The pain was still there—shattered ribs, burning wounds, breath rattling in my chest—but it no longer held weight. My body had adapted, pushed past the point of limitation, driven only by the relentless momentum of battle. And in that motion, I felt it. It no longer flickered. No longer felt distant or elusive. It was there—part of me now, woven into my very movements, no longer a force I had to wield but something as natural as breathing. The Kraken lashed out, a massive limb cutting through the air, aiming to crush me. Like falling starlight slipping through cracks in the night sky. My estoc met the abyssal flesh mid-motion, and this time—I felt it sink deeper. I stepped again—another slash. Not just a flurry of strikes. Not just instinctual movement. One that I had performed once before—a long time ago. My breath steadied. My focus sharpened. The steps. The rhythm. The flow of it all. "Void Starfall Blade—Dance of the Celestial." Four clean strikes. Four seamless motions. The Kraken's wounds didn't heal. It shrieked, a hideous, ear-piercing cry, its body convulsing as it recoiled. Because the Void had reached inside. It had pierced its shell. The Flame of Equinox could reach it. Black flames flickered along the monster's wounds, not just burning the surface but igniting something within. For the first time, I felt it. Not just pain. Not just exhaustion. But the edge of my limits. I could barely breathe. My body was drained, my vision flickering, the weight of my injuries pressing down on me like lead. 'Tsk… So it's , huh?' I wasn't going to last. The Kraken was still standing. I was on the verge of falling. "Is this how it ends?" My lips curled into something tired. "Well, that was a nice fight." It appeared I had bitten off more than I could chew. At least it had been fun. The Kraken shuddered. Its abyssal energy surged. Its massive, grotesque eyes pulsed, preparing to unleash another beam— A final, obliterating blast. A scream tore through the air. My head snapped to the side, my breath catching for a moment. Her body twisted violently against the stone, her cursed veins pulsing erratically, glowing in unstable, fractured patterns. Two different sides were fighting within her. Connected to the Kraken. Not just darkness. Not just abyssal power. It wasn't just energy. It wasn't just some magical tether between her and the monster. It was something else entirely. Something I didn't understand. My fingers tightened around my estoc. Aeliana had witnessed everything. Lucavion—changing, evolving, pushing past his limits, his blade and body no longer just fighting but devouring. The way he moved, the way he grinned, even when he was barely standing. Even when he was dying. She was nearing her own limit too. Even if she hated it. Even if her hatred was the only thing keeping her tethered to reality— She couldn't hold on much longer. The storm inside her—raging, wild, violent—was fighting against that black, writhing mass within her veins, but she felt it. Her very being was being torn apart. At this point, she couldn't even see properly. Her vision was a blur—not darkness, not emptiness, but a crimson haze, thick and suffocating, drowning out the battlefield. She was just that tired. Her body no longer felt like her own, every limb shaking, every breath sharp and ragged. She forced the words out, barely more than a whisper, barely even conscious— "Don't… don't… not without him…" Her fingers twitched, her body screaming at her to stop, to let go, to give in. For one single thing. She didn't even know what it was—what she was reaching for. But she refused to collapse. Aeliana lifted her gaze, her vision swimming, her body trembling from the sheer force of everything tearing her apart—inside and out. Still grinning like the reckless, arrogant bastard that he was, despite the blood dripping down his face, despite the way his body swayed just slightly, just enough for her to see— She let out a breath, a weak, ragged exhale that barely even reached her own ears. 'If you can't do it even now,' she thought bitterly, her lips barely parting, her mind slipping. 'I guess that makes us even, you arrogant, manipulative son of a bitch.' She wanted to hate him. Wanted to curse his name, to let the sheer fury she had felt before fuel her one last time. The anger was fading. Drifting away, like smoke carried off by a slow, passing wind. Or maybe that was just death creeping closer. She could barely feel anything now. The exhaustion, the pain—it was numbed, distant, like something happening to someone else. Bleeding. Smirking. Pushing himself past every limit like a complete fool. 'You angered me, or whatever the fuck it was…' Her breathing slowed, her eyes threatening to close, her fingers twitching as she clung to the last remnants of consciousness. A small, almost imperceptible twitch of her lips. 'It was at least kinda fun.'