Tala fought the sky, and the sky bled steel. The torrent of fire and stone continued to whirl as I sat and watched Tala fight the Blightwing. It was like watching a colorful painting suddenly burst to life with violence and flames. Tala was holding her own against the boss. She was flinging fire like a dancer trailing long red ribbons behind her. Her movements were swift and elegant. She had become a completely different person. She was more confident and more aggressive than before. Her final test before she claimed her pathway must have done something to her.
I opened my [Codex] and examined the Blightwing as Tala continued to fight it. Her attacks, though they were impacting directly into its face, weren’t dealing as much damage as we hoped. Its status hadn’t changed. It was strange. Why weren’t her attacks not dealing as much damage as the Colt Revolver? Her abilities had to be stronger than my weapon. The only thing I could think of was the boss’s resistance stat. It must be resistant to her attacks. Was it specifically magical attacks or fire-based attacks. It was made of metal and stone so I wanted to guess the latter.
Tala must have realized the same thing I did. The flame orb she had floating nearby began to shift in color. It went from a bright crimson to a subtle shade of blue. Once her magical weapon finished changing color, so did her way of moving. Her once swaying dance had now changed to focused stomps and strong postures. Her flame ribbons were now long ropes of ice. She whipped them around, snapping the magic into the bird’s wings right at the joints. The ice seemed to affect the beast as its movements slowed down and it became more difficult for it to shift its wings.
I couldn’t help but feel proud of her. She had changed so much. She went from a strong young girl determined to show her strength, to a broken soul lost in the shadows of the tower. Now she was a woman imbued with incredible power and she reveled in every second of it. Her eyes of anger and desperation were now gone. They were bright and full of determination, but I swore I saw a spark of joy in them as well. I don’t know if she was happy because she was holding her own against the Blightwing or because she felt free. Free from her unsure self.
The bursts of red light were now streaks of blue and white curtains across the Crumbling Tower. The Blightwing was still in the center of the settling dust, with half its constructed body now exposed to the night. It was frantically searching around trying to figure out where the attacks were coming from. It had become more difficult for it since Tala switched to using ice magic to slow it down.
Looking at the top of the construction crane, I could see Theo standing, legs bent ready to jump. He had his blood scythe out and thin lines of red crisscrossing over his chest. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump down and attack. The jagged edges of the boss’ wings constantly cutting into the air made it difficult to jump down without getting seriously injured.
A sense of relaxation crept over me as I watched the fight continue. Something told me it was all right for me to rest on the sidelines. I needed the rest. I was tired. I was hurt. I was ready for the battle to end. Maybe even collect more experience points to level up. If I was stronger then maybe I would be more useful than simply bait. No! I couldn’t afford to think this way. No one was allowed to rest in the Fallen States. You get too comfortable you die. I needed to get back in the fight. I only needed to find the right time.
The Blightwing let out another blinding flash from the center of its mouth. The roof was engulfed in a brilliant light. It cascaded over the edges of the Tower and fell far to the lower buildings nearby and the street below. It was like a beacon shining its light to the world letting all known and unknown things know, that we were there. When the light finally faded, it was followed by another strong gust of chilling wind. The Blightwing lifted its wings and let them rush down, releasing another wave of cold air. The boss had managed to blow away the rest of the dust to reveal a wide-open area of cracking stone. In the center of the clearing was Tala, standing alone and exposed.
The boss turned its head, crouched, and slowly drew its beak close to Tala. Its jaw chattered again as if the excitement to eat its prey was too much for it to handle. The snapping of its beak was like metal sheets slashing against one another. The lining of the jaw squeaked like a rusted bolt of an ancient gate holding back the gluttony. It wanted to release that pent-up hunger and beastial rage. All of it at Tala. A lone mouse before the lion.
