_____________________________________

Target: Tactical targets in Rowa Arken 

Date: 12 June 1916

BEAST NAME: UNKNOWN

Target No.1

55th Division on the outskirts of Rowa, travelling west into Arken city last seen overseeing allied weapons interest[Classified] reported dire confrontation with an unknown nightmare creature nestled through a previously captured supply route headed through city square.

Target 1-A

Description unknown, surviving combatants were unresponsive. Intelligence bureau have predicted several psychic capabilities held by previously documented nightmare creatures, NONE HAVE PROVED FRUITFUL.

Appointed danger level: Terror

Safety procedure

Do not engage, Do not make eye contact. Should a unit find themselves in direct confrontation with an unclassified nightmare creature: ABANDON MISSION.

_____________________________________

The dust covered document laid in his hands, still and focused under the subtle warmth of the lamp over-head. It was a report detailing recently declassified mission data following the large scale evacuation organized through Rowa and later Arken, some areas still found themselves crossed over in black ink and wide spaces indicating sensitive information but for the most part, what the 55th division had come to face that day was made well aware, though not enticingly detailed.

'Appointed danger level: Terror'

The inclusion of that sent shudders, the empire had only seven designation levels derived from a nightmare creature's lethality or the difficulty of a current mission. Beast, Dæmon, Devil, Nightmare, Abomination, Terror and Horror. The mere fact that the mission report had placed this anomaly with the second highest classification of danger by empire standards was..horrifying.

Flipping through with pale hands that seemed thinned and bleached from colour, the odd and rather unsettling attempt at an illustration of sorts was clipped along the files middle with boxed numerical classification protocols and a stamp that read quite ominously; 'UNKNOWN'. He couldn't make much sense of what it was, it wasn't a photograph but the vague and senseless drawing of some sort of creature. Looking at it closely, he could make out the subtle outlines of a dark pincer-like appendage, a body cut from a jagged piece of stone and some sort of ghastly face but all decipherable characteristics ended there, it seemed the person writing it had lost all sense of thought and reason, scribbling along the page what were runic letters and cryptic messages.

One such message caught his attention, bringing the lamp closer in an attempt to make out what the faded ink had written, she lightly read out:

"It watches.." He yelped, thrown forward then backwards as he stumbled back into a row of books; crashing into a pile of them with a loud thud and a boisterous laugh up ahead.

"Did I scare you that much, dear?"The teasing voice of a woman echoed in the dimly lit room as he coughed and dusted himself.

"M-M-Miss Cattleya, please don't do that!"the frightened stutters and shallowness in his breath made that request no better than amusing as the woman chuckled, taking a short glance over the shelves.

"Well, seeing as you're here, I expected some bravery, no?" He heard her comment, feeling the heat along his face and ears rise up considerably. It was true that he wasn't supposed to be here, declassified documents, as public as they were still had protocol and procedure. One couldn't wantonly meddle in them at leisure, he slowly rose from the ground, scratching the back of his neck with nervous hands.

"I-I'd finished with your other novels in the library and came looking for something else and..and when I couldn't find you..—"

"You found it apt to go snooping?"She asked, tilting her head with the rattle of heavy jewellery as his panic floored, desperate to prove his innocence as a tired sigh left the woman's lips.

"I should've told you I wouldn't be here so early as usual, knowing you as well, I should've locked these cursed corridors for good measure"She said tiredly, her body shifting and glancing at the other pile of soon to be read documents he had planned and stacked beside him. The majority of the empire's declassified report material made it into the confines of libraries for later scholarly learning leaning into the profession of modern history. Many were a treasure trove of them as well as providing safe keeping and monitored distribution of the files contents, certain qualifications from the library had to be met to keep said documents of which was evident in Cattleya's ownership of so many.

