He heard it before he saw it – a shriek that rose above the screaming crowd.

Bright silver flames erupted against the side of Harshnag’s head, covering half his face and igniting his beard.

He screamed and tipped sidesways, his foot crashing down beside Pavel. He smashed at his face, axe crashing to the sands below, as the smell of burning hair filled the air.

Pavel ripped his head to the side.

In stark defiance to the chaos of the screaming and fleeing crowd above them, Serena stood alone on the sands, a smoking hand raised towards Harshnag. The color of her eyes had changed to a brilliant pale blue, and she glared at the giant as though she could bore a hole through him. She still wasn’t wearing her choker, and as Pavel stared, it even seemed as if her skin had somehow gotten darker – a deep tan rather than its usual white.

Harshnag bellowed and pushed himself up.

Serena took a step forward and thrust her other hand towards the giant, index and pinky fingers pointed out.

A small silver ball screamed out from her between them and smashed into Harshnag’s shoulder, blossoming into brilliant silver flames.

The giant screamed and fell back onto a knee, slapping at his body as the flames licked against his skin.

Pavel could only stare.

Across the way, the older cleric from before appeared behind Serena and grabbed her shoulders – Pavel didn’t see him run out onto the sands. He shook her, and while Pavel couldn’t hear him over the screams of the crowd, his wrinkled seemed pale with fear.

The ground shook, jerking Pavel about, pain flaring in his body. Wincing, he glanced to his side.

Harshnag, flames now extinguished, had smashed the sand with a closed fist. Smoke curled up from his shoulder, and the rage from before burned bright in his eyes.

He shoved himself up and roared; forgetting his axe, Harshnag charged across the sands empty handed.

Serena’s hands flew into a series of signs; the cleric screamed and latched onto her.

A second before the giant’s fist came crashing down, the pair disappeared in a puff of silvery mist.

And reappeared right next to Pavel.

Serena remained on her feet as the cleric collapsed to the ground, eyes trained on a frustrated and confused Harshnag.

“– name are you thinking?!” the cleric screamed, voice cracking. He cowered in the sands next to Pavel. “What are we –”

Serena twisted around to face them; Pavel had never seen eyes so bright a blue.

“Stop whining and get Pavel away!” She screamed in their heads before turning back towards Harshnag.

The cleric began to respond, only to scream as Harshnag turned towards them, his face twisted into a sneer. He grabbed Pavel with shaking hands and tried to pull him away.

More pain flared inside Pavel, radiating from his back and into his arms; he gritted his teeth, and fought back a scream. The cleric could barely pull him along, swearing and panicking, the two of them barely moving a foot. All the while, the screams of the crowd continued to flood through the coliseum, as though everyone were oblivious to their plight.

Silver flames erupted into Serena’s palms; she flung her hands forward, unleashing five rippling streaks of flames, screaming towards Harshnag.

He raised an arm; the flames exploded harmlessly over his armor.

Serena’s shoulders slouched as she began to pant.

The giant bellowed, his voice carrying over the coliseum, and charged.

“Oh gods!” The cleric screamed, freezing in place. Pavel tensed up.

Serena braced herself, pulled her hands back, and pressed her palms together.

With effort, as though they were stuck together, she pulled her palms apart, revealing a maelstrom of silver flame that raged between her hands, licking up towards her arms, shedding a brilliant glow across her body.

Harshnag roared.

And Serena matched it.

She flung her hands forward, falling to her knees, sending the silver flames streaking towards the giant.

Harshnag raised his arm right as he was upon her.

The silver flames smashed against him, grew, and covered the entirety of Harshnag’s body with a blinding silver flash.

Pain smashed into his eyes as Pavel looked away, spots forming in his vision. He couldn’t help but look back though, as Harshnag screamed.

The giant was sent careening back, arms flailing, as the silvery-white flames engulfed most of his body, transforming him into a massive walking torch. He continued to scream as he staggered backwards and collapsed into the sand, rolling franticly as the flames continued to eat away at him.

Pavel could only stare in horror. Bile rose in his throat as the stench of burning flesh filled the sands, and despite everything, he hoped Serena wasn’t trying to kill the giant.

As Harshnag flailed about, Serena turned and tried to stand up, only to collapsed back into the sand; her face twisted in pain, hand clutched to her chest, and she panted as though she’d just ran the length of the coliseum. Faint trails of smoke seemed to curl up from her body.

After a long moment, she shoved herself up, still panting, and staggered over to them. She fell to the ground again at Pavel’s feet, eyes wide, clutching at her chest with both hands now. The smoke seemed clearer now, and with Serena so close, Pavel could feel the heat that radiated off her, hotter than anything he’d felt before.

“Serena!” The cleric screamed, still tugging uselessly on Pavel. “I can’t move him! He’s too –”

A second pair of hands grabbed Pavel’s shoulders.

