I made it no more than three steps when Theo was flung from the boss’s shoulders. He landed with a roll, which he allowed to carry him forward before sliding onto his feet. He hopped up gracefully beside me. His blood spear was gone, and his right hand was holding his left shoulder.

  “You’re looking a bit rough,” I said.

  “Look who’s talking,” Theo replied. “How’s your arm?”

  “Broken, hence the bone.” I lifted my arm from my shoulder and then let it drop.

  “That won’t do. We need to all be at our best if we are going to take this thing down.” Theo pressed his arm into his shoulder. I heard a soft popping noise to which Theo grunted. Impressive. Once Theo pushed his shoulder back in he took a step closer to my side. “Let me see one of your knives.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Just give me one. I’ll give it right back.”

  I did as he asked and materialized my rusty knife. If I was going to give him one of my blades I’d give him the weaker of the two. I didn’t think he was going to use it on me but if, for some reason, he lost it, let him lose that one.

  I watched as Theo lifted the knife and cut across his palms. Blood leaked out from the long cut and began to slide down his wrist. Once Theo was done cutting his palms he tossed the knife back to me then he raised his hands and the blood stopped falling. He was manipulating the blood to rise and create something, however, instead of creating a weapon like I thought he was about to, he had it wrapped around his hands like a pair of gloves. He then proceeded to place his palms on my broken arm just above the protruding bone. I winced as a rush of pain seared my arm then climbed up to my shoulder and stiffened my back. Watching the blood around his hands it all began to seep into my clothing as if the very fabric was drinking his blood. As it did so I received an updated notification of my overall condition. I had dropped down a damage level going from [Maimed] to [Injured] matching the boss’s current condition.

  Once my condition improved Theo let his hands fall away. The bone was no longer there. My arm had been healed. I flexed my hand but quickly stopped when I still felt pain. My arm was no longer broken but it sure felt like it was about to.

  “You healed me?” I asked.

  “Don’t get used to it,” Theo said. His eyes were squinting and sweat was tracing his jaw-line. The magic he used really took a toll on him. The memory of the [Class Pathway] room came to me. He must have chosen the [Cultist] pathway with the specialization set for [Blood Magic]. It felt strange for Theo to choose a pathway like the [Cultist]. Not the most popular pathway to be. Almost a taboo choice to make.

  His choice in [Class Pathway] made sense now that he healed me but something still felt off about it. The only ability I remembered the [Blood Cultist] having access to was the [Hands of the Red Vine]. It was a healing ability with defensive capabilities. So how did he create blood weapons? Did it have something to do with him reaching the top of the Tower first? Had he been given another specialization ability? A question I would ask him once we finished this fight.

  “Got any new ideas? You’re last one didn’t work out so well.” I said nodding my head towards the Blightwing.

  “Take a closer look. We clipped the bird’s wings.” Theo said with a cocky smile.

  Theo was right. Watching the Blightwing it was obvious it was trying to take off but every time it tried to stretch its wings its body convulsed in pain and it stumbled. I realized then that Theo had left his blood spear implanted into the beast’s back. It was paralyzing the monster from flying up. He had managed to take away its one advantage over us. So his plan hadn’t failed after all.

  “If I can get close to Tala, I can heal her as well. From there I think the best course of action would be to have all three of us attack it as one. Give it everything we have. We know its weakness now. So let’s exploit it.” Theo created another blood spear in his hand. It reached from his heel to a foot above his head, but it was different from his other weapon. It seemed thinner, more fragile.

  “Right beside you,” I said giving him a smile as I prepped to sprint forward. Theo turned to look at me. His gaze locked on to mine for a moment and I saw something in his eyes. It was as if he was searching for me. Looking for an answer to a question I didn’t know. He must’ve not found one as he turned away and prepared to run. I watched as he let a smile creep at the corners of his mouth then I saw blood. He was hurting more than he let on.

  “Try and keep up,” Theo said.

  “Same to you,” I replied.

  The two of us ran forward. Our steps were in sync and our determination set on taking down the final boss. We both head towards Tala’s direction. I let Theo move in front of me as I stepped around him letting my path lead directly to the Blightwing. Once the boss saw us it stopped trying to take flight, stretched its iron neck, and screeched loudly. This time it was my turn to deal some damage. I lifted my shadow spear, focused, and threw it right at the damned thing’s face. It punctured below the Blightwing’s eyes and sunk deep. The boss let out another fierce howl and snapped its metallic beak at me.

  I dodge far to the left trying to keep its focus on me to give Theo some time to help Tala. As the momentum of its attack drove it forward I focused on dropping my shadow spear from existence and then resummoned it back in my hand. Once I felt the spear materialize I launched it again this time aiming for the beast’s neck. The spear hit its mark causing the Blightwing to turn fast, smashing its wing into the lower part of the crane. There was a loud metallic grown as the top of the crane bent forward, letting the long line it held swing around and let the hook on its end smash into the concrete.

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  The Blightwing, in frustration, snapped its wings up and down, causing another burst of dust and debris to flower outward from its position. I took the moment to sprint forward and then slide under its body, barely making it to the other side. Then I unsummoned my spear brought it back to my hand, and stabbed the creature below the blackened manhole cover that was its side. Another high-pitched howl echoed in the night sky. I was doing it. I was actually standing a chance against this foul monster. I felt another wave of excitement come over me. An excitement for using the power I now had.

