In the suffocating grip of the swarthy air, all senses are rendered useless—sound, smell, touch, and taste are devoured by the oppressive void. But amidst this bleak abyss, I find solace in the presence of Lily, her diminutive figure clad in a crimson skirt and dress, her fanged smile offering a glimmer of reassurance. As the fog recedes partially around her, granting us a slight reprieve, we stand closer, scanning our surroundings for any sign of danger.

 

The little girl is quiet as her eyes scan the darkness, receding back to her usual temper despite the situation. I don't press her, though. She'll speak when she has to. I start moving only a few seconds after she emerges from the barrel of the gun, striding toward the direction that I think I remember my friend's position.

 

And Lily, as always, clings to my hip, only this time, it is both the Colt and the girl that do so. She holds tightly onto me, showing weakness all around. Though, I know the truth. Those fingernails and claws hide a terrible strength.

 

Yet, even as we cautiously navigate the shifting mists, each step made slowly and carefully, a sudden onslaught of peril descends upon us. Or, more accurately, onto my soul.

 

The hair on the back of my neck trembles, an awful sensation that runs down my spine as I feel my head crack from the speed at which it moves automatically. Ether shoots down my spine to loosen the muscles and bones as a solidified spike made of the fog opens a thin line of crimson on my neck. A line of blood that I cannot feel. So that answers the question. Within this fog, there are no senses. Not hearing, not seeing, not smelling, and not even touching.

 

If I hadn't moved with Shiver, I'd be skewered through the back of my spine. To make matters worse, I wouldn't even know until Blodwyn notified me of the damage. I spin around, checking Lily as I see an identical spike entering and exiting her neck already. My heart sinks at the sight, but the young girl merely gazes up at me inquisitively.

 

"What's wrong?"

 

Lily is unfazed as I take a step forward, the spike sliding out without any blood. My eyes widen as I see the wound made of a dark liquid that quickly closes back up.

 

Right. Right. Not a real body. She's fine.

 

A fraction of a second has passed since I dodged the first spike, but I immediately have Ether soar through my body, activating almost all of my skills. Breakneck, Strugglers Defiance, Rapturous, Living Manacles, and even Insight as I attempt to peer through the fog a little more.

 

As I funnel Ether into my eyes, I see a shifting behind the cloud of shadows around us. Shit.

 

The fog itself seems to come alive a moment later, twisting and contorting into razor-sharp blades that slice through the air with lethal precision. Lily, unaffected by the physical threat, seamlessly transforms the wounds into a black liquid, effortlessly evading the deadly onslaught.

 

For me, however, evasion is not so simple. With no warning or indication of the impending danger, I rely solely on Shiver to guide my movements. Each dodge is a desperate gamble, executed with split-second timing as I narrowly avoid the slicing blades that threaten to cleave me apart.

 

As I move through the fog, my body bends, contorts, twists, leaps, dives, sprints, runs, and every possible human action. Lily is undeterred by the danger, following after me without care for herself and only for me.

 

Yet, there is little she can do for me. She can't predict or stop the spikes as they are too fast. All Lily can do is follow me.

 

As I run for my life in the fog, I wonder what kind of life would create this manner of Dominion. What awful suffering would lead to this? Because at this point, I'm certain Dominions come from one's experiences in life. They are based on one's Power and don't deviate all too far from it, but they are most definitely caused by one's life.

 

Between Eli's ability to copy Powers, something he's struggled to do with Ails and seemed to always wanted, to Lennon's formless blades, giving him a sword no matter the situation. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, Eli's Power is something regarding information gathering, a tool he used to learn from others about their skills. I can see how that develops into stealing Powers. And even between the two Supremes, Isaac and Iva, their Dominions hold secrets about their lives, their personalities, and their experiences.

 

The vortex of control and power that is Isaac compared to the domination of danger that Iva possessed. It is obvious they both overcame some primal, instinctual ledge to become something more significant. I just don't know what it is yet.

 

So, Lily and I continue through the fog. Each second feels like an hour, and injuries build. Not that I can notice them, though. Only Blodwyn can, and he's constantly giving me updates.

 

"Right leg! Use the left! Oh! Left arm! Roll with the right! Stomach! Keep your arms down!"

 

Blodwyn heals us as fast as he can, but I know it's hard for him to keep it up for very long. I backstep and twist to evade a trio of spikes with Shiver while keeping my arms down so my organs don't spill out. The next second, however, a line of light, like that of an infinite blade, cuts through the darkness and part of my left hand.

 

Instantly, without regard for the falling bones and blood, I dart in the direction the light came from. The fog is still falling into the spot, like water on a beach, but I stay on it, hounding through the gas without hesitation.

 

"Lily! Let me know if you sense anyone!"

 

Lily nods beside me, still keeping up in spite of my speed that, if we were outside of this fog, would split the air. I can't help but be impressed, yet also sad. This Virtue of hers is so powerful; it's just a shame it is so short. She has, at most, a minute longer before returning to the Colt.

 

She can stretch it, according to her, but it'd slow down her recovery on firing another bullet afterward.

