"Hey! It's been a while."
There he was. Not only someone who'd died a decade ago but his best friend. Resurrected; an angelic specter haunted not just Barronia's peace, but Talen's mind. Entranced by his return, Marie slipped from Amit's grasp before exiting a golden portal materializing beside Uriel's foot. The boxer searched her whereabouts however shortly before her breathing eased after spotting her brother's protective build.
"You okay?"
She glanced at him, then back at Tal. "F-fine. Nothing I can't handle."
Uri nodded, stifling a snicker.
Talen's shimmering eyes reflected Uri's figure. "Y-you're real. W-why... HOW?!" he screamed.
Uriel couldn't maintain the deception of vanity any longer. Immediately after hearing him scream, the Prince frowned.
"How did you survive Monstrum's attacks ten years ago when you were on the verge of death?" he retorted.
Talen's eyebrow raised. "What're you getting at?!"
"You don't know. Then that's my answer too. Listen to me, Tal, and know I mean what I say. We're not children anymore. I shouldn't have dismissed you so rudely and gotten myself killed so idiotically. I'm sorry. I don't blame you. I never did. The way things occurred, it was all me. I'm the one who strives for this path. What I—no, what we witnessed that day was nothing unordinary. Hideous malice is known to everyone; parading around in human flesh, unknowingly being true monsters. I can't look away anymore. I... have to do something. Revolution is the only path to redemption. I want to prove to myself that what I said back then was true. And if you're going to stand in the way of that then—"
Uriel's golden aura shone all around him. Upon extending his palm, his Angels' emergence followed. The siblings adjusted their idle stances; winged creatures hovering to defend their backs.
"Death is all that awaits you."
Talen withheld a shaky breath, hesitantly gazing into Uriel's white eyes with nothing but tears. Even with no other choice but to fight, sadness was all that plagued him. Those words, uttered so long ago, resounded through the chambers of his mind.
'Responsibility is all about entrusting the King how he decides to lead the country forward. By doing that, Supreme King Barron intends to keep the strong in check and ensure the weak are protected. You see, Talen, we exist to protect non-Fate users' peace of mind.'
Despite his undisputed reluctance, the lawyer's hand raised. Amit stood tall. Even if the Uriel he once knew had changed, the past was true. The purpose of the Unconquerable technique, what he'd been searching for all this time, stood right before him. And though he couldn't believe it, even if that threat were his best friend incarnate, then what else was there? What other reason did he live if not for that purpose's fulfillment?
Talen pressed his palm flat onto the floor below, imbuing the entire space with his signature.
"Area Empowerment: Unavoidable Unconquerable."
It spread fast enough to bypass both Uriel and Marie's guards, leading to their quizzical analysis of their voided surroundings.
"Area… Empowerment?" The boxer curiously repeated, brushing two fingers against the Area's wall.
Uriel scoffed. "It imbues a designated environment with someone's signature Fate and Predestined Power. It doesn't work in open areas like the front of the castle, only in enclosed spaces like this and houses. Alora mastered Empowerment. Looks like she taught Talen how to use it too," he said.
"I ran into him earlier. Every time I tried attacking his aura, an automatic hit struck me before I could react. You got any way to counter that?" she asked.
The Prince smirked and stifled a snicker. "I got a few ideas."
Talen wasted no time; beginning his march toward the duo with pocketed hands. Only seconds after he embarked, his soles slipped into the air to mark his supernatural ascent. Pupils' deadly emerald coloration shone brightly, his finger raised to point at them both.
"Hey, Marie, you're pretty strong, right? I'll be sure to kill both of you here so don't hold anything back. Prove to me you're worthy of being Royals!"
Despite declaring that as boldly as he could, the stains from his tears hadn't dried. Nevertheless, that wouldn't withhold the Unconquerable from invoking the extent of his might to end his former friends.
After Anthony and Alora finished fighting Uriel, the latter of the two ran to where their enemy previously stood. Though it was undeniable Tony's technique devastated the area, the Prince's remains were another story.
"Found anything?!" His voice yelled from afar.
"Nope!" She exasperated, removing her hand from the ground. "I forgot he can use those gateways he summons the Angels from on himself and warps wherever. He was probably just entertaining himself by fighting us."
"Isn't that kinda pointless though?" Tony added, leaning on her shoulder with his arm.
"Who cares? Talen will take care of things from here anyway."
He side-eyed her.
"You sound a bit irritated. What's up?"
She sighed, looking up at him. "Why is it we can never finish anything properly? Why're we always so weak?"
He sighed. "I try not to think about it. Worrying too much about being insignificant drives you crazy. Then again, I guess you always tried to do your best for the sake of those two, huh? I get where you're coming from…"
His hand slid onto her shoulder, slowly starting to loosen the knots hidden within her skin. At the feeling of his sudden massage, she refrained from moaning. Instead, her hand slid onto his, and all she did was sigh.
"I'm glad I have you with me." Alora smiled; her eyes closed. "Remember that date you were talking about a few days ago? Got any preference on where you wanna go?" she asked.
He hummed. "Uhhhh… not really. I eat a lot of food so it's hard to remember a specific place. Maybe we could just stay in, order Chinese and watch a movie? Well, if you're up for it, that is."
His wholesome suggestion brought a grin to her lips. Turning over her shoulder, beaming widely as ever, she affirmed his request with nothing more than a brief kiss between lovers. Only momentarily did their embrace last. When the end arrived, Tony's eyes opened--cheeks red with blush.
"W-what was that for?"
She smiled. "Good men like you are hard to come by. It's nice to have someone beside you to bathe in their love, isn't it?"
