[Enid's POV]
Mud squished between my boots with every frantic step- gross, cold, squishy mud. Branches kept smacking my face like the forest itself was trying to bully me.
Then, suddenly, the trees ended.
"Uhhh…" I slowed to a stop.
We'd stepped into some creepy old graveyard that definitely wasn't on the school brochure. Broken tombstones were scattered around like someone had thrown a tantrum centuries ago. Half of them were covered in fuzzy green moss, the other half were cracked open like rotten teeth. There was fog too... of course there was fog. Classic scary forest move.
I instantly scooted closer to Valen, clutching his arm. "I don't like this. I really don't like this. This is horror movie territory, Valen!"
And then… him.
Mr. Einar was just standing there in the middle of the clearing like some final boss. His smile was way too wide, and when he covered his mouth to laugh-
"AHAHAHHAH! To think you really followed me here!! AHAHAHHAHH!"
-yeah, no. Immediate chills. My face scrunched up without permission. "Ewwww…" I whispered.
Valen's arm moved in front of me protectively, and I could feel the tension rolling off him. His serious-face was on.
"The murder… it was you, right?" he asked.
I didn't say anything, mostly because my brain was too busy screaming, Why are we here, why is he floating, and why does the air smell like wet socks and blood?
Then Mr. Einar's voice changed. Like… literally changed. It got all deep and echoey and crawly.
"Hmm? So you're the Eidolon Heir of this generation? the voice said. "Sorry, son… I've got no bad blood with you. But the owner of this body wishes for yours and your friend's life. And for a better tomorrow… You have to die. Don't worry, your sacrifice will be remembered."
His words oozed out like slime.
Before my brain could even register that, Valen grabbed me and we jumped aside.
TEAAAARRRR!!!
A boulder exploded out of the ground where we'd been standing. I let out a very dignified "GAHHHH!" as we landed in the mud.
"Oho~ It seems the elders are still training their students well. My prediction was wrong after all!" Mr. Creepy floated upward. "AAHAHHAHA! NICE!"
Valen gave me the look- the stay-here-or-else look. Then he transformed.
Scales. Black. Glowy eyes. Sharp everything.
"Enid," he said in that serious voice that always made my stomach do stupid flips. "Stay calm. And don't-don't-enter the fight."
I stared at him. He looked like some dark knight straight out of a cursed storybook. My face got hot. He looks so dashing!
No. Stop. Not the time for that.
I shook my head like a maniac to clear it, probably looking like a wet puppy. He blinked in confusion for half a second, then gave me a tiny nod before charging forward.
[3rd Person POV ]
Valen's claws sliced upward in a clean, lethal arc-
CLANG!
The air itself rippled, a translucent wall flaring to life and catching his strike like glass under pressure.
Valen didn't falter. He twisted midair, boots pushing off the invisible surface as if it were solid stone, redirecting his momentum into a second attack from behind.
Einar's head snapped around unnaturally, bones cracking like dry branches. His spine coiled in a serpentine motion, and his outstretched palm met Valen's charge-
BOOM!
An unseen blast of force hit him point-blank. Valen flipped backward through the air, slammed down on all fours, and dragged his claws through the mud to anchor himself. Twin furrows stretched behind him like burn marks. His gaze sharpened.
"He's… reading me," he muttered under his breath.
Einar's voice, doubled and distorted, seeped through the clearing. "Every step. Every twitch. You telegraph your intentions without realizing it."
He rose higher into the air, his figure framed by the crooked gravestones and moonlight, like some malevolent conductor.
"I've fought men who hid their blades in silence. And You? You're so loud son."
With a casual flick of his fingers, chunks of broken tombstone wrenched free of the earth and spun into a violent spiral around Valen. The sound was like knives scraping bone.
"Let's see if speed alone keeps you alive."
Valen burst forward. Shards sliced past him like razors; he slashed through some, ducked under others, his movements fluid and vicious. A feint to the left, then his form dissolved into black mist.
He reappeared behind Einar, claws raised. "Got you-!"
Einar's head twisted a full 180 degrees, glowing eyes locking on him.
"Nah... You didn't."
A surge of telekinetic force struck Valen's chest like a battering ram, sending him crashing into the cracked mausoleum wall. Stone splintered under the impact. He snarled, pushing himself free, mud sliding down his scales like blood.