"The battle at Lortne?" brought from his stupor, his eyes followed her, delicate hands that seemed carved from pearl stone gracing the aged documents. Her eyes were glued to a specific document time hadn't treated kindly and unconsciously, out of a burning sensation in his heart, felt the words on everything he'd ever known on the subject sputter out as though a hole had been torn through a water balloon.

"The dire defence for the harbour's in Lortne Bay" She glanced at him, the amused glint in her azure gaze paused those thoughts with little effort, a fact he was most unfortunate to have her pick up on.

"A hundred allied troops sent on a death march through frigid climates and hordes of terrifying abominations for a strategic navel outpost on Lortne's shore's, heroic.." She said lightly, trailing off in the dark. A moment passed, one or two till her hands tidied the files together, "I hope you didn't think such a fervent memory on the matter would dissuade me from my anger, Stardust?"

"I-I would think no such Miss Cattleya!" He voiced, earning a laugh as she made for the shelves beside her. She was..stunning, if humans were made in the image of gods then there was most certainly no sense of equality. No skin so fair belonged to just anyone, not a voice that soothed the ears and melted the heart could muster itself through the throats of any person he'd ever known and no dark hair, corrupted by strands of deep silver that cascaded over slender shoulders in dark waves suit just anyone but herself. They'd known each other for the better part of four years, a scholar and a local teacher of Blackheart orphanage so long ago that it felt a distant memory of eternities past. A ravenous passion for literature had garnered interest, of which a relationship born so early in his boyhood would fester feelings he'd rather have buried somewhere far from the surface.

She motioned for another pile that his body raced to catch up on and started on a nearby shelf beside him, "Did you read all of them?"

He heard her ask, quick to turn his head, "I read a few.."he started, gauging the safety on whether to continue though she knew him well enough that the words simply made themselves known, "The creature descriptions are the most interesting..I erm..want to become a Guardian some day"

There was not much of a response for a moment but a slight, subtle change in the tone of her voice that still wouldn't betray her teasing nature. 

"A Guardian? Ambitious~" She teased with a smile, fox-like in mischief. He couldn't help how it made him feel as his gaze was forced elsewhere, trying by all means not to glance at her in the dim reaches of the light as her voice continued, "Though..you're a smart kid, Stardust. You don't need to fight"

His amber eyes lightly glanced back, "The war'll be over soon, finish school, go to college and build a family somewhere. Whatever's beyond here doesn't concern you" She paused, still smiling, "You could even write a book if you wanted to"

Somehow he felt, through all his nervousness like letting out a scoff, "Please be honest with me Miss Cattleya"

She smiled, "Practice, Stardust, practice"

He groaned, of course it was no secret to her that his love for literature had fostered a great desire to create a work of his own, the embarrassingly many were still a fervent memory of amusement. Silence settled between them both, soon it was just the sifting and sliding of aged paper as each file was placed back in its respective shelf. 

A few minutes passed like this till the last file, being the one he'd been reading earlier was placed back in with the rest, a process with slight pause as Cattleya's eyes seemed to linger on it for a while longer, though without comment. He was mostly used to her odd gestures, she was quiet and reserved on issues detailing the war and held a cold, almost imperceptible icy nature towards the subject in general. On many occasions he wondered what her story was, everyone usually had one nowadays and her's which she kept so close to heart was intriguing. 

"That should about do it, can't stay here for much longer now can we?" He heard her ask, disappointed that he had to leave. The room echoed with the shifting of a chair as he skipped down from a stool and the reading lamp in the middle of the room was clicked off, shrouding everything in darkness for a moment before a flicker of an azure flame lit everything ahead. It was enthralling, runic letters scattered over a delicate arm as fanning flames hovered above the palm of her hand. He nearly forgot how accomplished of a mage she was, following closely beside her as they made their way out. 

It was only after the dark wooden door, crowned in deep obsidian slammed shut and the rattling of keys on the necklace hung around her neck that the silence around them shifted, his eyes focusing on the silver crescent moon swinging above her chest; "Do you always have to wear that?" He pointed out, garnering her focus on the matter.

