“You’re talking a lot of shit for someone who hasn’t managed to win a single fight yet,” Delph said, digging his fingers into the air before him. Gray energy warped around his fingers, and he ripped his hand downward.

The air shattered, splitting into fragments all around Second. Green energy flickered around the man and Delph’s spell passed through him, ravaging the ranks of the Corruption behind him.

Second laughed. He raised his hands into the air. Green spores poured out from between his bandages, rapidly filling the air like fog and rolling out toward them. Anything they touched melted to green slag instantly.

Henry curled his fingers and drew an enormous amount of Ether into himself. A massive purple eye snapped open in the air above them, blocking out the sky. Countless small portals to the Void snapped open, swallowing the Corrupted energy before it could touch anything else.

“I’ll keep him from melting everyone and make sure the other Corruption can’t regenerate,” Henry said, his voice taut with concentration.

A green tendril erupted from Second’s stomach and thrust into the ground like a sickly root, bulging and twisting as it punched into the earth. Sylph shoved Damien out of the way moments before a green spike covered with dripping acid shot out beneath him.

It sprouted, shooting out in every direction and forcing Sylph and Delph to dive out of the way to avoid getting impaled. More roots wiggled free of Second’s bandaged body, their tips turning to jagged blades. They spun around him, forming a forest of deadly, acid covered weapons.

“Incinerate.” Damien commanded, grabbing his staff from the Void. Grayscale washed over the world and a sheet of black flame washed from his hands with a roar, completely enveloping Second.

Air rushed as the Void empowered flame swallowed everything it touched, leaving a vacuum behind. It faded away, leaving only two smoldering stumps where Second’s legs had been.

Bandages whipped up from the ground, and Second rebuilt himself by the time the last smoldering ashes had fallen to the ground. His body rippled as green growths pushed their way back out from within him. They erupted outward in every direction, splattering acid over the scorched battlefield.

Henry enveloped Damien and Sylph in a black sphere moments before the Corrupted vines could hit them. It sizzled as they wound around the magic, trying to squeeze them out of it. A pulse of purple energy erupted from Henry’s chest, passing through the shield harmlessly before connecting with the vines.

They burst apart, falling to the ground in a fine mist. Henry released the shield and Sylph vanished. She reappeared behind Second, her scythes carving into his body before Damien even saw her move.

Sharp vines burst from the wounds she’d made, forcing Sylph to dance back. By the time her feet were on the ground, Second’s wounds had healed again. She blinked, raising a hand to her cheek. Despite her speed, one of the vines had left a thin cut on it.

Happenstance took that moment to strike. Red energy enveloped his body, and he bounded forward, appearing before Second and driving a fist into his skull. Second’s head popped, splattering acid everywhere.

A vine erupted from his neck and whipped around Happenstance’s arm. The Dean flared with Ether, but he was half a second too slow. His arm split from his body and thumped to the ground as the vine carved clean through flesh and bone.

Happenstance sent a wave of rolling red lightning into Second and threw himself back, rolling to avoid another whipping vine. He staggered as he came up, blood pouring from the wound. Gritting his teeth, Happenstance pressed his other hand to the stump of his arm. Lightning crackled and he cauterized the wound, adding more burnt flesh to the acrid smells filling the air.

The Corruption around them surged forward. Damien thrust his hands out, forming dozens of Void-empowered gravity spheres in a circle. They all went off as one, splitting the air with a loud crack as stone shattered and monsters were torn to shreds.

Delph charged at Second. Vines erupted in a wall before the professor, then wrapped around him in a huge dome. They thudded to the ground as his axe carved through them and Delph launched out from within the dome.

He swung his axe for the base of Second’s neck, aiming to split him in half diagonally. Second leaned to the side, narrowly dodging the attack. With the same move, he drove a hand into Delph’s chest.

Green light flashed and Delph’s armor let out a metallic squeal. He launched backward, punching clean through several Corrupted monsters and vanishing into the horde as they collapsed on him.