  My excitement was cut short. The Blightwing lifted up its body onto its hindlegs then slammed it down. The impact cracked the stone beneath my feet and caused me to lose my balance. It was enough time for the creature to swing its sharp tail feathers and hit me in my side. The attack lifted me off my feet and sent me flying. I hit the ground, rolled over to my side, and gasped as I felt the air leave my body. It took me a second to catch my breath but once I did I quickly summoned my [Codex] to make sure I hadn’t been injured too badly. Luckily I was still marked as [Injured] and I couldn’t feel any broken bones. It was a good attack but not enough to drop me a condition level.

  “Nice moves.” Tala teased. “Too bad it still got you.” She was sitting with her back against a wall with Theo crouched down beside her. His hands were covered in those bloody gloves again. The gloves didn’t stick around long as the red liquid sank into Tala’s side and then vanished. Theo fell back onto his knees. His face was a pale white and he was breathing hard. “Thank you, Theo. That feels much better.” Tala stretched her arm and patted her side. The wound was almost gone, leaving behind no more than some bruised flesh.

  I took both of their hands in mine and helped them get to their feet. We were all breathing hard at this point. Sweat sparkled on our foreheads and despite being healed, I knew we were all still in pain. “Well, boys. What’s the plan from here?”

  “This time we stick together,” I said. “Theo managed to keep it grounded. Without its wings, we have the upper hand. It’s slow and big. If we stay vigilant and fast we can take it out with small, piercing attacks.”

  “Sounds good,” Tala said. She turned to Theo and put her arm on his shoulder. He was looking bad. He didn’t have any major wounds like Tala and I had, but his healing magic must be taking a greater toll on his body than he realized it would. “Are you going to be alright?”

  “Yeah… Just a bit tired. I’ll get over it.” He smiled, summoned his blood spear, then shook his head. “I want to end this fight, go home, and go straight to bed.” There was that smile again. Hopeful but weak. Strong yet prideful. Bright but also bloody. Tala let go of his shoulder and then looked at me with concern. I nodded back and got in a stance ready to keep fighting. Then I lost the ground beneath my feet.

  The Blightwing, in a moment of animalistic desperation, tried to take off but its wings grew stiff and its massive body plummeted to the ground. Under the weight of its fall, the roof of the Crumbling Tower couldn’t hold out any longer and it collapsed. The three of us fell into a pit of darkness, falling rock, and broken metal. We hit the first floor below us, felt its structure give out, and then fell again to the next floor. All around us I could hear nothing but the rolling of shattered stones and cracking glass as the entire top of the skyscraper caved in on itself.

  I found myself tumbling through a dark space. My body getting hit from all sides but loose debris and falling rubble. When I hit solid ground, I felt a heavy weight fall on top of me. I managed to catch myself in time so as not to be crushed under it by holding my body up while on my elbows. I tried to breathe but the dust was too thick it only led me to a coughing fit. A sudden feeling of claustrophobia overtook me and panic settled in. I didn’t want to die like this. Crushed under a destroyed building. Left to suffocate in the dark. No, I wasn’t going to let this be the end. I was surrounded by darkness. Darkness and shadow were mine to control.

  I opened my palm and twisted my wrist until my hand was flat against the earth. Then I began to forge a new weapon. I put all my strength. All my spirit and energy into this new creation. Focusing everything I had to make it strong and durable. I created it so the base of the weapon would push up against the heavy weight on top of me. Once it found a good spot, I summoned all my magical strength to rush it into existence. The weapon lunged outward taking a wide stone wall with it. Light returned to me again as my shadow-forged spear freed me.

  I found myself standing among the ruins from the top of the Crumbling Tower. Its roof had collapsed into a wide bowl with the outer walls still intact. Several of the support beams were holding out against the entire thing falling apart. Looking around I couldn’t see Tala or Theo. I called out to their names. At first, I received no reply but when I did it a second time I heard a soft voice drift between the sound of tumbling stone. Looking to my left I saw a concrete pillar sitting against another. Underneath the broken pillar, I could see a reflection of light off of ice.

  I ran to where I saw the reflection and when I got there I could see Theo and Tala hidden inside a cocoon of ice. The stone pillar had landed on top of them but because of Tala’s quick thinking, she managed to save them from being crushed. I dismissed my spear, and put my hands against the pillar. It was damn heavy but luckily it wasn’t set on a strong foundation. I pushed with all the strength left of me until finally the thing rolled over and crashed to the ground. I nearly collapsed myself from the strain of it all. Tala released her ice magic and she and Theo stepped out.

  “Damn it,” Theo said. “Nearly crushed by a building.”

  “Terrible way to go,” I said.

  “Where is the boss?” Tala asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I think it might still be up there.” I pointed to the collapsed roof.

  “Don’t really feel like climbing up there,” Tala said.

  “You won’t have to.” Theo motioned with his head. From under the shadow of the floor above us, hidden like a spider in its web, the Blightwing was watching us. Slowly its strange head peered out from under the darkness to let it bask in the moonlight. Then it began to snap its beak again. Man I hated that sound.

  I stepped out from underneath our own barrier of darkness and as I did I forged a new weapon. This time however I didn’t create a spear. I created something I was far more familiar with. Blades. One in each hand. But I didn’t create them in the way I had done before. This time their blades were straight, sharp, and ended in points. Better to pierce the boss’s stony flesh. To my left, Tala stepped up and summoned her floating orb. It was a brilliant sky-blue and pulsed like a beating heart. Around its shiny surface, I could see small ice needles forming. To my right, Theo was creating a new blood weapon. He re-created his spear, taller and more broad than before. So there we stood. The three of us were together again. To fight the boss with Blood, Shadow, and Ice.