"A gift, It's travelled many hands"

"Like a heirloom?!" She lifted a brow then chuckled in amusement, "They're not very special, you know?"

 His expression didn't falter, "I never got one, Blackheart said they'd never had any; my parents that is"

They turned left down a corridor as Cattleya stayed silent. It was no secret what had happened to the both of them, many children at the orphanage had stories no different; the nightmares took them. The war's early stages were still the most harrowing things anyone could remember, the ramifications of which were carved upon the hearts of their souls. Her azure gaze shifted towards him, "They're as special as the person handing them to you, I was never close with my family either" he heard her ponder.

"Then why wear it?" he watched her, there was not a blemish of a shift in demeanour, if some lingering emotions beyond what was an oddly disinterested apathy was present then he couldn't see it beneath that smile.

"Tradition, it's rude to throw away a gift"

"Even when you don't like the person it's from?"

"Assumptions based on surface level conjectures is the height of all arrogance"His expression stiffened, well aware of what she was referring to.

"S-sorry" he stuttered, lowering his head as his hands began to fidget with the jarring contrast of a chuckle from above, accompanied by a hand ruffling his void black hair, "Tell you what," she began. The corridor had ended a long time ago, now they stood in the large expanse of winding shelves and rising stairs not a corner vacant in a book.

"I'll pass it down to you" his eyes widened, then receded, "but it's your family's"

She laughed, "Crisis, Stardust! I don't have a child or a sibling, it'll erode away and die with me and what would it have been worth then?" She asked as he thought, desperate for an answer that wasn't needed, her hands patting him across the shoulder with a warm smile, "Nothing, there's nothing special about it to me. I won't rot with something like that, so when the war does end and you're all grown up with someone; you'll wear it for me, 'kay?"

When..not if, she seemed to have an unshakable belief that the war was at its end and perhaps it was. The news outlets detailing shallow reports on the Eastern fronts were far from dire, there was even the growing trend of barrelling victories against the horrors. It was hopeful and to an even greater extent, it was encouraging. Seeing the soft smile of amusement that played along his pale face, she smiled back as a mellow atmosphere of comfort grew between them both. It was only after a minute or so of inaction that the open palm carrying the blue flame in her hands shifted and she suddenly started walking again, "Come on then, Mary'll have a go at me when she hears of this"

He laughed this time, "She's a pile of old bones"

"Still haven't and am never planning to test the validity of that statement" He rolled his eyes and skipped up to her pace, following closely behind. The library was quiet, in and of itself that made it such a riveting experience deep within the recesses of the night. He had Cattleya to blame for such a hobby, if there was a bookworm more dedicated than herself then he'd pay to know who they were. The inclusion for the city to hold a staggering amount of several different libraries within walking distance of children's places of residence was a recommendation on her behalf, it still boggled his mind how a person could ask for that and have it dealt with by the country but she had. Though he'd had an intense love for books, enough to the desire of wanting to write one; the library had never been his thing. No matter how quiet or spacious, there was the added loss of personalization from the book and himself.

They did sell a few, though Mary never gave the money to do so and the crowding of kids and adults alike as many came for a read or two was a little overbearing. For a long time he'd avoided it, until the library's closing hours deepened into the night and on occasion, from the uppermost level of the orphanage; though shrouded in darkness, a little light could be seen flickering in the gloom. They were passing by a few desks and chairs with a few fitted with small lamps and his eyes would occasionally shift to the windows, searching for the one where his own room in Blackheart was visible, it wasn't long either. One such desk and chair sat beside a window that provided a wonderful view of the outside, it was gold for as far as the eye could see with the occasional patches of black. One such patch was not far from view, in fact it was a few blocks short from here, tall and dark, vacant in light yet its structure was engraved so deeply into his soul that it was obvious what it was:

"Blackheart.." He heard Cattleya voice behind him, having paused at the silence of his steps and stared beyond the window with him. 

