FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 19

What on Ancestors Grace is she doing?

She's not a hero.

She's not brave.

She's not confident.

For the love of Gems holy Glimmer, she can't even walk straight without falling down like a log!

Stopping Darkness! Proving vital!

What kind of mockery is this?

How she can be a weapon stopping the force of Dark Realms itself when the only thing preventing her from tripping over her own tail are these forsaken crutches!

"But I did something, I would crush the gem if I wouldn't be stopped, it couldn't touch me"

Not true!

Be silent voice of doubt!

It had to be luck, shock or who knows what else, a coincidence most likely that played a taunting trick on every player of that specific game in the temple. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even if it wasn't... does it make a difference? Surprise won't work twice, that chance was gone, now that crystal will be ready and it was certain that it won't allow her to get close again.

It will throw everything and she had a feeling that reanimated corpses were the least of her worries.

"What if the Ancestors were really guiding me?

So what if they were?! Even if all that she felt was true, even if she would accept the idea as realistic that divine guidance stirred her actions, it all happened there in the temple! First time in the temple when she was being led to slaughter like cattle, when she was in need of mercy and loyal, still loyal even after everything.

Now?

Did she really expected the Ancestors to help her again? They proved to her time and time again that they have immense amount of patience, but even that has to fade one day, betraying everything, betraying openly of course, seemed like the perfect evidence the Ancestors needed to consider her damned.

It was everything she deserved anyway, joining forces with an avatar of Darkness is a sin that cannot be forgiven, a sin worthy the worst sort of punishment.

If she wouldn't be in the open right now, terrified that one false move would draw the sight of the Horror towards her, she would limp away as quickly as possible, or started screaming, hoping that her wail would trigger pity in at least a single person in this crowd that would help her.

Pity served her all her life, there was a chance she would find it here also.

If not for the ominous grip over Warfang.

She felt small and worthless, the sensation of eyes on her, the nods and fake atmosphere of normality, this was the only thing that made her going, ordering the crutches to move despite the fact that every sense yelled to just stop and let oblivion do its job. This was only one of the downsides however, being alone with her own thoughts made her lose her breath, her inhales were shallow and close to choking her, she felt as if her entire chest was about to collapse.

This is probably how buried alive felt like.

And among these masses of soulless people and the creature she made the deal with, she really felt like she was the only one alive here.

Right now not even Cynder seemed real to her, the voice could have been a trick, a delusion that allowed the monster to manipulate her and do its bidding, after all it found her fascinating, perhaps this Hollow condition was the reason it couldn't get to her any other way.

This would make perfect sense wouldn't it? Seeker constantly spoke about the cleverness of Darkness, about evil hiding even in the seemingly most holy things possible, after all a good advice might have also terrible consequences in the future. Evil doesn't always have to come out straightforward with things like death, misery and torture.

Sometimes all it needs you to do is just to point you in the right direction and let the mortal, nervous mind do the rest.

Was this the fate that has befallen onto you dear Seeker? The same fate she is following right now?

The pattern was very familiar how long will it take for her to confuse reality with worry just like Brill did? Or perhaps she participates in this carnival of rust for a long time now and only now began to realize what is truly happening?

It was madness and she is nothing more than a leaf being thrashed about by its wild gusts.

"If this is madness then how come did I realize that I'm being lied to when even Brill did not? If I'm being a pawn in Evil's game then why it is allowing me so much rational thought? Me who is able to put a border between spirituality and reality"

Her crutches huffed, blowing a big cloud of steam as if they were sighing in relief.

A valid point.

With it in mind she immediately began making comparisons between herself and the Seeker something she would never have the dignity to do, but circumstances demanded to turn your eyes away from respect for at least a moment.

What did she have that the Seeker did not?

Birth condition?

She is Hollow in the eyes of Darkness, while it could play an important role in her resistance, perhaps thanks to it she couldn't sleep in the temple while the other caretakers did and had to move to a private house. Yes she believed that the role of her condition was an important one, but not crucial, it delayed something that would come anyway.

After all Evil doesn't need to use direct force of Corruption to twist your morality around.

No, it was not about being Hollow.

Brill did not pay any attention to such details, his life revolved around one thing only and this was faith.

It had to be about faith, the differences they had besides were irrelevant. Faith, where was the difference?

Another huff of the artificial legs announced that enlightenment came quick.

