I deflected the pincer just in time. Steel rang through Midnight as the impact rattled up my arms, the vibration numbing my fingers as I staggered back. Reading its movements was becoming harder by the second—every feint blurred into the next, every opening closing before my mind could catch up.
I lashed out on reflex.
The blade scraped across its chest, barely scratching the surface. The sound it made—metal sliding uselessly against chitin—sent a cold spike of dread through me.
That's it.
Holding Midnight became my only thought. Not winning. Not countering. Just not letting go. As if the moment my grip loosened, I would die. As if the sword itself was the last thing tethering me to the ground.
I began circling, slow and uneven, evading as best I could. I avoided contact whenever possible, letting distance and movement do what strength no longer could.
My legs gave out.
I dropped to one knee, breathing hard, each inhale tearing through my chest like broken glass. Sweat dripped into my eyes, my vision swimming as I forced myself to keep watching it.
The Venomclasp lunged.
I moved on instinct, dodging right. The pincer grazed my leg, ripping pain through my thigh. I gritted my teeth, swallowing the sound that tried to claw its way out of my throat.
This is it.
The thought came without panic. Without drama.
Just certainty.
There was no path where I won this. No trick left to pull. No strength left to borrow.
Protect me.
The command wasn't spoken. It barely even felt like a thought—more like a reflex born from desperation.
My shadow tore free from me.
It surged forward and caught Midnight mid-fall, interposing itself between me and the Venomclasp. The creature struck, and the shadow took the force, holding the line where my body no longer could.
I slumped back for half a heartbeat—just long enough to drag in air and steady my thoughts before they slipped completely out of reach.
Then I looked behind me.
Sare and my Knight were still fighting.
I could see it now—her movements were slowing. The storm was ruining her senses, dulling her timing, stealing the precision she relied on. Every flash of lightning came too late. Every thunderclap drowned out what she needed to feel.
Damn it, I thought. If only the storm would quiet—just for a moment.
I forced myself upright.
Give me Midnight, I told my shadow. Hold it here. As long as you can.
The blade returned to my hand, heavy and familiar, and I didn't hesitate.
I turned and ran.
Every step sent fire through my legs. My lungs screamed. My vision darkened at the edges as my body begged me to stop—to rest, to fall, to let go.
Or maybe to give up.
I couldn't tell anymore.
I ignored it all and pushed forward, sprinting toward Sare and the Knight with everything I had left, because standing still meant dying—and moving was the only choice I had left to make.
"Sare!" I yelled. "I'll hold it off—focus on one precise strike. Paralyze it."
She turned sharply, just in time to see me move.
"You're hurt," she snapped. "You don't have the physical boost from your shadow—you can't—"
"Just do it."
I didn't wait for her answer.
I lunged.
Midnight flashed upward as I drove myself into the Venomclasp's reach, ignoring the screaming protest in my body. I aimed high—not to kill, not to overpower—but to blind.
The blade struck its eye.
The impact was sickening. Chitin cracked, ichor sprayed, and the Venomclasp shrieked in agony, the sound sharp enough to stab straight through my skull. The force of the counterattack sent me crashing down, and I landed hard on my injured leg.
Pain exploded.
My thigh tore open further, hot and blinding, and I bit down hard to keep from screaming.
The Venomclasp didn't retreat.
It lashed out wildly, pincers slashing through the air in furious, uncoordinated arcs. And despite everything—the blood, the pain, the certainty that I was breaking apart—
A smirk tugged at my lips.
It was subtle. Barely there.
Because I could see it now.
Its attacks were sloppy. Predictable. The loss of depth, of balance—it showed in every swing. For the first time in this fight, the chaos wasn't mine alone.
I rolled beneath a sweeping strike, the motion tearing another gasp from my lungs, and came up just long enough to slash low.
Midnight bit into its Achilles.
The Venomclasp collapsed forward with a deafening crack, one limb buckling uselessly beneath it.
My strength gave out.
I fell back, landing hard on the bone, chest heaving as I stared up at the creature towering over me. Blood ran freely down my leg, warmth soaking through my clothes, my vision pulsing at the edges.
The Venomclasp turned toward me—
And stopped.
It froze on one knee, its body locked mid-motion.
Paralyzed.
I lay there, breath ragged, staring up at it, knowing I had nothing left to give—and praying Sare hadn't wasted the opening I'd bought with everything I had left.
Slowly, deliberately, Sare's spear drove forward.
It pierced straight through the Venomclasp's center—through the dense mass where its heart should have been. The creature shuddered once, a violent, hollow tremor, then went still.
I exhaled.
The sound turned into a soft laugh—thin, strained, but unmistakable. Relief spilled out of me before I could stop it, shaky and breathless, like my body didn't know how else to respond now that it was over.
Sare didn't linger.
She was already moving, turning to support my Knight as it battled the remaining Venomclasp. I stayed where I was, sprawled against the bone, staring up at nothing. My limbs felt distant, heavy, like they no longer belonged to me.
I couldn't move.
Not on my own.
Come back, I willed.
My shadow slid into me, rejoining my body in a rush that made my vision flare white. Strength flooded in—too fast, too sharp—and I forced myself upright, teeth clenched as my muscles screamed in protest.
I barely had time to steady myself.
The Venomclasp charged.
Fast. Furious.
I guess you played with it too much, I thought grimly toward my shadow as I raised Midnight.
I set my stance and focused—not on winning, not on striking first—but on reading the attack. Anticipating the angle. The timing.
Then steel flashed past me.
My Knight came from its blind side, blade cutting cleanly through the Venomclasp's neck. The head separated in a spray of dark ichor, tumbling across the bone as the body collapsed mid-charge.
Silence followed.
I turned just in time to see Sare standing over the last Venomclasp, her spear embedded deep. It twitched once, then lay still.
My legs finally gave out.
I fell backward, landing flat on my back, Midnight still clenched tightly in my hand as if letting go wasn't an option anymore.
"Sare—" I started.
"I know," she said immediately.
She didn't hesitate. "Knight—go help her. Keep them safe."
My Echo turned without question and followed her command.
I stayed where I was.
Rain dripped steadily down onto my face, cold and grounding, tracing paths along my cheeks and into my hair. I stared up at the storm-choked sky, thunder rolling faintly now, and for a moment my mind drifted—unbidden—back to my first Vigil.
The fear.
The stillness.
The feeling of standing watch when everything inside you begged to sleep.
Hey, I thought weakly. Go watch.
My shadow slipped free again.
If I'm attacked… let me know.
It vanished into the dark, leaving me alone with the rain and the slow, inevitable drain of strength from my body.
I lay there, breathing shallowly, Midnight still in my grip, as the last of my energy slipped away—and this time, I didn't fight it.