Elincia's Point of View

Capital of Vithari - Dwardew

We watched in horror as Arthur’s body fell from the sky, lifeless. Typhon rushed forward. He was the only one to do so, and I quickly grabbed him with my uninjured arm. He struggled in my grasp for a moment before I shook him, and he looked at me with tears in his eyes. I glared at the boy. Slowly, I let go of him before gesturing to him to be quiet.

Turning my attention skyward to the Wraith and cloaked figure who had dispatched Arthur, I felt despair. My magic was gone, and Arthur had been dealt with so readily. Even Ventari and Kheri were shaking in fear at the situation. Everyone instinctively knew how serious this was.

Thankfully, neither the Demon nor the cloaked newcomer’s attention seemed to be on us. “We need to get to Arthur.” I said in the tiniest voice I could muster.

Kheri looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on her. “You think he’ll come back to life again?”

I nodded. “It is the only chance we have.”

From above, we heard the first exchange begin. “Ugh. You steal magic?” The cloaked figure asked in an annoyed tone. “How annoying. Not to mention unoriginal.” He then attacked the Wraith in what appeared to be a very one-sided confrontation.

“This is the only chance we are going to get. We need to get down there and find his body!” I told the group.

“I’ll fly down there. I’m pretty sure I saw where his body fell.” General Kheri stated, and I frowned as I felt shockwaves shake my entire being as parts of the cavern started to collapse once more. “I can get to him faster than anyone here.”

“Are you sure about this?” I asked her.

She shook her head with a grim look as she flinched from the battle above. “No.” Spreading her wings, she jumped from the baths and down to the city.

Kheri's Point of View

Capital of Vithari - Dwardew

“What the fuck is going on?” I whispered to myself.

First, we crash land in the middle of the Demon Army in a kingdom under siege. Then, Arthur scares them off and secures our defenses, only for them to be breached a few hours later. Next, he’s assassinated while squaring off against the Demon Commander, and the Priestess thinks he’ll come back to life.

Landing on one of the rooftops, I started to scan the area where he fell. “If I make it back to Lestrania, I’m going to hurt Greigh and Ziah for convincing me to come here…”

A stream of blood seemed to be flowing into the street from behind one of the houses. Hopping over with a flap of my wings, I looked down in hope. After what the Priestess said, part of me expected Arthur to already be dead. Instead, his eyes locked on mine with a fury I didn’t quite expect from a man barely put together. After all, his legs were folded under his body and barely attached to the skin on the side of his abdomen.

Jumping down, I landed next to him. “Arthur…” I said and trailed off as my hands hovered over him, unsure of what to do.

“Kah.” He grunted out, but it was mostly blood.

My eyes locked onto his once more. “What is it? What do you want me to do?”

“Kak!” Arthur tried again, only to cough more violently.

His eyes hardened as I put my hand on my cheek. “Don’t talk!” I urged him. “Maybe we can-“ I stopped when I felt a small push on my side, and I looked at him.

‘Kheri.’ He mouthed silently. ‘Move. My. Lower. Half.’ Arthur’s lips worded.

My brows furrowed. “I don’t think that’s going to help. Your organs-“ Another small push from an invisible force.

‘Just. Do. It.” A snarl came to his lips as blood poured from them.

“Do you realize how little skin is actually holding you together?” A glare was all I got in return, and I just sighed. “Alright, but don’t blame me if this goes wrong.” Then I looked at him once more as I maneuvered myself around. “This might be a little uncomfortable.” He deadpanned me. “Yeah, given your current state, I suppose it couldn’t be much worse. Give me a minute.”

And so, ever so carefully, I unfolded and twisted Arthur’s body. If I make it back to Lestrania, this will be the strangest thing I’ve ever done.

My eyes glanced back to Arthur, who only looked annoyed at best. ‘Hurry. Up.’

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah! I know! Give me a minute! This isn’t exactly something I’m well versed in!”

Once his body was unfolded and pushed together, I saw it start to reconnect to each other. Skin regrew along with organs while Arthur’s magic shot across his body. He would grunt every now and then, but he seemed more impatient than anything. It wasn’t until I heard another deafening blow that I turned away from him and looked up.

The fight was brutal, and parts of the Capital were being destroyed with little afterthought. Hearing some grunting, my attention turned back to Arthur to see him stand up shakily while his upper body moved rather grotesquely. He still wasn’t reconnected all the way. As gross as it was, I moved to help hold him up.

He grunted as I supported him. “I don’t think anything will ever top how strange this is…”