Chapter 10: Before Light – Remastered – Episode 10

Author's note: A new theme is made for Before Light - Remastered, now on Youtube. Feel free to have a listen while reading, cheers! Youtube URL:https://youtu.be/VfedmXxtSE4

 

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  Heading down the corridors, passing repair droids enhancing the walls and putting their fellow droid comrades back in one piece, Firren walked forth in grave steps, leading the one behind him with much pressure as the reverence he so bears toward this man, this muscular gentleman, still broad and towering without his Starbreaker boulder armor, this high ranked general maneuvering under The Lord of the Light and sky’s direct orders, following behind him like a mountain closing in on him.

 

  Call him Solo, First Generation Starbreaker, short green of hair with thinly slanted red eyes that slit through others’ thoughts; one of few Elites of the Lord of Light, being the Wall of the Capital, pushing back all assailants of Dark at the age of the First Scourge, earning him the rank of Defender of Civilization, General of the Star Armies.

  Those exploit may be long behind him, his prowess and skills have only doubled since the day of his prime, able to stop a Starbreak sequence with just that one punch, Firren surmised this man, this general, might not be here just to slay some petty Demons. There must be something more to this mission this General so speaks of, considering the orders he receives from the one and only Lord of The Skies. Firren could sense through his intuition as a Starbreaker, that their meeting with him here, was not just a merry coincidence.

 

  Firren wished to ask him, asked this Senior who had trained him ages ago, of his mission that he spoke of moments ago that led him here to this abandoned city, but as a junior and a mere commander of just an average Airship, Firren thought its best not to exceed his rank.

  “ Ahh! Well met, Captain!” Firren heard the Starbreaker General greet as Firren quickly pull himself out of his thoughts, to face Captain Bradson walking out of the infirmary with heavy steps, the old man’s expression darker than usual as he greeted back, switching back to his benign mannerism.

 

  “ Captain Bradson, it’s an honor, sit.” General Solo amiably reached out his big hand, putting a welcoming smile up his well-chiseled edged jawline, shaking the captain’s rough hand in his.

 

  “ The honor is ours, general.” Bradson greeted back, his voice as usual at first hearing, yet apparently aghast to Firren’s ears.

 

  What happened while they were off subduing Seito’s rampage??

 

  Did the intruding Demon actually cause harm, to the children? To… Yuri…??

 

  Impossible, Firren doubted his own assumptions, even though she may be block-headed sometimes, but that doesn’t mean Yuri is incapable of protecting herself. She had learned quite well and the basics Firren had fused deeply into her training, Firren is confident Yuri would not fail in one-on-one combat against this intruding Demon, a Grade Alpha Dark Unerva, Firren recalled as the databases so described.

 

  But the expression on Bradson’s ashen grim stare seemed to imply otherwise.

 

  “ We owe you too much for opportune assistance in these trying circumstances, General Solo.” Bradson led the general and Firren away from the infirmary, despite Firren’s eagerness to enter.

  “ If there is anything we may be of help, pray do let us know. Betelgeuse will spare no ammo in your aid.”

 

  “ You flatter me, Captain.” General Solo chuckled, his eyes thinning at the notion of repayment.

  “ That reminds me, I have yet a mission that requires my acquaintance at the North. I’d better be on my way. Many thanks for your hospitality.”

 

  “ Well, what merry coincidence that is, General.” Bradson Captain awed, as Firren sensed the old man feigning his surprise.

  “ We too, are bound to the North. Why not we aid you along the way, providing you with a swift ride and restful shelter”

 

  What? Firren had never heard of them heading to the North in all of the Captain’s plans.

 

  “ Darn splendid, I must say!” Solo laughed with a clapping of his large hands.

“ Then accept this kindness I shall. Many thanks, Captain. I shall report back to the Capital as soon as I should—Oh, but wait…”

  General Solo then produced his holographic communicating device, with a thin sneer lowering down to the captain’s level with an unwonted inspection.

  “ It happens that your ship hasn’t been connected to the Capital. Must have been the Dark Unerva’s assault, am I right?”

 

  Firren blanched, knowing quite well that Bradson Captain and crew had been deliberately hiding from the Capital all this time. Can it be, Firren’s deduction slowly formed, that General Solo is here…Under the Lord’s command to keep close scrutiny over their plans…?!

 

  Bradson Captain nodded in his usual benignant demeanor.

“ My apologies, General. The androids are looking into it right away. The connections shall be up in no time.”

 

  “ Splendid.” Solo smiled gallantly. “ Then I shall repair my armor and ready my belongings. If you excuse me, Captain, Firren.”

  And the General left with a bow, walking down the corridor with Light-heart-pounding thumps.

 

  “ …Are you sure of reconnecting to the Capital, Captain?!” Firren whispered urgently as soon as the general was far out of eavesdropping reach.

  “ The Capital would know of Yuri—”

 

  “ We need the Capital’s aid more than ever, Firren...” Bradson replied, sounding as if his Light heart was dug out of his chest and squashed in front of his eyes.

 

  “ It’s…Yuri. She is…”

  And Bradson Captain explained in pained words what had happened when they were all occupied and trapped at the happenings that had taken place.

 

  Firren’s fist clenched harder and harder, his fingers piercing into the flesh of his palm the more he listened, the more he learned.

 

  

  

 

…

……….

  Longing for sleep, yet drifting between conscious and slumber, Yuri wasn’t sure if what had happened was just a part of a dream. A dreadful, horrifying dream.

 

  Yet it was the opposite.

  

  What she had experienced, the adventures, the training, the confidence, the searching…those of hope and color were the dream, and here, lying on her bed in the dull grey room alone, is her reality.

 

  Nothing is ever the same to her now.

 

  Images of the children, and herself lying motionless in the snow haunted her the moment she closes her eyes, and whenever she opens them, she would see the looming shadow of someone she thought she knew, cowering over her, locking her limbs, petrifying her senses, forcing Yuri to shut her eyes to escape the fear, the torment.

 

  The memory.

 

  It has become a curse.

 

  Like the past that Lima tried to tell her.

 

  If only she had listened.

 

  If only she had stopped looking for the past, her memories…Mom……

  Holding the shattered wristband in her trembling hands, Yuri wept, curled up to a side under the covers, wishing she could summon her armor that would somehow protect her from all that terrified her, yet nothing came. The Starbreaker armor, the suit of her mother, forever lost inside the broken shards of the wristband.

