EREBOS

Pathetic. You’re so pathetic. The haunting thought tore across his skull as his sword barely seethed and smoldered upon her skin. It was like nothing had happened. Naught had tarnished her. She hadn’t felt his rage. She hadn’t felt his fury. She hadn’t felt the weight, the might, or the swift, tenacious blend of his potency rip into her flesh.
 
So, for just a few seconds, he wondered if his attempts even mattered.
 
How far could ambitions and desires take him? How much perseverance could render him successful? If he failed, but still dug down, deep into the fathoms of his fortitude, would anything come of it? Did all his misery amount to anything? Did the fire in his soul bare any value, any importance? Did endurance and determination have a shelf life, and in the end, even when he forged onward again and again, would anything result from his efforts?
 
Ridiculous, came the sparks, the wrath, echoing along his mind. It was difficult to tell if it was his voice or Orsino’s, blended together in a rhapsody of motion and malevolence, but it resounded so stark, so bright, so blinding. He didn’t back away from it, because he knew the notions floating through his machinations were naught but hopelessness and irreverence, already sliding away from the power he’d pledged and promised.
 
You can’t fall apart so easily, it drummed again, and somewhere, he thought of his sire, obstinate and defiant, a spellbinding beast that had never sunk and whined so piteously. Look at me now, father he wanted to call into the cave, a low mocking laugh for himself –
 
But bedlam surrounded them again, and he couldn’t stumble back into his spiraling hell, trying to twist away (to the left) from the flash of her hind legs. His shoulders ached and his muscles protested, sending him to clench his jaw anew, struggling not to gasp, not to cry out, from the unrelenting spasms of pain. They surged against his brow and remained there, steady, belligerent, blistering once more when one of her hooves met his already brutalized right shoulder. It wasn’t as agonizing, not as intense, but there all the same, another bruising impact muddled and measured with the rest.
 
How was he to conquer now – when she could still see, when she could still run, when she’d been barely scorched, and all his inadequacies, all his efforts, had been reduced to fragments?
 
Enough already! Orsino hissed, and before the boy had a chance to retort, before the prince could snarl and growl in sedition, the kitsune had launched. Gone were the flashing segments of strobe lighting, and in its place, came more action and rebellion. Do I have to do everything?, the little beast proclaimed, eerie and savage, ferocious and nefarious. Away from the shadows, uncanny eyes searching and seeking out the other companion, he’d propelled himself from a nearby stalagmite, hind legs coiled, pushing off the rubble and stone, trying to head directly for the descending eagle. Erebos took the opportunity to shift slightly to the left again, impaired by his slow stride, barely missing the intended blow by the bird’s talons – while Orsino’s jaws parted, revealing malicious fangs, intending to rip, to snare, to strike. You should too, the sable fox issued, and the General whipped his head around, seeking out his opponent.
 
Was it a lost cause, or could he still prevail?
 
He hadn’t fallen. He hadn’t decayed. Even if one of his advantages had been snagged away, torn asunder by the agony rippling through his frame, it didn’t mean he couldn’t still unleash an assault.
 
Perhaps this was the moment where his aspirations did resound.
 
In the brooding silence, in the maddening schism of misery, he summoned his enchantments. The deep, dark denizens of his veins answered, decadent and sinister, sizzling amidst the clamor of his chest, his call to the untamed bits of his soul. They unraveled, unfurled, uncurled in hushed, quiet ministrations, a rapid call of go rumbling through his entity, sent towards the girl, the soldier, the warrioress. Sliding within those slivers was pain – waves upon waves of fresh, vicious, brutal torment, yearning to embed themselves into her skin, into her flesh, into her lungs, and pour right through her senses.
 
Can you endure it too? He wanted to ask her, then and there, between the columns of stone and fire, alongside the pillars of earth, rubble, and disaster, if she would crumble or rise, flicker apart or triumph.

[2/3. 748 words.
* As Oizys’s hooves come towards him, Erebos attempts to dodge to the left, but fails to get away completely, earning a bruise on his right shoulder.
* While Ker comes flying down towards Erebos, Orsino attempts to use a stalagmite as a launch pad and tries to meet Ker mid-air, hoping to bite or snag him. Erebos uses this chance to twist to the left again, and the eagle misses him.
* Erebos tries to use his dark magic on Oizys, intending to use the corruption magic to manifest pain all over her body.]