Brill's entire faith was put into the Ancestors, her was also spread towards people. Besides the divine, she believed also in the simple life of a citizen, believed in the earthly existence.

This is why he never had anyone like Cynder, never saw a glimmer in the blackness like Creep. To Brill everything was black and white, no room for doubt, he was carrying the merciful, yet scary blindfold of faith.

Cynder had black scales, while she had some malicious traits they weren't harmless, being snide doesn't make you evil, this is a typical characteristic of a black dragon, like indifference is to most ice dragons. Every dragon carries a shard of the root that was their element, it was simply natural for black dragons to be more playful than any other dragon.

Brill's fate made him blind to the obvious, something that she saw almost immediately, under all that ominous exterior was a heart and it was secured in the right place and beating with the correct rhythm.

And that was only Cynder, the easiest one to spot considering the company she keeps.

Creep, despite his origins and rather crude exterior fitting every rule and description she ever heard and learned about Darkness could be considered as an separate entity and as much as she believed him to be a creature that cannot be easily trusted she couldn't deny the fact that he wasn't the same like the power hiding behind the crystal in the temple.

He reeked of evil and dark magic, but the difference between him and the gem was that he showed some kind of mortal emotions, reserved as they may be, it was still much more than the crystal did. The Darkness ruling over Warfang was all she imagined it to be while Creep, Creep was a frightening, curious and mysterious being in which she saw a true spark of desire for life.

And incompetence, like a child learning the world.

What was scary however was his approach to death, as a creature born from Darkness his feelings towards the most frightening thing of any mortal being was careless to put it mildly, to him it seemed like normality and the lack of grief really put a wedge into someone like her.

But was there really anything else to expect from a creature like him?

Evil and Good aside, the world is pulled from side to side by Light and Darkness since the beginning of time, can Creep really be blamed for representing the darker shades of emotions that are the essence of his creation?

If the world would be filled with Darkness and torment, seeing Good in a world like that would be also birthing hesitation of trust.

Is it all a matter of perspective and one's stubbornness that shapes the world?

Perhaps it was, the correct answer did not matter, they live in a world with already set rules, while it is possible to change them, in a few decades maybe, for now there was no other way but to accept it as it is.

Darkness will be always frowned upon.

But that didn't mean she couldn't give it a chance, especially when Creep shows crude, but if you pay attention long enough, similarities to Cynder. Maybe it was naivety speaking through her, maybe it was blind faith telling her to find some light where there is none existing in the first place.

It was possible that all of this is just fake.

But then again, if it really was so, then where is the difference between her and the Seeker? Out of the two she knew the destination of the path that Brill trampled down for himself and she didn't like it.

All of the thoughts and doubts aside, if you are presented with two choices, from which one outcome is known to you, do you follow the same path despite you don't like the result or try changing something when you have the option?

Faith was always a leap.

If people can be saved then she has to chose the unknown and pray that everything will turn out for the better.

Being damned is my specialty anyway, yes?

She reached the hospital without issue, not counting her own personal stress and the knowledge of what is really going on of course, the city and its people acted relatively normal.

As her artificial legs clicked against the hospital's floor she wished that she would lose her memory and dive into this oblivion that seemed as the greatest relief she would experience in her life.

If she had the option she would probably agree to anything just to make the hollow noise of her crutches stop, each step she took emitting a rumbling sound that to her sounded like an echo of a cracking over and over skull.

With the increasing pressure against her forehead that foretold an incoming headache she might as well say that this skull could be her own. The world wouldn't be the first thing that trampled her in her life.

"What happened priestess!? Dear Ancestors is everything alright young lady?"

The voice of worry.

How she needed to hear normal emotions, how much she needed it.

Too bad it was fake.

"Focus Coriza is you don't want it to remain this way"

She wasn't a liar, didn't know how to do it, espionage work would render her useless, something she expected to happen even in this case. Besides the inability to cheat, her soul carried one other important trait, the desire of honesty and truth.

And this is what despite her crippled thief's abilities, honesty was the quality that turned her into a believable individual, besides one other trait that she was not completely aware of at this time.

She liked people and she liked exchanging politeness, tendencies empowered by the sound of kindness, right now it didn't matter to her that one move most likely would tear this impression to pieces, revealing in full the force that is ruling this city. She recognized the voice of worry and it was enough of an inspiration for her soul.

She turned her head, presenting a toothless smile she offered to people whenever she was provoked, in a moment she noticed the old cheetah's expression lighting up, almost glowing with the gold aura of her eyes illuminating his modest clothes.

