teeth.
What am I doing here? he thought. I vowed to nevermore fly to war. To nevermore see fire, blood, a loved one die. He wanted to turn and leave, to fly back to the ice palace. To hide from war. From pain. From those soft, echoing words.
Terra... I found him.
But had she found him? Had that small body, burned beyond recognition, truly been Kyrie?
Are you still there, Kyrie? Still in the ruins of Requiem, waiting for me to find you?
"If you're alive, Kyrie, I'll help you," Terra whispered, quiet enough that Memoria could not hear. "I'll burn the mimics who hunt you. I'll take Adoria's Hands."
His sister flew around him, green scales splashed with blood. "Ready, Terra?"
He nodded, staring down at the giant. "We dive. I'll fly to his front, you to his back. Let's claw out his neck."
Terra bared his fangs, outstretched his claws, and swooped.
Dragons! To me!
Requiem, rally here!
Griffins! They killed the children, they—
The words of old battles screamed in the wind. Terra snarled and swooped. He swooped like in the old days, like he would swoop against Osanna, diving to kill, to burn, to fight for his life. To death. To glory. To pain.
Kyrie! Kyrie, do you hear me?
His howl rang. He reached the Giant King.
Claws flashed. The giant swung his fist. Terra dipped, flew under the blow, and lashed. His claws hit the giant's thigh.
Nothing. No blood. No mark. The giant's skin was tough as the thickest leather armor. Memoria flew behind the giant. She bit his shoulder, then cried. Her fangs would not pierce his skin.
The Giant King roared. Terra and Memoria flew up. The giant's fists swung, and one hit Terra's tail. It knocked him into a spin.
"Terra!" Memoria cried. The lesser giants cheered around them.
The king reached out, fingers thick and bloated like dead seals. Terra flapped his wings, narrowly dodging the blow, and soared.
"The damn thing seems made of boiled leather," Terra muttered. He circled a hundred feet above. The giant howled and stamped his feet below, grinning and drooling. Boulders flew. Terra flew left and right. One boulder grazed his side, chipping a scale.
"Leather? It felt like biting into iron," Memoria shouted. She flew beside him, wincing.
Terra growled. "Let's burn the beast."
"No fire, Terra! We can't harm Adoria's Hands."
"Then we'll burn the smaller ones."
Terra soared, spun, and dived. Boulders flew around him. One hit his left horn, knocking it off. He howled in pain and blew fire at a row of lesser giants. They blazed. More boulders flew. Terra soared, spun, flew at them again. He roared more fire. More giants burned and fell.
"Memoria, you all right?" he shouted.
She flew alongside the fort's parapets, blowing more flame. Giants caught fire. Their boulders fell, cracking the parapets.
"I'm fin—" she began, and a boulder slammed into her side.
She fell.
"Memoria!"
Terra flew across the fortress, moving toward her. He flew too low. The Giant King reached out. Those bloated fingers grazed him. Terra flew higher. For an instant, he thought he was free. Then the king's hand closed around his leg.
The giant pulled him down like a man tugging a struggling bird. Terra howled and lashed his tail. He hit the king's face, but the giant only laughed. His fingers tightened around Terra's leg, nearly breaking the bone.
"Memoria!" he cried. Where was she?
The king pulled him near. His mouth opened, showing rotten, yellow teeth. His breath assailed Terra, as foul as mimics. His tongue reached out. He's going to eat me alive.
Terra blew fire, not caring if he harmed Adoria's Hands. His flames hit the king's face, crackling and showering sparks. The king howled, released Terra's leg, and brought his hands to his face.
Terra flapped his wings. The giant was rubbing his eyes, slapping the fire off his face. Terra swooped, shouted, and drove his remaining horn into the Giant King's left eye.
The giant roared so loudly, Terra thought his eardrums would tear. He pushed, driving the horn deep into the giant's head. The giant howled. His hands clutched him.
Terra couldn't breathe. The giant wrapped his arms around him and squeezed. Terra had never felt such pain. His ribs creaked. He felt one crack. He thought his organs would burst. The world turned black. Stars floated.
I'm dead, he thought. It ends here. I'm dead and so is Memoria. I'm sorry, sister. I'm sorry. I love you.
He flapped his wings. Somehow he kept kicking. He clawed, but the arms kept squeezing.
His eyes rolled back.
"Terra!"
He heard thudding wings. He heard cries, howls, tearing flesh. The arms released