Viscera rained down from the sky. Yellow globs mixed with sprays of violet. Feathers and tendrils plummeted to earth.

Soil flew from its resting place as my feet slammed back onto the ground. I was up and striking a chord on my guitar, wiping out a watcher as it dove after me. Sylus crashed down beside me. Tendrils whipped through the air as he thrust himself skyward once more.

We were on the brink of overwhelm. I knew what we had to do, but I had to get both Sylus and Qaitax on board.

Open it. I sent the thought through our connection. Open it and let’s end this.

A screech ripped through my mind. As much as it hurt, I was used to this tactic. It was Qaitax’s defense mechanism. He was, very literally, making sure I wasn’t, well, aroused. And if I was, the shriek would clear my mind. I had to be thinking clearly and he had to be sure of it.

I sent a few spells Sylus’ way, lending him my strength. We were already on a feedback loop. I drew from his core, strengthened it, and sent it back to him or used it to combat foes. The next step was a free flowing connection of souls.

For all intents and purposes, and in the eyes of the Void, we would be one. Our powers and strength fully combined. The fight would be over in minutes. But it was incredibly-

Dangerous. He replied to my request.

I know.

He settled gently beside me, a far cry from his usually booming landings. Where I sprayed dust, he made craters. He was capable of grace, but he reserved that for me and me alone.

He closed his eyes and I closed mine.

Time stopped.

Opening our eyes, we stood upon a field of violet irises swaying on golden stems. Stars and galaxies swirled in the sky above. The moon hung low, massive and silver, but whole. A lone willow waved in the distance.

Humming broke the still silence. His half of our song met my ears.

I closed my eyes and added my own.

I felt his hand graze mine. I took hold of it.

We hummed together until the barriers of our souls collapsed.

Our eyes alight with eldritch flame, we returned to reality as one.

Two bodies, one soul. One will.

The floral scarring that marked the right side of my body, from head to toe, glowed violet as fire coursed through my veins.

The power that now filled every inch of my flesh was beyond exhilarating.

Our thoughts and feelings flowed freely between us. He, too, was bursting with energy.

I took to the sky on chord-cast bubbles of ancient magic.

Sylus was right behind me, launching himself with a cackling howl. The Void Wolf was unleashed.

Out the corner of my eye, I watched his jaw snap open before clamping around a watcher’s scrawny throat. It screamed it’s last caw as it’s throat was ripped from its neck. Tentacles flew out in a web of flesh catching countless spawns in their grasp. All of them pulverized at once sending a spray of yellow mist into the air.

I cast a net of my own. With a strum of my strings, a thousand bubbles launched forth seeking the cold blood Voidal life. As they met their targets they latched on to claw and wing. A spare few snagged Sylus’ outstretched tendrils. Nothing went to waste. Good. Striking another chord, every single bubble burst unleashing my own wave of xanthous viscera. Sylus roared as my spare bubbles strengthened his wild blows.

I caught Sylus as he descended and threw him back into the air. He cackled and hollered as he shot into a flock. Again he took hold of several screeching watchers before making a death dive for the ground below. Slamming them into the earth, their blood filled every crack we’d forged throughout the battle.

To the west, sigils began glistening in the sunlight. They were hard to spot to a normal eye. But nothing was normal about either of us.

Wings of shimmering bubbles sprouted from my back as I darted after them. I could take a guardian if Sylus would handle the rest, though the plan was to stop the guardian from happening at all.

He careened into the gathering before I could reach them. Hooting and howling he tore them to shreds midair. I was quick to pick up on another group and diverted my attention there. I felt Sylus key into yet another group.

We knew this tactic well and we knew we couldn’t stop it. Too many summoning their greater demons at once.

We landed on the ground together and waited for their eldritch magic to crush their scraggly bones together into their almighty guardian.

Sylus snarled and huffed as he stood hunched over, tendrils already poised to launch himself back into the sky.

I played a few idle notes as I kept my gaze trained on the watcher flocks that dotted the sky.

The distinct sound of bones cracking and flesh squelching filled the air.

“THERE!” Sylus cried out as he burst into the air.

Sure enough a guardian had spawned to the north. All of the remaining summoning watchers converged on its location.

Sylus knew the plan. He caught the small ones and tore them apart. I flew directly for the watcher’s eye, summoning my guitar’s crystalline blades. Spines guarded it like bony lashes. I had to chop through them, evading it’s own bladed feathers and thrashing spikes.

Sylus lost momentum and fell to the ground. For a brief moment I was fully exposed. I disconnected from the guardian and played a chord raised a protective shield around myself. They screamed and clacked their beaks as they clawed at my bubble. I sneered as a crack finally appeared in it’s surface. The crack spidered until the bubble burst, blowing up the surrounding watchers with it.

I smirked, but my victory was short lived. The guardian had taken the opportunity to ready itself. A flurry of feathered blades shot toward me. I managed to dodge some, but most ended up in my flesh. I cried out as my own red blood splattered out. I could barely hold myself together as a flock of watchers turned on me to finish what the guardian had started.

An otherworldly howl rang out. Primal fear shot down my spine. I looked down to find the gaunt king standing where Sylus had landed. This wasn’t part of the plan.

A tendril-woven, wolf-like creature unleashed a back full of tentacles into the sky. No features adorned it’s blank Y-shaped head. That is until it split open sideways revealing countless gnashing teeth and a salivating, cavernous opening. Watcher after watcher was dragged down into his maw. A massive shackle around his belly meant he could only eat so much, but feast he did.

