm generated by the beast. Acting fast, she flies towards it, pushing through the storm before getting swept up by the winds just as her fingers grazed the relic.
Now flying out of control, Scathach found herself disoriented, hearing the roar of the Coinchenn as its head emerged from the whiteout to gape its maw at her. Scathach glimpses the violet glint of the Eye as it fell towards the mouth of the monster.
If she did not act now, the Coinchenn would consume the Eye and there will be no stopping it then...
Scathach goes back into wraith-form and flies after the Eye of Odin, grabbing it and dashing away just as the Coinchenn's gaping jaws slammed shut. Trying desperately to get as far away as she can, Scathach flies through the sandstorm, fighting against the tempest-level winds threatening to throw her off course. Between the blinding whiteout and the deafening noise of the winds, Scathach could not tell where she was going, and before she knew it, Scathach found herself caught by the Coinchenn's immense claw that pushed through the sands to grab her. Scathach collides with the monster's hide, becoming trapped in its claw.
Scathach stuck her spear down and held on for dear life as the Coinchenn slammed her down on to the dunes. When it opened its claw again, Scathach's limp body came tumbling out, landing on the sand and coming to just in time to see the Eye beginning to get swept up by the storm again. Scathach quickly casts a strand rune and grabs the Eye, sending it back into her grasp. She turns to see the Coinchenn emerging from the storm and look down upon her.
With the sandstorm around her becoming suffocating and impenetrable, Scathach had no choice but to stand her ground before the kaiju. Scathach summons Gae Bolg and dashes out of the way as the Coinchenn sent another claw down to crush her. Scathach jumps and stabs Gae Bolg into the finger of the beast, hanging on as the Coinchenn raises it, allowing Scathach to climb up and get close enough to its face to hopefully do some serious damage.
The Coinchenn notices Scathach on its claw just as she charged the most powerful lightning rune she could. Scathach casts her spell and watched as electricity struck the beast in its face... only to see the resulting damage be minimal at best.
The Coinchenn roared in annoyance, and Scathach felt its body shudder as suddenly countless red barbs jutted out of its skin where Scathach was standing. Scathach sidesteps just as one such barb cut against her thigh. Scathach winced in pain, expecting the wound to close and heal...
But it didn't...
Scathach then felt the Coinchenn's claw descending back to the ground, taking her with it. She jumps off before impact, flying up towards the beast's chest to try and use Gae Bolg against it. Packing as much mana as she could behind it, Gae Bolg glowed bright red and Scathach threw it with all her might as she landed on the Coinchenn's opposite claw, watching as her empowered spear struck the hide over the Coinchenn's heart.
And after a blast of crimson, the Coinchenn was left unfazed. Scathach was left shocked as no attack she could dish out could hurt the beast any significant way.
Her last-ditch attempt to stop it had failed...
By then the Coinchenn's body lit up and a shockwave erupted from its body, sending Scathach tumbling off the beast and crashing back into the sand below.
Injured and low on mana, Scathach struggled to her feet, clutching the wound on her leg with one hand and holding the Eye of Odin in the other. She laments how she was unable to overcome this monstrosity as the Coinchenn looked down upon her again.
It's too strong... my spear did nothing... and it can kill me... I can't... win...
The storm continuing to rage around her, Scathach thought her fate was sealed when she saw the Coinchenn's mouth open and a glow of energy lighting up inside. Still, Scathach vainly tries to run, limping up the dune behind her as the Coinchenn fired its fiery breath down at the sand beneath its feet, incinerating and blowing apart the ground as it loomed closer and closer to Scathach. She was certain that getting struck will without a doubt kill her as she felt the ground shake and heard it growing louder as the destruction approached-
(WOOSH!)
Scathach suddenly found herself swept off her feet by a wisp of black smoke, realizing her mentor, Breyr, had come to rescue her and raced to outrun the Coinchenn's attack. Fleeing into the sandstorm, the duo makes it just far enough away as an explosion to avoid getting incinerated, but the resulting shockwave sends them spiraling out of control.
They crash into the sand, dazed from the explosion. With the Eye still in her grasp, Scathach looks up and sees through the sandstorm, which settled just enough for her to see a bright violet light in the distance...
The Gate of Skye... the way out of the Land of Shadows...
Scathach hears a pained groan beside her seeing Breyr injured just as badly as she was; seeing scorch marks from the Coinchenn's blast on most of his body. There was no way he can go into wraith-form with THIS much damage done to him.
