Briggs, lay down the radio in his right hand, smiled defiantly at his adversary. His surroundings blazed with brilliance, as if daylight had broken inside the ruined base, the veiled lady turned to glance at Trance's mangled, lifeless body, then shrieked as Briggs finally forces his regeneration to a halt, blood streamed from his left eye, half-closed, yet he smiled all the same.
The veiled lady's scream tore through the air as her veil ripped apart, tentacles bursting free in a frenzy. Her grotesque form emerged, multiple eyes glaring, tendrils writhing high above like a storm of flesh. "Heh," Briggs smirked, facing death head-on.
Inside the hangar, chaos reigned, pilots scrambled to set coordinates, preparing for departure. The control officer pressed the command to open the hatch… nothing. The massive doors refused to move. Checking the cameras, they saw the blue Veyrith was outside, smashing against the hatch, sparks flying with each blow as it laughed triumphantly.
"We've got a situation!" the pilot shouted. "The Veyrith has sealed off our exit!"
The pounding grew louder, baam, baam, as the creature battered the gate. Then, from the watchtower above, Hendrick appeared, his right arm swelled grotesquely, veins darkened by poison pulsing beneath his skin, yet he remained steady. Drawing back his bow, his eyes locked on a figure on the hill, a blue-skinned Veyrith in a white robe, seated calmly, clearly the one controlling the beast.
"Man… these Veyrith don't know when to quit." Hendrick smirked, releasing his arrow. The shot flew straight and true, piercing the robed Veyrith's head.
The blue monstrosity screamed, clutching its skull in agony before convulsing, "No… no… noooo!" it wailed, before bursting apart like a balloon.
Hendrick collapsed to his knees, and fell from the tower at great height before vanishing.
Relief rippled through the hangar, "the Veyrith has vanished!" the pilot announced. "The hatch… we need to use emergency controls." But the thermal sensors spiked red, the heat index reached critical, and any delay meant hours of repair, and to wait means certain death.
Through the chaos, Garm stirred, rising unsteadily from his bed, he slipped away from Cher's sight, weaving through the panicked crowd, approaching the engineers, he raised a hand, signaling them. "Close the entrance… quickly, after me," he ordered.
The personnel saluted sharply. With a groaning creak, the gates began to shut.
Cher's eyes widened when she spotted her father, walking toward control unit. She stumbled forward, but her knees buckled beneath her, her emotions peaked, her body trembling, unable to focus enough to transform. "Father… no!" she wails.
Eric and Gil caught her, holding her back, knowing the truth, there was no stopping him.
As the gates sealed, Garm turned one last time, his eyes softened, a warm smile gracing his worn features, with that silent farewell, the entrance shut completely.
The emergency trigger flared, thud, and the hatch ripped open at last, engines roared, and the airship blasted off, soaring into the burning sky.
Cher clutched her chest, gasping for air as grief consumed her. "Father!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face, her cries lost in the thunder of the ship's ascent.
Above, they gazed through the airship's windows, watching the base below the place that had been their home. Memories flooded back, long hours of training, missions, bonds forged, laughter and grief alike. Now all of it was vanishing before their eyes as white flames consumed the stronghold.
Cher's room erupted into fire, the small flower on her desk wilting before burning away into ash.
In the greenhouse, Hendrick lay weak and poisoned at his favorite spot. the grass beneath him still felt soft, its scent filling his lungs one final time, around him, the plants withered one by one, reduced to nothing as flames devoured every corner.
His breaths grew shallow, with the last of his strength, Hendrick lifted his hand, casting a faint shadow across his face as his eyes turned toward the ship's distant trail. "Cher… everyone… thank you…" he whispered, his voice fading into silence.
His arm fell limp as the poison took hold, claimed him, Glass shattered above, raining down as the flames engulfed the greenhouse, swallowing Hendrick and the memories he held dear.
The very light meant to bring salvation instead buried all in a fiery grave, spelling doom for every living soul it touched. The wind howled through the forest like a dirge, carrying with it the cries of death, as creatures and the land itself seemed to mourn this senseless massacre.
As dawn broke over the horizon, the rising sun cast a fragile hope upon the world, yet in the heart of chaos, it drew the attention of a being the Veyrith themselves should fear the most, now soaring swiftly toward the battlefield.
Briggs, broken and bleeding, lay in a pool of his own blood, his leg and arm severed by the monstrosity. Looming above him, the abomination extended its twisted hands, slick tentacles dripping as they slithered toward his helpless body.
Whack!
