Broken Chains

At first, being back in his own body was disorienting, and the visions still flashed through his mind. However, Puck finally managed to focus again.

It wasn’t just through his own efforts though, through means Puck didn’t understand, a new connection had been forged between him and Zephyrian.

Somewhere on a plane between mind, soul, and body, a connection existed between them, something Puck could not yet clearly identify but was as real as anything else around him.

Through that connection, Zephyrian tried to help Puck with everything he could muster in his current state. And his state was terrible. Through this connection, Puck could finally clearly feel how the eons of loneliness had chipped away at Zephyrian's sanity, body, and above all, soul and power.

Even then, as Puck now began to understand, Zephyrian had once been a weapon beyond anything Puck could possibly imagine. What was left of his power was only a fraction of a fraction what he once had, and yet, as he transferred it to Puck, it felt like more than he could possibly control.

He didn’t need to control it alone, though. Again, it was Zephyrian who guided his inner will and vision, something he had never used before, to bring this power to bear.

And bringing it to bear he did.

Arching his back and screaming, Puck’s eyes started to shine in the dark as Karak swirled around to him, letting go of his other victim.

A terrible pain lanced through Puck’s gut as he felt his wounds knitting together with terrible speed that left him twitching in agony.

But was it fast enough? Even though Karak didn’t understand what was happening, he acted quickly and without hesitation, lunging towards Puck with his claws aimed at Puck’s throat.

Feeling mortal peril, even with the power washing hot through his system, Puck gave it his all to roll to the side and push himself away.

His body reacted with far more power and speed than Puck himself had expected or his mind could process. Suddenly, he was spinning through the air, only crashing down after flying dozens of feet.

New wounds opened over his body, but Puck instantly knew those would close in a matter of seconds.

Another, more serious problem was making itself known, though. Apart from the direct consequences of him being unable to move appropriately with the power coursing through him, there were more important problems.

As the power coursed through Puck's body, even though rudimentarily guided by Zephyrian, it started to break down Puck’s body on a fundamental level.

He was not ready.

In the jumbled visions Puck had seen of Zephyrian’s past, something had become abundantly clear: The power of the sword was not something one could wield lightly.

More than one wielder had perished simply by their own actions, being unable to control what they had asked for.

Trying to send a message through their link to Zephyrian, Puck thankfully got the response that Zephyrian could stop the power at any moment. If he did, though, Puck would be completely healed but also left so exhausted that defeating Karak wouldn’t even be wishful thinking.

Puck would need to end the fight in the next few seconds, or he would either be burned out by his own power or left so exhausted that a win would be impossible.

Trying to push himself up slowly to his feet in a controlled motion, Puck managed it.

Then, instinctively and by Zephyrian’s urging, Puck reached over his left shoulder and pulled out the sword from its improvised scabbard.

Before, he had never been able to wield Zephyrian because of its great size and weight, but right now the sword felt exactly right in Puck’s hand. As he stood there, his gaze slowly fixing on the hesitant Karak, he couldn’t help but grin.

Yes, the situation was still critical, and he had nearly died, but what he had earned was all the greater. Feeling both the physical form of the sword in his hands and the bond to Zephyrian’s soul, Puck couldn’t help but bask in the power he was wielding.

With a glowing sword nearly as large as himself and eyes glowing in a terrifying yellow, Puck pushed himself forward as fast as he could manage, concluding that moving in a straight line at his enemy faster than he could react would be the best course of action.

Feeling ice crack beneath his feet as his talons dug into it, Puck still had underestimated his power and speed. Thankfully, even his mind had sped up, allowing him to control his motions at least a little.

Seeing Karak react in slow motion, Puck felt like it was a joke.

Even though he was much faster than his enemy, it quickly became clear that a successful strike was far from assured.

His left foot had given way more than expected when it encountered a small hole in the ice, putting him on a trajectory to shoot straight past his enemy.

Realizing that this was his only chance, as Zephyrian signaled that he would have to stop the river of power soon or Puck would be crippled by it permanently, Puck let Zephyrian guide his movements.

Leaning even more away from his enemy on purpose, Puck used that movement to turn around his own axis, swinging the sword with him. Hoping desperately that his reach would be enough, Puck started grinning wildly as he felt Zephyrian hitting flesh. Moments later, he saw Karak's head unnaturally bent to the side.

He had been nearly completely decapitated, only a few loose strings of flesh still holding Karak's head on his body as the corpse slowly started to fall to the side

Still grinning wildly, Puck lost his footing as Zephyrian's power instantly cut off. Then everything went black as Puck started rolling and skipping over the uneven cave floor, getting kicked up and down by his own remaining velocity.