Nothing worked—flames, light, spear—nothing worked. After throwing himself back with a blazing tension for a third time, Cyrus changed tactics.

Run.

Chest heaving, he turned and bolted into the forest line, fog clinging to his legs. Behind him trailed projectiles of dark bile following his wake along that thing barreling towards him.

Another explosion rang in the far distance, seemingly louder than the last one. The thought of heading toward Latriaen raced through him as he ran between trees. His flare gun felt like it was burning in his pocket. Use it? But what if that was what it was hoping for? Could he even reach his mentor in the first place?

Too many paths—all laid with traps!

Gritting his teeth, Cyrus hid behind a tree and withdrew a mana crystal, desperately absorbing its energies. Then he frowned. What was that sizzling? A moment later, his cover quickly toppled over from the corrosive influence of a miasma attack. It only took a second for it to putrify into nauseating sludge.

Fuck.

This was too much for him. Quickly bolting, he glanced back as it twisted its head and unhinged its jaw. Then, it charged. Like a brute, it crashed into trees and objects without a care.

Chirp!

Bird flew from above, following the two yet keeping a far distance and called out for attacks. Meanwhile, Cyrus kept moving. Once the crystal shattered in his hand, he channeled radiant tension. But would it matter?—Stop.

Shoving aside his doubts, Cyrus weaved through the trees, letting the abomination close the distance. Then he fired his attack. Light erupted from his palm and engulfed the wraith. It remained inside radiance, gold flames covering its form. And to his surprise, it remained still, frozen from the attack.

Not wasting time, Cyrus scrambled up and infused light on his spear. Striking forward, his spearhead shot through the air like a radiant arrow and into its skull. But, only a few centimeters deep, barely worth mentioning.

Only now did the monstrosity react. The foggy tendrils around it tugged, and it unhinged its jaw to regurgitate bile. But Cyrus had already moved back by using the trees as cover.

What just happened? Could I use this?

An answer—no, two arose. But which one? Both required tension and infusion but were used in different applications. Yet the abomination answered him by spewing forth another gush of brackish bile.

There was only one option with the little opportunity he had.

So, Cyrus gritted his teeth and moved into a sprint. He rushed between trees to buy some time. As he dashed between two large oaks, Cyrus placed a hand on his spearhead and channeled his mana.

"Come on, work!" Sweat dripping off his brow, he applied tension to his infusion as he poured mana onto the cold steel. "Damn you. Work!"

One second. Two—success.

But there was no time to celebrate. Cyrus only had two—an earth-quaking explosion of shadows and fog in the far distance drew his attention, followed by a surge of flame shooting upwards. It twisted and coiled into a fiery tornado.

He stumbled onto the ground. Before he realized it, the spear emitted a radiant glow before exploding, separating the two as he rolled a few meters away. Damn it. Why now?!

As he struggled into a stand, a sudden yank on his ankle dropped him to the floor. Cyrus struggled against the twisted grip clinging onto him, slamming his leather boots onto it.

Another yank. And Cyrus was directly under the malformed creature. Frozen in fear, he watched it slowly open its mouth and reveal the hidden abyss behind inky and jagged teeth dripping with black bile and misty froth. The world twisted and blurred in his vision as he focused on those outstretched claws lunging forward at his throat.

Inch by inch. Heartbeat to heartbeat. Ever-closer to all-consuming death.

Powerless and helpless, Cyrus' shoulders slacked. No longer could he react and move as despair consumed him. The spear was too far away, nor could he use radiant tension.

It was all over. Cyrus resigned himself to his fate.

But then, it came. Cyrus barely registered it when a small and blurry object flew straight at the wraith's eyes, clawing it with its small feet.

"Bird?" Cyrus listlessly asked, shocked at the sight.

He watched as Bird fearlessly dug its tiny talons into the wraith's abyssal gaze. As if that weren't enough, it pecked at the soft flesh, attempting to tear out flesh and blind it.

"Bird?" Cyrus asked again.

Why was it doing this? Shouldn't it be trying to escape? That's what he would do. That question remained unanswered as the wraith threw its head back as if hurt by such a little thing. Only then did Cyrus realize the reality before him.

"Bird!" Cyrus yelled, scrambled from under the wraith. "Run!"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

He stumbled into a stand, legs shaking as he dashed to his dropped spear.

"Come on, faster!" He yelled, slowly channeling mana through his runs. "Hold on, Bird!"

Quickly, Cyrus turned his gaze to the two. He watched Bird take flight, narrowing the claws crashing down on it and the subsequent maw aiming to swallow it whole. And again, it went on the attack.

"I'm Coming!" Cyrus stood up and dashed with all his might. His spear glowed brighter and brighter as more and more mana imbued radiant tension into it. The world seemed to slow in those few steps.

And Cyrus could see it all happen. Bird lunged downwards, flying downwards with talons outstretched for its other—a claw smacked onto it. His heart lurched at the sight. The canary was sent crashing to the dirt, black smoke trailing in its wake.

And Bird remained motionless. Its white feathers carried black marks that spread further and further to the small creature.

Gaze widening, Cyrus charged forward as he struck forward. Never in his life had he wished for another's death until now.

Meanwhile, the abomination turned its attention to the running Cyrus. It had long forgotten the flying nuisance as it lunged forward with black, inky claws stretched outward and a gaping maw, intending to crush his skull.

