The mob's chaos worked to Cabdan's advantage. As his men betrayed their neighbors, sowing confusion and death, he tried to retreat unnoticed, shuffling backward through the frenzy. Sweat dripped down his temple, his mind racing for an escape route. But his path was far from clear.

  Tyssa: "Running with your tail between your legs?! You're too predictable!"

  Panting, Tyssa emerged from the turmoil, her sword raised high and her breath ragged. Though exhaustion weighed on her, her resolve was unwavering. She stumbled forward, her slender frame shaking, but she never stopped moving.

  Cabdan froze in his tracks, his back still turned to her.

  Cabdan: "Sweetheart, you don't want to do this..."

  His voice carried that same condescending tone, but there was an edge of nervousness beneath it.

  Tyssa: "STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

  Her shout rang out, cutting through the noise of battle. She grasped her blade tighter, her hands trembling with rage and anticipation.

  Tyssa: "You're dying here today, so start taking this seriously. Or what, do you want to go down as a clown? At least try to be a decent person in death!"

  Cabdan slowly turned to face her, his eyes narrowing as he took in her trembling but determined figure. He reached beneath his coat, revealing a sheathed sabre strapped to his lower back.

  Cabdan: "You think you can scare me, girl?! You don't have what it takes! You're still the same fragile little thing... all alone in a world that chews up and spits out people like you."

  She took two firm steps closer, her eyes blazing with fury.

  Tyssa: "Maybe I am alone... But I'm not afraid anymore. Someone needs to stop you, Cabdan -- and I'm glad it's going to be me."

  Unsheathing his sabre with a hiss of steel, Cabdan sneered.

  Cabdan: "You're an open book to me, Tyssa... Nothing there to feel threatened by."

  Across the battlefield, Rel, Jargen, and Punjo struggled to reach her, their faces pale as they realized what was about to unfold.

  Rel: "WE HAVE TO MOVE! They're about to clash blades!"

  But they were pinned down, surrounded by Cabdan's loyalists.

  Punjo: "There's no bloody way, lad! We're boxed in!"

  Punjo swung his warhammer, shattering a man's ribs with a sickening crunch, but for every enemy they downed, more replaced them.

  Jargen: "Stay here and hold them off! Rel, get to her!"

  Before Rel could react, Jargen grabbed the back of his cuirass and hurled him through an opening he'd just created in the melee.

  Rel: "JARGEN -- !"

  Momentum carried Rel through the gap, and with a roll, he was back on his feet. He sprinted forward, dodging and weaving past the chaos. But as he closed in, a line of Cabdan's men formed a human barrier, blocking the way.

  Rel: "Dammit... Out of the way!"

  A sudden rumbling -- the sound of thunder echoed through the slums, as the very ground beneath him shook violently. Rel drops to the ground to mitigate his loss of balance, sliding across the quaking dirt. Then, in the blink of an eye, a shadowy cloud erupted behind him, passing by overhead and surging forward like a tidal wave of darkness. The human barrier ahead of him barely had time to react before the cloud tore through them, severing heads and limbs in a horrifying display of precision.

  Rel: "What in the gods' names...?!"

  The battlefield seemed to freeze. Cabdan, now caught in the middle, turned pale as he stared at the approaching black mass.

  Cabdan: "Is... is he back?!"

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  The dark cloud reached Tyssa first, swirling around her in a whirlwind. For a brief moment, she could swear she saw someone in the haze -- someone familiar. The blackness parted around her, leaving her untouched, but it seemed to have a singular target: Cabdan.

  Tyssa: "What is going on?! W-who is -- ?"

  Her words died as the cloud coalesced into a humanoid figure, its movements jerky and unnatural. It was humanoid only in shape -- its tar-like body rippled and shifted, its arms stretching and reforming into jagged tendrils.

  Cabdan stumbled backward, raising his sabre in a trembling hand.

  Cabdan: "You come for me now, Lunalus?! You could've killed me back there and saved us all some time!"

  The figure tilted its head, and a voice -- if it could even be called that -- reverberated through the air.

  I???T???'???S??? ???M???E???,??? ???C???A???B???D???A???N???.???.???.???

  The voice was inhuman, guttural and fractured, as if two opposing frequencies were colliding in a grotesque harmony.

  A claw-like hand emerged from the blackness, gripping Cabdan by the throat and hoisting him off the ground.

  Cabdan: "You...! You --"

  Barr: "D?i?e?,? ?p?i?g.?"

  The hand tightened, cutting off Cabdan's words as he gasped for air. But before the creature could finish him, a sharp pull came from behind -- it was Tyssa, desperately yanking on one of its tendrils.

  Tyssa: "STOP! HE'S MINE!"

  The entity ignored her, its grip on Cabdan unrelenting.

