A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Rage and helplessness flooded Erik's mind. Snarling in pain, he tried to fight against the weakness of his body, but couldn't even find the strength to stand up. His eyes were fixated on his mother's back in front of him.

For seven years he thought she was dead. He'd mourned her, believing she'd been slain by Edda's betrayal Then he returned to Earth, only to discover she's not dead at all!

Now, he's finally reunited with her, just so that Edda can finish the betrayal she started eight years ago?!

He couldn't stand it!

It was unfair!

Absolutely enraging!

As fury and despair boiled over in Erik's mind, Elora continued racking her brain for a solution. It wasn't that there weren't any ways of fleeing. Back in Norway, she'd created emergency sigil stones for Emma and Emily using Erik's spatial element, and they could use those again now.

Unfortunately, the problem here was that those things were only good for a single, five hundred meter displacement in a random direction.

And that wouldn't help them right now.

First of all, this building was on a cliff side, so there was about a 50% chance they'd land in the sea—an almost certain death sentence with Erik's wounds and damaged armour if they encountered anything nasty.
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Second of all, even if they did arrive on land, five hundred meters was far too short of a distance. With Erik's wounds, there was no doubt Lilith could catch up to them, especially if they had access to a helicopter, which they likely did.

And finally, teleporting like that leaves a trail that can easily be picked up by omnisense, so it wouldn't even be hard for Lilith to find them again. Of course, they could flee into Erik's dimension, either now or after teleporting, but that was a temporary solution at best.

Once again, Lilith's omnisense would easily be able to find the entrance to their dimension. She wouldn't be able to get inside easily, but she wouldn't need to. She could take her time, because Erik and the others wouldn't be going anywhere.

Not to mention that this plan didn't even include Erik's mother, and there was no way to know if Erik would be able to leave her behind. Sure, he recently promised to put his wives ahead of his mother if it ever came to that, but would he truly be able to do that?

Elora knew how much he loved her and the others, but she also knew how badly he wanted his mother back.

Truly, there were no good solutions.

But… that didn't mean there weren't any desperate, last-ditch, do-or-die solutions. In fact, Erik's current rage and desperation might be just what they needed.

About a year ago, there was a moment where Erik tapped into certain powers that he hadn't been able to touch again since. Back then, the situation wasn't as desperate as it was now, but the situations weren't entirely dissimilar either—mainly because their lives were in danger.

During that time, Elora had taken notes and recorded everything that went on in Erik's body. Then, when it was over, she'd compiled it all, together with some of her own insights, into a small packet of information in the hopes of one day giving her husband a leg up when he needed it.

Unfortunately, she had no idea if anything would come of it. She'd prepared the information, but there was no telling if Erik would actually be able to make use of it.

Yet, if she didn't try now, then when would she?

Meanwhile, Erik's wound had finally healed enough that his overwhelming rage was enough for him to will his muscles into obedience. His eyes, full of enraged determination, remained fixed on Runa's convulsing body.

His mother remained in her transformed state, and was floating slightly above the floor as Lilith kept her hand pressed against Runa's collarbone. Dark light swirled around the werewolf's body as Lilith's sigil slowly pierced deeper into her soul.

"Edda…!" he roared as he leaned on his hammer and struggled to his feet. "Let her go! It's me you want!"

Lilith chuckled gleefully, but her focus remained on the target in front of her. "Hehehe, if you'd have said that I want you more than I want her, I would have agreed, but why can't I want you both? What's stopping me?"

She turned her gaze slightly away from Runa, to look at Erik with amusement. "You?" she grinned, as if the prospect was utterly hilarious. She didn't wait for a response, as she continued softly chuckling, while focusing back on Runa.

Erik snarled with helpless rage. He hated this feeling. He hadn't felt so helpless since that fateful day eight years ago, and frankly, he didn't think he'd ever felt that helpless again.

But he was wrong.

Tears streamed down his furry cheeks as he struggled closer to his suffering mother. In his despair, there was only one person he trusted to always have a plan when it came to it. "Elora… Please…" he pleaded in his mind, hoping against hope that Elora had a way to save his mother.

For a moment, things remained quiet and Erik was starting to think nothing would come.

But then, information streamed into his mind and his struggling body halted in its tracks. He blinked and instantly knew what this what, knew what Elora wanted him to do.

It was dangerous. Desperate. But if this still wasn't the right time for such a thing, it never would be.

The problem was, that he'd never consciously done this before, and anytime he tried consciously, he'd fail. He'd always taken the cautious approach, waiting for a breakthrough that would allow him a better chance for success.

But this time he couldn't fail. This time, it was all or nothing. Do or die. Whatever the consequences.

Finally not feeling so helpless anymore, Erik's lips curled into a grim smile. He roared, and his power began to rise. Aetherium and runic power circulated through his body in specific ways, following their own pathways.

"Edda!" he roared again as he pointed a finger at her. "You've been messing with us for all our lives, and it ends here!" This time, he felt like he could threaten her instead.

His power continued to rise as aetherium and runic power suddenly started spilling over into each other's channels. Aetherium from his storage was empowering his body, and simultaneously increasing the generation of runic power. At the same time, runic power was flowing into his metaphysical storage and mixing with the aetherium, creating something more powerful than either.

Erik continued to roar as pain wracked his body, his wound worsened, and cracks appeared on his skin. He knew he was still missing some pieces, because the last time he did this without knowing it, and it wasn't so hard.

Yet, he refused to give in. This was his only chance, and he had to grab it.

Forcefully, he pushed through any obstacles he found as his energy continued circulating, growing ever more powerful as he created a feedback loop between his aetherium and runic power.

At some point, he was afraid his body was going to break down and be unable to handle the strain. He was just about to give up, unwilling to sacrifice his wives despite his rage, but then things suddenly got a lot better. He didn't understand why, but he didn't care either.

Finally, Lilith looked up from her work with a thoughtful frown. She ignored his words earlier, but now she couldn't ignore the rising power in the room.

It actually started to feel a little threatening.

Suddenly, Erik charged forward. His body filled to the brim with power, despite the blood flowing from dozens of wounds all over his fur. His was face twisted in rage and hammer raised.

Behind him, a cloud of light specks left his body and coalesced into Elora's smaller form. She looked at her enraged, charging husband with concern.

But Erik barely noticed her leaving, and even if he did, he'd have no idea why she did. But he didn't care right now. All he saw in front of him was Edda and his mother. All he felt was rage, desperation, and determination.

Alarmed and confused, Lilith quickly raised a hand, even as she kept the other on Runa's chest. Once again a wall of shadowflame rose up to block the path of his hammer.

But this time, there was different result.

Once again, the thundersnow blast appeared on the tip of his hammer, but it looked different. More violent. More primal.

Then, contact.

Instantly, Lilith's eyes widened. The thundersnow blast exploded with a reverberating boom, and the flame wall disintegrated. The hammer kept flying in the wake of a hail of electrified grains of snow, and she looked on in horror as his attack approached.

Now, it was her turn to look death in the face.