Chapter 451 (1/2)

Book 4, Chapter 69 – Sublime Transcendence

Cloudhaas violently coughing up blood His wild attack had been costly As the blood trickled froreen fire leaped out froround

Upon entering his blood, Castigation's deadly effect awakened the virus that had been dormant Trespasser and the Cri over Cloudhaas thus caught in a purgatory of agony, alive but in terrible pain If not for Trespasser's involvement, however, he surely would be dead

For the blood he spat up to be consuine the dire circumstances he was in

Killing Adder had been a herculean task Killing his father seemed impossible

Selene watched Cloudharithe in pain, grinding her teeth at how ineffectual she was She was desperate to continue, do to anything Her eyes were slightly red froer, and from the pain that stabbed at her heart like a knife It was a feeling she couldn't re since she learned of her father's death

This hopeless idiot! First in Greenland Outpost, and now here! Why is he always so eager to get involved in fights that were beyond him?

Selene could feel hihtly to his hand, whose flesh was cracked and blackened Stinging pain assailed her even through the gloves Castigation was breaking through his skin and reaching for anything it could If just being near hiine what Cloudhaas feeling

But the ht by Castigation was irreversible There was no medicine known to man that could heal the hellish fires

Castigation infected his blood, and seeped deep into his marrow There was no cure! What's more, the Crimson One's staff had broken ed edges had torn into his internal organs Anyone Selene had seen ounds this serious died quickly

Pat… Pat…

Cloudhawk felt drops of water falling on his face They eased the eternal agony that was eating hied to open his eyes and peer up at the face hovering above his own His handsome features were hideously scorched, his skin blackened and split When he senuine smile from the heart

Selene was crying It was her second ti and stoic as she was, she was still a woentle part of her spirit revealed Fro a wo over him

He struggled to speak, every syllable crackling like the fires that danced in his throat “This fucker is too strong… I don't think we can beat him”

Selene's answer ca tone “Did you… do this for me?”

“You carry too much on your shoulders… I can see how tired you are The pain you hide… I see it every tih I can't help you”

“No You helped ain You made me rethink my life, and showed me that the world isn't all darkness and hate You've already helped me so much”

Was Cloudhawk's suggestion to kill the Crimson One really just for the expeditionary force's benefit? Even he himself wondered when he'd become so altruistic

He'd found the anshen he cast aside his sense of self-preservation and attacked the Criive a shi+t about the expeditionary forces He did it because he hoped it ht help Selene put down some of her burdens

But did she need him to do it? No! So Selene left him behind at the Elysian base and took the Temple's warriors with her to the front She hadn't wanted him to be here, where death was a real possibility Of course, theand came anyway

All for what? The Crimson One hovered above them entirely unscathed The hole Cloudhawk had punched into his defenses was already being repaired

I; for all intents and purposes, it was indestructible Yet Cloudhawk had ed the impossible and tore open a hole Even the Crimson One's relic seemed taken aback, for it was slow to seal the fissure This appeared to be the only flaw in the relic's function

Unfortunately Cloudhawk had failed to do more than open a small crack A breach this small would only require a few minutes for the relic to repair Once that happen, Cloudhawk's idiotic but valiant atteain be wholly invincible

But what could they do? Cloudhaith the help of his incredible phase stone, had only ed to tear open a sh that golden shi+eld?

Motes of green fire were gathering over the Criation toward Selene

The old drunk's eyes ide “Selene, get out of the way!”

Selene's Holy Vestation Fire Because of this, they were able to withstand the all-consuree However she had no way to protect the already gravely wounded Cloudhawk

If she escaped the threat to her own safety, she would be abandoning her friend

What's h Selene was as strong as Adder had been, she wasn't nitude Choosing to stand against it was a death sentence

Death and destruction looures Selene didn't flinch, didn't budge In her heart she was at peace Wherever he was, there was always some measure of peace

Four years ago in Blackflag Outpost, huddled in his s was predestined Froether they'd fled through the wastelands, fending off death at every turn, and in that struggle had become companions

Then came the battle at Greenland Outpost The Bloodsoaked Queen had been struck back down to earth from her lofty pedestal Both of them cast aside title and identity and saw one another for who they were beneath all that After that, they were friends

Four years passed They'd spent such a brief tiether, but the ie

If Cloudhawk had never met the Bloodsoaked Queen, he would have never learned about de about the Elysian lands or Skycloud city All of the experience thereafter – good and bad – would never have come to pass

Selene had spent such a brief tiest transformation in her life He had left an indelible mark on her heart He occupied an important and unassailable position in her eyes

Cloudhaas a lone wolf

So was Selene

They were two lonely souls,each other at a crucial moment in time Maybe it was fate, maybe it was divine predestination Cloudhaas the only person in the whole world who could open Selene's eyes to the truth of the world Her one real friend, and probably her last

The heavens had delivered a man like this to her side She would not allow anyone to take him from her!

He risked his life for ive my life to protect him