Chapter Seven
Coldharbour.
A realm of Oblivion like a twisted vision of Nirn, the sky a slowly moving sludge and air so cold it burned. Ruins were cropped up between desolate mountains, twisted dead trees rose to the unsettling sky, cages with malicious design strung from them over the caverns that sliced between grey rock. Everything was smothered in a blue grey hue, ghostly blue orbs floating every so often as the dismal landscape gave way to villages and ruins, all of them crumbling, some with massive crystals that jutted skyward, soulless husks mining away at them.
Rocks and ruins floated across the sludge of a sky, drifting like leaves down a slow moving stream. The only true burst of color came from the luminescent rivers that curved through the ever shifting terrain, rising up in some places where gravity should have carried it down instead, thick and gelatinous instead of free flowing. It was desolate and foreboding, a deep sense of wrong emanating from the the realm. From the mountain Yosa'Min found herself upon, it all paled in comparison to the massive entity that dominated the horizon.
Molag Bal.
He was truly monstrous, an abomination pulled right out of a child's nightmare. He lacked any skin, instead grey muscle was pulled taught against bone that jutted out in some places, giving him an undead appearance. Without any lips to hide behind, jagged fangs gleamed with malice as he sneered down at her, glowing blue eyes beneath a heavy set brow fixing Yosa'Min in place. His spindly limbs ended in claws, while his feet were something of a mix between a bull and an eagle, talons instead of hooves. A long spiny tail snapped across the horizon, leveling mountains caught in its wake, pointing down at her in accusation.
Even his horns, a pair curving from the side of his wide face forward, seemed to be pointing at her, while several smaller ones sprouted across his face and down his skull. A part of her could see similarities with the vampire lord form of the Volkihar, bat like ears tilted towards her and the general structure of his face. The only clothing adorning his twisted form was a decorative loincloth which reached his knees, a horned skull affixed upon his waist. The nightmares did him no justice, only capturing a fraction of his grotesquity.
"Yosa'Min," he hissed, the Oblivion realm shaking with his voice. "Nice to have you finally join me."
"This is the only time I'll ever be here," she vowed, shakily rising to her feet. Her body ached from her journey into Coldharbour, icy fire lacing each breath she took of the thin air. Her head was pounding, vision blurring every so often as she felt a terrible weight press down on her. Gritting her teeth, she glared up at the daedric prince. "Where is Serana?" She tried searching for her through the bond, but in Coldharbour it was scattered, twisting all around and lost to the winds. All she could tell was Serana was somewhere within the Oblivion plane.
"Aw you're worried for her when you should be worried for yourself? Isn't it adorable the lengths a fledgling will go to save their sire?"
"I'm not scared," she retorted, "I'll defeat you and be rid of you forever."
Molag Bal laughed, mock horror upon his voice when he spoke next. "You plan on killing me? Is that it?" His teeth were bared into a snarl, Molag Bal drawing closer to her, each step carrying him miles across Coldharbour. Ruins and villages that seemed plucked from Nirn were crushed underfoot, thunder echoing across and battering Yosa'Min further against the mountain ledge she was standing upon. "When will your feeble mind comprehend the impossibility of your situation? Your soul is mine, and it will belong to me again once more."
"And when will you understand I'm not giving up! I will never give up!" She screamed back, hands balled into fists. She wished desperately for a weapon, a bow especially, but she was unarmed upon that ledge, the wind whipping past with growing intensity. She felt small and weak, helpless in Coldharbour with a Daedra coming for her soul. A shiver ran down her spine, Paarthurnax's voice rumbling reassurances that she knew could only be her imagination. Focus mal dovah. Yosa'Min closed her eyes for a moment, trying to center herself, thinking upon the lessons he had taught her. Four days might have been a short amount of time, but for her, Laat Dovahkiin, it might as well have been years worth of training. "I'm not powerless," she whispered, before snapping her head up and screaming. "Now where is Serana!"
