Kurai exhaled slowly, the last remnants of her glaive breaking apart in a storm of jagged black sparks, dissolving into the air like smoldering ash. The crackling energy crawled up her arm before sinking back into her body, leaving her frame shivering faintly from the strain.
Her crimson eyes lingered on the battlefield, still scarred from the clash with Baldr: trenches carved by their strikes, shattered stone pillars, the scent of burning lingering like a bitter perfume. All around them, silence pressed down — no gamblers, no spectators, no one left to witness. Only ruin.
Kurai turned and walked over to Helios. He lay half-sprawled on the ruined stone, chest heaving, his jacket and clothes torn and soaked with blood that pooled beneath him. His eyes, half-lidded, still carried a flicker of defiance as they shifted toward her.
A pained chuckle slipped from his lips. "You… look terrible."
Kurai didn't even blink. "You look worse," she replied coldly. "If you don't receive proper healing soon, you'll be dead before the day ends. You always seem to end up in this state whenever I take my eyes off of you."
Helios smirked, though it was more grimace than grin. "Then… why don't you be a dear and open a dark corridor? Get us out of here before I bleed out on your lap."
Kurai's eyes narrowed, her posture sinking back into its usual lazy poise. "I can't. My body needs time to recover before I can channel darkness again. After what I just used, even trying would tear me apart."
Helios coughed, his smirk faltering. "You're… joking, right? Because I'm really dying here, Kurai."
"No." Her tone was flat, unbothered. Her silver gaze studied him like a surgeon regarding an opened body. "I'm not joking. I can see your condition clearly. Whether you live or die now depends entirely on your will. Stop wasting your breath worrying about it. I'll attempt to open a corridor as soon as I'm able."
His chest hitched as he laughed nervously, but the sound twisted into a cough. He pressed his trembling hand to the ground, gathering what magic he could muster. Green light flickered weakly around his palm. "Fine… I'll heal myself, like always. Curaga—"
The spell never formed. Instead, the light guttered and warped, twisting black. Veins of darkness spread like wildfire beneath his skin, black lines crawling up his arms, his neck, spiderwebbing across his chest. His eyes widened as pain ripped through him, his body convulsing.
The veins burned from the inside, searing as if molten chains were carving through his flesh. Blood splattered his lips as he coughed violently, his vision going white around the edges.
"Damn it… not… like this…" His words broke apart as his body shuddered, the Curaga collapsing into a cloud of seething black smoke that clung to his form, feeding into the corruption.
His consciousness slipped. The world tilted.
And then—cold.
A hand, colder than winter steel, pressed against his forehead.
The black veins pulsed, writhed… then began to recede. The smoke bled out of him like ink drawn to her touch, siphoned away into Kurai's palm where it sizzled and disappeared into nothing. Her eyes narrowed as she absorbed the attacking dark energy with calculated control, her own veins glowing faintly with shadow before fading back into stillness.
Helios gasped, air filling his lungs more evenly, the burn subsiding though the exhaustion remained.
"Reckless." Kurai's voice was low, sharp. "You tried to use light in your state. Although he's a weakling, he's still a member of the Thirteen Darknesses. The energy in his attack bled into your body and is attacking it from the inside. Your darkness is combating the energy and cleansing it as we speak. The Cure spell is a high-level spell, and when you cast it, the darkness inside you recedes, and the light inside you grows in those instances. Casting it now only serves to make your condition worse. Did you want to die?"
His lips curved faintly, voice hoarse. "I didn't… know. I was desperate."
"You're always desperate," she muttered. "But you won't die here. Not if you stay still and just allow me to rest."
Helios blinked up at her, his vision still hazy. "You saved me…"
Kurai pulled her hand back, her expression unreadable. "Don't misunderstand. I only drew out the dark corruption because if you die, you take what belongs to me with you. Now my recovery is slightly delayed because of this."
Helios let out a low chuckle that turned into another cough. "That's your way of saying thank you, isn't it?"
Kurai tilted her head slightly, shadows flickering faintly around her. "Thank you? What should I be thanking you for? Rather, should you not be thanking me instead that you're still alive? Don't flatter yourself, Helios. I need you alive."
His breathing steadied, though pain still twisted his features. He studied her for a long moment. The moonlight from the fractured sky caught her face — the silver glow in her eyes, the slight tension around her lips, the way she sat just close enough to keep watch but not close enough to suggest comfort.
"Kurai," he rasped, "I know you're upset with me and want to teach me a lesson. Admit it. You care."
For the first time, her eyes flicked away. "I told you. You are mine. Nothing more, nothing less."
He smirked again, weaker now, yet satisfied. "If I'm yours… you'll have to try harder to keep me alive."
"Then stop trying so hard to get yourself killed," she snapped, though her tone was softer than her words.
The battlefield wind howled through the ruins, carrying the stench of smoke and blood. For a long moment, neither spoke. Kurai leaned back slightly, staring at the broken horizon. Helios, barely clinging to consciousness, let his head loll toward her shoulder.
She almost moved away. Almost. But she didn't.
The silence stretched, thick with the weight of battles fought, wounds endured, truths half-spoken. For Helios, it was enough to know that she had chosen not to let go.