“For fucks sake!” Jo yelled from behind. “MOVE!”

The cleric yelped as she pulled with all her might, yanking Pavel back and dragging him through the sands.

Pavel screamed in pain.

“Pull man, pull!” She yelled. The cleric yelped again and began to tug more on Pavel, pulling him a bit further.

Limp in their grasp, fighting the urge to pass out, Pavel could only watch as he was pulled away from Serena, still on the ground and fighting off her own pain.

Behind her, Harshnag sat up. Though his hair still smoldered, most of the fire that consumed his body had finally been extinguished; the exposed skin on his arms, legs, and face had been horribly burned, icy blue skin turned to a sickening white, with undertones of angry red. Most of the giant’s armor had been burned black, and as he shoved himself to his feet, ash fell off his body like snow.

Without a sound, he flipped his head towards Serena.

Fear ripped through Pavel’s chest worse than any knife.

Serena looked up, caught his gaze, and flipped around, landing on her back in the sand. She raised a hand towards Harshnag, only for silvery-orange fire to burst out and cover her arm. She shook it out and tried her other hand, only to get the same result.

Harshnag’s eyes narrowed. He began to stomp forward, movements stiff and gait slow.

Serena dug her heels into the sand and began shoving herself away.

Pavel tried to speak, only to spit out a bit of blood, his voice a gurgle, his mind hazy. Behind him, Jo and the cleric had begun to yell at one another as they continued pulling him back.

In just three steps, Harshnag loomed over Serena, fury burning in his eyes.

Serena flipped around, face alight with abject fear, and began to scramble to her feet.

As she did, the giant reached down with an opened hand.

Pavel screamed.

A flash of white.

Lighting smashed into Harshnag’s arm, blood spraying out like a fountain.

The giant howled and clutched the wound, teeth gritted, stumbling back.

Serena got to her feet and sprinted towards the three of them.

Another flash.

More lightning impacted into Harshnag, striking his chest; the giant screamed in pain as more blood sprayed about, sending him crashing back into the sands. He flailed about, grasping his chest as he continued to scream.

Serena rushed up to Pavel, grabbed his feet, and lifted them up – though not by much – and shoved him along, sending another bout of pain ripping through him. Sweat poured down her face and tunic, soaking it; her eyes were still wide with fear.

With Serena’s little bit of help, they quickly managed to get Pavel through the massive hole that Harshnag had made and into the coliseum. As they entered, Pavel caught a glimpse of Cruck’aa standing just outside. His arms were raised above his head, and it looked as though he was muttering something, though the instant they filed passed him, he dropped them.

Pavel was barely dragged a few feet into the coliseum before he was unceremoniously dropped to the ground, everyone staggering away from him. Though he couldn’t see where Jo and the cleric went, he did see Serena – still sweating – stagger away from him, face twisted in pain, and lean her shoulder against a pillar. She hunched over and scratched furiously at her chest. Above them, Pavel could still faintly hear massive rush of people trying to escape the coliseum.

Jo suddenly entered Pavel’s vision as she jogged past him and over to Serena. A second later, a pair of hands pressed into his shoulders; when he looked up, the cleric was kneeling over him, sweat dripping from his forehead.

“O-okay,” he panted, completely out of breath. “lets uh…get you…patched up.”

The cleric began to undue the straps on Pavel’s armor, pulling it off and depositing it to the side. He grasped Pavel’s tunic by the collar and ripped it apart – easy when it was already torn – so he could examine Pavel’s chest.

“Good…lord.” He heard the cleric whisper. “How did you…ah, well, uhm…I’ll get you fixed in no time!” He gently laid his hands atop Pavel’s bruised and broken chest. “Now, this is going to hurt a lot so…just brace yourself.”

A faint light began to pour from his hands, a sharp pain quickly following as he felt his flesh begin to reknit itself. His ribs suddenly exploded with pain, causing him to bite through his tongue, blood filling his mouth. His head light, Pavel turned to the side and spat out the blood, then glanced back towards Serena.

She was fully leaning against the pillar now, head rested against it, her eyes closed. Her tunic, completely soaked through with sweat, had been pulled out of her skirt and unbuttoned, exposing her chest; she looked as though she’d just stepped out of a bath. Jo was still with her, supporting her with a hand on her shoulder, while Cruck’aa stood to the side – his face a scowl – flapping his wings towards her, blowing air across her body.

Pavel opened his mouth to speak, only for more blood to spill out. The cleric grabbed his head, turned it, and laid it on the stone floor.

“Keep your head straight.” He mumbled. “Easy to work. Be over in a moment.” He shook his head. “How you survived…”

Pavel never heard the rest of the cleric’s words; another wave of pain crashed against his body, sending the hallway around him into a tailspin. He held on for only a few seconds longer, before he finally lost his grip on consciousness, plunging into a blissful oblivion.