He paused, smiling down at her with as much amusement as his taut face could express. "Perfect," he uttered, Coldharbour shuddering in warning before his tail came around, aimed right at Yosa'Min. She swore violently as she saw it approaching, feeling slow almost given its magnitude but she had already seen the power within it. Moving the only direction she could, Yosa'Min leaped from the ledge, sliding down the mountainside to the ruins below. All she could hear was rocks being destroyed as his tail sliced through the stone, dragging across the surface as dirt and rock exploded into an avalanche behind her.
Her hand bled as she tried to slide into any shelter, using it and her boots to steer herself towards a set of ruins jutting from the cliffside. A faint blue orb pulsated near what looked to have once been a bell tower now fallen on its side. Yosa'Min hissed through her teeth as she aimed towards it, sliding at a terrifying pace. Just as she were to crash into it, she focused upon a word of power, shouting as she jumped from the steep mountainside into the belfry. "FEIM ZII GRON!"
She became translucent, only an outline of shimmering white as she collided with the old metal bell, feeling none of the impact that otherwise might have killed her. Moving without hesitation, she clambored to the side where the belfry would shield her from the avalanche of stone. Barely a second had passed before the rubble crashed down. Stone pelted the bell until a larger one knocked it clean off. The other side collapsed under the weight of rock while Yosa'Min prayed her side remained intact. It felt like hours before the rocks stopped, Yosa'Min returning to normal and gasping in the shelter, hunched down with eyes shut.
Opening her eyes as the last sprays of dirt fell, Yosa'Min's breath caught in her throat as she met one glowing blue eye, Molag Bal staring at her through what remained of the belfry. "Aren't you a slippery one," he said, voice deafening at such a closeness, pain exploding in Yosa'Min's skull. "I'll enjoy destroying that spirit of yours!" The belfry exploded into rubble as his claws smashed through, gripping Yosa'Min between his powerful hands, each finger dwarfing her in their size.
Her head swooned with the force of him rising to his full height, lungs screaming in protest as he squished her between his fingers, not quite crushing her entirely. Blood filled her mouth, a rib cracking as he squeezed, a low cackle emanating from him. He rose her to his face, the glow of his eyes so bright it blinded her, Yosa'Min having to shut her eyes to shield herself from the pain. "You know Yosa'Min," he said, squeezing harder, "I expected more from you. I looked forward to our fight even, a foe worthy of crushing beneath my heel!"
She spat blood onto his hand, baring her fangs. "I've been known to disappoint before, don't flatter yourself thinking you're something new," she hissed, fire bubbling in the back of her mouth. "YOL TOOR SHUL!" Flames spewed forth, washing over the daedra who shrieked as his flesh was burned. He squeezed harder upon Yosa'Min. Her breath stopped short, twisting with the torment, fire licking upwards as she screamed before dying out entirely. Tears welled in her eyes as he crushed her legs, her cry ripping skyward, before he snapped his wrist and sent her flying across Coldharbour. The sky and ground changed places as she was thrown, nauseating and confusing. When she was finally able to figure out what was going on, mind blank with pain almost, she summoned her Thu'um as quickly as possible.
"FEIM!"
Once more she became translucent, crashing into a mountainside without suffering further injury. Her legs were numb, unfeeling as she lay upon the stone, tears streaming down her face as waves of heat rose from her lower back, at least one rib cracked. She could taste blood as she struggled to sit up, Molag Bal turning towards her with a sneer of disdain. "Come on!" He bellowed, tail lashing out and destroying more mountains. "You're so weak! Why am I even surprised? You had to be helped by three others to defeat the soul you were destined to kill. You're not even strong enough to kill Alduin on your own, of course you're no match for me."
The shout wore off quickly, Yosa'Min clutching her side, gasping in hot breaths. Her vision blurred for a moment, Yosa'Min struggling to find the focus to cast a healing spell. Still her legs did not respond, cold like ice from her hips down. "I am strong," she proclaimed through blood, struggling still to sit up. Finally she managed to upright herself, gasping wetly, bursts of pain filling her skull.
"How?" He demanded. "The power you possess is borrowed. You are no dragon, you're a redguard, a mortal soul with as feeble a body as her mind. Yosa'Min is nothing more than a washed up hero who thought she could become something better only to fail time and time again. She's pitiful really, a drunken harlot, an arrow without a target. How many times have you lost your purpose Yosa'Min? How many times have you gone adrift?"