  Tyssa: "IT'S NOT FAIR! I'M THE ONE WHO DESERVES TO KILL HIM, BARR!"

  The entity froze. It knew its name. Its head twisted unnaturally, its blackened right eye locking onto her.

  Tyssa: "Please... please... I need this...!"

  Tears brimmed in her eyes, falling freely. As if caught in a trance, Barr let Cabdan drop limply to the ground. His focus shifted entirely to Tyssa.

  Barr: "D?o?n?'?t? ?s?u?f?f?e?r?...?"

  Before she could react, his tar-blackened hand gripped her throat. Though his hollow eyes seemed to plead for release, his monstrous body was fighting him, taking over once again.

  Barr's mind rebelled against the voice urging him to kill her. He wanted to make Cabdan pay, but doing so would cause Tyssa far too much distress... To the voice, the solution was simple: Tyssa could not suffer Cabdan's death if she was no longer alive to witness it. Yet Barr's will fought tooth and nail against the compulsion to end her.

  Cabdan: "M-monster... abomination...!"

  Cabdan scrambled away, clutching his neck and panting as he watched Barr tightening his grip around Tyssa. She gasped, her sword slipping from her hand, clattering to the ground. Her strength drained quickly as her body sagged in his grasp.

  Tyssa: "Barr... W-why...?"

  And then it happened.

  A flash of black -- sharp, sudden, and impossibly fast. Barr's forearm was severed clean from his body, black tar spurting violently from the stump. Tyssa dropped to the ground, coughing and clutching her neck.

  Standing beside Barr was Lunalus, his hand still outstretched from the strike that had dismembered him. His expression was serene, yet a single tear rolled down his pale cheek.

  Lunalus: "So, it is you... The cause of all this chaos. No wonder I felt such power resonating here. You're... beautiful."

  Barr turned his head toward Lunalus, his coal-black eyes narrowing with confusion and suspicion. Yet he made no move to attack.

  Lunalus took a step forward, his right hand reaching out to cup Barr's head. He pulled him close, resting his head against his armored chest like a father cradling a child.

  Lunalus: "You... Tyssa, is it? You wish to kill him yourself, don't you?

  Lunalus turned to Tyssa, still on the ground, her breaths ragged. He gently pried Barr's dismembered hand from her throat and pressed it back to his stump. Instantly, the flesh began to reform, sealing itself with unnatural speed.

  Lunalus: "So did he... But, not anymore. He wants you to have him, now."

  Barr turned his gaze to Tyssa, his expression wracked with guilt.

  Barr: "T?y?s?s?a?...? ?I?'?m? ?s?o?r?r?y?...? I?'?m? ?s?o?r?r?y?...? T?y?s?s?a?...?"

  His voice cracked, each syllable laced with despair.

  Lunalus: "Your brother... He regrets the pain his death caused you. He didn't choose to kill him for Cabdan's whims. He chose to kill him to spare him from the same loneliness he felt... from the life of torment he believed awaited him. That is the truth, however little peace it may bring you now."

  Barr's entire body trembled, wracked with uncontrollable sobbing. The tar that made up his frame seemed to drip and dissolve slightly, his monstrous form destabilizing under the weight of his emotions.

  Lunalus: "What has transpired here today is an exception. Should we meet a next time... It will be the last."

  Lunalus reached down, picking up Tyssa's fallen sword. He grabs it by the blade, allowing it to pierce his hand until the skin bled. He offered her the handle.

  Lunalus: "Do what your heart tells you to do. But understand this: vengeance will not heal the wounds of your past."

  Her hand hesitated before wrapping around the hilt.

  Tyssa: "But I can stop the wounds of someone else's future... I can stop *him*."

  Lunalus smiled, a mix of sadness and admiration in his expression. With a wave of his left hand, a dark portal spiraled open behind him.

  At that moment, Rel finally arrived, sword drawn, his breath coming in sharp gasps.

  Rel: "You...! You're the murderer! You killed miss Anya!"

  He positioned himself protectively in front of Tyssa, his blade pointed at Lunalus.

  Lunalus: "... So I did."

  Rel's grip tightened on his weapon.

  Rel: "Why?! Why did you do it?!"

  Lunalus gently guided Barr toward the portal, his movements calm, deliberate. He spoke over his shoulder.

  Lunalus: "I killed her for the same reason I kill anyone else..."

  The edges of the portal shimmered as Barr stepped through, his sobs echoing faintly as he disappeared into the void.

  Lunalus: "...To grant freedom. Absolute, perfect freedom."

  Without another word, Lunalus stepped into the portal himself. The dark spiral collapsed behind him, leaving the battlefield eerily silent.

  Cabdan lay on the ground, bloodied and shaking, staring up at Tyssa and Rel...