Wrinkled Spine

The figures, barely visible in the lingering shadows from the fog bearing down on us, share a collective moment of hesitation. Virgil and I join them in the indecision as we stare at each other.

"Do we jump?"

I whisper to him as the others seem to consider what to do as well. My whispered deliberations blend with the noxious scent of decay emanating from the abyss, but Virgil doesn't seem to know what to do either. The shadowed man does have a string of considerations on the circumstance, though.

"No. We at least can't be the first. It's obviously a trap. You know that. I know that. They know that. Eli knows that we know that. So... I don't know what will happen. Someone will have to follow. Or else, as Maddox said, Eli will get away. I doubt he'll run away to never be seen again, but every minute he has is another he has to prepare."

My teeth shift against each other as I realize that Maddox isn't just being a coward. He's inciting someone else to take the risk for him. The pressure on my teeth only surmounts as I keep a watchful eye on the unfolding scene, my senses heightened by both my Ether and the adrenaline rushing through my flesh. Blodwyn is silent, however, recuperating while he can. Though we are quiet, not all around the chasm are.

Maddox, driven by a self-serving impulse, attempts to persuade us to take the plunge into the mysterious void again. The desperation in his voice echoes, competing with the eerie silence of the abyss.

"We're running out of time, people. Every second we waste is one where Eli is organizing some devious scheme. Someone. Jump."

As moments stretch into an agonizing indecision, the stench intensifies, saturating the air. The oppressive odor forces a collective grimace, and I witness the internal struggle etched across their faces. No one, not even Lennon, seems to want to jump.

Timemi appears to be the least willing as she keeps glancing behind her as if searching for the rest of her quartet. Hmm... without the other three, she is utterly alone. Inhuman and alone in the depths of our home.

Should—no. I turn back to Maddox right as Lennon spits toward the slight edge he stands upon. Then, he sprints toward the edge with an audacious leap to break the deadlock. A daring plunge into the unknown.

"Maddox. You're really itching to die."

Lennon roars out a threat as he falls, his clothes waving from the pull of gravity. I follow his descent, observing how he swiftly vanishes from sight, swallowed by the infinite darkness below. It's like something down there is obscuring both our sight and the skills we formed from Ether.

The remaining threats lining the hole, including me, lean over the hole to garner as much information as we can, but there isn't much to be had. Something does happen to Maddox, however.

The provocateur, who had tried to goad the others, kneels beside the abyss, attempting to glean insights from the void just as I. However, the abrupt appearance of three deadly weapons disrupts the sinister tranquility. A massive silver pistol, a thin but lethal dagger, and a heated iron pole converge, poised menacingly at the provocateur's form.

The first is upon the back of his skull, the second unto his carotid, and the third is primed upon his eye.

Everyone freezes in shock as Virgil and I step closer together, careful for another ambush. Yet none arrive, as even Maddox doesn't lash out in anger. The fog managed to hide the three Pillars as they met together upon Maddox's flesh. However, they don't strike. Instead, Clarence Love speaks to the Sea's Shadow.

Beside the Silent Scorpion stand Joseph Jeremiah and Parker Callahan, two of the remaining Pillars—members of the Estates, either through birth or marriage. The sight throws me for a loop even as Clarence Love opens his mouth due to his devotedness to Eli. I can't believe he's betrayed the man. The only reason he'd be with the Estates is if he gave up on the Underground Tree.

"Jump, Maddox. Fight Lennon for us in the abyss. Or... you'll do it severely injured."

I stare at Maddox's face as he shudders in anger, frustration, and frenzied hate. His eyes twist to the side, meeting Clarence dead-on. It seems the three aren't confident in killing Maddox, even with all their weapons upon his vitals.

"It is always so hard to read you, Love. Like a Skinwalker, you have a thousand faces, a million voices, and infinite thoughts. Very well. I'll take the plunge. It is safe enough for me, at least, seeing as Lennon didn't show any signs of death after falling."

Maddox moves forward ever so slowly while Clarence nods sharply. Still, the three Angels do not lower their weapons. And for good reason.

