Massive blood monoliths emerged from the ocean beneath Valentine. They basked in the sunlight, waiting to unleash their energy at a moment's notice.
Ferals careened through the sinking town, aiming to escape towards land. When they reached the outskirts, Valentine's ring halted them. Holding them in a state of paralyzing shock while alerting his smallest ring over.
It bolted through the destruction, then drove itself through legs. Sand consumed them as they dropped from searing pain. In moments, their wounds were riddled with tiny specs of glass.
They screamed in agony, understanding this was their last hour. However, some of the Ferals didn't scream or howl. They simply clamped their mouths shut and reached for another.
Keeping that other Feral in their arms, trying to find comfort in their final living minutes. Despite the display of affection, Valentine Primed was unfazed.
He wasn't the same as Valentine, he was different. Not a lover, but a believer. In his mind, the heart is the most important organ because it knew best. It was like an engraved instinct for him.
Frigid ocean water finished filling up the sinkhole. Leaving everything and everyone sucked inside to be forgotten. Except for the blood.
As the first ring emerged, an entire town's worth of blood followed behind. The fine crimson liquid floated away towards the blood monoliths, raising them higher into the sky.
"So many innocent lives lost. Couldn't you do this some other way?" Valentine asked.
"Being hesitant yields fewer results," Valentine Primed replied. "We have dozens of seaside towns to take care of, so we must move swiftly to claim these lands here and move towards Furmire."
The last two rings floated up to Valentine Primed, situating themselves where they belonged before he continued. A sense of lurking dread crept into his mind, alerting him of incoming Distorted.
Despite being a Primed, he chose to leave the area. Being too afraid to get into a confrontation with these entities. He dashed through the open skies like a mad angel, breaking the sound barrier.
In only seven seconds, he arrived at his next target. This was a city, the neighbor to Neva's mega-family. Residents abruptly stopped, turning to the sky in order to see what had arrived.
The moment they caught a glimpse of Valentine Primed, they instantly took him as a Servant. Like second-hand nature, they turned and ran for their most valuable offerings.
And presented it to the supposed order-keeper. Yet, something was off about this one. Because not long after showing him their gifts, the residents felt some sort of increasing dread.
Many slowly lowered their arms, understanding something wasn't right. This meant Distorted were coming, but they didn't know why.
"Don't hurt them, please. Just encase them," Valentine urged. "You don't need to result to violence in order to get complete your duty."
Valentine Primed reached for his outer ring. "'My duty?' This isn't mine. It is your duty. I am just a helper in this case. Because you have no vision, let alone any motivation."
He hurled the ring towards the city. Like before, it dug itself into the ground. Spinning rapidly to increase the size of the hole.
"No! As your counterpart, I demand that you cease!" Valentine cried out.
Yet his Primed didn't care. The only reaction he gave was hurling the last two rings at them. One encased the city, the other aimed to injure Variants.
Monoliths emerged from beneath Valentine Primed, erupting towards the sky. They stood guard, like sentinels awaiting orders.
Buildings crumbled and crashed down the sinkhole. Crushing Variants underneath and burying the rest like a make-shift graveyard.
"Threshers!" Valentine pointed out. "You're hurting innocent Threshers, just for what? I'll tell you what's quicker, if you encase the cities and -"
"How about the amount of blood it'll take to put up a siege and keep that siege alive? Don't forget to include the locations we need to visit," Valentine Primed snapped back.
Despite being a passenger within himself, the motivation to take control kicked into high-gear. It felt like trying to move inside a dream, the willingness to take control but the inability to do so.
But that didn't deter him, Valentine knew learning how to take control would allow him to survive the onslaught of enemies in the future. Especially if they ever encounter a King, Goliath, Servant, or another Primed.
Valentine pushed harder, which started to bother Valentine Primed. The two struggled against each other, aiming to keep or take control. In the end, Valentine Primed won.
"Damn you! Those innocent Variants don't need to die. Yet you're still killing them! Are you insane?!? What happened to all those lessons I preached during my time as a Sherpa?!" Valentine screamed.
In response, Valentine Primed carelessly reached for his largest ring. It came back to him, blood emerging from the rubble and floating towards the distant monoliths.
He crossed his arms, waiting for his other two rings to arrive. "Lessons are forgotten by time, Valentine. Don't you realize this? How about we make a deal right now?"
No response. Valentine was keen on listening, hoping this deal would be good enough to sway his Primed away from killing so many innocent Variants.
"There's a Thresher mega-family nearby. I can sense their heartbeats. If I ignore them, will you let me continue securing the coast?"
Valentine's breathing got slower, he didn't want to make this deal because it didn't seem fair. But part of him wanted to keep that mega-family safe. They didn't deserve what his Primed would do to them.
Even the concept of hurting such loving and cheerful creatures bothered him. Simply because of his ties with the previous Coros generation. The siblings were all part-Threshers. And he saw some of them in each Yonie and Yomie he encountered.
"D - deal," Valentine caved in. "But if you injure them, I'll seal my gate and accept my new life as a blind Thawed."
Valentine Primed nodded, agreeing with the deal. He turned away from the family, then bolted in that direction. Leaving them alone, for now.