-Ranika night-blade-
"It's been six days. How have you not grasped this yet? Just let the light speak to you, and you'll understand how to use it."
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm hours away from something I dread, so forgive me for not being able to master a new aura in six days sunna." I replied with a sarcastic sneer.
After the shock that was luna being able to project herself into the visible plain, things started to move far too quickly. I had calmed gwen down after her little scuffle with sunna and had her take tatiana to headquarters for a full treatment of her wounds. After I had told her what I wanted her to do, I proceeded to inform her I would be leaving Nexus and had no idea when I'd be returning.
Let's just say, gwen was not happy to hear that news, and in her words, "If you don't come back soon, I'll be the one ripping you apart." So now we are currently on our way to one of the other major military powers that remains in this desolate hellhole, and its name is Asato. During this trip, all I have been doing is trying to master luna's abilities while also gaining a firmer grasp on caleb's, which to my surprise, are far more complicated than I expected them to be.
"Ranika, you can't keep bringing that up expecting her to understand your curse, let alone believe you. She's only trying to help."
"I- look...I know she's trying to help me master your aura since hers is similar, luna, but I can't focus. It's not just the curse on my mind. We have been traveling nonstop for five days. I'm getting burnt out."
"We will be arriving in Asato tomorrow. If you don't have the basics down by then, you won't stand a chance against the other demon-kin in the city ranika. It's not only them you have to worry about, did you forget that one of the five saints lives in Asato?" Sunna said with her arms crossed. It's not that I didn't appreciate her help, but as a teacher, she's honestly just a pain in the ass.
'Seriously, how am I supposed to hear the light talk to me? To be frank, I'd rather just stick to my force-type manipulations at this point. At least they are simple.' I thought bitterly.
"I won't stand a chance? Have you met me? Luna's aura isn't the only one I possess, not to mention I wield both luna and midnight, and the saints aren't a threat unless I make them one. The only one I fear is my father, speaking of, you are sure he is there?"
I may say that the Saints aren't a threat, but that would be me downplaying their prowess. In terms of raw physical strength, they easily match me. The only reason I don't truly fear them in battle is because they have yet to reach their last step in mastering their auras, if I had to place them in comparison to someone I'd say they are just a step above Commander Gwen.
"I'm certain, after all, that is where I met him. Also, it's that insufferable confidence that'll get you killed for real one day." She replied, her tone alone was all the proof I needed that she had been telling the truth, 'but there's still one thing I need to know and I've waited long enough for the answer.'
"Sunna, you still need to explain to me how you and my father are still alive. I know why I and sophie are along with the other stragglers of our kind, but I was positive that the goddess had killed off all of my clan along with the ones that had been affiliated with us. Let us also not forget the last war between humans and us, which also took a massive toll on our population. " With that one question, the air inside of the vehicle we were in seemed to shift. Even sophie and olivia had paused their conversation to listen in.
"I'll be honest... I had hoped you would've forgotten." She replied it was obvious that she had sincerely wanted to avoid the subject. 'Depending on how they did it, it might not matter how strong I am if my father can just use that method to fix whatever damage I inflict..'
"Please, Sunna, ranika isn't the only one who has been patiently waiting for your explanation. " Luna interjected.
With a long sigh, Sunna sat down and crossed her legs, then gestured for me to do the same. Following suit, I sat down and waited for her to begin.
"I guess I'll uh start from the top? Back during the purge of our kind, your father had gathered a hundred of us, if not more, sophie's clan included. The reason, in his own words, was to "make sure we could persevere no matter what." That was when the horrors began..." her shudder at that final sentence portrayed just how twisted these experiments were. 'I think I can guess why too..'
"He used his blood manipulation on you, didn't he?" I asked, knowing full well that only Sunna and I would know what I was talking about if she also suffered from its effects.
"That wasn't all he used... do you know what it feels like to have your soul and body torn apart piece by piece, then put back together? All for the sake of trying to find a way that would circumvent the past reincarnation method the great night-blade clan had relied on and make our bodies resilient enough to live on..."
