As she gets closer, Star can see the town of Tranquil completely covered in smoke, as if the place just had some sort of war.
"What the hell happened?" she remarks, confused.
She speeds herself up not too long after; she arrives in Tranquil's interior. She looks around the destroyed town. The town smelled like rotting corpses, and there were piles of debris everywhere. It was a depressing sight, with no sign of hope anywhere.
Who did this? Star thought.
Suddenly, a guard approaches her with extreme caution.
"State why you're here!" He exclaimed, half frightened.
Star is taken aback, but she answers anyway.
"I'm looking for a friend, he has red hair, red eyes, he also wears a cloak. Have you seen him?"
The guard thinks for a moment.
"Follow me," He replies before he turns around and begins walking away. Star nods and begins following the cautious guard.
As the two walks through the city, the feeling of dread surrounds the two as more and more corpses are seen. They continue walking until something catches Star's eye. A man with grey hair, lying dead with a smile on his face.
"He's missing his arm...." Star says.
The guard turns around and faces the girl.
"He's one of the bastards that caused all of this!" the guard exclaimed. "He can go rot in hell for whatever I care!"
Star gives the body another look before following the guard once again. The two continue walking until they arrive at a building. They walk into it, and it's highly secure, containing more guards.
"Who's the chick?" One of the men asks.
"A visitor for the boy," The guard replies.
The guards all look at each other before unsheathing their weapons.
They open up a basement door that leads downwards.
Star looks at the men with concern.
"It's to make sure that no one breaks him out," The guard reassures her.
The girl sighs and walks down the steps. The guards follow suit. As she walks down, it gets darker; only a candle lights up the room.
Star can barely see a cell that holds a sleeping boy inside of it.
"Ikari?" She asks herself.
She walks closer to only be met with Ikari's unconscious and heavily wounded body lying on a stiff-looking bed.
"What happened to him?!" Star yells.
"He was the other person that caused all of this damage," A guard replies.
Star looks at him with confusion, puzzled on how her good friend could ever do such a thing.
"He's also wanted for three cases of murder," A guard in the back says.
Star glares at the guards like a fierce beast.
"That was self-defense!"
She walks up to the guards, furious, but the guards aim their weapons at her.
"If you want to defend him, you might as well get in the same cell." One of them says.
Star steps back and gets into a fighting stance as the guards slowly advance towards her.
"Make it easy and put your hands in the air," The guard commands.
Suddenly, an explosion echoes through the room, erupting with a boom.
"What the hell was that!?" A guard yells.
"What's happening now?" Another one yells.
They suddenly run out of the basement, locking the door.
"H-Hey wait!" Star yells as she pounds on the door.
But, no one came back, as Star could hear fighting above the basement and outside the building.
"What's going on...."
Star turns back to the unconscious Ikari.
I have to get us out of here! She runs to his cell as a shadow hand flies towards the door and pulls it off.
She quickly pulls the unconscious boy off the bed and puts him over her shoulder.
"I got you, Ikari..." she reassures his sleeping body. She carries the boy until they get to the door.
A shadow hand flies into the door, which blasts it open.
Star continues to carry Ikari outside of the building. As soon as they walk out, they are met with complete chaos.
Screams are heard, fighting is seen, and even more, buildings are being destroyed.
"What the- "
Star is cut off by another explosion, which is louder than last time. Dust blasts into her face as the sounds of destruction are heard.
"RETREAT!" A guard screams.
Battle screams and death cries can be heard from miles away. When the dust clears, Star can see many men in armor running away from the oncoming noise.
Whatever's happening... I don't want to be part of it... Star quickly carries Ikari into a dark alleyway and hides in the shadows.
Star and Ikari are entirely invisible thanks to their shadow elements. She holds in her breath as she can feel a massive amount of power near them.
It's almost overwhelming... Star tries to focus on staying hidden as the power gets closer and closer.
The girl can hear people talking as the power gets closer.
