Sorey had disregarded the threat in front of him; he desperately started toward his fallen friend, but Lailah's bloodcurdling scream stopped him dead. Heldalf did nothing, merely watched the moment unfold. "Know that I take no pleasure in this," he muttered, but his words were lost to Sorey.

The lady seraph spasmed and warped, darkened, then grew. Under his horrified gaze she grew to gigantic proportions, tearing her clothes to shreds; her once pristine skin turned into crimson scales, the shape of her body smoothed out into a massive, quadrupedal frame. The turquoise of Lailah's eyes remained, even though they were now slitted and sat in a skull bigger than Sorey in his entirety; a pair of white horns gleamed in the light, bent over her head like half a halo.

The dragon roared in challenge against the world, a sudden heat enveloping them all. The many mutated plants withered and died in agony as Sorey began to sweat; he hardly cared for it, numb to the world. The horrific sight captivated him, emptied his head of all feelings and reason.

In the silence that followed, one may have heard the dead whisper still. The broken shepherd stood motionless, right next to an equally solemn Lord of Calamity.

Then the dragon beheld them standing there and charged. A lumbering, uncertain gait quickly turned into thundering gallop, culminating in the unprepared Heldalf being slapped away. The dragon, Lailah, pivoted on her hindlegs and faced the falling hellion, barring his way from Sorey. A thin tail hammered into the ground next to him, melting the earth to glass; the heat shocked his horror away, being this near to Lailah made it impossible to breathe.

Heldalf landed on his feet and uncaringly produced a crater. He rose at once to study his creation as it growled at him, though not for long; as if offended with his very presence, the beast unleashed a stream of pressurized lava over the hundreds of metres between them, turning it all into a molten hellscape while the lion man dove aside.

Sorey tried to call out, to speak, but the heat made his mouth dry. He could hardly breathe and it got worse when, at last, her domain established itself. Darkness roiled around them again, crackling like flame. Sorey saw all this and forced out a single word with all his strength, little more than a whisper: "L-Lailah?"

The dragon fell still; her domain vanished, the heat faded. With Heldalf unmoving, she slowly turned her head back to him; Lailah glared, then stared at him. Then she moved forward, step by step; Sorey reached out, but she hissed and warbled. Seconds passed like this until she finally brought out a response: "Stay. Stay... distant." She shuddered, and the heat increased again. "Find Zennnnrus!"

With those parting words that turned into a horrifying growl, she lunged forward. Lava seeped out between her scales, scorching the earth.

Heldalf met the rampaging beast head-on this time. He knew he could destroy her, but the cost in ground and innocent lives would be great. Moreover, he realised, this gave him an opportunity. Pushing back his claw against the dragon's maw, he let go and dove aside to let her charge past him, then made to run. Inhumanly strong legs sent him flying across the Meadow of Triumph, followed by the furious roar of what was once the firekeeper Lailah.

It was odd all the same, he noted to himself while detonating an incoming wave of fireballs in mid-air. Among the handful of dragons he fought before, none had acted this conciously. It was proof of her strong will and desire to protect, reaching even into her final evolution.

Regardless, Heldalf fled the area faster than the dragon could pursue. Glancing behind, he found deep trenches and burning fields where lava fell, an omen of death taking to the air. That one swipe she hit him with might have broken something, which required medical attention later. A great feat, considering his extraordinary toughness. Yet Heldalf knew he could kill her with some effort, but disregarded the idea. Seeing that he never planned to kill Shepherd Sorey, retreating now was a perfect way to underplay his own capabilities; he needed to remain an invincible adversary to drive Sorey into despair and his eventual fall. A slow, methodical fall much like the rest of the world. Heldalf preferred it to open conflict, especially ever since this gut feeling of his had begun. He would not risk the attention of whatever Maotelus' subconcious warned him about, and so he would work slowly.

. .

. .

Four they had been but ten minutes earlier, now only three remained. One human and two seraphim, all watching in mute horror how Lailah chased after the fleeing Lord of Calamity. She rained down meteors and lava like a living volcano, howling after the lion man as he grew ever more distant. She only calmed after losing sight of him, flying up high with heavy wingbeats that grew slower over time; the dragon made to land.

Once back on the ground, Lailah just stood there and stared into the air, much like Sorey stared at her. She turned around at some point, looking directly at him, igniting hope within the young man. Hope which she dashed a moment later, stepping back and shaking violently. Then she fled their presence, further into the Meadow of Triumph.