 

  At least she had saved the past, at least she tried…right…?

 

  He needed her…right…?

  But where is Vitas…Vernui now…?

  If only she had listened… to Lima…

…

  Even after being rejected more times than she could remember, Lima stayed, sitting outside Yuri’s door, knees bent, arms wrapped over her face, hiding her sorrow as she waited.

 

  Waiting for Yuri.

 

  A thin melancholy whine made Lima rear her gaze, face to face with the puppy, the wolf cub, The Dog, of which came to this ship alongside the emerald Starbreaker, who was long gone, with the wind.

  Lima would have thought this wolf cub be of Demon spawn considering what its master had done, yet Lima was sure if it had not been this critter sitting obediently now before her, Yuri would have perished.

 

  For it was this Wolf cub that saved Lima from the trap of the fake infirmary the day before and led her to Yuri’s side.

 

  Yester noon, As Lima searched for Yuri in the darkened Betelgeuse infirmary, she failed to notice that the dark was not of shadow, but of Demon substance shrouding the room to confuse, to hinder her path, and to devour her whole, and it was this wolf cub, like a bolt of white lightning, leapt out to Lima’s aid, biting the demonic film, ripping an aperture for Lima to realize what the darkness had been hiding behind was the true infirmary. Together, with the juvenile creature’s fangs and her blade of light, Lima forced her way out of the ebony veil and plunged her saber right through the pretender’s chest. 

  The wolf cub too, had bit the Demon Starbreaker on the ankle, trying to prevent the man from escaping, yet to no avail.

 

  Lima scooped up the young animal into her arms and petted it gently, caressing the soft white coat, letting the fur soothe her troubled mind.

  Sniffing all over Lima’s hair, the wolf cub licked Lima’s face gently, wiping away the tears for her. That was when Lima noticed, under the thick coat of greyish-white fur, around the animal’s neck, was a thin but evident leash, of tangible, elastic nano-metallic fiber, glistening with runes Lima could not transcribe.

  Lima quickly held the bewildered critter close, observing the collar around its chubby neck in deeper speculation.

  “ Don’t move.” Lima bade, but the wolf cub paddled its paws, fighting back the tickling of Lima’s fingers around its neck.

 

  The material of the collar Lima had seen many similar forms, like those of Starbreaker armor, yet more primitive in design, and much more…flawed, as if rusted and tarnished through time, giving out an old familiar feel upon its coarse surface. Where had she seen this kind of material before?

  And the runes, upon it, gleaming under the rust. Those were letters, Lima surmised, memorizing the distinctive runes carved alongside the circular nano lining, forming a word Lima could not comprehend no matter how she turned the letters around, upside down, sideways, positioning the puppy in various unorthodox handling methods. 

 

  Sighing in defeat, Lima placed the wolf down as it sat a distance away from Lima, eyeing the little girl like she just offended its wellbeing.

 

  “ Why do you come here, onto this ship?” Lima asked the canine out of the blue, sensing through the critter’s eyes that it could understand her speech. This creature could even look through a Demon trap better than her.

  “ Are you with that Demon traitor Vitas?”

 

  The wolf cub whined, lying its belly low on the floor with a misunderstood gaze that anyone would forgive. Even Lima’s stern inquiry wavered at the gaze and softened her heart, just a little bit. 

  “ I know you follow people through the scent you smell,” Lima spoke to the puppy, which she normally would not do, but there was no one close by at this point.

  “ That’s why you knew where Yuri was, behind the veil. You knew mine as well, that’s why you knew where I was when I am in danger…but, how is it possible? Nothing survived…”

 

  Stopping short, Lima could but fix her riveted gaze onto the small animal, eyes wide in disbelief, and in denial.

 

  A memory flashed through Lima’s mind the moment she gave it a thought, a far away sensation, of her hand, caressing through a wave of dark grey fur, large and soft, docile and warm— quickly Lima stood up in utter realization, the confused puppy in hand, face to face.

  Impossible…Lima tried to convince herself.

 

  Can it be…Can it be…that this creature, is…just like me…?!

 Without wasting any more seconds, Lima rushed down the corridor toward the Captain’s cabin.

 

  It knows our scent, it remembers us. It has a nano-elastic collar, closely resembling those of Starbreaker material…

 

  This critter, this wolf cub…there is something behind it that bares urgent audience.

 

  The captain, Sen… Bradson Captain might be able to decipher the runes upon its collar—! 

 

  

 

…

……….

  Being the second largest class of airships among the remaining few that the Capital had designed, the Betelgeuse sure is a large compound in itself. Harboring hundreds of centered halls, and near thousands of cabins, who knows what secrets they have in store behind these identical sliding doors, General Solo could but wonder as he strolled down to the underlayers of the airship.

 

  True, his missions were far from just slaying demons,  and punching people’s faces to halt a self-destruct process. Two missions he has mainly on this secret outing, that were classified knowledge only to report directly to the Lord of Light himself, or Skylord…whatever the Lord prefers to be called.

  But there is something in mind that had no business of his mission, yet for the safety and swiftness of things, Solo decided to resolve some complicated matters before they get out of hand.

 

  “ Must be here…” Solo surmised as he stopped before the iron vaults at the far rear of the Betelgeuse, located at the bottom layer underneath all the chambers and headquarters, right next to the engine center where the hydrogen fusing pumps burst and hummed in repetitive initiation.

  These are the under-bunkers, Solo admired the sturdy constructs, used to contain Demons that require further investigation for research purposes, fortified by thick layers of iron, coated with anti-Demon light films around its surface. Yet none of the spacious cells housed any Demon currently, save one hunched hulking figure Solo saw from the circular outlook window pane, sitting at the very back, shrouded under dim shadow.

 

  “ A weird choice to look around, General.”

 

  Solo turned around, unfazed by the sharp inquiring voice of a woman behind him, also standing outside the walls of light film.

 

  “ Do our confinement cells interest you, General Solo?”

Reina asked, her voice the opposite of welcoming.

 

  “ Not the cells.” Solo replied, smiling courteously as ever.

“ But the subject within these walls. I would like to have a word with him.”

 

  “ Don’t, Even, Think, About It.” Reina snapped, each word like a knife shanking Solo’s throat.

 

  The General’s smile seemed to deflect any coming assault whatever intentions they harbor over him and furthermore, elevated his persuasion through an unseen pressure emanating from those thin crimson eyes.