The world seemed to slow as the two drew closer. Cyrus' spear tore through the air, shining brighter and brighter, ready to explode. The wraith loomed over it, ready to embrace him in death. But Cyrus struck first.

The spear, ever radiant, shot into the malformed smileodon's mouth. It tore through the inky dark and pierced into the back of its head.

"Just fucking die!" Cyrus roared at the top of his lungs, radiance beaming from his gaze.

And just in time. A moment later, a golden explosion erupted from the wraith's mouth. It rushed forward, torching through the soft tissue inside. And then, a pop resounded. Before Cyrus realized what had happened, he watched its gaze enflame with golden radiance before the abomination's skull shattered into pieces. The wraith's arms flail about, struggling to move forward. In the end, it simply crashed to the ground, never to move again.

But Cyrus was already long gone.

"B-bird?!" he crashed his knees onto the dirt before the canary. "Stay with me, buddy. I'm here for you—it's going to be alright now."

There was no response.

Quickly, Cyrus scrambled as he spilled his remaining health vials and mana crystals onto the floor. He hesitated between picking the two, but soon panicked at the sight of the ever-growing corruption on Bird's feathers and skin. Quickly, he returned his potions and crystals—save a few crystals. After absorbing their energies, Cyrus cradled the small, motionless canary in his hands.

"It's going to be alright," Cyrus said out loud, mostly convincing himself. I just need to make sure there's no corrosion." He swallowed his saliva. "Rest. You'll be better soon."

Again, no response.

Yet Cyrus refused to believe the sight before him. Desperate, Cyrus emitted a weak radiance over the small canary. He watched it combat the growing corruption, slowly but surely fighting against it.

"See, Bird?" Cyrus gently pressed his hands close to his chest. "You're going to be alright!"

But why wasn't Bird chirping?

Without hesitation, Cyrus slowly stood up. He then broke into a sprint, dashing past the headless abomination and the now-ruined spear. More and more radiance Cyrus poured into Bird as he ran, using mana crystal after mana crystal to keep his light going.

Fog clinging to his legs, he kept running deeper into the forest until his lungs started to ache, and his legs began to strain.

"See? It's working!" voice quivering, he stopped and leaned on one of the many trees. "Just wake up..."

Nothing. The sight of Bird brought Cyrus to his knees. Gently, he placed the canary down and drew all his remaining health potions from his pouch. Without hesitation, he opened them one by one and emptied them onto the canary until its feathers were utterly stained red from the liquid.

And still, nothing happened. The sight brought a taste of bitter iron on Cyrus' tongue. Frustration and fear swelled within him like water behind a dam, cracks forming as the pressure mounted. Until they finally broke.

"Stupid," Cyrus wept silently, slamming his forearms on the dirt. "You shouldn't have tried to fight it—shouldn't have tried to save me!"

Why was he choking? Why did he feel so devastated? It was just a small bird—one he had known for only a few months. But unbidden memories flooded his mind—Memories of Bird following him everywhere he went. Memories of it excitedly fluttered its wings whenever Cyrus regaled it with stories. How it chose to sleep beside him at the campsite.

Yes, they were small. Insignificant, even. Yet, now more than ever, they felt just as important as the first day he awakened his runes.

"I was useless... coward—not worth anything," Cyrus choked, pouring more and more radiance and gentle heat onto the still canary. "Why me? It shouldn't have been me."

Then came the bargaining.

"Just wake up." More and more tears fell until his vision went blurry. "I-I'll think of a proper name for you and tell as many stories as you'd like. Just wake up."

More and more mana was poured, using mana crystal after mana crystal.

"Open your eyes."

Nothing. Meanwhile, the fog and darkness encroached ever around the two. It wished to cover them whole and devour them. And that would have been the case had not Cyrus kept channeling radiance and flame, desperate to wake his Bird.

"Just wake up."

Even when Cyrus kept his face low to the ground and his gaze shut, he kept channeling his magic onto Bird. Only when his spatial pouch yielded no more crystals did Cyrus cease.

Now what? Cyrus rested on his knees, arms limping to the side. Lifeless and drained, he stared down at the still, unmoving Bird and gently cupped him in his palms. Then, without moving his gaze, Cyrus slowly, gently rested his back on the cold tree and nestled Bird close to his chest.

Now what, indeed? Cyrus still had to find the exit lest he remain stuck in there forever. But Cyrus was too tired to care. All he wanted to do was stay beside his companion for just a little while longer. Even when the fog covered him like cobwebs and darkness skittered on his sun-kissed skin, Cyrus remained resting with Bird.

It was funny. Cyrus could barely register the ensuing battle in the far distance. It just felt so... pointless. As if that very gray he'd been trying to escape all his life managed to cross space and time and follow him here.

What a fool he was. It was a stupid idea that Cyurus could simply remain as an observer and enjoy this world's splendor. But now, it had irrevocably changed him. Even now, he could feel that need dwelling inside his heart. It festered and coiled, lashing out at everything in its sight.

And Cyrus knew it as hate and rage. It was a new feeling. Cyrus wanted nothing more than to return to that headless corpse and pulverize it into a paste. To tear it apart and engulf it in ever-consuming flames. Yet, Cyrus remained still. Because Bird was the only sense of peace, he had left. And it was enough to quash the building pain in his chest.

As he remained there, uncaring for the world around him, only one thought remained: What now?

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