“Down boys,” she said as she shook her hands to ward off the sting. “That was cute, but you’re going to need a lot more than that to deal with me.” She snapped her fingers and the beasts that surrounded her vanished into the mist. “You were a fool to come back here, you know. We knew you’d come. He predicted it, himself. And for what? To die in the same spot that you’re beloved ‘family’ did?”
The words that sprang worth from her black lips struck him cold in his center. Emil’s eyes glossed over as he felt the void grow, consuming his aching heart. As he lay dormant, thoughts of his former family swooned in his head. The brighter times, the times he wished would never end.
“The red head squealed like a pig when I gutted her. Her mother did too. The boy, the boy was a quite one. But I thought to myself, what more can you say when you’re torn limb from limb?” She snickered as she paced around Emil. “Oh, but don’t hate me too much for it. You can thank Beth for all of that. Couldn’t have done it without her. Your Mother, as you called her, had a really good taste in friends. I’m impressed.”
From the top of his lungs, he screamed with murderous intent as he tried restoring feeling to his body, but his limbs never moved.
“The original plan was to just have you reformed… alter a memory here, remove a moment there. You wouldn’t feel a thing. We’d all be one big happy family. But after you decided to kill Hugo, I couldn’t just let you forget about what you’ve done. Oh no, that would have been too merciful, so I decided to do things a bit differently. You killed one of ours, so I killed all of yours. You should have seen the looks on their faces. Pathetic.”
Still consumed by his rage, Emil’s screams continued as if they were the key to breaking the chains that binded him. The mysterious lady smiled at the sight of his torment. She bent down and positioned herself right in his face as he continued to yell.
“Oh, what’s that? You want to see? Sure. I thought you’d never ask,” she said as she rose to her feet and slowly descended her elongated finger onto Emil’s head. In a final act of desperation, Emil lethargically thrashed his head in an attempt to delay the inevitable, but even that was thwarted by her free hand that clinched his chin.
“Shhhhh,” she whispered as her elongated finger pressed against the center of his forehead, eventually piercing through. From the tip, streaks of silver transfused from her body into his flesh. As he yelled in pain, streaks of silver dispersed in scattered directions, slowly consuming his face. The lady stood silently as he cried out in agony, delighted with the harvest of her labor. Eager to taunt the hero, she momentarily stopped the images from streaming through his mind. The screaming stopped, and Emil’s head hung loosely from his neck, resting in her clutches.
“Did you see it, Emil? Did you feel the blood scatter across your skin as you drove in deeper? Did you revel in their screams?” she said as she tilted his head up to her. “You don’t have to answer just yet. I know you did, because I did. ”A grunt of disappointment aired from her lungs as she witnessed Emil’s eyes roll to the back of his head. “Oh, no, no, no, you can’t pass out just yet. The fun has only just begun. Are you listening in there? It’s not going to stop until you beg me to take away your memories. Then, with my permission, I’ll allow you to forget. Now, where were we?”
Emil’s screams resumed as she pressed her finger against his skull. Almost instantly, his vision whited over and was replaced by the slaughter of his family on a constant loop.
It was his mother first. The three of them were running presumably after the first few hours of the fire when she confronted them with a backup squadron.
“Lady Silvia, are these the ones we are after?”
“Yes…”
Grace shakily raised a knife as she stood before them. Without any trace of emotion, the female member of Legion impaled her through her chest with a spire she shot from her palm.
“No!” Serenity yelled as she witnessed her mother collapse onto the forest floor.
“Run!” Grace cried as she clutched her abdomen and crawled towards the knife that had fallen amongst the leaves. Serenity grabbed Taeo’s hand and ran in the opposite direction of their fallen mother. The sobs of her dying mother echoed through the forest as she prayed for the safety of her children. “Emil! Help us!” Grace had cried.
As Serenity ran through the forest, she turned back to see her mother pressed against the ground by the heel of the crystal maiden.