 

  “ We all have missions, secretary.” the Starbreaker General gallantly explained, calmly punctuating each word in soothing tone as his muscular shadow seemed to grow as he speak.

  “ And for our causes to proceed in mutual harmony, I propose a safety measure. I tend to keep things as tidy as possible, you see.”

 

  “ What do you want?” Reina asked straightforwardly, not in the mood to play riddles anymore.

 

  “ I wish to prevent Seito from running rogue, ever, again.” Solo straightforwardly gave out his answer, each word as clear as crystal.

  “ It is, for the best of my mission, you see. And also yours, I hope.”

 

  Reina didn’t reply immediately, brooding for a way to counter the General’s plans.

 

  But Solo is one step ahead of her.

 

  “ I know you’ve been hiding from the Lord’s scrutiny for some time now, trying to remember, helping others remember. Making all the effort to unveil the truth. But at what cost, Secretary? Have you not seen with your own eyes? This, is what happens when you force others to remember.”

  The general whispered, his finely chiseled face docking next to Reina’s stupefied face, speaking softly to her ear alone.

  “ Torment, regret, denial. The past is too much for us to bear, and not everyone feels as obliged to dig up their horrid history just to suffer over it. Ignorance is the Skylord’s blessing onto all, Secretary. Picture this, will Seito be glad and happy you showed him what happened, eons before? Will he? Will…Yuri, be happy to know?

  Certainly, the answer is right before your eyes…”

 

  Speechless and paralyzed by guilt on the spot, Reina watched as the light cell parted ways for the General to enter.

 

  “ Rest assured, The Lord deals not arbitrarily and is willing to forgive those astray. May I…right your wrongs?”

 the walls sealed back, covering the gallant sneer before her eyes.

  

  Maybe…maybe this is the way it should have been.

 

  To forget.

 

  To let go……

  

  The fine-furnished boots stopped the moment the hunched shadow opened his yellow ghastly eyes and stared upwards, at the figure that loomed like a mountain in the midst.

 

  “ That was a good show back there,”

 

  Solo chuckled, the smile being the one visible thing upon his towering silhouette.

 

  “ Old friend.”

 

  “ …I don’t know you…” Seito grunted, gravely disturbed by the sight of the man before him.

“ …What do you want…from me…?!”

 

  Solo looked around the cell, making sure they were in soundproof confinement. Not that he feared that his words were heard.

 

  “ Nothing, my friend. Just…reconnecting, where we’ve left off, Seito.” Solo answered, his voice traveling to the past as he stepped side to side slowly around the wide container, chuckling with mild pride over his exploits.

  “ You know, slaying Demons, flying airships, defending the Capital…”

 

  “ No…” Seito boomed, stopping the general in his pacing tracks.

  “ There are no…Demon Slaying… Starbreakers…That’s not true…Nothing is true!! There’s Only—”

 

  And before Seito could utter another word, Solo’s hands flew out at unworldly speed, clenching Seito's head in a tight crushing grasp. Before Seito could rise up and fight back in retaliation, Solo whispered quickly sophisticated codes of alien tongue, and immediately, Starbreaking runes appeared where Solo clenched the stupefied hero man’s head and with a sounding snap sent Seito into a vegetative state.

 

  “ STOP!!” Reina rushed into the containment, about to stop the Starbreaker General when an invisible force emitting out of nowhere around the general slammed the secretary to the floor, pinning Reina onto the ground as if gravity, like chains, pulled her down with immense might.

 

  “ What…What are you—”

 

  “ For the best…of the mission.” Solo chuckled, his voice now deep and unperceivable, his flashing red eyes riveted and memorized by the things he saw through the runes emerging all over Seito’s presence as he scrolled over them, observing with deep focus, letting them runes, memories, Mind Essence,  flow over his red glowing irises, as Solo computed all that entered his sight with great interest attentively. 

  “ Impressive. You have made him remember so much…No wonder he flies into such rage…such confusion…No wonder.”

  Browsing contently, as Solo planted his reserved codes, additional red sparkling Mind Essence fitting accordingly into Seito’s runes before sliding them all back into the slumbering hero man’s conscious, which woke the yellow Starbreaker with a large sudden jolt.

 

  Reina couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed, as the gravitational pull lessened and she sat back up, trying to collect her thoughts.

   Seito looked up at them both, and those eyes once of berserk rage, now wide and clear, staring back at them sober and surprised.

 

  “...Solo…?” Seito uttered, surprised but amused by seeing an old friend.

“ Solo? By jove! It is You! And…Secretary Reina?”

 

  Seito noticed the tears welling out of the secretary’s eyes.

 

  “ You were in a coma, after a Demon assault.” Solo patted the big man on the back, before turning away with a smile of satisfaction.

  “ No worries now. Take your time, you two. Chat your chats, I’ll be off then.”

 

  To the next mission, I shall. Solo grinned, as he walked past the bewildered two sitting on the ground,  his thin eyes slightly widened, richer in red luminance.

…

……….

  Lima wished to enter the control deck, yet the old Captain’s occupied exhausted silhouette stayed her from barging in to meddle around Bradson’s work, with dozens of scanners, detectors, and radar maps, all hovering in the Captain’s presence in search of the Devilish Vitas, while Bradson absorbed himself in an intense operation, as if initiating surgery through holographic runes as his tools that linked inside a vessel before the man as the procedure occurred within the large cabinet.

  The Restoration Device, Lima recalled, from memory eons ago, and seeing Bradson tirelessly undergoing such meticulous work upon someone lying within, Lima laid her qualms aside, deciding it best not to interfere with the old Captain’s work.

 

  But who was the person within the Restoration Device?

 

  Who is it that needs to undergo such arduous procedure so hastily—

  “ Lima…?”

  The young girl spun around, surprised to see it was Neliya the timid one, lost and confused, eyes teary, seeking her aid behind her outside the Captain’s hub.

 

  “ Neliya? What happened?” Lima asked, seeing the shy one evidently in such trepidation.

 

  “ I…I can’t find the others.” Neliya whispered anxiously.

“ I was too tired… the night before, so I slept off… and then everyone's gone. Not even in the infirmary. What to do… Lima…?"

 

  “ I'll take you to them.” Thus Lima led Neliya, worried and exhausted, down the glass corridors toward where she knew the children were resting and taken care of.

