Awakened Lacerbus: "EMBRACE YOUR FINAL REST."

  From cracks in the room’s walls, viscous tar began to pour, bubbling and writhing unnaturally, as though infused with malevolent sentience. The floor beneath their feet began to dissolve, overtaken by the advancing black tide.

  Ballo: "Drats...!"

  With a swift motion, Ballo seized Virno’s wrist. His fingers traced intricate sigils in the air as he chanted a spell. Gravity bent to his will, lifting them into the air. Tendrils of tar clung to their boots, sizzling and corroding pieces of the soles, but the dark substance failed to reach their flesh. As they ascended higher, the tar fell away, its reach just short of dragging them down.

  Virno: "Can we even hope to hurt this thing...?!"

  Ballo fixed Virno with a sharp, unyielding look.

  Ballo: "Hurt? Hope? Forget such notions... These creatures are not meant to be hurt. Cast aside all doubt, von Virtus. The question is not *if* it can be harmed, but *how* it can be destroyed."

  The room continued to fill with tar, the black, living liquid consuming all in its path. Lacerbus watched from within the growing tide, his eyes filled with eerie detachment.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "I KNOW YOUR SUFFERING. LET GO... LET THE BLACK TIDE WASH IT AWAY."

  Ballo raised his hand, summoning a grey sphere of energy around one of Lacerbus’ arms. The sphere collapsed inward, compressing with immense force. Lacerbus barely flinched. The skin on his arm distorted for a moment, but no damage remained.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "FUTILE."

  From the depths of the tar, countless tendrils erupted, slithering toward them. Ballo conjured a dome of protective energy, shielding himself and Virno. His ethereal rapier appeared, spinning and slicing through the tendrils with deadly precision. For every tendril cut, however, ten more emerged, writhing with unrelenting malice.

  Virno: "What can I do? Tell me what to do!"

  Ballo’s voice was sharp and somber.

  Ballo: "What *can* you do, child?"

  Virno froze, a pang of helplessness gripping his chest. Desperation overwhelmed him, and he called out to the only one who might answer.

  Virno (thinking): "You! You want me to free you, don’t you? I’m about to die, and if I do, you’ll stay trapped forever!"

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  A cold, mocking laugh echoed in his mind.

  Disembodied Voice: "What do I care? You’ve seen their power, haven’t you? Their resolve? Die, von Virtus. Rot in your pathetic failure. A new era is dawning -- an age of terror and dreadful forces. They will come. They will find me. You... you are no longer necessary."

  The laughter faded, leaving Virno utterly hollow.

  Virno: "N-no... No way..."

  All around him, the nightmarish tide of tar surged higher, swallowing the room whole. Ballo fought valiantly, but his efforts could not stem the endless tide. Virno’s heart sank as the futility of their struggle became painfully clear.

  Virno: "Fuck...!"

  Ballo’s attacks ceased. He turned to Virno, his expression grave.

  Ballo: "This is on you now, von Virtus."

  Without warning, Ballo released the levitation spell keeping him afloat. He plummeted into the writhing sea of black below.

  Virno: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

  The tar engulfed Ballo.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "CHILD OF THE MOON… CHILD OF THE SUN. WILL YOU CHOOSE TO BURN BRIGHT, ONLY TO EXTINGUISH YOUR LIGHT?"

  Virno: "Dammit! Stop speaking in riddles, you bastard!"

  Desperation took hold as Virno hurled his silver sword toward Lacerbus. The blade embedded itself in the tar but failed to pierce Lacerbus’ flesh, slowly sinking into the black abyss.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "HE BURNS…! THESE WALLS WITNESS ANOTHER SACRIFICE."

  Virno froze. From within the tar, a searing white light began to radiate. It burst forth like a blazing sun, its intensity pushing the black tide back. The tar recoiled, hissing and bubbling as it dissolved under the radiant glow. Lacerbus howled in anguish, his towering form buckling under the relentless assault of the light.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "WHY MUST YOU CHOOSE THE PATH OF GREATEST PAIN...?!"

  The light converged on Lacerbus, rays focusing on his chest. He flapped his massive wings in a futile attempt to escape, but the rays pierced through their oily membranes, rendering him grounded.

  As the spell keeping Virno in the air began wearing off and he descended toward the ground, a voice could be heard from within the brilliance.

  Ballo: "Take my blade... pierce its heart."

  From the radiance, an ethereal rapier spun through the air, embedding itself in the ground before Virno. Its heat was palpable, scalding the air around it. Virno hesitated, his skin already slick with sweat.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM… COME TO ME, CURSED CHILD… I WILL GRANT YOU PEACE."

  Ignoring the siren call, Virno reached for the blade. His fingers brushed the hilt, and he screamed as the heat seared his flesh. Pain coursed through his body, yet he refused to relent.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "YOU HURT SO MUCH... WHY? WHY MUST YOU HURT SO MUCH?!"

  Virno’s grip tightened on the hilt, his determination eclipsing the agony. He wrenched the rapier free, its weightless form feeling as though it was an extension of himself.

  Ballo: "The heart... quickly."

  The rays of light intensified on Lacerbus’ chest. The tar covering his body peeled away, exposing pale, veiny skin. The monstrous creature’s voice trembled with despair.

  Awakened Lacerbus: "NO... I CANNOT LEAVE YOU... I CANNOT LET YOU ACHE."

  Lacerbus' voice trembled with profound sorrow. His monstrous visage contorted into an expression of pure despair, and black tears welled in his eyes. He seemed genuinely distraught at the notion that Virno and Ballo might survive.

  Virno: "Wherever you want to take me... I can't go yet. But you can. I will free you from your pain."

  With a decisive thrust, Virno drove the radiant blade into Lacerbus’ heart. Light erupted from the wound, consuming the room in a blinding explosion. The searing heat burned Virno’s skin, his very being dissolving in the blaze. His screams merged with Lacerbus’ in a crescendo of agony.

  Then, silence. Darkness enveloped him.