“He’ll be fine,” Henry snarled as Damien turned to move after him. “Focus on the problem.”

“The Voidling is correct,” Second said, thrusting his hands forward. His bandages unraveled, reaching out for Damien. They vanished into a black hole as Damien cast Devour and let the spell snap shut, severing the bandages.

Second snarled, yanking his hands back. What remained of his bandages rewound around his hands, but his green-tinged fingertips were left bare. Second thrust his hands into the air above him. A sickly green rune circle erupted above him. Sylph narrowed her eyes and blurred, slamming her hand into his stomach.

The rune circle vanished, and Sylph vaulted backward. A vine still caught her in the chest, carving a bloody furrow. She skidded to a stop beside Damien, the wound already sealing.

“No using Ether for you,” Sylph said. “It would be rude to try to freeze me out of the fight.”

A loud explosion rocked the ground. Corrupted monsters flew into the air and Delph charged out from within the horde, his axe burning with Void energy. Happenstance sent another wave of red lightning coursing over Second in an attempt to distract him.

Second ignored it completely, turning to face Delph as the professor appeared before him. He took the axe to the chest and grabbed Delph’s shoulders as they both crashed to the ground. Vines slithered out of his hands, punching into the professor’s shoulders and back.

Delph rolled off Second, staggering as he rose to his feet. The wound the axe had left on Second’s chest sizzled, Void energy rising off it. Slowly, Second rose to his feet. Delph stumbled and coughed into his fist, splattering blood across it.

“You might need to find healing,” Second wheezed. “My acid is not compatible with mortal life.”

Delph’s response was to bring his axe down on Second’s head. Bandages shot to block the attack, but it carved through them and split Second straight down the middle. Black fire raced along the wound, but it sputtered out.

Second’s body started to knit itself back together, letting out squelching pops. Sylph tackled Delph out of the way as a vine burst from the ground behind him, nearly impaling him through the back of his head.

She blurred, dragging him back to Damien and Henry. Happenstance glanced over at them, his face slightly pale from bloodloss.

“I don’t suppose any of you have literally any idea how to defeat this… thing?” Happenstance asked. The Corruption pressed closer, and he sent a wave of lightning screaming over them, frying the nearest ones.

“I’m focused on keeping everything we kill from regenerating and suppressing the Corrupted magic,” Henry snarled. “If I stop, it’ll melt through your weak mortal fleshbags like nothing. Even Sylph isn’t going to be able to handle that long.”

“If Second has always been this strong, why didn’t he try to do this before?” Damien asked. “It does not make sense.”

“He never had this many Corrupted monsters on the Mortal Plane,” Henry replied. “Without them, he can’t regenerate like this. I have no way to completely cut him off on my own. He’s too powerful.”

Delph coughed up blood again. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and straightened, taking a ragged breath. “Havel and I can damage him. It takes him longer to heal from wounds that the Void inflicts.”

“Not fast enough,” Henry growled. “We need to change our strategy if any of you want to survive.”

Second’s split head reconnected itself and he shuddered as the last of the Void energy vanished. He rolled his neck and pointed at Damien. Corruption gathered around his fingertip. Before Damien could Warp Step, Delph hurled his axe.

It spun once as it flew through the air, then slammed into Second’s head and threw him to the ground.

“That aught to buy us another few seconds,” Delph said, coughing. “Suggestions?”

Damien’s hands clenched as he desperately searched, trying to think of anything that they could use. His eyes widened slightly as an idea struck him.

“I think I know something that could work.”

“Better hurry. He’s almost healed, and now he’s got Delph’s axe,” Happenstance said through gritted teeth.

“Sylph, do you remember the panther strategy?” Damien asked as Second rose back to his feet, his head reconnected once more.

Sylph nodded.

“We’re doing the reverse.”

