Lesley was on the verge of dozing off in her armchair when she heard Harley scream.

"Harley?" she called out, leaping out of her position and jumping down the stairs, only to see Harley push past her as Dyrroth unnervingly grinned at her, the door ajar behind him.

"Long time no see," Dyrroth said nonchalantly, hooking a leg around a chair and tugging it over to him with a screech, before casually slumping in it.

Lesley regretted not keeping her rifle with her, instead placing it in her bedroom.

Behind her, Harley began backing away.

Dyrroth leaned to the side. "Hello there. You're Harley, aren't you?"

"Leave my brother out of this," Lesley snapped.

"Is this how you treat a guest? Your parents evidently didn't teach you manners," Dyrroth continued, causing Lesley's jaw to clench.

"How did you get in? The wards are fixed," Lesley asked, stalling for time as Harley slowly inched towards the staircase.

"You should know by now that wards can't stop me."

Lesley stepped forward. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I'm here to take your lives and whatever food you have in the fridge. Do you have pasta? We don't get a lot of that down in the Abyss."

Lesley heard the familiar sounds of Harley's fingers drumming against the bannister of the staircase.

"No pasta then? Guess I'll just settle for your intestines."

"Harley, run," Lesley snarled, and charged forward.

"Ah, the fight," Dyrroth smiled, and bounced out of the chair.

Lesley kicked him in the side but he barely moved back, and swung his fist in a wide arc, the razor's spikes just missing her face as she felt the air whistle as the weapon hit the table, and Lesley watched, transfixed, as cracks spiderwebbed from where Dyrroth's fist was embedded in the table, until the table came apart with a final groan.

"Rest in pieces," Dyrroth told the remains of the table, before turning to Lesley, and fear rattled her bones. "That'll be you in some time."

Lesley dropped to the floor, her foot snaking out in a sweep right as Dyrroth leapt up with a spinning kick.

Both missed and Dyrroth landed as Lesley sprang to her feet, and Dyrroth wasted no time in going in with another wild swing that Lesley barely managed to step away from.

Dyrroth stepped closer and Lesley punched him with all the force she could muster in the cheek. He staggered back and Lesley moved in with a follow-up kick before she realised that it was a feint.

Dyrroth stomped on his feet and his razor came in again, and Lesley was neither fast nor lucky enough to avoid it.

She felt it hit her head and everything went fuzzy from there. She dimly recalled falling as Dyrroth stood above her, laughing and she blinked and realised that she was being dragged.

She kicked at Dyrroth, but her movements were jerky and she was unfocused from being hit in the head, and it came off as a minor annoyance as Dyrroth laughed.

Lesley closed her eyes and kicked out again, this time focusing her movements, and Dyrroth grunted and let go.

Lesley scrambled to her feet, and she stood up, staring Dyrroth in the eye, albeit unsteadily and somewhat nauseous.

Dyrroth simply laughed. "All yours, Helcurt."

He stepped aside and a purplish-black blur hurtled at her face and Lesley instinctively raised her hands as she was thrown back.

"It's your time to die," a raspy voice came from the creature, and Lesley felt claws sinking into her arms and saw a high, spiked purple tail with a stinger on the end.

Lesley felt a chill run down her spine. Shadowbringer.

She struggled but the Shadowbringer pressed on her forearms, and Lesley yelped as the flesh on her arms was cut into like butter.

I'm sorry, Harley. Love you too.

And then the familiar sound of a gunshot filled her ears, and the Shadowbringer shrieked and leapt off Lesley, who looked to her left to see her brother holding a rifle almost as long as he was. "Get the hell off my sister."

The creature hissed, its red eyes focussed on Harley.

And then, something suddenly changed. The red glow faded from the creature's eyes, and it turned to Dyrroth, and pounced.

Dyrroth snarled and flipped, kicking the Shadowbringer in the face.

Lesley pushed herself to her feet, clenching her jaw as Harley hurried over, handing her the rifle.

"I told you to run," Lesley snapped.

"And leave you to die?" Harley retorted.

