The great beast descended with a thunderous dive, its massive form blotting out the lights of the cradle as it plunged toward Virno, intent on crushing him.

  Virno moved.

  With a swift arc, he swung the sword behind him, channeling every ounce of energy he could muster into its blade. A burst of wind erupted from its tip --

  And in an instant, he was propelled forward, a sudden surge of speed yanking him out of harm's way just as the guardian's colossal body slammed into the river's surface. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, collapsing several of the precariously floating structures nearby.

  From behind him, a new heat blossomed.

  Virno whipped around, just in time to see the beast part its massive jaws --

  And within them, a swirling orb of fire burned, its searing glow reflecting off the river's surface.

  Virno: "Come on... Do it, then. I can take it!"

  Still wracked with pain, his body convulsing as it struggled to re-adjust after being stripped of its godlike form, Virno forced his focus forward. Pivoting sharply, he twisted his body into a full 180-degree turn, defying his own instincts as he now faced the oncoming attack head-on.

  The guardian wasted no time.

  With a howl, the sphere of inferno was launched straight at him.

  Virno: "GRNH -- !"

  He raised the sword, pointing its tip forward --

  And as he channeled his energy into the blade once more, the sigils upon it shifted.

  The runes changed.

  A new configuration etched itself into the metal -- different from the ones before.

  Virno felt it.

  A shift in the air.

  The wind answered his call.

  With a deafening howl, a tornado burst from the tip of the blade, swallowing the fireball whole --

  And then, twisting it, devouring it, and sending the heat hurtling back toward its caster, now a hurricane of flame.

  The Guardian: "A quick-witted fool... But still a fool, nonetheless."

  Without a moment's hesitation, the guardian's wings unfurled --

  And in the space between them, a wall of grey energy manifested.

  Virno's firestorm slammed into it --

  And vanished.

  Instantly.

  The flames were simply erased, as if devoured by a void.

  The moment the inferno was gone, Virno's line of sight cleared --

  And there the guardian stood, completely unharmed.

  Virno: "Dammit..."

  Gritting his teeth, he continued his retreat, his body finally stabilizing -- his frame returning to its former state. But no quarter was given.

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  The guardian lunged, launching itself forward with terrifying speed. Its six massive talons skimmed across the water, its wings carving through the air, gaining ground with every second.

  Virno was too slow.

  The Guardian: "What's wrong...? Where has your bottomless confidence gone?"

  That phrase.

  "Bottomless confidence."

  It dug into him --

  And suddenly, his mind was flooded with memories.

  Venna. His arrogance, his humiliation.

  Pocna. His recklessness, his failure.

  Every battle he'd fought. Every loss he'd suffered.

  His family.

  His friends.

  Even now -- even now, at the brink of death, he was still making the same mistakes.

  Virno: "I still haven't learned a goddamn thing, have I...?"

  He looked down at the sword.

  And for a moment --

  Everything froze.

  The runes on the blade shifted, moving in a hypnotic dance that Virno almost understood.

  Virno: "Are you in there...? Can you hear me?"

  They spoke in a language he could not yet fully grasp -- yet one that was achingly familiar.

  Ever since the obelisk's visions, their meaning had become clearer, more tangible. And when he had stood as something beyond human, his body transformed, the runes had been one with his thoughts. Their secrets had been laid bare --

  He had bent them to his will as easily as one would breathe.

  But that moment had passed.

  And now --

  The farther he drifted from that godlike state, the more alien they became.

  Virno: "I've seen what it can do... I tasted it firsthand. But I got careless. So, as much as it hurts, I have to ask --"

  The enemy closed in.

  Mere moments away.

  Virno did the only thing he could think of.

  Virno: "Please, take control again. Please...!"

  He poured his magic into the sword --

  Yet nothing happened.

  The runes flickered, twisting and shifting in confusion, unable to decipher his intentions.

  They would not settle.

  They did not understand him.

  And then --

  The Guardian: "Pathetic."

  The next thing Virno knew, pain exploded through him.

  The guardian's talons ripped into his flesh, slicing deep before hurling him like a ragdoll into a nearby building.

  Glass shattered as he crashed through a window.

  His body rolled across the floor, leaving a crimson smear in his wake.

  Curled up in a ball of agony, he could barely gather the strength to breathe, much less stand.

  Virno (thinking): "I'm gonna die..."

  His heartbeat hammered in his ears.

  Virno (thinking): "... I'm going to die! This is it. THIS IS IT!"

  The floor shook.

  The guardian had latched onto the building, its massive maw piercing through the levels above and below, locking its teeth around the window he'd entered through.

  A low, guttural rumble vibrated through its throat --

  And deep within, Virno saw flames pooling, building, gathering.

  Virno (thinking): "I couldn't help them -- I couldn't do it... I wasted EVERYTHING."

  His thoughts fractured.

  Virno (thinking): "Father -- Mother -- Faya -- Ballo..."

  The monster prepared to burn him alive.

  Virno: "I failed you all."

  Virno forced himself up, his legs trembling, barely able to support him.

  Virno: "I FAILED YOU ALL...!"

  He clenched the sword tighter, desperation bleeding into his voice.

  Virno: "DAMMIT... LISTEN TO ME! WHY WON'T YOU DO WHAT I TELL YOU?!"

  He poured all he had into them --

  But they did not obey.

  Virno: "DO... WHAT... I... TELL... YOU!!!"

  And then --

  Desperation.

  Virno turned the blade toward himself...

  ... And plunged it into his own stomach.

  Steel tore through flesh.

  The sword pierced through his body, emerging from his back.

  The moment it did --

  The runes erupted.

  A torrent of glowing glyphs spilled from the blade, flooding his skin, crawling over his body like a writhing mass of pure magic.

  His strength vanished.

  His knees hit the floor.

  Virno: "...it... must... die..."

  Flames consumed the room.

  The guardian unleashed its breath, a wall of fire swallowing everything whole.

  The inferno lasted for several seconds --

  Ensuring that nothing would remain.

  And when it finally ceased --

  There was nothing.

  No walls. No floor.

  No Virno.

  Nothing --

  Except the sword.

  It stood embedded in the chest of something --

  A being of pure, pulsing green energy, surrounded by floating runes.

  It raised a hand, and a set of sigils lined up before it, hovering in perfect symmetry.

  Then, with a single, almost casual flick of its index finger --

  A razor-sharp gust erupted from the sigils.

  A deafening explosion of wind --

  The force tore through the building --

  And sliced straight through the guardian.

  The two right wings of the beast were severed instantly.

  The Guardian: "GREEEEEHH...!"

  The creature screamed, its massive form twisting in agony as it plummeted from the building, crashing into the river below.

  And then --

  The world shattered.

  The entire building crumbled from the inside out.

  Millions of tiny fragments spiraled through the air --

  All swirling around a single focal point --

  The glowing green figure.