Withdrawing his gauntlets from his scorched helmet, the Champion set his gaze ahead just in time to see Shimmer charging at him. She held her glowing sword at her side with both hands, prepared for a massive swing. No matter the armor hiding it, there was something holding her back. Either by how her strides were clumsy or sword shook, she was restrained from a fully onslaught.

Don't just stand and stare! Jewel snapped venomously, which prompted the Champion to thrust his right gauntlet out; however, nothing flew to his palm as expected. Time dwindled further and further. Shimmer's body became more clear in the blue light by the second. It was a matter of moments. Each one ticked without any of them being skipped.

Five.

He could hear the footsteps pounding against the damp floor. The downpour that weighed him down. His heart attempting to tell him what should be done. His mind telling him what had to be done. His gauntlet already deciding on what it wanted to do.

Four.

His right gauntlet continued to reach out for its treasure. Its beloved child. It would not stop calling out in its desirable voice. So desperate, so wanting. As if it were a parched traveler seeking water after finding none for days. It would be their last if it stayed that way.

Three.

He could see what lay beneath the sword, what the rippling surface truly was. Like a source, a heart even, darker shaded rings repetitively pulsed in the middle of the blade. Even at the tip, which had a much smaller variance of the magical occurrence.

Two.

He grew weary. His body began to get swept up in the rain as he felt heavier and heavier. Though he couldn't look down, it seemed like the ground was eating him whole along with all the other corpses he had slain. A fate worse than anything was a lifetime with all those he had killed. He never wished to see them again. He wanted them out of his mind, for it was a task complete.

One.

He could picture Shimmer's face past the drenched helmet obscuring it: fierce eyes, quivering lips, excessively breathing. She was scared. She didn't want to strike him down. No, not from the start would she ever wish to do such a thing. Why would she now?

People change, Jewel mused, his voice a snake wrapping around the Champion's soul, suffocating it.

Right as Shimmer reeled her sword back for the fatal thrust, his right gauntlet exploded with energy. He felt fingers poke through the armor. A hand that completely dismantled the gauntlet. In the corner of his vision, which was dominated by blue, he could see a new color pulsating: black.

Mine!

In an instant, he shoved his right hand in front of him as the sword came just in time. Blue filled his vision entirely with a scorching sensation striking his chest. He stood his ground despite wanting to stagger back. Despite wanting to fall over and give up.

The Champion thrust his left gauntlet forward in an attempt to push back Shimmer, though it was cut off adeptly. Black blood sprayed out of his new wound, but it didn't faze him. Rather, it spurred him.

So she could hurt him—she wanted to hurt him. 

Do what you should've done a long, long time ago...

Seeing Shimmer fall into a hesitant defensive state, the Champion raised his left arm into the sky for a hand to snap into creation. The void particles weaved themselves perfectly as the fingers reached for the sky. For more prey. For blood.

He brought his sword high above him, then hacked down at Shimmer, who swiftly dodged around it to stab him in the side. Following the attack, an explosion of energy erupted that sent him stumbling sideways. Smoke rapidly drifted upward, being the only thing he could smell.

The Champion snapped to life and lunged forward. He pounded his left gauntlet against the sword in his path and swung his own, aiming for Shimmer's hip. She only deflected his jab aside that was meant to be a distraction, then cut his sword straight to the ground halfway there.

"Just... give up," she pleaded, through heavy breaths. Still, she remained hiding behind that sword in front of her. "Please, Oderian... give up and let this be done—"

"I will not give up!" the Champion hissed, bringing his sword straight out of the mud it was one stuck in.

He relentlessly swung his sword overhead. The collision of metal pierced the air with his sword's red color springing to life. The ruby in the crossguard was more vibrant than ever.

It was as if the sword had been dormant this whole time.

Swing after swing, he continued to do the same exact attacks with barely any time for Shimmer to do anything but block. His left gauntlet hung limp at his side, though its fingers fiercely shook in its desire for action.

"Stop, please!" Shimmer called out, her voice slowing down his attacks. He had heard her speak this way many times. All the memories poured into his mind in a chaotic manner unable to be controlled. "You aren't this monster... you can't be..." She heaved deep breaths as she parried one of his more clumsy attacks, which broke his fragile guard. "But you cannot be saved! Nam'ill did not die in vain; he couldn't have!"