She had to fight very strongly to silence her instinct and prevent it from rising in surprise.

Did she always had such effect on people or is it simply because of the choking dark surrounding this city that a bit of lively reaction stands out like a burning fire under a night's sky?

"Everything is in order, it's only a minor malfunction on my mobility, thank you for your concern" the words came out of her mouth quickly, quietly, as if she would be giving counsel in the temple right now

The cheetah, an old male, ran his hand over his head, pinning the grey furred ears to the top of the head.

"Don't disregard health, even when young! You're walking with crutches reverent cleric! Something terrible must have happened!"

She opened her mouth, initial reaction demanding to tell the entire story and her flight through the window, however in the last moment her throat squeezed itself, trapping the words inside, letting out only a short whizz.

This question.

Was this some kind of test?

The question appeared in her mind quickly, followed by flashing images of Warfang and the temple. Especially the temple. The building was located on the higher levels of the city, available to admire even from behind the formidable walls.

How come the cheetah then doesn't know what happened to her?

She was thrown out from one of the more visible windows, into a garden with many people already relaxing around. Not to mention the noise and explosion of dark magic, it was absolutely impossible that something like this would go unnoticed by the population.

While possible it still didn't explain the cheetah's ignorance, news of a crashing with the ground priestess would spread like wildfire.

This had to be a trick.

In the world shaped by this dark menace people were unaware of the horror polluting the temple and their minds.

She wasn't a hero, but experiencing it like this, seeing it with her own eyes, speaking with this innocent people, it all made her back away from her normal actions of retreat. This time she couldn't run away, no matter how much she wanted to, it was not about bravery or anything like that, it was just her sense of duty, morality.

People needed the gentle touch of a cleric more than they ever did, if there was a moment to prove that she is still worthy of the Ancestors attention, then this was it. Perhaps she was beyond forgiveness, but at least she will light up a spark of hope and in times like these, hope is a treasure that everyone craves, in bigger or smaller degree.

"Accidents don't spare anyone, life is a slippery stage and I'm afraid I had no grace to tread it and avoid an unfortunate collapse" she moved her crutches, gazing at the mechanical limbs almost devotedly "Luckily the world is granted the presence of many merciful individuals, several of which assisted me in my recovery and prevented any more harm coming to me. My physical health couldn't be in better care"

She raised her eyes towards the cheetah, the devotion from them was gone the moment she glanced at the older face. The cheetah looked like he had a stroke, the hand that was on top of his head early slid down his cheek limply as if every nerve in the arm would be severed. A deep frowned adorned the face, pushing out wrinkles, taking advantage of every weakness fur and skin had in their elderly structure.

He seemed to be lost in very deep thought, the concentration process so intense that imagination fooled her eyes, making her see steam puffing from the sharp ears.

Did she just gave a sermon like speech?

It sure took her a long time to say I'm fine.

People in normal, daily life have troubles responding to religious chatter, probably the process is more complicated when you have ominous whispers clouding your sanity. Sermons required a specific mood to be effective and people who come to listen to them usually are mentally prepared for such an experience.

She really took her cleric duty to heart.

She wanted to chuckle, finding the situation amusing, she could only imagine how good it would feel to laugh right now.

"I'm glad" the cheetah blurted out with such a rough intensity that it reminded her of her crutches pushing out steam, the sound was unexpected, making her balk, freezing the slowly tail in place, the tension was so strong that she felt a tug on her spine

Without a further word the cheetah walked away, turning on practically frozen legs as if he would be as mechanical and ungraceful as her artificial limbs. The arm that turned numb remained hanging dead at his side, unmoved even by the momentum naturally created by his moving body.

Arm dead as a withered branch.

The desire to laugh evaporated like water from an boiling pot.

Another example of the Darkness' influence, troubles with processing emotions and responses to them, a realization she came to thanks to Creep who shared the same flaw.

How he can say then that they are not the same?

No.

She shook her head fiercely so that the blue strands of her hair smacked against the cheeks.

No more thoughts, her path was set, she couldn't stop or she was certain that she will find more death than only one arm.

Her legs thudded against the hospital floor, the rumbling noise they were creating would wake up even a drunk from his consciousness ripping rest.

No one else paid any special attention to her after the last encounter.