"It's getting late, Stardust, you should get going" His eyes glazed over that visage and then at the night sky, so clear that the moon's silver image was nearly as bright as a dim star, and then he saw something, small as it was but a sky so clear could never hide it, that streaking bright orange core, burning with an ember tail visible among the stars.

His eyes narrowed, he'd heard of these before as a spark of excitement bubbled in his chest, "A shooting star! It's a shooting star!!"

She heard him shout, glancing at him with a raised brow before sighing in tired amusement as she saddled beside him at the window, staring up at the night sky to where his fingers were now pointed. A bright, burning ball of flame streaked across the night sky. There was beauty in it, enthralling as the ball grew closer and then a second and a third appeared, dozens, hundreds swarming the heavens. His eyes sparkled with interest as the stars grew closer and rapidly changed colour, from a deep bright ember to a blinding hue of red, he turned to her, the latter's eyes shrouded in a sea of horror as a nearly inaudible whisper left her lips before the blaring sirens deafened it all.

"Those aren't stars!"

There was a crash and an explosion of crimson light as the window pane shattered along with the walls, throwing him back. A gale wind of impossible force smashed his body into a nearby shelf as dust and debris scattered into the room, it was instantaneous. 

His body crashed, the wind blown from his lungs as though ripped from his chest and smothered in dirt. Bouncing off of the book shelf and onto the ground as an indescribable pain flourished over him, had something broken? His body flopped onto the floor and rolled across it, limply and without resistance, like a doll tossed across a room.

KRSHHH

He slid across the dust covered floor, grinding to a halt at a desk where he groaned and gasped for breath; Everything went silent…

….

Rubble and dirt crumbled into the room as he breathed in sharp breaths, pained at the throbbing in his back and the numbness in his limbs. It was all so quick, without warning and a moment to react. What had happened? His mind wouldn't dare wander, far too confused to delve into memory or any sensible level of thought. One moment the sky had been filled with dazzlingly bright shards of ember and the next, the world had turned red. He groaned, clutching a part of his torso as his body reeled, grabbed at his head.

"STA…~!!"Everything was ringing, his vision blurred and unfocused.

"STAR—!!!"

"STARDUST!!!" His eyes peeled open, gasping and coughing for breath as his vision began to focus, shattered patchwork of memories coming together. The crimson stars, the sirens, the sirens that were still blaring even now. Unable to move with his body numbed to the ground, a paled face leaned over in worry. 

"Miss—"

"Stardust!? Are you alright?" Her brows furrowed, a growing pain emanating from his lower back as he stared up at the dust covered face of his former teacher. Her Golden eyes seemed to wonder over him, analyzing every bit where an injury could've been before asking directly, "Can you move?"

His gaze grew listless at the question as he shot one of similar importance, "What..happened..?" the memory's were all fragmented, there but a pain to put together. All he could remember were the stars and the flash of red, what was happening? Why was he hurt? Why was Cattleya leaned above him with her head covered in dirt with trickling streams of blood dripping down from an open wound? So much flooded his senses and required answers, one's that ultimately weren't important.

"Can you move?" There was an evenness in her tone and suppressed feelings of anxiety from the question's repetition, enough that he nodded in response.

"Good..that's good,"she smiled, slowly urging his body up. 

There was still a throbbing pain emanating from where his back had smashed against the wall and a warm sensation along his left arm, Cattleya gave him a worried glance, lingering over the area longer than what he thought a small cut or bruise deserved but didn't comment. Her attention seemed drawn elsewhere and with much more tense disposition, making note of his surroundings now that his mind had mostly become lucid, the ruined state of the library made itself known. A gaping hole breached through where the window had been, caked in dust and debris as everything that had been stationed beside it was blown to smithereens. The desks had become mere wood shavings along the floor, bricks caved in from the wall as books, papers, splintered wood and dust littered the floor. 

