“I’m planning to go up north tomorrow.” Euth says, finally clearing out his desk for the day, as he returns his gaze towards Kaslien. The healer tries his best to hide his excitement from the news, thinking of ways to tell the prince about his departure wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world, and getting away from Kaslien for a few days might do him some damn good. 

“Alone?” Kaslien raised an eyebrow. 

“I would rather kill myself than bring you with me.”

–

Maybe he should just end it all right there and then, he thought to himself.

Such a coincidence that “oh! The King of the North needs help”, as the prince would put it, which seemed more like an excuse rather than an actual mission with the end goal of furthering his relationship with Kaslien. 

Not that he minds, Euth tries to convince himself as he stares at the man across from him. The atmosphere inside the carriage almost seemed awkward, with none of them talking to each other, though at some points Kaslien tried to strike up small talks; small talks that Euth ignored. 

“So even the corruption reached Aglaciou, huh...” Kaslien recalls again, playing with the scroll in his hand. 

Euth ignores him.

“King Deumerge, right?” Kaslien asked, rechecking the scroll for the millionth time, yet no response came from the healer, making the situation more unpleasant than it already is. “I’ve heard a lot about her, many stories in Thyleth tells about her ascension to the throne.” He continues, trying to lift the mood of the carriage, to no avail. 

Euth raises an eyebrow, with an unamused expression. The healer leans back on the carriage walls, the soft cushion preventing his back from hitting the hardwood as he continues to stare at Kaslien, examining the latter’s every move. 

He recalled the tales he had heard of the infamous King, and how she obtained such a title, when the norm was for women to inherit the queen position. It was a first for their history, and many rumours about King Deumerge went around–yet out of all the many legends about her, one of them stands amongst all to be the most believable.

“She usurped that throne all by herself.” Euth informed half heartedly, examining the change in Kaslien’s expression; something that he had found to be interesting ever since their first meeting. “King Deumerge slaughtered nearly half of the people in her kingdom alone.” Euth continues to talk, noticing the way Kaslien’s eyes dilate as the latter focuses on his words.

“Despite that, she’s a kind person.” Euth states, turning his gaze towards Kaslien. 

“How so?” The latter asks.

“If she was a tyrant, Agleciou would be a kingless nation.” Euth informs, rolling his eyes at the presumed ignorance. “If you actually read a history book, once or twice, in your life–assuming you can read–you would know of her renowned capabilities as a ruler and a warrior.”

“Hey!” Kaslien furrowed his eyebrows at the insult, pointing at Euth with the scroll in his hand. “I didn’t even provoke you this time!” Kaslien couldn’t believe the healer, his face turned to one of annoyance as he cursed at Euth, with the latter cursing back at him. 

They continue to squabble, threatening each other as their shouts could be heard from outside of the carriage. Such a thing goes on for a while, with Euth nearly breaking the royal carriage whenever he tries to land a hit on Kaslien; but due to his predictable nature, Kaslien dodges the oncoming attacks with ease. Such a small area did not help as at some moments, Kaslien could feel the carriage titling to its side–causing him to be more aware of the surrounding lest they want to break the only form of transportation they have. 

Though, a sudden halt had broken their argument–the abrupt stop had knocked Euth out of balance, causing him to fall on top of Kaslien. The coachman opens the door to inform them of a disruption on the road, yet her face seemed to redden up when she looked inside the carriage. The healer turns to her, glaring right at her as she points towards the road, her face is panic-stricken yet she tries to keep her cool. 

Euth curses underneath his breath, getting off of Kaslien before swinging out of the carriage to see the source of disturbance, with Kaslien following suit. 

“Get behind me.” Euth turns to the coachmen, putting his arms out to protect her. “If you think your life will be in danger, I want you to take off to the king; whether you take only the horses or with the carriage, I want you to flee if you sense you might not make it.” 

The coachman nodded, backing away as Kaslien shoved her behind him. 

“What is that thing…?” Kaslien turns to Euth, searching for any reaction from the healer. 

“That’s not a normal voicrea.” Euth stated, looking on at the creature.

Its back is arched forward, showing off the ribs–the creature’s eyes seemed to be hollow and its jaw unhinged. There was a rancid stench that came from the object it holds, those clawed fingers digging deep into it, with sloshing noise filling the entire air. The creature’s limbs are eerily elongated, with its leg bending backwards to accommodate its posture. 

“It’s corrupted.” Kaslien points out, drawing his chain whip and getting into an offensive stance; there was a sense of determination and fiery within his eyes that Euth might’ve missed if he wasn’t focused. “I heard voicreas are native to the Void Beyond…” 

“That means the corruption reached it too.” Euth curses underneath his breath, knowing that he is in no possession of a weapon except his hidden blade made it a challenge to defeat the amalgamation. “Voicreas tend to be volatile and violent, don’t die.” Euth informs Kaslien, to which the latter responds with a scoff. 

“Don’t underestimate me, Euth.” Kaslien’s voice was filled with annoyance as he strikes forward, landing a hit on the creature.

Its movements were erratic, tangling up Kaslien’s chain whip as he struggled to subdue the creature. He grits his teeth in frustration, changing his grip so that his weapon would wrap around his arm as he climbs onto the creature; its slimy texture and crude movements had made it harder for him to gain control. 