Darkness knew she was here, but somehow, for some reason it seemed like it looked for an excuse to act, she could not understand this tactic at all, was it her state, her hollowness that provoked it so?

Or perhaps all it could do is sense here every now and then, like it would be a hand feeling the surroundings in pitch blackness, just by instinct knowing that somewhere around here is a solid surface of a wall coming.

This idea, it made her think again, Creep's words about the possibility that she can be their secret weapon. She who can barely walk without tripping over her own tail. If this is the case then, wouldn't be it better to simply go into the temple again and smash the crystal? One heroic act, all you needed was bravery.

Or this is exactly what Darkness is waiting for, it will definitely protect itself, might even use Capro to do that, if not the green dragon will wait for her there, there was no slipping past him.

Or was it?

You never believed there could be another side to Darkness either.

No, no more thoughts!

Go away!

The mechanical legs let out a loud huff when she, without realizing it, sped up and beaten more distance than she ever did even when using her real paws. Before she knew it, she was at her destination, standing in the corridor, practically leaning against the door she was meant to find.

STOREROOM

She looked around hectically, feeling like a thief barging into a royal house, people were traversing the corridors, yet mainly healers, either it was not yet the time for visitors, or perhaps someone is repeating a day in their lives where he never met anyone.

The hall was mostly empty, calm for the typical hospital standards. Her presence also didn't rise any suspicions, with her crutches she looked like a patient taking a walk, nobody would find it strange that someone like her makes a stop to catch a breath, doors like that she stands near right now dotted the hospital, one for several rooms.

What was more important though was the fact that they were always opened, all you had to do was to push the handle. Warfang was a prosperous city where everyone had their basic needs satisfied, you could barter in the marketplace or simply take the offer of generosity of the Mess Hall, no citizen followed greed, the lust the Apes felt for the gems was not present here. If you wanted something but had no special skills to make anything yourself to attempt a trade you could always work for it, tiny detail enhancing a house in the end served the whole community.

There were no thieves in Warfang, while the more valuable materials were stored in vaults, not because of their imagined price of course, but because they could really cause harm if used recklessly, storerooms in buildings hiding common devices and materials were unprotected and opened.

Like this one for example.

She gave the hall one more hectic look, her quickly panicking mind catching movement whenever she looked, each glance pushing her closer and closer to a heart attack.

It were never people, but flickering shadows of torches or the gentle sway of leafs of the plants that decorated the hospital.

She held her breath and pressed the side of her head to the frame of the door, tail freezing mid swing and hair standing on end. She enhanced her hearing to the best of the ability, blush creeping upon her blue nose.

This increasing panic was robbing her of logic.

Of course nobody would be hiding in a storeroom, not in a hospital and especially not in times like this, but her dumb mind just had to remind her of the tales sometimes she heard some clerics sharing between themselves, to the applause of gasps and giggles naturally.

Tales speaking of erotic conquers of some of the clerics, or rumors spreading about other certain individuals who shared an intimate moment, in their eyes away from other people.

The origins of such tales were always closets and storerooms.

All this years she disregarded the memory as simple bragging and fantasy, she never found herself in the need for someone else's arms while all the love she ever needed came from the Ancestors.

The blush intensified, irritating her cheeks.

The perspective changed slightly after meeting Spyro and his group of friends however.

Not now mind! Please!

Despite her inner protest the scales on her cheek pressed tighter against the door, a tender crunch of wood came from behind the painted frame.

Silence.

All she heard was her racing heart.

Wanting to avoid more complications she opened the door, after the second try they finally creaked welcomed her, the first attempt was a failure, her sweaty paw slipped from the metal.

She pushed the door open, very gently, expecting someone to soon leap at her from the inside. Nothing like this happened.

She drummed her claws against the handle of her crutches, mechanical legs giving a puff. She should leave it like this, this is what they agreed on, yet the stirred panic just didn't want to become quiet, she simply had to take a peek, to make sure that the room was really empty otherwise she felt that she would land back in the hospital bed, this time for real, with cracked brain from all this panic squeezing her skull.

The wood gave a tender creak. Gold eye appeared in the slit that momentarily blinked and flared up with relief.

Empty.

Of people though, fantasy remained a fantasy, yet she caught movement anyway, this time she did not imagine it. The shadows of the room slithered from the walls, pulled into one place just on top of the window frame where a black splotch was formed.

The black pool immediately began to slither down the glass, in a matter of seconds reaching the floor.