"I've found a purpose," she proclaimed, ribs digging into her lungs, blood filling her mouth. "I'm going to save Vastin."
"For how long this time? If you ever find your brother, what will you do then?" He asked cruelly, flashing his tail and toppling more mountains. Claws reached for her, Yosa'Min trying to drag herself to the edge where she could fall down the mountainside, but he grabbed her before she could escape. "You will never find a true purpose again, because you're nothing more than a waste of space. You should have jumped from that lighthouse instead of cowarded out." Hot rancid breath fell upon her face, making Yosa'Min gag. She winced at the brightness of his eyes, like two blue suns burning into her. "My claiming of your soul shall be a charitable act. No one will have to suffer your existence ever again."
Legs dangled like snapped tree limbs, her leather armor bloodied, the pain near to consuming her as he squeezed upon her chest, ribs feeling as if they might collapse entirely. She couldn't even scream, breathless torment slipping from her throat. "What was that?" He questioned, dropping her onto his other palm, delighting in her breaking one bit at a time. "You want to give up?" With a guttural roar of defiance Yosa'Min punched his palm repeatedly, gaining an amused laugh from the daedric prince. "Do you really think you can defeat me like this? Yosa'Min this is almost embarrassing."
Grimacing up at him, tears of pain in her eyes, Yosa'Min focused upon the burning rage within in her, calling it forward with a mighty cry. "STRUN BAH QO!"
The sludge of a sky twisted violently, lightning striking down from the viscous clouds. Molag Bal seethed as they hit, stumbling the mighty daedra. His hand tightened around Yosa'Min. A gale of wind smashed against Molag Bal, sheets of rain the same gelatinous blue as the rivers slamming into him, ashen muscles hissing as they burned against him. His own hiss rose above the thunder as more lightning zapped him, a tempest bursting into life with only three words.
"This is my realm!" Screamed Molag Bal, slamming his fist into a ruin. Yosa'Min screamed as he dragged it along through the stone buildings lost to eons of decay. "I am lord and master here! Not you!" He pulled his hand back up, ready to bite her in two, only to find Yosa'Min was no longer there.
"What?" He hissed with rising agitation, not liking her turning the tables on him one bit. "Where did you go you worthless whore?" Fat glowing raindrops obscured his vision, lightning blasting his body, wind whipping around him strong enough to nearly make him stumble. It picked up further, sweeping across Coldharbour, shifting like Yosa'Min's fury taken physical form. The clouds rotated violently, lightning arching outwards, turning into a tornado that slammed into Molag Bal with the force of a hurricane. The daedric prince screeched in outrage, trying to push back the twister, squaring his feet to keep it from moving any further. Smoke rose from his flesh as the glowing liquid burned, lightning danced across, jumping from horns to claws and back again.
"Enough!" He roared, grabbing the tornado and twisting around, snapping the clouds in half as a burst of blue light exploded from his chest. Suddenly the sky was clear, revealing itself to be an almost entirely empty void, patches of twinkling stars from other planes of Oblivion drifting along a violet ribbon of light. "You cannot defeat me Yosa'Min!" He bellowed, slamming a foot down and causing earthquakes to ripple out from his foot. The rubble of a ruin collapsed, revealing Yosa'Min to him. "There you are… Was that your best shot? That? A little storm? You should have brought Auriel's bow rather than use some parlor trick to defeat me. How foolish, how reckless, can you be?"
She laid on her belly with a trail of blood behind her. She coughed up crimson, retching upon the twisted stone. Every inch of her insides was an agonizing mess, something hard pressing into something soft, something torn and something bleeding. Her spells were not strong enough to reverse the damage, doing little more than restoring her blood so she did not fade away. "You know," she hissed out, voice little more than a hoarse rattle, "you sure do like to tear down your enemy before you kill them, don't you?"