In an instant, the creature was cleaved clean in half, behind it stood a humanoid, transformed, its new form, now more robust, its features sharper, twin blades protruding from its elbows, a hardened exoskeleton shimmers beneath formidable armor. With a single strike, it had vanquished a Veyrith general, the tentacles twitching feebly before falling lifeless to the ground.
Briggs's eyes grew dim as he reached out toward the creature he had deem as an ally. To his surprise, the humanoid grasped his hand, in that instant, memories flooded through him, his heroism, his legacy, his family whom he loved most. Feeling his life slipping away, he knelt, not in sorrow but in respect. Not for his failure, but in triumph for his victory against all odds, his sacrifice ignited a final spark within his heart, burning hotter with vengeance.
From beneath the rubble, another survivor emerged, a hulking beast, a monstrous bear returned, even more terrifying, with its body warped with horns sprouting from its head and arms. It spotted the humanoid and charged, each thunderous step shaking the ground. But with a single stride, the humanoid vanished and reappeared before it, driving his fist clean through the beast's skull, its body compressed grotesquely, eyes bulging before the entire form erupted in a merciless explosion.
Out of pure rage, the humanoid spread his arms wide and let out a piercing screech, a terrifying aura flooding the battlefield, far away, Morfel, upon receiving Laufrein's report, rejoiced with a sinister grin, only for that smile to falter as he abruptly felt the monstrous aura from afar, "What was that just now?" he muttered, his eyes fixed on the distant direction.
"Screee!"
The monstrous cry tore through the air, conjuring a tide of miasma that spread across the field, swallowing every fallen Veyrith corpse into its suffocating dark, from the blighted ground, small buds sprouted, pulsing before hardening into grotesque cocoons, within the ectoplasmic confines, pairs of red eyes flickered awake.
Back in Cardaltha, Morfel froze, unsettled by the overwhelming energy signature clawing at his senses. He strode into the hidden laboratory, demanding a scan, his assistant scrambled to comply, but the machine sparked violently, the screen splintering before going black, Morfel's eyes widened in disbelief.
A voice cut in panicked, breathless. "...m'lord… m'lord!"
He turned sharply, venom in his tone. "What?!"
The trembling guard stammered, his words breaking into disbelief.
"The skies… it's dark… monsters"
Morfel rushed outside, then froze, "Ecrea? No, what is this!?"
The skies above were blotted out by a nightmare he had never witnessed before. A swarm of giant insects hurtled toward Cardaltha at terrifying speed, their wings a blur. Their dark, spiked thoraxes gleamed in the pale light, their heads hung with writhing proboscises and their piercing red eyes split the heavens with malice.
The Cardalthan army scrambled to brace for impact but it was futile.
The first wave struck with overwhelming force, insects the size of an adult man latched onto soldiers and citizens alike, armor, flesh, it made no difference. Terrified creams tore through the city as the swarm consumed one victim, then launched toward the next, leaving nothing behind but blood and despair.
Veyrith Women... Children... Guards. None were spared.
The armored corps rallied, shields raised in a desperate wall, for a fleeting moment, they thought they could hold.
Then the ground shook.
The armored corps tried to form a shield wall, but hope crumbled in an instant when a monstrous variant slammed into the ground, larger, with writhing tentacles and a dozen unblinking eyes. Another emerged, bristling with spikes, its massive frame tearing through their defenses with a thunderous roar.
"Aaaagh! No… help me! M'lord, help!"
The cries of his people echoed in his ears as Morfel staggered into the open.
What he saw defied words.
The skies churned with wings and shadow, the swarm blotting out the light as if the heavens themselves had turned against him, ferocity beyond reckoning, malice without end, every possibility he had ever calculated, every contingency he had ever prepared, crumbled in an instant beneath this overwhelming tide.
His eyes widened, his breath hitched, sweat trickled down his neck as his heart pounded with a fear he had not felt in centuries, for the first time, Morfel took a step back not from defiance, but from dread.
Before him, Cardaltha, his pride, his fortress, his dominion was reduced to screaming chaos.
"This can't be…" he whispered. "My domain… my stronghold!"
Laufrein stumbled to his side, panting from the chase. "M'lord…" She froze, her words died in her throat as her gaze fell upon the horrors below, a gasp escaped her lips.
Then, above the plaza, a figure lingered in the air.
Suspended with unnatural stillness, the insectoid figure loomed, its form distinctly unlike the swarming masses, its wings hardly moved, yet the air trembled around it.
In a low ghastly voice, it spoke, "Iridas… Morfel."
The sound of his name sent a chill through Morfel's bones, his teeth ground together as the fear in his chest twisted, hardened, and ignited into wrath. With a snarl, he extended his hand.
Light flared.