She held back a gasp when she suddenly noticed a black paw with a silver bracelet and sharp white talons getting a hold of the edge of the pool, black leg pushing straight from the pool that just a moment ago was merely a shadow.

Yet now for the body climbing out of it, the splotch was like a hatch.

Another paw rose from the hole a moment later, gripping an edge right next to the first one. Before she managed to truly comprehend what was happening a hole with pointing backwards horns pushed out from the ominous opening and then with one, swift pull the rest of the body popped out from the hole.

Cynder climbed out from the shadowy splotch, her entire body sizzling with dark mist as if she would be boiling.

So this is why they asked her to open the storeroom closest to her room, just enough to let the light in, a signal that it was safe to join her.

She had never seen anyone doing something like this, she of course heard about Cynder's elemental potential, read books even, but written word could never overtake personal experience.

The scene was as entrancing as it was horrid, it reminded her of the Seeker's words and Darkness' reach. The holy priest was right in one regard, Darkness is everywhere and if we aren't careful we can let it invade our lives.

All it needed was a sign.

"Ancestors Grace! I did it!" Cynder chirped enthusiastically, the tongue of light Coriza let through the opened door backed away under the pressure of the black aura pulsing strongly from the tail tip

"It was easier than the last time! I'm really getting good at it!"

"We are one Sugar, everything is natural, like wind and flying" Creep commented the joyful explosion, white teeth gleaming in the darkness as he grinned while examining his borrowed body "The traverse was also an experience. How easy we adapt"

"H-hello?" Coriza interrupted the conversation with a shy whisper

The black dragoness turned in her direction, her obsidian eyes glared in her direction, with the sharp smile still present on the snout, it was like she would be looking straight into the soul of Corruption.

She whined softly, immediately backing away from the intimate presence, not even realizing that the slit the door created was shrinking as she very slowly pushed the door shut.

"Cor wait! It's us!"

"I'm sorry!" she apologized immediately, the claws that were touching the door shot straight at her face, tips of which she instinctively started to suck on like a frightened child

"We are scaring her" Cynder's voice admitted bluntly, the light on the tail, once vivid and much alive now sunk to barely a visible dot, ready to be blown out by a breath

"Not our intention priestess. I am sorry, lead us to the room and we will rush the horror to its end"

Coriza glanced down the hall again, it was still empty. As much as she wanted to keep an eye on it, she just couldn't force herself to ignore the black eyed figure inside.

"T-Third door on the left"

Creep began moving immediately, his each step making her feel smaller and smaller.

Despite that she pushed herself into the slit, blocking the exit.

"Wait!" she squeaked, shutting her eyes tightly, forehead burning from the pressure, she didn't dare to look into the creature's eyes from so up close

Her heart was racing, the drumming noise was pulsing in her skull, muffling practically every other sound.

Did she really just put herself in front of this terrifying creature?

"What's your plan? Don't hurt them please"

Creep froze in place, one paw hanging limply in the air, the cleric's action surprising him. He could hear her pounding heart from here, such a vulnerable organ, such a scary sound that blinded even him with terror. Despite all of that, the frail mortal still advanced.

She did not run from fear.

He cocked his head.

The Hollow is full of surprises.

"I will do it" Cynder stated "Dunno how yet, but Creep said I will figure it out when we'll get to it. It'll be safe, I swear. I might seem cold as a ice dragon's tail tip, but I won't hurt Amela or Sparx, Creep won't either. We're the good guys here Cor, we might look like shit, but we're good"

Coriza's hair flopped down like shoulders of a wanted criminal who just got caught. With great difficulty she shuffled her legs, slithering away from the opening ,her eyes dancing around, everywhere but not at the dragoness.

You didn't need enhanced perception to see that Coriza doubted the recently spoken words, moving away only because it was her style to do so, submission ran strong in the ice dragonesses blood.

The light on the tail tip grew bigger, adopting a more deeper, black color that only grew stronger the moment Creep was passing by the cleric. While no feelings circled in Cynder's soul, she simply knew that she would never allow her friend to remain in such a condition.

"I know how this looks, I'm sorry but you need to believe me Cor" Cynder said as softly as she could "Come with us, get into a corner and control us, we still have some time until they return to the room. You will see everything, it's better if you keep close than hide somewhere where we won't see you. Who knows if we find each other later, that and I want to prove that I'm good"

The priestess shook her head.

