"Rona! Help me!" That desperate call from within the fog, that sound that defiles through all of the chaos and faintly kisses the eardrums of Rona, calling for something within the butterfly, the thing that once succumbed to the appeal of Yunu and Kiri, a call of which it is uncertain the thing within her would answer, for the Rona we know, is no longer the one who was ready to give her life to cross two young spirits through the lands of terror. Rona might just have lost what it takes to be a hero. Now, what we have is a weapon ready to kill for the very same legacy she so much despises.
DAYS BEFORE
Bena, Rona, Tigra, Akimo and Mogi, the most respected moonwalkers are before Onelo who addresses them.
" Dilis has grown too powerful, and he must be put in check, and the only way to achieve that is by taking his head. Bena, Rona and Akimo, you will take 50 moonwalkers to Arida. You are to bring back the heads of Galguntan, Eudax and Dilis, and force other Kings underneath Arida to bend a knee. This must be carried out fast and quick, when it is unexpected. You will take the white forest, your tracks will be concealed through that path."
" Shouldn't the recent surfacing of the sunseekers be a worry? One attacked Rona, two were spotted close to the salt stream, and one was said to clash with barbarians in the Rocky lands recently. Only in one of these reports was a sunseeker killed. This I believe should be a pressing issue", Bena says as Tigra responds,
" The sunseekers aren't a problem, they are rarely encountered..."
" And we had two in one place, and one attack one of our own. This should be looked into. As a matter of fact, it's a more pressing issue than Arida."
" Do not over exaggerate the issue Bena", Akimo says as Bena speaks,
" Sunseekers are the only forces capable of extinguishing the flame of the moonwalkers. They are our nemesis, and each one is 5 times stronger than one of us. How is this not easily a more pressing issue?"
" What is your view on this Rona?" Onelo asks as Rona replies,
" We March to Arida. We come across any sunseeker, we chop off its head."
" And if they come in more than one?" Bena asks as Rona replies,
" Then we chop off more heads."
Onelo smiles to this along with Mogi who responds,
"Said like the true butterfly."
ARIDA PALACE
Prince Osino stands close to a window in a passage, staring at the horizon, enjoying the view. Mavin comes to him as she speaks,
" Before Osino left to tour the world, he was a talker, filled with so much energy, who wouldn't settle for less than an exciting adventure. He went on this journey and returned 15years later, all grown up, and now it seems he has used up all of that energy."
Osino smiles and replies,
" Good to see you again Mavin."
He's quiet for a short moment, still staring at the horizon. And then, Mavin asks,
"Tell me, what did you see beyond Bloodrock? Some say it's nothing after, some say it's the end of the world, some say it's just the oceans. Some say people live beyond. Which is it?"
Osino smiles again and replies,
" I searched for the end of the world, I didn't find it. I crossed the oceans, I found more land. And after that, more ocean."
" And people?" Mavin asks as Osino faces her and asks,
" Why the sudden interest in what's beyond my... queen? It seems to be that things have worked out for you in good ways since we last saw each other. I believe as queen, you have a lot more pressing issues than the shores beyond Bloodrock."
" I wouldn't necessarily call ordering the maids and serving as a sex toy to your brother... things working well. Whatever you saw out there, this I can say, you made a mistake returning to Bloodrock and Arida, especially now."
Mavin moves away from him as she continues,
" And when you hit the road again to cross the oceans, I would be a beautiful companion."
This surprises Osino who then reveals something he's been holding in his hand and stares closely at it as he speaks,
" If only they know."
Turns out the object he's holding is a bullet.
ALANOR
Rona is heading to her Chambers and suddenly starts hearing struggles between a few people. She keeps on walking and stumbles on four young moonwalkers beating up Kora who bleeds from her nostrils and mouth. She fights back but is outnumbered and overpowered as she's jacked off her feet and smashed on the ground. She crawls towards a corner as they laugh at her. She then sees Rona staring at her and the others do too, scaring them. She stretches forth her hands and calls on Rona,
"Help me!"
Rona gives her a good stare and then moves out, totally ignoring this as it breaks Kora's heart. The other moonwalkers smile and continue dealing with her as one speaks,
" No one will save you from us, no one will."
ARIDA DUNGEONS
The 10 virgins are being kept in a dungeon, with Yunu also among them, sitting in a corner, playing with her hair. She suddenly notices one of the virgins moving towards a wall, squatting and facing it, tearing off her underwear clothe as one of the maidens speaks,
" No, do not do that here. We might as well die in a few days. The last thing I want is the smell of your excretion or urination plaguing my nostrils."
The virgin by the wall replies,
" That is not my intention."
This puzzles most of them as one asks,
" Then, what is it?"
The lady by the wall replies,
" All my life, I have preserved my virtue, to be given to the man that I would some day call my own. And now, I will have it taken from me to satisfy a bloodthirsty deity, as well as my life."
" That is our fate now, and it terrifies me. But what does this have to do with you squatting by the wall?"
The maiden laughs a weak and frustrated laughter and replies,
" A maiden's virtue leaves her once her private part drops blood. If Gudi will have my life, he won't have my virginity."
And then, to their greatest surprise, she takes out a wooden platform from her skirt and drives it into her private part, shocking everyone as she cries out as soon, blood starts to flow out of it.
"What have you done?" One asks in surprise as most of them come to her and hold her, trying to help her. And then, three guards walk in and see this as one speaks,
" What have you done little roach?"
The lady smiles and replies,
" I my virtue is mine to keep, and not Gudi's."
" You fool. Not even that can save you."
