The wyvern's spine cracked and arched as it unfolded further, wings of bone spears tearing through the membrane. Then, with a grotesque snap, it launched into the air, the rush of wind knocking loose more stone from the fractured ceiling. Now flying in the false sky above, its jaw ripped open down its neck. From the opening, the wyvern blew a torrent of red-brown vapor that surged out in a fan, carrying a stench that burned Ren's nose before it even touched him. The stone where it landed hissed, its surface melting away the instant contact was made with it.
Ren rolled hard to the side, boots slipping on fractured stone as the vapor slammed into the ground where he had stood. The air hissed and bubbled with the sound of dissolving rocks.
Nocstella's voice cut through the haze.
"You don't go further than this, Hollow."
Ren didn't answer, eyes locked on the creature above, tracking its movements.
"Getting this far—" Nocstella continued, her tone turned almost contemplative, "—making contact with me, standing here now. All of it was for the sake of my own curiosity. That's all."
Above them, the wyvern tucked its malformed wings tight and plummeted like a spear thrown by a god. The wind howled as it closed the distance, six eyes dedicated to tracking Ren.
The wyvern's shadow stretched over him, jaw unhinged and wings thrashing to speed its descent. At the last moment, Ren tumbled aside as the wyvern crashed down to the ground.
The impact sent shards of stone and dust into the air.
Ren landed, facing Nocstella and her nightmare child.
"Few have dared to resist me, but even they gave in." Nocstella said, voice smooth as silk. "Because, in the end, all realize what I truly am...A mother...A woman of love and care. "
Her gaze locked with Ren's.
"They saw past their own delusions, and gave in..." She took a step forward, her shadow merging with the wyvern's. "And, Hollow…You cling to foolish hope. To your regeneration. Your ability to heal clean. Though, it's all a lie...An excuse to run from fate. I despise that about you."
Her lips curled into something that almost—just almost—looked like happiness.
"Even if I cannot outright kill you, Hollow. I will rend you limb from limb. I will carve you down to bone and scatter what remains, until you have no other choice but to bow your head and accept what fate has carved out for you."
The wyvern wailed and launched itself forward, its wings beating the air with savage force.
Ren barely had time to raise his guard before the beast swooped low, claws slashing through the air. But he dodged, rolling beneath the swipe. The wyvern spiraled upward, its six eyes glowing like embers. But something was off about it now. It was no longer looking at Ren. It dove, but not in his direction. The beast's jaw unhinged again mid-descent, and from deep within its throat, it unleashed another torrent of red-brown vapor—a corrosive wave aimed directly at the unmoving figure below. Ren's heart stopped. It was after Eva.
Through the shock. Through the panic. Boots hammered against fractured stone.
He reached her body just as the vapor hit.
Ren threw himself over Eva, his arms curling tightly around her.
Her head pressed into his chest as he turned, putting his right side toward the torrent.
It hit him at full force.
It ate through the fabric of his cloak instantly, then through the flesh beneath. It was hot and cold all at once—burning deep into muscle and peeling at skin in layers.
His jaw locked, teeth grinding together hard enough to creak.
When the torrent finally ceased, steam rose from the crater the breath had left in the stone.
Ren's right side was nothing but a blistered ruin, thin strands of muscle barely holding themselves together as more dissolved from the lingering residue.
He stayed there a moment longer, letting the last of the corrosive mist eat into him rather than risk it touching her. Only when he was sure—absolutely sure—that not a trace of it lingered, did he kneel, placing Eva softly back onto the driest patch of stone he could find. As much as he could manage with one working arm. Ren's breath trembled as he forced himself upright.
The wyvern climbed once again into the air, crying as it circled above.
He turned his gaze away from Eva. To his right, half-buried in the fractured floor, a jagged shard of stone. He reached for it, fingers curling tight despite the tremor. He observed it closely, testing the angle of the edge, the sheen of the fractured surface. Then, without flinching, he drew the stone across his own cheek. A line of blood welled immediately, hot and vivid as it trailed down his jawline. He watched as the blood dripped to the ground beneath him.
"Good enough." He whispered.
Ren reached down, clenching his teeth into the torn edge of his cloak.
RIP
A strip of fabric tore free.
Clutching the shard in his left hand, he wrapped the cloth tightly around the base. His decayed right hand struggled to tighten at first, but he pressed his way through the pain. A dagger, though not better than his previous makeshift dagger, was still something.
He exhaled, squared his shoulders, and turned back to face Nocstella and the wyvern.
Wiping the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, Ren then held the dagger out.
'I'll finish this.'