She blinked, then nodded. Vines erupted all around Second, surging toward them. Damien cut them off with a wall of Void-empowered fire, only leaving a tiny spot open. Sylph dashed through it, blurring as she shot over the vines and slammed into Second. He stumbled back and lashed out at her. Sylph focused all her energy on avoiding the attacks, blurring from spot to spot to keep ahead of Second and only striking whenever he tried to turn his attention away.

Second continued to pressed toward Damien, using his vines to fend Sylph off and mostly ignoring her. Despite that, as close as she was to Second, it was impossible to avoid all of the vines. If it hadn’t been for her Corrupted abilities, she probably would have died several moves into the fight. Instead, what should have been fatal blows sealed over and she continued to buzz around him.

“You are wasting my time,” Second snarled. “If you’re so insistent on it, then I’ll deal with you first.”

He turned his full attention toward Sylph for just an instant. His hand shot out and he grabbed Sylph by the throat.

“Those are my powers, girl,” Second hissed. “And I know exactly how far they can go without sustenance.”

Sylph thrashed as green energy poured into her. Henry blurred, and the eye in the air above them vanished. The Corrupted magic that had been seeping out from Second, now uncontested, roiled forth once more.

Henry ignored it as he appeared beside Second. His hand carved through the man’s arm and he grabbed Sylph, teleporting back to Damien – right as Damien finished his work.

Cracked Void runes flared behind Second, forming in the moment he was distracted. A jagged portal stretched open. Second noticed it a second too late. Damien charged, slamming into him. Corrupted magic touched anything that wasn’t covered his mage armor, racking his body with pain.

Luckily, he was well used to that.

Both of them flew into the portal. Henry and Sylph dashed through right after them, and the spell snapped shut.

Damien and Second landed in the snow, skidding across it. Pushing the agony back, Damien threw himself away from Second and called on the Void as hard as he could. It flowed through his body, pushing the Corruption out before it could do any more damage. He kept calling, using as much of the energy as his body would let him – and then some.

Sylph steadied him as he stumbled. The energy felt like it was chewing through his insides. Henry put a hand on his back as well, drawing some of the Void out and into himself. Second snarled, rising to his feet. Corrupted energy swirled around him like a maelstrom. “Do you think taking me to the Void will stop anything, Damien? I do not need the Ether. You do.”

“But now you can’t attack Delph or Happenstance.”

“You did all this to protect them?” Second asked, letting out a bark of laughter. “You can’t even protect yourself.”

“No,” Damien replied. “But that was a nice cover story, wasn’t it?”

The air rippled between them, and a gray figure stepped out from a warp in space. Their face was completely devoid of any features, and the Void covered them like a cloak.

“Did you know that the Void can feel huge pulls on its energy?” Damien asked as the Faceless turned to face Second.

Second took a step back, his obscured features crinkling in fear. Then he stopped, a dry laugh replacing everything else.

“That was your strategy? The Faceless cannot act on its own. It is an observer, cursed with power and no way to use it beyond forming slaves. All it can do is send its pawns out to play. How just. The Faceless has arrived to witness the end to its Cycle.”

“I didn’t try to call the Faceless for it to kill you,” Damien said, stepping up to the greatest Void creature. “I called it to finish something we started.”

“Damien?” Sylph asked, worry crossing her features. “What are you talking about?”

“It Who Heralds the End of all Light,” Damien said, “I wish to end our contract.”

“Your request is granted,” It Who Heralds the End of all Light responded from deep within him.

The Void exploded with power. Purple stars bloomed in the sky above them, and Herald burst free from Damien’s body, no further limits placed on his power. A massive face formed in the sky, its glowing eyes burning as it stared down.

As soon as it was gone, the Void within Damien started to burn. He could feel his organs trying and failing to control the violent energy on their own. He doubled over, coughing up blood. Wisps of black energy rose up from his tattoos, but they couldn’t contain the amount of energy he had within him.

