Despite Dario’s best wishes, the rampaging bear followed him relentlessly.

  He would run over a mound of broken stone and leap over a shoddy wall, only for the huge beast to ram straight through. The bear was slow to start but built up to an impressive speed as it kept charging, so Dario ended up zigzagging through the streets, taking every turn that was available. When forced to turn suddenly, claws scraping in the dirt, the bear would lose most of its momentum and have to start building it up again.

  That tactic bought Dario just enough distance that instead of constantly throwing panicked looks over his shoulder, he had time to curse under his breath.

  “Envy. What under the damn Ceiling is supposed to be the opposite of envy?”

  Wanting people to have something? Giving away your treasures? If so, it wouldn’t be an emotion he was too familiar with - he guarded his hoard of artefacts more jealously than a trashgoat.

  He squeezed through a narrow gap, then ran into a wider street. The buildings were more scattered in the outskirts and considerably smaller than the ones near the pillar. There were more rock formations and small cliffs to hide behind, but far less corners and small alleys to slow the beast down. It was time to start setting his trap. If it worked, there’d be no need to figure out the confusing emotional stuff.

  Seeing a spot with soft dirt surrounded by a boulder and some semi-collapsed walls, he grabbed two pouches of seeds. Only four vine seeds left, then a handful of the small cottongrass seeds which he was supposed to save for the final trap. But there was nothing for it; the bear would drink up anything Ki-based, so this was all he had left. The explosive trap would have to be enough to deal with Uso.

  He quickly wrapped a rough bandage around his aching arm, but then the crash of yet another wall breaking warned him that the bear was close, so he hurriedly spread out the seeds by the boulder and began pushing out his green plant Ki. Pale sprouts quickly grew into a small field of beautiful fluffy flowers, their white hairs swaying softly in the breeze. He fed them Ki until they grew to about waist height, fine hairs bunching up into thick bushes.

  Ki flowed into the vines next, right as the bear came smashing through a low arch, but was forced to slow down by having to move around the boulder. Dario quickly stepped to the side to place the vines directly between him and the lunging bear, then pushed out thick bands of Ki so that the thorny vines shot up out of the dirt.

  They foiled the bear’s lunge, wrapping around its dead skin with sharp thorns, but already he could see a hungry surge of violet drawing at them. They'd soon be turned into withered husks again. He hurried, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment as sweat ran down his temples. Pain flared in his head, but he pushed through, keeping the green Ki flowing and flowing while he thought of furnaces and foundries, the red glow of molten metal, the burning, scalding heat-

  He opened his eyes right when the beam of light stretching from his finger to the white-haired cottongrass flickered red for an instant. It was only a brief moment, no longer than a heartbeat, but that was enough for the bushy plants to catch fire.

  The bear was struggling against the growing vines, but then its Ki flared even as flames rose around it, turning this fight into a contest of stamina. Dario, breathing heavily as he dug his fingers into his temple as if to fight back against the piercing headache, sent out even more green Ki from his seams. He let out a pained growl as his seams stretched and his head felt like it would burst like one of his grapes.

  The fire grew into a blaze, casting a scalding glow on Dario’s face. The bear’s violet smoke drank the verdant Ki up greedily, black patches appearing on the thick creepers as they began to wither away.

  It was a contest he couldn’t hope to win, but then he didn’t have to overpower the beast’s ability to drink his green Ki like fruit juice. All he had to do was last long enough for the flames to devour it.

  He was forced to take a step back as the fire flared even hotter, the stink of burning fur and dead skin bad enough to nearly make him retch.

  A wheezing groan left his lips as he stood on trembling legs, the flow of green Ki beginning to falter. The bear was silent as it ripped a half-rotted vine apart and took a step in his direction. It did not seem bothered by the flames that licked up all around it, devouring its long-dead flesh.

  He squeezed and squeezed until the last drop of verdant energy was gone from his seams, then turned to run. The bear was burning like a bonfire, its fur and rotten fat feeding the flames, so now all he had to do was stay ahead of it until it collapsed.

