Roe's energy seemed to drain away as he and Gwyn started walking. Gwyn was barely managing to stay awake at this point, her eyelids fluttering every now and then. "This place takes a constant toll on my magic." She had said.
"Why don't we just leave? How do we leave, by the way?" Roe asked, letting Gwyn lean against him for support. "I would very much like to leave."
"We can't. Not yet…" She let herself sink against Roe's side. They needed to rest. A single fight took all of their strength, and their enemies were lowly direwolves. Roe didn't like the idea of something stronger attacking them while they were exhausted.
"Let's find somewhere to sit down, at least." Roe led her to a parking garage. The entrance was blocked by a pileup of cars. Roe jumped onto the roof of a small two door and held his hand out for Gwyn to take, lifting her to his side with not but a little bit of struggle.
Gwyn gave a soft, unaware smile, her eyes closing with finality. Great. Roe tried as carefully as he could to not shake the sleeping elf as he descended with her in his arms. He landed on a graveyard of shattered glass, a sharp pain running through his feet. He bit his lip, hard.
"Shit," he exhaled, shaking each leg individually to expel the alien shrapnel. "Just what I needed."
Roe found a nice corner with the least damaged looking car and placed Gwyn's sleeping form in the backseat. He watched her for a second, the slow rising and falling of her chest, her slightly open mouth as she exhaled shallow breaths. She turned her head back and forth, as if her dreams were making her uncomfortable. Beads of sweat dribbled down her skin. Roe put a hand on her cheek.
She was warm but not unwell. Her skin was soft to the touch, hair sticking to her face. Roe took his hand back, staring down at the elf. A pact, huh.
Roe sat outside the car, hunched down where Gwyn's feet stuck out. He let his head fall back against the cool metal of the vehicle. The ceiling was cracked in so many places, Roe found it hard to believe the place was still standing. Metal rods stuck out here and there. Water trickled down.
He looked down to his hand, and the small shadow behind it. What is this power? Was it because of his pact with the elf, or some previous magic he had just forgotten about? Surely Gwyn would know. She knows magic, as well. That purple flame of hers was hotter than anything he's ever felt and it didn't even touch him.
Sleep eventually overtook Roe, as much as he wanted to stay awake and on guard…against whatever else was out there. When he opened his eyes, Gwyn had two fingers against his neck where his mark was. He catches her by the wrist.
"What are you doing?" He asks, eyes squinting. He lets go of her wrist hesitantly.
"Transfering mana." She tilts her head back, her mouth slightly open as mana floods into Roe's body.
"Don't you need this more than me?" As her hand falls away, Roe feels a rush of energy. He felt like he could run for hours, could lift and throw all of the cars in this parking lot.
"It was just a bit," She lets out a labored breath, letting Roe know it was more than just a bit. "We've yet to complete our contract."
There was a moment of silence, a wall suddenly put up between the two of them. Roe knows he voluntarily gave up his memories to serve Gwyn, but to any capacity outside of this fact, there were only questions.
"Shall I tell you," she started, her eyes locked directly onto Roe's. "The details of our contract?"
He tilted his head sideways and ultimately looked away from the elf. Embarrassment seemed to subdue his questions. How silly it seemed to make a promise before losing your memory and going back on your word. Depending on the terms, though, Roe had to think this through carefully.
"Suppose I don't wanna know. What if I wish to return to my family instead?"
"Your family?" She looked puzzled. "You…remember?"
"I know them. Letty and Violet. My parent's…" Roe's voice trailed off as Gwyn's look of concern only seemed to be growing. "What?"
"...Where have you been these past few days? Rosen, how did you end up back at your family's estate?"
"All I know is I woke up at the lake behind the house. Vi was getting married when Letty brought me back."
Gwyn sat back and crossed her arms around her knees. She bit at her thumb, a furrow in her brow.
"Rosen, I've been calling you for three days. We made that pact nearly a week ago. Why are you only now just waking up?"
Silence. Roe felt his fists balling up, anger rising in his chest. "I don't know a whole lot of anything anymore, thanks to someone."
"You disappeared…" She mumbled to herself. "My father was right, you're an anomaly. I should've never picked you." She crossed the distance between them in one swift motion, her hand soft around the side of his neck. "Let me see something."
Roe couldn't resist. He felt his bones go to jelly beneath her touch. She rocked his head back and forth before placing her forehead to his, her eyes closing.
"Impossible. The contract is nearly complete, yet you remain unseen."
A shockwave shook the garage, yet her gaze remained solely on him.
"We don't have the time. We need to complete the pact."
Thundering footsteps drew close, too close for comfort. Roe wanted to get up and run, but Gwyn's hands held him down without resistance.
"Rosen Thorne-" A giant hand ran through the ceiling of the garage, ripping the roof off in bits and pieces. Debris fell around the two. "Swear your life is mine, and shatter this world as my ardent blade, together with me until the last."