Shimmer reeled her sword back and thrust right at the Champion's exposed chest. He was too slow to react, distracted at all the memories seizing his mind by brute force. But when the tip of the sword impaled his chestplate, when Shimmer was leaning ever so close to him, his heart burst. Seconds later, another burst of energy surged through him until exploding out of his back.

"Just die... let this suffering come to an end at long last..." Shimmer breathed, and lifted her helmet up for the Champion to acknowledge her words fully. He could see her soft eyes and how they beckoned him to sleep. To accept. To die.

Now, do it now! Jewel screamed furiously, while his voice seemingly took over his once-immobile left hand.

The Champion punched Shimmer right in the helmet, his void fist not as effective as an armored gauntlet would be; however, it was enough to make her stagger back. Enough to make him drop his sword and grasp the one in his chest with his thirsty right hand. Each finger wrapped around the still-glowing blade—despite all the black blood on it—then hardened their hold.

Black seeped into the blade with his hand increasingly expanding in size. The blue flickered, trying to stay alive, but then stopped. Abruptly, the light of hope vanished. Just like that, it could be taken. Just like that, darkness consumed the area once more.

"M..." Shimmer sputtered, removing her gauntlets from her helmet which now had a splatter of black blood on it. "Morn... how could you leave... now?" She fell silent as a crack of thunder erupted in the distance. As the Champion removed his hand from the now-dull sword.

"Morn?" he repeated, a name that softened his heart and calmed him briefly.

"That was his sword," she whispered. "That was the only thing left of him I had—"

"His soul was in that sword?" the Champion asked, his heart racing in confusion.

"And you took it from me like everything else!" she screamed, before thrusting her right gauntlet forward. The palm became illuminated by a deep blue glow.

"Afruval Gaharn!"

A swift energy bolt struck the Champion right in the helmet. He barely had the time to even recoil at the impact.

"Liaran Vlarix!"

Another bolt struck him in the shoulder, which immediately blew up and leaked a waterfall of blood.

"Furoein Glansadi!"

Shimmer took her steps forward slowly and cautiously without moving her right gauntlet except for reeling it back or up. Even without her orb and sword, a blue light appeared all over her form. Beneath her visor, the blue lay as well.

"Abalari Yavah Reisal Niarh!"

As the last word slipped off her tongue, her palm expanded its light until a massive ring of bolts appeared and sprang forward in an instant. Their clockwise formation was maintained as each one struck the Champion's chestplate, like it were carving out his heart. Once the final bolt landed, Shimmer clenched her right gauntlet.

The bolts dug into him. He could feel pain arise, knowing that she was heading straight for his heart. He was unsure of how she knew about his weak spot. Of why she would be doing this.

Or if she would be the one to slay him.

Before the Champion could fall on his knees for his lack of tolerance of pain, he instead pounded his right hand against his chest. One by one, he plucked out each of the bolts. Shimmer stopped in her tracks and kept trying to clench her gauntlet. But it was for naught.

He plucked out each and every one of them while watching her struggle. A smile formed under his helmet at the sheer satisfaction. When he tore out the last one, she threw her right gauntlet aside and took a step back, though she immediately brought it back up.

"Afruval Gaharn!"

She repeated the spell from earlier, which sent an energy bolt directly at the Champion's helmet. He let it hit him. It had nowhere near the effect on him than last time. There was no sudden pain. A fear that he would feel more of it. A fear that more would come to burn away his helmet, then the rest of him.

He had no fear any longer.

The Champion finally stepped forward as another bolt struck him in the chest. Each step forward was a step backward for Shimmer, who continued to utter her spells as quickly as possible. It was clear she was running out of strength. And time.

"Stay... back..." she demanded, and fired another bolt at him.

He sustained the projectile in his neck, taunting her by cocking his head around.

"Abuum..." she chanted, but fell into a stammering fit. "Abuum... abuum... a... buum..."