A rapier of brilliant blue steel shimmered into existence, its golden hilt gleaming like the sun itself had been forged into his grip, he slashed, the air screaming with each strike.
The humanoid dodged effortlessly, hovering just beyond his reach, instead, Morfel's arc of flame cleaved into the swarm behind, igniting the creatures in a blazing inferno. They shrieked as fire consumed them, tumbling from the sky like burning hailstones.
"You shall pay!" Morfel roared, his voice cracking under the peak of his rage. he lunged again and again, each strike more desperate than the last.
The humanoid barely moved his spot, then, in a blur, its fist drove into his abdomen, Morfel felt the force tearing through his insides, excruciating pain exploding across his body, before he could recover, another strike smashed against his face.
He was hurled down like a meteor.
The impact thundered through the plaza, stone shattered beneath him, leaving a vast crater in his wake, gasping for air, his eyes fell upon a broken figure, an armored Veyrith or what's left, hollow and desiccated, its lifeless gaze staring into nothingness.
Above, the swarm descended to him, red eyes and gnashing maws closing in.
Boom, flare erupted from his body.
A blinding white explosion erupted around him, consuming the insects in a storm of fire. Flare's heat seared everything within reach, Morfel rose from the blaze, burning away his elegant mantle, revealing his upper body bare.
Clutching his rapier tight, Morfel's eyes blazed as white flames coiled around him, dancing like extensions of his body. At the center of the plaza, the clash erupted boom! a sonic shockwave tore through the air, knocking even the distant onlookers off balance.
The flames were extinguished, but Morfel's presence only grew sharper, colder. He wielded his blade, no longer driven by rage but by the poise of a true Veyrith ruler, each strike bent space itself, rays of light shimmering before bursting into violent white fire.
Then, with a single, devastating slash, Morfel unleashed a powerful arc. His blade carved destruction across the plaza, walls crumbled, colossal gates split, metal melted like wax, and swarms of insects were reduced to ash, their bodies crisped in searing flame.
Yet the humanoid slipped through it all, dodging with impossible speed.
But Morfel was unfazed, he wasn't finished, channeling his power into the rapier, he drove the blade into the ground, a vast circle ignited beneath them, intricate inscriptions glowing to life. Chains erupted forth, striking true, piercing the humanoid's limbs before wrapping around his body, time itself seemed to shudder and halt flames froze in midair, ash hung suspended, the world fell eerily still.
Calmly, Morfel began to walk forward, his eyes burning with restrained fury, the humanoid could only watch, bound and powerless, as the ruler of the Veyrith closed in.
"How dare you! I, Iridas Morfel descendant of heroes, ruler of flames, sovereign of this land, dare?" Morfel's voice thundered across the plaza. "You are nothing but a speck compared to me, now feel the pain of every Veyrith you killed!"
With a roar, he drove his rapier deep into the humanoid's chest, chains seared the creature's limbs, pulling taut as the blade impaled and lifted him high into the air, the humanoid writhed in agony, struggling to retaliate but bound and pierced, he could do nothing.
"Die, wretched monster!" Morfel yelled, white fire erupted from the wound, consuming the humanoid as a towering pillar of flame spiraled skyward in blinding brilliance. The magic circle beneath them shrunk into nothing, and at last the flames began to fade.
When the blaze dissipated, Morfel's sword still jutted from the humanoid's chest, its exoskeleton was charred, crumbling, its eyes turned dark and lifeless. Morfel scoffed, silent now, his gaze swept to the ruins of his domain, Veyrith and insect corpses littering the streets, grief caught up to him.
He was about to sweep aside the husk when a sudden twitch froze him, his eyes snapped back to the body impaled on his blade, slowly, cracks spread across its charred shell, crack, crack, until the exoskeleton flaked away, revealing a pale humanlike flesh beneath, with lines traces remained across his skin, with a massive black mark branded across its chest.
But the face… the face remained hidden, still veiled in monstrous guise.
"What… what is this? What are you?"
Morfel's voice wavered, his grip remained tight on the hilt.
The figure before him reached up, grasping the mask that clung to his face.
Crack… crack…
The last of the charred shell crumbled away, dark hair spilling free, cementing his unmistakably human form.
Slowly, he pulled the mask aside, a hiss escaped, like steam releasing from a sealed chamber, before the truth was unveiled, beneath the monstrous husk lay the face of a man, his crimson eyes burned like otherworldly fire.
High above in his domain, Eltries reclined with one hand resting against his cheek, a slow grin curl across his face as his gaze fixed on the chaos below, with a sinister tone, he voiced out his fascination.
"There you are... zero."
Thus, Cael was reborn into the world of the living.