Before its howl had fully subsided, the monster was already charging, massive fist raised and shimmering with dark fire. Its fist descended, streaking toward him like a comet of shadow, yet Or'do merely twisted aside, flinging himself out of its path yet still thrown onto his back by the concussive force of its impact which showered him with shattered stone and buffeted him with a cyclone's furious winds.

Aleorn. He thought, his fists clenching at his sides, seething with black fire. Or'do inclined his head, open jaws sucking in a painful breath, dragging vines of shadowy flame from his foe, the tempest in his veins raging with dangerous fury. He surged on, its other hand sweeping in to crush him, yet a mere swipe of his forearm blocked the titanic blow, its winds ripping the stones from their moorings around him, yet not so much as staggering him. Again he inhaled, tearing beads of fire from his adversary, their forbidden power rolling through him like a tidal wave of keenly honed blades. It backed away, then lowered itself into a crouch, pivoting to add momentum as its fist came grating across the ground toward him, a plume of broken rock engulfing its knobbed fingers.

Or'do's knees buckled beneath him, the Deep leeching his life away. He fell to the earth, yet maintained enough strength to fling himself beyond its fist. The Champion advanced, slamming both hands down in a mighty overhead blow that shattered the winds themselves into a whirling storm that howled and wept as they clung to its craggy flesh.

Aleorn falling to his knees, cradling his comrade's broken corpse, his eyes dark and heart shattered. Or'do sprang into motion, his form blurring as he sank crooked fingers into the monster's passing wrist, its momentum yanking him off his feet, bearing him skyward as the Champion withdrew its fist, rearing back for another cataclysmic blow.

Aleorn screaming in anguish, sorrow clawing at his heart as Or'do lays torn and shattered before him. Or'do poured even more of his vitality into the Deep Cinder, its blighted shadows twisting from his chest where men carried their hearts. He flipped onto the monster's forearm and dashed along it, sprinting toward the shoulder beyond with body held low and arm trailing behind, a banner of darkness rippling from it. Its free hand crashed down, yet he sprang forward at the last moment, its finger brushing his back, tearing his armour apart and taking a layer of flesh with it. Or'do screamed in agony, falling face-first upon craggy flesh that quaked beneath him with its foul pulse. The Champion shook him off as if he were little more than a tiresome insect, letting him fall some twenty feet to the unforgiving stones below, whose embrace welcomed him with a sickening crack!

Noraan looking on in disbelief and anguish, a despair keener than any Or'do had ever seen etched upon his face. 

"NO!" He vaulted to his feet, standing on broken legs, raising shattered arms, striding forward in spite of the agony that twisted and writhed along the splinters of his bones and blazed through the tatters of his flesh. The monster had already stooped low once more, sweeping both hands to crush him between the rugged cliff faces of its palms. Or'do had not the strength to dodge, to shamble out of the way, could only look on as they closed upon him, screeching across the meters with terrifying speed.

"Why?" Noraan whispered, anguish clear in his eyes. Or'do snapped his arms out wide, catching the monster's hands with his own, a thunderclap ringing through the chamber, a jolting impact turning his bones to dust and spraying their splinters from his shredded skin. His life splashed across the stones as he crumpled, steam rising from the grievous wounds.

Aleorn crying out, Noraan screaming, both on their knees, both consumed with despair. Or'do roared, lunging toward the monster while its hands lay numbed by the impact, leaping wit ha volcanic flare of dark flame, one fist nocked over his shoulder, streaming a braided tendril of ash and shattered bone.

His fist crashed against the monster's face with the terrible force of a landslide, rocking it where it stood, throwing it back a pace, yet in the same instant, a thousand barbed spears erupted from its flesh, punching through him in countless places, turning his vision black and his blood still.

"I have failed you." A single tear glimmered along his jaw and fell like a delicate jewel to the tiles below. "Please, Aleorn." He slumped against the monster's brow, its glittering eye looking upon him in triumph as his ragged flesh gave way and he fell like an autumn leaf with neither wind nor hand to break his fall. "Forget me. Banish my memory, Aleorn. It will bring you nothing but pain."