  Lima had heard they were wounded through the connections of the droid nerve linkages, but never would she imagine her friends to be this beaten, distraught, and in pain. Many were groaning as they tried to sleep, horrified by the things they see even when they close their eyes; some, even the stronger of the children, seemed weakened and battered by what had transpired.

 

  The two shocked girls came to Feira, who though was awake, was not in a very fine state of mind.

  The weapons-manufacturer girl explained of the happenings as she tended to her unconscious brother Finnir. Tricia was there also, taking good care of Finnir, knowing the boy nobly stood forth against the Dark Unerva to avenge his kin.

 

  “ Seito went crazy, over what Momo had said.” Feira began. “ It was about the story you transcribed, Neliya. Momo said there was a hidden meaning, different names…”

  “ What did Momo say?” Lima asked intensely.

 

  “ Where IS Momo??” Neliya asked, terrified by the notion that the infant was not present, more so by the darkening expression on Feira’s face.

 

  “ It’s the Nerve gear…Right?” Lima deducted before Feira had the courage to answer.

  “ Seito’s lightning…and her inside it…”

 

  Feira silently nodded, close to tears. “ Lucky was devastated. But there’s something else that broke her, broke nearly all of us…”

  And Feira explained the intruding Dark Unerva with the powers of Illusions…or premonitions, as some see them.

  “ After we returned, we rushed to get Momo to safety. Then this Demon…it made us see things. Things that seemed so real, but terrifying so. Things…that turned Finnir…”

  And the sister could carry on no more. Not even the strong-willed and confident Feira could hold back her tears as her two listening friends comforted her, leaving those thoughts aside.

  The wolf cub too, in Lima’s hands, offered its soft furry belly for Feira to rub to soothe her sadness.

  “ Strange…I think I saw Momo’s puppy…during the illusion I saw…”

 

  “ What??” Both Lima and Neliya were surprised. Especially Lima, who felt a chill, a fearful shiver running up her spine.

 

  “ I don’t know…But It was there, but bigger…furrier…I don’t know.” Feira tried to recall with a deepening frown. 

  “ I don’t remember most of it. Just the headache. It was intense. I can’t really see anything clearly with my head exploding...Just flashes, scenes…I wonder if that’s how Yuri felt all the time. Kinda sucks.”

  

  Lima and Neliya didn’t force Feira to remember, and stayed with their other wounded friends, tending to the wounded and providing company to them, listening to their moans and qualms.

  Though in pain of the head that ached still, Neo the child lead patrolled duly to make sure all his wounded traumatized kin had the best of care they need. The electric shocks may have damaged their skin and flesh, but it is the Dark Unerva’s venomous Illusions that proved the more detrimental to them children.

  He may be hiding it well enough, but Neo too was suffering gravely from what he saw, a wound in his light heart that was peeled open once again as he reexperienced the loss of his dear sister Nia…her Light taken by Starbreakers in the name of Entering the Land of Light… while they were weak and on the run…and defenseless…Those Lies…The Starbreakers’ deceit…! If only he had the power to stop them, and fight against all in his way—

 

  “ …Neo…?” 

 

  The soft whisper pulled the child lead out of his misery as the eldest boy beheld with his teary eyes the silhouette of the timid form of Neliya, caringly hoisting his falling body back up from the shadows at the corner of the healing hall.

  Wiping quickly, Neo looked aside with his reddened eyes and asked with haste.

 

  “ What…what is it, Neliya? Is something wrong?” 

 

  “...No…Just…” Neliya responded abashedly, looking away as in fear she had seen of Neo which he refused to let anyone see.

  “ Just seeing you alone…I thought you would need someone to talk to…Nevermind…” 

 

  Neliya ushered herself away in a shy rush, only to stop short, her thin hands held back by the firm grip of Neo’s rough fingers, pressing longingly to have her stay.

 

  “ I wouldn’t mind…” Neo spoke, his voice lowered to a deep uncertain whisper.

“ Would you…mind? If I told you what I saw…?”

 

  Turning back, sitting down at the low bench nearby, Neliya nodded assuringly to the boy, holding his hand endearingly as if in gentle invite.

 

  “ I wouldn’t mind at all…” Neliya whispered, her face pinkish red all over.

“ If you would accept me…as your listener.”

 

  “ …Of course…” Neo too sat down, and for the first time, pour out his thoughts, sharing his qualms, his conflict, and weakness with someone other than Kai his sworn brother, revealing more to this girl that listened attentively, interrupting not as she let him speak. All he needed was someone to share his remorse, and open the welling unease crushing his insides had he not channeled those regretful thoughts elsewhere to forgiving ears. Neliya, was who Neo needed most, at this time of moment, and the days onward.

  “ Hearken! What is brother doing with that shy girl?!” Rio was about to barge in but was opportunely stopped by Neo’s loyal friend in need Kai, who led the unruly brother away to mind his own business as he noticed Lima, sitting by, soothing the tormented children to sleep by letting them take turns in rubbing the furry belly of the confused wolf cub, which worked unexpectedly well.

  “ Lima, there is something I need to discuss.” Kai bade the calm Lima who shook her head in refusal. She had refused to disclose anything, albeit Kai’s senses telling him that Lima knows more than the others that might assist the children in their quest to seek their lost Sensei and the lost child Sensei so seeks to rescue.

 

  “ But Lima, what Momo said about that tale. She mentioned the Sun being called another name. and the Cloud and many other secrets! Surely Sensei left that tale behind for a reason. What if those secrets—”

 

  “ Those secrets will serve you no good.” Lima snapped, refusing to elaborate further, taking the puppy in her arms and turned to leave.

“ If you don’t want to be like Momo, then better stay away from what you don't understand.”

 

  “ How can you say such things about Momo?!” Raising his voice, Kai felt Lima’s words were of contempt and misplaced upon an unfortunate event.

  “ It’s not Momo’s fault that she knows. If only we would listen…the things we saw…It means something! Lima, you know it!”

 

  “ I don’t know what you are talking about.” Lima volleyed back without sentiment.

 

  “ Then why did you run?!” Kai questioned fiercely, troubled by the Illusions that were infested in his mind by the Dark Unerva, eager to know what the scene they have all saw meant. After listening to nearly all of the children’s illusions carefully, as much as they are eager to share, Kai realized from what the Dark Unerva had shown them, most were about a pale building, and them living in said building before they felt a dreadful sensation of demise, that pained them even when they were wide awake.

 

  “ Why did you run…?!” Kai asked again, pointing an accusing finger at Lima.

