#“khol'a” meanwhile is going to make sure dar continues to have an Awful experience! with or without him around

[innerbeast]

if only that fury remained, becoming a blazing wall for him to steady himself against. to use it as fuel to guide him forward and do what was needed; what yuri had put himself in place to do in dar's stead. this nightmare, and the monster within, were of his creation -- he should be the one that buries both. righting the self-created wrong.

but he's had every chance to do just that.. and he hasn't. no, running was the favored response, pulling himself further and further away from the problem at hand; the inevitable khol'a so kindly reminded him about again, and again.

with collar seized his eyes redirect, meeting a defiant stare to rival that which he wished to hold. knitted brows twitch, faltering over a narrowed gaze, trying in vain to keep that spark of rage present... and failing. emotions were his greatest asset when it came to utilizing the beast within, yet they were also his greatest downfall. for without a proper hold on them, they rendered a warrior ( nearly ) powerless.

he was no better than a dimly lit flame, struggling to stay ablaze.

"--and i'm suppose to just let you add him to yours?" last flicker of aether is enough to grasp hold of, giving his words their intended bite before it fizzles out. own hand is brought to meet the tightened grip of the one around his collar, fingers squeezing with the unspoken want for release. "i get it, i've done a shite job at takin' care of matters on my own, but--"

words are cut short by a crackling forest; sound of groaning wood and rushing tendrils of flora reeling in the miqo'te's attention. chains rattled, some snapping at the newfound force -- those dancing speckles of red only just now brought to dar'khol's attention. yet, just like his unfinished speech, he was denied the time necessary to register the creeping aer fully.

he's met, instead, with a bracing moment as enlarged root invites itself towards them with worrying speed. dar'khol only manages to drop his jaw before he's met with a propelling force, set into a backwards stumble with an accompanying shock of panic. blind adrenaline is what puppeteers him forward, clawing palm pushing against the barring root.

"damn it.. ! yuri!!" balled into a fist, his hand knocks against the root again. teeth left to clench, once again, while left separated from where he was suppose to be. he can already feel it again, the way his breath quickens -- the uneven intake squeezing at his lungs. never did like his body's response to it, panicking.

its that burst of light that has dar'khol's fur rising, widened gaze cast upward past the dividing tendril. not to that same intensity, but he's seen that before -- he knows whats about to happen. there's a voice of reason telling him to let it, that it would be easier this way. but how often did he truly listen to it? especially now, with how stubbornly he's stuck with his hands being the ones that should draw the curtain on this hellscape.

a curse is thrown under his breath, axe lifted to work its way through this unwanted barrier. blade dug into it like a starved animal, ripping and maiming in desperation to cut its way through.

on the other side, twisted shadow of his sibling remained. its eyes left to reflect that brilliant light engulfing the swordsman it was trapped with. even with its demise clear in sight, that disfigured smile never left the demons features. only grew where it was able.

this shadow of khol'a held but one desire, one he's all but fulfilled in its existence within dar'khol's nightmare. nerves had been gouged, heartstrings plucked, and played, as though they were exposed from the very beginning. access to them an easy thing, now this? an even prettier nail in the coffin.

"for good?" carried in a laugh the beast steps forward, arms rising towards yuri's approaching form all to spread at its sides. gestured forward as if welcomed; wanted.

"now, wouldn't that be nice..." khol'a's voice emits in a softened coo, biting back that grueling hiss brought forth from a plunging blade. awaiting chest drinks in the opposing steel, allowing it to sit where a heart should rightfully be -- where he would allow it to rest.

"but we both know that isn't the case, don't we?" an arm snakes inward, bony claws finding purchase against the swordsman's wrist; a shackling hold to keep sword firmly in place. "i'm merely the echo for what he doesn't wish to voice, you'll be the only one granted my silence." khol'a offers a tug, piercing itself further. from its point of contact the beasts chest swells with a pool of red, left to run thickly along embedded steel... tilting himself forward to coat the hands that held it.

to lengthen its grin, the beasts eyes narrow. a gleeful spark sitting in those cyan hues, "you'll be left in the dark... all over again. but that's fitting, isn't it?" its voice softens, fades. a fitting sound for the way in which its body dissolves, starting from below and rising as it falls to ash.

"a fitting place... for an executioner..."

and as the last of the ashes fell a blade makes a final cleave through its overgrown barrier. chips of bark left scattered in its wake, axe soon left to hang at the warrior's side, his timing far later than desired. deep down, he already knew...

... but it didn't make the sight any easier.

dar's roar fizzles out any scathing insults from yuri's own mouth, the white hot anger lodged in his throat. he's sick of this bastard's nagging, gleefully voicing the darkest thoughts within his rival's mind. he's sick of watching the miqo'te take it-- his shining, confident mask torn to pieces with each weaponized 'fault' hurled.

and this rage... yuri's seen it before, was its unlikely target during hearts wake. now it's aimed inward, toward someone less deserving, and that somehow stings far worse.

fittingly, the mental weight is joined by a pressurized thickness in the air, at home with the fire and chains. as telltale, red particles drift cross his vision (condensed aer..?), the forest responds in kind, roots and branches twisting and expanding rapidly, piercing through earth and rubbled homes. just like the lower quarter after... his muscles are seized by the memory, dar's heavy reply an accompanying blow.

how's he making things difficult? as if the miqo'te isn't doing a bang-up job dragging it out! if only he'd just let him end it--!

but if the roles were reversed, yuri would've felt the same. he knows that. they're alike in that regard; that's why it's easy for him to pinpoint the burden's toll (the inaction's toll, in this case). still, it does nothing to deter the swordsman. if he can lift this one weight off his shoulders, he will. whatever it takes to be his pillar, just this once.

within their moment of respite as the beast reels back, yuri latches onto dar's collar, his creased brow and sharp, imploring eyes meeting the fury head-on, unflinching (though it pains him to see him this way, more than his features let on).

"you think i'm just gonna sit back and watch you do this to yourself? you, of all people?! it isn't a matter of can or can't, i'm rushing in because you shouldn't have to!" though his voice dips, softer, his white-knuckled hold tightens, "we both have a body count. there's no way in hell i'd let you add him to yours."

there's an encroaching rumble and a series of cracks, then. a massive, rampaging tree root barreling in their direction, and, in that moment -- knowing dar would never agree -- yuri shoves him back. definitively, right as the tendril drills over the space between them, dividing the battlefield-- shutting him out from the inevitable. however long it takes dar to hack through the barrier, it'll have to be enough.

...i'll make this quick. i can promise that much.

it's easier to steel himself out of sight, concealed from judgement. in the end, he's simply fighting a monster like any other. it isn't a person, and it isn't khol'a.

but having seen dar's struggle beforehand, it might as well be--

"i've heard enough, too," eyes cold as the blade he wields, tone to match. he drowns out the dismal dreamscape; the reminders of his bloody history, too, and how it's shaken him more than he should've let it. "but unlike your brother, i'm prepared to shut that mouth up for good."

it's now when his over limit's unleashed in a brilliant burst of light, aer-sapped strength returning, exceeding. there's only a few seconds to make this count, he reminds himself, charging forward with his next swing homed on the beast's chest...!