Horrified at the damage, his eyes instinctively went back to his former teacher, her gaze no different from his though far from frozen still. With the destruction of the wall, the blaring sirens of the outside echoed in his ears as a hand grabbed at his wrist, looking up to witness Cattleya's eyes stricken with fear. He'd never seen her like this before, for the majority of the time he'd spent with her, he'd acclimated his former teacher to an aloof person with little room for expressions besides disinterest or amusement. There were times when they'd conversed on the proceedings of the war in passing, far too young he was to understand the more harrowing bits and still young now though not an ounce of it seemed overly worrying to her; strong willed and hopeful, that's who he'd seen her to be and yet now..

Suddenly there was the sound of something moving from beyond the now receding plume of smoke and debris, bricks and rock shifting as the shadow of a creature rose from beyond the veil. His eyes began to narrow as that shadow grew taller, tendrils of something indescribable, spilling from a stout back as it towered within that shadow illuminated by the moonlight. It was impossible, it couldn't be! His mind raced to deny what most surely shouldn't have been there but as the all too familiar cry of a beast starved of blood and moulded by the voices of countless felled at its hands, there was no doubt about it, that was a—

"Nightmare!—?" He was tossed, thrown back in Cattleya's arms as the thing moved, so fast that it was frightening. The ground at which they'd stood upon moments before was reduced to rubble, ravaged by the flailing amalgamations of horrid flesh that seemed outfitted with blades made of bone. 

BANG!!

BANG!!

BANG!!

The pain from his back worsened again as Cattleya's body crashed against the hard floor, they tumbled and rolled, skidding across the ground as she cradled him through it. With an unsettling jolt, they smashed and grinded to a halt along the brick walls, his body aching as he groaned. Everything hurt, every part of him as though a thousand different pins had been shoved wherever there was flesh. Behind him, he heard Cattleya's soft grunts of pain as he felt her arms work to gently shift himself off of her, his weight having her pinned between the wall and the ground as he quickly tried not making it any harder than it should be, rolling himself off with her assistance.

A rasped voice asked him, seemingly short on breath, "Are..you alright?"

He glanced back, witnessing her pull herself up from the ground with much damning effort. The blow had been fast, far faster than any normal person could feasibly react, without Cattleya's assistance he would most certainly have been dead..

For that, the question was more aptly better for herself though the strength in him waned. Buzzing and flickering lights filled the room in a hue of dread, he pulled himself off the ground with similar difficulty though added assistance as Cattleya pulled him up with the only working arm in her arsenal, the other was limp; dislocated maybe. Her working arm flickered with blue sparks dancing along the surface of her skin till pale blue flames set it ablaze, she gave him a tentative glance, unsure of something.

"Follow everything I say from now on, ok?" He nodded, aware that the opposite meant death. Their moment of reprieve was broken by the sound of shifting rubble and muffled growls emanating from the space ahead of them, heavy footsteps along with rasped breaths echoed through the walls. Her working arm, drowned in flames flew forward with a barrelling haze of blue flames just moments before the harrowing beast leapt from the shadows and struck against its body. She didn't hesitate, nor give a moment's thought as Stardust felt his body grabbed and sent into a mad frenzy.

"RUN!!" A terrifying scream bellowed from behind them, like the cries of a thousand different souls; terrifying and malevolent. They crashed into a nearby door, ducking below a bone-bladed tentacle slashing at the air above them. Slammed shut, Cattleya let go of his wrist, placing her hand on the door and its wooden frame as whispers of inaudible words flooded her speech causing a flurry of sigils and archaic symbols to reveal themselves along the building walls. They could hear whatever was on the other side rushing towards them as a shuddering bang smashed against the wooden door, creaking at its aged woodwork. 

