Demons descended over them; hail in an already overwhelming storm. The rain crashed around them, and sobs thundered beneath. The metallic clicks were so easily overlooked. How could they hear it, until it was already upon them?

  Several black shadows wriggled over the Guardian, descending and inserting themselves between the Guardian and them. Mouse drew his sword, slashing at one as it ventured too close.

  When the Guardian cried out, the agony of a thousand thunders shattered his head, breaking apart his vision and throwing his balance into disarray. He stumbled, and when a demon lurched towards him, Taiga tackled it, tossing it to the side and rolling to his feet.

  Two demons ran at him, but Mouse knocked them back, fending off their claws and teeth through sheer force. Another thunder shook his core, and stiffened his bones, sending him crumbling to the ground.

  “I can’t,” Mouse shot his sword up, flinging its edge into a demon’s jaw as it jumped at him. “I can’t understand what you’re saying!”

  Another boom cracked his eardrum, paralyzing his legs and dropping him into the pooling water. The rain beat over his back, lulling him deeper into the water. Pain burned his shoulder, searing flesh.

  He cried out, ripping away from a demon as it sank its teeth into him. Blood splashed into the water, sizzling with acid. Taiga swung at the demon, spinning between him and it, backing up and looking over at the damage.

  “You good?” Taiga shouted over the rain. Mouse managed a nod, breathing the pain out and struggling to his feet.

  As Mouse opened his mouth to tell him he was fine, a roar trembled his nerves, freezing them and sending him back to the ground. “Just give me a minute, I’m trying to understand!” He yelled through bated breaths.

  “Help me understand what’s wrong,” he mumbled as he pulled his shaky legs beneath him.

  Heat drooled from his ears, and he dabbed them, the hot red sliding through his fingers. His head spun, vision stitched together out of order. Tears fell from the sky, reflecting his pain and struggle in them.

  He stood though his body wore him down. His fingers gripped his sword, blood washing from them as quickly as it came. Taiga pulled back, his face splashed with blue.

  “Mouse, it’s too far gone.”

  “I haven’t even tried yet.” His voice strained, throat raw. He swallowed back the taste of metal.

  “Mouse, it—”

  “They just need help!” He bashed his sword against a demon’s arm, sloshing through the rising water. He swung his sword back to the demon, the metal tip slicing through its belly. Entrails spilled as it screamed in clicks barely heard over the rain and cries.

  Taiga made eye contact with him, and Mouse stared him down for four, five, six breaths. “Fine.” Taiga agreed, turning to push another demon back. “I’ll hold them back for now.”

  Mouse nodded, pulling himself forward until he got the momentum to run to the Guardian. He pushed his arms into the furs again, feeling the warmth burning from beneath the thick coat.

  “Please, hear me.” Mouse closed his eyes. The constant drum of the rain pulled away, and the warmth of the sun pooled in him. He held onto this warmth, letting it rapture his heart and flow through him.

  Another sob stripped him of the heat, splashing the drenches of fear and frost into him. He shivered, and the rain pounded against him again. “Please, hear me.”

  His arms trembled, wanting to return back to his side. Furs shook with each cry, quills the length of his person quivered between the hair, touching him. A large paw shielded over their face. Blues, oranges, and pinks hid its white face.

  Mouse grasped the tufts of fur in his hand, using the quills for footholds, and pulled himself up the side of the Guardian. Rain plastered against his face, his fingers hurt, his mind disoriented. But he couldn’t give up on this.

  “Hear me.” He used the words as a mantra, pulling himself closer to the Guardian’s face. He climbed over its arm, steadying his feet in it.

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  Talons barred his way to their face, so slid around, clutching the hair to keep his weak limbs from caving in. At the crown of their head, he petted them, hushing their whimpers. He reached his hands down to their flesh, “hear me.”

  He closed his eyes, letting the warmth in his palms spread up his arms and through his chest. He focused on it, a sun at its rise as it peaked to welcome the field to the day. The wind whispered with it the secrets of the ancients long past, whirling him around and toppeling him over. The words were meaningless to him, much like butterflies following the flow of music. They bent and swayed in the sun’s warmth.

  Ah, the Guardian’s name was Ttafaschu.

  The light of the day.

  “Why… are you here?” Mouse whispered. The furs of the Guardian draped over his back, protecting him from the rain. “Your home is to the south, my friend. Do you remember me?”

