The mist in the glade clung heavy and foreboding, a living tentacle between the party and their prey. Kael's sword shone dimly as he advanced, each muscle coiled. Azrak faced them, his crimson eyes fixated on Kael. This was no random duel; this was a clash of hearts, memories, and allegiance.
"Azrak… you don't have to do this," Kael told him, voice strained, ringing with both anger and despair. "Fight them! Fight this control!"
Azrak's eyes faltered, a spark of recognition in the turmoil of his scarlet eyes. "I… I can't," he breathed, voice so low it was almost not there. "They've shown me… things. Promised strength… power beyond what I've known."
Rina advanced, claws out, voice shaking but resolute. "You're stronger than they believe! Hold on to who you are, Azrak! You're not their puppet!"
For an instant, it succeeded. Azrak's sword hesitated as he faltered, his body torn between the shadows' control and the determination of his friends. Kael's eyes relaxed. This is it… I can save him.
But the dark power governing him was relentless. With an unnatural, sudden burst of energy, Azrak charged. Steel clashed with steel, the ring echoing through the fog-covered clearing. The battle was savage—but it was beyond body. With every blow was the toll of common history, loyalty, and the betrayal that none wished to confront.
Thargrim strode like a tempest, axes swinging to shield Kael and clear him space, as Rina's magic shook the shadows that held Azrak hostage, every spike of magic a vain hope that his mind would hold firm. Elira's palms shone with power, spinning wards of protection, her divinity keeping the party alive from killing blows while praying over Azrak's soul.
Kael parried a vicious strike and took a cautious step forward. "Azrak! Please! Don't let them take you! You're my brother!"
Azrak hesitated for a split second. Pain and remorse crossed his face and then were gone, the friend he had been struggling through the murk. But the darkness closing in around him constricted like a vice. With a shrill, screaming wail, he surged forward through the defenses of the party, outbypassing Kael's guard with impossible quickness.
Kael charged, but Azrak disappeared into the mist before the sword could strike. There was a moment of silence, punctuated by the gasping breaths of the group and the echo of Azrak's brief proximity.
Rina's fists were bunched. "He fled… again?"
Thargrim slammed his axe onto the earth, anger surging. "For the love of. We were so close! And now he's gone!"
Kael dropped to a knee, chest laboring. Anger and fear and helplessness wrestled with each other inside him. "He's alive," he growled, his voice low but firm. "And we'll find him. No matter what."
Elira put a warm, glowing hand on his shoulder. "We can't let hopelessness be our master. They're patient, Kael. And so must we be. This isn't over."
The clearing felt emptier than before, but the pressure of Azrak's loss bore down on them. Bonds were strained, trust pushed to the limit. The foe had managed to push a wedge between them—but not shatter them.
Kael holstered his sword and looked at his companions. "We press on. We ready ourselves. And we rescue him… before it's too late."
The clearing was engulfed by the fog once again, and with it, the shadowed trail that would bring them to Azrak—and the more dangerous threat that lay beyond.