"W-wait, Lai-" Sorey whispered what was supposed to be a shout, his voice failing halfway through her name. He wanted to follow her, see about cleansing her, but his legs were like jello and would not move. A heavy weight pushed down on his body and mind, kept him there as she, too, left.

The rest of the day was little more than a blur. Sorey walked in a daze, unaware which way he went. Every time he turned his head, he expected Lailah to be there, to smile and give him a pep talk. She never was.

By the time the sun set, he blinked in the sudden darkness and looked around, then to the ground, muttering to himself: "I guess I should find a place to-" The ground shook and stone plates rose up, forming a tent for him, complete with a stone bed. "-rest," Sorey finished after the rumbling stopped. He thanked the shaking Edna and said nothing when she ignored him; they were all deathly pale under the moonlight, but he knew it would be little different by day.

Taking a deep breath to center himself, Sorey made to ask Lailah for a fire. The words died on his lips when he remembered she was gone. There were no trees nearby to get firewood from and he carried none, either. It was getting cold and he felt even colder. He might get sick, he realised; but then again, even the night remained warm enough to not be life threatening without a fire.

"This is dumb."

The words startled him out of his reverie; together with his brother, Sorey watched Edna as she frowned at the outside. Her umbrella shook ever so slightly. "We can't stay in a funk forever," the girl continued. "We have to, h-have t-to..."

She trailed off, mouth opening and closing soundlessly as her eyes began to quiver with tears. A strangled sob escaped her throat, rattling Sorey out of his own funk; yet he stood there and watched how Edna covered her face, umbrella clattering to the ground forgotten. He could only meet Mikleo's equally shocked stare when the girl began to cry. So surprising was the sight that they only sprung into action when her quiet sobbing turned to helpless wails.

Sorey caught Edna and held her to his chest, felt the small girl shudder and cry against him. Her wails broke his own numbness to pieces and his own vision grew blurry; Mikleo embraced them both, crying much like they did.

Lailah was gone, turned in an instant and beyond salvation. Peaceful, loving Lailah had been taken from them.

He did not know how long they remained like this, but at some point Edna fell silent. None of them moved and at some point Sorey fell asleep, waking up still holding her and being held by his brother, the stiffness in his body hardly felt after everything. He shuddered awake time and again, nightmares hounding his sleep.

The morning was quiet; they sat together while Sorey ate, Mikleo looking out into the rain-filled distance and Edna cleaning her umbrella. The food tasted bland today, it failed to distract him from the horrible downpour soaking the land just metres away.

Edna broke the heavy silence, more subdued than she had ever been: "She said to find someone. Zenrus?" Her question drove another spike into Sorey's chest, but he forced himself to confront it. That name could not be a coincidence.

"That's gramps' name," he told the seraph girl softly. "He raised Mikleo and me, and he's the chief of our village. He's ancient."

"I wonder how she knows him," Mikleo muttered when Edna gave no response. The other man then shrugged sadly, sighing. "But I guess they could have met sometime in the past." No one had anything to add to that.

Seeing that another oppressive quiet settled over them at that point, Edna changed the subject abruptly: "We need new pacts, Sorey. And I'm not becoming Mibu's sublord." Sorey knew she hated the silence as much as he and was grateful, though that feeling faded when the meaning behind her words registered; Lailah maintained the bonds between him and the seraphim. With her... gone, all the pacts were severed.

"I don't want to be your sublord, either. You'd probably treat me like a servant." Mikleo huffed for good measure, though Edna curiously did not contradict him regardless. Neither of them had any heat to their argument this to take no risks on this, Sorey acquiesced; he figured this would at least distract them for a time. First he bonded with Mikleo out of habit, curiously watched by the other seraph; when it was Edna's turn however, just as she made to enter his body and establish their bond, it snapped again and threw her out. The girl shrieked and landed in an undignified heap, from where she glared up at the surprised men.

"What was that?" she demanded instantly. Sorey could only shake his head as he did not know, but a glance to Mikleo revealed a pained expression on his brother's face. Edna's anger fell away in shock a moment later. "You," she sputtered with widening eyes, staring at him. "Your resonance, it's not strong enough to bond with two seraphim."