"Seeing you struggle makes the hunt worth it," he said maliciously, "the way you try so desperately to stop me, giving it your all, only to fall beneath me as you were doomed to. Just as all mortals are. You are nothing compared to the might of a daedric prince."
"You really are sadistic," she uttered, "you're toying with me aren't you? All it really took was you grabbing me and I'm almost out of the fight." Her legs were useless, no sensation, no feeling, simply dead weight beneath her. Her mind was little more than pain. She was alone, Serana nowhere to be found, with the all powerful god of this realm of Oblivion playing with her like a cat does a mouse. She was weaponless, injured, and as much as she tried to dismiss his cruel words something about them pushed at her. There was a truth to them, somewhere, not just empty lies. He knew something about her, seeing into her soul though the bond.
My soul.
She placed a hand above her heart, pained fluttering in her chest, a plot forming within her mind. "I'm so sorry Mjoll," she whispered, hearing him draw nearer, wishing Mjoll was there at her side yet grateful she would be spared this torture. "I thought I knew what I was doing."
"Your arrogance has been your downfall," Molag Bal decreed. He smashed through the ceiling of the ruin she was within, and plucked her by her jerkin. "The Thu'um is nothing compared to my power."
Her head swooned once more as she was lifted towards his face, this time keeping her eyes open as she glared into those burning blue suns. Blood trickling from her mouth, Yosa'Min gave a small smirk, confusing Molag Bal. "Oh I wouldn't say that."
"And what would-"
"VO AHRAAN!"
Yosa'Min's body was consumed in a burst of hot white light, washing over her, gentle warmth to the redguard but Molag Bal screamed and threw her once more into the mountainside. Her legs radiated the heat of a star, feeling returning to them in a heartbeat, the coppery taste of blood evaporating and pain vanishing entirely. Speeding away like an arrow, Yosa'Min couldn't help but laugh in triumph as she readied herself to land on the stone, flipping over with grace. She was perfectly restored, no hint of the pure torture she had just suffered through if one ignored the scuffs and cuts upon her armor. "FEIM!" She absorbed the impact with ease, straightening up and wiping dirt from her shoulder. "That all you got?"
"You…" Molag Bal was without words for a moment, staring down at her. "You lied, you still believe in yourself. How?"
Glaring at the beast of nightmares, Yosa'Min clenched her fists. "Because I finally know who I am, and there is nothing you can say or do to take that away from me. You can break my body, you can kill me even, but you will never have my soul."
Something inside Molag Bal snapped, the sadistic glee he had taken in manipulating and tormenting her gone as nothing but hardness filled his eyes. "So be it," he said in a low voice, tail poised to strike. "Your soul is worth too much to lose."
"I thought I was worthless?"
His face twisted into a horrifying snarl, but all Yosa'Min felt was anger of her own. A strength filled her, rising up her spine and radiating along her skin. The shout she had just used was one she'd never uttered before, never even learned either from Paarthurnax, the Greybeards or a word wall. Instead, she'd created it, combining the two words into something new, giving it power and will just as Paarthurnax had instructed. She was done treating the Thu'um as some secondary skill, some back up plan, as if it were shameful to use except for those do or die situations she always found herself in. It was time to embrace her identity as Dovahkiin. She knew who she was, understood her shortcomings and what she wished to improve of herself. She would overcome her true nature like Paarthurnax had, but first she needed to accept it.
With a deep breath, Yosa'Min invoked her true name.
"NOK AH TIFIIR!"
A burst of brilliant light consumed Yosa'Min, as if all the lightning in Nirn had struck her. For a few moments she was completely obscured by the crackling energy, until it began to coalesce into something akin to a dragon. Scales of shimmering red light wrapped around her body, some of them accented a rosey pink color, Yosa'Min visible within. Claws wrapped around her fingers and feet. Spikes manifested down her spine as a pair of wings emerged from her back, radiant and beautiful. A long tail fell behind her, no noise made as it dropped onto the ground. Meanwhile her face was shielded by a draconic skull that materialized, long horns curving away, and a blue light burned above her eyes.
