"Only you can," I said to him. "Tae, it's why she's here."

Kabbah joined Taeral's side, sneering at Brendel. "Sister, I'm amazed. Your persistence is incredible."

"And you're still not powerful enough to defeat me. I've only become stronger since last we met," Brendel replied.

"At the expense of how many Hermessi? I can't remember how many you gobbled up, you mindless abomination," Kabbah hissed. "Can you not see how far off the deep end you've gone?!"

"She cannot," Seeley interjected, his dark, starry gaze fixed on her. "She's getting help from one of the First Ten. She is breaking all the laws of the universe in order to get what she wants."

Brendel scoffed. "I do whatever I must. Determination is one of the building blocks of the universe, Reaper. You know nothing of it."

"So it's true, then," the Soul Crusher replied. "The Spirit Bender has been helping you."

"For about five million years now. He and I share a common agenda. Well, parts of it, anyway," she said.

I found it intriguing that she was so open to talking now. Then again, her primary objective was to keep us all busy—especially Taeral. My muscles were tense. I exchanged glances with Varga first, then with the rest of our crew. We were all scared, knowing that this had to be the last time we ever crossed paths with Brendel, or with any other Hermessi, for that matter.

I'd had enough. Too many hurdles. Too many interruptions. Too much hatred and violence and mindless obsession. We'd come so far. There was no way in hell we'd let Brendel pull the plug on us. Not after everything we'd sacrificed. After everything Taeral had sacrificed. This was it. The end of the line, either for us or for Brendel.

"And what is it you intend to accomplish together?" Phantom asked, gliding forward, her bare feet barely touching the hard, cold ground.

A storm boiled above, as black clouds gathered, thick and dark and filled with flashes of lightning. The winds blew with renewed strength. I could almost taste the rain on the tip of my serpentine tongue, which I let flick between my lips. There was a sense of death and doom swelling between us. All we had to do was make sure it wasn't ours to bear, that it was only ours to inflict upon the enemy.

"We're teaching Death a valuable lesson," Brendel said. "For too long she has looked down upon us, the Hermessi, as inferior entities, when we are some of the most powerful forces of the universe. We help life grow and flourish, after all."

"Is that why you plan to burn everything down? Because you want to help life?" Taeral replied dryly.

"It's part of the process. All must die in order for everything to be reborn," Brendel declared. "Death does not accept our cycle of existence. It's time she's made to understand that not everything works as she pleases."

"Tae," I blurted. "She's here because the Spirit Bender has Death. She's stalling!"

"I know," Taeral replied. "I was hoping she'd have a better explanation as to why she's still so hellbent on doing all this."

Brendel took another step forward. "I gave you the option to stand down, in return for mercy. It's still on the table, Taeral. Do nothing, let us finish our sacred work, and your home planet may be allowed to live. All of your home planets may be allowed to live—"

"Provided they all worship you as gods and supreme forces of the universe," Kabbah said. "How delusional are you to think people will choose oppression instead of death?"

Brendel shrugged. "Death is final."

"Surrendering to your demands is worse than Death," Raphael said. "We would never bow before you. The five million fae you're about to kill would never forgive us. And neither could we."

Taeral raised Thieron over his head. The handle's engraved text glowed white, brimming with energy. The blade's sharp and curved edge glistened in the growing darkness. The round gemstone continued its slow spin, casting flakes of light all around Taeral. They spread out like wisps of moonlight. Some reached us, absorbed into our clothes.

One of them touched my face, and a peculiar warmth spread through my skin. This wasn't ordinary light that Phyla was exuding. It was something else, something powerful and intense enough to get me riled up and ready for the most dangerous battle of my life.

"Then you will all die. Each and every single one of you will burn, until nothing is left but the ashes upon which we will build new worlds," Brendel said.

Taeral exhaled, a smile trying his lips. "Then it's time we put you back into your place before we find Death and stop your ritual."

That was it. The declaration of war she'd been waiting for. We were all in her crosshairs now, and we were all ready to give it everything we had. For ourselves. For our loved ones. For our families and friends.