And then, the guard draws out his sword and stab her through her private part terrifying everyone as they scream in fear. Yunu starts remembering the sight of her brother being killed and goes into shock as she crawls backwards, trying to get as far as possible from this carnage. She watches, she can't look away, and it drives her insane. Just when thinking that would be enough, the guard draws out the sword and cuts off her head as her blood spills on the body of most of the ladies. And then, the guard speaks,
" Your lives and virginity belong to Gudi. And so, if anyone tries this stunt this roach tried, I will drive my sword through your filthy hole and cut off your head." He then comes to Yunu and cleans off his bloody sword on her clothes as he walks out, leaving the ladies in shock as they stare at the lifeless body of their fellow maiden.
ALANOR.
And then, the moonwalkers set out, heading to Arida, taking the route Onelo had suggested. Bena brings Kora along despite her recent ordeal and keeps her close while Akimo leads the way. Rona is also with the team as they journey for nights through the woods. And then, a night comes where everything turns around for bad. A fog enters the woods, and it gives them a bad feel. The wind changes, the leaves try to warn them of something around, something dark. Rona notices this, same for other moonwalkers. Akimo huts the walk as she signals them to be vigilant. Everyone looks around, with their hands on their swords. Rona keeps calm and closes her eyes as the wind blows her hair. She notices movements through the bushes and can smell the hostiles approaching, few but powerful, beyond the capacity of one moonwalker. And then, she blurts out,
"Sunseekers."
This shocks others, hearing what she says. Before this information can be processed, a sunseeker charges into the scene in full speed and strikes a moonwalker to the ground, killing her on the spot.
"Moonwalkers, engage!" Akimo commands as Bena leaps high and stabs the sunseeker on the neck. Another moonwalker leaps high and removes the head of the sunseeker. And then, one of the moonwalkers senses more and speaks,
"There's more, 8 at least!"
Right above them is a sunseeker charging towards their position at the top of a mountain. He leaps high and descends with great magnitude as it lands in the midst of the moonwalkers and starts dealing with them. More sunseekers surface, even more than the number predicted, engaging and dealing with the sunseekers. Rona takes out her sword and battles one of the sunseekers fiercely, aided by another moonwalker as they both take the sunseeker down. Akimo is flung towards a tree, causing her serious pain that enrages her as she commands,
"Summon your chaos!"
The moonwalkers try to do this but are unable as they get frustrated.
"It's the fog, there's something in it hindering our magic", Bena says as Rona battles through, cutting off the leg of a sunseeker and kicking it down to the ground. Kora gets lassoed with a rope from behind, gripping her neck. She smartly puts her hands within the grip of the rope to stop it from strangling her as she's being pulled backwards into the dark. She sees Rona close by and calls out in fear,
"Rona! Help me! Rona!"
Rona turns back and sees her being pulled away. She then sees two sunseekers charging towards her. She turns away, disappointing Kora who cries out,
"No...!" Rona leaps high and cuts off the head of one of the sunseekers as she dodges a log of wood flung towards her and takes out a knife. She throws it towards Kora who catches the knife with her other hand and cuts the rope quickly. She then runs towards her sword and takes it as she turns back to strike the approaching sunseeker but is struck off by the sunseeker towards Bena who catches her and speaks,
"Fight smart. That's the only way you get to live."
" Rona, I need a boost", Akimo says as she charges towards Rona who locks her hands together while a sunseeker chases Akimo. Getting to Rona, Akimo steps on Rona's hands, and Rona throws her high up, flipping her over while Rona gathers energy around her fist for the approaching sunseeker. Akimo strikes his head with a kick while Rona slides beneath the legs of the sunseeker and strikes him in the balls with energized fists. Akimo then cuts off the head of the sunseeker and helps Rona up who looks around as Akimo speaks,
"If we can't call our chaos, we'll die out here".
Rona then commands everyone,
"Moonwalkers, mask your noses and regroup, everyone to me."
They all take out piece of clothes and mask their noses as they regroup behind her, forty two moonwalkers still standing, against seven sunseekers. And then, Rona kneels before them, takes out a clothe and masks up too as she stands up and faces the sunseekers. Immediately, her eyes light up in flames, and every other moonwalker does the same, except Kora, all set to give the sunseekers hell this time. And then, they charge towards the sunseekers. No battle cry, no weapons jammed against each other to scare the enemy, just an instant charge towards the enemy, as one fierce unit. They pounce on the sunseekers, swiftly taking them down as a team. Rona has her eyes marked on the biggest one, behind all the others. She runs through the rest, heading towards him, with great energy surging through her blade. The sunseeker also prepares himself for the assault and attempts to strike. Before he can even deliver his attack, Rona drives her sword through his head in an instance and pulls the sword out. She makes a diagonal sword strike, cutting him clean in two as his blood spills on her body. She turns back and sees every other sunseeker dead on the ground, and the moonwalkers standing before her, all still in their chaos mode. And then, she sees Kora, standing in their midst, without her chaos, and bleeding from her side seriously. Rona comes to her as the others give way. Getting to Kora, she sees Kora standing before a dead sunseeker, with his head close to his body. She looks into Kora's eyes and asks,
"Did you kill this one?"
Kora replies,
"Yes."
Rona then turns off her chaos and walks away from her as everyone starts turning off their chaos. Bena and Akimo come to Rona and Bena speaks,
"We lost eight moonwalkers today. I told you all that the sunseekers are a problem we should look into, and you said when they come, we'll kill them. We did, but at what cost?"
"Bena, don't do that", Akimo says as Rona speaks while heading away from them,
"You have a problem with dead bodies? Change your line of work."