Claire died.
Watching it happen, Paul lost it; Paul flipped.
"Rargggh…!" He growled like a beast.
"How dare you?!" His voice blasted through the veil of night like an anvil made by Gods, striking again and again in ringing echoes as it roared with power fueled by hatred and anger.
Paul completely lost it, becoming overwhelmed by rage.
His face became as cold as ice as he stared at the limp body of his mother, eyes burning so red they seemed capable of burning holes through her body.
It was right at that moment that Sophia finally came back to her senses.
She didn't come back to her senses because she suddenly recovered from the effects of meeting assassins that could end her life in an instant. She came back to her senses because of her connection with her twin brother.
At this moment, Sophia got such strong feedback from her connection with her brother that her whole body and subconscious reacted to it.
Her eyes widened and finally conscious of her actions, she felt pain at first.
Looking down, she discovered the source of the pain.
It was from the firm grip of her brother that was now squeezing her delicate hands at this moment. 'Is this…, Paul's hand?' She thought, stunned.
She couldn't take her gaze off immediately because of something familiar.
Bzzz!
There seemed to be a slight pressure in the air at this moment as what seemed like a haze of wine-colored energy diffused into the atmosphere.
Sophia recognized this energy. It was this same haze of wine-colored energy that always appeared whenever her mom was overwhelmed by anger.
'Is Paul angry?' She thought and right at that moment, she made a connection; her eyes widened. 'Is Paul a Dionysus?'
'No, mom said he's a Cosmopolitan'.
'Is he like dad? A Dionysus who was also acknowledged by another Divine God?'
These thoughts went through Sophia's head but they could not stay because of the nature of this moment.
She could tell that this was no ordinary anger. Through her connection with her twin brother, she could feel his pain, sorrow, anger, and hatred.
'What happened?'
"Brother, you're hurting me," squirming slightly, Sophia tried freeing herself from his firm grip and it was at that moment that she saw it.
Sophia looked and finally saw her mom.
Claire was still standing, her eyes wide open, the same fiery and defiant look on her face but Sophia could tell immediately.
There was no more life in those eyes.
She could tell so fast because this woman was her mother.
"Agh!" She groaned immediately as she finally understood the reason for her brother's agony and rage.
Sophia didn't react like him though; instead, she broke down completely.
Tears flowed down her eyes uncontrollably. "Mom!" She cried.
"No, mom, please don't leave me, you promised to teach me how to control my powers after I become a Dionysus".
"Mom, please! Please…!"
Her words seemed to trigger something in him.
Through her connection with her twin brother, Sophia could tell that his emotions of pain, hatred, anger, and sorrow suddenly intensified but she was too sorrowful to care until she was forced to care.
Sophia was forced to care because of the sudden aura around her brother.
CRACK!
Out of nowhere, lightning appeared in the sky and then thunder struck.
Sophia looked up and she was stunned. Somehow, the clear skies of the night suddenly changed, now turning cloudy and gloomy like an abyss.
Sophia looked around, at the nearby grass and trees. For some reason, she felt like the trees were cowering in fear, drying up.
She was shocked. 'W-what is this?!' She thought in horror.
BZZZ!
Sophia was suddenly pushed back to the ground by an unknown force.
Looking up at her brother in shock, she could no longer recognize him. There was a gray energy now circulating around his body plus the wine-colored energy and it was what pushed her back.
Unlike the harmless wine-colored energy, this new gray energy was tyrannical as it seemed to influence the atmosphere itself!
Around Paul, the world seemed to be crumbling down.
Staring at her brother in horror, a voice suddenly rang in Sophia's mind, her mom's voice. 'Your brother, he's a Cosmopolitan'.
Sophia stared. 'Is this a Cosmopolitan?'
'Is this what the rage of a Cosmopolitan looks like?'
"How dare you kill my MOM?!!!" Paul's voice blasted like thunder as he clenched his fists tightly, his nails tearing into his flesh and drawing hot blood.
The blood made him yearn for murder.
The blood made him yearn for carnage.
"How dare you?!"
"I will kill you!"
"I will kill every one of YOU!!!"
Unlike what Sophia expected, the assassins didn't attack immediately as they seemed to be wary of her brother's current state.
Instead of attacking, they rather hurdled together defensively and again, their leader spoke.
"He already entered the Cosmopolitan State!"
"It doesn't matter that he's just an apprentice, he's dangerous".
"We need to use the relic".
"Protect me while I invoke it's power".
4 of the surviving assassins surrounded the last one who was their leader protectively as this assassin in black unwrapped a graven image of an idol.
It was a graven image of a short golden spear.
Immediately after this graven image was unwrapped, clasping his hands together in a prayer stance, this assassin started invoking a prayer.
While this happened, Paul finally moved.
"All of you need to die!"
"You need to DIE!!!"
He had no weapons, Paul charged in with just his body and his hands but yet for some reason, seeing him charge in, the 4 assassins reacted fearfully.
Sophia had never seen anything so strange before.
Yet, as Paul charged in, a third party suddenly appeared.
Was it an answer to Paul's call for help since? No one knew but Sophia was the first to notice the lean man in black who tied a scarf across his face, hiding his features and identity.
This man ran in-between Paul and the assassins, then he raised his hand and spoke. "Paul Arrakis, stop!"
Paul stopped.
"Listen to your mother's last wishes".
"Honor her death".
"Take your sister to safety".
Paul stopped, he seemed to be struggling against something inside of him as the look in his face alternated between pain, hatred, and rage.
Sophia was stunned, the assassins were stunned, so they just watched.
"Paul, please, stop".
"Ah, noooo!" Paul grabbed his head but that action alone was all it took; the lean man closed the distance the next moment before hitting him on the neck. It was a clinical strike.
Paul fainted.
Catching him before he could fall down, this lean man dashed towards Sophia's position. The girl didn't need him to hit her on the neck.
It already took her all to stay conscious since.
She fainted and carrying Paul on one hand despite his lean figure, this man carried Sophia in another hand and dashed into the night.
"Stop him!" The assassins finally reacted.
That night, a relentless chase started.