The End of our Time: A Tale of Lie

"I'm fine... quit yelling..." Elina wheezed, her hand pressed hard against her stomach. "Let's just... get out of this hall first."

Alina hooked an arm under Elina's shoulder, hauling her to her feet. Leaning heavily on each other, they stumbled away from the chamber Alina had uncovered.

Neither of them brought up what sat inside that room. They didn't have to. The thing lurking in the dark had been enough to leave both of them cold with sweat.

"What... what was that?" Alina asked, her hands shaking as she tried to keep Elina upright.

"No idea," Elina gasped, her head hanging low. "Just know it doesn't belong in this world. We keep our heads down. We do not let it spot us."

Her voice was dropping off, thinning out with every step. Alina bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. They needed Nuri. If they couldn't get his healing magic on this cut, Elina was going to bleed out in a dark hallway.

But where was he? Was he even alive inside this place?

Elina was fading fast, her skin turning the color of chalk. The tear across her stomach was deep, blood soaking straight through her leather coat and staining Alina's sleeve.

Making a split-second call, Alina ducked into a narrow alcove off the main corridor and carefully lowered Elina against the stone wall.

"I'm going to look for something to stop the bleeding. Do not move, okay?"

Elina gave a barely perceptible nod.

Alina bolted. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, a knot of pure guilt tightening in her chest. If she’d been sharper, if she hadn't let her guard drop, Elina wouldn't be dying in a corner. She sprinted through adjacent rooms, tearing open empty cabinets and drawers. Most were bare, but in a side vestry she found a stack of clean linen altar cloths.

She ran back, knelt beside Elina, and pressed the thick cloth hard into the wound, tying it off tight with a torn strip.

"...Thanks," Elina breathed, her mouth twitching into a faint, exhausted smile. The makeshift pressure bandage stopped the active flow, settling the sharpest pain.

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"Come on..." Elina grunted, using the rough stone to scrape herself back onto her feet. "We keep moving. Can't let... whatever that was... catch up."

Alina reached out to support her, but Elina gently brushed her arm away.

"I can walk. Save your strength."

They moved down the quiet corridor, weapons drawn.

Then came the sound.

Footsteps. Slow, deliberate, and accompanied by the faint, rhythm clicking of dress shoes against the tile.

The two women traded a sharp glance and ducked behind a heavy stone arch, raising their steel. Whoever stepped around that corner was getting a blade through the chest.

Alina gripped her spear shaft until her knuckles turned white. The footsteps neared the corner. Three feet. Two feet.

The figure crossed the threshold.

Alina lunged, driving the steel tip straight for the throat with everything she had left.

A hand reached out and caught the spearhead. Bare fingers, locked around the sharp edge like a vice.

The weapon stopped dead in mid-air.

The man stepped out from the shadow of the arch, still casually holding the point of a knight's full-force thrust in his bare palm. Lucien looked at them with a mild, slightly puzzled expression, as if catching flying steel was a minor inconvenience.

...How?

Wasn't he just some wealthy civilian travelling with them?

Elina narrowed her eyes, her mind racing back through every conversation they’d had. He’d never actually said he was harmless. They had just assumed it because he looked soft.

"...Lucien?" Alina stammered, her eyes wide.

Then her eyes shifted to the boy stepping out behind him.

"Nuri!"

She dropped her spear and threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him flat. "Nuri! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

She dragged him back, checking his arms and face for cuts. He was entirely unspotted.

"Nuri..." Alina grabbed his forearm, her voice tight with panic. "Look at Elina. Please."

Nuri didn't waste time with questions. He dropped to his knees beside Elina, peeling back the bloody linen. His mouth set into a grim line, it was bad. He placed a warm palm directly over the torn flesh, letting out a breath as a soft, pale light flared beneath his fingers.

The bleeding cut off immediately. The jagged edges of the flesh began to knit back together, sealing the worst of the deep tissue. It wasn't a full restoration, but the feverish edge left Elina's face, and the threat of infection vanished.

Elina let out a long, shuddering sigh. "Ah... gods bless you, kid. That feels a hundred times better."

Nuri gave her a small, relieved smile.

Alina turned back toward Lucien, her cheeks flushing red. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was you coming around the corner."

Nuri suppressed a dry snicker. Even if she’d thrown an iron anvil at the man's head, Lucien probably wouldn't have blinked.

"How did you two even get back in here?" Nuri asked, looking between them. He pointed down the hallway behind them. "And why were you running from that wing? What hit you?"

Elina and Alina looked at each other, the air between them suddenly going dead quiet.

"...Well..." Elina started, her voice dropping into a hush.