A sharp knife glistened on the floor between Uvall and Dásos. The princes stood around them in a wide circle. Quietly, Uvall picked up the knife and proceeded to cut his hand. No blood escaped the deep gash in his palm. Instead, a shimmering silver aura poured out. “My essence will clean yours, allowing you to heal faster. Your bloodlust has gotten the better of you several times throughout your existence.” Uvall held his hand out as he spoke. "This will break all ties you have to any who no longer live.”
“Not like I need them now.” Taking a deep breath, Dásos took Uvall’s outstretched hand. His breath escaped him in a rush as his aura flurried around him. The swirls of colors tainting his deep green aura crashed into and consumed each other. As only a few colors remained, Dásos noticed a shimmering turquoise aura consuming an iridescent purple one. He only knew two beings in his lifetime with an aura of that shade. “Ke…Kesh…” he struggled through the lack of air.”
Stolas tried to step forward, but Merihim grabbed his shoulder. “Wait.” Dásos writhed on the ground, suffocating. The turquoise aura consumed every other swirl until, at last, it was the only color left inside of the deep green cloud. One by one, the turquoise swirls dissipated. As the last of the swirls disintegrated, leaving Dásos with only his own essence, he began to catch his breath.
Dásos stood and tried shoving past the Elders. Gaap and Pyro grabbed hold of him, barely able to keep the weakened man from leaving. “Slow down, what’s wrong!” Pyro dug his heels into the floor as he started sliding.
“I have to find Kesh. Without our connection… I need to make sure she's alright!” Dásos’s accent grew thicker, marking his stress level. His eyes widened with a sudden realization. He whipped his body around, sending Pyro and Merihim to the floor. Glaring at Uvall, he spoke through his teeth. “You said your aura would cleanse mine of those who are dead.”
“And it did.” Uvall kept his voice calm and steady. “I just failed to mention it would also break the ties of those who are still alive as well.”
“Uvall, being this deceitful is not like you.” Merihim shook his head.
“Brother, I merely gave Dásos a taste of his own poison.”
“The brother of Pestilence. I should have known. Your mother was a kind woman. The two of you are a disgrace to such a noble family.”
Uvall stood, utterly unremorseful. “Would you have accepted my help if you knew your ties to her would be broken?”
“Of course not! What if she needs my help?” Dásos's anger shook the Great Temple.
“And what could you have done to help her in your condition? At the rate you were going, regaining your strength would have taken decades.”
Pyro stepped into the circle, trying to ease the building tension. “At least this way you’ll be functional in a decent amount of time.” he looked to Asmoday, pleading for help, but the Serpent just raised an eyebrow at the Fire-Daemon.
A loud crash against the Great Temple's entry doors startled everyone. Instinctively, Merihim stepped between Uvall and the door. The rest of the princes encircled them, as well as Dásos. Stepping forward, Samael approached the door cautiously.
The weakened Primordial rolled his eyes. Even in his state, very few creatures could harm him. At Samael's order, the guards opened the doors. Wanting a better view, Dásos shoved past the demons surrounding him. As the doors creaked open, a thick black aura rolled into the room.
Before the demons could act, Dásos rushed to the body huddled in the center of the dark cloud. Kneeling down, he hoisted up a nearly unconscious Ayperos. “Where is she?” Dásos shook Ayperos violently. His arm fell away from his chest, and a large black raven tumbled to the floor. A silver chain wrapped around Ayperos's wrist held a familiar crescent charm.
Samael took Dásos by the hair and yanked him away as Asmoday reached for Ayperos. Dásos grabbed Samael's arm and twisted out of his hold. Before he had the chance to snap the Reaper's arm, Ayperos coughed out three words. “Beelz. Traitor. King.”
***
Soft beeping filled the small room. Cresil opened his eyes as he sensed the air stir. A nurse closed the privacy curtain as he tried to see who they had brought in. Another nurse stood outside his door, talking to someone out of view.
“My most humble apologies, your highness, but the hospital has no empty rooms. It will take us time to move the other patient to a different room.”
“That won’t be necessary, the hospital has been under enough stress since last week's training mishap.” Cresil recognized the voice as belonging to Gaap. “Ayperos can handle sharing a room.”
“Thank you, my lord, you are too kind.” The nurse bowed and scurried off.”
Another nurse popped out from behind the privacy curtain as Gaap entered the room. “Your highness, Prince Ayperos is stable, but not yet awake. We can inform you once he regains consciousness.”
“Very well, who can I speak with regarding Ipos?”
“Ipos?” Cresil sat up, wincing at the pain that raced its way down the scars on his arms and back. “Has Kesh made it back?”
“Who are you, exactly?” Gaap folded his arms and straightened himself as he spoke, giving a commanding presence.
“Cresil, Lord Merihim's Second, sir.”
“I see, you're the one who got himself captured, leading to Keshiema running away?”
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“That's enough, Gaap.” Dásos stood in the doorway with a faint green aura clinging to him. “This man was sent on a suicide mission, straight into the center of enemy territory. His capture was the result of a betrayal by one of yours, if I’m not mistaken.”
“It's getting crowded in here.” Gaap shoved past Dásos in a huff. After regaining her composure, the nurse rushed after the prince.
“Dás- erm, Phorest. Where is Kesh?” Dásos gave Cresil a sideways glance at the near slipup with his name. “She went after Ipos, if he's back, she is too, right?”