“ Why did you run when we were reciting the tale?! What is it that intrigued you with such sorrow—”

 

  “ I just needed to go to the restroom then. No big deal.” Lima waved Kai off, leaving the smart boy in bewildered shadow as she walked away, escaping from the notion that they might know…The Curse, the horrible truth of the Happenings.

 

  Lima would not allow it to happen.

 

  Seeing Lima in an ashen sick expression, hugging the wolf cub alone in the corner, and Neo finishing his long telling of his tremulous thoughts, Neliya went forth and led Lima back to their room to rest. 

 

  “ There seems to be a pattern in what they have seen from this Dark Unerva, Lima.” Neliya spoke gently as the two girls walked back down the glass corridors, by the orange shafts that slanted obliquely along the setting sun outside.

  “ Neo and Lucky, they saw those that are most dear to them. Neo told me that he saw Nia…telling him to follow her to a place, a white pale building with a round clock on top of its face, a place that many of them had seen in their illusions. What does this mean? What is that place?”

 

   Lima knew very well what that place was, and her biggest concern is whether she should tell her friends, or tell Neliya what they meant, pulling her friend into the curse she so suffered. Or leave them in ignorant bliss as before.

  What to so…How should she…

  Before she herself had made full considering brood, Lima made a new approach, one even she didn’t know of the consequences.

 

  “ The story…The story written in runes that you transcribed with Yuri. It is as Momo said, it meant something. It meant something deeper, long long ago, far before now. The place you ask for, is hidden in that story. But it was not meant for everyone. It is…a curse. A painful memory which none of you deserve.”

  Lima turned, staring straight into Neliya’s wide appalled eyes as she spoke gravely.

  “ But Neliya… what if I am wrong? What if…It is better that you should all know, all understand what happened, what all this means, what… terrible things…I have done to you all…What should I do…Neliya…? What should I do…”

 

  Falling down, right into the small warm arms of the timid girl, Lima leaned down, in tears as Neliya carried her, embracing the saddened girl in her comforting arms. 

  “ Lima…” Neliya whispered tenderly, wiping the dew of tears off Lima’s blushed cheek.

“ I think…To me, what has happened is unchangeable, like the sand taken by the wind; like the drops of rain into soil. The past will always be behind us, no matter how dreadful, how terrifying they may be, there is nothing we can do about it. But you have friends… you have Us. We are here for you, here, Right Now... We of the present, will all be most willing to protect you from what haunts you, and if you don’t feel like telling us, then don’t. We won’t force you.

  And even if we remember the past one day…nothing is going to change, this friendship…our journies… Now. It is all part of us, and Lima too. You will always be part of our present, our Now…and ever. You will always be our friend, and none of us will forget. What say you…Lima?”

 

  “ I say…you are right.” Lima smiled, wiping her tears away, as the two girls chuckled, hand in hand.

  “ Thank you, Neliya. I will think about it, and maybe one day…maybe one day I’ll write it down, in a way that all of us to understand. Unlike what Sensei wrote…”

 

  “ Oh, those drawing... I think I know how to read Sensei’s runes now... But not too much, but a little...” 

  Neliya giggled, eager to show Lima the pages of the thick volume strapped behind her back.

 

  Lima thought she didn’t hear it right.

 

  “ …Neliya…you…you understand…those Rune Words…?!”

 

  Neliya nodded shyly.

  “ Yes... Yuri and I studied it one whole night yestereve. And after I woke up from all that confusion…I think I can feel what the drawings were trying to say. Like how Yuri said…Voices whispering in the words…For example—”

 

  Neliya bent down to fetch the wolf cub up following behind and listening attentively to what they were saying this whole time.

  “ For example, these drawings are read as ‘ELZA’. Here on the collar. I noticed it earlier today and I’ve tried to tell you…But maybe I am wrong, I haven’t had a good grasp just yet—”

 

  Neliya stopped short, sensing Lima’s sudden silence as the latter’s golden eyes stared wide in shock, grave, utter realization.

 

  “ ……Elza…” Lima whimpered, her voice trembling, as the Wolf cub barked cheerfully as if it recognized the word.

 

  “ Yes…at least that’s how I interpret it. Elza.” Neliya snuggled her face along the cheerful puppy’s furry back.

  “ Lima? What’s wrong…? Is it…something terrible…?!”

 

  “ …No…” Lima shook her head quickly, calming herself from the memories that she had slowly taken grasp, forming shape and gaining color more and more in her mind’s eye, in her sea of remembrance.

  The grey fur, the warm texture, the large docile form, welcoming all the gentle small hands that would give it a fine caressing over its beautiful shimmering coat.

 

  “ It’s…It’s not its name…” Lima spoke in a toneless whisper, at long last reaching a conclusion of the wolf cub’s origin.

 

  “ It’s…its Mother’s name……”

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  “ …No…way…” Neliya whispered back, staring back at Lima with startled wide eyes.

 

  So did the wolf cub in her arms.

…

………

 

  

 

  Finally, days of waiting in the wilderness, through dust and toil, it is now half worth it.

 

  General Solo smiled to himself, as he stopped before the door, the foyer to Yuri’s room.

 

  The Betelgeuse had accepted his helping hand in its most dire moment, paving a clear path for him to finish the job, finish what started it all. His Lord, The Skylord’s decree, shall come to a splendid fulfillment.

  The old captain too had much to blame, harboring defenseless children in one ship deprived of the Lord’s blessings all to hide from scrutiny. Is it worth it, he would like to ask Captain Bradson, but dimming it too boorish of him, Solo would not degrade himself in such taunting image.

 

  Because now is not yet the time of ease.

 

  Two missions in hand, with one nearing its accomplishment, right as he opens this door. The moment he opens this door, like how he calmed and reprogrammed the chaotic Solo, he will also do the same to Yuri, but with a little change, by putting in his stored artificial memories from the Lord of Sky, he shall take out the ones most valuable and bring it back to his leige, the one Memory that shall bring salvation to all Light-Hearted kind, and usher a new age of peace, and Light— 

 

  The One Memory Essence of the Herunis Carna—!!!

  Solo, activating his red eyes that glowed with ominous flare, hardened his grip over the metal rim of the sliding door, about to redirect them to open straight paths for him, to his mission—Consider it Done.

  Solo smiled.

 

  

  “ What done, General ?”

  General Solo stopped short.

