I fly backwards as fast as I can, scooping up Whisperclaw into my arms and soaring far into the sky. Beneath us, green smoke falls heavily from the undead dragon's maw. It quickly fills the opposite side of the arena, where Vanhiel and the other inner circle members are. Vanhiel cuts through the smoke using a blade of lightning that covers his hand, dashing towards Glimmer's father. The dragon snaps his mouth shut. Sparks fly off its sharp teeth as they collide.
I turn my back on the coliseum and pull Whisperclaw into my chest, bracing for impact. The force of the explosion slings me forward. My ears ring loudly, and a burning sensation floods my right wing. The burning is followed by an intense pain, which causes me to instinctively fold it.
My left wing isn't strong enough to carry the weight of two people. It gives out after a few seconds, and we begin hurtling towards the stands below. I twist in midair, falling onto my back so Whisperclaw won't be hurt. I feel something in my back snap. My body crashes through the stands. Dust and debris kick up around us, pieces of wood and metal splintering off in different directions. Everything hurts from my hips to my neck. I can't feel my legs.
"Shit! You idiot!" Whisperclaw scrambles off me. "You didn't have to do that, I could have shadow stepped away! You wasted so much time saving me for that-"
"Whisperclaw, I think my back is broken." I interrupt her with a gasp of pain.
"Oh no. Ironvine!" She looks around hysterically. "We need Ironvine! You need to wait right here. I'll... I'll-"
Tears are pooling in her eyes. It's probably all the debris in the air, or maybe... she's crying? That's right, I think to myself. She doesn't know.
"Calm down. I'll heal in a minute, but I need some help getting to my feet." I try to convey my emotions to Whisperclaw through my voice. "Hurry, before the debris clears. We don't want to have other bounty hunters trying to-"
All of the debris and dust are dispersed in an instant. The announcer, a brown skinned snargle, hovers directly above our small crater. He flicks his hand to the side, and the dust and debris from earlier shoot out of the tips of his fingers and out of the colosseum. Surrounding the edge of the crater, the bounty hunters who had been watching from the stands stare down at Whisperclaw and me. All of them wield different weapons, from knives and swords to mana pistols and rifles. This is bad. I can feel it.
"What a spectacular evasive maneuver!" The announcer's voice echoes throughout the entire coliseum. "It's too bad that they landed beyond the coliseum! If you didn't know, any competitor with a bounty on them is free to be captured or killed if they venture out of the arena! So... have at it, boys and girls!"
I feel another snap in my back, and the feeling returns to my legs. In a single motion, I'm back on my feet, shoving Whisperclaw behind me just as a mana bullet fires past our heads. One of the bounty hunters rushes us with an axe, but I slip under it and clothesline him. I put all my strength into flinging him back out of the crater, and he flies into the crowd. I could feel my arm cracking through his ribs. I smile, just a little.
"Whisper, get out of here! Go help Ironvine and Hawk!" I shout. "Now! I've got things covered up here!"
"R-right!" I hear her respond, and then she falls silent.
My grin grows wider. Now that she's gone, I can go all out. Sorry Ironvine, I apologize in my head, it looks like I'm going to have to kill somebody again. I roar, allowing all of my pent-up anger to burst to the surface. All of my senses heighten. I can feel my bloodlust taking control. For the first time since my fight with Carcavella almost a year ago, I let loose.
I can hear the heartbeats of all the bounty hunters around me. I can smell their fear. I close my eyes, taking in the brief moment of tranquility these people have before they meet Abell. My rage has fully engulfed me. I feel it spreading over my entire body, taking over my motor functions. My body is starting to act independently.
"What are we waiting for?" I clear the distance between myself and the man who tried to shoot Whisperclaw mere moments ago. "Holy-"
I stomp my foot into his face, cutting him off mid-sentence and sending him flying into others. My vision fills with blood. Somebody throws a dagger, which I slip past. I charge towards them, slashing through everyone in my way with newly formed claws of blood. Their blood.
I reach for the owner of the dagger and stab my claws into their stomach, raising them into the air and letting their blood rain down on me. It smells sour. This person didn't deserve to live. Their blood says it. It reeks of senseless violence, of murder. My body falls backwards, dodging a mana bullet that slams into someone behind me.
I lash out at everything that moves. All I see around me is blood and screams of horror. Everyone's blood is tainted. Everyone deserves death. Not one among them shall survive.
Then the screaming stops. I feel myself taking back control, my rage dying. The red that obscured my vision gradually fades. I'm breathing heavily. Everything hurts. I feel sick at the core of my stomach. Hundreds of bounty hunters lay dead around me. I feel something slimy in my hand and toss it away in disgust. It's a small brown hand. I look beneath me and see the announcer's mutilated corpse.
I scramble backwards. Oh no, I'm starting to panic, I did it again. Why? Why? Why? Why? I had to! I had to do it! It was me or them! My chest feels tight. I'm gasping for breath, but I can't get enough. My ears are filled with a sharp ringing. She's staring at me, amidst the smoke.
"Carcavella, I'm sorry!" I yell, gripping my blood saber tightly.
She doesn't respond. She walks towards me slowly, completely controlled by her Ascent Core. The all-white living armor shines perfectly as if all the fighting so far gave it a much-needed polish. As for mine, I cannot judge; I have the same problem. Instead of white, mine is red.
I smell the thousands of dead bodies beneath the rubble, right underneath our feet. I don't understand. Things are so different than when we were living with the Captain. Carcavella has lost all sense of reason. She just wants to watch the world burn. I feel my Ascent Core pulsing against my skin. It's trying to comfort me.
I rush into Carcavella, lashing out with everything that I have. She effortlessly dodges every attack. I kick, but she sticks her hand out and easily stops me. She laughs. A manic laugh unlike any I've heard before.
"You don't understand, do you?" She shrills. "I never needed you! Not then, and especially not now! I'm strong enough to make my own decisions, and I chose Renald! I chose chaos!"
The sounds of heavy, rapidly approaching footsteps fill the air. Carcavella releases me and kicks me into the corner of what used to be a flower shop. Then she disappears into the smoke.
"Don't worry, I'll play with you again soon…" She laughs. The flames around us flare up, then the entire vision disperses.
"Hahaha! I'll tell you what! You, sir, can fight your ass off!"
For a moment, I see Carcavella walking towards me. Her golden eyes shimmer in the sunlight, but when I blink, it's just him. The shirtless, grey-skinned senat with his stupid longsword. I suck my teeth, not this guy again.
He's smiling like a madman. "You're a Black, aren't you?"
I pick up a simple-looking short sword off the ground. I test the weight. A little heavier than my saber, but it'll do for now.
"Not gonna answer?" The senat is still talking. "Fine. I'll just beat the answers out of you. This will be more fun anyway."
Without saying anything more, we lunge at each other.