3025 Unforgivable Crime (Part 1)
'But you are also wrong! I'll never help you. As I said, I'd rather die here.' True to his word, Dusk refused to sacrifice his host.
Even if he reverted to his peak condition, Baba Yaga's seal would remain and so would the Sealed Space that kept the Red Mother from pinpointing his location. His spells, mana, and bloodline abilities would still be trapped inside his crystal body.
Sacrificing Keila would achieve nothing but serve Dusk's crystal to Night on a silver platter. He burned his life force instead, bringing Kelia back to her peak condition by taking on himself the wounds they had suffered.
"No! No, no, no!" The Black Night and her host yelled in unison as Dusk exploded in a shower of bloody crystals. "I won't let you deny our prize! Our birthright!"
Kelia exploited the ensuing chaos to run away with a single fragment stuck in the middle of her chest. Night was too busy collecting Dusk's crystals and integrating them with her own to notice her escape, sharing the damage with Orpal and Moonlight.
It was a matter of time before the enchantments holding Dusk's mana organs together fell apart and if that happened, Night would have lost her chance at apotheosis.
'Don't worry, kid. Now that you are outside the Sealed Space, Mom has received the message. Just Warp in a random direction and by the time Night notices you are gone, it will be too late.'
Warm tears streaked down Kelia's eyes as she consumed the little bit of Life Maelstrom Dusk had left to boost her mana core and conjure a Warp Steps. She cried because she was terrified of death.
Of what Orpal would do to her if Night just turned her head a bit. Of the feeling of Dusk's presence disappearing from her mind.
'Baba Yaga can save us, right? She can save you.' Kelia disappeared, quickly followed by Firebrand and Scorpion.
Without the Sealed Space, the Davross had drawn upon the world energy and repaired itself from the catastrophic damage of the Tower Blade Spell. The enchanted metal was bound to Kelia's energy signature and Baba Yaga's spell made it part of her no less than her skin.
'No. It's over for me, kid.' Dusk said, his consciousness fading away along with his enchantments. 'I'm sorry for what I did to you when we first met. I'm sorry for fooling you into bonding with me.
'I'm sorry for many things but I don't have the time to apologize for them all. Know that I'm happy to have you as my final host, kid. I never doubted my choice. My only regret is that when you discover the secret of your bloodline, I won't be with you. Farewell, Kelia.'
'No! Don't leave me. I don't want to be alone again!' The Horseman's voice went silent and the light inside the crystal dimmed.
Away from the rest of the fragments and with his body shattered, Dusk's consciousness faded into nothingness.
Kelia and the Horseman had spent a little over one year together and most of it had been far from a joy ride. The fires of deception and the feeling of betrayal were hard to forget, let alone forgive.
Yet Kelia couldn't forget that meeting Dusk had brought her to a better life. She suffered no more from hunger and she was safe. Kelia had gone from a starving orphan living on the streets to a powerful mage in one of the six great academies of the Empire.
During that time, Dusk had been her mentor, friend, and companion, sharing with her every good and bad moment.
He had given her a new family with Baba Yaga, helped her navigate the academy despite her poor upbringing, and stood by her side when the Empress had uncovered their identity due to Kelia's arrogance.
It had taken her longer to forgive the Horseman than to switch from "I" to "we". She had gotten used to the familiar presence in her head because, despite her righteous grudge, Dusk made her feel safe.
Now he was gone and the silence in her head was deafening. It was like a hole had been opened in her soul and everything good in her life was going down the drain. She was no longer part of one of the most powerful beings on Mogar, just a nameless orphan.
Kelia begged and screamed, channeling every iota of her mana inside the crystal shard. She tried with her breathing technique and all the Forgemastering spells she knew but nothing worked.
Only Spirit Magic seemed to bring back a pinprick of light. The two of them had shared the same energy signature and Spirit Magic was made of elemental energy and life force, the two things that made a Horseman a living being.
Yet with a single shard and the power of a bright green core, Kelia's attempts were like trying to fill a leaky bucket with a spoon. Her mana was too little and it bled out as quickly as she poured it in.
"Gods above and below, what's happened?" Kelia was so focused on her task, on never losing control of her breathing technique to send a constant stream of mana into the shard, that she had noticed nothing.
From the appearance of the colossal Warp Gate to the chicken-legged hut walking through it, she had noticed nothing. Baba Yaga was talking to Kelia, but the young girl couldn't hear or see her.
Her whole focus was devoted to keeping the tiny spark of light inside the shard burning, even at the cost of her own life.
The Red Mother needed but a glance to understand that something was terribly wrong and a wave of her hand to conjure her tier five Creation Magic Spell, Restoration.
Her white core burned bright, lighting the grasslands as wildfire. Baba Yaga's eyes went wide with horror when she discovered that not even her full power was enough. Her son was almost dead and there was nothing she could do about it.
Almost.
She tapped into the power of her tower, sucking the surrounding world energy dry to turn Restoration into a Tower Tier spell. It wasn't enough to heal the shard but it kept what was left of Dusk's energy stable.
'Child, if you want me to save Dusk, I need to know what happened and where I can find the rest of his crystals.' She said via a mind link.
The spark of light shone dimly, like a candle out of wax, but it had stopped fading. It was enough for Kelia to allow herself to pour every bit of information about Night's attack into the mind link.
She fell with her forehead on the ground, her hands still clutching the shard and ready to pour whatever mana she had left. Invigoration wouldn't work much longer. Her body couldn't take any more mana abuse without falling apart but she didn't care.
'Dawn, go. I have to take care of Kelia.' The oldest of the Horseman came out of the hut riding her steed, Sunrise, and wearing her full Davross set.
Baba Yaga was seething with anger and wanted to take no risk.