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The Blightwing let out another ear-shattering screech then lung for Tala. She held her hands up before her. Her hands glowing with a blue light. Her orb suddenly cascaded down to her chest. In the instant the boss had lunged at her she managed to summon a wall of ice or more a block of ice. The ice was five feet thick and ten feet tall. It had materialized out of nowhere in a cold mist. I didn’t think it was a spell or Tala was being creative with how her magic worked, but it was incredible. The Blightwing crashed right into the ice wall and drove its beak deep into the shimmering construct. I held my breath to see if Tala’s quick thinking had saved her from its attack. For a moment I thought she had done it, but I was wrong. The Blightwing had shattered through the glass and pinned Tala against a stone wall. Its beak drove into her stomach. Blood was gushing down her side.
“No… Tala.” I couldn’t yell. My back hurt with every word and with every breath. My voice was no more than a whimper with trails of blood dripping from my mouth. The Blightwing pulled its beak back, slow and triumphant. Tala fell to her knees as her scream penetrated the dark sky. She immediately wrapped her arms around her waist to try and staunch the blood. I couldn’t see from where I was on how deep the attack had been, but her flushed face told me it had done its job. It got her to her knees. Ready to die at the hands of a metal monster.
Theo finally found his time to join the fray. A little late in my mind but at least he finally jumped. His strong frame fell from the sky like one of those heroes from the old storybooks. He held out his weapon of blood but changed it to a long spear rather than a scythe. He landed on top of the beast and sank the spear deep between its stony shoulder blades. Went his weapon stopped, Theo yelled louder and drove it deeper. The cracking of stone and the tearing of metal cut through Theo’s yells. The Blightwing’s entire body lunged backward as it bellowed a deep, painful cry much louder and deafening than all the other chaotic sounds of the fight.
The Blightwing tried to shake Theo off its back. Thrusting its wings into the air, shaking its head back and forth, and slamming its shoulder into the lower part of the crane. It was doing everything to get him to fall but despite its best efforts, Theo managed to hold on. During this entire sequence, I caught a notification about the boss. Pulling up my [Codex] showed that its weakness and resistance information was updated. It was no longer a mystery. It now showed its weakness was piercing damage and it was in fact resistant to fire attacks.
Inspecting the Boss’s condition revealed Theo had damaged it. Dropping from [Bruised] to [Injured]. A strong attack that skipped a damage condition. Theo was strong. Just like his father. In that moment I could see Theo becoming the next leader of The Quarters and of the Outriders. He was a jerk, hot-headed, and mistrusting, but he was strong. In this world, it’s the only thing you can rely on. It’s the only thing any of us could rely on. Including me. I had to join the fight no matter how much pain I was in. If we could end this here and now then we could return to The Quarters, get Tala some help and I could see my dad again.
I placed my hand firmly on the ground and used it to roll myself back onto my knees. My left arm swung limp at my side. The broken bone sent electricity up my shoulder with every motion. I couldn’t worry about my injury, I needed to get in the fight. To show Theo that he wasn’t the only one who grew stronger. I didn’t want to simply be bait. I wanted to not only prove to myself that I earned this power but to prove to everyone else as well. It was excruciating regaining my stance. My back was sore, my head was throbbing and my vision carried spots, but I finally got to my feet.
I let my right hand catch me as I leaned toward the stone wall that circled the edge of the Crumbling Tower’s roof. My palm fell into darkness and when I pushed off of it I drew forth my own spear of shadow. It wasn’t as tall as the one Theo had managed to construct but tall enough for me to use it like a walking stick. I swung it around and planted it firmly on the ground to hold me. The weapon itself had no weight to it and it moved easily enough but it felt different. I had grown so accustomed to using blades that other weapons were strangers to me. Most of the training I had with my father mainly consisted of small one-handed weapons such as knives and short blades. We occasionally practice with a metal staff or crowbar but we used those as practice for swords. I didn’t have much training in the way of using a spear and with my broken arm I wasn’t going to be able to use it like Theo. However, I had an idea. I wasn’t sure how effective it would be or for how long I could manage to keep up such a strategy but it’s the best option I had. I took in a sharp breath, clenched my jaw against the sudden pain in my side, and ran forward.
