"Run." Oburn roared, pushing Veyric away from a flying claw.
Missing its intended target, the claw swept through Oburn, dicing him into multiple pieces.
Turning around, Veyric watched as pieces of his older brother danced in the purple sky, his blood painting him and the streets crimson.
The warm blood of his brother drenched his face. He shuddered, his heart skipping multiple beats as a cry escaped his lips.
He cried, scrambling to gather his diced brother.
"Oburn, come. We need to find brother Valen and Harven and we will all be safe." He sobbed, running his hand through Oburn's pool of blood.
Unbeknownst to him, Harven was already being digested.
Veyric kept crying, trying to piece his brother back together. However, the bat-like Chaos Monster was not keen on waiting.
Using its claw, it pierced the young Valerius's heart.
As the claw penetrated, his cry transformed into a wet, primal cry of agony.
Blood seeped through his broken lips, as he choked on it. His eyes turned blood red, as he cried in blood.
The grotesque bat lifted him up. His eyes remained persistently on a mutilated part of his brother's head, crying tears of blood as he struggled to escape the monster's claw with what little energy he had left.
"Save." he mumbled, his words flowing in a stream of blood.
Releasing a victorious shriek, the bat dropped Veyric into its maw of jagged teeth.
While he descended into certain death, he saw his brothers' faces. He gave a weak bloody smile back.
"Brother." He whispered his final words, as his bones and flesh were churned into paste.
.....
"Free at last, though this curse still persists." Lucian sighed, floating in space clutching his half-severed arm.
Lucian floated about in space like a warrior drained by war, his eyes carrying the weight of years of duty.
Looking around through his long golden hair, he chuckled. 'Where to rest now.' He wondered, when suddenly he sensed something.
He sensed a disturbance in the natural flow of Nether, a disturbance in a pattern he was all too familiar with.
The pattern of chaos, destruction, death.
The pattern of a. "Branch decay." He mumbled, biting his inner lip.
He knew first hand the horrors a decaying branch could birth, after all he had spent all of his life fighting it. However, he had finally escaped that life.
'I am no longer an Admiral.' He affirmed, clenching his fist. 'I have already saved billions. I can afford to be selfish this once. I am also mortal. Is it so wrong to wish to live longer.'
With each syllable he spoke, his resolve hardened. Relaxing his fist, Lucian turned around, ignoring the burning city of the Valerius.
"Thalor is more than capable of handling it." He whispered his final stance.
He was blessed, or rather cursed, with a power that demanded his life to save others, a power that demanded nothing but absolute selflessness.
He remembered the looks of disgust, disappointment, and betrayal. Ironically for wanting what they wanted.
To live.
'You all are the selfish ones.' He thought, focusing on the flow of his Nether.
He began floating away when suddenly he sensed something else.
Another Torch.
A Torch that could carry the flame that blesses as it curses. A Torch that could carry the flame he wished dearly to be rid of.
'It ends with me.' He thought, tightening his jaw.
Turning around, he continued floating.
Before he could get far, he remembered the words of his master, the previous torch.
'The flame must never die, no matter how many lives it claims. It is light, a brilliant one.'
...
Back in the city, the Chaos Monster's rampage continued, growing wilder.
Amidst the chaos, a cargo ship landed in the city center.
As the dust settled around it, the hatch opened.
With slow, steady steps, a group emerged from the ship.
Leading the group was a giant of a man that nearly dwarfed the others.
His body was well beyond sturdy, each muscle well-defined and chiseled.
He bore the face of a wise sage with his long, luscious golden beard and shining, spotless head. However, his eyes were those of a skilled and ruthless warrior.
Folding his arms, Thalor sighed. "It would seem this visit was more important than we had originally anticipated, Gobun."
Scanning the information disc, Gobun replied. "It would seem so, your grace. Fortunately, the military is not completely useless."
Gobun stood an exact copy of Thalor, except he was younger with more hair and was thinner compared to Thalor and other Valerii.
"Very well then, provide them with assistance." Thalor commanded, stepping out of the ship.
Following his orders, the group of Valerii ran into the crumbling city, leaving behind Thalor and Gobun.
With heavy eyes, he scanned the once boisterous city, observing its crumble. 'Wherever they step, chaos is sure to follow.' He thought with a sigh.
Noticing his leader's displeasure, Gobun consoled him. "Considering all the factors, the death toll is quite acceptable."
Glancing back at him, Thalor flashed him a smile weighted down by years of responsibility and battle.
"Death is death." Returning his gaze to the crumbling city, he continued. "Acceptable or not, young Gobun." His tone heavy with his own sorrows.
Looking up from the screen, Gobun fixed his round glasses with a sigh. "Apologies, your grace."
Chuckling, Thalor replied. "No worries, you." He froze, sensing a Nether pattern he shouldn't have been sensing.
Scrunching his eyebrows, an exhausted sigh escaped his lips. 'What are you doing here?' He wondered.
...
Approaching the planet's atmosphere like a shooting star, Lucian slowed down, the golden flames at his feet dimming.
Rushing Nether to his eyes, he scanned the city in search. 'Was it a fluke.' He thought, doubting his own keen senses.
However, he stood corrected as he found the source, but it was weak and fluctuating. "You are not dying yet." He sighed, summoning Nether to his feet.