Every inch of her was invigorated, power coursing through her body in waves that rippled along the draconic armor of light. Yosa'Min allowed herself a moment of awe, looking down at herself, feeling the certainty and power that filled her. She looked up at Molag Bal, grinning in triumph as he swiped his tail at her once more. Taking off into a run, Yosa'Min spread her wings, feeling them without thought, truly an extension of herself made whole at last. Just as his tail began to crush the ground beneath her, Yosa'Min reached a cliffside, diving off it without a moment of hesitation. Wind filled her wings, catching her as she rolled and flapped, evading Molag Bal's strike with grace.
"I'll ask you one more time!" She screamed as she flew towards his face. Her voice reverberated like thunder, rivaling Molag Bal's. "Where is Serana!"
"How about you give up and I'll take you to her?" He hissed, swiping at her with his claws as if she were an annoying fly.
"Never!"
"Then we understand each other," he replied. A purple energy radiated along his spine, solidifying in his claw like hands. "But do you understand that even with your Thu'um you are still drastically out of your depth? You're never going to defeat me! I am Molag Bal!" The magic shot outwards, blasting Yosa'Min back who flipped over and over until she settled herself out.
"And I don't care!" She twisted around another swipe, sailing up along his torso, too small and too quick for him to stop her. Once all she could see was angry cerulean eyes, she opened her maw and let loose a torrent of flame as powerful as a proper dragon's. Molag Bal seethed, stumbling back as she burned his face. The magic regathered too quickly for Yosa'Min to escape, colliding into her with a vengeance, Yosa'Min almost able to feel his actual hate seeped into it. Purple flames burned along her translucent scales, eating away at her in a manner that sapped at her strength.
Diving low, Yosa'Min barely managed to avoid a second blast of magic. Wings flapped violently behind her, catching the gusts of wind generated in the strange realm. She banked towards his ankles, hoping to topple him from below. "FUS RO DAH!" The concussive wave of air smashed into Molag Bal's ankles, causing him to stumble but little else. He stomped his taloned feet, causing earthquakes and explosions of rock. Cursing under her breath, Yosa'Min tried to evade them but not even she was that swift. A boulder the size of a house smashed into her from below, causing her vision to momentarially white out with pain, spinning her helplessly through the air. Molag Bal caught her in his claws, bringing her up and not wasting any time with taunts of jeers as he tried to devour her whole.
"STRUN BAH QO!"
Once more the sky twisted, turning against the lord of the realm. Molag Bal roared with fury as loud as the thunder, Coldharbour shuddering with the clashing powers, deafening booms echoing across as he grappled with the very sky. Yosa'Min took shelter on one of the floating rocks, the blue liquid rivers picked up by the winds and stinging Molag Bal's grey flesh. Even she struggled with not being sucked into the vortex Molag Bal combatted, holding the very tornado between his claws. She dug her claws into the floating rock, feeling the force sucking at her, tail whipping behind her like a flag. The whistling roar of the tornado was ear-splitting, Molag Bal's shouting made incoherent against it. She could only hold on a moment longer before her claws slipped and she was sucked into it.
The storm was pure chaos, lightning zapping through it with the sole intent of destroying Molag Bal, illuminating the daedric prince in flashes. Yosa'Min tumbled like a leaf, burns upon her body from the gelatinous liquid that was swirling with the wind, something disturbingly wrong about it. Flapping her wings in an attempt to level herself out, Yosa'Min didn't see the swiping claws of Molag Bal, screaming out upon impact as all her thoughts burst into pain. Spiraling, Yosa'Min collided with a boulder caught in the maelstrom. She clutched it desperately, unable to make anything out in the twisting clouds she'd summoned. Her shimmering light draconic form was like a single star on a dark night.
A flash of blue was the only warning Yosa'Min had before Molag Bal surged, ignoring the storm itself now and going after her directly. Fangs as tall as a cottage flashed towards her, the daedra trying to devour her entirely. She opened her mouth in return, flames spewing forth directly into Molag Bal's gaping maw. Slapping her away, Molag Bal sent her through the air with enough force to eject her from the storm, only her magical form saving her from breaking further ribs as she twisted and tumbled. Like a bird with an injured wing, Yosa'Min struggled to stay aloft, some of her scales shimmering and fitzing like sparks from a fire.