For every single living creature that dwelled in even the darkest corners of this universe. The gift of life was not the Hermessi's to take. Only Death could end us, and she was currently indisposed.

Taeral

I had my sights set on Brendel.

The crew and I had already discussed this. Considering my track record with this flaming monster, my odds of defeating her were significantly higher. Everyone else had to focus on the other Hermessi, and I could only hope the ensuing battle would end with all of us reunited and very much alive. Brendel and her machinations had killed too many of our people.

"Let's see how long before you realize you're at a dead end," Brendel said.

Not waiting for a reply, she cast a flurry of incandescent fireballs at me. I blocked them with Thieron's blade, but the force of their impact was still strong enough to push me back.

I couldn't teleport, thanks to whatever death magic she'd been given by the Spirit Bender, and I didn't even have time to figure out how a Hermessi could use death magic. It was a question left for later. But I could still throw fire back at her.

Unlike Brendel, however, I'd been trained to use every ounce of my resources wisely, focusing on the target, rather than the damage. I released a series of small fireballs in rapid succession. They didn't do much other than distract her for a split second, but a split second was all I needed to move closer and use Thieron.

Realizing my intention, Brendel dashed back, clearly fearful of Death's weapon, even in my hands. That just confirmed what Eva and the others had said. It was good to have some kind of confirmation from experience, rather than from theories, because Brendel was a dangerous force, and unpracticed theories could end in tragedy.

"They were right. You're not a fan of Thieron, especially in its complete form," I said.

Around us, the battlefield erupted. I caught glimpses of Kabbah launching fiery green attacks against the incoming Hermessi. Lumi and Nethissis summoned the Word's power and cast combinations of attack and protection spells. Eira drew water from the skies above and channeled it into frozen projectiles aimed at the Fire elementals.

Raphael used his fire against the Water Hermessi. Riza cast jinni magic, toying with the Air Hermessi. Fortunately for us, the only thing Brendel had ever been able to block was a jinni’s teleportation ability. I would’ve use my own jinni magic, but Thieron was a much better fit given my powerful opponent.

Herakles, Eva, and Varga were limited in their offensive, but they fired all the pulverizer pellets they had, reloading every other minute. As expected, the pellets didn't do much, but they still poked temporary holes in several Hermessi, just enough to give Kabbah an edge for a proper attack.

Brendel came at me with all her fiery might, and I froze for a second. Why was she coming straight for me when I had Thieron out and ready to slice through her?

She split in half and dashed past me. Before I knew it, I felt her fire behind me, burning through my leather uniform. I gasped and turned around, slashing at her. She moved back, the blade missing her by inches. She laughed.

"You think a nifty gadget will be the end of me?"

A boom thundered across the mountain peak, drawing everyone's attention. Amelia had just landed on the ground, holding Yamani's scythe, which I'd left in her care. The blade glowed a beautiful orange. Behind her, a Fire Hermessi had been split in half.

"How can that be?!" Raphael croaked. "Don't get me wrong, it's amazing, but still…"

Only then did I notice the Reapers fighting, as well. They zapped across and around the mountain peak, using their scythes and bits of death magic against the elementals. The Soul Crusher, the Widow Maker, the Phantom, and Seeley were all involved. It seemed as though all rules were scrapped this time around.

I was witnessing magic I hadn’t seen before. Soul tore holes into the fabric of space, and Widow grabbed various Hermessi with just his gloved hands, throwing them in. Phantom cut through Air and Earth elementals, her scythe's blade changing colors between white and green whenever she delivered a blow.

"I… I don't know!" Amelia replied. "All I care is that it's somehow working!"

That being said, she quickly spun and went back to the Hermessi she'd just cut in half. I didn’t have time to wonder whether she’d become a Reaper, too, someday, but the thought had crossed my mind. She delivered another blow, this time with a horizontal swing. Yamani's scythe went through, glimmering orange, and the Hermessi was now broken in four pieces.

Brendel seemed surprised. "What's happening?" she murmured.

"Maybe the universe is telling you it's still on our side," I said.