Chapter Text
Callum looked at Rayla, tears streaming from both of their eyes. He’d spent the whole trip there thinking about their relationship, about her. Treasuring every moment they got, thinking about all the others they could have had. He tried to let go, knowing leaving her would be one of the hardest parts of his sacrifice. It didn’t work. His decision was made even more difficult when Ezran and Zym showed up, and he had to say goodbye to his family all at once. He turned away before he could drop his staff and run to Rayla. Choose your destiny , he told himself. He closed his eyes and started chanting.
He felt the second the dark magic lit up his eyes and started spreading through his veins. And after finishing his chant, he felt the way Aaravos’ very being pulled against him. All other sounds had died out with the start of the spell, leaving Callum with the sound of blood rushing in his ears, and the unearthly sound of dark magic rushing from the staff. Whatever he had been thinking about before was lost as he focused everything into the spell. He grunted with effort as he willed Aaravos to be pulled closer to the coin, watching through purple-tinted eyes as the magical beams coming from Aaravos starting getting closer and closer to him. Only a bit longer, he lied to himself. He only had to hold on, had to push through, a little bit longer, and Aaravos would be trapped forever.
And he’d be dead…
A voice broke through the buzzing and whooshing in his ears, so clear and smooth it could only belong to one being. “Noble fools are still fools,” Aaravos proclaimed. Callum focused even harder, feeling his fingers go numb with the effort. “Whether it’s seven years or seven hundred. My. Time. Will. Come!”
“ No! ” Callum let out something between a shout and a grunt as he somehow pushed his magic even harder, grasping at Aaravos and causing the blue and green waves radiating off of him to pull at a new speed. He watched as Aaravos’ image began to distort, being pulled along with the whisps all around him. Yet, he stayed smirking.
Callum felt his strength start to leave him, but he knew he still needed more time before the spell would be complete. As if his brother could tell what he was thinking, and maybe he could by the way Callum’s knees started shaking, Ezran was suddenly flying towards Aaravos with his sword out. Callum had a panicked moment when he thought Ezran was going to stab Aaravos, making all of this worth nothing. But as Ezran flew past Aaravos’ face, he simply held his sword out, slicing his face from left cheek to right ear. Aaravos cried out as he covered his face with his hands. Weakening him! He’s weakening him! Callum thought frantically. Ezran would need to stab Aaravos to truly kill him, but the sword was still powerful enough to weaken Aaravos unlike any other attacks could.
With a newfound energy, Callum pulled harder at his magic, watching through now concerningly blurry eyes as Aaravos began to lose more and more of a solid form and was dragged closer and closer towards Callum and the coin. Ezran continued to slice where he could, causing more cries from Aaravos as silver, glistening blood dripped from his wounds. His face was no longer visible as the whisps of light pulled his body towards the coin.
With a cry of fury, through a mouth Callum could not see, Aaravos jolted forward, hand oustretched. With his new proximity, and through a desperate act of self-preservation, Aarvos swiped towards Callum. His thoughts raced as he realized there was nothing he could, he had to hold the spell and pray Aaravos would miss him. Unfortunately, this became all but too true. A giant arm swooped over his head and he heard Rayla cry out. That’s when it hit him. Aaravos was about to enter the coin. And he just got rid of Rayla. Nobody would kill him.
Callum let out a desperate yell as he could do nothing else but force the rest of Aaravos’ being into the coin. He couldn’t stop it if he tried, and everything in him told him he had to finish the spell. Callum was sweating and shaking as the last whisps of magic flew into the coin. He stood there, in stasis for a moment, breathing more heavily than he ever had in his life. He felt something dripping down towards his mouth, probably blood. Then the purple light left his eyes, leaving what he knew must be an inky blackness. He watched as the horizon tilted out of view and the sky was all he could see. Through the black spots forming in his vision, Callum watched as the purple sky gave way to blue, and the blackened sun shed it’s inky covering. He swore he felt someone’s arms wrap around him before his vision was consumed by black, and with it, his thoughts.