 

  Am I slipping? How have I not detected anyone coming close to me, to this room? Solo, hiding his questioning glare, smiled as he stepped back from the door.

 

  “ Firren, my resourceful junior!” Solo greeted the Starbreaker Commander of the Betelgeuse ship with wide arms, coming closer to the young man, leaning to the glass wall on the outer side, arms wrapped around his chest.

  “ What a weird coincidence, meeting you outside a fellow girl teammate’s door.”

 

  “ The same I can ask of you.” Firren calmly replied, unmoving from his fortified position.

“ What is it you want from Yuri?”

 

  “ The Capital has no info on her, Firren.” Solo explained plainly with the truth that hid his deeper motives.

  “ A Starbreaker without further documentary on the catalog is unacceptable to the Lord’s jurisdiction. But I will not go too hard on you and Yuri. I’ll just ask a couple of simple questions, dealing with some basic identification, nothing more, nothing less. Just a simple chat.”

 

  “ She is wounded,” Firren answered tersely.

“ You would have to wait until she recovers.”

 

  “ A simple chat won’t take that much of her strength away, I hope?” Solo chuckled with much blithe.

“ I assure you, it will not take long. Maybe talking with someone is what she needs at the point, don’t you think?”

 

  “ If that is the case, then I shall join you, and show you in lest you pry open the door and startle the alarm.” Firren sighed, secretly readying his Starbreaker armor activation sequences attached to the belt around his sturdy waist.

 

  “ That would be most splendid.” Solo smiled, standing aside for Firren to come open the door.

 

  “ Yuri?” Firren called, stationing his hand upon the sensory doorknob.

“ It’s me, Firren. And General Solo. We would like to have a word.”

 

  No response.

 

  “ She is most likely asleep. As expected from a wounded patient.” Firren was about to leave.

 

  But the large hand of the Starbreaker general slammed inches away onto the wall right in front of Firren’s face, stopping the calm commander in his tracks.

 

  “ Open the door.” Solo spake, in a cold, chilling, deep voice, devoid of sentiment.

“ Firren, Open the door. For me, would you?”

 

  Firren rested his hand upon his activated waist. His armor fully enveloped his body under his bright red uniform as he tapped the sensory doorknob gently.

 

  The door slid open slowly with an ominous short hiss to a side.

 

  Firren switched the lights on.

 

  The room was mostly tidy, save for the bed, which its covers lay ruffled and wrinkled upon the comfy mattress.

 

  Solo scanned the room with his red beady cybernetic eyes.

 

  “ Is this her room?” Solo asked to which Firren shrugged sheepishly.

 

  “ Seems like hers.” 

 

  Vehemently, in less than half a second, the General’s big arm was already at Firren’s throat, forcing the young commander to the wall. The arm bulged, ready to rip off the finely suited sleeves of his general’s suit open as it held tumultuously upon Firren’s neck, barely an inch from crushing his windpipe.

 

  “ I hate to resort beyond reason. ” the General’s voice was far beyond anger, but transcending into a voice that physically like a blade slitting down Firren’s throat inch by inch.

  “ Where is she?”

 

  “ I don’t know.” Firren exclaimed calmly, despite the bulging rock-like arm nearly touching the skin above his windpipe.

 

  Sensing his sincerity and ignorance of the gravity of the matter, Solo laid his huge arm down, as Firren stood his ground, breathing calmly.

 

  “ Your Captain, risking his life and yours, refusing the Capital’s assistance and the Skylord’s blessings, all for this girl. ” Solo sighed calmly, hiding a storm that has yet to unleash.

  “ But alas, it seems not even the Betelgeuse’s defense is able to shield her from harm. A pity, a girl harboring such power, has parts of her secrets known by a Dark Unerva—”

 

  “ Better than taken from you.” Firren’s voice boiled with sheer rage.

“ I know what your ‘Lord’ is capable of, using all that Light-Heart…don’t act all noble and considerate. You see Yuri just as an object for your wanton goals!”

 

  “ At least we keep our assets safe.” General Solo’s chin curled up to a faint sneer.

  “ My presence on this ship proves your Captain has accepted his own failures and welcomed the Lord’s opportune aid to hunt down the Demon that has snatched the precious secrets from your…Special Girl. Rest assured, I Will See It Done. 

  And after that, you will all come back with me, To The Capital, where the Lord is waiting. A New Phase is about to take place. The Land of Peace and Bliss is near, junior.”

 

  Like mountains crumbling one after another, the General’s steps slowly stomp away, further down the corridor.

  “ Go on, then. Go look for your girl. I’ll be looking forward to you all joining me in blessed Skyworld, or Capital…whatever you call it…”

 

 Firren’s brow sank deep as he watched the general enter the shadows, turning away also in rushing haste to get to Yuri as soon as possible.

…

………

There was a castle on a hill

 

There was a clock on yonder gate

 

There were stairs leading up and down

 

It was a place where we could play.

  The high winds ruffled her blue hair, violently pulling her back as she sat, near the edge, on one single bench seated amongst the wide elliptical clearing on top of the Betelgeuse ship. It was once used as the dining hall for welcoming the children’s arrival onboard, frolicking and enjoying the decent meal as they marveled at the stars above the opened dome, which she now see were but pallid swarms of morbid clouds. The ghastly howling winds did herald a tempest nearing the more they reached the north.

 

  At least, the swirling echoes of the wind could help cease the pain in her head, and everywhere else around her body.

 

  Yuri thought as she sat alone, near the balcony, with her eyes closed, seeing, listening, to the past that swelled more vivid after the day before.

 

  After what Vitas had shown her, 

 

  and done to her.

There was a tall tree in the yard

 

There was a pond next to the tree

 

How I wish there was a sound

 

To remind me that I still could sing.

  

  Yuri could see it, vaguely taking shape, as the voices sang to her. The voices of herself, forlorn children long gone. Not shouts, nor screams, but aimless song amongst lost whispers.

  Looking down, the broken pieces of her wristband she clenched tightly in her quivering hands. 

 

  She is no longer a Starbreaker.

 

  She had failed to be one.

 

  She had failed her mother.

 

  But…he did say she can save them. All of them. By going back with the Powers inside of her. Can he be lying…or has the process been hindered midpoint before it could succeed…?

 

  Yuri had no idea.

 

  She was only sure that she had failed everyone through what she did. She was a disappointment.

 

  Yuri closed her eyes once again, trying to seal the tears back.

  See that colored wall behind us both?

