Kitt and Vylet rushed through the park district. The area was spacious and well-groomed, with the trees spaced just far enough to shade those below from the rays of the sun above.
This place... Vylet thought as she rushed through the empty area. Is quiet...
Click!
Vylet pushed Kitt to the ground as a rifle blast suddenly resounded through the forest, causing the birds to take flight and fly off.
"Smart girl," a voice laughed.
Kitt and Vylet watched as a figure rose from the shadows upon the ground. Tall and lanky, he was middle-aged at least, his brown hair graying. He wore all black, accompanied by a black eyepatch over his left eye.
"But you'll never outrun me, the Shade Star!"
Vylet slung her bow off of her shoulder and nocked an arrow. "Oh, yeah?" She smirked as she drew the bow. "You sound a bit overconfident."
She fired just as the man fell into the shadows once more, disappearing.
"Seems like you're a little lacking, girl?" the Shade Star laughed. "I watched your friend fight my comrade. He fought better than you ever could!"
Lacking, huh? Vylet gritted her teeth.
Kitt let out an abrupt shriek. Vylet turned just in time to see him sink beneath the shadows.
"Kitt!"
"Want your friend back, eh?" The voice of the Shade Star echoed through the tranquil woods. "You're not as savvy as your friends are. You stand no chance!"
He's right. She thought about her friends. Philos' drive, Joseph's instinct, Alphonso's powerful fists.
"Vylet!" Kitt screamed from above. Vylet looked upward to see the Shade Star, torso extending from a branch, his hand holding Kitt by his shirt, dangling the teen over the ground far below.
"Let him go!" she screamed.
"What?" the man laughed. "Are you a bad shot? Can't take me down from there?"
Vylet reached into her quiver, taking five arrows into one hand.
Vylet, she could remember Pal's words. You're the oldest, remember? You've gotta be strong, for them, for you, and for any future you wish to protect. Listen to me...
"Good shot, huh?" Vylet's eyes glinted as she smiled.
'You aren't a good shot,' Pal would always say.
Vylet nocked all five arrows at once.
"Try me, you son of a—!" she roared as she let the arrows fly.
"Five at once!?" the Shade Star gasped.
'You aren't a good shot, Vylet...' In her mind, Pal smiled. 'You're...'
"Good shot?!" Vylet scoffed. "I'm the best there ever was!"
The arrows flew through the air, slicing through the branches. The Shade Star shrieked as he let Kitt fall and dove back into the shadows upon the branch.
But it was too late, for as soon as he dove in, the fifth arrow split the branch in half at his base.
Vylet rushed forward, her arms wrapping around Kitt before he hit the ground.
"What did you...?" the young man said as blood rained down, followed by a body, which collapsed upon the ground with a sickening crunch.
Vylet looked at the lifeless body of the Shade Star, an arrow stuck dead between his eyes.
"I told you," she turned to Kitt with a smile. "Didn't I?"
Kitt smiled back.
It was then that the sirens rang.
"It's the—!" Vylet began.
Kitt finished her thought. "...the Juggernaut is starting?! Now?!"
The Juggernaut sent a burning sensation coursing through Astrid's veins, causing her to grit her teeth as it seared her blood.
She screamed, but she couldn't scream loud enough to justify the pain.
O, child of mine own...
The voice resonated in her mind. It was dark, dreadful in tone, as if she were being whispered to by some sort of unholy figment of her imagination.
Child of Transgression...
Do you hear my voice...?
Do you feel my wrath...?
Astrid could feel the pain increase with the volume of the voice in her mind.
Burn them! Burn them! Burn them! Burn them!
The voice was thunder cracking, a lightning that jolted her whole body.
O, child of mine own blood. O, Child of Transgression. Burn this world to the ground!
Gilliam had finally healed, the gruesome burn in his abdomen repaired by the mysterious powers of Sir Smith.
"I guess I should be thanking you," Gilliam said, smiling, frost seeping from his mouth, his eyes focused in the direction of the sirens. "I guess it might be my last act of gratitude.
"Save it." Sir Smith interrupted.
There was a silence between them.
"Your brother's weapon," Sir Smith finally said. "It is powerful?"
"Yes. But, he's mad." Gilliam's voice was low, almost wistful. "He wasn't always that way. It was living as a slave that did it to him. The life of a slave to the Angels isn't necessarily healthy. I've seen many a man be driven to insanity."
Sir Smith was silent once more. "Tell me, Gilliam," he said again. "You and your brother both hold a power gained from eating the heart of an Angel. Did you?"
Gilliam smiled. "Eat the hearts of our masters. "Yes. Yes we did."
"I see, so—"
"Gilliammmmm!" Krista wailed as she rounded the corner in her goat form, Uri clinging desperately to her back. A small army of soldiers were hot on their heels. "Help ussssss!"
Gilliam looked at Sir Smith, who merely turned his head.
The Black Rose smiled. "My little goat."
"There's too many!" Krista cried as she rushed past him.
"It's the insurgents!" a soldier, presumably a captain, exclaimed. "And they have the Angel with them."
"Sir Smith!" Uri said as he dismounted the goat. "Where's Philos, what happened?"
Sir Smith said nothing.
"So," Gilliam said, smirking as he stepped forward to face the army. "I see you've been bullying my little goat here?" He raised his hand and clenched his fist. "So who do I kill first?"
The soldiers halted, shifting nervously.
"What are you doing, men?!" the captain commanded. "Kill them!"
Suddenly, the soldiers all cried out as they charged.
"Bad choice." Gilliam said.
In an instant, a sheet of ice exploded from Gilliam's feet, speeding forward at an incredible speed.
The soldiers screamed, then fell silent.
"Wh-what?!" the captain cried out as he fell to his knees. Before him, his soldiers stood like statues, wrapped in crystal. "What did you do?!"
"Death is cold, isn't it, captain?" Gilliam smiled. "Now get out of here before I freeze you to death, too!"
Gilliam turned to Krista as the captain scurried off, afraid for his life.
She smiled. "Thanks, boss."
"Of course!" Gilliam laughed. "A shepherd cares for his flock."
"Where's Philos?" Uri exclaimed. "What happened?"
Everyone became silent, and Gilliam avoided the young boy's eyes.
"He was taken." Sir Smith said after a pause. "But I have a feeling that he is about to receive a visitor..."
Philos was in darkness, his hands chained to the dungeon wall. The blackness was constant, with no light from any source.
But he couldn't help the strange feeling. Someone or something was watching him; he knew it.
"I know you're out there! Show yourself."
"Now, now!" a voice cackled in the darkness. "A bit impatient, are we?"
"Who are you!" Philos raged. "Show yourself."
Suddenly, there was a faint black light, a small glow in front of him. Philos narrowed his eyes. Before him, he could distinguish the figure of a man. But this form was more than just a man. Watching this phantom, whatever it was, was like watching a starry night.
Two eyes opened to reveal bright, blood-red eyes above a crescent smile of jagged white teeth.
What...? Philos felt his blood freeze.
The figure smiled widely, the stars along his skin colliding into bright sun flares.
"Hello," it said. "Hello, Philos Vesper..."