The instant the Sea's Shadow falls into the abyss, the very moment gravity takes over, he twists with blistering speed, throwing a haze of seawater behind him. A spray of bullets and different echoes of Ether, including Clarence's many daggers and Parker's shifting Lumen that is Steelhoard, strike Maddox.

With a strangled cry, the Virtue falls into the abyss, taking Parker Callahan with him as the spray of water forms into a lashing whip. As the Pillar refuses to drop his Lumen, he shifts it into a spear to strike Maddox with after shooting him with it as a pistol. And so, both fall into the abyss, vanishing into the dark while continuing their tussle. Steelhoard is a versatile Lumen, but against Maddox, it is simply not nearly enough.

Clarence doesn't jump after him even when Joseph suggests it, refuting the man's idea of helping Parker. Instead, the Silent Scorpion stares me in the eyes. Then, he shifts to gaze at Virgil and Timemi as if tallying up the forces before him.

The look he gives us provokes me to ready myself for a fight. However, it seems Clarence does not want one right now.

"Jump, and we'll have no issue. Eli is the goal, remember? If you help us, Metal Witch, we'll even let you go after. I have spoken to your father in the past as a messenger for Eli. He wouldn't want his only daughter to die here."

Timemi's body vibrates with an unknown emotion, likely either fear or anger, but she quickly brings it under control. I meet Timemi and Virgil with a nod, and the latter speaks for us. I don't like the Pygmy by any stretch of the imagination, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"What is down there?"

Clarence squints, narrowing his tanned brows toward us. He is getting annoyed. Is he in a hurry? Definitely. But why? Is he...

Wait... I think he might still be working for Eli. The way he speaks is too calculated. That has to be it.

"The Gate Of Death. And Eli Weiss. We have to kill him before he crosses it."

Clarence's words spark a flurry of questions from me as I can't help but ask. Our circumstances don't even affect the rate at which I inquire.

"He wants to go to the other side? Why? Does he know what he has to do to pass? Will the fall hurt us?"

Joseph Jeremiah, a muscled but stocky man, waves the heated poker in his hands, the very one he is named after, the Scalding Iron. He points it at me without concealing the threat at all.

"Boy. If we knew, we wouldn't even tell you. Jump, or I'll have Billy come back for another rematch. This time, Clarence and I will join."

I stare at him, and Virgil shakes my shoulder with a whisper. His hand lacks only force, but I can feel the knives hidden in his sleeve. He's fully decked out for this.

"They are just bluffing. They can't risk the manpower right now, even with the Slumbering. This is your call. We can stay and regroup with Tomas and Bonfire, or we can jump. What will it be?"

My eyes fall onto the cavernous hole before me, extending profoundly into the earth. It's so dark I can't even see twenty feet into it. As I do so, however, Timemi, in her damaged armor, strides forward and walks off the edge.

"See you down there, Graves. I am the better candidate. Come down if you'd like me to prove it."

The unshakeable pride of the woman throws me off slightly as she, too, joins the darkness, leaving only Virgil and me up here. The only issue is we are here with Joseph and Clarence. They might not be willing to fight us, but am I willing to let anyone else steal my revenge? Am I willing to give Eli the chance to escape? Can I let anyone else take the responsibility?

No. This is something I have to do on my own.

But Eli knows that. He's set this all up. I know he has. He had to. The bastard is so meticulous in all his work and planning he'll have prepared for it all. But...

That means I simply have to overwhelm his preparations.

He probably expects me to stay. Weiss knows I've grown and become more capable, less death-hungry. Yet... because he expects me to stay, to, at the very least, wait for backup, that means I should do the exact opposite, right?

Ah! It's so fucking confusing!

Rocks crumble beneath my feet, falling into the darkness as if goading me forward, but Virgil's hand still rests on my shoulder. He isn't forcing any decisions or putting his thoughts out there. He knows how important this is for me. So, he's simply here.

I've taken so many risks, gambling against Death, that I should be dead by this point. Eventually, my luck will run out. I know this. I know this all too well.

As always, when I am indecisive or anxious, I wrap my fingers around the calming grip of Lily's metallic frame. The Colt greets me with a smooth flow of Ether, relaxing my mind while interjecting her own.

"Go for it! We're here with you! They can't beat us!"