[Enid's POV]
I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles ached. Stay here. Stay calm. That's what Valen said.
Easy for him to say! He was over there being all monster-mode and cool while Mr. Creepy Floater was laughing like a discount horror movie villain. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it wanted to crawl out of my chest and sprint away.
Valen blurred forward again- seriously, how does he move that fast?!- his claws slicing through the night. But Einar… ugh. He twisted his body like a broken marionette, bones cracking in ways no bones should.
His arm bent backward to block, and I made a sound. Like… a half-gag, half-whimper. "Euuughhhghhh." Yeah. Very heroic.
"Pathetic. Is that it?," Einar's double voice boomed. It echoed across the graveyard, bouncing off cracked stone like something out of a ghost documentary.
Then his glowing eyes snapped toward me.
"Oh no. Nope nope nope."
"Let's remove distractions first."
WHAT.
The air shimmered weirdly, and then a spike of stone shot at me like some murder-popsicle.
"ENID!" Valen roared.
I dove behind the nearest broken tombstone. It exploded a second later, stone shards flying past my hair. My ears rang. My whole body shook.
I pressed my hands against the cold mossy ground, trying to breathe. I could stay here. I should stay here. Be the smart girl for once.
But then I saw it.
Einar turned away, floating higher, gathering some glowy… energy thing. Valen was bracing himself, and my eyes caught a glint, a bent, rusty iron rod poking out of a cracked grave.
…Oh no. I'm going to do the stupid thing.
Without giving my brain time to talk me out of it, I yanked the rod free. My hands were shaking so hard it made a creaky scree noise against the stone.
"HEY! YOU FLOATY CREEP!" I yelled, louder than I meant to.
He snapped toward me instantly.
For one glorious, terrifying second- he actually wavered.
Valen seized the moment, slashing across his chest. Black ichor sprayed like inky rain.
"YOU LITTLE- IS THAT HOW YOU TALK TO YOUR ELDERS!!?"
A wave of force slammed into me like a truck. My lungs lit on fire as I flew backward into another tombstone. It felt like the whole graveyard tilted sideways.
Pain burned through my chest. My vision blurred at the edges, like ink spreading in water.
No… not now…
My heartbeat thudded so loud I could feel it. My nails lengthened. A low, animal growl slipped out of my throat without permission. For a heartbeat, everything tinted red-
CRACK.
But then, something hit the side of my head. I didn't even see what.
Cold mud swallowed me as I collapsed. Warmth trickled down my face.
The world was fading, but Valen's voice cut through, raw and furious. He screamed my name as he ran toward me, eyes wide with something I'd never seen on him before, fear.
Then the darkness rushed in and took everything.
[Valen's POV]
No...
No. No. NO!
My mind spiraled. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was trained for this. I was supposed to be fast enough. Strong enough!
But the moment I saw the blood, streaking down the side of her face, glistening under the moonlight, everything inside me froze.
"Enid!"
Her body went limp mid-fall.
I moved before thought could even form. My arms wrapped around her just before she hit the ground. She was warm...
Her usual bright, stubborn expression, the one that always annoyed and comforted me in equal measure, was gone. Her face was pale, her lips parted slightly like she'd been about to say something stupidly brave.
She didn't.
"Enid… Enid!" I shook her gently. Nothing. No smart remark. No wide grin. No annoyed huff.
Just silence.
A cold weight settled in my chest. Heavy. Crushing.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I had calculated every scenario. Anticipated every attack. I should have seen it coming. That spike. That wave. That last hit. I should have been faster. I should have-!
I failed her.
The words echoed through my skull like a bell tolling for the dead.
I laid her down on the damp earth carefully, almost reverently. My fingers lingered on her cheek for a heartbeat. Her skin was still warm. That made it worse. It made it real.
Something inside me broke.
'ah... i will kill you" I muttered in a very low voice
The air around us stopped. The forest stilled, afraid to move.
I stood.
My heartbeat was a steady, hollow drum in my ears. My vision tunneled on the thing wearing Einar's body.
Step.Step.Step.
"You…"
He tilted his head slightly, amused. "Hm..? Well, I've gotta say, that speed was phenome-"
"You shouldn't have touched her."