Kaslien gets behind the creature’s neck, as he manipulates his chain whip to wrap around the creature. 

The resistance had him struggling to keep his balance as it attempted to stand, straightening its legs, struggling against the hold. 

“Kaslien! Get off of it!” 

Euth warns him, charging right into the creature’s vision, forcing its attention to him. 

“What are you thinking?! Healer!” Kaslien shouts back, but not before jumping off of the creature, wincing to himself as he notices the scratch on his leg, looking at the growing spikes on the monster’s back. The fabric was in pieces and crimson red blood flowed out of his body and onto the ground. Kaslien notices that the open wound was turning dark, realising that it must’ve gotten its poison into him.

“Kaslien!” Euth turns to Kaslien, pulling his outer robe and throwing it towards Kaslien’s direction. “Get into the carriage and go!” 

“Fuck you!” Kaslien shouts back, taking the robe as he binds it around the wounded area. He turns his attention towards the shaking coachman, scoffing at her before heading back towards Euth with his whip in hand. “You couldn’t even win a fight against me, how do you expect to win against this?!”

“I don’t!” Euth dodges the creature’s claws, returning to Kaslien’s side, putting his arm out to protect him. “I’m the world’s best healer, even if this thing lands a scratch on me, I can heal it off.” 

“But it would still hurt!” 

“Doesn’t matter.” Euth simply stated, running into the creature once again as he pulls out his hidden blade. 

“Stubborn bastard!” Kaslien groaned, taking a more passive stance as he changed his plan. 

Kaslien lets go of his chain whip, manipulating the weapon to attack and subdue the beast. He forces the whip to wrap around the wild animal, squeezing it tight to prevent any movements from its arms. Kaslien turns to Euth, their eyes connected. 

“This isn’t a permanent solution.” Kaslien could feel sweat coming down his forehead as he tries to suppress the force from the corrupted creature. “The creature’s skin’s near indestructible, with its spikes and all, we can’t damage it from the outside.” 

“We’ll kill it from the inside then.” 

“That is stupid.” 

“Tough skinned voicreas are vulnerable on the insides.” 

“And the corrupted ones heal at breakneck speed!” 

They both continue to argue with one another, their voices echoed throughout the snowy plain. The coachman watches as the beast continues to struggle in the golden restraints, stepping up onto one horse as she notices the creature’s glare. She forced herself to calm down, pushing through the block in her throat to warn the duo of the amalgamated creature. 

They both curse under their breath as the elongated legs reach out to them. 

Out of instinct, Euth dived for Kaslien, pushing the latter down onto the ground in an act to protect him. In hindsight, it might be a noble thing to do, but Euth realises that this was not the case as Kaslien’s hold on his whip loosens, setting the creature free and after them. 

“What is wrong with you!” Kaslien grabs Euth’s arms, flipping them over to protect Euth from the attack. 

Kaslien grimaces at the painful sensation as the monster tackles him off of Euth and crashes straight into the carriage, disrupting the horse and sending them into a panic mode. The coachman screamed, her horses going wild and sending her off away from the duo, leaving them alone with the creature. 

Euth swears, standing up in fury as he looks onto the crash. The carriage was broken beyond repair, with Kaslien laying down amongst the broken wood while the creature was running amok with no sense of control or grace. Without thinking, Euth dashes for the chain whip, taking it into his hand as he shouts to the creature. 

“Over here!” Euth taunts the beast, putting his hand out to provoke it. He takes a breath in, readying himself for the endless scenario. “I’m the world’s best healer! No monster nor god could land a scratch on me.” 

Such intentions seemed to provoke the monster, forcing it to launch at Euth’s direction. 

He looked down on the red chain whip against his pale skin, closer to the image of blood rather than a whip. He closes his eyes, imitating the way Kaslien moved in order to manipulate the chain whip. The healer could feel a burst of energy from his hand, as if the weapon was alive, yet it seems to take a lot out of him. He must end this. 

He dodged the incoming attack, struggling to keep a hold over the whip as it tied around the creature’s leg, pulling hard in a futile attempt to do external damage. But such efforts seem in vain as his body is pulled along, propelling him to a nearby tree.  

Euth sucks in a sharp breath as he notices the way his arm was cut by his inability to control the whip. The gold flows out of the cuts like the fresh water of Eryon, staining the grass beneath him. His head stings from the impact, causing his vision to blur as he coughs his lungs out, covering his mouth with the uninjured arm. 

“Weak.” He continues to mock the monster as his skin and muscles stitch themselves back together, though he is not fully stable–he forces himself to stand on his two feet. “As I have said! You won’t be able to kill me!” 

The statement seemed to be met with more aggression from the creature, forcing it to attack Euth head on, aiming to cut the healer down rather than a simple throw. The adrenaline feels overwhelming to the both of them, though in this position; Euth has gotten the short end of the stick for the millionth time. But such a thing seems trivial to Euth. 

“I will make you regret living, even as a beast.” Euth scoffs, tightening the grip that he has on the chain whip, preparing himself to fight once more. “An abomination such as us should’ve never lived in the first place, no?”