Molag Bal tore the storm apart, his hands shaping Coldharbour once more to what it should have been, twisted and vile. The clouds dissipated, getting pulled back up into the sky where they belonged, turning once more to a thick sludge and hiding the other realms of Oblivion that had been visible. Standing atop a village now reduce to ruins was Molag Bal, seething with rage, violet ripples of magic around his body. A moment passed of Yosa'Min flapping there, the pair staring the other down, before he opened his maw. The magic trickled up his abominable form and consolidated in front of his monstrous maw, a chill filling the air before it shot forth, a beam of pure light and magic, a dirge like noise following it.
Yosa'Min dropped from the sky, closing her wings and letting herself enter freefall, desperately trying to dodge the beam. Her head swam with the force of the fall, barely able to keep her eyes open to see the quickly approaching ground. At the last possible second she reopened her wings, just enough lift in them to avoid smashing into the ground. The beam was following her, Molag Bal turning after her, everything caught in its path disintegrating. Villages and ruins vanished, the soulless husks the populated the realm were no more, nothing was left as Molag Bal tried to kill her.
Flapping with all she had, Yosa'Min started climbing into the sky as it moved low, the Thu'um upon her tongue. "WULD NAH KEST!" She moved like a blur, putting so great a distance between where she'd just been and where she appeared once more that Molag Bal lost sight of her for a moment. She repeated the process, finding the strength to use the Thu'um far quicker than she ever could before. Her body hummed with power, invigorated, heart racing.
As she sped up a mountain, hidden on the other side from Molag Bal, she caught sight of something that gave her pause. Far across Coldharbour was a triangular shaped stone pedestal with nothing large enough for her to make out upon it from such a distance, but a blue light softly spilled from it, calling to her. There was a tug on her heart. "Serana!" She screamed in realization, abandoning her fight with Molag Bal and flying to it as quick as she could, using the Thu'um to traverse the miles in only a matter of seconds. When she landed there was only a small cage barely large enough for its occupant, and a spire from each corner of the pedestal, blue magic tethering the cage down to it.
"Serana!"
Sunset eyes stared up at her, Serana hunched down in the small cage, clutching herself. Her clothes were torn, blood everywhere Yosa'Min looked, old and fresh puddles seeping into grey rock. "Yosa'Min?" She whimpered, shivering as she rubbed her eyes and took in Yosa'Min. "Is that… you?"
"It's me!" She proclaimed, rushing to her former sire's side. She could hear Molag Bal's roars like distant thunder, the sound of toppling mountains following as he searched for her. "Are you okay? What happened?"
She reached for the cage, only Serana's shout stopping her short. "No!"
"What?" Yosa'Min pulled her hand back.
"It's a trap!"
She blinked. "I can't leave you like this!"
"I know but… If you touch this cage he'll be here in an instant. I can hear you fighting him, and you're not winning."
"I'm not exactly losing anymore either." Serana grimaced, unable to hide the pain she was in. "What did he do to you?" Yosa'Min asked in a low voice. Serana hid her face. "Serana?" She began to weep. The anger she felt boiled over, consuming Yosa'Min. "I'm getting you out," she vowed, hands clenching. "We're going to defeat him."
"You can't kill a daedra in his own realm," Serana argued in a strained voice. "It's impossible. Only the aedra can kill a daedra and neither of us are that."
Yosa'Min drew as close to the cage as she could, wanting to hold Serana and comfort her but the cage stood between them. "We don't have to kill him," she replied firmly, "we just have to break this bond."
Serana looked down at her hands. Yosa'Min had never seen her so broken before, but she could easily understand why. "How?"
"Well first we're getting you out of that cage." Yosa'Min comforted, looking back to the spires that seemed the source of the magic binding her there. "Then we'll sever this bond one way or another."
"Yosa…" She whispered, "I'm sorry I can't help. I'm just… I'm useless."
