They ran through the night in the rubble of a once lavish small town. Buildings and people were set on fire, while some were turned to ice. Large beasts unlike any known kind had fallen, destroying half the land and ending the lives of its people.
Loud cries of agony and fear, and screams for help resounded around the place and people ran helter-skelter. Loud rumbles of thunder reverberated through the air, scaring the animals around causing them to topple over people, and run into them.
Strong wind currents blew through the city. Three men - one with two babies in his arms who were crying - and a woman, whose body floated in the air closely beside them, ran in an opposite direction from the rest of the people. Where they were fleeing to, they didn't know yet, but they had to leave.
"Look what you have done to this city! YOU KILLED THEM ALL!" A man yelled with a spiteful voice as he walked towards the three men. Hearing his voice, they stopped in their path and glared at him.
Dragging two chains that were tied to human heads across the ground, he stopped a few feet away from the men with a wry smile formed on his face.
Lifting the chains he made the heads visible to the men. "Do you remember them?" He spoke calmly, glee evident in his voice. The wind blew back his long black hair, revealing his red glowing eyes that seemed to have fog swirling around them.
"You devil!" One of the men spat looking at the heads detached from bodies in front of them. Their comrades were no more.
"Devil? there's no one more fitting to bear that name than that man next to you." The enemy replied with a smile, looking in the direction of the man with the babies in his hold.
"The devil? I like it. I am the devil and you the demon. That's all we have been called our entire lives. Isn't that right, brother?" The man with the babies said. There was this resemblance between the two men, one would believe they were siblings, which was true.
"It would be lovely to see the devil fall at my feet." The man replied. The woman's body was then pulled towards him. Her body getting covered in red fog Slowly.
"Let go of her!" The man yelled and his brother was immediately engulfed in flames. There was no reaction from the other as he burnt.
"Agnar, when will you understand the simple truth? You can't hurt me." The enemy smiled and stepped out of the fire unscathed. Parts of his clothes had burnt off, but he didn't mind it.
Agnar was filled with fury and his eyes began glowing red, just like his brother's. Then he felt a sharp pain in his chest and fell to a knee.
As he fell, the woman's body which was no longer being pulled, fell to the ground as well.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance." Agnar gritted his teeth, panting as he looked up at the man whom he loathed so much.
"Let me handle this." The man by his left moved forward.
"No, Zack, you can't!" Agnar yelled but his friend had already stepped forward. "Stop your father, Demas!" He yelled at the other man, but the other was unmoving. The situation he was in, he had never been in and never once imagined he would.
His body was still shaky and right now, the state of everyone with him, there was no way they could take down the man in front of them.
They had fared well against the men he sent after them, but this man was on a different level in terms of power.
'If only, if only Agnar was at his best right now. If only I could do something, then the future I had seen would have been avoided." He said in his head.
He was too lost in thought, trying to analyze what will happen and if there was a way out. He had seen the future and this incident was revealed to him earlier that day. At the moment, what he saw kept playing in his head.
"We will all die here, we will all die, we will all..." Demas kept mumbling staring at his father who had now activated his full ability.
Zack's eyes now had a blue glow and he stuck his staff to the ground. His body turned into fog and spread around the place aiming for the enemy who just watched him and shook his head slightly.
"You should have remained a writer." He sighed and stretched forth his arm.
The fog that had spread began reverting to its human body. No matter how hard Zack tried to stop it, he couldn't.
In no time, he was back to his human form and his body was being pulled towards the enemy. Pulling out his sword from its sheath, the enemy slashed at Zack. From the crown of his head, the sword sliced through him and his body was split into two.
"F-father?" Demas fell to his knees and placed his hands over his face. "I have always been like this, a coward. I keep letting them die."
"You can self-loathe later. For now, take them." Agnar said and placed his children down in front of Demas. "I will end this."
Demas looked up at Agnar who staggered to his feet with one arm on his chest. His breathing was unsteady and he was losing strength by the minute but, he would still fight his brother even if he died trying.
Before he could say anything, a portal opened beneath him and Demas found himself in another place entirely. He looked at the babies in front of him and held them in his arms. His mind was still a mess. The demise of their comrades, the death of his father the most, he felt sick and just sat on the ground with his back resting on a tree.
*******
"So are you ready to die now?" Agnar's brother questioned with a smirk. "Here's your attack back." He said and a large wall of fire went for Agnar who readied himself. Before it got to him, it was sent back and in an instant, the enemy's body was reduced to ashes. That's how intense the flames were.
In front of Agnar was the lady whose body had been floating beside them.
"Grace? You shouldn't, you need to..."
"You need to leave, Agnar. Take care of our sons." She spoke softly cutting him off.
"I can't leave you here. He will be back."
"Right now Agnar, you can't even cause a scar on his skin, but I can." She continued, ignoring his words. "You promised that our sons would be brought up well enough to face the enemies. If you die, who will help them? Everyone hates us as it is. I am a dying woman. But you, you Agnar, you can guide our sons."
"Grace, I can't..."
"I might not be strong enough to finish him off," she spoke cutting him off again as she stared at a silhouette of a person begin to take form and slowly walk out of the flames.
"I know I am not. But, I know I can do enough to make sure you three are safe. Agnar please leave." She turned back to look at her husband whose shoulders fell in defeat. His head hung low in shame. "Listen to me for once." Her eyes then had a green glow. Her snow-white hair fell over her face.
Strong waves of energy began gathering around her as she looked away from him and at the man she was meant to take down, who had yet to return to his full body.
"Goodbye, my love." He said and opened a portal beneath his feet. He sank into it slowly as he watched his wife about to face off his own brother. A fight that was meant to be his, had to go this way.
"I promise you Grace, they will all pay." He said to himself as a tear rolled down his cheek.