 

  Those are the days we painted freely

 

  Together we thought that we are near

 

  Waking up to see us apart.

  

  The pale building, appearing again and again, where she, as a child, lived long ago with the children, everyone, 

 

  and Vernui…

 

  She should have gone back. She could have gone back, and tried to save them from—

  “ …Yuri…!”

  Yuri opened her eyes.

  Footsteps neared her from behind, stepping in rushing pace as the figure marched to her presence, standing by to her right, panting.

  She knew he was watching her. But Yuri turned her gaze down, at her hands that clasped tightly so as to hide what was within her grasp.

 

  “ …Yuri. I’ve been looking for you.”

Commander Firren sighed in relief, glad he came before his senior could reach her first. 

 

  “...why…?” Yuri asked in a near-silent, airy whisper.

 

  “ Well…to see if you’ve got better.” Firren tried to sound casual. 

“ You aren’t in your room, so…”

 

  Firren waited for Yuri to respond, but nothing came in return. Her blue hair, covered her once bright radiant features, now shrouding her dark expression under thick shadow. She didn’t try to do her hair as she usually did, tying them up to a side ponytail, instead now letting all her hair sway, down to her shoulders, over her dim eyes.

 

  “ It’s getting dark and cold. Come, there’s still some spare chocolate in the cafeteria.” 

Firren tried to convince Yuri with her favorite delight, but even that wouldn’t sway her. 

  He was lost of options, not knowing how to comfort her with his poor words, and fearing he might hurt her more with the poor choice of speech.

 

  “ Yuri. Come back inside. Please.” Firren bade sincerely and to his surprise, Yuri tilted forward.

 

  “ …Do you see it…?” Yuri asked in a thin whisper.

 

  Firren leaned closer, trying hard to listen.

 

  “ Do you see it, Commander…?”

 

  “ See what…?” Firren asked in wonder.

 There was a castle on a hill

 

There was you at yonder gate

 

There I was at the other side

 

Holding the Key for you to lock.

  “ …The tall, white building…” Yuri’s voice trembled a bit as she forced each word weakly out of her dried darkened lips.

  “ The place…where we used to stay…when we were children…it was like a dream, to wake up…feeling that we are all brothers and sisters…but…but…But we were all gone, and I am able to save all of us…if only I could—”

 

  “ Stop.” Firren bade, sternly now.

“ That is not true. There is nothing you need to save. Forget about the past, forget about what that Vitas fiend told you! He used you…Yuri. Forget everything he said. Forget about him, forget about that horrible man!”

 

  “ But He was there!!” Yuri argued back, glaring with tearful eyes at her distraught commander.

  “ He was there, with me…We were there…and we…we…everyone…He said I could save them. Save us.”

 

  “ No. Yuri, you can’t!” 

 

  “ He said I Can!” Yuri shrieked back, tears flowing all over her cheeks.

“ He said I can…he believed in me…that’s why he did, what he did…because he knows I can—”

 

  “ Yuri!! Stop What You are saying!!” Firren shouted back, irritated by how Vitas had disarrayed Yuri’s thoughts, as he tried to shake her out of this deranged spiral, reaching out his hands to grab Yuri’s shoulders.

 

  The moment she saw his hand edge forth, Yuri gave out a quick sharp scream, leaping away from the bench, losing her balance as she fell onto the floor.

 

  The pieces of her shattered wristband scattered across the clear marble tiles.

 

  But Yuri didn’t fetch them up immediately. She huddled herself close, shivering traumatically in the cold, leaning further away from the devastated Commander as she could.

 

  Her sobs, like daggers, jutting Firren’s light heart like vice.

 

  Firren fell to his knees, hurriedly helping Yuri gather the scattered pieces of the wristband on the floor, this time reaching out his hand slowly, apologetically.

 

  “ Here…” Firren held the shards out, wishing Yuri would take them.

“ It’s alright…I will never do anything to hurt you…I swear.” 

 

  Confused, afraid, not knowing who to trust, and who to not trust, Yuri shook her head, refusing anything, anyone that reaches out to her.

 

  Letting her tears drop onto the shattered shards in Firren’s hand.

 

  She doesn’t deserve that wristband anymore.

 

  She had failed it, the armor, Her mother, the children, Grandpapa Bradson, Sister Reina, Commander Firren, Lima…

 

 …Vernui…and herself…

 

  She had failed in every way possible.

  

  Firren wasn’t expecting what his eyes beheld.

 

  Dashing off all of a sudden in a blink of an eye, Yuri was not there sitting in front of him anymore, but standing at the balcony fence close by to the side.

  At first Firren thought it was the wind that blew her hair, and her body down to a tilting weird angle along the fence. Then the tilting slanted to an extreme. His sense quickly fired across his nerves, shooting his legs up to a bursting sprint, just in time to lunge out at the last second, wrapping his strong arms around Yuri’s waist as he kicked the fence vehemently, as fierce as his sinewy legs could, sending them back away from the edge, sliding back onto solid floor.

  How I wish there is a key

 

  To open your heart

 

  To take my Light.

 

  How I wish there was no hate

 

  To stop me from loving this World.

  Tell me, Moon

 

  Why is the Sky still dark while the Stars are shining?

 

 

  

 

  “ Let me go…” Yuri begged, sobbing desperately as she pulled Firren’s arms away from her drastically.

 

  “ NO!” Firren shouted, his arms clenching hard.

“ What are you even thinking?! Are you out of your—”

 

  “ LET ME GO !!”

 

  Slowly, cautiously, Firren loosened his grip.

 

  No more did she spring forth, but lay to a side, sobbing quietly.

  Making sure she was secured, Firren sat back up, feeling a strange foreign texture forming in the middle of his palm. Looking down, Firren gasped in utter shock at what his wide eyes beheld.

 

    Upon closer speculation, Firren gasped aloud, in shock, in awe.

 

  “ Yuri!” Firren revealed in his hands the glowing new object atop his fingers, panting with excitement, eager to show Yuri the lights of hope blossoming on his palm.

  “ Yuri…your wristband…Look!”

 

  Surprised by the sudden change of tone to the brighter calling, Yuri peered gingerly forth.

 

  There, her shattered wristband, now reforged, miraculously linking each cracked end back, forming one meandering circle, glowing with mysterious light both Yuri and Firren had never once beheld before in their past, hovering majestically back to Yuri’s reached-out palm.

