Gray stood over the fallen woman's body, his chest rising and falling in uneven rhythm. Blood trickled down his chin. The weight of what he had done pressed down on him, heavier than the ice ceiling above. His fingers trembled, not from fear, but from the exhaustion clawing at every inch of his body. Still, he bowed his head.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, the words thin and private.
The frost was already crawling back across her broken form, sealing wounds that no longer mattered. She wasn't rising again.
Gray forced himself to turn away. His eyes found Renn. The boy's face was drenched in sweat, streaked with blood. His lips were pale, his chest heaving, but his grip on the fallen archer's bow was tight. Their eyes met, and Renn gave a sharp nod, nothing more.
Gray let out a shaky breath and looked to Aurelle.
The older boy fought like a statue come to life, precise and tireless, his blade a constant whirl against the hulking brute who still stalked the chamber. But Gray could see it now, Aurelle's movements were slowing, his steps heavier, his shoulders dragging. Blood ran down his forehead, cutting through his pale hair, dripping into the corner of his mouth. He did not flinch, but fatigue had begun to gnaw at his form.
Gray's own Vyre still coursed faintly through his body, hot and corrosive. He clenched his jaw and forced it down, pulling the black energy back into the depths of his veins. He had little left to spare, and he would need it.
His gaze shifted upward.
The rest of their group still hung above the bubbling liquid, their limp bodies swaying weakly from the frosty strings and rope that bound them. Their faces were pale, skin clammy, breath shallow.
Gray's gut twisted. How in all the abyss was he going to get them down?
"Gray!" Renn's voice tore through the chamber.
Gray spun. His eyes widened.
Renn had the archer's bow drawn back, his knuckles white on the icy string. Three arrows shimmered with frost-light, notched and ready. His face was locked in grim determination, though blood dripped steadily from his nose.
He released.
The arrows cut through the air in a perfect spread, lines of frozen light streaking toward the captives. Gray's muscles coiled. The timing had to be perfect.
He jumped.
His body sailed upward, the air rushing against his skin. The three arrows cut clean through the bonds at just the right height. The group fell, startled cries echoing through the chamber. Gray twisted in the air, his hand slamming against the stone bowl as he pushed off with all the strength left in his legs.
The prisoners landed hard, tumbling behind the massive bowl, safely out of reach.
Gray came down atop the rim of the bowl, both boots slamming onto the edge. The ancient stone groaned beneath his weight. His chest heaved as he lifted his katana again.
Then, movement caught his eye.
Cryovigils, they swayed with insectile grace, slipping down toward the freed prisoners.
Two of them lunged, their cords twisting, reaching with desperate fingers.
Gray snarled, raising his blade to stop them.
Two arrows suddenly whistled past his cheek, sharp and true. They buried themselves in the eyes of the Cryovigils with sickening cracks. Both shrieked, their cords twitching violently before their bodies went limp, collapsing onto the ice.
Gray blinked, then glanced back.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "Renn's good with a bow."
Another Cryovigil shot toward him, its cord whipping forward like a striking serpent. Gray leapt back, twisting midair. He flung his hand forward, darkness bursting into a writhing mass. The black energy struck the monsters flesh. It hissed and shrieked, its skin bubbling, burning as though plunged into madness.
A thought re-ignited in his mind.
Why did it burn?
His mind flicked back to when he'd coated his blade in the same darkness. How it had sliced through the woman's armor like it was nothing. A clean cut. No resistance, leaving slight burn marks. But not regular ones, something else entirely.
'Focus!' he nearly barked at himself, shaking the thought away.
The Cryovigil writhed, but before it could escape, another of Renn's arrows lanced into its eye. The thing went still, smoke curling from its smoldering flesh.
Together, Gray and Renn cut through the rest of the monstrosities. Steel, shadow, and arrows painted the chamber with death until silence fell again.
Gray didn't waste a second. He vaulted down from the bowl and sprinted toward the freed prisoners.
They huddled in a pile behind the stone, their bodies shaking violently. Frost clung to their hair, their lips blue, their eyes wide with shock. Orrij looked the worst, skin paper white, his breaths shallow, his limbs trembling like brittle branches.
Lira, though pale, sat upright. She clutched her side but her eyes burned with stubborn fire. She was the least affected, though still weak.
Gray knelt, checking each of them quickly. His heart pounded when he realized they were all alive, if barely.
"They're shivering like death's at the door…" he muttered, pressing a hand against Orrins clammy forehead.
He glanced at Lira, whose chest rose steadier than the rest.
