[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/696701994790027387/861929953271349288/2DaZRZ0.png[/img]

She was already gone. That much became clear even before Akiko came to burst any sort of bubble he might've had left about Riku's chances of survival. Obviously she wasn't going to be gone forever, he knew that. But holding the lifeless body of a friend is holding the lifeless body of a friend, no matter which way you slice it. For a little while he was inconsolable, violet eyes blankly staring into the fallen girl's face. He cared little for the battle between Kanbaru and Nephy raging on some distance away, he cared little for Akiko coming towards him, the words she spoke to him, in fact he barely reacted as she took Riku from his very grasp and carried her away. And he cared little for the world as it fell to pieces around him and everyone else who'd found themselves in this forsaken place.

What broke him out of this trance of pure apathy was a premonition, a sickening aura of pure anger only a stone’s throw away from the boy, as Akiko stood threateningly above Riku’s body, her mind in a world of its own, a foot hovering above the dead girl’s chest with grievous intent. Had Thomas felt as unstable as he had been hours before, he probably would've engaged in battle with Akiko then and there. His eyes glistened with a golden hue as he let himself slip. It would only be for a moment though, and it was the bard’s hesitation and subsequent retraction of that aggressive position her foot held that forced the boy to hold himself back similarly, his eyes reverting to their usual violet tone.

Try as he might though, the boy couldn't yet manage to fully conceal nor control the feelings that festered deep within him. It could be seen in his face and his eyes, usually vivid they now looked dark and sunken, reflecting his conscience whether he liked it or not. And Akiko’s casual insulting of his friend certainly didn’t help. In fact even as the girl lifted the fallen princess onto her back, he could feel tension and anger seeping into his heart like black tar. He was tempted to snatch Riku’s body away from her for a moment, but it seemed that whatever violent animosity the boy had sensed from the girl before had seemingly dissipated for now and so, owing to his better judgement, he decided to leave it at that.

Even so, Akiko got no response from the boy other than a glance of disdain, before Thomas turned on his heels to make his way over to Kanbaru and Nephy. He didn't even wait for her to finish before he did. 

The battle between whale and wolf had ended in a pretty decisive victory for the former, and though the boy would usually be full of awe for the scene in front of him, Kanbaru standing with a curious looking sword of some sort a short distance from the kneeling Nephy, instead his countenance was painted with a look of disinterest. He was about to call out to Kanbaru and wave her over so the two could regroup with Akiko, but something stopped him. It was like he'd suddenly become mute, words refusing to sound from his mouth no matter how much he worked his lips and tongue. His hearing dropped as well, and suddenly even the rumbling of the Abyss falling to pieces around him became nothing more than a low, ambient groan as room was made for something else to fill his ears. A voice, and a familiar one at that.

[i][color=92278f]"She killed her, you know... She was just trying to help, but she showed no mercy."[/color][/i]

Like poison those words filled Thomas' mind, echoing and banging against the inside of his skull, forcing him to hold his head in an effort to comfort the splitting headache that resulted from it. There was no figure to accompany the voice this time, but his imagination did the work for him, conjuring the same image of the man he'd seen before. [url=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/733430006595715154/954429947563347978/C3pkVZr.png?width=529&height=607]The man with violet eyes.[/url]

[i][color=92278f]"You know what to do... you know what you can do... use them. Use them and kill her. She deserves to die."[/color][/i]

At this point, Thomas felt that he wasn't in control anymore. It was like before, but this time was different. This time was worse. He couldn’t cry out in defiance of that voice, he couldn’t call for help. Then again though, was there anyone present who would help him regardless? Through no action of his own, the boy's vision turned to the crouching Nephy, focussing in on her until she was all he could see. All the while, he could sense the emotions he'd tried so strongly to supress now bubbling to the surface, even his anger towards Akiko playing a part in the boy's steady descent into losing himself for a second time. Now his eyes glowed with that raging golden hue once again, even more than ever before, flashing back and forth between it and composed violet as the internal struggle for control began once again.

[i][color=92278f]"Be the vessel you were made to be... become the heir you are meant to be. For those with violet eyes, are cursed to descend into darkness.”[/color][/i]

But this time the winner was as clear cut as the arrow wound on Riku’s back. Any shred of hope or positivity the boy had retained or held onto since his previous battle with Nephy was shredded, replaced with such burning anger and hatred that the boy felt it like flame beneath his skin. He let out a guttural, anguished, predatory cry as a shroud of darkness wove its way around him, a void-black aura that shimmered and flickered about his person. That veil of shadow was contrasted by the piercing glow of his eyes. Those Gold Eyes. They honed in now on Nephy like a wild animal targeting its prey, and it this point it was clear that Thomas was gone. Consumed by the influence of overwhelming emotion and unseen forces until he’d become a distortion of himself. 

There were no words that followed, no hesitation. In an instant Thomas had flickered to Nephy’s side in a trail of darkness with immense speed, emerging with his shadow-cloaked sword already drawn. He pierced forward in an almighty strike, intending to skewer the wolf through the chest and end her pitiful existence then and there.