They looked back where the Shadowbringer had its claws sunk into Dyrroth's chest as he repeatedly battered it with his razors.

"The mind control failed, huh?" the creature taunted Dyrroth, grunting as another razor sunk into his chest.

"Not yet," Dyrroth smiled, and threw him off with an almighty heave, and the Shadowbringer hit the ground.

Dyrroth's eyes glowed red and the Shadowbringer's eyes glowed the same shade as it screamed in what Lesley recognised as agony.

The scream was cut off as the Shadowbringer's eyes turned red once more, and Dyrroth and his new servant turned to Lesley and Harley.

"Harley-" Lesley started, but she was cut off. "I'm not leaving you to die."

Lesley turned to her brother, whose jaw was set in a determined expression, and realised that she couldn't change his mind.

"Together," she said.

"Together," her younger brother echoed.

"Truly touching," Dyrroth drawled. "Maybe I'll bury you in the same grave. Together, as you said."

And with that, Lesley raised her rifle and fired.


It was blank for Gusion.

He didn't think, didn't talk, just moved through the green surroundings.

There was no pain in death, just blankness.

But Gusion wasn't dead.

Vexana could draw out the life of a person, but it wouldn't kill them.

Vexana had thought that her technique would work on someone who had barely escaped death the first time, but she was wrong.

But for all intents and purposes, the life leaving Gusion would have left his soul wandering in a simulation of death, drawn upon by Vexana at times to boost her energy.

And it did.

Until Gusion started to think.

One thought, that no one knew to this date and which no one would know, seeped into Gusion's mind, and the dam broke.

Gusion stood up, remembering who he was, and the blank transparent soul transformed into a brown haired young man aged seventeen, wearing a white shirt, black pants, and a white link around his waist.

And Gusion saw the link, and walked towards it.

Behind him, the door closed, and the spirits grumbled angrily.

"Dead," Vexana happily whispered as she looked at the limp corpse before her. "Dead as a doornail."

She had crossed paths with the arrogant dagger-wielder once, and his survival had irked her. But now her technique had worked, and he was dead.

And right then his eyes flickered open, and he propped himself up on his elbows.

Vexana's eyes widened in surprise. "You're alive."

"Yep," the boy admitted, and his blade flashed as Vexana backed away from the gleaming steel.

He teleported in a beam of light and Vexana saw him running away.

She snarled and glided after him, just as the abyss opened up.

The voice she had become familiar boomed. Leave him. He has begun to dig Dyrroth's grave.

Vexana was somewhat uncertain. "But, my lord," she started.

Do not argue.

"Yes," Vexana accepted as she entered the hole.


Dyrroth twisted out of the way of the bullet as he sent a Burst Strike at her that she barely dodged.

She hurled a flashbang onto the ground and it exploded, spewing white smoke everywhere and temporarily deafening all the combatants.

But that wasn't enough to deter one specific combatant.

Lesley frowned as the white smoke began to darken and readied her rifle right as the smoke was replaced with shadows by the Shadowbringer springing out at her.

It was too close for Lesley to shoot it, so Lesley simply swatted it with the barrel and it stumbled, which was enough for Lesley to throw it off.

She rolled to her feet and pointed her rifle at the Shadowbringer, who hissed at her.

Then for a second, she hesitated.

From the brief altercation between Dyrroth and the creature, she inferred that the creature was not acting of its own free will and was being controlled by Dyrroth.

It had also fought Dyrroth, and that was certainly something to look out for.

Lesley would later remind herself of an old quote of her father's: Every second matters.

Harley dropped his hat right behind the Shadowbringer and furiously backpedalled, throwing out cards that hit the monster.

It turned on its tail and began moving towards her brother just as the shadows began fading. Lesley glimpsed Dyrroth on the ground, coughing heavily.

Just as the creature nearly made it to Harley, Harley snapped his fingers and suddenly, he was back where his hat was, laughing. "Double teleport!"

The creature disappeared and in less than a second, it was behind Harley. "I just need one," it rasped, and its tail shot forward and impaled Harley in the left side of his chest as Lesley fired at it.