The words felt like hammer blows. Sorey slumped further, unable to meet their gazes; it hurt to admit to himself, but she was right. He never knew how close he danced to the line; perhaps the incident with Alisha should have been more than a warning to him, but it was too late now.

"And you knew," Edna then accused Mikleo, who averted his gaze. Sorey looked up at him, hoping it would not be true; his brother had known but never told him?

"I did," he confirmed quietly, wincing when Sorey went back to staring at his own hands. "Lailah had to sever my bond when she bonded with Sorey, she explained it to me back then. I, I completely forgot about it until just now." Sorey wanted to be angry about not being told, but he just felt hollow. In less than a day, he had gone from being shepherd to being useless, perhaps even actively hurtful to the world.

"Maybe I wasn't meant to be shepherd," Sorey finally voiced his thoughts. He missed the sharp looks his musings earned. "This, this there, it wouldn't have happened if Margaret had been there instead. Or Rose. Or Alisha, even." It was bitter to admit; this duty, 'his' duty, he now felt certainty that literally anyone outstanding he met would have done better. Even a woman who had no resonance to speak of, who fell and became a hellion but retained who she was. Sorey failed, and horribly so.

Again, he missed the looks his friends exchanged and directed at him. They watched attentively, waiting for Malevolence to spew forth, but there was none. Sorey blamed himself, but he knew it all to be true and confronted his feelings as he always had. He refused to hide from them, regardless of how much it hurt. Seeing this, Mikleo wandered over to put a hand on his shoulder, offering quiet consolation. Surprisingly however, it was Edna who answered him first: "Don't say that. No one could have expected him to be that strong. I..."

She trailed off after those few words, but her intention was understood. Sorey heaved a heavy sigh, but looked up when Mikleo squeezed his shoulder. "She is right," the water seraph agreed. "I, we, we will think of something. Maybe if we can find some more allies and practice."

"And prayers," Edna added, only to earn confused stares. "If we continue helping people, their prayers will follow and strengthen us. That will give you greater strength in turn." Her voice held no real emotion, but had also lost its usual deadpan.

"I don't like helping people only to have their prayers," Sorey admitted after considering, "but that might work and I guess it's necessary."

Mikleo nodded, voicing his own agreement: "And we'd still be helping people."

The three began to smile; weak, brittle, but they smiled. Their spirit had been dampened, but it was not gone. And unaware of the men, Edna found strength in the realisation that Velvet was right; Sorey was the exact kind of fool the world needed. Someone who stepped up even if no one else could or would, someone who refused to back down. Losing the silver flame would be a perfect opportunity for Sorey to fade into obscurity, yet he rather committed himself to try again. Surrender did not even cross his mind.

"So," the man in question summarised, "we need to get back to Elysia and talk to gramps, and we need to gather as many prayers as possible on the way." Both seraphim agreed, though Edna fidgeted a little, frowning.

"I think you two should do that on your own," she finally told them, much to their surprise. Sorey had half a moment to wonder before she elaborated: "I need to talk to a few people in the meantime, maybe I can get us some allies." It made sense in a way, especially because Edna had no bond, but Sorey still felt she might be wanting to leave. The girl herself hesitated, eyeing the men uncertainly. "Will you be okay on your own?"

And just like that, even the small seeds of doubt her proposal may have planted were blown away. Touched by her concern, Sorey forced a reassuring smile and nodded. "Don't worry, and good thinking. I don't like that we have to split up, but we need to cover more ground and fast." He himself made a momentary pause before pushing himself and hugging her; the seraph girl grew tense, but relaxed immediately after and wrapped her arms around him in turn.

"This is just for today," she muttered against his chest, squeezing him gently.

"Of course."

They separated and Mikleo took Sorey's place, although the two did not embrace; instead they stared at each other uncertainly. Edna' lips curled up as she doubtlessly thought of another snide remark, but he surprised them both by holding out one fist to her. "Stay safe," was all the younger seraph said.

Edna blinked at the offered gesture, then at him; Sorey watched her debate internally with a mite of amusement, then joy when she bumped fists with his brother. "You too, Mikleo."

Their unorthodox goodbyes said, they all made to head out into the rain... only to realise Lastonbell was all of their destination after a few metres. Sorey felt hot embarassment once again, but he could not help but laugh over the silliness; his friends joined in, even though none of them was truly happy.

Seeing that they would stay together a little longer, they set up another stone platform sans throne and rushed away, back from whence they came.