Shimmer stopped in her tracks and fell on her knees, her gauntlets lying limp on the muddy floor around her where many corpses were. The Champion had even forgotten they were there. Who knows how many he stepped in?

"Oh!" Jewel exclaimed in a burst of joy. The Champion caught a glimpse of his brother standing over Shimmer's defeated form. It seemed like his dream had come true; he had never sounded this happy before. At least genuinely.

"Brother, it seems the time has come!" Jewel looked over his shoulder at the Champion, who finally reached him and stopped to look down at Shimmer. He could easily stomp on her helmet to kill her there and then. But he knew she deserved more than that.

"What time?" he asked.

"You know," Jewel remarked, his eyes and smile showing nothing but excitement.

"I don't."

"Tis a time of redemption!" Jewel announced boldly, before crouching down so he was level with Shimmer's fallen form. There was no more blue anywhere, not even her open palms. Only a distant flash of lightning displayed her messy state. All just to die like this.

"Redemption," the Champion repeated, disappointed. "There is no redemption. I did what I did in the past. I'm doing what I'm doing now. There are no wrongs; there are only executed actions."

"Really?" Jewel asked, looking at him with bored eyes. "Actually, I don't care. All of those missteps will matter not because it only delayed what needed to be done." He looked back at Shimmer and grasped the bottom of her helmet with his hand that continuously broke formation at the raging downpour. "Now, this little creature can be ended. This truly terrible creature that almost ruined everything!"

"Don't call her that!" the Champion snapped with venom.

Jewel let his hand drift off Shimmer's still helmet, not even facing his brother as the coward he was.

"I've always pondered about why I was chosen," Jewel spoke quietly, his gaze set on Shimmer's limp gauntlet. "You were the strongest, smartest, and most sinister one. You could accomplish anything." He shook his head. "But of course... you have a damned heart. You develop this..." he fanned his arm out wearily, "childish dream! You want to fit in with the rest of these horrible creatures..." he sighed and withdrew his arm. "I did, too, you know."

The Champion shifted his gaze onto Shimmer. He knew he didn't have the strength to kill her. No matter how much he could lie to himself about having the most glorious kill ever imaginable, it could not be done. 

"They rejected me," Jewel continued, rage consuming what used to be weariness and remorse, as he slammed his fist against a nearby corpse. Void particles immediately devoured the body whole, soon spreading to the rest around. "They took one look at me... and cast me off! Ye filthy monster, they said..." he madly chuckled. "A monster! They called me a monster! Me out of all people!"

He clenched his fists with a flash of lightning and roar of thunder to show the immense progress of the void devouring all the corpses around. And yet, Shimmer remained untouched.

"I could never deal with such shame again," Jewel sneered, looking at the defeated knight ahead of him. "So I made it where I could never be talked down to. Never made a fool of. Never. Called. A. Monster!"

Jewel thrust his hands around Shimmer's neck. Though, instead of having no effect at all, she reacted. She put both her gauntlets around those strangling her, like it was real. Like Jewel was actually there in the flesh.

"Never again!" Jewel yelled in utter rage. "You will all be bowing under a new ruler! How could you call me a monster, then?! Your precious ruler? You can't!"

"Stop... stop..." Shimmer gargled, unable to pry off Jewel's iron claws.

The Champion watched the scene unravel as his heart beat. Calmly. It was all he could hear. Like a serene river, he felt nothing but clarity and peace. At last, he could see clearly.

He could finally grasp his own voice.

In one motion, the Champion thrust his right hand out, with the sword flying to his palm, then brought it high above him. When Jewel's enraged eyes shifted onto him, soon to be replaced with confusion, he swung.

He lodged his sword right in his brother's head, black blood spraying everywhere. With energy fueling his arms, he pushed the blade further and further down until he struck mud. Jewel's form split into half and fell into a puddle of black substance. There was nothing more to see or hear of him. Only the calm downpour. The serenity of his heart. He felt free of all the voices.

"Parvust Barlar Garvila Navast!" Shimmer chanted suddenly, which depicted a newfound strength in her once-weak voice.

Darkness swarmed the Champion's vision until light replaced its nemesis.

He was in a place he had never thought he would return to.