"You don't have to prove anything to me Cynder. I'm a nobody"

"That's not true and you know it, but it's not really about you" a black tentacle stretched out from the black orb, it dangled right above the ball of light which kept shrinking and widening like an eye pupil that concentrated on something

"I need to prove it to myself"

Creep's heart bumped against the ribcage loudly, it was doubt that he heard in Sugar's words, a scary emotion, stirred by no one else but the Hollowborn. He was right, she was a precise weapon.

They marched into the room, the little distance they had to beat was like a trek into the mountains for Coriza, the nervousness was tying her paws, making her toes numb, something that even her artificial legs couldn't correct properly, becoming practically stiff themselves.

You would expect that reaching a goal in your journey would grant relief, yet when the door closed behind her she felt as if water would pour down her throat and began choking her, stealing the air whizz by whizz.

The world began to swirl around, she was about to faint.

"Coriza!" a voice resounded somewhere in the distance, with an never-ending echo humming around her the voice might have even come from the Dark Realms which most likely opened their gates behind her

She felt a tug against her body.

This was it.

The horrors and demons of the world came to devour her.

"Relax!" the command was muffled by the noise of a breath, breath so close that it warmed her scales

The smell of it was awful.

Rancid stench that could peel off paint from the walls. The swirling world slowed down, who said you needed a pinch to wake up from a shock.

She instinctively recoiled back from the offensive smell, only to find out that she couldn't move, blocked from the opposite side by a wall. The breath once again huffed with the same intensity. She whined, instinctively extending her paw to push the source away, her paw touch soft scales.

Cynder was pinning her to the wall, black paw was pressing against her flank, she couldn't tell if it was providing support or giving hints of intimidation.

Relax though was not the emotion she felt from the touch.

Another huff, another cloud of stomach turning smell.

She shifted her body, raising her paw to touch the snout, the moment she pressed it however she realized that the form of the head didn't flinch, scales not reacting to her touch at all.

Only when she looked through her toes she reminded herself that the black dragoness wasn't Cynder, a pair of black eyes stared at her through her toes. It was Creep and he reeked of Darkness, he breathed Darkness.

He was Darkness.

"Back away" Cynder's, the real Cynder's command cut through the air sharply

Creep pushed backwards immediately, however the paw remained stuck to her body until the natural tug of his skeletal form didn't pull it back.

Her flank began to sting, silver claws leaving small cut marks on her scales.

Coriza shook, mechanical legs rattling to the rhythm.

"I am truly sorry. It is too much for me"

"I know Cor, but hold on a bit longer okay?" the light from the black tail stretched out as if trying to offer a comforting hug "We all need to do some weird stuff to pull through this, but no worries, we're close now, we're going to save our guys and then go after that corrupting little shit. It will be all over before we know it, you'll see, a day will come when we will be laughing about it"

Gold eyes rose in respect, a basic skill in every social interaction, blue head nodded slightly as if in agreement. Her sensitive perception though noticed the same shimmer in the sun-like eyes like before, the shimmer of protest.

Coriza nodded in agreement because it was her style.

Her soul though was saying something completely different.

I doubt it.

There were no more words to be said, not only because it was dangerous to do so, but because all of them believed in one way or another that no more words are needed to be said. For better or worse, the group of entirely different characters agreed on three things, they were in this together, they had a common enemy and there was no turning back now.

All that remained now was hope that such action won't have drastic consequences in the future, now it was up to them to decide if they want to follow hope or cling to realism, keeping in mind that both may be wrong in the end.

They adopted their positions, Coriza moved into the far corner of the room, locking herself in place right next to the head of the bed, keeping close to the wall so parallel one running across the room, that slightly obscured the entrance would allow her to remain unseen for this two, three seconds longer.

Creep pressed himself to the corner right next to the door, they opened to the inside, this would allow him to get this brief moment of extra preparation.

Or at least it would give Cynder a short window to figure out what to do exactly to expel the Taint from Amela and Sparx.

More silence.

More unvoiced thoughts.

More nervousness.

Time seemed to stop.

And finally they heard footsteps that were followed by a specific, ringing sound of quickly flapping wings. Both Cynder and Coriza recognized who was coming.

They immediately began wishing for more silence, unvoiced thoughts and time stopping.

The door opened and Amela's leg appeared in the room.

Cynder felt as if she would get hit in the head by a huge maul.