"Can one of you explain what your father's abilities are? I feel like not knowing is just going to make this harder for the rest of us to understand. " Sophie said with confusion. After giving sophie an exhausted glance, sunna nodded and started to explain in more detail all she knew about my father.
"Taven night-blade was an oddity. Even among demon-kin, his powers were something all the clan elders feared. Originally, he had started out as weak, and all the elders thought his aura manipulation was based on just trying to control a living target. However, it wasn't until his first duel after years of training that they learned the truth. This was, of course, long before either ranika or I were born." Sunna said, but before she continued, I interrupted.
"I'll make this simple, my father has essence and blood manipulation, at least that's what he possessed back in the day. If you are on his shit list, believe me, you won't be making it out unscathed. So all I ask is that if we encounter him, all of you let me handle it." I said, not wanting her to continue with the long history that was my father's life.
'I've heard it more than enough times, I'd rather not hear it all again.'
"Absolutely not! If he's as powerful as you say, why on earth would we let you fight alone?" Sophie said as she stood up and approached me. "Seriously, I get that you have no fear of death anymore but what the fuck makes you think you'd be alone in this?"
"My father brought not only my mother's death but also countless others because of his incessant need to live longer and break the rules with which all living creatures were bound. If anyone is getting the chance to face him, it will be me."
"You may not get a chance for a few days now ra-ra..."
"What's that supposed to mean sophie?"
"It's midnight, the curse is in full effect starting now." She replied, her face was nothing but sadness. I couldn't blame her, 'I'd feel sad too if I had to watch someone I care about die repeatedly.'
"Well shit, you're right," I replied with a sullen expression.
"So what? Is he just going to die like right away?"
"No sunna, it won't be right away," Sophie said with an eye roll. "It'll just be happening at some point today, we just don't know when or how it will happen."
"Back to the conversation sunna, I need details. Did he mess with only your physical being? And if so, in what way?" I said, trying to steer the conversation towards something that wasn't my impending death.
"Yes and no, he did mess with my body but not nearly to the same extent as he did to my soul."
"You can stop being vague anytime now." Sophie interrupted sarcastically, making her irritation at the length of this conversation apparent.
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, " Sunna went on while side-eyeing sophie. "Whatever your father did to us it forces us to sacrifice a piece of our soul in return for longevity, I don't know the finer details though, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, any information helps right now. I think I have someone I can talk to that will be able to fill in the other details." I replied, just as I was about to say more after seeing sunna's confused expression I was cut off by an automated announcement blaring through the vehicle's cabin speakers.
"Attention all passengers, please strap in or secure yourself. We have encountered an abyss creature nest, do not worry as this is a normal occurrence. For your safety please follow the instructions and secure yourself for rough travel."
"Well you guys heard them, sophie go strap in next to olivia. Sunna, you go with her, and hopefully this won't be that bad-"
'What the? Why is it suddenly dark...?'
"I didn't think you'd be back so soon brother."
"If you are here then that means." I paused for a moment as I collected my thoughts, "Ah fuck, I died again. But how?"
I looked over at caleb expecting some kind of answer, or honestly, anything that would help make sense of my situation. Instead, I only received an out-of-character response from him. "Why are you looking at me, how would I know what happened to your dumbass? I'm trapped in your soul remember?"
"Yeah, yeah, thanks for your Oh so wonderful insight caleb." I replied with a sneer.
-Sophie Flamestone-
"S-sir ranika...?" I heard olivia whisper as we both stared at the mess that was ranika on the floor. Ranika's body looked as though it was run over by a truck, his chest and back had been compressed unnaturally, causing his organs to spill out where his bones had ripped through his skin.
"I don't understand...miss sophie what happened..?" She asked me with tears in her eyes, this was her first time witnessing ranika die.
What makes it worse is that this was one of the more gruesome ones as well, just the look of his now eviscerated body created something straight from one of those old horror movies he used to make me watch.
It had happened so suddenly and violently that I was at a loss for words, I didn't know how to respond to olivia or her worry. All I could do was stand in shock. That was until sunna spoke out and broke the silence, "Are you guys going to just stand there? I could use some h-help."
