Yata’s eyes danced between them. “Fascinating, truly. I had wondered what it was about you, little Novice, that could draw such a reaction from the Crimson Wolf.” He chuckled, his grin stretching wide. “That rage. The look in his eyes when he set you down at Fallowmere and turned on me. Quite unlike anything I’d ever seen before. And now you’ve somehow charmed the Serpent himself. You’re certainly pretty, I’ll give you that, and I know you did something interesting to free the wolf from the Veilroot, but—”
“He hurt you?” Kaelith's voice dropped to a whisper. He had gone utterly still.
Rynna glanced at him, then turned toward Fenn, who was already stalking through the ruined clearing, heading for the Hollow-born rising from the earth beyond the spikes. “He’s hurt a lot of people,” she said. “Let’s finish this. If Skarn raised all of your oldcompanions, then there’s another lurking nearby.”
Kaelith stood silent for a moment longer, his fury unmistakable. Then, a long sigh escaped his lips. “The poor boy was obviously obsessed.” His posture loosened, and an almost lazy smile crept back onto his face. “Really, his desperation is rather tragic. So much effort just to get my attention.”
Rynna snorted, drawing her short swords from their sheaths at her back, and closed her eyes for a brief moment. She could’ve toyed with Yata and played the game Kaelith often dragged her into, teasing him like a tiger stalking its prey. She even thought of throwing out a quip—I’ll show you what holds their attention. Kaelith always brought out her snark. But not now.
She trusted Fenn. He was one of the strongest Hollow-born she’d ever known, and he had already defeated an Ember Demon once, nearly eight years ago, when he killed Yata. Still, she couldn’t let him fight alone, not with the stakes this high.
Exhaling, she gathered reality around her, testing the Weaving’s reaction to using this particular skill.
No ring of warning. The end must be close.
Fine.
She tugged, and the world folded at her Will. In one heartbeat, she stood balanced on the far branch; in the next, she was behind Yata, her blades raised.
The slice was clean, her swords severing the Demon’s head from his shoulders with barely a whisper of resistance. The body swayed for a moment, then collapsed.
But instead of a corpse, Yata’s form rippled, melting away into a viscous, black substance that splashed onto the forest floor in a wet, inky splatter.
“A decoy, using…the Void as an element. Seems our friend picked up some new tricks.” Kaelith tilted his head, one brow arching in her direction. “Seems he’s not the only one.”
Rynna clenched her jaw, suppressing the shudder of frustration. Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. “Will there be more?”
“I know little about the hidden element, only that no Hollow-born has successfully used it in the past, except…” he paused, frowning, “it looks like the attacks on the Hearth.” He brought both hands together, fingers moving through a series of complex hand signs, his voice dropping to a whisper as he murmured words of power.
“Of course.” She muttered. It truly was all connected.
From his sleeves, small, sleek snakes slithered forth, their obsidian scales gleaming faintly in the shadows. They scattered, disappearing into the underbrush, sliding out in all directions.
“They’ll search for the real Yata.” His lips curled into a predatory smile. “And when they find him...” He let the sentence hang, then braced himself for the coming attack.
The forest erupted as more of Yata’s Void copies materialized on every branch, their bodies shimmering like dark reflections of the original. Corded whips of inky black lashed out from their arms, twisting and writhing in living tentacles. The first whip burst toward Rynna, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone, her form vanishing and reappearing behind one of the clones. Her twin swords flashed, slicing through the tendrils before they could strike again.
But no sooner had she cut down one, another shadowy figure dropped from the trees, its elemental weapons whipping through the air. Rynna blinked again, appearing mid-leap in the canopy above, her movements fluid, almost weightless, as she darted from branch to branch. A tendril snaked after her, but she spun midair, twisting as her sword sliced, severing it with a hiss.
Below her, Kaelith moved like liquid death. He weaved between the shadows, his body bending and contorting unnaturally, dodging the lashes with serpentine precision. Hedidn’t flinch as one cracked just past his face, the air around him rippling as his jaw unhinged, and a giant snake erupted from his mouth. It coiled through the branches and struck at the nearest clone, fangs sinking deep into the dark substance before the figure dissolved into black mist. Without missing a beat, Kaelith’s arm extended again, impossibly long, his fingers twisting into claws that lashed out, scattering Yata’s copies in puffs of smoke.
Stars, I’ve missed this,she thought, stepping off the branch to land lightly next to him on the forest floor, her blades cutting through two more Void copies during the descent.
“Where is he?” She pressed her back to him.
Kaelith scanned the forest as more shadowy figures bled from the trees, each one a perfect imitation of Yata.
There,he said in her thoughts, showing her a flash of the target from the perspective of one of the small snakes, even though he kept his eyes roaming.
She mimicked his scanning, not wanting to give away their advantage, until—there!She saw the one moving just a fraction slower than the rest.He hides well, but not well enough.
Now!Kaelith surged forward, his body flowing as he ducked beneath a fractured spear of darkness.
His hand morphed into a long, narrow cone of snakes that struck at the true Yata’s with a violent snap. The Crow snarled, twisting to dodge, but Rynna was already there, swords in motion.
“This time, you stay dead.” Her blades sliced cleanly through Yata’s shoulder, the metal glinting in the dim light, blood spraying across her face. Around them, the canopy shuddered as Kaelith’s serpents tightened around the villain’s body.
Shadows flailed wildly, desperate, but Kaelith’s laugh was a rumble in the dark.
