Feeling like he might just faint, Theo desperately began moving his hands, fingers pressing together in the well practiced motions needed to activate his spiritual tool. Seconds later, several shards of golden light took form before him, quivering in the air along with each tremble of his hands.

Alfred’s screaming continued to fill the air, his lantern long forgotten as he tried to wrench the grotesque creature from his face. Its long legs had curled around his head, holding itself tightly in place in an attempt to suffocate him. 

Frantically, Theo whisked his hands forward, sending the shards flying towards the creature. As they were about to strike however, a thread of glistening light shot out from Jasper’s palm. It cut through the darkness in a flash, cleanly slicing through Theo’s shards causing them to instantly shatter.

“What is wrong with you?!?” Theo screeched. “I know you hate Alfred, but do you seriously want him to die?!”

“No, that’s why I stopped you,” Jasper retorted, his hands a blur as they swiftly formed the motions to send more threads shooting from his palms. “That attack would have struck him too, genius.” 

Shit. He was right. Theo felt himself flush in embarrassment, awkwardly averting his gaze.

Jasper simply smirked before shoving his hands forward, sending a flood of glowing golden strings directly towards Alfred’s face. The threads twined around the creature’s gangly leg, curling themselves tighter and tighter. Jasper’s forehead glistened with sweat from the effort, letting out a low exhale before forcefully yanking the threads back. The movement ripped the creature violently from Alfred’s face.

The second he was free, Alfred desperately gasped for breath, his chest heaving. His face was tinged a disconcerting purple. More glistening threads continued to spill from Jasper’s palms, tangling around the creature to form a net of golden light. With the evil now safely secure, the boys finally let out a deep sigh of relief. 

“I can’t believe we ran into a Corrupted,” Theo breathed, his heart still thundering as he stared down at the creature. It was writhing and hissing within the net, thrashing to no avail causing its legs to tangle further in the thread. “What shitty luck.” 

“At least it was just a small one,” Alfred rasped. The boy still kept his head held high, despite the garish bruising covering his face. “Still, we should leave this area quickly in case there are any mo-- shit! Theo! Behind you!”

Theo whipped his head around, his stomach turning to ice at the sight he was met with. Emerging from the darkness was a sea of glowing red eyes. 

Theo’s mind reeled with terror, and his hands shook violently as he attempted to reform his spiritual tool. No matter how hard he tried however, his power kept flickering out like a candle, leaving him wide-eyed and defenseless as the onslaught of Corrupted lunged at them. 

Their contorted figures blended into the darkness around him, a mangled mismatch of human and animal features. Theo jerked back, tripping over his feet. With his vision beginning to blur with tears, the only thing he could clearly make out were their glowing red eyes, their forms a rush of shadows as they flung themselves towards them. 

Alfred and Jasper’s hands flew through the air, preparing their own spiritual tools for the onrush of Corrupted. Despite this, they looked just as hysterical as Theo felt. Alfred was fighting back tears of his own, his eyes red rimmed and watery. Beside him, Jasper’s face had gone pale, and his shoulders trembled even as golden threads began to spill from his palms. 

They were only apprentices. There was no way they could fight off an attack this size. 

They were going to die here. 

And that’s when a flash of radiant golden light suddenly lit up the forest. 

Floating down from the trees came a figure beautiful enough to bring one to tears, glistening golden wings unfurled behind him. Ivory curls framed an ethereal face, so perfect it almost appeared to be made of glass. His snow-white robes fluttered around him as he descended; the moon framed his head like a halo, enveloping him in a golden glow. 

At the sight of him, the boys' instantly lit up, the life rushing back into their faces.

“His Holiness! His Holiness!” Theo cried out, his heart soaring as his voice echoed through the night. “His Holiness has come to save us!”

Even surrounded by monsters, with His Holiness, Rosaire D'Amboise, there to protect them— Theo knew he would live to see another sunrise.