“Damien!” Sylph screamed, catching him as he fell. “What are you doing?”

The Faceless pressed a hand to Damien’s back. A bolt of ice shot through his veins, and the world froze. All the pain vanished, and the only things that still moved on the snowy mountain were Damien and the Faceless.

“I know what you seek to do,” the Faceless said. “But I cannot turn you into a Void creature. That is a process that can only be done once. You overcame it, but without It Who Heralds the End of all Light, your body will fall apart holding this much of the Void.”

“Then you don’t know what I seek to do at all,” Damien said. “I appreciate the time-freeze, though.”

“If you don’t wish to become one of the Void, then what do you seek? I cannot act. Second is correct.”

“I don’t need you to act,” Damien replied, slipping out from Sylph’s frozen arms and kneeling on the snow. His finger traced through it as he drew a rune circle that had burned into his mind for years. It went a lot faster this time than it had the first. “I need you to make a contract.”

“You will die,” the Faceless said flatly. “Before you can do anything, you will die. A mortal cannot contain the Void itself. I am not even truly alive – you understand this, yes? I am the Void manifest.”

“Pure power given form,” Damien said with a grim nod. “I understand what you are.”

“Then you know you will simply burn out like a candle dipped into an inferno.”

“Sign the contract or watch the Cycle end. Two options.”

The Faceless cocked its head to the side. Several still seconds passed as the two of them watched each other. Then, slowly, it lowered its hand to the rune circle.

“I, Damien Vale, request to form a contract with the Faceless.”

“I accept,” the Faceless replied. “Goodbye, Damien Vale. It is rare that I meet such bravery, even if it is for naught. The Void will remember you.”

The world snapped back to motion and the Faceless vanished. Void energy screamed through the air, spiraling into Damien’s body and lifting it into the air. It blew Second’s magic to the side as it poured into him.

Wind screamed through the Void and the mountain shook violently. Damien threw his head back in a wordless scream. Pillars of Void magic surged into his mouth and eyes, filling every part of him.

And then there was silence.

Damien fell to the ground and the Void went still. Everyone stared at his limp body in disbelief.

Sylph dropped to her knees beside Damien, shaking him gently.

“Damien? Damien?”

He didn’t respond. Sylph shook him harder, tears trickling down her cheeks as she pulled his body closer. “Damien!”

Henry stared at his body, disbelief in his features. He opened his mouth, trying to find words, but nothing came through. For the first time since he had gained his emotions, Henry truly hated them.

He extended a hand toward Damien, nudging him gently. “Hey, what are you doing? You didn’t go and do something stupid, did you?”

“Fool,” Second said, lowering his hands. “But a selfless one. I know your commitment, Damien Vale. No mortal can contain the full strength of the Void. More than any, I know what it does to us. I am sorry that we fought, but know that I fought for you. This is over. The Faceless is bound in a corpse. One Void creature is not enough to stop me, It Who Heralds the End of all Light.”

The stars that made up Herald’s face twinkled. “Two.”

“Two are also not enough. There was a reason the Faceless sent six before,” Second said. “End this. If you have even a single spark of love for anything in existence, let this eternal war end. You were mortal, once – even if those memories have been burned. Ruined, just like everything else the Voice touches.”

Sylph’s shoulders trembled and she pulled Damien tightly to her chest, unable to form any more words. Henry tried to slip into Damien’s shadow and back into his mind, but it repelled him. There was nowhere to go.

“Damien?” Henry asked, his voice small.

“If you ever cared for the boy, then you’d understand what drives me,” Second snapped. “He was one of infinite. Think of all the other mortals that go through worse as the Void consumes them. Stand out of my way.”

Damien twitched. All of them, even Herald, froze. Every eye turned to Damien as his eyes fluttered open, burning with the intensity of a purple sun.

“How many times do I have to say,” Damien said, slowly rising to his feet as the Void started to gather around his body. “I am more than mortal.”