He nodded, sheepishly grinning back at her. "Yeah. I guess you're right."
As his hand slipped into hers and her head began to tilt back, an unusual sensation shot through Anthony. Once their lips touched, it inexplicably felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Even after they pulled back again, the pressure had already vanished. Anthony couldn't avert his gaze. Beyond everything else in the world, there was nothing more he longed for than this--more than her. He could trust her. He could... love her.
Alora's palms slipped onto his cheeks. Ever deeper her gaze stabbed, hoping to peer into the window of his soul just from these simple orbs. Though she already knew the answer to such a question, she urged to ask it regardless.
"Why are you crying?"
Back beneath the compounds of the Supreme King's palace, the confines of Talen's expanded Area had ensnared both the Prince and Princess. Lowering his pointing finger from the dark-skinned Marie beside her taller brother, the Unconquerable Amit's dash left a trail of light from his pupils' center. Uri's wide-eyed face said it all.
'He's fast!'
His old friend's blurry image persisted before him but momentarily, yet the Prince saw it as incentive enough to pierce the air with his fist. To block the lawyer's attacks, one of the Angels behind raised its hand. However, the curve of Talen's kick smashed right through its wrist and sunk into the Prince's open cheek, sending blood to fly from his lips' corner.
At the same time, the monster behind her sibling reacted, Marie attempted to move and threw her fist. Talen easily caught her knuckles and broke her wrist, grabbing her by the nape to throw her over his shoulder. The sound of her thudding body resonated through the Unconquerable Area while Uriel reassumed his stance--watching the innumerable strikes his old friend threw his way. His arms would raise and swat the flying arms, keeping one eye open.
'5... 16... 23...' He grits his teeth. 'He's too fast! I can't spot an opening..!'
Talen kicked the foe in the knee but once, watching him fall to the undamaged remainder with an accompanying groan. The lawyer seized the Prince by the throat and smashed him to the floor, watching him vanish into the innards of the Area. Amit's head turned, spotting the flying kick Marie threw his way. In response, the Unconquerable aura ignited and, the moment her foot grazed his Fate, multiple automatic hits struck her build.
'He's... invincible...'
Intruding upon her descent toward the floor, Talen's palm smashed her bust, sending her flying through the prison of the Area and smashing through the overarching ceiling of the King's vast castle. Before he could revel in his achievement, he looked back to the floor to notice the numerous white hands emerging from the Area. Even hovering wouldn't stop such an infiltration, for everywhere he turned, more fair arms started appearing.
'I see. So he's subconsciously invoking his technique within the Area to get me to dispel it. Smart.'
Talen obeyed and dispelled the Area, instantly returning to the environment below. The doorless corridor that went on for what looked like miles stood before him and with this environment's confining reappearance, surely enough, there was Prince Uriel. Kneeling in the middle of the ground, endlessly coughing attempting to grasp his throat.
Hawking blood out his mouth's corner, Barron stood and cleared his throat, gazing with white eyes straight ahead at Talen Amit.
"I never wished for this. I always... wanted it to just be us..." lamented Uri.
The image of those four on that fateful day, engulfed by white, flashed through their minds. Nothing more than an enjoyable ignorance surrounded by limitless bliss. The life they were surrounded by for less than a year—seemingly a fantasy, was undoubtedly real. Nevertheless, those past times were just that. Fantasy. There was nothing to them one or the other could enjoy anymore. Just staring into one another's eyes seemed to remind them... there was no paradise for them to escape to. This was reality. And though they wished to escape it, nobody could. Just as it always had been, death was the ultimate destination. For everyone. Everything.
'Revolution is the only path to redemption. I want to prove to myself that what I said back then was true. And if you're going to stand in the way of that then... Death is all that awaits you.'
Even now, his words ring true. Talen snickered. From this distance, though it was hard to tell, Uri trusted his gut. Right on his old friend's lips, albeit brief, a grin persisted. Though for what, he would never know. Regardless, the two former partners assumed their stances and raised their arms, just waiting for whoever would dare to initiate the first move.
"You were right, by the way!" Talen called.
"Huh?! About what?!"
"Revolution is the only path to redemption, you said. But that's not necessarily true. If you path you follow is that of rebellion, that will only spawn more malice. Lives will be lost and this kingdom might fall. However, I'm sure you've considered all that already."
Uriel stood silent.
"I'm sure your mind is set on the path you chose ten years ago. Even for me, there's no changing your mind. And being honest, I don't blame you. That being said, I don't agree with you. Even if your revolution paves the way for the future righteousness of this kingdom's generation, there's no denying it will lose itself in the process to that end. Being a defense lawyer lets me see the other side of things. Those who suffer in the justice system—are forced there by those higher than us. But slaughtering them will do no good. If you kill the King and take the Crown, you, too, will be cursed."
The Prince's brow quirked up. "What? What the hell are you saying?"
"Fate is a curse. All those marked by Fate... are eternally cursed."
Trivia: Talen Amit, Uriel Barron, and Alora Illustrious were sent on a mission ten years ago as Syndicate agents to locate the rumored Monstrum vessel and exterminate him. He lived in Barronia's neighboring kingdom, Arronsburg. At the end of that excursion, Uriel was presumed dead and Talen left the Amit Family House to follow a career in law. It's been stated that Talen received life-ending injuries from an attack by Monstrum and he was presumed dead for a short while too. The reason for his survival is still unknown. But it's believed to be connected to the reason for Uriel's resurrection. Whatever happened that day is known only to those four, for now.