"These are the men that are supposed to defend this place?" A girl asks with an unimpressed tone.
"I was hoping that they could be a little bit of a challenge," She says sadly.
"If you want a challenge, then wait for the reinforcements to arrive," Says a man with a raspy voice.
Star can see three people, two men, and a girl walking around casually.
Is that- Her thoughts are cut off by another man who walks up to the group.
"Draven's dead," He says coldly.
The group doesn't look surprised.
"So, Ikari Phoenix did come here," The man with the raspy voice says.
The man in the middle, who Star can only assume as the leader, finally speaks up.
"He never left."
Star's eyes widen as the man turns his head and stares directly into her eyes.
"Master Azrail?" The girl asks.
The huge man walks towards the "hidden" Star and stops whenever he's close.
Azrail gets in her face.
"Drop the boy," He commands coldly.
Star is stunned just by looking at the man, but she doesn't let Ikari go.
He chuckles at her actions. Star can barely act as Azrail backhands her; she gets sent flying out of the shadows and crashes into the ground.
Ikari's unconscious body falls onto his stomach.
Azrail crouches down to the boy and turns him on his back.
"So, you've grown strong, Ikari. But not strong enough," He says with a devilish smile.
"At this point, you'll never catch up to me."
The smile on his face fades as he grabs the boy's hair and pulls it towards his face.
"Don't disappoint me," He says coldly. He lets his hair go, and Ikari's head falls back down.
He stands up and looks at Star.
A colossal shadow fist flies towards the bastard, but he quickly catches it with one hand.
Star makes a noise of frustration before letting the shadow dissolve. She quickly runs towards Azrail, who doesn't even budge.
She throws a flurry of punches that Azrail easily dodges. As soon as he sees an opening, he grabs her by the neck and slams her into the wall.
"SLAM!"
He stares at Star coldly as she struggles against his grip.
"Maybe you can awaken his true power...." He says. He begins to tighten his grip on her neck as she continues to struggle.
"Master Azrail! The reinforcements are here!" The girl yells.
He stares at Star for a few more moments before sighing and dropping her.
She holds onto her neck and gasps for air as Azrail walks towards the group.
All of the members look at Star and Ikari before Azrail speaks up for the final time.
"It was nice seeing you again, Ikari. I know we'll see each other a lot in the future," He says with a smile.
Azrail turns around and begins to walk away casually, the other members following suit.
Minutes pass before the sound of fighting is heard once again.
"I have to get us out of here..." Star says to herself.
The girl quickly gets up and picks up Ikari on her shoulder, and carries him out of the alleyway.
She begins to make her way towards Tranquil's exit slowly. So that was the same men that Eclipse was talking about... Star quickly shakes the thought off as she focuses on trying to escape.
—————————————
The sounds of trotting from the horses fill in for the silence between Eclipse and Hina. Hina holds the horses' reigns, who carries the wagon, full of supplies, while Eclipse sits next to her, examining nature.
After a bit of silence, Eclipse looks at the black-haired girl with concern in his eyes.
"Do you think they're okay?" He asks.
Hina turns her head and smiles reassuringly at the boy.
"I'm sure everything is okay. They're both strong."
Eclipse nervously smiles back and looks away.
Hina can feel his anxiety oozing off of him. I should take his mind off of it. Hina thought, well aware that the topic was bugging him.
"So, Eclipse, what do you plan to do?" She asks.
Eclipse quickly turns back to face the girl. His eyes have instantly lighted up.
"I wanna become strong and protect Tranquil! I also want people to treat me as if I'm one of them!" He yells confidently.
Hina gives a wide smile at the boy.
"I also want to follow Ikari and Star on their journey! They're the only people who haven't treated me like a monster!"
Hina chuckles at the boy's words.
"I'm sure they'll love to have you on their journey, Eclipse," Hina replies with the same smile on her face.
Eclipse chuckles and smiles back.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Eclipse asks.