The flames burnt brighter.
He flew over the city like a spark of light, shattering through the sound barrier.
Within moments, Lucian was floating above the compound. "This is it." He mumbled.
After not discovering any Chaos Monsters from his scan, Lucian descended.
Smashing through the ceiling, he descended into the room illuminated by the purple-tinged light seeping through, like an angel of light.
Beyond the light that seeped through the gaping hole Lucian had made, it was completely black.
Surveying the supposed room, Lucian saw it was more of a hole than a room, filled with cells containing Valerii. "Where is this?" He whispered in bewilderment.
All the Valerii he had encountered in his lifetime were the blueprints of a warrior in every aspect except mentality. Although they battled Chaos Monsters and were honorable.
They were lazy to a fault. With all their inert strength, training became a chore.
In contrast, the Valerii he saw in the cells were closer to rats than Valerii.
Scrawny bodies, shivering gazes, eyes hungry for bread, not blood.
Frustrated by the sight, Lucian clicked his finger.
Instantly, the entire hall was engulfed in golden flames, accompanied by screams and cries for help.
However, as the flames melted the bars to their cages, the screams died down.
Stumbling over each other, the prisoners raced out of the hall, jumping over the melted gate.
As the last one left, Lucian walked towards a certain cell.
Melting the bars, he walked in. A wry smile grew on his lips as his eyes landed on the torch.
"Why is a kid like you in here? I hope you will not be as difficult as I was." He mumbled, kneeling.
...
Scrunching his eyebrows, an exhausted sigh escaped his lips. 'What are you doing here?' Thalor wondered.
"Gobun, is former Admiral Lucian's location known?" He asked.
Scrolling through his information tablet, Gobun glanced at Thalor. "No, your grace. Following his duel with Jester, he seemed to have disappeared."
"I suspected as much." Thalor replied.
Matching his Nether's flow with the world's flow, Thalor took to the skies. "Follow me." He ordered with a glance.
Looking back at the sky, he launched himself with a boom, a boom that shook the entire planet.
Gobun followed with a grunt.
The two flew through the skies beyond the purple clouds in an instant.
"We wait." Thalor said, floating above the purple clouds.
"For wha?" Gobun paused mid-question as he noticed something.
A head was piercing through the purple clouds. He had not sensed it, or heard it. 'How is that possible.' He wondered in bewilderment.
His senses were not only keen for his level but also beyond it, so how could someone escape them.
Clenching his fist, Gobun assumed a defensive stance, his pupils and iris radiating red. "Identify yourself." He declared.
Steadily floating out of the clouds, Lucian stood with a missing hand and a child.
Glancing between the two, he smiled. "Former Hexagon Admiral: Lucian." He answered.
"What brings you to this crumbling city of mine." Thalor asked, arms folded.
Chuckling, Lucian glanced at Gobun. "At ease soldier, I mean no harm."
Glancing back at the leader of House Valerius and lord of the Valerii, he answered. "I had nothing to do with this. I was only passing by when I sensed the next Torch."
Shifting his gaze onto Valen, Thalor replied. "This is simply a Branch Decay. I do not suspect you. However, I am disappointed. You were blessed, but lacked ambition."
Clenching his fist, Lucian turned around. "I am deeply sorry for wanting to live, Thalor." He sneered, the words gritting against his teeth.
Throwing one last sharp glance at his old friend, Lucian turned into a blur as he flew away.
"I cannot fault you." Thalor whispered.
.....
Hard, cold stone pressed sharply against his back. The air was damp with an ancient smell.
Valen's eyes fluttered awake to darkness. However, it was not the darkness he had fainted into. This darkness he could see through.
He saw only the hush wet of ancient rocks.
"Good morning, kid." Lucian greeted, his words echoing through the cave.
Rising to his feet, Valen searched for the echo.
As he did, his eyes met Lucian's.
He froze. "Who are you?" He whispered, voice hoarse.
"Worry not, young Torch." He chuckled. "I saved you from wherever that was and brought you here to pass a flame on to you." He declared, walking to Valen.
"My broth."
"Oburn, Veyric, and Harven." He interrupted. "Unfortunately, they died in the Branch Decay." He continued, with a heavy tone.
His words pierced through Valen's world, shattering it and his heart.
Dropping to his knees, he sobbed. A stinging pain radiated from his heart.
Patting his shoulder, Lucian spoke. "Crying is of no use. It will not bring them back."
However, his words only traveled past Valen's ears as his cries only grew louder. "I was meant to protect them." He cried.
Offering a warm smile, Lucian continued. "But you could not, and now you are down in the darkness of despair. So come, and raise a light that ends this deep darkness."
Raising his head, Valen finally had a look at his supposed savior's face.
.....
"Then he trained me in combat, and nearing his unfortunate passing, he passed the Endless Flame on to me." Valen narrated.
Still chewing, Calistis glanced at him. "That does not explain your desire to be a hero." She muttered.
Clearing his throat, he continued. "Well, my master was a great man. He not only saved the crumbling city but also me. He even told me tales of all his conquests throughout the Physical Realm, and Branch World. I was inspired."
'I have read about former Admiral Lucian. He was not an inspiration, he was lazy.' Calistis thought, contemplating whether to enlighten Valen or not.