Morfel drew his blade and staggered back, still shaken by the figure's transformation before him.
"How can a human wield such power… and even speak the ancient tongue of the Veyrith? This is absurd!"
Cael hovered calmly above the ground, the humanoid mask clutched loosely in his left hand, his gaze never met Morfel's and the air was still… too still.
Morfel forced himself to steady his breath, "How are you… human?!" His words cracked under the weight of disbelief, but Cael remained silent.
"m'lord!" Laufrein's voice broke the silence as she ran to him, believing the battle had ended, unaware of the danger still looming.
"Stop! Don't come closer!" Morfel's command thundered, halting her mid-step.
Cael raised his hand, the corpses surrounding them, Veyrith and insect alike dissolved into dark miasma, writhing upward in a storm before coalescing into his palm, the haze hardened, shaping itself into a great sword blacker than shadow, so dark it seemed to devour the light around it.
Without warning, shink! the blade cut faster than eyes could see, Laufrein froze, trembling as her vision blurred, her body cleaved cleanly in two.
Boom! A thunderous explosion followed, shaking Morfel's castle to its foundations before the structure gave way, crumbling in fire and ruin.
Cael's sword thrummed in his grip, faintly vibrating, Morfel's eyes widened in disbelief, struggling to comprehend the truth, he stood amidst the devastation, the lone survivor of Cardaltha.
"Aaaargh!"
Morfel's eyes widened in disbelief, then twisted with unbridled rage. He dropped his weapon, heat spiraled around him, his body began to swell with raw power, muscles straining as his veins burned white-hot.
With a sickening crack, blood spurted from his back then, from the wounds, a pair of radiant white wings tore free, unfurling with a blinding glow, his hair lengthened in a sudden cascade, flowing down to his waist, where two brilliant blue feathers hung low.
His form reshaped, feathers sprouting along his arms, his chest marked by a glowing blue cross, his eyes blazed with a shimmering azure light.
The air warped around him, drawn inward like a collapsing star, white fire erupted from the ground, twisting into violent spirals, a storm of burning wind roaring outward.
Then, bang! the ground split beneath his feet, cracks flaring with white fire, from the storm of embers, his discarded sword reformed in his grasp, re-forged, and reshaped itself into a double-bladed weapon, its core bound by a golden circular hilt, searing flames radiating from its center like a sun given form.
Morfel advanced, each step scorching the ground beneath his feet Cael met his stride, and when their weapons collided the impact ripped through Cardaltha, a shockwave of fire and miasma exploding outward, reducing the plaza to rubble. Craters deepened, stones shattered, and still they clashed, faster, harder, until even the distant forests trembled under their fury.
With a stomp, Morfel summoned thousand blades of fire that blotted out the sun, they rained down in unison, forcing Cael to weave, parry, and deflect with inhuman reflexes, each blade that missed buried itself in the earth, burning deep into the plaza.
But the assault was more than a storm, but a trap, the swords embedded in the ground were more than failed strikes, they pulsed with runes, one by one, glowing circles similar before, flared to life to a thousandfold.
Time itself faltered once more, the world outside moved as normal, but within the circle Cael felt his body dragged into stillness.
Morfel strode through the trap, his blade carved mercilessly into Cael, who is suspended in frozen time, Cael's body was struck again and again until, when the flow resumed, he collapsed to the ground in broken pieces, blood pooled across the scorched earth.
Morfel looked down at him with cold disgust, raising his sword high, he unleashed a final downward slash, an eruption of flame roared into the heavens, a blazing pillar that consumed of what remains of Cael.
Satisfied, Morfel turned his back to leave the battlefield.
But then, within the heart of the inferno a shadow stood, two crimson eyes burned through the veil of fire, with a single, effortless swing, Cael cleaved the pillar of flame in two, the same stroke shatter the countless swords embedded in the earth.
Morfel froze, his composure waver, shock carved across his face.
Cael shot forward, with blazing crimson eyes, streaks of red trailing in his wake, Morfel raised his sword to intercept, but the blade suddenly felt heavy, his arm blackened, riddled with miasma.
"Miasma? That's… impossible, it only corrupts humans!" Morfel's voice trembled.
Before Cael's strike could land, Laufrein threw herself between them, her body, now fully transformed into a viscous, shifting monstrosity, hardened into a diamond-like barrier on impact, deflecting Cael's blade.
"Are you hurt, m'lord?" she asked, with a worried tone.
Morfel steadied himself, "...Yes," he lied, regaining his composure.
Together, they counterattacked in tandem, Laufrein's body morphing into weapons as Morfel's blade carved arcs of white flame, their strikes fell in perfect rhythm, forcing Cael back, yet the clash dragged on, and then, without warning, Morfel staggered. His knees gave out, he plunged his sword into the ground to support him, half his body was already being devoured by writhing miasma.