“She’s been taken by the king.” Dásos had no desire to sugarcoat the news. He wanted to see the Impure's reaction. Without hesitation, Cresil ripped out his IVs. He jumped out of the bed, his bright green aura forming around his hands as he rifled through every drawer on his side of the privacy curtain. “What is it you’re looking for?”
“My clothes, tools, and weapons.” Not sparing a glance towards Dásos, Cresil continued rifling through the room.
“Nurse?” Dásos slid the privacy curtain to the side, revealing two Oni-Daemons rebandaging Ayperos's shredded wing. “Nurses, sorry. I need to know where the Impure's belongings have been stored, I’m checking him out.”
“I'm sorry, mister.” Her accent reminded him of the first land he ever called home, throwing him off for a moment. “But that patient hasn’t been cleared yet. He’s still unstable.” Both nurses turned to him as they finished working on Ayperos.
“He looks plenty fine to me.” He looked back to see Cresil had left. “well he did when he was in here.”
“Olivia, find the doctor! Let him know we’ve got a Nuclear on the loose!” Both nurses rushed out of the room.
“Impures are essentially reactors in living shells.” Merihim leaned against the doorway. “I hope you didn’t say anything to upset him.”
“Shut up and help me find him. We might need his help getting Kesh back.”
“Why do you think I’m here? To visit my comatose brother?”
Following a viscous snarl from down the hall, Merihim left the room. Dásos followed, curiosity urging him forward more than anything. “I said I’m leaving! Now get out of my way!” A large Orc-Daemon stood in front of a storage closet. Inside the closet, Cresil, hugging a cardboard box, bared his teeth at the large demon.
“Guard,” Merihim casually strolled up to the towering monster. “Please stand down, I’ll take things over from here.”
“Yes, my prince.” Putting his fist over his heart, the Orc-Daemon bowed out of the way.
“Prince Merihim, With all due respect, I’m leaving.” Cresil stepped forward, intent on escaping the hospital.
Placing a hand on the Impure's shoulder as he passed, Merihim whispered in demon. “Seer!" and caught Cresil as he fell.
Dásos gave Merihim a disbelieving glance as he picked up Cresil's box. “Still using that tired old spell, I see.”
“I can always wake him back up." Hoisting Cresil over his shoulder, Merihim started for the exit. “Not much can calm down an Impure when they're about to have a full meltdown, so a Narcolepsy spell comes in handy. This one is particularly powerful, and I don’t want to see another incident like Chernobyl.”
“That was at least four Impure, you’re telling me he's that powerful?”
“Yes, so maybe next time let someone with more tact give him the bad news.”
***
Snow fell heavily from the gray sky, and icicles clung to the branches of the giant oak. Bare of leaves, the trees gave a haunting foreboding. Two large ravens circled the clearing just above the treetops. Their occasional croaks echoed into the distance; an eerie replacement for the now frozen stream. A lone woman stood in the center of the clearing, wearing a long, hooded cloak, shrouding her face in shadow. She raised both slender hands into the air. Quieting down, the two ravens glided to land on opposite sides of the snow-covered clearing. “Take shape, my Angels of the Night.” The woman requested in a light, heavenly voice.
Palls of black aura engulfed both ravens, billowing up and outward until only a small sliver of the circle remained clear. When the clouds of aura dissipated, Ayperos and Ipos knelt respectfully on either side of the cloaked woman.“Please stand.” The woman let down the hood of her cloak. Lily of the Snow smiled gently as the men stood. “Would you both come closer?” Ipos and Ayperos obediently stepped forward. Their distrust and anger thickened the air as they glared at each other.
Lily of the Snow looked to the ground, consumed by sorrow. “My Guardians, Crescent Soldiers, Warriors of Moon.” She paused for a moment, closing her eyes. Tears fell to the snow-covered ground. “Where is my daughter?”
“I suspect she is in the king's dungeon. He knows better than to try and rush a prophecy.” Ayperos explained.
Her eyes widened. Adramelech had Keshiema? “What prophecy?” She demanded.
“Uvall says she is to fight the king.” Ayperos’s voice echoed through the clearing. “We were training her in preparation.”
“What?!” The world around them froze as the temperature plummeted to absolute zero. “I left my daughter in your care and you are leading her to her death!”
“Snow Lily, please,” Ipos fell to his knees, grasping her hand. “You know I would never let harm come to her!”
“Your words mean nothing. As my daughter sits in Adramelech's dungeon, suffering Hell knows what torture, you're-" she paused to find a link to his physical body. “dying?” The word was barely audible. "Both of you? But how?”
“Sunstone Toxicity," Ayperos explained. "It was here or Celera. We cannot return to the Heavens with her in such danger.”
Slowly, the air around them warmed to a bearable level. “My Dark Angels.” Lily of the Snow caressed Ipos’s cheek like a mother comforting her child. She turned to Ayperos and smiled through her tears. ”I will speak with your mothers. The full moon comes soon. Perhaps they can lend you strength.”
In a world where 25% of humanity has awakened superpowers, vigilante Kazuma Raiden fights corruption in both heroes and villains while uncovering the truth behind his parents' murder—all while trying to balance high school and everyday life in a world filled with lies and manipulation.
Co-created with PrakDaMaestro, whose creative input helped shape the world and characters.
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