Barr: "AN EYE FOR AN EYE, VIRNO...!"

  Barr’s monstrous form surged forward, his blade gleaming under the moonlight, primed to cleave through flesh and metal alike. Virno’s heart pounded in his chest -- not from fear, but from the burning determination to face Barr and emerge victorious this time.

  Virno: "An eye for an eye, Barr!"

  He leapt.

  In the split second before their clash, Virno swung his blade upward, aiming for the remains of Barr’s mutilated torso. But Barr, ever the predator, released a thick cloud of black smoke, shrouding himself in darkness. The air grew cold and suffocating, and before Virno could adjust, the wet sound of cleanly-sliced flesh reached his ears.

  Barr: "HAHAHAHA! How will you wield your sword now?!"

  Pain -- searing, immediate, and all-consuming -- ripped through Virno's body. His right arm felt weightless, then numb. A sickening sensation bloomed in his chest as he glanced down to see the horrific truth: his forearm was gone, severed cleanly at the elbow. The dismembered limb tumbled through the sky, still clutching his sword, the green glow fading as it drifted further away.

  Virno: "NGHHH!"

  Blood erupted from the stump, painting the sky with crimson streaks. His heart thundered in his chest, as if trying to escape the confines of his ribcage. But alongside the agony, something else surged within him -- power. The glow in his eyes intensified, spreading outward, branding his skin with sigils that pulsed with a foreign, otherworldly energy.

  Virno: "Ventus... tibi praecipio..."

  The words slipped from his lips like a language he had always known but never learned. The very air trembled at his command, his voice resonating with a force not entirely his own. Virno extended his left arm toward Barr, now a conduit of something ancient and unyielding.

  Virno: "... Sweepeth away yon clouds..."

  The sigils carved deeper into his skin, burning like molten metal. A sudden gale exploded from his palm, blasting through the smoke, unraveling Barr’s concealment with terrifying ease.

  Virno: "...Rend my foe in twain."

  His fingers snapped together, his hand slicing downward in a decisive motion.

  Virno: "Fact ut impero!"

  A razor-sharp gust surged forth, cutting through the air with the ferocity of a guillotine. The wind struck Barr’s chest, cleaving flesh and bone alike, shattering ribs, and sending him spiraling toward the earth in a chaotic descent.

  Virno: "AGHHH!"

  The sigils on his arm began to fade, but the pain remained, searing deeper than any wound. His left arm throbbed violently, burned from within by the power he’d unleashed, even as his right bled profusely. And yet, gravity’s grip pulled him relentlessly downward, the ground rushing up to meet him.

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  I can’t stop now. His mind screamed. I can’t die here.

  Virno: "No price can be worse than dying..."

  Greed: "... A dangerous assumption."

  Greed’s voice slithered into his mind, unbidden, as smooth and familiar as it had been in the earliest days of the curse.

  Virno: "Greed... Can your power save me?"

  Greed: "It already has. You think those words were yours...? That power was not summoned by your will alone. In the face of death, your instincts relinquished control -- to *me*."

  Virno: "Then save me again... Break my fall. Please!"

  Greed: "Your legs will still pay a price."

  Virno: "I don't care... I can't die here. I just can't!"

  Greed: "That much we can agree on... Focus. Draw it out once more, as you did. My voice shall command it."

  Virno gritted his teeth, his body trembling as pain and determination collided within him. His eyes flared with green fire, brighter than before, as the sigils carved themselves anew into his skin. The luminous script spread down his torso and snaked along his legs, searing flesh and sinew with every pulse.

  Virno: "Ventus, tibi praecipio..."

  His voice, deep and resonant, echoed with a power that was no longer his alone. The ancient words wrapped around him like a second skin, anchoring him in the space between life and death.

  Virno: "... Grant unto me an unmarred descent."

  The sigils on his legs glowed white-hot, branding themselves into his muscles. The pain was unbearable, like molten iron poured over bone, yet Virno forced the words past his lips.

  Virno: "Fact ut impero!"

  A violent gust exploded from his feet, halting his deadly fall and guiding him to the ground with unnatural precision. But the moment his feet touched the earth, his body gave out. He collapsed to his knees, his legs screaming in agony, muscles torn and nerves frayed beyond recognition.

  Greed: "You’re not done yet... You must stand!"

  But Virno couldn’t. His body was hollow, a shell drained of all strength. His breath came in ragged gasps, and the world around him blurred, the edges of his vision darkening as consciousness slipped through his fingers.

  Greed: "He comes. STAND!"

  Through the haze of pain, Virno saw him -- Barr, or what was left of him. A grotesque figure, shambling forward, his body stitched together by dark, pulsing tar. His blade-arm dragged across the ground, carving a jagged line in the dirt as he approached.

  Barr: "T-that was a nice try... But your time's up. It's... It's coming back. I can't hold it back anymore..."

  Thick, black tar oozed from Barr’s wounds, pooling around his feet and staining the earth. The corrupted substance surged, knitting his broken body back together, restoring what should have stayed destroyed.

  Barr: "It was nice to see you one last time, Virno... Maybe we'll meet again in the next life."

  His voice twisted, the human edge fading as the demonic intonation of Novilunium returned. The entity inside Barr was regaining control, faster than any of them could have anticipated.

  Novilunium: "S-so much pain..."

  Novilunium’s arm morphed into a tendril of shadow, shooting toward Virno. But instead of striking, it brushed against Virno’s severed stump. The pain that had been so overwhelming moments before faded, replaced by an unnatural, icy calm.

  Greed: "Filth...! Do not let them sully you. STAND UP, VIRNO!"

  But Greed’s voice was a distant echo now, fading into the dark void that was swallowing Virno’s mind. His vision blurred, his thoughts slowed, and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, his body betraying him at the worst possible moment.

  Greed: "Your torment follows you beyond the physical world, von Virtus. You’re not escaping so easily..."

  But the words were lost in the suffocating fog of exhaustion and pain.

  Novilunium loomed over Virno now, the tar-like substance writhing around his form. There was no one left to stop him.

  In the distance, the driver and Ballo had managed to land, their descent cushioned by what remained of Ballo’s failing magic and the vehicle’s groaning suspension. But the crash had left their vessel shattered, its fuel cell leaking the last of its energy into the dirt.

  The driver clutched Ballo’s limp body, tears streaming from their exposed eye as they watched Novilunium approach Virno’s crumpled form. The futility of the situation pressed down on them like a weight.

  Driver: "I’m sorry, Clavia... I’m sorry, Ballo... I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry..."

  The words fell into the night, unheard and unanswered, as the darkness closed in around them.