Blodwyn agrees with a grumble, managing to voice his own thoughts as well quite intricately for the quiet Arca. Despite having a voice he can now use, he prefers not to use it, instead enjoying the ride.

"You are... not alone... anymore. You can... never be alone."

His words are slow, grainy, and thunderous within my skull, but despite their inhuman nature, they bring me comfort. They bring me comfort because the words he speaks are true.

I can't let him get away. I just can't. I've let so many things slip. And some force their way into my soul so profoundly I don't even want them to leave. I lost Edmund within the Underworld. I failed to save Edward. I can't do anything to help Bonfire. Abraham is missing in some dark ridge of the world.

Something deep within my core pulls me ever so slightly forward. It yearns for freedom, not just that of the physical, but the mental as well. It goes to my very soul. It's not something I can simply refuse.

It more than simply craves. It demands freedom. It requires me to relinquish any and all burdens and restrictions. It wants me to become something more than the sum of my flesh.

My foot slides forward ever so slightly, cracking the rock beneath. Yet, before I depart the edge, I pull myself back just an inch.

This is it. The Siren's Call that effects Angels. I can recognize it, but that doesn't make it any easier to resist. Still... for this thing?

But this one? This one thing? Snatching revenge for all those who deserve it? Ridding the world of a man so prideful he thinks only his crooked paths are the way forward? Clearing a way into the Underworld to see my father?

It's worth one last gamble. After all, even my Sigil is wanting it. Others try to resist the call, but perhaps I should latch onto it. After all, how else will I get closer to it?

I doubt Vincent made it as far as he did without listening to the call. There must simply be a balance. I cannot lose myself.

"If you catch me doing something I wouldn't usually do, stop me."

I don't give Blodwyn time to question me before I face Virgil.

"Down we go."

I take a step forward before leaping off into the abyss. And, not even a beat behind, Virgil is right there by my side, his clothes hardly even flapping from all the steel hidden within them.

The initial leap sends me into an engulfing cloud of darkness, an impenetrable veil that shrouds my surroundings. The pungent odor of decay is thick and oppressive, solidifying the unsettling ambiance. My instincts are on high alert, ready to detect any potential threats in this abyss.

As I pass through the dense cloud, the darkness shifts after only a moment of blindness. It becomes penetrable, though not without difficulty. The fall continues, and I brace myself for the unknown. Stale air envelops me as I navigate the peculiar sensation of freefall within a hole. Walls are around us, not too far but not too close, lined with sharp rocks that fly by hazardously.

Then, the landscape morphs again. The air thickens, taking on a substance that feels akin to water. I recognize the shift as the world around me transforms once more. The descent, though slower than in the air, remains unsettling.

Amidst the ethereal darkness, I spot two conflicting series of chains far below. Two individuals, locked in a dance of water blades and a resonating steel sword, engage in a mesmerizing battle in the open air.

Eli is on the backfoot from Maddox's strikes. Lashes of water, flying whirlpools, and awful thunder attack the current Prime, but Eli Weiss hangs on. The Underground Tree quickly proves while he might not be Vincent's rival, he is no slouch either.

Tendrils of steel emerge from Eli's clothing, deflecting attacks while a dozen other dazzling constructs defend him. Weiss tosses out flasks that explode into fire, some that turn into unbreakable steel, and others that create the same impenetrable cloud as above.

The dynamics of their movements defy the constraints of gravity, each twist and turn an unnatural spectacle. But it doesn't last long as Lennon comes from below, leaping off the wall to counteract gravity. He slams into Eli from the back, throwing the man off balance.

I watch a thousand cuts emerge on Eli Weiss' form, only for the belt on his waist to contract, injecting the fluids into his body. And with the injections, his flesh regenerates before Lennon even reaches the other side of the wall.

The battle, progressing at a blazing speed, surprises me wholly. But as I get close to Timemi in the air, the scene only turns even more insane. Virgil even audibly gasps beside me as Lennon switches targets, chaos incarnate. Lennon rebounds off another wall, darting for Maddox as the Sea's Shadow endeavors to take advantage of Eli's injury. The captain of the Rising Tide hardly has the time to turn around to stop the bladeless edges that seek his life.

Sparks of steel flash off Maddox's blade as he plunges into the other wall, tons of rock falling from the impact. Lennon follows through even as Maddox shouts at him in rage and confusion.

