A Skill was a way to bend the world to one's will. The people who were proficient in using skills all had powerful willpower. In some ways they were stubborn, unflinching, unchanging. They were able to stand in the middle of the storm and refuse to be moved by it. And the more they walked down the path of skills, the more grounded they became, the more rigid their entire being became. The more powerful and unyielding their belief became, so much so that a single thought was enough to bend the world around.

Anatalien remembered the past, the life that she had lived so long ago that it sometimes felt like it wasn't hers to begin with. In that life, Sigmund, had always been a leader. He had the ability to change peoples minds with words alone, to speak and inspire, to evoke emotion. He had enough willpower to carry those around him who did not. With a single speech he could help them take on a monster swarm, stare death in the eye without flinching.

The world had been different then, there was more danger, the territories were not yet fully tamed. And Sigmund had done more to help shape the world than many that had come before him.

It seemed only logical, then, to bolster his talent with Skills as his secondary focus. They didn't know as much then, they still didn't really, skills evolved in ways that could be predicted, but there were elements that were still left to what sometimes felt like chance.

So when his willpower pushed his skill to its ultimate evolution, it was hard for him to accept. Because it robbed him of his greatest strength, the ability to speak to the hearts of people around him. Instead, it made it so that every word spoken was heard by the world itself. The Framework was not equal for all, power had a cost, but not all paid the same price.

His power was one that was hard to train, hard to understand. What he said, the world made into reality, and not always in the ways that one expected. They hadn't understood exactly how it worked for a long time, but eventually they realized that his thoughts, his intent, mattered. It wasn't until recently, when she and Ryun had started to experiment more, that Tali realized that it was deeper than that. With every command he spoke, the meaning of his Soul leaked through the Essence used to form his words, and that was what actually made the world move. It was why sometimes things would happen that his words did not precisely mean. It was why sometimes, just a single ambiguous word would carry an iron clad meaning.

When the world turned black, when the heat around her scorched her skin and burned her robes, when she knew the end was coming, his word echoed against the world.

"LIVE."

It was a simple word, with many meanings, but she knew instantly that he meant only one. The meaning of his Soul flowed through that word, and the world heard his plea. She felt it on all the levels it impacted the world. The black fire rose over her, but she felt no pain, no heat. The world bent and twisted around her, it screeched as it tried to obey his command.

Tali couldn't see anything, she couldn't hear anything, it was as if the world around her disappeared, like she was isolated from it on a level that she had never experienced before.

She felt a familiar willpower wrap itself around her like a physical thing, keeping everything away from her. It stabbed into her body and Soul, her Qi was frozen under immense pressure and her entire being felt a like it was being squeezed.

She couldn't move, she couldn't think, the willpower held her in a tight grasp. And even though she knew that it meant her no harm, it was not a gentle thing.

And then, it was all over. The world returned, and scorching heat hit her entire body. She winced and closed her eyes as she felt the liquid in them boil. She felt blisters forming on her skin and beat her wings, the wind around her had gone mad, the currents were erratic and wild. She fumbled, flying without being able to open her eyes, without being able to take a breath. Then, she was out, and in the air that was colder, though still hot.

She opened her eyes, her stats healing her enough that she could see. There was a dark pillar in front of her, an area of intense heat haze, of waves and fire turning in a circle, the aftermath of Awirren's attack.

She looked around at all the devastation, and then fell to her knees. She knew already, she had felt the intent of Sigmund's will. Even still, her tired will poured into her skill. The air currents all around her were broken, recovering from the aftereffects of whatever it was that Awirren had done, but she used them to see. She searched all around her, in every direction, and found no sign of Sigmund or Awirren.

"No," she whispered to herself. "No, no, no. Eratemus, I need-" she focused on her hand, on her storage ring and noticed that it had melted off her mangled hand. Then she noticed that others had been damaged as well.

The ring on her forefinger that protected her from soul damage cracked and crumbled into dust. It had protected her from Soul damage, but if it was too much for even an Eternal tier item, then... She already knew.

Her breathing started to accelerate, and a breath hitched in her throat. She closed her eyes, her sense still sweeping her surrounding, not finding what she was looking for. She shook her head, crossed her arms around her stomach and hunched over on her knees. She was hurting all over, but this pain was deeper, it cut into her in a way that made everything else she had experienced before feel like it was nothing at all.

She knew Awirren's power, she remembered the pain on her soul, and that last attack of hers. Tali raised her head and looked up at the area that was a whirling mess of burned Essence. Space itself had been destroyed, Light was fracturing as it was trying to get through, rock debris was floating as there was no Gravity pushing it down, Wind was barely able to pass through, freezing as if for moments it just didn't know what to do, as if Time itself didn't flow properly in the place where the pillar had passed.

Her vision grew blurry as tears started to flow down her cheeks, long lines carving a path through the soot and blood that covered her.

Live. All that he had, he had put into that one word and given to her, all his remaining willpower, just to save her. After all this time, she came back into his life, only to get him killed. Awirren was dead, and... Ryun was right, it wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth this. He should've saved himself.

She sat there, unable to move, frozen by the result of her own actions. And then, her skill screamed inside her head, and she didn't react fast enough.