“RUN-”
The dull chop of the blade echoed in the wind and the voice of their mother was no more. Taeo tried to look back, but Serenity instructed him to look forward; to be her eyes. She had become blinded by her own tears.
As they ran, a stream of vapor passed them and materialized before them. Serenity and Taeo stopped as the woman in front of them slowly crept closer.
“You…”
The specter plunged her hand through Serenity’s stomach and forcefully ripped her hand out. Unable to speak, she fell to her knees where she was then left to bleed out among the foliage.
“E-Emil…”
Taeo ran from his wounded sister but Silvia paid him no mind. Instead, she simply snapped her fingers, summoning two crystal beasts whom effortlessly chased him down and ultimately ravaged his body.
“Had enough yet?” Silvia’s voice snapped him back to the realities of the waking world. A blur of what was supposed to be Silvia, stood before him in his hazy sights, contrasting the shades of white casted by his skewered vision. Like an apparition, she faded in and out, mimicking Emil’s state of consciousness as he tried to stay awake. Though his body was stationary, he felt his soul drifting, slowly pulling away from the body that lay against the tree.
“You know, you’re just making it harder for yourself, Hun. The quicker you submit to me, the quicker you can start your new life with us.”
“I’ll… kill… you.” Emil gritted through his teeth.
She laughed with amusement at his proposal. “I highly doubt, you’ll do anything of that sort. Besides, how can you kill me if your brain is turned into mush? Now, shall we continue our trip down memory lane?”
Once again, she pressed her finger to Emil’s skull, releasing the silver substance into his veins. “This time, I’m going to make it y-“
A slew of arrows zoomed towards Silvia. The first of the three nicked her shoulder before she encased her exposed flesh in a crystal shell. She jumped back; wary of the unforeseen counter and summoned her two crystal guardians to her aid. From the mist, Marona instantly appeared next to him, clutching onto a dark figure with one arm and wielding her bow in another.
“Emil!” she said as she rushed to his side while her newfound ally remained on guard.
“Ma-rona?” Emil whispered faintly.
“Yeah, it’s me… and I brought help,” she said as she looked up at the solemn warrior before turning her attention back to Emil. “Can you move?”
Emil strained to move his body but his efforts were null. “Not on my own. She has… some kind of poison laced with her crystals.”
“Omari!” Marona cried.
“Yeah, I heard… just make sure he gets the chance to recover.” Omari calmly responded.
“Right,” Marona responded as she hoisted up Emil to his feet. “But shouldn’t we just run? We’re outnumbered and Emil is hurt.”
Omari’s face flashed with a look of concern but before he had a chance to respond to Marona, two beasts materialized and dashed towards him at full speed with the intent to kill. “Spare the boy, kill the other two!” Silvia commanded from the foreground as she tended to her wound left by Marona’s arrow.
Damn it! I can’t let them get to close!
Omari charged towards the beasts head on, unwavering against the odds, determined to be the victor. Once he was in striking range, a specter swung at him but he fazed through the attack and transported into the space above the specters head. From above he plunged through the beast’s neck with a retractable blade hidden in his gauntlet. With a lou
d cry, the beast fell forward, skidding across the ground. Before the first beast shattered and disintegrated back into the mist, Omari had taken out the other in the same fashion.
He’s fast… maybe even faster than Emil. Marona thought as she watched from a distance with Emil tethering on her shoulder.
“Marona!” Omari called out. “Where is she, the leader?”
Marona’s eyes widened at the thought of the deviant’s absence. She quickly scanned over the landscape immersed in her fog but saw no traces of her. Emil hung silently from her arm, gripping his sword in preparation of the surprise attack. “I-I don’t see her! She disappeared!”
“No…she’s still here. I can feel her.” Emil faintly whispered. The fog around the battlefield thickened, inhibiting their vision even further. “Omari,” she said as she coughed, “W-we have to regroup.”
