-Trigger Warning/ Strong Language-
27 hours and 10 minutes till detonation
Dawn was about to break in the sleepless city of Lyris. The grand city of Lyris, set on the northern coast of the continent of Thyrne, is one adorned by the culture and arts of the world. During the day, the streets are swarmed with locals and tourists alike. The bustling streets are busy, selling and admiring goods, food, and music. In the afternoon, the city settles a bit. Citizens rest after their day's work, while visitors venture into the streets to relax and rest. In the evening, the city is lit up with a vibrant color as the nightlife comes alive, with taverns and music filling the air.
But now, the once-vibrant city of Lyris has been locked down ever since the terror of the Cinderchildren began. Now, patrolling guards, makeshift walls, and barriers block off every street, avenue, and corner. The city that used to be a gathering point for all things joyous, is now a dark, quiet, and depressing place. The citizens are forced to live a life of isolation and despair, as the guards keep everyone in check, with no one being able to enter or exit.
"Citizens! Heed my words! The fabled Cinderchildren are nothing more but a fable to excuse people to scare people. They hold no substance to us! But rest assured that these foul people will not set foot on our city!" The broadcast said for the nth time.
The Guards were on high alert as the city walls were barricaded by a bioelectric field from the city's reactor core. Which gives Lyris a perpetual energy supply. Lyris was the city of arts, but to those who are ignorant, it was built by a Cinderchild who was forced to be a reactor.
"Are you sure about it?" Wolf asked, keeping his hood on for safe measure, he and Moth were sitting by a dark alley.
Moth's fists were balled and were turning white, his nails were digging in his palms as a few drops of his blood began to drop on the floor.
Wolf watched on as his brother taken by fury, the only way for Moth to calm down... Was not present at the moment. And if Moth was angry, persuading him to stop is akin to adding fuel to the flame.
"The scumbag's memories do not lie. And the coordinates of the previous Cinderchildren all add up. This is where Swallowtail met her end. Or at least, repurposed." Moth said, his voice was shaking with anger.
"Moth..." Wolf could actually feel his brother was getting upset, after all, Moth prioritized the Garden more than his own safety. "Are you ready?"
"I am..." Moth said and he walks for the Front Gate, Wolf sighs and runs toward the eastern rampart.
The Guards were on high alert, especially in the Tower of Rozenfreig, the abode of Moth's target. Moth looked at the Ivory tower, gleaming in the power of hundreds... Maybe even thousands of Cinderchildren.
His older brothers and sisters... Repurposed, terraformed, and violated. Moth couldn't control his anger as he walked towards the gates.
"I walked in a scorched earth, and from the sands, the shadows rise..."
"Stop right there! No one is permitted to enter the Tower!"
"The ashes that sprung from the first earth, there I rose. And from the shadows that emerged, I speak thus:"
"OPEN FIRE!"
Bullets shot toward Moth, but they all turned to dust before it could hit him. Moth's entire body then wrapped itself in dark orange flames, his dull eyes glared at the impressive marble gate.
"Like Moths to a Flame, Death comes for Life!"
Moth focused the orange flame to a condensed sphere of burning energy and shoots it toward the gate. Causing a huge explosion that send gold, metal, and men flying ten feet off the air. The screams of the injured and dying were now surrounding the city.
The bells rang as the whole city began to gear up for a war. But the Eastern side was not responding, from the mountain of slashed throats, Wolf watched on as Moth was causing the chaos he wasn't suppose to be good at.
The city of Lyris, once the city of the arts, was now filled with the songs of burning corpses, the canticles of a thousand injured grunts and shrieks, and the fanfare of orders from the higher ups.
Wolf has watched to the side. The massacre his brother brought. Moth was no ordinary cinderchild, they all knew that. But it was the first time Wolf saw him this... Cruel.
Moth pushed forth to the final gates. His breathing was unsteady, frail, and his body was screaming in pain. He limped towards the cowering lord, a slender man who was shaking to his boots.
"S-stay away you damned demon child! Don't you realize what you've done?!" The Lord said but Moth kept walking towards him. His vision getting dim with exhaustion.
"Look, you need money? I will fund you the cash all the Garden could have! So please, just let me live!" He said.
"Live...? You experimented on my siblings... You armed various mercenaries to attack my family... You tried to sell my siblings to the black market. And you want to live?" Moth said in a tired voice.
"Y-you don't understand! I'm just a pawn! A minion. Killing me won't keep your family safe!"
"You're stating the obvious. You have nothing that I want." Moth said as he buckled down to one knee.
Sensing an opportunity, the Lord pulled out a knife and lunged:
"DIE ORPHAN SCUM!"
But Moth's Flaming Wings sprouted and took out both of the lord's arms. The shock delayed the pain but the Lord cried in anguish.
"My... My arms!!! You piece of shit how dare you! How-"
Moth grabbed the Lord by his mouth and began to tighten, prevented him from talking and let him make only disgruntled sounds.
"You know... I was going to extract your memories. and give you a peaceful death. But... You know what? Fuck it."
Moth sets the lord into a blaze, it wasn't a painless and quick one, but a slow and painful one.
He tossed the lord aside as he tossed and turned around screaming for the pain to stop and grabbed the golden key around his neck. According to the memory he extracted the door was beneath the whole tower, accessible via an elevator in the Lord's Chambers. He activatied the lift and the whole floor began to go down.
The doors sprung open, and what presented to Moth was the greatest art of Lyris. The Molten Heart. A shining globe that supplies the city with power. But it was in fact... The converted energy from countless Cinderchildren.
Their power, was bestowed upon them by either the Silver Sun, or the Golden Moon. Children born in those days were given their abilities, and the Garden's Rite of Purification would either enhance it or erase it completely. However, Moth was born from a different phenomenon, according to the Godfather, he was born under the Scarlet Sun. A 100-year phenomenon where the Sun becomes Blood Red.
The energies of the phenomenon inside a cinderchild were enough to fuel the city for at least ten thousand years. But... Ever since Lyris was founded for more than 500 years, and the cinderchildren of every generation who were in the area went missing, that means the Globe housed at least 1/4 of the children of the Garden within those 500 years.
"I'm here... I'm sorry it took so long to find everyone. Just... Wait for a little while longer."
Moth said as he focused all his rage into his palm, and his lance appeared once more he gazed on the globe and scowled.
"Those who parade their good deeds often do the most evil. We are never like them. Forgive me my siblings. I took so long."
Moth launched his lance forward and it pierced the orb. Sparks began to fly as the mechanism threatened to explode at any moment. But Moth was too tired even to summon his wings.
"May the spark... guide your souls... My siblings."
The machine exploded in a dazzling blast of light. And all Moth saw was a flood of white light.
-00 hours, 00 minutes, 00 seconds till detonation-