"Breyr!" Scathach said with worry as she crawled toward him, affirming how grave her mentor's injuries were. Breyr sits up clenching his side as they both hear the roar of the Coinchenn, and its thundering footsteps encroaching upon them. With Scathach banged up and low on energy herself, the two of them were sitting ducks. Breyr then grasped Scathach's arm that still held the Eye of Odin.
"Take the Eye back..." he ordered desperately. "Close the Gate!"
Scathach gasped, realizing what he was ACTUALLY asking of her.
"No!" she starts. "You can't possibly-!"
"Neither of us are in any shape to run!" Breyr cuts her off. "I can buy you time while you escape!"
"But that thing will kill you!" Scathach insisted, tears coming from her eyes at the thought of her cherished mentor sacrificing his life for her. "I'm not leaving you behind!"
Another roar from the Coinchenn prompted Breyr to speak with more urgency.
"Just go! That monster cannot be allowed to escape!"
"But-!" Scathach wanted to argue, but then Breyr cupped her face, making words fail her.
"Let me have this, lass... your life is worth more than mine... my last responsibility as your teacher..."
Before Scathach could retort, she suddenly found herself launched backwards; pushed by Breyr reinforcing himself and throwing her out of the sandstorm. Time slowed as Scathach looked back at the resolute face of her mentor as it disappeared in the storm...
"Farewell..."
"NO!"
Now alone, Breyr stood up, shaking and using one of his blades for support. He then used an ice rune on himself in attempt to numb his burns, wincing as he then summoned his other blade. The storm intensifying around him, Breyr then came face to face with the Coinchenn, shouting:
"GOING SOMEWHERE?! YOU'LL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST!"
The Coinchenn roared in Breyr's challenge, sending a claw down to crush him. Breyr reinforces himself and jumps, launching him through the clawed fingers of the beast and continued sailing towards its face, his swords glowing with crimson energy as he slashed against the Coinchenn's eye.
The kaiju roared in agony, lighting up its body to expel a shockwave out and blast away Breyr. Conjuring a barrier, he was sent flying before he reoriented himself and landed harmlessly on the beast's opposite claw.
Just as he planned...
Banishing his blades, Breyr's magic circuits glowed red as he conjured countless runes to charge a powerful attack; fire, ice, lightning, everything remotely harmful to cripple the monster, even if it would survive Breyr's attack.
It was all about buying time...
The Coinchenn however, still reeling from Breyr's initial assault, was not down just yet as feeling the growing mana spike on its hand triggered its self-defense response; its hide opening to let out countless barbs like crude Gae Bolgs to cover its body section. Focused on charging his spell, Breyr was planted firmly on his feet, unable to avoid the many sharp barbs as they jutted out beneath him and-
(SHRNNT!)
"NGHHH...!" Breyr recoiled, bony protrusions impaling him from the legs up and making him bleed profusely upon being hit in a vital organ. With the bones of the Coinchenn the same as its sister creature, the Curruid, Breyr's healing was useless, and he soon found himself in great pain as the barbs then created thorns that poked open new wounds from inside his body.
Coughing up blood, Breyr felt for the first time in centuries his life slipping little by little. But instead of dreading the end, he felt oddly at peace. He pushed through the pain and continued charging his spell, his circuits overloading and glowing so bright that they were burning through his skin.
Breyr did not care if this was the end... he could not have asked for a better one for all the countless years he has lived... better yet, he was dying for something he cared about...
His student... who gave him something to live AND die for...
Speaking of whom, Scathach comes to on the dune away from the storm that obscured both Breyr and the Coinchenn. Seeing a glowing light through the maelstrom, Scathach looked on in shock, helpless to stop what was about to happen.
"BREYR-!"
(BANG!)
A massive explosion erupted in the heart of the storm. Scathach gasped as the silhouette that was the Coinchenn collapsed, and the ensuing shockwave caused sand to be thrown outwards and bury Scathach alive...
_____
...
The air was still, and Scathach soon climbs out of the sand, the Eye of Odin firmly in her grasp as she gasped for breath. Coughing out sand from her lungs, she crawls on her knees before sitting up. Looking ahead, Scathach sees the Gate nearby, open and leading out of this hellish desert.
Sadly, it would only be her to return to Castle Dunscaith... her mentor, Breyr the Shadow having sacrificed himself to stop the Coinchenn in its tracks. Injured and exhausted, Scathach attempts to get up on her feet.
Just then, the ground shook...
"No..." Scathach whispered as she dared to look behind her, swarms of phantasmal beasts (all the ones she was familiar with) were stampeding towards her from the horizon.