  Each and every crack, held by clear icy substances, those resembling Yuri’s powers, her energy grappling hooks, and the aura she emanated before; Cold ice, solidifying the wristband into one activated matter, humming with power, and shimmering with sentient luminescence.

 

  Her tears, forming a bond, sealing the cracks of the past.

 

  As soon as the wristband wrapped itself around her wrist, Nanoparticles buzzed out like wires like veils, enveloping Yuri once more within the armor’s cool transcending embrace. Her mother’s armor, sheathing her body gently, like caring arms curled around her nape.

 

  “ You are who you are,” Firren then spoke in awe and comfort.

“ You are Yuri, bright, radiant, clumsy at times, but never giving up on others and yourself. Always going forth, going forward and beyond. Don’t let the past trap your potential, don’t let the horrible happenings of old haunt you! You are better than all that…You are more than just the past, You are the Future! I know that, because I was there too! And I have believed in you, sine then, now, and ever! Yuri…seek not of yesterday, but reach for the tomorrow! 

  Tomorrow is what matters…and that Vitas man…That Dark Unerva has a piece of your memory which he covets to destroy all our Future! You must—No, We Will Stop Him. Together, Hand in Hand! To all Ends!”

 

  Summoning his armor also, flames of starlight ignited the dim halls under the pallid skies, emanating warmth as Yuri’s reforged armor blossomed with dazzling blue, snow, blue like the cloudless skies, blizzarded down as the two of separate essence stood, hand in hand, in the middle under the turbulent skies, reaching a mutual agreement.

 

  Commander was right. 

 

  She had been trapped too deep in the past, that she had nearly lost faith in herself, in the present, and doomed her future.

 

  What has happened, has happened; and the curse itself is to be snared within its unrelenting grasp. 

 

  No more. Yuri shook the memories, the flashing scenes, the echoing whispers, and the piercing murmurs aside.

 

  No more shall the things behind her sway who she is, what she wants to become.

 

  She wants to protect the children, her friends. She wants to find her Mother. 

 

  She wants to stop the Demons from devouring Light, devouring hope of those she dears.

  With the elemental Starbreaker essence she had realized, the cold bluish powers that linked her wristband together, Yuri called out to her trusty sword rifle, which snaked out in golden lines, straightening as the blue snow swarmed in unison, filling her blade with furnished fine blaze, dazzling like a star in the dark.

 

  She is ready.

 

  She is ready, to take back what Vitas, Vernui has taken from her to the north.

…

  Sitting on one of the protruding wing phalanxes slowly sweeping the wintry breeze, General Solo, clad in his boulder chunky armor, stared down at the two in the wide clearing, his thin red eyes shimmering with mild glee.

  Impressive, the Powers of Tomorrow…Solo’s eyes flickered like a device recording his all through his vision.

  The Skylord has a special position…for you alone…

  

 

…

  “ Thank you…Commander.” Yuri smiled gratefully, hugging her reforged weapon and armor together rejoiced.

  “ By the way, I heard you mention…You were there? Do you know…? The Past Before—”

 

  “ Have you forgotten what I told you?! No more talk of the past!”  Firren muttered impatiently.

  “ It is what’s ahead of us that matters! The Demons and Dark Unerva that terrorizes—”

  A sharp screech of the horn of alarm boomed intermittently all over the ship that instance, stopping Firren short as they both looked up in grave vigilance, donning their Starbreaker helmets and scanning the skies that grew murkier as the alarming horns resounding across the atmosphere.

 

  Ash, specs of Demon residue, brushed forth, tainting the clouds into darkened hue.

 

  Firren summoned both his fiery swords to his hands and with Yuri cautiously close by, the two Starbreakers stood back to back, expecting the worst to come.

  A low moan, a familiar cry echoed from afar, drowning the alarms to nonexistence under its roar.

  And millions of screams, screeches, and howls followed after, filling the air with Demonic choir, heralding the coming of the Doom of all Light-hearted kind.

  “ …They are all here…” Firren gasped, scanning the radar on his screen, filled with red dots swarmed miles ahead in grand congregation under the lead of a mighty shape of a long rocky serpent silhouette slithering in the dark clouds.

 

  Yuri immediately recognized that shadow.

  Archdemon Death, assembling the Demons to the north, all ready to receive the powers from the one snatcher, the pretender.

…

………

  The one Vernui, the winged Dark Unerva, all Demons, large and small hailed in berserk reverence as the armored Demon warrior swooped down to the snow, landing before his kin, his dark armies that arrayed in front of a long towering wall, a mountain of ice that stood at their presence, drawing one pale line across the field to which could be seen from outer space.

 

  The North Line, the colossal mountain wall of Light was, situated at the Northern snow fields of the continent, sealing all the monstrosities and defeated Archdemons during the first scourge behind the dark portions of the forbidden lands, which now face an army of resistance, millions of revolting Demon kind, ready to break the seal, and unleash eternal turmoil upon the lands to the south and beyond.

 

  Standing atop a lone icy rock, Varium, the Dark Unerva of the cursed mega arm sneered at the winged traitor of Light’s arrival, glad to see the defector join the side of Dark.

 

  Yet as his touched ground, instead of a graceful landing, the winged emissary of Dark crashed to the snow, on his all fours, slamming his fist upon his helm, wrestling himself with hardened real punches.

  Seeing this absurd shadow-boxing, Varium cackled with delight.

 

  “ Useless, you!” Varium howled with laughter as the Demons hollered in agreement.

“ Accept who you really are! Embrace what is inside you!”

 

  “ NO!!!" Vitas’ voice echoed in sheer agony, tumbling in the snow, resisting the one force inside of him, pulling his raging fist back.

  “ What…What Are You…?! WHat HAve You MAde Me DO?!?!?!”

  “ Foolish boy…”

 

  The deep ominous voice inside Vitas replied gleefully, as the Darkness welled up to his face from under.

 

  “ I am the Reason you are standing here amongst all of our kin. I am the benefactor that has guided your hand and achieved the Impossible!! You have yet to remember my existence…Our Deal. Remember who you are, Vernui, Remember your promise! 

  Now step aside, show me thy Loot…thy Memory you have stolen…!

 

 And we shall all return…Back to our triumph!!”

  Shouting in futile objection, kneeling in pain and suffering on the snow, 

  As the shadow behind him, a large shape, long-beaked, with wings of demise and pestilence widespread, revealing yet an Archdemon to gain its former glory.

[.........to be continued]

  

 

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