She hadn't made it to a seat in time either so she also suffered from the sudden shift in the cabin that had launched ranika, thankfully she hadn't been injured too terribly, at least in my opinion.
Her arm had been twisted behind her in a grizzly fashion exposing the bone of her elbow. It was baffling that she hadn't been screaming, even seeing her in pain though I still found myself feeling no sympathy, "can't you just heal yourself or something?" I asked callously.
"I'd rather not, if you had been listening it requires me sacrificing pieces of my soul, which I've already lost enough of. Once my soul is gone so am I." She replied with a pleading tone. 'Of course, he has to die now and leave me to clean this mess up.'
"Olivia go give her a hand please," I said with obvious displeasure.
"Yes, miss sophie." She replied, as olivia made her way over to help sunna though the vehicle was rocked once again, except this time an entire side was ripped free exposing us to the darkness outside.
"Damn, he's already dead? Here I was hoping for some fun, I guess he wasn't all that strong huh?" A deep baritone voice said from the shadows, a hint of disappointment lacing his words.
"Who the hell are you?" I said trying to purvey more confidence than I felt in this moment.
"Sophie....if you ever listen to anything I say do it now..shut the fuck up," Sunna said, she was visibly trembling with fear, but before I could ask what she meant a hand was wrapped around my throat. I could feel the man's calluses scraping against my skin, the sensation was similar to sandpaper as it seemed to burn through me.
Now that the man was in the dim light of the cabin I could more or less see his features, he was of a strong build standing only an inch or so above me in height with dark brown eyes and a strong jawline.
His hair was a simple black, cut down to a buzzcut, his aura was what made me unable to speak. It had felt like the air around me, and only me had been stripped away, making me strain my lungs in a futile attempt to breathe.
"You came to my city and don't even know who I am? I don't know if I should be hurt or angry." The man said with a frown.
"Please Saint Suhan, we aren't here to cause trouble for you or the people of this city." Sunna began to beg, the fear still evident in her voice.
"You may not be here to cause trouble but wherever that accursed man goes trouble follows. So, if you aren't here to cause trouble I'm sure you won't mind coming with me then?" He replied with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Of course not," Sunna replied with a confidence that was betrayed by her body shaking.
"Perfect! Well then, let's be off. Boys, grab his body and bring it with us."
'Boys? But he's the only one here.' I thought to myself before being proven wrong in an unfamiliar fashion. All around the cabin dark figures began appearing from the shadows, the first two I noticed had immediately cuffed both olivia and sunna, and the third shadow had begun picking up what remained of ranika. Whereas the man known as Saint Suhan refused to take his hands off me.
"You must be sophie, his little core keeper and pet. Me and you will be getting to know each other very thoroughly." Suhan whispered in my ear, the threat in his words clear.
'Ra-ra you better return soon.' I thought to myself in defeat, not at all ready to be facing the trials ahead without him.
"Suhan, that's enough!" A familiar voice rang out with authority. "I asked you to mess with them, not scare them shitless."
"Oh come on sis, can you blame me? You promised me a fight with that pretty boy, who, by the way, is currently in tatters."
"You can blame yourself for hitting the vehicle too hard, dumbass. Now let's get them into the city, and get ranika into a deep freezer or something. Any suggestions sophie?"
I tried to look at the familiar voice to reply, but suhan's grip seemed to tighten at my slightest motion, making it impossible.
"Let her go suhan." Doing as she requested he dropped me with reckless abandon, after coughing for what felt like an eternity I was finally able to look at who stopped this maniac.
"Gwenavere?"
"Hello again!" She replied with a playful tone, acting as though what had just transpired was nothing but a prank. "Now, can you tell me how we should preserve my dearest little brother?"
"I uh- usually I just put him in a box but I do like to mess with him by burying him occasionally," I replied with a slight giggle, trying to match her mood.
"Oh, that's perfect! That'll teach him not to leave me behind, right girls? Ah, I guess we should wait, though, huh?" She said while holding her chin before going on, "First things first, we should get out of here seeing as how there are abyss creatures around us."
"Uh....yeah, I agree." I replied, still unsure of how to feel right now.' Just what the fuck is going on?'