"Eli is the target, Lennon! Why are you after me!?"

Lennon stops on a dime, somehow from flying toward Maddox in the air. He still falls like the rest of us, but in the darkness, he stares Maddox in the eyes.

"This is a battle of blades, not a drunken clash. This is not yet over. I wish you all dead, save a few."

I catch Eli smiling below them, diving deeper as they confront each other. He knew this would happen. Of course, he would. He does his research and planning. Plus, knowing Lennon's record, the two have probably met long before any of this. Lennon's mind is so unpredictable that it circles right around to make sense.

Still, Maddox tries to reason with the man.

"Why? There are more important things?!"

Lennon laughs aloud, his voice echoing into the abyss with such a joyful tremor that it is opposite to everyone else inside it. Even the deathly sensations are opposed to that laugh.

"You need a reason to fight, Maddox?"

I don't even know what to do as I hear Lennon's wild claim. He doesn't need a reason to fight? That...

"You madman!"

Maddox shouts out at him while striking back, but Lennon simply smiles and replies with a bladeless slash. A building-sized section of the wall crumbles off as we fall past it. Virgil and I twist in the air, using our Ether to evade the debris together.

Still, Lennon's voice resounds through the chaos as if he is a part of it.

"You are just as mad as I. There is no reason to deny it. You are the same as me. We are born this way. We were born to fight. No creature reaches our height without it. That desire. That... pride."

I shatter a boulder falling toward me with my Living Manacles, only to see Maddox get hit even deeper by Lennon. The Bladeless Monster kicks off the falling wall to dive even faster to catch up while the pirate still tries to reason.

"Stop this, LennonQ"

The madman hears nothing but what he wants.

"No. You have always wanted to fight. It is as much as us as our Sigils are. We fight as if it is the only true way to gain power. It is what we all desire deep down: power. It seems as though only I understand that. FIGHT! CLENCH YOUR BLADE AND CUT ME DOWN! SHOW ME YOUR STEEL! How else will we shed our mortality, Adkins...?"

Lennon and Maddox quickly fade into the darkness in their clashing battle, leaving Virgil, Timemi, and me with Eli. I catch the manipulator smiling broadly before steel coils from his body extend into the wall, slowing him down so we can catch up to his speed.

The Coiled Steam. The only Lumen not created by Arnold Pilner.

My eyes squint at it as I realize that the cables are fewer in number than my Living Manacles but far more robust in speed, size, and strength. Still, from what I can see, there is no escaping this fight.

Virgil leaves my side, fading into darkness as he Flickers away. I trust him to survive on his own and help with this fight, but just as I draw Lily to face Eli, the Underground Tree calls for Timemi.

"Metal Witch, daughter of Tonuyn. Help me kill these two, and I will give you Coiled Steam. I will also give you the blueprints for it. Additionally, I will teach you the method that your father has hidden from you."

I glance to my right, assuming that with all her courage, she will disagree, but she doesn't. She only curses the man.

"You stole that blueprint from Steelarm's Library! That was our old Creator's! Ah! But... fine. You managed to build it, after all. Better than what I'll get for killing you. Plus... I want to know what the hell your talking about, human."

Indecision strikes me as I levy the Blooming Spider Lily. I could shoot one of these two right now. Eli would be the best if I could kill him with it, but based on what I know of the man, he probably has contingencies in place.

Meaning, I should shoot Timemi.

Just as I raise my arm, knowing that my companion never missing, the bullet instant and to the soul, a scream from above shakes the world, bathing it in fiery light.

"I WILL COOK YOUR TESTICLES!"

Then, in an instant, a ball with a majority of silver flame with hints of dark, human tinges hurtles past me, Timemi, and the Flickering Virgil to collide with Eli Weiss. In only a fraction of a second, the two figures dive so deep that I can only see a candle-like flame emanating from below.

"Bonfire? What the fuck?"

My confusion costs me as a ray of light comes from above, stabbing into my left wrist. I drop Lily, but she bursts out with Petalshield, abyssal ichor gluing her to my hand and preventing her from falling into the abyss.

Glancing up, I see three more figures falling to rejoin their leader.