"Are you going to do it?" Cyrus asked, raising his eyebrows.

Hiraeth looked down and took a deep breath.

Wind blew over their heads, ruffling the strands and causing goosebumps to appear on their skin.

The bottom of the cliff was massive. The two could see birds flying above a thicket of trees near the ground.

The bright vibrant clay brown colors seared into their eyes as they stared downwards.

Hiraeth clutched a journal with papers shoved inside. There were a few peaking out, with small, legible scribbles written on it. "Void Monsters" one said. "How to Survive the Abyss" said another.

A collection of research that Hiraeth had made since he had first started his apprenticeship.

In hindsight, he regretted it. Regretted it all. It had brought doom to the world and his one and only love.

"Should I?" Hiraeth doubted himself. He slipped open the journal and leafed through the pages for the thousandth time. He had been doing this for the past hour. He had the entire chant memorized front and back. At this point, he would be able to recite it in his sleep.

"The sun is going down. Hurry up," Cyrus said. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "It's getting hot here."

The blazing blue sky along with the bright cliffs made the world tinted white. It was all too glowing. The brightness that would soon give away to the shadows.

"It's going to happen soon." Hiraeth squinted as he looked off to the distance. "But is it all worth it?"

Cyrus sighed. "Not again. You wanted this, so please don't change your mind last minute." The hot waves of heat had probably fried half of his brain.

Hiraeth waved his hand in the air. "Alright, alright. I can't believe you want to hurry me."

Cyrus rolled his eyes. "Ugh, just do it! Or I'll do it." Cyrus got up to take the journal away from Hiraeth.

Hiraeth moved away, almost stepping back too far into the cliff's edge. "Fine!" Without a second thought, he tore a piece of paper out of the journal and threw the rest off the cliff. The studies weren't needed anymore. And he hated them too much. All that effort for nothing.

Before Hiraeth started, he gave a last glance to Cyrus. "Ready?" he said, his voice shaking.

"There was never a question," Cyrus responded back. He patted the ground and sat down comfortably. But then again, this was the thousandth time he had gotten ready.

The sky rumbled and the sun turned navy blue like elf blood as Hiraeth invoked the magic. When he looked back, Cyrus was gone. All that was left was a small wisp of the void's shadow.

Gone into the void to forever fight. Gone into the abyss to live forever.

"I should've been the one...," Hiraeth said out loud. An afterthought. But he knew it wasn't true. Only Cyrus would be strong enough to last for eternity.