Instinctively he took a step back, fear permeating from his chest with the added desire to run again but the door held, No, the protection sigils held. Her panting body backed away from the door as she threatened to fall, catching herself midway with a groan; "It won't hold.." he heard her comment, straightening herself. Protection sigils obviously wouldn't hold, they were as strong as the person designing them could handle and a currently waning Cattleya could never muster so much.

Another shudder from the door rattled his nerves, her body staggering. "Miss Cattleya—!!"

She held up a hand, moving forward with an expression that seemed drained of color, "The back exit is not far from here"

 The muffled echoes of the sirens outside still blared in the cacophony of the night, on occasion the ground shuddered and the rumbling impacts shook the ground and walls though he wasn't sure which was from the bombardment outside or the beast temporarily barred behind the door. Though it was slightly calm enough that his thoughts allowed an area of wonder, had every one of those crimson stars been one of these harrowing beasts? He wondered and perhaps the thought had flashed past Cattleya's own mind, moving through the corridors with added caution and exhausted gestures.

"That..that was a nightmare right?" They were currently filtering their way through the twisting and winding maze-like structure of the library's corridors, the silence and tension at which they walked in had been suffocating as Cattleya had been silent for a while. He didn't like that, it didn't seem like her, as childish as it was to think that in a situation like this but he was one. 

Sensing this, she half glanced back at him, "Might be your dastardly friend in those lovely reports back in the office"

He shuddered, "D-Don't make jokes like that!" 

He heard her laugh, short, though it eased his nerves. The corridor finally ended somewhere, leading into a short hallway, similarly flickering with waning lights towards what was supposed to be the backdoor exit. There was a shudder along the building walls as this time her body gave in completely, dropping to her knees moments before they turned left towards the exit.

"Miss Cattleya!!!" He quickly rushed to her side, urging to pull her up to her feet, "Are you…—"

His hands wrapping around her arm, wanting to pull her up from the ground were suddenly covered in red, drenched in her blood as a cough slipped past her lips. She was breathing heavily, exhaustive breaths heaving through her lungs. Stardust froze, her skin had paled to frighteningly ghastly degrees, her azure eyes had sunken and become distant, dulling into a deep navy blue. The exhaustion and pain written across her face was palpable but also frighteningly made something clear, she wasn't going to move from here.

"Go…"A whisper of a voice entered his ears but he couldn't hear it, didn't want to hear it.

"One last time, the exit is just down the hall—"

"Stardust…" He became silent, her breathing slowed, slowed to such a degree that it was concerning; terrifying even. A weakness so palpable and real tore at his chest, watching as her delicate hand held his and then the silver crescent moon hung around her neck. She gripped his hands tightly around it and yanked at it, clipping the piece of jewellery off of herself whilst his eyes widened in horror at the implication.

"KEEP IT!!" He shouted, shoving it back but her hands had already slipped from his, a playful smile playing across her face.

"I did say I wouldn't rot with it" She simply answered, chuckling like there was nothing more to it and again the pain clawed at his chest.

"YOU SAID AFTER THE WAR!! Said..when everything was over.." his eyes suddenly grew warm, threatening tears as he gripped the necklace tightly and felt a hand grip at his shoulder. The playful smile was still there, albeit with eyes grief stricken and moist. There were a series of loud bangs and the shuddering of the building walls indicating the creature's rapid approach as her ignited arm gripped his hands tightly and wrapped around the necklace one last time with whispered words he couldn't quite understand till she ushered him away from herself.

"Don't look back.." A haze of pale blue flames set the room ablaze as the wall not far from where they knelt was blown to bits, a flurry of wooden splinters clouding everything ahead as a mass of bone bladed tentacles flailed menacingly through the flames. The creature roared, screamed, shouted even. It was all an unsettling mixture of them all, moulding the voice box of a cold blooded killer. 

Cattleya glanced back, guarding him behind her as she staggered to her feet, "RUN, STARDUST!!"