"Hey," Yosa'Min replied, getting her to look up at her. She wore a pained smile, visible beneath the glowing dragon armor. "This isn't your fault. None of it. And when I get you out you're going to help me break this bond and get out of here. I can't do this without you. I need you Serana, I always will."
Tears welled in Serana's eyes, streaks down her cheeks making it evident they weren't the first she'd shed since arriving in Coldharbour. "Okay. I believe you."
The smile became softer. "Good," she said, before spreading her wings and flying over to a spire. It was at least as tall as Dragonsreach, Yosa'Min having to fly up it to reach the top where a blue crystal rested within, arcs of magic spiraling out until they turned into a solid line which connected with the rest above the cage. Examining it for a moment, trying to discern the best way to free Serana, Yosa'Min made up her mind and focused upon her Thu'um.
"FUS RO DAH!"
With the force to topple mountains, she destroyed the crystal and the upper half of the spire. Moving as quickly as she could to the next one, Yosa'Min could already feel a shift in the freezing air. Molag Bal's voice roared in fury across Coldharbour. "Yosa'Min!"
"Fuck," she hissed, reaching the second one and destroying it just the same. As she raced for the third and final one she could hear his feet upon the landscape, earthquakes making Serana's cage clatter as everything shook violently. Just as she reached the last one Molag Bal arrived, kicking her away from the spire while inadvertently destroying it himself. The magic surrounding Serana's cage imploded, tinkling for a few moments, before the cage dissolved entirely, freeing Serana.
Molag Bal wasted no time on words, reaching for the injured nord, only for Yosa'Min to zip past, scooping her in up her arms and rising into the sky. Serana clutched her desperately, eyes wide in terror. "Yosa I hope you know what you're doing because that's one pissed off daedra behind us!"
"Not a damn clue!" Yosa'Min said, fire filling her chest that she was painfully aware of. Sparing a glance down, she was startled to see a line of magic connecting them, difficult to discern it among the glowing magic surrounding her body but she could most certainly feel it. It reminded Serana of what they'd seen connecting Yosa'Min to the spectral of her hybrid form during her resurrection ceremony. "Is that… the bond?"
Serana blinked, touching it apprehensively, an intimate sensation overwhelming her. It was soft and peaceful, warmth that drew them both closer to the other. For a moment Yosa'Min stalled, focused entirely upon Serana, until she let go of it and Yosa'Min straightened herself out, having to shake her head to clear the thoughts of Serana that now ran rampant. "It is."
"How do we break it?" Yosa'Min asked, banking around a mountain as magic sailed after them, decimating everything in its path. Crackles of energy rolled over her, electrifying their blood but not harming them. "Can we cut through it?"
Serana gave another tug, once more splitting Yosa'Min's concentration. "It feels pretty strong," she said, "it's stronger the closer we are even."
"But distance doesn't break it," Yosa'Min countered, dropping low into a canyon where blackened ruins rested, Molag Bal's magic chasing them. She had to duck and dodge around jutting spikes of rock, a burst of wind filling her glowing wings and sending them swiftly through it. "What if…" She trailed off, looking over her shoulder for a split moment at the roar of magic behind them. "Fuck!" She gave a heave, using the Thu'um to give them a burst of speed, narrowly avoiding the beam of magic as it cut through the stone.
Yosa'Min darted into a crevice small enough that Yosa'Min doubted he knew they were there, or had seen them slip into it. Serana clutched her, shaking, eyes wide. "That was close."
"Yeah…" Yosa'Min hovered for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Her body was aching still, fire in her lungs and strain in her limbs. "I don't know how much more I can run away. This shout could wear off soon, I've never done it before I don't know how long it'll last."
A cold fury was in sunset orbs when Serana looked back at her, hands gripping her tightly, claws scraping magical light scales. "He wants to kill us," she said firmly, baring her fangs. "When he does he'll be able to claim your soul."
"What about you?"
"He already has mine."
Yosa'Min frowned at her. "Serana… Are you alright?"
Sunset eyes stared at her, fangs bared in a grimace, shaking in her arms. "No."
