A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

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Silence fell. Time stood still.

A soft, terrified voice sounded in Erik's mind. "M— Master…" Eira cried out sadly. "I- I failed…" Panicked and helpless feelings flooded over through his bond with the sigil construct as she continued muttering in his mind, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Intense pain and weakness began to radiate through Erik's body. Trembling, he looked down at the source of his anguish. There, a white-furred, transformed werewolf hand was plunged through his chest, covered in dark shadowflame and blood.

Shadowflame had inherited the properties of its base affinity, frostfire, in that it was constantly alternating between searing heat and freezing cold. Thus, his blood was stuck in an eternal cycle of freezing and boiling, a sensation that transferred to his body and made him feel like he was in hell.

The metal of his armour was deformed and punctured, bending outwards to allow passage for his mother's hand. In his back, the same had happened, except the armour's metal was now piercing into his flesh, together with Runa's arm.

Fortunately, his last moment shift had caused the attack to miss his heart, as well as Eira's core, but he was still grievously wounded.

"M— Mom…" he muttered softly, his mind unable to fully comprehend what just happened. Slowly, and with difficulty, he turned his head to look behind him, where he laid eyes on the tear-stained, transformed maw of his mother.

The collar and chain were gone, and her face was filled with despair and unwillingness. On her forehead shone an ominous crimson sigil. "I— I—" she sobbed but couldn't get the words out.

Fortunately, Erik realized what she wanted to say, so he smiled weakly. "I— It's alright, M— Mom… Not— Not your fault…" he muttered in an attempt to reassure her, while his hands instinctively tried to grasp the intruder in his chest.

But his words only caused Runa to cry harder, while she still couldn't find the words to say. At the same time, Elora and the people inside his dimension were struck dumb with shock, while Eira was muttering helplessly.

Then, mocking, high-pitched laughter echoed through the room. "Hahaha! Beautiful! I couldn't have designed it any better! You truly came along at the right time, my dear Erik! Thank you for the help in subjugating your mother!"

"W— What?!" Erik exclaimed with difficulty, his eyes widening.

A dark sigil suddenly flashed in his mother's eyes. Immediately, her tears stopped, and her eyes lost their emotion. Now, she stared at Erik with an indifferent, and glassy gaze.

Instantly, Elora realized what was going on. Despite her shock and panic, she had the presence of mind to take this chance and thoroughly scan Runa's body and soul through their physical contact.

At the same time, she recovered some of her shock and shouted in Erik's mind. "Quickly! Take this chance to put her in the dimension!"

Her shout tore through both the emotional and physical pain that was rampaging through Erik's body, and he attempted to do as she said.

But he couldn't.

The rampaging shadowflame in his body was preventing him from properly guiding his aetherium and activating the spatial element. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood as his body continued weakening.

"Hehehe, you don't need to worry about it, Erik," Lilith grinned sadistically as she watched the scene. "Just try and hold on for a little while longer, alright? I have some business with your mother, but I'd prefer if you survived this unfortunate situation. I still have plans for you."

"As for you, Auntie," she continued, now addressing the glassy-eyed Runa. "Come over to me, it's time to finish you off," she grinned mischievously, while beckoning the woman with her index finger.

Instantly, Runa pulled her arm out of Erik's chest with a sickening sound. Erik groaned in response and sank to his knees. Blood continued streaming out of his wounds, but his regeneration was already starting to stem the bleeding.

At the same time, Eira and Elora quickly got to work. The sigils in his armour sprang to life, and Elora's Seidr magic spread through his body, carefully hidden from Lilith's senses. They worked in conjunction with his natural regeneration, while also pulling out any metal shards sticking in his body.

All the while, Eira continued sobbing in his mind and muttering how sorry she was for failing to protect him. She didn't exactly understand what happened, however, as a second ranker should not be able to pierce his armour. Erik didn't understand either, for that matter, but he couldn't care less right now.

Rather than wondering how it happened, Erik was preoccupied with the question of why.

But just when Elora was about to provide the answer, the glassy-eyed Runa walked indifferently passed her suffering son. She arrived in front of Lilith, and the pale, freckled woman grabbed Runa's chin, grinning gleefully. "There's a good girl, Aunty. Now, let's bring you into the fold properly, yes?"

Lilith released Runa's chin, and formed a magic circle on her hand, which she quickly slammed against Runa's collarbone. Immediately, a dark light began to encircle Erik's mother as some process had started.

"Elora?! What's happening?!" Erik roared in his mind as he tried desperately to stand up and do something. The gaping hole in his chest was healing at surprising rate, but it was also sapping his stamina quickly, and he'd lost a lot of blood.

"It's your mother's wounded soul!" the fairy quickly responded in a rushed tone. "When she tore of a piece and gave it to Jonas using that Asuran technique, she also created a weak point in her soul's defences! Lilith is trying to pierce through that weak point with a slave sigil!"

"She must have already established some control earlier," she hastily continued. "Which is how she forced your mother to attack you! That's why she'd been trying to make Lilith despair, because that would widen the hole and allow the full slave sigil to seep through!"

"They must use similar tactics to brand those Runebound, but I think this slave sigil is more sophisticated, and the usual tactics probably didn't work on her," she finished in a frustrated tone. "But personally delivering a mortal wound to the son she'd been waiting eight years for would certainly fill her with despair and widen the hole…"

"Well then what the fuck do I do, Elora?! I won't just sit here and watch my mother be enslaved because of me!" he roared in his mind, desperate for a solution. Yet, he couldn't even get up right now, as his body remained weak. All he could do was stare at his mother as she slowly lost her free will…