"M'lord! You're blighted." Laufrein caught him, with eyes wide in terror. Sweat dripped down Morfel's face as he met Cael's gaze.
Cael's weapon dissolved into nothing, losing interest, he turned and began to walk away.
Laufrein cradled Morfel, pressing her forehead against his, tears welled, but her smile remained soft.
Morfel closed his eyes briefly.
With a silent agreement they both they opened their eyes, "then let us face him… together m'lord."
They burned with a final, radiant blaze, his aura surged violently, brighter than ever before. Laufrein's body melted into his weapon, reinforcing it, turning it into a blade of radiant steel fused with her reinforcing property.
"Haaaah!" Morfel roared, his body ignited in blinding light. Side by side, he and Laufrein surged forward, their speed swallowing the battlefield in a tide of searing heat.
Cael extended his hand, a weapon of shadow materialized into his grasp, he raised it high, then brought it down in a single, earth-shattering slash.
Light and darkness collided, the explosion devoured the land.
Morfel and Laufrein's bodies dissolved in the storm, together, their forms lingers for a moment before drifting into nothingness, side by side, accepting their end in peace.
He glanced at them lik fading memories as his blade pulsed with a dark glow, their remnants flow into the sword, a sharp pain seared through Cher's eyes, his crimson gaze flared white for an instant before steadying. His aura surged, fused with the essence of his fallen foes.
Touching his forehead, he exhaled and released the pressure, the mark on his chest shrank, turning away, he prepared to leave, yet the earth trembled beneath him.
Then a sound of unseen chains rattles in the air.
He looked up.
From the heavens, a fortress emerged once more, rending the sky apart as its colossal shadow devoured the land. The firmament bled red, dripping with omen, and with it came memories long buried, memories of his death.
At once, a crushing weight bore down on Cael, as though the sky itself pressed against his chest. Time froze, not just around him, but across the entire world. No wind… no sound… no motion. Only deafening silence.
His crimson eyes widened, trembling, teeth gnashing as a voice rang through the eerie stillness.
"My, if it isn't… Zero."
"Eltries!" Cher roared with every breath in his lungs, the name which carved itself deep into his heart like a wound that never closed.
"You were nothing but a dull human once," the voice continued, echoing through the suffocating void, "yet here you are… killing a lowly subject of mine."
Cher's eyes burned. "Lowly… subject?" he spat in disbelief.
"Amuse me further!" the voice thundered. "Let me see how far your vengeance can carry you against my absolute power."
Despite the weight crushing him, Cher lifted his sword, every muscle screaming in agony. He stood firm and defiant, a spark of fire beneath the shadow of a god.
"Your mouth is still as wide as ever, Eltries," he growled. "Wait for me there. I will tear you down, you and all the nine gods that poison this world! My people will be free!"
The fortress above rumbled as the voice cracked with cruel laughter.
"Baseless threats, mortal. I will enjoy watching you break. I will see you then… ha… ha… HA HA HA!"
As the fortress vanished into the void, Cael dropped to his knees, gasping for air. His hands clawed at the dirt, then, he clenched his fists tight and tilted his head back.
A scream tore free from his chest, echoing with the weight of his frustration.
Cher jolted awake, a blanket draped over her as she lay against the ship's side, Mana sat close, gently comforting her, while Gil and Eric dozed not far away. Through the window, the horizon blazed crimson and orange, the sun sinking into a sea of clouds, the sight stirred memories of Karlea of people she once held dear, a single tear slid down her cheek, mana wiped it away with a smile, and Cher, overwhelmed, embraced her tightly.
Hours passed, Eric woke up first, stretching wide until his arm struck Gil's temple.
"Hey, watch it!" Gil protests.
Eric only sneered, which earned him a sharp pinch to the cheek. "Cut it out!" he grumbled, shoving Gil away.
Before the quarrel could escalate, alarms shrieked through the room. "Alert… Alert…"
Cher and Mana jolted upright as personnel rushed past their door, Euphie burst inside, panting.
"The right turbine… it's not looking good!"
Even half-awake, they understood the danger, they sprinted toward the bridge, where chaos already reigned, crew members shouted over one another, trading accusations about the cause of the failure.
"Will you all please shut up!" Euphie roared.
The room fell silent.
"Arguing won't fix this, we need to focus on fixing the problem."
Reluctantly, the personnel leaned over the ship's diagrams, searching for solutions, but then another mechanic rushed in, pale and breathless.
"The turbine's gone, we need to emergency land!"
Panic erupted once more, the crew's voices rose, colliding into frantic noise until Euphie shoved past them all, she slammed a folded map onto the table.
"Enough. We're out of time, so this is where we are, and this… this is where we land."