For a few moments Yosa'Min forgot about Molag Bal, couldn't hear the roars of frustration that shook the very realm. All she saw was her former sire, felt her trembling, and the cold rage within them both. "We're going to make him pay," she vowed, hugging Serana tightly. "He's not going to hurt you ever again."
A strained noise came from Serana. They embraced for a few moments more, before an explosion split the ground around them, rocks and dust exploding every which way. Yosa'Min's grip on Serana tightened, securing her against glowing scales, and she flapped her wings to escape the collapsing crevice. Rising into the sky, she was met with ice cold eyes, and a sneer that could make blood freeze. "Enough games," Molag Bal hissed, magic collecting along his skin, seeping out of his very flesh. "Your souls belong to me!"
Suddenly an idea formed in Yosa'Min's mind. "Do you trust me?" She shouted at Serana, rising higher into the sky.
"Of course!" Wind whipped along their bodies, the sludge above sucking at them, trying to devour them. Their eyes met, confusion in Serana's, fear in Yosa'Min's. The Dragonborn's grip loosened, Serana gasping, clutching magic scales tighter but they were smooth and shimmered like water. "Yosa!"
Yosa'Min let her go.
The dirge was a moment behind the beam, slicing through the sludge of clouds just as Yosa'Min vanished into them, a firefly of light for only a second before pure magic ripped through, vaporizing everything in its wake. Serana fell, reaching desperately, screaming, plummeting with tears as she watched the magic slice higher into the sky. The tether between them burned, straining against her, weakening the further she fell. Pain surged through her body, pure agony consuming her once more, her heart feeling as if it might burst. Molag Bal roared and attacked, trying to kill Yosa'Min as she flew through the clouds, Serana catching glimpses of her light through the thinner clouds.
Serana clutched the bond, trying to climb up it almost but it was impossible, the sensation of intimacy weakening. She could feel Yosa'Min through it, but it was fading the further she got. The pain built, Serana screaming her name, trying to reach Yosa'Min. Molag Bal fired another magical blast, the tether between them caught by it. Another crackle of magic ripped through her. It was as if lightning had struck her, pain far greater than anything she'd ever felt before, vision blotting out and breath leaving her.
The bond broke.
Serana plummeted.
"TIID KLO UL!"
Yosa'Min dove through the sludge of clouds, portions of her dragonic armor faded, wounded and bleeding. Time moved at a crawl for her, the brilliant beam of magic from Molag Bal's maw crackling and arching towards her as she deftly curled around it, flapping her wings at what felt like a normal pace to her, but to Serana and Molag Bal she was moving at an impossible speed. Everything within her hurt, a void of emptiness nestled in her chest, spreading outwards to consume her.
She couldn't breathe, she could barely think, chanting Serana's name over and over in her mind as she felt something tug at her, pulling her away. Magic swirled around her body, only a few feet from Serana as she dove at a neck-breaking pace, wings flapping with all their might. Her feet began to fade, slipping from Oblivion. "Serana!" She screamed, the vampire turning to shadows at a crawl, darkness licking up her body until she turned to wisps of shadowy bats, and surged towards the frantic Yosa'Min.
Yosa'Min threw her arms open as Serana manifested a few inches away, the pair colliding, spinning wildly like shooting stars. Yosa'Min held her so tight it hurt, but it was nothing compared to the void within her chest, or the Oblivion pulling at them. The shout wore off, the realm returning to its normal hue for Yosa'Min. Molag Bal screamed and tried to grab them, but flapping her wings once more, Yosa'Min curled around his swiping claws. They were both fading away, Molag Bal helpless to stop it. Half vanished already, Yosa'Min smiled back at the Daedric prince, Serana clutching her with wide eyes.
"I win," she hissed out triumphantly.
"No you don't!" He screamed, swiping at her one last time.
Almost entirely faded from the realm, Yosa'Min released one last shout. "FUS RO DAH!" A solid wave of air slammed into Molag Bal's claws, blasting them apart. There was an explosion of grey flesh and blood as he lost three fingers, ripped apart by her voice alone. As he collapsed, clutching his wounded hand, Coldharbour trembling with his screams, Yosa'Min and Serana faded away.
They'd escaped.
They'd won.