  But then a violet tendril lashed out, wrapping around his leg. He roared with pain - it was like a lasso made of acid burning into his flesh. The huge beast took another lumbering step closer, violet smoke shifting forward despite the fire.

  He fought to think through the burning pain. Envy. The opposite of envy. There must have been a time when he genuinely wanted to gift something to someone. Hadn’t he ever let Matteo play with his toys? Nope. What about that time when he split his sandwich with Bianca?

  A line of smoke rose from the violet tendril as it ate through his skin.

  He bared his teeth as he grabbed for his knife, but shaking fingers fumbled it and it clattered to the ground. The blazing bear opened its maw as it ripped free of the remaining vines, its purple cloud drifting closer still.

  Dario mind raced, cursing himself for his lack of generosity, until finally his brows lifted with realization. Nika! There had been two pills and he’d given them to her. Both of the damn things, even though he’d been suffering. He grasped desperately for that feeling.

  He'd genuinely wanted her to get better. She needed them more than he did and he’d wanted her to have them!

  Finally, a dark yellowish smoke rose in a thin swirl from his chest. He thought of his mother next, how he’d give her anything at all if it made her happy, how he only wanted the best for her.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Another scream of agony as he pushed that ochre mist out onto the bear, smothering the violet until only the beast and flames were left. One line of Ki attacked the violet tendril around his leg and it withdrew into the flames where it burned with the rest of it.

  He dropped to a knee, clutching his leg. The bear, completely engulfed in flames and nearly reduced to a charred skeleton by now, lifted a shaking paw. Dario flinched back, but before it struck, something gave and the bear suddenly stopped moving. He watched anxiously as it opened its maw in a silent scream, tilted slowly to the side, then collapsed like a tree with its trunk cut out from under it.

  Dario shuffled away from the blistering heat before letting himself drop to the ground, rummaging through his pack for a water skin from which he drank greedily before emptying the rest over his face.

  “Urgh. Being a hero is far too much work,” he grumbled as he poked at the red ring of blistered burnt flesh on his upper leg, hissing with pain.

  He had a splitting headache from wrestling that much Ki and the seams in his lower body were empty as a dried out creek. His staff was still intact, but the only remaining trap was the two explosives tied together. Oh, and he had one last arrow left. Better make that one count.

  Who knows, he might not even need it at all. Nika was strong and just got through to Talc. It could well be that she’d already kicked Uso’s ass.

  He took a moment to massage his aching muscles, wondering if he should set the explosive trap around here. That bonfire would be like a beacon. But then a deafening roar boomed in the distance.

  “RAAAAAAHH! STUBBORN CHILD. DO YOU THINK YOU CAN BEST ME? LET ME SHOW YOU REAL POWER!”

  He got to his feet and pushed Ki into his eyes, seeing how a plume of brown Ki flared up in the distance, before a building exploded outwards, raining stone down around it.

  From that shattered ruin Uso emerged, his form even larger than before. Two giant, brown pincers now stretched out from his back, hanging threateningly out in front of it. The huge parasite exploded forward, even faster than before, elongated claws skittering over buildings with ease. He followed its path, until he spotted Nika, sprinting in his direction.

  She was nearly out of the final layer of buildings, but then there was a stretch of open ground before a formation of steep cliffs rose from the ground. There, there were narrow crevasses where she might be able to hide. It was also an excellent place to lay the trap.

  But it was obvious that she wouldn’t make it. At that ridiculous pace, Uso would catch her well before the cliffs. He might be able to make it there sooner himself, but it was going to be close.

  Cursing, Dario grabbed his weapons and the explosive trap before rushing off. His legs burned with each step, but he pushed on, knowing that Nika was going to need him.

  “Nika! Faster! You have to speed up!” he cupped his hands to shout before he slid to a stop and began furiously digging up the soil next to the sheer side of the cliffs. He carefully buried the trap, triggerplate facing up, flattening the ground until only a faint marker of its location was left. The line of jagged cliffs rose into a rough crescent shape and he was far enough along the lower side to keep line of sight on the chase.

