Darkness erupted from Nox's blade.
It wasn't a pulse like Lumine's. It was a whip of black mist that wrapped around Darian and spread through the throne room in successive waves. The marble disappeared beneath a shroud of dense shadow that crept across the floor. The torches flickered and choked out.
Lumine had returned to its sheath almost without Darian noticing. The long sword rested in silence, dim, spent after giving him everything it had.
Nox, on the other hand, was waking up.
When the mist settled, Darian was no longer the same.
His hair had turned even darker, as if light refused to touch it. His eyes, white with black pupils, glowed in the dimness. Fangs showed beneath his lips. His body hunched forward, hands nearly grazing the floor, legs bent. From his back grew a tail of shadow that coiled through the air.
The dark matte-plated armor still covered his chest, but the mist wound around it like a second skin.
Nox was in his left hand. The short black blade, its neon blue line barely pulsing, exhaled shadow.
Darian raised his head.
The smell of Vael's blood still drifted through the air.
Aelthas watched him from the far end of the hall. The red and gold filaments ran across his torso, his neck, his cheeks. He was still smiling.
—First light, now shadow. You're a box of surprises. But this form suits you less. You look like an ani—
Darian was already on top of him.
There was no warning. One instant he was crouched by the column and the next his claws were tearing through the air where Aelthas's head had been.
The king threw himself back.
The tips of Darian's fingers grazed his cheek. Three red lines were left marked on his skin.
—How fast, —said Aelthas.
The smile had frozen on his face.
Darian didn't answer.
He was no longer in front of him.
He had vanished into the shadows. The mist concealed him. The columns hid him. Aelthas turned on his heels. The filaments stirred around him, probing the air.
A growl to his left.
Aelthas turned. The black sword lengthened. The blade cut through the mist.
It found nothing.
Darian was already on the ceiling.
He had leapt to a column, pushed himself upward and driven his claws into the stone. From there, hanging upside down, white eyes fixed on Aelthas, his tail coiled around his body and Nox between his teeth, he looked like a beast born of shadow.
—The ceiling too, —said Aelthas—. You make good use of your surroundings.
Darian let himself drop.
It wasn't a jump. It was an attack.
He launched off the claws driven into stone. His body spun in the air. The tail lashed forward.
Aelthas raised the widened blade. The tail struck the sword and bounced back. But Darian had already landed behind him.
He took Nox in his left hand. The blade traced a horizontal slash.
Aelthas turned. Blocked.
Darian was no longer there.
He had jumped to the left wall. Launched off again. Nox returned to his teeth and his hands were free to claw.
He fell on Aelthas from above.
The claws shredded the filaments at his shoulder. Aelthas let out a short, muffled cry. The red and gold tendrils writhed and tore free like severed roots.
Darian landed on all fours. Nox returned to his hand. The tail swept Aelthas's legs.
The king staggered.
—How persistent, —said Aelthas.
He was no longer smiling.
He drove the sword into the ground.
The Field of Negation expanded. The cold tide swept the hall. Darian's mist bristled, but didn't disappear.
Aelthas frowned.
The possession wasn't an external spell. It wasn't a flame he could blow out. It was a bond. It was Nox fused to his body. The Field of Negation could weaken it, could make his movements heavier, but it couldn't tear it from him.
—Now that is new, —Aelthas murmured.
Darian charged.
Without the supernatural force that free magic gave him, his movements were less explosive. But he didn't stop.
He moved in a zigzag, using the columns as launch points. Aelthas threw out the filaments. Ten tendrils reaching to trap him.
Darian jumped to the wall. He ran across it horizontally. The filaments passed within centimeters. One grazed his leg. Darian turned. The tail cut it. Another aimed for his neck. Nox split it mid-air.
He landed in front of Aelthas.
The short blade went for the chest.
Aelthas blocked.
Darian was already to his left.
Another slash.
Blocked.
Darian to his right.
The tail attacked from above.
Aelthas deflected it with the widened sword. But while he blocked the tail, Darian was already in front of him.
He drove his fangs into his arm.
Aelthas let out a short, strangled cry.
Darian bit down hard and then sprang back. Aelthas retreated, bringing a hand to his wounded arm. Blood slipped between his fingers.
—You bit me, —he said. His voice was a mix of disbelief and restrained fury—. Like an animal.
Darian looked at him.
The white eyes didn't blink. He had blood on his lips. He said nothing.
He only growled.
Aelthas raised the black sword. The blade lengthened more than ever. A whip of shadow seeking Darian from every angle.
Darian fell back.
The tip grazed his shoulder.
Another lash passed beside his ear.
A third opened a gash along his thigh.
Darian staggered. Blood soaked his leg. But he didn't fall.
Aelthas advanced. The black sword coiled around him.
—It's over. You've had your fun.
Darian stood up.
His leg hurt. His shoulder burned. Aelthas's bitten arm was still bleeding. Both of them were wounded. Both of them were breathing hard.
But Darian was still hungry.
He threw himself forward.
Aelthas waited. The black blade widened. Darian jumped left. The sword followed. He jumped right. The sword followed. Darian threw himself to the ground. The blade passed over him.
He pushed off with hands and feet. The tail gave him the final thrust.
He fell on Aelthas.
The claws tore through his chest. The tunic came apart in shreds. Aelthas screamed. The black sword flew from his hands.
Darian brought him down.
Both hit the ground. Aelthas beneath. Darian on top.
The claws pinned his arms. The tail locked his legs. Darian looked down at him. White eyes, expressionless. Fangs stained red.
Aelthas looked up.
For the first time, his green eyes showed neither coldness nor fury. They showed something else.
Something lost.
Something buried very deep.
For an instant, Darian thought he could see someone locked behind those eyes.
But Nox didn't stop.
Darian went for his throat.
Aelthas convulsed beneath him. The white marble turned red. The red and gold filaments thrashed violently, like roots torn from the earth. The black sword, fallen a few meters away, shuddered once.
Then everything went still.
Darian pulled back.
The possession faded.
The mist dissolved. His eyes returned to dark, serious. The black hair, tangled, fell across his forehead. The tail was gone. Nox was still in his left hand, the neon blue line dark, the red crystal of the pommel stained.
Darian dropped to his knees.
His entire body was shaking. He felt his muscles burning, his mouth dry, his bones heavy. Nox hadn't only used his mana. It had used every fiber of his body like a string pulled to its limit.
He breathed once.
Twice.
The third time hurt.
Aelthas lay on the ground, motionless. His chest destroyed. His throat open. His green eyes fixed on the ceiling, without light. The filaments had gone dark across his skin like dead veins.
The black sword was a few meters from his hand.
Still.
Silent.
Darian dragged himself to a column and let himself fall against it. His breathing burned. His leg was bleeding. His shoulder too. The dark armor was cracked in several places.
He looked at Vael.
The dragon was breathing.
The golden eyes found him. A soft click came from his throat.
Darian let out the air.
—It's done, —he said. His voice was only his, raw, exhausted—. It's done.
He fell silent.
The throne room smelled of blood and mist. The torches were beginning to revive. The castle was still burning in the distance.
Aelthas didn't move.