25.0

"Oh, damn!" Zyrdicia murmured in disbelief. She sat down on the edge of the bed, the sound of her own heartbeat pounding loudly in her head.

The dream demons she summoned had unleashed Hell inside Dirk's psyche. Their fangs had torn into the core of his identity. By the time Zyrdicia banished the demons, the damage was already done. Dirk's soul had been gnawed upon by the demons.

It was far too much for any mortal to survive. His brain had already shut down, and the rest of his body was preparing to do the same.

She tried to recite a healing spell but stumbled over the alien magic. Flustered as she was, it took three attempts before she could get through the simple incantation. Even then, the white magic had no effect. While her diabolic powers could cause mighty acts of destruction, her ability to heal others with magic was altogether feeble.

She stared at the unconscious man on the bed, knowing this time she had gone too far. He was dying. And she felt like a piece of herself was, too.

It occurred to her that mortal love wasn't the weakness that Azriok had once claimed. It was far more sadistic than Azriok had ever acknowledged. By invoking its curse a single time, Dirk had opened a box of horrors. The spirit that had escaped that box was vicious. Now, the monster was about to slay Dirk, and she knew no spell to banish the Seraphim's curse.

As she watched the life fading from Dirk's body, she saw a glimmer of light appear at the center of his forehead. A red, shimmering orb slowly rose out of him. Instinctively she reached over and caught the warm light with her bare hands. For a long moment, she cupped the glow tenderly in her palms. It was what was left of his soul.

Sighing sadly, she pushed the soul with a firm magical shove back into Dirk's body. As she touched him, she felt his heart beat fade away.

25.0.1

For over an hour, Zyrdicia sat on the bed, her attention focused upon forcing Dirk's heart to continue beating. Her magic alone kept him alive; his heart had nothing of its own power left.

A familiar, hissing sound slowly coalesced around her. The sound startled her enough to jar her thoughts away from Dirk's heartbeat. She sat bolt upright then, recognizing the sound of Death's approach.

A skeletal, black-robed figure materialized directly behind her. The figure crooned in an unearthly, chilling tone, "This mortal no longer belongs to you, Zyrdicia. He is mine now."

Without turning around to face Death, she called her magical sword from the ether with her mind. As her hand closed around it, she warned, "By coming near me, you are violating Azriok's command, Death."

The phantom behind her replied, "I am not here for you. You escaped me, but now your mortal will suffer now in your place. His soul is mine to collect."

"His heart still beats."

Death growled, "Only by your intervention! His time is done. I won't be cheated by you again, half-breed. Stand aside!"

Zyrdicia shifted from mortal speech to Tenaebran, the magical tongue of the Sephiroth and said, "I lay claim to this mortal. His soul belongs to belongs to me."

She surprised herself with the force of the pronouncement. Her invocation of Hell's infernal language caused waves of magical energy to ripple forth from her lips. The effect was enough to cause Death to stand and stare at her a moment in shock. He recognized what she had become, through Azriok's transformation, even if she did not.

She raised her sword and stood between Death and the bed upon which the King of the North lay comatose. She squared her stance, waiting for Him to decide whether to challenge her claim.

Death hesitated a moment, then lunged with an outstretched skeletal claw toward the bed. He had scarcely advanced a foot before her sword sliced through his forearm, severing it cleanly. He stumbled then and fell to His knees. He emitted a horrible, ghastly shriek.

Zyrdicia moved effortlessly behind Him, her sword poised at His skeletal back directly over the place His heart should have been. She snarled, "I can kill Sephiroth in this world with this blade. I'm confident I can destroy you with it too."

He gasped, "Stupid girl! You've no idea how it would upset the balance of Creation! I could not harvest the dead!"

"And their souls would wander about until they all figured out how to haunt us all and cause terror. So fucking what?!" she shouted angrily. "I couldn't care less what happens to this world!"

"I swear I'll leave you in peace and your mortal!" Death croaked weakly.

"Then get the fuck out of my world!" Zyrdicia ordered.

Death bent and picked up His severed forearm with his one remaining hand. He complied with her command.

As soon as she was alone, she sank onto the edge of the bed wearily. She had never before laid this sort of cosmic claim to another being's soul - and she was a little surprised to have gotten away with it.

A rustling at the door of Dirk's quarters startled her. She looked over to see an unfamiliar chambermaid staring back at her in wide-eyed terror. The poor girl had witnessed the whole episode.

Seeing Zyrdicia return her stare, the girl fell to her knees and bowed her head reverently.

Zyrdicia groaned. She did not feel particularly god-like at the moment, despite the girl's gesture. She also knew that the girl would tell the whole castle whatever she believed she had just witnessed. Zyrdicia was suddenly too tired to care.

"Get out!" she ordered quietly. The chambermaid dashed from the room at a full run.