"You better not die on me little brother. You are the last of us." Nox scowled at his sister as his power burned through him. He could feel the brink of death. His body felt like molten lava. His head was pounding. All awareness was inward, Nox had stopped fighting. What was the point?
Aurora growled at him in his head "You will not die." Nox felt like Aurora was adding to his misery making him regret every last thing he did. He was a failure. He couldn't save his mom. He was just like his father - a failure.
And then the warm embrace came, all hope lost and Aurora wrapped her arms around him like she used to like she did the day Nox had forgotten. He remembered her strength, her warmth. "You were never like him little brother. Not ever."
The Ijiraq crumbled around Nox and he gasped for breath. Nox fell to his knees and gasped for as air returned to his lungs and the power with in cut off with an abrupt force. It lingered in the distance. Nox didn't want to touch it, the mere thought of it burned. Arms were helping him up, helping him stand, but Nox fell back to the ground, hand and knees planted in the ground. The earth was so close. Nox's heart raced as he tried to find his bearings. That thing was still coming. It was facing down Ascendancy.
Cruz was next to him talking to him, but Nox wasn't hearing anything through the ringing in his ears. "Nox, you have to help. How do you kill this thing?"
Nox shook his head. "I don't know. I'd cage her in earth, and then air so she couldn't stay with Oriena. She'd have to leave her to phase."
"But then she could take over someone else."
"She needs to be caged." Nox growled at Cruz.
"How. Wait." He said. Cruz wove quickly a thread like we used to trip the yard at his home. "This we use for physical trapping." Cruz smiled. "And we use nets to catch fish in the aquarium, and a net to find the problem in a body. I watched Mr. James do it. We use spirit to break weaves." That looked like what they were doing, but none could reach it around. "Nox I'm not strong enough to make a net that big."
Nox shook his head and used Cruz to help himself stand up. They walked together towards the rest of them and stood behind them Nox was leaning too much on Cruz, it made Nox painfully aware that he was going to die in this.
"Have faith little brother."
Cruz wove a net over and around Oriena - Nox had finally remembered her name, it felt like years ago. Oriena's power ripped through the net with ease. Even with Marcus and the others trying a variation of the same thing Cruz wasn't very powerful. He was so new. Nox seized his power. It felt like it burned through his body. His grip on Cruz's arm tightened and Nox wanted to fall to his knees but he stayed his course and wove a net, not a sledgehammer. You don't catch a fish alive with a spear. And he very much wanted to save Oriena's life.
Nox didn't dare draw to the brim, he didn't dare draw anything but he must. He had to. It burned, he felt like his skin was going to blow away in the wind as he mimicked the net, his threads were closer and thicker but the power still ripped through them. He wasn't going to be able to do it, but he would keep trying.
Aurora growled at him in his head "You will not die." Nox felt like Aurora was adding to his misery making him regret every last thing he did. He was a failure. He couldn't save his mom. He was just like his father - a failure.
And then the warm embrace came, all hope lost and Aurora wrapped her arms around him like she used to like she did the day Nox had forgotten. He remembered her strength, her warmth. "You were never like him little brother. Not ever."
The Ijiraq crumbled around Nox and he gasped for breath. Nox fell to his knees and gasped for as air returned to his lungs and the power with in cut off with an abrupt force. It lingered in the distance. Nox didn't want to touch it, the mere thought of it burned. Arms were helping him up, helping him stand, but Nox fell back to the ground, hand and knees planted in the ground. The earth was so close. Nox's heart raced as he tried to find his bearings. That thing was still coming. It was facing down Ascendancy.
Cruz was next to him talking to him, but Nox wasn't hearing anything through the ringing in his ears. "Nox, you have to help. How do you kill this thing?"
Nox shook his head. "I don't know. I'd cage her in earth, and then air so she couldn't stay with Oriena. She'd have to leave her to phase."
"But then she could take over someone else."
"She needs to be caged." Nox growled at Cruz.
"How. Wait." He said. Cruz wove quickly a thread like we used to trip the yard at his home. "This we use for physical trapping." Cruz smiled. "And we use nets to catch fish in the aquarium, and a net to find the problem in a body. I watched Mr. James do it. We use spirit to break weaves." That looked like what they were doing, but none could reach it around. "Nox I'm not strong enough to make a net that big."
Nox shook his head and used Cruz to help himself stand up. They walked together towards the rest of them and stood behind them Nox was leaning too much on Cruz, it made Nox painfully aware that he was going to die in this.
"Have faith little brother."
Cruz wove a net over and around Oriena - Nox had finally remembered her name, it felt like years ago. Oriena's power ripped through the net with ease. Even with Marcus and the others trying a variation of the same thing Cruz wasn't very powerful. He was so new. Nox seized his power. It felt like it burned through his body. His grip on Cruz's arm tightened and Nox wanted to fall to his knees but he stayed his course and wove a net, not a sledgehammer. You don't catch a fish alive with a spear. And he very much wanted to save Oriena's life.
Nox didn't dare draw to the brim, he didn't dare draw anything but he must. He had to. It burned, he felt like his skin was going to blow away in the wind as he mimicked the net, his threads were closer and thicker but the power still ripped through them. He wasn't going to be able to do it, but he would keep trying.
![[Image: nox_sig.gif]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nox_sig.gif)