She felt Amela just like Creep said, it was hard to describe what exactly this strange sensation was, it was probably far more different to Creep who never experienced mortal life before and to her who knew a thing or two about it. She immediately compared this feeling to craving, as if catching a smell of something delicious baking while you had an appetite for something sweet.

A sweet tooth.

Amela was like a bud of a flower to her, instead however of growing a beautiful plant, the center was flourished by a cookie or a fruit, the most delicious of its kind, as sweet as it was intoxicating.

As every plant, this one had roots too and she realized that they were spreading, given enough time they would reach far enough that there wouldn't be anything left to save. It was like an internal bleeding, if not sewed back together quick enough, it will cause irreversible changes. Luckily for them, the hold on Amela was still fresh.

The sweetest of sweets was also the most deadliest of diseases.

It was Darkness.

The essence of Corruption, its voice and heart. Mature and ready for the picking. All she had to do was to pluck it out and Amela would be free of the influence, the wound she would cause preventing her from becoming infected again until it heals, Darkness would not have any claim on her for some time.

The goal was clear.

Yet she didn't react immediately, because besides this there was something else, the desire to rip the bud away and smash it was battled by another craving.

Why waste the taste when you can savor it?

Why would I do that?

She didn't receive the answer because the window she got was wasted on thoughts and realization of one crucial thing.

Amela could sense her too.

Out of the two of them she was the first to strike, leaping at them with a roar, claws at the ready, despite her age the Darkness occupying her senses made her more agile, probably far more than nature allowed.

Creep did not react, getting slashed right across the snout, the sensation that exploded after the strike was nearly blinding.

A scream built up in his throat.

Many mortals screamed like that, he never could truly understand why, to his pain was a delusion, something taken seriously too far, like mortals tend to do.

But he was wrong.

Pain was ugly, it hurt.

And he didn't like that.

"PAIN!" Creep roared, he instinctively pushed from the wall, head butting the cheetah in front, sending her flying at the opposite wall

"Creep what the fuck?! I'VE SAID DON'T HURT THEM!" Cynder blared, the entire room going dark, whatever lights illuminated the interior were snuffed out in an instant

Her body slammed back against the wall, Creep hacked when his head was immediately yanked back, the shadow on the wall pulled his back like a rope, gluing him to the wall.

"PAIN! IT HURTS SUGAR!" he thrashed, roaring at the top of his lungs

Coriza cringed in her corner, covering her mouth and automatically beginning to pray, tears of guilt and terror flowing freely from her eyes.

"I DON'T CARE! PAY ATTENTION!" in between the blares the second person they expected entered the room, Sparx dashed inside, carrying something sharp in his hands, aiming it right at one of the green eyes

Creep couldn't understand why, but something told him that he had to protect the eyes, black paw instinctively pushed forward, smacking right into Sparx and the sharp object he was carrying.

It went smoothly into his paw, his mouth immediately parted and another roar of anguish left his throat, the noise of breaking scales and cracking flesh were as loud as thunder to him.

He clenched his paw instinctively, there was a crunch as his toes dug into the object, Creep trembled as if he was freezing, Sparx' swift wings were beating fervently against the toes. He didn't listen to her order, succumbing to instinct once more and if not for whatever object getting thrust into the leg, Sparx would be turned into a pulp right now instead of being trapped.

Luckily for them Darkness crippled the agility of those that already were healthy enough.

Cynder wanted to berate Creep again, in fact more than berate, she wanted to kick his ass for disobeying him, yet with the bud so close most of her focus was turned into its direction. The shadow vanished from the walls, sinking into the ball of dark light she was, making it grow, she didn't know what she was doing, all she wanted to do was to rip out that fucking fruit of Corruption.

Black smoke suddenly squeezed through the black toes, making the wings slow down, the tendril, almost looking like a soul traveled the air, it wiggled there, smelling enticingly, shivering like Spyro did that night when she had her way with him while he was weak.

Back then it was all for him.

This black tongue was all for her.

"HE'S BITING ME!" Creep howled, more crunching sound filled the air, followed by wet noise of blood trickling upon the floor

The sound smacked the weird trance away, making her discard all those thoughts, this tendril was for no one, it didn't belong here.

The black smoke was gone.

She felt the flower no longer, all that remained was a wound with withered roots.

"Let him go and get to Amela"

Creep unclenched his paw, Sparx floated out from the grip slowly, dancing in the air like a balloon, his head was hanging limply, the only thing keeping him aloft were his wings that flap all the time until the dragonfly owning them is asleep on the ground or dead.