They were not just heading towards the Gate, but they were also getting away from what had just reawakened.
Scathach saw the dunes explode and from it emerged the Coinchenn, aggravated and rushing towards her...
Breyr's sacrifice had downed the kaiju, but not for very long it seemed... Scathach needed to hurry!
Willing her exhausted body to move, Scathach limped towards the Gate of Skye with all haste. The Gate seemed close, but with the pace she was going it felt farther than it was...
Meanwhile, the Coinchenn was closing the distance quickly; its thundering footsteps growing louder as it came closer.
"Come on...!" Scathach said to herself desperately. Holding the Eye of Odin in one hand, she was also clutching her still bleeding leg with the other; inflicted by the Coinchenn meant it would not heal like most wounds. Scathach decided to use a fire rune to cauterize it, tolerating the brief bout of pain if it meant having a free hand.
(RUMBLE)
Scathach summons Gae Bolg, using it as an aid to limp ever so closer to the Gate of Skye. Cauterizing her wound also had the side effect of letting Scathach heal gradually. With a few moments, she could go into wraith-form and close the distance sooner.
But with the Coinchenn now right behind her, she might not have time...
"Faster!"
The kaiju roared, close enough now that the shaking ground threatened to throw Scathach off her feet...
The Gate was just a stone's throw away now...
"Almost there-!" Scathach said just before she stumbled and fell forwards. The Coinchenn caught up and threatened to squish her-
"-!"
Scathach yelled and immediately when into wraith-form and dashed forward just as the Coinchenn's giant claw slams down where she used to be just a split-second before.
(CRASH!)
Flying as fast as she could, Scathach passes through the Gate back into the inner sanctum of Castle Dunscaith and in the realm of the living. She rematerializes and hurriedly placed the Eye of Odin back on its pedestal. The Eye flashes and the Gate of Skye starts closing behind Scathach...
But too slow as the Coinchenn extended its massive claw to push the against the Gate... Scathach frantically dashed back to the Gate and reinforced herself to push back against the Coinchenn keeping it open. She strains against the great strength of the kaiju forcing its way into the sanctum.
"WHY THE HELL IS THIS GATE SO BIG?!"
Between the deafening roar of the Coinchenn as it pushed harder in frustration, and the cavern shaking and threatening to make Scathach lose leverage, she found her feet slipping as the kaiju slowly pushed the Gate open against her. Desperate, Scathach summons Gae Bolg and with one hand jabbed it repeatedly against the claw of the Coinchenn, hoping to inflict enough pain to make it let go.
With a yell, Scathach thrusted Gae Bolg against the skin covering the Coinchenn's clawed finger, and with a roar of pain, the beast let go, giving the opening for Scathach to push and close the Gate of Skye.
(SLAM!)
The doors slam shut with the Coinchenn stuck in the Land of Shadows on the other side, and as soon as it was closed, the Gate fades from existence, sealing itself and preventing the Coinchenn from escaping.
Hopefully for good...
(Panting...)
Scathach was spent... exhausted and aching all over as her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. She allows herself to catch her breath, relieved that against all odds she managed to stop the Coinchenn from escaping and laying waste to the realm of the living.
But once Scathach felt safe in the catacombs beneath Castle Dunscaith, she found herself breaking down and crying.
This was no victory... the cost for it was too great.
Scathach had lost the Shadow... her mentor... her surrogate father...
Her friend...
After he had finally revealed his name.
Breyr...
It made losing him more painful than Scathach could have ever imagined. It felt like a piece of her was ripped off and cast into the abyss, leaving a gaping wound that would never heal.
Yet in her sorrow, something would quickly become apparent to Scathach; another urgent matter that slipped her mind in midst of everything that has happened in the Land of Shadows. Forcing open her eyes, Scathach said in epiphany:
"Kihli...!"
_____
Scathach made her way back to the Dunscaith as fast as she could, arriving to find the village in shambles. To her slight relief, she found what remaining hunters were there, defending the villagers from what few remaining Heralds persisted. Making short work of them, Scathach makes it her priority to find Kihli, if by some miracle he survived the battle.
When any hunter she came across could offer no insight as to his whereabouts, Scathach began fearing the worst; despair gripping her heart as with each passing second of searching for Kihli made his death a growing possibility. Her heart would not take it if something awful happened to him.
"Kihli!" Scathach called out, frantically looking. "Kihli!"
Nothing... not even with Scathach's superior sense of hearing could pick up any response.