He hesitated, for a flashing moment he reconsidered, wanted to stand and have them both leave, but the gaze that stared back at him, now dulled, exhausted and bitter but still as vibrant as ever, wouldn't let him. Of course, it was simple, a hindrance and a stain on her hands if he died here today. There was nothing he could do, Cattleya had already been an exceptional mage, far greater than any heights he thought he could ever reach even when he'd reach his own adulthood and yet here she was, cradling on death's door. He gritted his teeth and in the next moment he was sprinting, running down the short hallway where a gaping hole of a breach to the outside sat where the exit door should've been but he didn't pay it much mind, run, live, survive; Never look back.

He breached the outside with rapid steps, nearly tripping on his own two feet as he stumbled over scattered debris and kept running. Faster, till the roads and streets became unrecognizable, he didn't stop. Eventually moments passed that felt like an eternity of ceaseless running, his breathing finally becoming erratic as he stumbled and crashed to his knees; breathless. 

Panting as he struggled to catch his breath, he threw himself to his feet again, stumbling again to his knees. He was exhausted, scared and the tears that had fostered within had begun streaking down his face. Don't look back, Don't look back, Don't look back. It sang in his head like a mantra, desperate to heed its wishes as he struggled forward. 

The blaring sirens still rang in the night, stars of a now frightening shade of red still streaking the night sky to the city below. He took a terrified glance at his surroundings, buildings blown and covered in cavities, cars flipped, a corpse or two lining the shattered tarmac road and the rumble of the ground as yet another beast made contact with the earth. Beyond that, there were rising pillars of black smoke breaching into the night sky and the distant screeches of beast's and men echoing along with the sirens from all directions. 

Hell…

There was no better description..

His body rose and panted in the middle of the unfamiliar street, silent except for the echoes of horror in the distance. He had to run, keep moving at the very least but not a path forward seemed any different, was Cattleya still alive? Suddenly the even larger fear of her safety froze his body stiller than ever, she should've ran with him, why didn't she do it!? He found himself crying out within his head, afraid, afraid of everything. 

'Don't look back! Don't look back! Don't look back!!!' He shouted it in his head, desperate to swallow up the fear though it wasn't helping. The sound of shifting rock and debris suddenly pierced his ears as his gaze shot towards it, the source and felt a lingering hope of finding life, seeing someone..something human. Desperate for that, his mouth opened to call out to it but halted midway.

It isn't human, Stardust…

His breath caught in his throat, tentacles rising from the nearby wreckage of what was once a humble clothing store. He couldn't believe it, his heart began beating erratically, cold sweat pouring down his neck and back. Another beast, he stepped back, slipping and falling to the ground with necklace in hand. Why, why, the tears poured as the terrifying abomination rose from the ground and then he saw it, saw it all in its most terrifying malevolence. There, ahead of him and with a stature that stood on two legs, arms that scraped the ground with terrifying claws and skin, covered in thick matted blue furr with its fleshy at some areas hanging and flailing in the wind, was a nightmare creature. Its head which held a patchwork of skin and bones accompanied by curved horns laid its blind face squarely in his direction, a gesture no different than having death stare right at him. It was death, by no means did he have the strength to run, stranded where he was on the floor, pitiful and pathetic.

The thing screeched, roared something even as its bone bladed mass of tentacles lining its back like a terrifying mane, kicked and tossed at the rubble before its feet as it walked towards him. All he could feel was terror, all he thought was of death, all he could muster was a weak willed breath. The next moment, the creature was before him, towering him in all its terrifying glory. A broad chest rose and fell as teeth the sharpness and ferocity of trained swords bared themselves in front of him though it didn't move, glaring at him without eyes but clearly aware that he was there.

