Around two thousand battered and wounded soldiers lined up, standing shoulder to shoulder behind Aatish. The heavy sandstorm made it nearly impossible to see the battle in front, even for the best spotters among them.
Every now and then, brief sparks of light flickered in the swirling sea of dark sand. And at times, bright crimson slashes tore through the sky, ripping the clouds apart.
Standing beside Aatish, Ardawan couldn't help but gulp in fear. In all his years, he had never witnessed such chaos unfolding before his eyes. Logically, he couldn't see how the soldiers stood a chance in the battle.
He braced himself, leaning against his axes. "Commandress, what's happening?" he asked, his voice filled with both raspiness and fear.
"Someone else is fighting the sovereign on our behalf."
"But who is it? I swear, I can't see a thing," the old, rhino-like captain grumbled.
"It's Lara, from the family of Luminaras," Aatish replied.
The crowd couldn't help but jeer. The soldiers were enticed by the chance to witness someone as beautiful as the Queen of Light herself, causing them to peer through the storm with even more determination. A subtle smile appeared on Aatish's face.
"Is she winning?" the old captain asked after a brief pause.
"Yes, she is," Aatish replied.
A wave of relief washed over the anxious soldiers.
"Commandress, is Sir Rohaan okay?" Ardawan asked, worry evident in his voice. He had grown very close to the prince during their time together.
Aatish remained silent for a while. "He's fine for now. Keep your eyes peeled."
Ardawan had more questions, but he stayed silent, realizing that victory wasn't guaranteed yet. The expression on the commandress's face told him that something else was happening in the eye of the storm.
The earth cracked open, revealing mangled hands of dozens of stone demons, each as ferocious as the commander who had nearly killed Rohaan. Their stony hands, held together by a flesh-like substance, tore wide open the surface of the earth.
One by one, they emerged, a total of twenty, each wielding a different weapon. Standing in front of the towering abominable crowd was a radiant figure with a graceful sword clenched in her right hand.
Lara wielded Sunfyre, one of the legendary weapons passed down through generations of monarchies and currently in her family's possession. The sword glowed like the sun itself, with hissing tendrils rising from its blunt side. These tendrils reacted to the wielder's level of rage. Against her stood Desire, one of the forbidden weapons according to the Kaairvan Accords. It required a continuous blessing of blood from the wielder and suited the Stone Demoness perfectly.
Lara stepped her right foot backward, facing the twenty giants. She looked as confident and graceful as ever, then spun Sunfyre in a fluid motion, boldly challenging them all.
Behind her, silhouetted against the raging winds, a figure moved with lightning speed, a pocket watch smashed against its body. Following the figure were several creatures of similar stature, all holding pocket watches.
The leader, the first one, halted and gestured for everyone to get ready as they took their positions, moments away from ambushing the Queen, who was too preoccupied with the gigantic demonic foes in front.
He glanced at the pocket watch for a moment. The needle moved a bit, and right before he vanished, his head fell to the ground.
Out of nowhere, darkness sliced through and completely decapitated him. Another slash hit the executioner on the left, and two more followed.
Just like that, in a matter of seconds, only one executioner remained from the group.
Frantically, he searched around with the weapon clutched in his hands. It wasn't that the executioners were weak. In a direct fight, they had the best chances of winning. But the foe they faced, the darkness, was cunning and brutal.
Amawas spun the chain scythe from a distance. It hissed through the air, a sound even the poor executioner heard. But he had no idea what to do or where to look. He couldn't abandon his master.
Finally,
He simply dropped his sword to the ground as a slash cut him in two. The Queen was now free from distractions.
**********
Completely unaware of the chaos and fire unfolding in Shargh, little Isra casually tapped her finger against the crystal window of the bus. With one of the most powerful cores in existence, she was bored to the core.
Every now and then, she glanced behind at Khadija, who was engrossed in conversation with her nerd friends. They were discussing one of the most odious and unholy things in existence, mathematics. It made Isra feel utterly disgusted.
On her left, Haniya was completely absorbed in a game of connect the dots on an old magazine she had just grabbed from the parcel shelf up front. She acted like she didn't hear the girls, who were constantly questioning her about one thing or another. She would get poked from behind and asked some deep philosophical question that no child of Khadija's age should be thinking about, only for Isra to follow up with something equally obnoxious but totally opposite in nature.
Despite the fact that they had gone through some seriously messed up stuff together, witnessing all sorts of crazy things, her little sister and her best friend still felt like they were straight out of a horror movie. Haniya's tactic of ignoring them both had been working for the past hour, but now tensions were about to reach their breaking point.
Isra slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Atleast let me look at it while you play!"
"Newp!," Haniya replied. The old caring and loving Haniya, who used to compose poems for her little sisters, seemed to have disappeared somewhere.
Isra turned her gaze back, glaring fiercely at the nerds. Their giggles were really getting on her nerves.
With a huff, she rested her palm against the window.
Outside, the world whizzed by in a blur of colors and lights. Nadiyapur truly lived up to its name. Every fifteen minutes, there was a water stream with its own ecosystem.
Her eyes fixed on the moving trees, she noticed a white blur among the stalks, keeping up with the bus's speed. It was incredible, whatever it was.
After a while, the bus turned and changed its route, and the blur followed suit. It was faint but visible, yet none of the other girls seemed to notice.
Isra looked back at Khadija, locked eyes with her, and gestured for her to look outside. Khadija understood.
The blur touched the ground and then swiftly leaped into the air.