Why am I always the one with the rotten luck? Helios thought, his teeth gritted against the white-hot agony in his shoulder. First, I'm hunted by mindless Night Walkers, and now I'm a training dummy for a Seeker who can kill me in a heartbeat.
Well, human, you certainly have a flair for the dramatic, the crown chimed in.
Shut up, Crown! If you've got nothing useful to say, crawl back into your hole!
You still need me to bridge the gap between you and the Veiled World, the crown reminded him coolly. Don't be so hasty to discard your only lifeline.
"You've been daydreaming long enough, Leader," Riku called out. In a flicker of movement, he was there. He swung his blade in a vicious diagonal; Helios threw himself forward, but the steel still found its mark, carving a shallow, stinging line across his chest.
How is he this fast? Helios gasped for air. Better question—how did the 'original' Helios ever manage to bite a Seeker if they're all this powerful?
What do you mean by 'original' Helios? the crown's voice sharpened with sudden interest. Are you suggesting you aren't the soul that was born into this vessel?
Questions later, survival now! Tell me what to do, or I'm going to bleed out on your throne room floor!
If you want speed, focus your Spiral Power into your legs. If you want to live, knit your flesh by concentrating it on the wound.
Helios squeezed his eyes shut, visualizing the energy. The strings... they pull energy from the void. I just need to guide those strings into my veins and lead the power where it needs to go.
"Brother! Stop hurting, my brother!" Luna's scream tore through his concentration. Nova was still holding her back, his grip firm but careful.
I forgot she was watching this... I should tell her I'm fine, but I'm covered in my own blood. I'm a terrible liar.
"Focus, Leader! Did you learn nothing from the Night Walkers?" Riku lunged again, a horizontal strike aimed at Helios's ribs. This time, Helios flooded his legs with energy. His muscles coiled like springs, and he blurred out of the way just as the blade hissed through the space he had occupied a second before.
"Well, look at that," Riku said, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "Spiral Power control. But can you actually handle the strain?"
Why is he looking at me like I'm about to explode?
Human, I forgot to mention... the crown whispered. If you don't regulate the flow correctly, your body will break under the pressure.
Helios didn't have time to ask what that meant before his shins felt like they were being hit by sledgehammers. The veins in his legs began to rupture, unable to contain the raw, unrefined energy. Blood sprayed from his calves, painting the floor a fresh crimson.
"I hope you can still move, Leader," Riku shouted, "because I'm just getting started!"
My legs are literally falling apart, and he's asking stupid questions? I have to heal... I have to...
Riku dissolved into the floor again. Not the shadows again! How am I supposed to fight a ghost in a room full of darkness?
Helios dropped to one knee, forcing the energy to mend his shattered veins and the puncture in his foot. Yes... it's working. Nothing is exploding this time. I might actually be a genius at this.
"You seem awfully proud of yourself," Riku's voice drifted from behind a nearby pillar. "Did you forget about me?"
Before Helios could turn, Riku emerged from the shadow of the stone column and drove his dark blade straight through Helios's back—piercing through his heart.
Helios's world tilted. He coughed, a spray of hot blood hitting the stone. Riku yanked the sword back, leaving a gaping, lethal hole.
"I hope you can heal that, Leader," Riku said, his tone dripping with cold sarcasm.
"I think he went too far this time," Nova muttered, his hand tightening on Luna's shoulder as the girl began to wail in terror.
"Wait and see," Sara said, her eyes fixed on the scene. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an ornate, silver pocket watch. "If his heart stops, I'll just rewind the clock."
"Can anyone even heal a heart wound?" Rio asked, his voice low with doubt. "Even a high-ranking Seeker would struggle with that."
"Riku is just bitter," Ray noted, watching the data. "He hates that the Leader is learning faster than he did."
Luna broke free from Nova's grip, her small feet pounding against the stone as she ran toward her fallen brother.
"Should we stop her?" Nova asked.
"Doesn't matter," Sara replied, clicking the top of her watch. "I was going to reset everything anyway."
Damn him... he really tried to kill me... Helios felt the coldness of death creeping into his limbs. The energy isn't enough... I need more... where is that crown? Why isn't he saying anything?
"Brother!" Luna sobbed, falling to her knees beside him. "You said you'd never leave me alone!"
Are you going to die like this, Sovereign King of Nightmares?
The voice was cold, ancient, and utterly malevolent. It wasn't the crown. It was deeper, like the grinding of tectonic plates.
Give me your body... and I will heal you.
Is this a Fallen? Helios's mind raced. He's trying to take over. "I won't... give you... anything!" he wheezed. "I can heal myself... I just need... more!"
Helios didn't just pull on the strings; he yanked them. He tore Spiral Power from the Veiled World in a desperate, violent surge. His chest began to knit together, the tissue reforming with unnatural speed.
"Wait, Sara! Don't rewind yet!" Ray shouted, his eyes widening. "He's healing!"
"That's impossible," Sara whispered. "Where is he getting that much power? If he keeps this up, his mind will shatter. He'll fall into madness!"
"Even if he does," Riku said, standing over him, "what can a low-ranking Seeker do to us?"
Helios could hear them, but their voices were drowned out by a thousand others screaming in his skull. His heart began to beat with the force of a war drum—thump-thump, thump-thump—and his left eye began to bleed into a bottomless, ink-black void.
"Luna... run," Helios gasped, his voice vibrating with a terrifying resonance.
"Brother, I can't leave you!"
"Luna... please... listen to me!"
Terrified by the darkness in his gaze, Luna finally scrambled back, sobbing as she fled toward the edges of the room.
Riku looked down, the mocking smile returning to his face. "You're still alive? Surprising. Truly."
Helios didn't answer with words. His eye was a black hole of resentment. He stood up, a jagged, terrifying smile spreading across his face. Before Riku could even blink, Helios vanished.
One moment, he was bleeding on the floor; the next, the space in front of Riku was empty.
The Sovereign had awakened.
Would you like to see how Helios uses his new, terrifying speed against Riku, or should the other members intervene before he completely loses his mind?