Euphie's finger stabbed at the outskirts of a distant continent on the map.
"That place…" one of the personnel muttered, worry etched across his face.
"Yes," she replied firmly, "it's foreign territory, but we've been there before, I'm sure they can help us."
The two Veylan in the room exchanged nods, "I vouch for her," one confirmed. "And they'll have the materials we need to repair the ship."
Dark clouds swallowed the vessel as fire continued to lick at its damaged wing, smoke trailed thick into the sky, leaving a scar across the heavens.
Euphie strode to the cockpit, leaning over the pilot's shoulder, she keyed in the coordinates herself.
The pilot gave a sharp nod, gripping the controls tighter. "Understood."
With a groan of metal, the ship veered off course, dipping into a controlled descent. The crew braced as the pilot guided the failing craft toward a flat stretch of land, just a few hundred meters ahead.
The plane spotted the land, the pilot gritted his teeth pulling into the navigation control, pulling hard as he can, while the wings peel away, everyone on the ship hang-on Cher and others helped patients to stay on their beds while its descent rapidly, Cher closed her eyes, as they all braced for impact.
Swoon! The plane lit the sky red as it hits the waters and slid across the sandy terrain people from the island went to mee their uninvited guests.
Merdea lay far to the east, an untouched island draped in lush green forests where mystical beasts roamed freely, undisturbed for years, the sudden thunder of the burning vessel shattered its peace.
Villagers rushed from the tree line, armored in woven steel and bone, weapons raised toward the descending craft, vigilant as every stranger could mean another Veyrith raid.
The ship groaned as it settled onto the earth, smoke billows from its wings, the warriors circled, pointing weapons whoever is in the ship.
With a hiss, the hatch opened, Euphie leapt down, followed by the two Veylan, they raised their hands in peace.
"People of Merdea," Euphie called, "Forgive our sudden arrival. It is us Euphie, Patrick, and Darwin. We seek your aid."
The island warriors hesitated, murmurs spread until a commanding voice cut through.
A woman stepped forward, with dark skin, her island dress flowing with golden frills and strips that gleamed like sunlight on the sea, a tiara crowned her brow, marking her as no ordinary figure.
"If it isn't the savior from the last raid," she said warmly, lowering her hand to calm her warriors. "What fate brings you back to Merdea? And how may we be of service?"
From the ship's doorway, Cher appeared, her gaze sweeping over the gathering below.
Inside the village, Chief Anessa welcomed them warmly into her territory,
"I see, iquite a long journey, ha ha ha!" she laughed, clapping her hands as food and drink were brought forth in abundance.
Tables overflowed with roasted meats, fruits, and spiced dishes, the air thick with music and laughter. Patrick and Darwin were already raising their cups high, drinking alongside the island warriors as though it were a festival.
Gil and Eric, however, bickered over a single cut of meat, Eric tearing into it just as Gil tugged it stubbornly from the other side, while Mana had curled up and fallen asleep amid the noise "Mlem… sister..."
Cher, however, could not bring herself to join, she lingered at the edge of the shore, the celebration behind her faded into muffled echoes.
It was there that a little girl approached her carelessly, she wore a circlet of purple woven flowers atop her head, and a turquoise dress that swayed with frilled edges. On her smalls hands a freshly cut coconut drink.
She offered it shyly. Cher blinked, then managed a faint smile as she accepted it. "Thank you."
The girl smiled back, too serene for her age, "losing someone is hard," she said softly. "Grief takes time to accept." Cher froze, "how could this child…?"
The girl sat beside her, scooping up a small shell, she held it against the starlit sky, then placed it gently into a jar she carried at her side.
"Human souls are unlike Veyrith," she continued. "Pure… and fragile. When you lose someone, it's as if a page has been torn from a book, the story is broken for a time, but with patience, new pages appear, they may not fit perfectly, but they let the story continue. To give in to grief… is to betray the ones already gone."
Her voice carried no judgment, only warmth. "Be strong, Cher."
Cher's eyes widened, breath caught in her throat.
"Cher… how did you…?" Euphie's voice broke through the silence from across the village. "Cher, the chief wishes to speak with you!"
"Coming!" Cher called back, rising to her feet.
When she glanced toward the girl, she too had risen but walked off in the opposite direction, fading quietly into the shadows.
Her presence felt less like an innocent child… and more like a mystery.
Cael returns to the base and builds thousands of graves for the fallen, placing personal items on each as markers, at Briggs' grave, he pours out liquor in mourning, seven figures approached, clad in full combat uniform, they fanned out in formation, and the one at the center stepped forward.
"We were too late…" the voice was thick with regret, he reached up, unfastening his helmet, "Are you with Commander Briggs?" the man asked.
Cael said nothing, his silence was heavier than words, and tension coiled in the air like a drawn blade.