 

Three seconds after I call out to Lily, she responds.

 

"A little to the left! Watch out, go under that spike! Now forward!"

 

I follow her directions until I'm met with a blinding light. It's so all-consuming that I squint with Insight just to see the figure it's coming from.

 

Virgil.

 

His many layers of clothing, masks, and hoods are shredded by the spikes of darkness while I see the instant of him being slammed by an elbow into the face. Nevertheless, his whole form shines radiantly, even the veins beneath his skin illuminating the fog.

 

The luminance is enough to push the fog back enough for the size of an arena ten or twelve feet wide. Of which is centered around Virgil.

 

My friend whips his head back as he stumbles backward in a daze, still managing to deflect another strike with his instincts, and I dart out toward the figure before him. They bear no visible clothing but also let out no skin. Instead, a shifting shadow roams their body, like that of fabric. Furthermore, the shadows seem to consist of thick hair waving in the air. Nonetheless, beneath those hairs is an awful color—a deep, midnight purple.

 

Before my foot even hits the ground inside the lit area, Virgil recovers against the Demigod's strike. His nose is crushed, and an eye looks as though it is blinded while a gash covers the entirety of his face. Unlike most others, when hit, he does not cower or retreat. He does not look for safety. Instead, he does what he believes is necessary, his mind an oiled machine.

 

Virgil's boots slam back into the earth, stabilizing his position as the light beneath his skin flickers, vanishing for the most minute span of time. I can't help but wonder what he will do without his light or knives, his hands empty of any weapons, and his scythe nowhere to be seen. Then, the brilliance reemerges with ten times the color as his head snaps back to meet the shadow's fist.

 

A forehead, the headbutt perfectly placed upon the top of the skull, the hardest part on a head, meets an illusory, hard-to-place claw.

 

And in the next moment, all turns white.

 

**********************

 

My eyes reopen to hands shaking me. I groan, wanting to sleep a while longer, but the screams bring my mind back into place. Instantly, my eyes lock on Lily, her skin turning translucent, showing the river underneath.

 

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

 

The ninth 'wake up' reaches me as I roll over, coughing out blood. A secondary groan meets me as Blodwyn also wakes up, and I can feel his pain. That... clash...

 

"Ow... that hurt so much. Is Virgil okay? He took that to his forehead!"

 

My eyes flit around, finding the fog pushed back over a hundred feet while the shadowy figure faces four figures. Lennon, Kate, Bonfire, and Marion. Otto, Aniwye, and Silas are nowhere to be seen, but Virgil is right beside me.

 

I crawl over to him, releasing a breath of relief as I feel his heart still beating. It's slow, unhurried, and defiant, but it exists. Thankfully, my senses have returned, if only dulled.

 

As I look over Virgil, though, the thankfulness sinks. His skull is shattered, and even the forehead, the most impact-resistant bone in the body, is broken. All of Virgil's skills and enhancements were only enough to save his life. Way back in Bent, Marshall said Virgil was the only one he couldn't teach, for there was nothing to be taught. His whole being is a weapon. Using his forehead like that was dangerous, but something tells me without it, he would have died.

 

A missing eye, a crooked jaw, and a slightly caved-in skull. Those are only the injuries on his head. I reach forward, feeling my body still recovering from that clash of light, and let my Living Manacles wrap around my friend.

 

"It'll be okay."

 

Impacts shake the earth beneath me while Lennon does the vast majority of the work against this Demigod. Bonfire, Marion, and Kate are all strong, but Lennon's always in a different league. Just from the corner of my eye, I can see he's the one always in the fight.

 

Others get thrown back, forced to recover with their skills, like Bonfire's fire that closes wounds, Marion's healing skill that must be copied, or Mie's mental force that also seals injuries. Lennon Hull?

 

The Bladeless Monster doesn't relent for a single moment. He's not nearly at this figure's brand strength, whoever or whatever it is, but he's certainly trying to be. With my eyes, I can see his Dominion raging against the fog, cutting it every instant, keeping it at bay.

 

What's interesting about this 9th Sigiled figure they're facing is that his Dominion is around him, not from him. It's odd. None of the other ones I've seen are like that, though I've only witnessed a few.

 

As my chains finish coiling around Virgil, I tighten my jaw, preparing for what is to come. Then, I shove my Ether toward him, taking his weakness and bestowing it upon myself. Crimson washes over my vision as I feel my body tense, every muscle spasming in pain. The agony remains as I hold onto Virgil, pulling more and more from him as I observe his flesh recover and mine recede.

 

My skull caves in, my right eye vanishes, and my nose cracks. My legs open into dozens of cuts while some of my intestines vanish. A few bones of my spine disappear, and I hit the floor.

 

"Wyatt? Are you alright!?"

 

"Do it slower. It is hard to help like this."

 

Lily and Blodwyn both reach for me in their own distinct ways. Lily bends down and attempts to pick up the Colt in my holster, but her hands phase right through it. I know what she wants to do, but Lily is unable to do it. She cannot pick up herself.

 

"Dammit!"