“Look out!” Omari yelled as he pointed to the sky. From above, a hail of crystal shards rained down from the sky. With a flash, Omari warped to the location of the incoming shards and then transported again after grabbing both Marona and Emil.
From the dark void created by Omari’s warp, the three of them emerged outside of the mist, surrounded by the green of the forest.
“We should be safe here... gah!” Omari fell to one knee, balancing himself with his palms to the ground. Protruding from the leg of the newly found ally, a crystal spire was lodged deeply in the center his calf. Wasting no time he grabbed the spire and dislodged it from his calf, tossing it to the ground where it disintegrated with the coming breeze.
“Are you ok?” Marona asked as she bent forward to aid him, but was impeded by Emil who still hung on her shoulder.
“I should be fine. I think I removed it in time,” Omari said as he shakily stood to his feet. “I can still move despite the pain.”
“Where are we, anyway?” Emil asked with more vitality than he had moments before.
“I’m not sure. That woman’s power-”
“Silvia,” Emil said coldly.
“Yes, Silvia’s mist interfered with my sense of direction, ruling out long distance warping. This area is around where I first found your friend. In addition to inhibiting our powers, it also seems to amplify the effects of hers…”
“Hm, that sounds about right, I’m already starting to get some feeling back.” Emil released his grip on Marona, standing on his own for the first time in what seemed like ages.
“Just don’t overdo it… you’re still far from fully recovered,” Omari commented.
“Yeah, I know… but we’re going to need all the help we can get,” Emil said as he cradled his ribs with his free hand.
“As soon as I get my bearings back, we should be able to make it to a safer spot. Until then, we travel by foot.”
“Come on, Emil,” Marona coughed again and a thin film of red blood sloshed to the ground. “I-I’ll help you move.” She fell forward, collapsing into Emil’s arms, almost causing him to fall.
“Marona!”
“It’s the mist. While it seems it only slows us down, to regular humans the effects… are more devastating.” Omari said as he scanned the area.
“Ah! Damn it! Why did you have to act all tough like that? It was killing you this whole time and you didn’t say a thing!” Emil’s voice flared with anger as he watched whatever gripped her slowly drain the life from her body.
“I-I wanted to help,” Marona whispered as she lay incased in Emil’s arms, struggling to breathe.
“Calm yourself, Emil,” Omari chimed in. “Because of her, you live.”
Emil looked down at the resting girl in his arms, speechless from the revelation given by his new comrade.
“Give her to me. There is nothing that we can do for her here, but my sister, she can treat her.”
“Right.” Emil gently transferred her body over to Omari, careful not to trigger anything else in her frail condition. “Thank you.”
For what?
A jolt of pain echoed in his head; a warm welcome from the intruder of his thoughts, Silvia. Grasping his head, he fell to his knees as he yelled in agony. “Omari! Go! It’s Silvia!”
“I’ll be back!” A gust of wind washed over him, and he was instantly alone.
From the foliage, Silvia emerged, stretching out her hand as she continued to break Emil. “You really didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you Emil?”
“H-how did you find me?”
Silvia briefly chuckled, amused by the naive nature of his question. “Have you not forgotten? I’m in your head, silly boy. It was a stretch from this range, I admit, but with the crystal planted in your friend’s leg it was more than enough to track down your position.”
Emil struggled to rise to his feet but Silvia thwarted his efforts.
“Down, boy.” The piercing sound of a constant screech ripped through his mind, rendering him unable to move as she marched closer. “I’ve been toying with you for too long, but now that I’ve had my fun it’s time to send you on your way, reformed.”
Before she could reach Emil, a black flash spontaneously appeared in midair in front of the crystal queen. From the void, Omari dived through, leading with a punch that carried the weight of his body. A sharp crash echoed through the forest as his fist collided with the crystal shroud that formed to protect her face.
Strong!
