Kivana filled me in on the details, and despite my protests, she proved to be a remarkable help.
I had wanted her to stay home, to shield me from temptation, yet here she was, intent on testing my focus at every turn.
Still, over a million countermeasures lay woven in my mind, each one a safeguard against distraction.
I settled onto the dirt, watching the enemy army advance like a dark tide over the horizon.
Kivana absentmindedly ran her fingers through my hair, humming softly, a quiet song threading through the storm around us.
Soon, I would unleash the Bolt, though patience was vital, timing could decide the difference between total victory and disaster.
The weight of what she had told me pressed heavily.
Nicole was locked in a deadly standoff with Rosen, a confrontation that had raged through the night.
Meanwhile, an enemy force had carved through her contingent, leaving the southern flank exposed and vulnerable.
Rosen faced an even greater threat.
Dalinar, a rising star known for slaying a powerful demon.
Rumors or not, Dalinar commanded the largest force on that front, and reinforcements would be essential.
Kivana had called for them: first to the south, then to Sansir, and finally north, where I stood.
I made my decision and began moving forward with the plan.
The moon rose slowly, pale and distant, while clouds funneled overhead like a storm channeled through the heavens.
As the enemy surged through the center, Kivana raised her hands, her fingers tracing intricate patterns in the air.
A faint hum spread outward, almost imperceptible to anyone not attuned, but to our troops, it resonated like a clarion call.
Her sound magic threaded through the camp, carrying only to those allied to us.
Every soldier within range felt the warning, the pulse of impending action, and the quiet signal to brace and strike in sync with my coming assault.
The Bolt was unleashed.
Rain fell in torrents, yet Kivana's sound bubble shielded us, sending out small, rippling waves that deflected water and chaos alike.
It kept our focus clear and our positions dry.
She plopped down beside me, arms wrapping around me again.
"You never hold back at home," she teased, her voice threading through the bubble of sound like a playful chime.
"I'm quite disappointed."
I sighed, resting a hand over her head. "Just wait until the war is over."
She pushed me away, grinning. "Impossible! And it's all your fault."
The Bolt's fury tore through the enemy lines.
Lightning danced along the torrents of water, arcs striking with surgical precision.
Rolling thunder shook the earth beneath us, and entire formations were obliterated within moments.
Few survived the initial onslaught.
I let Kivana continue her complaints.
"You're a cruel man! What have you done to me? I won't forgive this!"
I replied with measured calm. "If you hadn't come, you wouldn't feel this way."
Her gasp was sharp. "And leave you behind in this terrible war? What kind of wife would I be?"
"Let's stop this," I said, standing. "It always ends the same way."
Still clinging to my waist, she smiled. "Yeah, I always end up winning."
I placed a hand on her cheek.
She leaned forward, licking my palm and shattering nearly half my remaining restraint.
"Stop that," I said, lifting my head and drawing my sword.
"Besides, I'm about to unleash my final spell. Hopefully, those two don't act first."
She patted my back. "You're only doing it because I'm here."
She wasn't wrong.
Kivana was far stronger than she appeared, and her presence changed the battlefield in subtle but undeniable ways.
Most dismissed her as a complainer or a dunce, but that was only true when she wasn't with me.
And she was always with me.
I lifted my sword toward the sky. The clouds froze, caught in a tense pause.
For a heartbeat, the world held its breath.
Then I swung downward, pouring every ounce of will into the strike.
The clouds shattered, erased as if ink had been cut with a blade.
Space warped, time twisted, and the ground below split in a single cataclysmic instant.
Without hesitation, a torrent of water surged into the chasm, forming a river that carved through the battlefield like a living entity.
The enemy forces were divided, scattered, and left vulnerable.
The Bolt struck with precision, lightning lancing along the river's surface, incinerating any who dared fall in.
My troops, guided by Kivana's sound magic, moved with uncanny coordination, cutting down the disoriented remnants.
Chaos bent to our command, the tide of battle turning decisively in our favor.
Moments later, the field fell silent, save for the crackle of residual electricity and the distant cries of survivors.
Victory had been claimed.
Kivana's eyes sparkled as she clapped, the sound echoing across the newly carved river. "Good, good! That was brilliant, flashy, but smart."
I frowned and sheathed my sword, letting the weight settle. "I needed to end it fast. No theatrics if I could help it."
She stood fully beside me, taking my left hand in hers. "Are you going to help Sansir now?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. Didn't you say it yourself earlier? You always win."
Her smile widened, and she patted my head. "Good. That was an amazing answer."
***
{Nicole Anstalionah.}
I let out tired breaths, each one thin and ragged, as my magicae leaked steadily from the wounds that covered my body.
The pale glow seeped from torn flesh in slow, trembling streams, and every drop felt like it carried a piece of my mind with it.
Rosen stood before me, completely unscathed.
He had not taken a single meaningful step during our entire exchange, yet I could no longer feel my hands.
All this time, which had become impossible to measure in the haze of agony and failing senses.
I had been trying to use my Regalia to take his power.
No, I had been trying to use my Regalia to take everything.
His strength. His will. His very presence.
Yet even the attempt was impossible. His aura alone shut me out as easily as the earth rejects the sky.
The gap between us was so immense that my existence barely registered against his. And he was still within the seventh wall.
Such a thing could only be explained by the creature watching over him.
Something granting him those impossible powers.
Something towering. Something hungry.
I felt it again, that great incomprehensible presence lingering behind him.
A lawless and ancient thing, like a mind that had never known sanity.
It pressed against reality in slow, deliberate waves, peeling at my thoughts as though tasting them.
It was eating at me.
He looked down at me, not with pity.
Not with contempt. It was an emotion I could not name.
He had none. Nothing. Not even apathy.
He was complacent with my power.
As if he had expected far more, was disappointed, then accepted it all without resistance.
The horn on my head slowly grew dull, then began to curl downward as Cradella's power slipped away from me.
Her blessing had granted me enough strength to nearly double my capabilities.
Yet the moment Rosen exerted himself even slightly, I had been crushed.
I steadied my breathing, forcing my legs to respond.
I straightened my posture, though every bone trembled beneath my skin, and lifted my sword once more.
"What is the point of keeping me alive? Would it not benefit you to kill me here?"
He paused. He thought about it. Then he sighed, the sound strangely human for someone so utterly hollow.
"No, I really cannot kill you. There are things you do not know."