 

Instead, I curl into a fetal position, the pain arcing throughout my whole form as Darklight surges through me. The remnants from Virgil's fight, both the wounds and the Darklight, wage a war against my already strained body, yet I refuse to fall unconscious.

 

I keep my remaining eye open as Blodwyn fights against the pain. I stare at Virgil's recovering form while the others battle the Dominion after us. Aniwye, Otto, and Silas are still not here. They must be somewhere else, fighting something else. There is no way they are dead, right?

 

My thoughts spiral as I watch Kate slam into the ground, shattering the rock beneath her. The figure laughs as he deflects Lennon's formless blades and nullifies Bonfire's flame with his darkness that devours the fire.

 

Marion's attack is the only one that gets through, a sting of psychic force that is copied from my mother. Nevertheless, the Dominion doesn't seem to care. He only seems... saddened by what is happening.

 

"It is such a shame you all have to die. We would be such friends if only Mother didn't want you all dead. Come. If you all surrender, I'm sure she'd find it in her forgiving heart to induct you into our family."

 

The offer is genuine, something that I wholly feel. The figure's face becomes visible for a moment as he reaches out toward us, presenting an open claw. A demon. It's a demon, and one with such a human-like face it is almost appalling.

 

But the human features that would pass for something androgynous are nightmarishly dark hairs that wave around the edges of its face, lining the neck and chin. They seem to proliferate down its body, a natural defense of some kind.

 

The fog even falls back partially, giving us some more breathing room as Lennon limps back at the figure. I can see his Dominion shift and swerve like a living, breathing creature. It comes into formlessness as an invisible arm and blade leveraged at his right arm.

 

In the end, he returns back to his roots.

 

"And why would I take that offer? Hmm? I'm doing just fine right here. You can't kill me."

 

An echoing fit of laughter rings out alongside the fog, originating from every direction as the gaseous cloud undulates. Then, the demon strides forward to meet Lennon, the two only a few feet apart.

 

"I perhaps may fail. There is always a chance, and it is something I have come to understand when following Mother's orders. But beyond me, Seatco, there are many, many more. Chac's Rains are not far. My brother should be here any moment now."

 

My vision shivers underneath the force of healing Virgil, but I keep my focus, watching both him and Lennon. Yet, I miss Bonfire's bold-ass lunge for Seatco with reckless abandon.

 

"Bastard! I don't care about any damn water!"

 

Emmet Knox is knocked to the side by a spike of darkness that leaves behind a hole in his shoulder. The man rolls on the dirt for half a dozen feet before stopping, groaning in pain. I can already see the Darklight running across his skin. That's bad. Very bad.

 

I need to help... I have to... but it's him or Virgil. I don't know what will happen if I stop this process, this Sacrifice, so I hold onto it, hoping that Bonfire can bear it a little while longer. And the pain only manages to increase as Lennon slashes at Seatco, the biting winds from their clash reaching me over here.

 

Kate and Mie dash in as one body, but a diminutive fog descends over them like a haze of insects. Marion has a similar one fall toward him, but he Flickers out, still keeping Virgil's Power as his copied one. In just a few seconds, the battle becomes Marion running for his life with every passing second as Lennon gradually gets pushed back.

 

He's not strong enough. I can see that the Bladeless Monster is giving it his all, but it's not enough. The Demigod is still trying to recruit him, even while kicking his ass. I give Lily a pained nod as I let her move on her own, relinquishing our normal rules of her staying close.

 

"Go. Do what you can to help."

 

The Blooming Spider Lily returns the nod, her tiny but dangerous fangs leaking out of her mouth. Then, she twists and faces Seatco. Her whole body turns into a river as it surges toward the demon. Seatco attacks her the moment her body reforms, but it has no effect, phasing utterly through her liquid-like body.

 

After all, like this, she's just a soul. Only attacks that can affect a soul will hurt her.

 

Lily bares her teeth as she lunges toward the man, seeking to sink those fangs into him. With her joining, Lennon has a little bit of reprieve. But still, I need to heal Virgil.

 

His light seemed able to counter this fog quite well.

 

The man's wounds are primarily gone, but he's not awake yet. Grimacing against the pain of... well, everything, seeing as whenever I use my skill from Martyr, the sensations are amplified, I slap him in the face. A forceful grunt comes from my mouth as blood leaks from my facade onto his.

 

"Wake up, you bastard. We need you."

 

Virgil's eyes flutter lightly, then a second later, they burst open, the pupils inside wholly different. The white of his eyes is now black, while the pupil is white. Every Angel's eyes change as they meld with their Sigil, the pupils the window to the soul.

 

And his are a duality.

 

I cough out some more blood as Virgil's brows furrow in worry. Then, they snap back into focus just as he did when he landed that headbutt. He grabs my feeble body and sets me down before rushing to help Lennon, leaving me a thanks.

 

"Appreciate it. Heal him up, Blodwyn."

 

My companion inside bristles with joy at being recognized, something only Virgil really does. And with the recognition, the Ether from my heart flourishes, my wounds recovering even faster. Meanwhile, I witness Virgil lift a glowing hand up before stabbing his chest with a radiant thumb.