With Omari’s body still suspended in mid-air, Silvia produced a spire from her chest in an attempt to impale him. Before it could pierce his flesh, Omari warped to her backside and delivered a swift side kick that was painfully nullified by a crystal pillar that materialized in front of him. A dull boom echoed from the impact, causing a tremor to run through the earth as the pillar dented in and gave way.
Her crystal is too strong!
From the dented pillar, spikes emerged but Omari evaded the counter attack, warping directly above her.
“Humph, predictable.” Silvia mocked.
As Omari’s body plunged from above, Silvia jumped back, dodging Omari’s overhead strike and launched an offensive of her own. With a wave of her hand, a series of spires launched from her arm towards him. Omari drew his knife before he fazed through and appeared behind her at a moment’s notice. With his knife drawn, he slashed at the back of her neck with all his might, hoping to end her. But his sovereign blade shattered from the impact.
“Are you done yet?” Silvia exhaled as she turned to the shocked hero with a devilish smile plastered across her face. In her eyes, there was only darkness. Seeing that his attack did nothing to her, he distanced himself from her evil gaze, once again serving as the middle ground between her and Emil.
“Give me the boy and I’ll let bygones be bygones. I swear. We can put this all behind us and you can be on your merry way. Let’s be honest here… I’m out of your league. I’m the type of girl mommy told you to stay away from.”
Omari glanced back at Emil who was a few yards behind him, trying his best to appear more capable than he was.
Come on Emil… I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.
“So what will it be? Your life or your friends?”
“Explain to me why I would willingly give him over to a mob of murders? Not only that, but a band of people who wouldn’t even blink at killing their own kind. What good could come of that? He’s better off dead than with you.”
“Oh so you know who we are? Hm. Perhaps,” Silvia chuckled as she tossed her hair and walked closer to Omari, “but that isn’t your choice to make.” As she came closer Omari, dug his heels into the barren soil, readying himself for another round against the female member of Legion. “So just hand him over before it’s too late, kay?”
Omari scowled, partly at her proposal and partly at the wounds he received. Carefully, he positioned his bodyweight onto his strong leg to alleviate the numbing sensation that ran through his shin where he last struck her defenses. Doing a quick mental check of his body’s condition, he accessed just how bad he was injured and how long he had b
efore the numbness would spread to the rest of his body. His legs, though steady, felt anchored to the floor. Both of his fists suffered the same fate. Underneath his frayed black gloves, he could feel the heaviness protruding from his knuckles; the aftermath from his first string of attacks.
“What’s wrong? Feeling a little sluggish?” Silvia said as she laughed.
Omari paid her no mind as he circulated his fingers before clenching them into a fist. Physical attacks don’t do anything to her. She’ll just counter with another pillar and do more damage to me.
“Emil, how much more time do you need?” Omari called out to him, still facing the diva as she confidently strutted towards the both of them. Emil rose to his feet and gripped the handle of his sword tightly, sending a stream of crackling blue energy down his blade.
“Doesn’t matter. She has to die or we do.”
The ends of Silvia’s lips turned upwards into a cheeky grin at the sight of Emil, whose eyes never broke away from hers. “Oh, come back for more after your little break? As if beating you senseless wasn’t enough.”
“You hit like a bitch. Numb anyone and surround them with scythe wielding freaks and you’re sure to have the advantage.” Emil scowled.
“Charming… but you don’t look so well. All bark but no bite, my dear.”
“I could say that for you as well. That last little trick you played on me wasn’t nearly as strong as it was before. You put up a good front, but all that energy you’re expending has to come from somewhere. The mist, the manifestations, all of that came from you. I first noticed a dip in your power after I cleared the first wave of them. It probably didn’t matter because at that point you thought you had me. Even now I’ve been watching you... only counter attacking and never going for the kill, even though you claimed to be superior.” Emil’s sword hung loosely from his hand, illuminating the ground he covered as he regrouped by Omari’s side. “Compared to Hugo, you’re nothing. You even used numbers and we’re still standing.”
The Dreamer and the Deceiver (The Last Light Book 1) Page 6
