-The next day-
Demon watched Variants strap armor onto their bodies from the overhead canopy. His body was motionless, yet completely aware of what events just transpired.
[Such display of confidence in a possibly futile push for victory. Truly encouraging, what they do.]
[Yes, yes. Perhaps we will learn more in this advancing conflict. Our source, here, hasn't been feeding us what we've been yearning for.]
Hearing their conversations bugged him. Demon has been silent for so long in their eyes. Yet so active. With this push forward, he would achieve his first of several victories against the Nine.
[Rust has worn your fine body down, Servant. Turn your gears once anew and march with strife. Show them the strength of an unrelenting follower.]
It was their command, telling him it was finally time to engage. Demon drifted into dark powder as it descended onto the platforms beneath.
Several Variants stumbled away from the descending substance, hoping to not get consumed by its void taint. Once the powder seemed like a waterfall, Demon emerged.
His armored frame challenged all those surrounding him, something they didn't accept. Understanding picking a fight against such a mysterious entity could be fatal.
Jakery sheathed his dagger, making his way closer to his sibling without a care in the world. To some degree, this comforted him. Seeing his brother back by his side.
When they came face to face, they did nothing but stare at each other. Neither wanted to speak, just in case the other was going to. For several seconds, they awkwardly stood in silence.
Until Demon finally spoke. His vocal cords loosened up, making it easier for him to speak.
"Warriors huddle around a seething fire. With everything to lose, but courage as attire. Is that what this is?" He spoke through cryptic terms.
"Uh... no, this is our final push. We need to get Ether back. You probably don't care about him, but I do. He is my... our oldest brother," Jakery tried to correct.
To this, Demon turned around and stared off at the vast wilderness around them. "An ever-green ocean, destined to storm once again via challenge of uncontrollable fury from vicious grands."
Jakery felt confused by his strange words, prompting him to get closer. "W - will you help us? This means a lot, not just to me but my people as well. Please, Demon, I need you."
"Little ember is soon to burst aflame," he turned to look at his brother. "For now, it remains a dwindle in the dark. It will be rid of its eternal hue in due time. When it happens, a black hand shall ignite."
"That didn't answer my plea!" Jakery complained.
Demon nodded. "Deviled Kin and Sainted Three, which one are we? If there was a prophecy, I would know. For that reason alone, I am here to witness."
Jakery sighed in relief. "Thank the Nine! This is great - great! Okay. My -"
"Save your lip," Demon said as he slid past his younger brother. "As you bite and chew, struggling embers run out of oxygen as fuel."
As the siblings interacted, Hazen discovered Pearl sitting beside a Storm Chaser. Her arms holding a sleeping Orako, keeping the young one safe from harm.
The two sat in silence for a brief moment. Neither felt the urge to interact with the other simply because of their situation. Pearl lost a lover, Hazen a father, while baby Orako lost his father as well.
Understanding of the other's loss was what kept them in harmony with each other. Despite not saying words. Pearl slowly began to respect Hazen, something she picked up on.
"My father was an amazing Thawed..." Hazen announced.
Pearl nodded. Her silence was powerful. A weapon many saw as a direct result of having her heart torn to tatters. But it wasn't. It was her saving herself from further mental agony.
"When my mom couldn't look after me, he always did. I used to ride on his shoulders while we ascended the ruthless hell scape I learned to call home. Sometimes, I miss Metrivious," Hazen continued.
Orako moved in Pearl's grasp. Slowly fixing his resting position, getting comfortable inside his mother's loving hold once again.
Hazen noticed the sudden movements. She stared down at the young Feral. Hoping to catch a glimpse of what made him sleep so soundly.
Not realizing it was because he was stressed out. When Scaler, Olavin-Faa, Ferals get too worked up, they sleep it all away. Hoping the next time they wake, it would be over.
"He is such a sweet little one, I bet. Hizentre used to hold me like that," Hazen commented.
In response, Pearl slowly turned her head towards her. Sympathy strong in her movements. Her frozen heart had a soft spot as a mother. Never realizing she had one until recently.
"You probably don't know this. But my dad treated me like his personal treasure because I was that. His only daughter, I'm happy. Very happy. All other attempts had gone wrong," she admitted.
Catching Pearl off guard. Her eyes widened. Now, her full attention was on Hazen. While the two Thawed seemed distant in their origins, they felt a lowly bond.
Perhaps it was because of their childhoods as single kids. Or maybe because Thawed understand each other regardless of what type of mountain they bowed to.
Regardless, Pearl felt connected to Hazen. Like a mother-daughter bond, she wanted to keep her eyes on her. Just in case she needed anything.
"You see, my mom birthed three other Thawed before me. One of them wondered near a Feral's sulfur farm and was torn to shreds, one were lost at birth, and the last got eaten up by a Sky Beast."
It was a scary story, Pearl thought. Metrivious, she didn't know where it was or how life was like there. But one thing was for sure, Hazen was more of a fighter than she revealed.
Something Pearl admired. Increasing her respect for her. The duo exchanged looks before Hazen opened her mouth once again.
"It's crazy just how much I've changed since birth... you know, I never had pale skin until my body began changing how I looked to fit into Digon. Back then, me and Hizentre were both darker colored. From the scorched environment and unrelenting heats."
Orako grunted, unsheathing his pointy claws. They dug into Pearl's stomach like a set of rogue knives. Something she had learned to endure.
While she checked over him for any signs of nightmares, she didn't realize the looming presence of a Distorted. Black mist poured out of Demon's armor. Making him seem like a mystic creation.
Hazen and Pearl blankly stared at the foreign visitor. Visor locked right onto his allies. It was his first time meeting them so close. Usually, he was off in the distance.
Keeping an eye on them to ensure his plans were being carried out without an intervention. And for the most part, they have been fairly obedient.
Now they were going to fight alongside him. As powerful equals ordered to bring ruin to a legacy full of fabled myths and told legends.
Dust slowly faded to nothingness as he found a seat on the Storm Chaser. Its feathers began pointing upwards, feeling afraid of something.
Silenced, the trio sat. Demon kept his eyes on Hazen. He liked something about her, but he didn't know what.
Maybe it was her origins, or looks, or charisma. But it wasn't any of those. No. He was certain it was something else. That something still waited to be revealed. But he knew it was there.
Hiding away just beneath her seemingly sorrowful body. Under all that, she was something pure. Exactly what Demon wanted.
"Dew lingers, we do not. Shields rise and fall like warriors stuck in forever conflict. One swoop would be all it takes," Demon hinted.
Unsure of what it meant, Pearl turned to look at Hazen. Who quickly deciphered Demon's words.
"Dew - morning dew. The thing on the grass every morning. Shields... defenders! They are trying to defend and warriors collapse. No hints meant those warriors could be defenders or attackers."
On the last bit, she struggled. Questioning what that could mean for the conflict. Until she noticed the chains hanging lifelessly from her shoulders.
Her eyes widened. "Do you want me to be a rider and whip defenders off?"
Demon nodded. Pleased to see understood what he was saying. With that, he stood up and vanished. Leaving no trace of him being there with them, aside from the memory.
Away from where they stood, Ether heard the metal scraping of a door. Two Variants walked inside and dragged him out of his cell.
Out towards a Yinmar carriage designed to parade him. There, he would begin his shameful ride into the beginning of his tortures.