  No memories laid within their mind, and Mouse’s heart dropped from him. Instead, as he opened his eyes, the fur of the Guardian tightened around him. It gripped his ankles and wrists. It pulled him off and flicked him away. But Mouse held fast, clenching around the fur on his right arm.

  The fur shot ice through his veins, and he dropped, tumbling into a cavern of ice and agony. The cries echoed through the chamber, trembling him and the ice around him. Thunderous tears splashed into the cave, turning quick to waterfalls, pooling around his legs and filling the chasm.

  He grabbed hold of a shelf of ice, but it crumbled under his touch, melting from his fire and warmth. He touched the wall of the cavern, and it turned to slush in his grasp. Further and further it melted, until he was freed and could scream.

  “You have to tell me what’s wrong!” He swished his sword in front of them, ignoring the rain pelleting against him again. “You cannot trap me in your prisms and force me away!”

  The Guardian sniffled, the dark eyes of their mask peeking between talons. Mouse bared his teeth, taking another step towards the Guardian. “I will help you! So don’t fight me!”

  Their claws lowered from their face. Mouse kept still, and the white mask descended before him. The Guardian uncurled, looking at him. Their fur flared, quills spreading, feathers ruffled.

  A silence fell between the clatter of the rain. Then, the mask pulled back, splitting around the seam and dripping pink blood. The bottom of the mask opened, revealing the eternity of the Abyss within.

  A roar howled from the Guardian. Mouse’s mind shattered into the screams of infinite terrors, ripping through his skull and forcing ice between his teeth. The force dropped him to the ground. He sucked in his breath, choking on the heavy rain that found him instead.

  A great arm of the Guardian raised up before smashing against him, tossing him like a doll. Soft gentle grasses caught him, stringing around his arms and legs until he hit something hard, jerking him to a halt.

  “You hurt?” Taiga reached his arms over him, checking him over quickly.

  Something hot and moist dripped on Mouse’s cheek, drawing his attention upwards. Taiga hovered over him, blood covering his brow and chin. “I’ll be fine.”

  Mouse reached up, touching Taiga’s chin. Wood protruded covering any wound made. “And you?”

  “I’ve got it.” Though the fog was thick, he could make out the grass strapped around several demons. Their arms and legs were bound and most on their stomachs, unmoving aside from their clicking growls and glowing eyes.

  “Mouse, it’s gone. The Guardian isn’t—”

  “We don’t know that. I just need to try something different.”

  “Mouse—”

  “That’s all,” he spat, pulling himself forward and back onto his feet. “You hear that?” Mouse waved to the Guardian, raising his voice over the rain. “I will save you!”

  The Guardian watched him, turning itself around on all fours. Pink blood spilled over the mask’s eyeholes. Mouse took a shaky step towards them, but the Guardian recoiled. After watching him a few more moments, the Guardian lurched back and howled again.

  The rain split around the force of the howl, driving back into Mouse and Taiga. Mouse shielded himself, the rain icing into crystals and piercing his forearm, like needles in a tapestry. He bore the pain, digging his boots down to keep from being pushed back.

  “I will save you!” Mouse yelled again. The Guardian swung his tail out, and Taiga yanked Mouse back, summoning grass in front of them and letting it take the brunt of the attack. They were knocked back, and Mouse tumbled and rolled back onto his feet.

  The Guardian turned, running from them with another howling sob. Mouse took chase, leaping over a demon. The demon’s bindings loosened, and it clawed at Mouse, but he jerked back, avoiding the talons.

  “Mouse!” Taiga kicked the demon’s head and forced the grass tight beneath him. “It’s… they’re out of control. You can’t reason with them!”

  “I’ve got to try!”

  The orange fog trailed after the Guardian, blooming and bellowing from it with every step it took. He bit through the trembles in his legs and chest, breathing in and through the corruption without hindrance.

  Taiga called out from behind him, “We have to stop them now! Pull the Guardian back!”

  “What?” Mouse slowed, spinning back towards him. When Taiga ran up, he picked his pace up, staying beside him. “Why?”

  “they’re headed straight for the mercenaries. If corruption this pure touches them—”

  “They’ll die instantly.” Mouse picked up his pace, running after the Guardian and further into the fog.