"Is now really the time-"
"Until the last!"
"Fine! I swear it, my life is yours!"
A giant hand grabbed the both of them in one swoop. Dark, swirling leathering skin enveloped their bodies from chest to legs, quickly dragging them to the sky to meet the rest of the colossal monster, but Gwyn's attention remained solely on Roe.
"Blood!" She shouted over the monster's roar. It's grip on them tightened, threatening to squeeze them until they popped. "We must exchange blood."
Gwyn bit her lip, drawing just a drop of blood. Roe had a bad feeling about this, but he did the same. For a final time, they locked eyes. Nightsworn, until the last. She pressed her lips against his, their blood mixing and finalizing their pact.
"Now," She said, nodding towards the giant about to eat them. "Protect your princess."
With the command given, strength rippled throughout Roe's entire body, surging with power. Fire erupted on the giants arm, purple flames licking the dark leather until it released the two of them.
Roe grabbed Gwyn and felt the gravity around them shifting, all the light being sucked out until there was only a void. They fell through the empty space, falling until they landed on the ground near the parking garage.
Roe was on his feet and running before he could even comprehend what was happening, his body moving automatically. Giant fists rained down on him like missiles. He dodged each one without even trying, time slowing around him until everything seemed to stand still. He raced up the giant's arm until he was at the base of its gigantic head, all eyes and teeth and spittle flying in every direction. He summoned his sword from his shadow and cleaved at the giant's neck.
The sword struck only a few inches deep before it became lodged in the tough skin. Time began to speed back up, exhaustion already creeping into Roe's bones. The giant swatted him back down into the parking garage.
"Rosen!" Gwyn called. Her hands extended, a magic circle appeared around her. Thick vines began enveloping the giant's monstrous legs.
Roe flew out from the debris and started cutting. If one big attack wasn't going to work, death by a thousand cuts is going to have to do. He felt the limited pool of magic he possessed dwindling. Faster!
Roe sunk the rest of his magic supply into enhancing his physical attributes. Gwyn watched carefully as her Nightsworn sped frantically around the giant abyssal. He crossed between the giant's legs, striking where he thought the joints to be. Afterall, it was just a big person, in theory.
Dragging his blade across the monster's chest and up towards its arm, the monster stopped fighting with the vines to swat a hand at Roe. The Nightsworn merely swung his blade in a wide arc, separating the creature's fingers from its hand.
The beast roared with outrage. It clawed at its chest to rid itself of the pest Roe had become.
"Rosen!" Gwyn shouted from the ground. A spear of ice the size of a tree appeared from a magic circle in front of her. Roe danced around the monsters face before sliding down its back, slashing at the tendons behind its kneecaps before he touched the ground. The monster wobbled, roaring in anguish.
"Just a little more." Roe exhaled, hair embedded to his face with sweat. "Let's go! One more time!" He let his sword fall back into his shadow and unleashed a flurry of punches on the monster's legs. The giant raised one leg and attempted to squash Roe, but that was probably the last thing it should've done.
Roe used the fresh shadow to step inside and appear on the monster's neck, driving his sword into the monsters ear, pushing as hard as he could to reach the beast's brain. A hand came up and finally caught Roe, grabbing the boy and flinging him hard across the horizon.
Roe took a deep breath. His body ached, but his job wasn't done. As he neared the ground, he used his oncoming shadow to disappear and reappear in Gwyn's.
"I'm gonna hurt that thing." Roe spit, a bit of blood and pride. Gwyn smirked.
"This is all I have left," She touched Roe's neck, transferring the rest of her mana. "Don't waste it."
He was gone before he felt the mana flood into his body. Rejuvenated, he felt an itch in his arm. Launching into the air, he noticed a gas truck parked neatly on the side of the road. "Sure would be nice if I had long arms." He reached for the truck, using the trucks shadow to launch it halfway to oblivion.
Roe landed on the truck, kicking off with all he's worth. The truck barrelled into the monster's face, forcing it back a mere two steps.
"Peek-a-boo." Roe locked his hands together, a dark leash appearing around the giant's neck and pulling it down towards the ice spark Gwyn had made.
The giant roared once more. The leash kept shortening, but it wasn't enough. The giant was on its knees, hands trying desperately to free itself, and Roe had an idea.
Purple flames licked at the monster's legs, searing the skin right from its bones. Roe let himself freefall into the monsters shadow, appearing above it at a nosedive with the extra speed the creature had provided. Roe's feet rocketed into the oversized squealer's head and forced it onto the ice spike, impaling the thing through the forehead.
"Nice." Gwyn gave him a thumbs up, sleep calling for her after the adrenaline fades. "Super cool."
Roe appeared behind her in time to catch her falling body. He's really got to figure out a way to get her to stop fainting.
"Until the last."