Hina takes a minute to think about it.
"To be honest, I don't know yet... She says.
The boy looks at her with a curious look.
"I've pretty much been cooped up in Sebastian's Omen for all of my life. I would like to visit more places and meet some new people." She replies to his look.
"What type of people?" Eclipse continues to ask.
"Somebody that can teach me something new, somebody that can give me something new." She says as if she was in a dreamy state.
"Somebody?" Eclipse asks with curiosity.
Hina's eyes widen, and she blushes at her accidental slip up.
"I-I mean as a friend, I'm way too young to settle down...."
Eclipse continues to look at her with a curious look.
"Why are you embarrassed then?"
"J-Just forget it!" Hina yells back.
Eclipse continues to look at her in confusion before smiling and asking her a different question.
The two continue to chat with each other; Eclipse keeps the same smile throughout the conversations while Hina is happy that he's back to a cheerful state.
The cheerful mood keeps up between the two, but not for long.
"Hey! Stop right there!" A voice commands.
Hina quickly looks in front of her. She's met with a huge roadblock. Men in armor stand there, heavily armed.
"This area is closed off. Please find another way or leave," The guard in the middle yells.
Hina looks at the men in confusion, but she quickly snaps out of it.
"But this is the only way into Tranquil!" Eclipse yells back.
Hina looks at the boy as the guards stand there, defensive.
"Tranquil is currently on lockdown; we are doing the best we can to make sure that no one can get into the city," The guard says.
Hina can see anxiety and worry form into Eclipse. The boy quickly hops off the wagon and begins to run towards the guards.
"Please do not come to any clo-"The guard says before getting cut off by Eclipse pushing through him.
"Eclipse, wait!" Hina yells.
The boy continues running as the guard aims their weapons at him.
"Stop, and we won't attack!" One of them yells.
I have to... I have to protect it! Eclipse tells himself, he continues to run desperately towards his town. Hina hops off of the wagon, trying to run after Eclipse, but she is instantly caught and restrained by the guards.
"Eclipse No!" She screams.
One of the guards slams their foot into the ground, which causes the boy to fall! A giant boulder erupts in front of the guard and begins to fly towards Eclipse, who can only look at his oncoming death.
"NOOOOO!"
"Crystal Blade."
Suddenly, a figure jumps out in front of the rock and slashes its sword at it. The boulder quickly gets enveloped with ice and explodes, causing hail to rain down to where the stone used to be.
The hail crashes down into the ground as the figure slowly sheathes his sword. Eclipse looks at the figure in amazement.
"Captain Yoshitune!?" A guard yells in confusion.
The figure, known as Yoshitsune, stands there as he turns to Eclipse.
"Are you okay?" He asks the boy.
Eclipse's eyes widen in pure amazement as he examines the light-blue-haired Captain.
The Captain walks to the boy and examines him back.
He's a... Hybrid? Yoshitsune thinks to himself in confusion. He continues to examine the boy as Eclipse is still in shock. His power... It's a mixture between a dragon and demon, and the power is immense.... Yoshitsune continues to think to himself before he looks the boy in the eyes.
"Hey, I asked if you were okay," He asks again.
Eclipse suddenly snaps into reality.
"O-Oh! Yeah, I'm fine!" He replies happily.
Yoshitsune smiles at the boy before he proceeds to turn back around to the guards.
"Sorry, I'm late. The King kept me longer than expected," He says while scratching his head.
"It is all good." One of the men replies. Yoshitsune walks up to them and puts his hands in his pockets.
"Has anything happened yet?" He asks in a serious tone.
"There's another ongoing attack...." The guard replies sadly.
Yoshitsune sighs.
"And y'all are just sitting here?" He inquires with frustration in his voice.
"W-well, we didn't know their power, Captain..."
"I didn't know that we were training pussies instead of warriors," Yoshitsune snaps at his soldiers.
