Aunora swallowed down the lump in her throat, trying to keep her body relaxed. This wasn't the place the show fear. One wrong move and she would be dead.

Under her feet, the forest floor was alive, the vines churning and twitching, attempting to twist around her boots. Above her, the canopy was lurching threateningly towards her, the brightly colored flowers no doubt holding deadly poison.

The air was thick with humidity and the feeling of immediate danger, Aunora could almost feel the sheer magical power making the hair on her arms rise. Was she sweating from fear, or the overwhelming heat?

And then there was Acidia himself. He appeared no older than a teenager, but she knew that he was far older. He had toppled the Sisterhood of the Spirits, taking them down one-by-one in ruthless, bloody combat. By absorbing their powers, he had become far more powerful than Celeste had ever been. Acidia invaded Aunora's home, Ereith, and assumed power within its jungles.

He wore a long, flowing robe, the fabric sliding off the side of his shoulder and exposing part of his chest. A tangled mess of light green hair fell across his face and back, two magenta eyes burning from behind his bangs. He was disheveled and twisted, but the grit in his teeth and the sweat on his face almost looked like fear. 

"Why are you here?" The Father of the Spirit's voice was far quieter and higher pitched than Aunora expected.

"To kill a god, I guess," Aunora replied, cracking her knuckles, "It's one thing to wreck havoc in your own dimension, but once you come into mine, I get pissed."

Acidia took a hesitant step back, his lips drawing into a defensive snarl. He raised his hand, a vine tearing from the ground. Aunora rose her arm to defend herself, her sturdy steel armor making a soft creak.

The lump in her throat returned with a vengeance. Aunora was no spellcaster, and she had pitted herself against one of the most powerful mages in the universe. What other choice did she have? No one else wanted to take on the task. She was either going to free her world or die trying.

Acidia struck, but Aunora was prepared. She dodged the vine, grabbing it with her hands and yanking it. Her muscles flexed as steel groaned, but the vine tore loose from the ground, leaving Acidia stumbling back in awe.

Aunora saw him cower. A battle wasn't won with magic, but with attitude. He was afraid of her. A god fearing a mortal.

She took it as an opening, grabbing him by his gown and flinging him to the ground. He was thin, far too thin to be healthy. Aunora probably weighed twice his weight, easily.

Acidia howled in pain, too dazed to even fight back. Aunora's hand easily covered the circumference of his head, his fragile skull crushing with only a moderate amount of pressure.

For a split second, Aunora's breath caught in her throat. She saw him twitch and spasm on the ground, his head reduced to a bloody pulp of bone and mush. She was a grown woman, and this was a child. It almost felt...wrong.

Pink sparks of magic enveloped his skull, and Aunora was quickly reminded what she was dealing with. This was no child. Acidia was a monster.

"Get away!" Acidia bawled, pushing at her with feeble hands. He crawled across the leaf-littered floor on his hands and knees, pressing himself against a tree, cornering himself.

It was almost sickening to watch as he hugged his chest, covering his face. It wasn't until she saw his shoulders trembling that Aunora realized he was crying.

Aunora stood over him, the spikes on her knuckles still flecked with fresh blood. "Stand up and face me."

"Please don't hurt me anymore," Acidia whispered.

Aunora's brow tightened against her red eyes. "Am I supposed to feel bad for you?"

"I'm scared, you're scary," he said mindlessly, his messy hair caught in knots around his fingers.

Aunora's stomach twisted. He's just a little kid, she thought, a little kid in a teenager's body.

Aunora knelt down, still inches taller than Acidia. "Hey, kid, look at me."

"Y-yes?" Acidia lifted his head, looking at Aunora like she was an authority figure.

"I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry. I just need you to leave here and go somewhere else. Aren't you a nature spirit? Just go back to that dimension."

"No," Acidia whimpered, "That's where Mother lived. I don't want to be there. It makes me think about her. That scares me."

Gaea? Aunora thought, Of course, she was the first to die.

"Why does she scare you?"

Acidia's eyes focused forward, dark and heavy. "She told me I was a monster. She said that's why no one would ever love me."

Aunora couldn't help but think of her own parents, who abandoned her as a foal. Slowly, she reached a hand forward, resting it on Acidia's shoulder. Acidia flinched at her touch, but quickly accepted it.

With a groan, Acidia pushed himself into Aunora's chest, wrapping his skinny arms around her torso. It was Aunora's turn to be bewildered. He was sobbing, a shadow of the fearsome beast that was spoken of in legends. Slowly, she patted his back.

Aunora gazed at her surroundings, at the abode Acidia had built with his bare hands. All of this power, and he was only a child. A scared child.

"It's okay, kiddo. You're gonna be okay."