A giant battle had taken place inside the mist, and it was hard to fully see what was going on. When all of the figures were condensed in one area, the mist seemed to move away from them, but now fighting was going on all over the place.
Just as Arthur said, they weren't the only ones that wished to help Quinn. There were plenty of those among them that now saw a chance to fight back against the others. Arthur, Leo, and Erin were doing the most damage.
As Arthur was blocking the majority of the attacks with his shadow, rather than focusing on the big enemies, he was going for mass destruction. Leo was doing a similar thing; with his power, he could sense those who were weaker.
Seeing all of this, it did make Quinn wonder if, since the others were disappearing, it meant Arthur, Leo, Erin, and the rest were taking the pain that he was meant to take. With each kill, each touch, were they going through their pain again?
Watching closely, from the looks of things, it certainly seemed that way. For one, Erin had slammed her large sword down, creating an ice tunnel that trapped a large group. She then swung her sword again, and a large line of yellow Aura had come out, slashing a lot of enemies and killing them in one go. It was a testament to how much stronger Erin had gotten compared to the past enemies they had gone against before, but in that moment, Quinn could see it - there was a twinge on her face.
'These guys, these idiots!' Quinn thought. 'I thought as much, they are suffering, all of them are just holding in the pain. They don't want me to see what they're going through. I have to do my part as well!'
Quinn ran towards the mist and immediately pulled the shoulder of a human figure. The first thing he did was throw a punch, landing square on the man's face. A flash of memories and the pain he went through entered him. When he landed on the floor, Quinn quickly got on top of him and placed both hands by the side of his head.
He took in all of the pain, as much as he could, as quickly as he could. The body was starting to disappear and eventually was gone. Ignoring the aching pain in his head, just like all the others had, Quinn continued to run and dived straight into the others.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe group was continuing to face off again and again, and surprisingly the one that was keeping the Cursed faction together, the other members such as Linda, Wevil, and Dennis, it was Arthur; he was using his shadow to make them survive.
In the middle of it all, Quinn had decided to help the group in a major way. He decided to face Graham once again. It was easy to spot his large Dalki body.
"Come on, hit me all you like!" Quinn shouted.
Surprisingly though, Graham didn't hit him, and just walked over to where Quinn was.
"I was the one who already lost that fight," Graham said. "Your friend, your mentor, he is right. Harming you would change nothing. It is pointless."
With those words, Graham touched Quinn, and allowed his final moments to pass through him. What was quite a surprise was the level of emotional pain. For Graham, it wasn't too grand.
There was a slight regret of not reaching the top, but that was it. The Dalki, even the leader, were more simple than he thought.
With Graham out of the way, it finally came down to the final two, Bryce and Cindy.
"How!" Bryce shouted. "How are the two of you so much stronger than us!"
"Did you forget?" Arthur said. "I was always stronger than you. You just had that annoying blood control when you became king and Queen, and besides, I have some incredibly strong allies by my side right now."
Leo was also equally as impressive, having improved beyond that of the vampire leaders. He could have even taken Bryce on his own.
Not wishing to bring any pain onto Quinn, Arthur was the one that delivered two fists to the two's heads, finishing them off.
Finally, it seemed like there was no one around, only members of the Cursed faction remained.
"Now, it's our turn," Arthur said with a smile on his face.
However, Quinn wasn't in a hurry to touch them. He glanced at the ground, studying their faces.
"Honestly, I wish I could stay in here a bit longer," Quinn said. "I would love to talk to you all because this will be the last time I ever see you again. Nearly all of you, I never got to say proper goodbyes to."
"We understand, Quinn," Arthur said. "I can see that you defeated the Dalki I was worried about, but for you and us to be here, I imagine the enemy you are facing now is beyond our imagination. Don't waste your time on us, who are your past. Focus on the present and the future."
Before Quinn could respond, they all approached him and embraced him. Their memories flashed through their heads, and he felt it all, as well as their pain when they died. But almost all of them had something in common.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Thank you, Quinn… thank you for being our friend…"
Tears welled up in Quinn's eyes, and he couldn't stop them from falling down his cheeks as they disappeared one by one.
"You idiots, all of you. Why, in your final moments, did you think of me? How can I forget about my past? How can I forget about any of you when you guys are still thinking of me?"
He fell to his knees, overwhelmed by emotions, but this time, it was his own emotions, not theirs. He perhaps felt the strongest regret, for never being able to help the Cursed faction, the people who had supported him through everything.
"It's finally my turn, Quinn," Arthur said. "You have grown into a strong, brave man. I can't even call you a kid now, based on your appearance."
Quinn didn't reply and instead wiped away the tears from his face as he looked at Arthur.
"Quinn, you are the one who needs to do it. You are the one who needs to end the cycle," Arthur said.
"End the cycle? What do you mean?" Quinn asked.
"The cycle of problems, the cycle of war, the battles that continue on and on. End the cycle of death that you carry with you. Otherwise, you will have to experience the same thing over and over. You are the one who is torturing yourself. It's time to rest, just like it was for me."
Arthur touched the top of Quinn's head, not allowing Quinn to reply. With his emotions and pain being transferred, that was the last one. The mist started to swirl, and Quinn's own body started to disappear.
Outside, in the real world, Quinn's eyes opened wide.
"He… he's awake!" Pultra shouted.