The wind roared from the cavern like a dying beast, tearing through Cassia's battle gown as she stood alone against the nightmare emerging from the Maw. The Warden's massive form filled the tunnel entrance, its body a grotesque fusion of Conclave armor and blackened flesh, its long limbs, claws that scraped against the stone with a sound like bones breaking.
Cassia's breath came in broken gasps. Her left arm hung useless at her side, the nano-fibers of her gown struggling to seal the deep tear on her bicep where the Warden's claws slashed. Gold and black veins pulsed visibly along her neck now, the Hollow Crown's energy flickering like a dying star.
"Little heir," the Warden crooned, its voice a chorus of the damned. "Your blood smells like home."
She spat blood onto the stones. "Come and taste it, then."
The creature moved faster than anything that size should. One moment it was ten meters away and the next, its claws were slicing toward her throat. Cassia twisted, bringing her dagger up which looked like a desperate parry. The impact sent shockwaves up her arm, the vibration nearly making her lose her grip.
She was too slow. Too weak.
The backhand struck her on the ribs, causing her to slam into the wall of the cavern. There was a sound of something breaking. The world faded in and out as she collapsed to the floor, her sight narrowing.
This is it, she thought distantly. This is how I—
Then the air itself screamed.
A shockwave of blue energy detonated through the tunnel, so powerful it sent the Warden stumbling back. Cassia's head snapped up—
—just in time to see Ryn Varrik emerge from the Maw's depths like some avenging spirit.
His right arm was completely different now, the crystalisation having spread past his elbow, each shard pulsing with that eerie blue light that felt like a heartbeat not ryn's but something else. His eyes felt like a god glanced upon her, his eyes—glowed with the same unearthly hue, veins of light branching across his face like cracks in porcelain.
The Warden recovered first. With a roar that can create tremors if underground.
Ryn didn't even flinch.
He moved.
One moment he was standing there and the very next, he'd crossed the distance in a blur of motion, his crystallized arm punching into the Warden's chest with a sound like shattering glass. The creature's armor exploded outward, black ichor spraying as Ryn's fist punched clean through its torso.
Cassia could only watch, breath caught in her throat, as Ryn twisted his arm with something in his hand that seems like it was a heart and the Warden came apart.
Flesh and metal peeled away in jagged strips, dissolving into black mist before they even hit the ground. The creature's final scream was cut short as Ryn's other hand closed around its throat—and squeezed.
Blue light flared. The Warden's head imploded.
Silence.
Then Ryn turned, his glowing eyes finding hers.
Cassia had seen men die for her before. Had seen warriors fight in her name. But this—this was something else entirely.
"You're late," she managed, her voice raw.
Ryn's lips quirked. The glow in his eyes dimmed slightly. "Had to stop for flowers."
A laugh tore from Cassia's throat—half-hysterical, half-relieved—before the pain in her ribs reminded her of their situation. She tried to push herself up, only to gasp as white-hot agony lanced through her side.
Strong hands caught her before she could fall. Ryn's touch was surprisingly gentle as he helped her lean back against the wall, his crystallized fingers careful against her wounds.
"Don't move," he murmured. "That rib's puncturing something important."
Cassia scoffed. "Everything's important."
The look he gave her was almost fond. Then his hand—his normal hand—pressed against her side, and the blue light from his crystals flowed into her skin.
Cassia arched with a gasp as warmth spread through her chest, the pain receding like tidewater. When she could breathe again, she looked down to see the worst of her wounds sealed—not healed, but stabilized.
Ryn's arm had darkened slightly, the blue glow dimmer now.
"You shouldn't have done that," she said quietly.
He shrugged. "You shouldn't have almost died."
Their eyes met. Something unspoken passed between them—something that made Cassia's pulse stutter despite the pain.
Then the ground heaved violently, reminding them both where they were.
Ryn stood, offering his non-crystallized hand. "We need to move."
Cassia took it. His grip was warm.
Behind them, the Maw waited.