  He looked up to see a swiping pincer take Nika in the side, sending her crashing into one of the last buildings that still stood on the outskirts. She hadn’t even made it to the open ground yet. There would still be at least five hundred meters of rough terrain to cross, with only a couple of buildings for cover. Uso was creeping up on the pile of stone that Nika must be inside of. If he didn’t step in soon, the parasite might kill her. Or worse.

  Only, he didn’t have Nika’s speed or defensive skills. A single strike from those claws could skewer him like a piece of trogmeat, ready to for roasting.

  Still, before he even realized it, he was moving into a jog, then a run, clutching his staff tightly. He’d try to lure it out first, but if it came down to it, he’d have to use that green Ki. That was only a last resort - there were some things that just couldn’t be put back in a box after you spoke them out loud.

  Nika burst out from the rubble and hurled two stone plates at Uso, both of which exploded into shards. The monster deflected by waving its pincers in a blur. She ran, but she was still a touch slower than before, slightly favouring her right leg.

  She ducked under the first swipe, whipping her foot around in a counter, but the other pincer caught it and tossed her away like a piece of trash. He winced as she skidded over sharp stones and crashed into a boulder. But that boulder was right next to the last of the houses. At least it had brought her that much closer to him.

  “The struggle is over now. The time has come to accept your fate.”

  Dario crawled up a shoddy wall onto a nearby rooftop and gripped his staff as Uso approached. He focused, headache flaring again as he gathered light Ki and worked it into an illusion. Light coalesced into the shape of Nika, struggling to get up but then dashing away in the direction of the cliffs, while he veiled her actual body in shadows.

  But Uso let out a mocking laugh instead of giving chase.

  “You think to trick the lord of lies? Foolish boy.”

  He felt a spike of panic and was ready to leap off the roof and run, but Uso didn’t turn to him, instead continuing towards what looked like a very unconscious Nika. Dario let out a defeated sigh. He was going to have to get his hands dirty.

  He moved quietly to the edge of the roof, waiting for Uso to pass below as he thought of uncomfortable truths. There were more than a few of those hiding in his mind, but this would have to be a big one. A confession that he really didn’t want to make. His eyes flicked to Nika again. She had her eyes closed and was bleeding from more than a few cuts, but there was still a rich amount of dark Ki flowing through her seams.

  His heart was hammering in his throat and he took a deep breath as his fingers gripped his staff until it creaked, counting the seconds until Uso was in position.

  Then, he jumped down right as he cried out his confession. Those were words he wished he’d never have to speak. It was a secret he should have taken with him to his grave.

  “I shoved Nika’s seeker up my ass!”

  He frowned when only a thin sliver of green smoke rose from his chest. Still, he wrapped it around his staff and swung down at Uso’s bulk.

  “YOU DID WHAT?”

  His staff passed through what little remained of the brown smoke, but then it just bounced off a tentacle before he landed on the ground.

  “I thought you were uncon-”

  He didn’t spot the flashing tentacle until it was already on him. It shattered his staff and knocked all the air out of him. He flew, crashing over the rough stone, gashes opening in his skin until he rolled to a stop. Despite the world tumbling around him, there was an absent realization that at least he was closer to the trap and cliffs now. But then he realized Uso had already turned back to Nika.

  He tried to speak but only an empty wheeze came out, followed by a stab of pain like a dagger in his chest. Acting on instinct, he thought of his first rejected revelation. I want to live the rest of my life in the Basement. I’ll never leave. At least mother will be happy. I’ll find a wife and make kids and-

  An auburn cloud rose from his chest. He tried to call out to Uso, but there was no breath to be found in his lungs. All he could do was gasp like a fish out of water. Still, the parasite must have smelled the brown Ki, because it turned his way. Waves of agony came from his ribs as he pushed himself up on trembling arms.

  He felt Uso’s pull on the brown Ki of lies, a sliver of it flowing towards the monster, but he fought it. Another wave of pain like needles in his brain. He felt warm blood leaking from his nose.

  “You want it?” he wheezed, mouth curving into a bloody grin. “Come and get it.”