"Is it… because of her affinity?" he wondered aloud.
Footsteps approached. Renn, bow in hand, appeared from the shadows. He looked barely able to stand, but determination burned in his eyes.
Gray stood and gripped his shoulder. "Watch them. Don't let anything touch them."
Renn nodded weakly.
Gray turned, katana clenched tight, and sprinted toward Aurelle.
The chamber was a slaughterhouse. The drowned littered the floor, their bodies cut into pieces that still writhed, slowly knitting themselves back together. Blood soaked every inch of ice, dripping from the roof, smearing across the walls, staining the ground.
Aurelle fought on, his blade flashing, but his breaths came sharp and ragged. Blood ran down his forehead, yet his expression was calm, carved in stone.
The brute roared, his massive axe cleaving through the air with bone-breaking force. Gray raised his katana, shadows coiling up his arms, and shouted. "Over here!"
The monster's head turned.
Its gaze locked on Gray.
It saw past him, saw the woman's body, the archer's corpse. Its entire form shook. Then came the roar, earth-shaking, primal, filled with fury and grief.
Gray's heart sank. They had enraged him beyond reason.
The giant charged, axe raised. Gray dove aside, the weapon crashing down with enough force to split the ground. Shards of ice erupted into the air.
Gray's blade flashed, cutting into the brute's shoulder. Only a shallow wound. Barely more than a scratch.
He pulled the axe free, spun, and roared again.
Gray waited, calm in the storm, his instincts screaming.
The axe spun in a wide arc, a deadly circle. Gray leapt high, twisting over it. He landed hard on the brute's broad shoulders.
Their eyes met.
With a roar, Gray plunged his katana deep into the monster's left eye.
The scream that followed rattled his teeth.
"Fool!" Aurelle's voice cracked the air.
Gray had only a heartbeat to realize his mistake. A massive hand clamped onto his arm. Pain exploded as he was slammed into one wall, then the other, before being hurled like a ragdoll.
Gray's katana bit into the ice, halting his slide. He coughed blood, clutching his face. A sharp, electric pain tore through his skull. His nose burned, broken. Blood smeared across his palm.
He smiled faintly. "Figures."
Aurelle rushed to him, slashing away a drowned limb that tried to crawl toward them. His voice was sharp. "Don't you ever pull something like that again. Unless you want to die. Got it?"
Gray grunted, nodding. "Fine."
They crouched close, whispers cutting beneath the monster's roars.
"I can stop his body. Briefly," Aurelle said, eyes still locked on their foe. "It won't last long."
Gray thought deeply before answering."You do you and I'll attempt to attack the heart. It has to be the weakness."
"And how will you do that?"
Gray's chest heaved. "I'll think of something."
The drowned twitched around them, Renn's arrows whistling from afar, pinning limbs and torsos, slowing their recovery.
Gray and Aurelle surged forward together. Blade and katana struck in unison, dodging and weaving around the brute's massive swings. The axe carved through the chamber like a hurricane. Each blow threatened to end them.
"Now!" Aurelle shouted.
He slipped behind the brute, his blade flashing a turquoise blue. It plunged deep into the monster's chest.
The giant froze. His body locked, every muscle trembling. Blood poured from his mouth in thick streams.
Gray's eyes lit. "Good work!"
He roared, channeling what little Vyre he had left into his left arm. Black energy flared, searing his flesh as he drove his fist forward. His hand pierced through the brute's chest, tearing into icy bone, ripping through veins of frost. He reached deep, fingers searching.
Nothing.
His eyes widened. His hand brushed steel, Aurelle's blade, lodged deep within.
There was no heart.
"What—"
The axe handle slammed into Aurelle, hurling him backward with bone-cracking force.
Gray's blood froze.
Then came the kick.
The brute's massive leg struck his own, shattering it in an instant. White-hot agony ripped through him. Before he could scream, a hand engulfed his skull, smashing him into the ice. The floor split, cracks spider-webbing outward.
His vision blurred, his body broken.
The brute loomed above, axe raised high, eyes filled with rage, a hollow hole torn in his chest.
Gray couldn't close his eyes. He felt paralyzed.
But somsthing moved in the corner of his eyes, and the axe fell—
Gray blinked through the haze. A figure stood before him, hands trembling, both metallic and battered.
Korr.
He stood between Gray and death, holding the massive axe at bay, veins bulging with strain. Small traces of fire lingering on his body.
His voice cracked, but his grin was steady. "You alright, ash hair?"