It was a good sign.

By now Amela pulled herself up, rising her arms to strike again, Creep bounced on three legs quickly towards her and smashed his body into the cheetah's chest, pinning the arms. It didn't stop the head however, the cheetah bit into his flesh several times until Cynder managed to finally rip the corrupting essence out and disperse it into thin air.

Amela's eyes became somewhat murky, her entire frame numb, feeling no pressure from her side Creep instinctively backed away, letting the body flop down to the ground along the wall.

"My damn head..." Sparx murmured from behind them

Creep immediately turned around, meeting the dragonfly's blurry gaze, haze that immediately got shaken away after the connection of eyes. Sparx pushed back with a gasp, his wings speeding up to normal tempo, body blasting with new, more alive light.

"It's still me! No time to explain!" Cynder yelled, cutting into the obviously approaching scream of Sparx "Pull that thing out Creep, one bite and one pull, we need that paw"

"C-Creep?" Sparx mumbled confused

More words couldn't be heard since a loud blare filled the sky, like a horn, or a scream of an approaching army.

"What is happening?" Coriza stammered, her frightened eyes glancing about in sheer terror

Cynder didn't need an answer, she's been in enough battles, angered enough people in her life to be able to tell what is going on. Her opponents screamed at her a lot.

Darkness got pissed and judging from the tremors running through the walls and earth, it sent the entire city after them.

"We are providing safety, opening the path for you" Creep intoned calmly, the shaking world having no effect on him as if he was expecting it

Coriza's eyes widened, her heart stopping in her chest.

"N-no. You said there will be no death!"

Shadows gathered on the side wall of the room, where the window to the outside world was, in a second, with a deafening shriek the wall collapsed, turning into debris in an instant, opening a path to the city.

The stench of evil that wafted inside made Coriza gag.

It even woke up Amela who began coughing roughly.

"No slaughter" Creep slowly trotted towards the ruined wall "No promises about death, death unavoidable. Darkness is death, we are death, rules of nature. We occupy Darkness with battle, you will strike sooner than we, save more lives, you, Amela, Sparx immune to Darkness' touch, the last two only temporary"

Coriza was speechless, she felt raped and embarrassed, tricked, she never agreed to have death on her paws.

The dark light on the tail blinked, Cynder was also startled by the revelation in her own way, she might have even been angry if she had control of her feelings, cold logic though told her however that everything was fine, Creep didn't do anything out of his free will, everything was agreed upon.

Ambiguity is such a bitch.

"I'll take care of Amela sweetcheeks" Sparx dashed towards the groaning cheetah, he could barely understand what was happening, all he knew was that something very bad was happening

This game however is not for him to play.

Images of an empty paper with a dotted line perfectly matching his handwriting flashed before his eyes. He rubbed his fingers together, mind projecting the feeling of a feather in his hand. He still held it in his grasp, the dotted line was still empty.

The only difference was that his hands shook like crazy.

"It can't be..." Coriza mumbled breathlessly "This is not perfect"

"You can do it Cor" Cynder tried to sound comforting

A powerful, freezing air entered the room through the hole, Creep stopped by the exit, glancing into the dark sky. Elemental magic.

"Perfection unachievable, a second of life needed for me to realize it" Creep stated glumly, in the air where he was looking a blue figure appeared, its white feathery wings flapping wildly

The figure was descending towards them, the first of many to come, the source of all this fierce cold.

"Iris" the light on the tail tip flickered brightly

"Darkness' tool, mind not her own" Creep glanced back towards the tail, deep frown wrinkling his snout

"I feel hate Sugar, we don't like Iris, a desire for her to vanish rooted inside us. Should we wipe her existence?"

Coriza sobbed, clearly not happy about Creep's smooth approach to death and killing.

The black light grew thicker, glowing with confident ominous light. Iris was a bitch, but she was still a sentient creature, still a dragon and she killed enough of both already in her life. If she allows more death to come, then she isn't better than the Corruption she despised so much.

"We aren't killing anyone if we can help it, we run and battle only when we must. We must find a way to save this people, Iris included. We fight for time only"

"Blind search for solution" Creep cocked his head "Time again the ruler of our story" he looked around the dark sky, followed by a glance upon his black, scaly coat

He felt extremely small and worthless all of a sudden.

"It deludes us all"