"I'm coming, buddy," I called to him, the blue markings on my arm pulsing with determination.
The Voice saw me moving toward Horrace and raised her hands, crimson energy gathering between her palms. "You cannot stop what has been set in motion, Chalice-Bearer. The Veil will fall, with or without your cooperation."
She hurled the energy bolt directly at me. I threw up my hands instinctively, the blue markings flaring in defense. The two magics collided with a thunderous crack, sending shockwaves through the lighthouse that cracked the ancient stone walls.
The impact drove me to my knees, my bad knee would be hurting tomorrow, but I refused to fall. Drawing on reserves I didn't know I had, I pushed back against her power, forcing myself back to my feet.
"I won't let you use Horrace," I gritted out, taking another step toward his prison. "I won't let you use me."
The Voice's face contorted with rage. "You have no choice! The spiral binds you to our purpose!"
As if responding to her words, the spiral mark on my side flared with burning pain, tendrils of red energy spreading across my torso. I gasped, nearly losing my focus as the agony threatened to overwhelm me.
"Winter!" Milo shouted, still maintaining his disruption of Horrace's prison. "The spiral and your markings, they're connected! Use one against the other!"
Understanding dawned. If the spiral drew power from my prophetic energy, perhaps I could reverse the flow. Instead of fighting it, I could embrace it, channel it.
I closed my eyes, focusing inward even as I held off the Voice. The blue markings and the red spiral were indeed connected, energy flowing from the former to the latter. With concentrated effort, I visualized that flow reversing, the spiral's power feeding back into my prophetic markings instead.
The pain was immediate and intense, like being turned inside out. But beneath it was a surge of raw power unlike anything I'd felt before. The red energy of the spiral and the blue of my markings merged, creating a purple glow that spread across my entire body.
When I opened my eyes, the Voice was staring at me in horror. "What are you doing? Stop!"
I took another step toward Horrace, the purple energy surrounding me in a protective aura that vaporized any cultist who came too close. "You wanted to use me as a conduit?" I smiled grimly. "Let's see how you like being on the receiving end."
With a gesture, I sent a surge of the combined energy directly at the Voice. She tried to block it, raising shields of crimson light, but my power tore through them like tissue paper. The blast hit her square in the chest, lifting her off her feet and slamming her into the spiral staircase with enough force to bend the metal.
Horrace's prison flickered as its power source faltered. With a final push from Milo's necromantic energy, the barrier shattered completely. Horrace spilled out, his form rippling with distress but otherwise unharmed. Milo's skeletons fell, picked themselves up and ran to Milo.
He launched himself at me, tentacles wrapping around my shoulders in a familiar, comforting embrace. Through our connection, I felt his relief, his fear, his desperate concern for me.
"I'm okay," I assured him, stroking his vibrating form. "We're getting out of here."
But the Voice wasn't finished. She pulled herself from the wreckage of the staircase, blood streaming from a gash on her forehead. "You think this changes anything?" Her voice distorted with rage. "The ritual is complete. The Veil is already weakening. Soon it will collapse entirely!"
As if to confirm her words, reality rippled around us. The walls of the lighthouse became transparent for a moment, showing glimpses of other places, other times. The floor beneath our feet vibrated with increasing intensity.
"We need to leave," Fenric shouted over the growing rumble. "The structure is becoming unstable!"
Rook and Zane finished dispatching the remaining cultists and rushed to join us. Milo swayed on his feet, drained from his magical efforts, but managed to stay upright with Zane's support.
"What about her?" Rook growled, nodding toward the Voice, who was attempting to stand despite her injuries.
"Leave her," I decided, the purple energy still coursing through me. "This place is coming down. We need to get clear."
We made our way toward the exit, supporting each other as the lighthouse shuddered around us. Reality continued toflicker, making the simple act of walking a challenge as the floor would occasionally become insubstantial beneath our feet.
"You cannot escape what's coming, Chalice-Bearer!" The Voice called after us, her voice rising to a fanatical pitch. "The Harbingers will remake reality, with or without you!"
I didn't look back, focusing instead on getting to safety. We burst through the lighthouse door just as the structure began to collapse in on itself, stone and metal twisting in ways that defied physics.
We ran, putting as much distance between ourselves and the lighthouse as possible. Behind us, the building imploded with a sound like reality itself tearing, a shockwave of magical energy washing over us as we dove for cover.
When the dust settled, I raised my head to see nothing but rubble where the lighthouse had stood. The area around it shimmered with residual energy, reality still thin but no longer actively tearing.
"Is everyone okay?" I checked each of the guys.
They nodded, battered and exhausted but alive. Horrace clung to me tightly, his tentacles refusing to loosen their grip. Through our connection, I felt his confusion and his fear.