This was it, where he'd die. Even at the expense of his former teacher's selflessness, all he could do was survive a meager few minutes. The world seemed to stand still, the beast eyeing him without worry like it knew of his plight, well aware that what it faced was not a foe but a harmless meal. And then its mouth began to open, a breath drenched in blood wafting his nostrils as it grew closer, slowly and of deliberate mental torture; everything was going to end here.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!!" There was a shout, the voice of a man catching his attention as the beast's body halted, moments before an explosion smashed at its head. A deafening scream rang in his ears as blood splattered in all directions, blown back a few steps as flailing bladed tentacles writhed all over the air. He looked on in shock, it'd been hurt, its head shook violently before glaring forward to witness what was a face burnt black and blown on its left half. The next moment was even more shocking, bright flashes from his flank echoed with the sounds of gunfire as the creature was pushed back, its tentacles shooting forward and coagulating in the form of a shield of flesh.

Suddenly, the source of the gunfire became rapid moving footsteps as the tentacles shot forward, dodged and grabbed by a person dressed in a deep brown trench coat with a pistol in hand. A screech and a terrifying bellow echoed as the sound of gunfire and a bright flashed emanated through the hellish night, spilling over the beast's head in four shots..

The air grew bloodied, wafted by an alien stench of blood and the sound of bloodied gurgles piercing through his ears as the bladed tentacles flailed once in the air, uncoordinated and without dangerously lethal precision, like the involuntary movements of confused nerves.

CRASH!

BANG!!

The terrifying body of the monstrosity crashed onto the ground, limp..dead. Silence befell the area, his rising chest and beating heart were still erratic, there was still fear permeating through his veins, still uncertainty and disbelief that paralyzed him to the floor. Ahead, with their back facing him above the bleeding corpse of the abomination, a pistol in hand and a submachine gun slung along their shoulder was a man. After a moment, the man moved, striking his senses to move back but on the side of the deep brown trench coat he wore, a shoulder pad to his right was visible as he glanced back, the insignia of a burning sun, equipped at its side with spread wings stared at him.

His eyes widened but his suspicions were only made true as the man's head, covered by a gas mask with lenses of a deep shade of red and a grey helmet stared back at him, there was no doubt about it, it was a Guardian…

"Are you alright?" The muffled voices of a man echoed from beneath the mask as he jolted, quick in stuttering an answer.

"Yes S-Sir!" He only laid his eyes back on the monster's corpse, apathetic and silent. For a moment longer he simply stood there as Stardust simply sat, too shocked at the revelation that he'd been saved and even more so by a Guardian.His breathing began to slow as his mind quickly raced back to Cattleya, help had arrived, the country's military was pushing back!!

"Sir please! My teacher is not far from here, t-there was one of those monsters and she told me to run—"The man's body grew tense, not glancing back but answering him still.

"Where..?" There was a terrifying sense of danger in the tone he took, a dreadful lethality as though desperate for something. He was nearly drawn back from answering but a second later could spell Cattleya's death, "T-The Library sir!!"

The man paused, glancing back in silence and then the tension was withdrawn, "There's nothing there kid.."

The world paused again, confused at the statement, what did he mean? Cattleya was still fighting, they had to save her now, help had arrived, was that why he was saying nothing was there? He hoped, lowering his head as he asked through strained breaths, "What..what do you mean..?" his eyes became warm again, they stung and perhaps the tone of his voice gave it all away because there was no pause this time.

"Cattleya was it? I'd met up with a woman burning in a library, barely alive.." he paused, turning towards him, "That's how I found you...before she died"

Silence…

He felt his mind grow numb, his body coursing with a slew of indescribable emotions too intense for him to understand. Everything, everything halted, a burning sensation in his chest grew, anger, anguish, sorrow? He couldn't tell, his thoughts were blank.

"Sorry, kid.."The man's voice echoed, he barely reacted to it, unconsciously asking a simple question.

"Aunt Mary? Blackheart..?"He remained silent, instantly Stardust knew why, dead most probably.

"You're the only person we found" His head raised to that statement, the grief gnawing deeper.

"In..in the city?" There was a pause, a long and frightful pause.

"In the country…"