I felt the crack forming in our connection. Sylus was slipping away. If Qaitax had to step up, I’d lose control of my own powers.

What the hell are you doing?! I thought to him. We talked about this!

My stomach lurched in response. A fraction of his unending hunger shot through my core. I cried out as I lost my composure and fell from the sky. I hit the ground, knocking the wind from my lungs.

SYLUS!

Things were taking a dire turn. The gaunt king was a horrific weapon of absolute destruction, but it came at the price of Sylus’ consciousness. He knew he couldn’t just whip it out and yet he did without even saying a word to me. It was a last ditch solution, not a causal attack. I was furious.

Watchers were raining down. Unless we could get back in control it was over.

I closed my eyes.

Time stopped.

I found Sylus crouched down in our field of eternity clutching his head. He wept and screamed. He wasn’t in control anymore. The dark wisp behind me told me Qaitax wasn’t either.

“What the hell happened!?” I cried out.

“Hng so fucking hungry so hungry… It hurts it AH it hurts…”

Off in the distance I could see our frozen conflict. The gaunt king was mashing it’s face with watchers while the guardian had turned its massive cycloptic gaze on me.

I turned to Qaitax lingering behind me.

“Do something!”

He took on his usual form which was identical to Sylus yet somehow looked nothing like him. He shrugged.

“You made this mess, ameltria, you figure it out.”

“I thought we were over that.” I snarled at him.

He shrugged again.

“Snap him out of it!”

“I cannot.”

“Yes you can!”

“Allow me to rephrase: I will not.”

“Bastard!”

“I’d rather you learn a lesson, ameltria. You know I’m not one to lend the easy way out.”

“Then what good are you?!” I shoved him away.

Qaitax smirked. “Tik tok, ameltria.” He returned to a wisp of darkness before vanishing.

“USELESS!” I screamed at the starry sky.

Now wasn’t the time to be cursing Qaitax. It was my own fault he was so hands-off.

I turned back to Sylus. He was barely conscious. Any longer like this and Qaitax would be forced to intervene and send him to the dark place. I couldn’t allow that. Sylus would be gone for days and I’d lose my powers.

I sat down beside him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He shook with every sob. I rested my head against his and hummed our song. I rocked him from side to side, running my fingers through his hair. His shuddering slowed to a stop. His gasps and sobs subsided.

“I’m so hungry.” He groaned.

There was only one way to undo the gaunt king.

“Here.” I offered him my marked arm knowing it’d heal faster than my normal human arm.

He shook his head and groaned in agony.

“Sylus…” I cooed.

“Red…” He choked. “I saw red… Y-you were…”

“Oh my poor little squid. I’m okay, but I need you to be with me.” I held my arm in front of his mouth.

He shook his head again. “Wasn’t thinking. Still not thinking. AH!” He cried out as he doubled over, falling to his side in a fetal position. The same way he slept. “I’m so hungry. It’s killing me…”

In the distance I watched the gaunt king lower its head to my side. Slow and shuddering as if its movements were reduced to frames of a camera. Tendrils slithered out, shielding me from the watchers.

“Sylus…” I breathed as I laid down, wrapping my arms around him.

He lurched forward and latched onto the marked side of my neck. I cried out at the suddenness. I knew his bite well. It wasn’t sharp so much as a dull bruising feeling. The tips of his teeth curved back. I could feel those tiny hooks making their way into my flesh.

“I can’t make you suffer.” He breathed.

“I’m not suffering.” I caressed his head. “Do it, big guy.”

A tentacle came from the gaunt king’s mouth. It wrapped around my unconscious neck. I could feel its suckers pulling at my skin.

I felt him take a piece of me away in eternity. He consumed my flesh, just like I consumed his soul. It hurt, but it wasn’t the kind of pain I’d cry over.

Eternity snapped away. The gaunt king howled as it unraveled revealing a bloodied Sylus standing at its center.

He scrambled over to me and took me up in his arms. I hissed in pain and placed a hand over my bleeding neck. He pushed it aside and replaced it with his own massive grasp. I felt my body healing from his touch. The pain was gone and I was whole again.

I gazed into his flaming eyes and ran my fingers through his thick sideburns. He smiled softly before nuzzling his face in my neck.

But the fight wasn’t over. Time was moving again.

Sylus held me tightly. Our souls were still joined. I threw my arms around him. We had to close the connection. He was still unstable and I was draining his core.

From our embrace every ounce of energy we’d built up during the fight welled between us. Brilliant violet light enveloped our bodies. It grew and grew. Searing and burning away any watcher that got too close. It grew until I felt him whisper in my ear:

“I need you.”

The bubble of our power burst, destroying the spawns around us.

From its blinding glare we burst forth, spears of our united will, heaven bound for the guardian’s eye. It resisted our impact, caving in like plastic, before bursting into countless smaller eyes and flailing talons.

I took Sylus’ hand and thrust it into the center. Violet light riddled its way through the space between its eyes, each one popping one at a time.

A massive talon arched over its scorched form. I raised my shield, keeping it away just long enough for us to punch through to its core.

Sylus wrapped his fingers around the yellow light and squeezed it until it exploded in his grasp.

The guardian screamed as its very existence was undone. Its echoed and faded into nothingness as it hit the ground in a pile of formless Vrilk.

We sank to the ground in each other’s arms. Tired, worn, and spent, we collapsed into each other.

There is always a price, ameltria. Qaitax’s words echoed in my mind.

“Shut up.” Sylus and I murmured together.