"Families are being ripped apart over there, and you lot are worried about their power." He sighs and shakes his head.
The guards put their heads down in embarrassment. Yoshitsune spots Hina being held by one of the guards.
"Who's the girl?"
"She's with the boy," The guard answers.
He examines the girl with interest. No powers, no weapons, looks to be the same age as me... He says to himself. Hina blushes in embarrassment as Yoshitune examines her.
"She's harmless, same with the boy." He says.
"We have direct orders from the King to not let anyone through this roadblock, Sir." The guard replies.
"I could care less-"The guard cuts off Yoshitsune.
"With all due respect, Captain, if the King gives orders, we have to do the-"
"SMACK!"
A red imprint of a hand appears on the guard's cheek, Yoshitune gets in the man's face.
"With all due respect, I couldn't give a damn who gave you those orders! When you're on a mission with me, You're going to take my orders! Do you understand me?!" He yells at him.
The guard slowly lets go of Hina, who quickly runs to Eclipse to check on him.
"If any of y'all have a problem with following my orders, just go ahead and leave," Yoshitsune commands.
The guards all look at each other. They put their head down and bow to their Captain before leaving. Yoshitsune watches them coldly as they walk away.
An awkward moment of silence hits the area as the guards get farther away. After their finally out of view, Yoshitune shakes his head.
"Knights of Vitalis my ass...." He sighs
He turns around and faces Hina and Eclipse.
"Y'all should probably get out of here. It's still dangerous here," He says.
"What about you?" Hina asks.
He stares at the two.
"I'll go in there and stop this chaos myself."
Eclipse suddenly jumps up and faces the man.
"No way! I'm coming too!" He exclaims.
Yoshitsune opens his mouth to speak, but Eclipse continues with his yelling...
"I promised that I would protect Tranquil! I promised that I would protect the people there! And now I'm just sitting back and letting people die!"
Eclipse stops for a moment to catch his breath. He looks up at Yoshitsune, who has a face of judgment.
The boy can feel his heart drop as the Captain continues to stare at him, Hina closes her eyes to avoid the embarrassment, but a wide grin appears on Yoshitune's face to both of their surprises.
"You're gonna be amazing, kid!" He exclaims as he pats his head.
Eclipse's terrified face turns into a look of confusion as the Captain continues to smile at him.
"Y-You're not mad at me?" Eclipse asks.
"Why would I be? You want to protect what's close to you!"
Eclipse eyes lighten up at the man's words.
"Does this mean I can come with you?"
The smile on Yoshitune's face quickly disappears as he gives the boy a stern look.
"No."
"What?!" Eclipse exclaims.
"I'm happy that you want to protect what you love, but you won't be able to protect anything with you're power as of now," Yoshitsune replies.
"Don't underestimate me!" Eclipse yells.
"It's the truth boy, how are you going to protect Tranquil if you end up dead?"
Eclipse takes a moment to process Yoshitune's words. He puts his head down sadly. The Captain sighs and begins to walk away from the duo.
"W-Wait!" Eclipse yells desperately.
Yoshitsune stops in his tracks and turns his head towards the boy.
"Please find my friends and bring them back safely!"
Yoshitsune looks at the boy with curiosity in his eyes.
"One of them is a boy with red hair who always stands out, and the other is a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes!"
"Just please find them!" The boy begs.
Silence hits the area as Yoshitune looks at the boy. The silence continues until The Captain finally speaks up.
"What's your name?" Yoshitsune asks.
"Eclipse," the boy mutters sadly.
"Eclipse, I, Yoshitune Abbera, promise to find your friends and bring them back safely to the both of you." He says as he begins to walk away.
Eclipse's eyes widen in amazement as Hina smiles.
"Thank you!" Eclipse yells at Yoshitsune.
The Captain smiles at the boy's gratefulness and continues towards Tranquil. The warrior slowly unsheathes his sword as he continues down the trail, ready for any battle.