No... Please no!
Tears threatened to fall by this point. Scathach needed so desperately to see Kihli, no matter what state he was in. Nearly hysterical, she sifted through the rubble of destroyed huts, one by one for a body, the one she would recognize instantly.
Where is he...?
Minutes felt like an eternity as dread never left Scathach's mind. After searching through nearly every single bit of wreckage, and still no sign of Kihli, Scathach fell to her knees... prepared to curse fate itself for keeping her separated from her one remaining loved one in the World-
(Crumble)
Just then, she heard a distant disturbance... someone carefully navigating through rubble. Scathach rushed to the open street and from the other end saw someone crawling out of a hut and getting to their feet. Scathach's entire World narrowed down to this one lone survivor and her heart rose higher than any mountain on Earth.
"Oh thank Lugh... Kihli!"
It was indeed Kihli, appearing okay and even walking towards her, passing over the corpses of Heralds that he had defeated while holding his sword. Scathach begins running towards him, ready to hug him and never let go...
But realizing that Kihli was not hurrying towards her, in fact limping, Scathach gradually came to a dead stop. She was just close enough to hear Kihli speak... along with his rather faint heartbeat...
"Scathach..." Kihli said, sounding elated despite his apparent exhaustion. "I knew you'd be back..."
Scathach stood frozen as Kihli continued limping towards her and even letting out a tear of joy for her to see. Kihli then remarked:
"Sorry to say... you missed the fun..."
Dread once again seeped into Scathach's heart as it sank... something was wrong as Kihli was talking like he would never have another chance to say these words to her. As Kihli continued to limp towards Scathach, villagers witnessing this gasped as Kihli passed them, even urging their children to look away in horror.
"I once thought... I could never measure up... I was just a man who was no one special... nothing compared to you..."
"Kihli..." Scathach let out. Kihli was just a few feet away now, but he looked to be struggling to take those final steps to close the distance on her. This was juxtaposed by the relieved look on Kihli's face as he groaned out:
"As usual, I may have... underestimated myself..."
Kihli suddenly exhaled and his legs gave out. Scathach caught him in her arms and fell to her knees, seeing Kihli's back riddled with arrows. Kihli drops his sword as Scathach supports him.
"No...!" she whispers, in denial of Kihli's grave injuries slowly taking his life away.
"Not... bad, huh?" Kihli tiredly let out, making Scathach hysteric as she cupped his face, tears streaming from her eyes once again.
"Don't speak!" Scathach's voice was cracked. "Stay with me! You're going to be fine... do you hear me, Kihli?!"
Kihli did not seem to be listening, staring up at Scathach as she refused to take her eyes off him, despite the grieving state she was in. Kihli forces a smile.
"You're so high above me... yet you cry for me... I'm happy..."
"We can still be, Kihli! Just hang on!" Scathach let out, hearing his faltering heartbeat. She turns to the onlookers and yells, "Someone help!"
She then felt Kihli's hand on her face, making her gasp as he wiped a tear away.
"We knew this would happen eventually..." he let out, Kihli's face not having a shred of sorrow unlike Scathach. He did not seem at all scared that he was about to die. "I know the thing you fear most... is being alone."
Kihli's breathing then started to pick up, it was becoming hard for him to keep his head up.
"For that I... hope the village will watch over you... as you will for everyone..."
"No, Kihli... please..." Scathach could not take it anymore, lifting his head up. "I love you. Don't leave me alone!"
Unbeknownst to her, Kihli was starting to get tunnel vision.
"Even on the precipice... you are as beautiful as the day I met you... a vibrant flower blooming on a barren field..."
Kihli raised his heavy, shaking hand for Scathach to grasp. She felt more helpless than she had ever felt in Kihli's final moments.
"Don't lose that splendor, Scathach. Life is just not beautiful without you in it... for others to see... to be inspired... and loved."
Kihli coughs, unable to keep his eyes open as his body started becoming cold to the touch...
"I love you... and someone else will just as much... hang on to life..."
And with one final breath...
"Live... and learn..."
And Kihli was no more. Scathach felt a stab through the heart as her first student, her love... let her hear his final slow heartbeats before dying in her arms. Scathach was left shaking and grief-stricken, now having lost her student and her teacher all in the same day.
Unbearable...
"Kihli, no... no!" Scathach let out, caressing Kihli's face with overflowing affection and sorrow, even kissing him on his cold-growing lips before her head fell into Kihli's chest, and all that could be heard was muffled sobbing and screaming as Scathach refused to let go...