Warrior Cipher tripled her speed. No matter how fast the queen Mornogan Soul Sucker was, she would plunge her sword into its heart.
"Look out!" Emma shouted with all her might.
Instinct took over. Cipher executed a flawless side backflip just as the mother Mornogan Soul Sucker unleashed a fiery blast. The creature had returned, transformed—its body now an enormous dragon, scales shimmering with malevolent energy.
Cipher barely had time to process the horror when she looked back where Emma was. She instinctly shifted her eyes up, just to see Emma trapped—suspended in the sky by monstrous hands, her life essence draining into the queen's grasp.
"No!" Cipher roared.
She surged forward, gaining incredible speed, her body a blur of movement. With every heartbeat, the distance between her and Emma shrank, hope like a fleeting ember.
At the peak of her jump, she released four arrows in rapid succession—each shot whistling through the air. But the smaller Mornogan Soul Suckers flung themselves into the line of fire, sacrificing themselves in a grotesque display of loyalty. Their bodies burst into dark mist, their souls absorbed by the queen.
Warrior Cipher cursed under her breath. Emma's life essence had dwindled to a mere flicker.
Desperation surged in Cipher's veins as she landed, bow drawn, loosing arrow after arrow. Each strike was fueled by sheer determination—but the queen raised her hand. A massive barrier unfurled, black as the void. Cipher watched in horror as her arrows vanished against its surface, useless.
Then, the queen Mornogan soul sucker made her final move. Emma's remaining life essence drained away. The monstrous hands released their grip. Emma's lifeless body plummeted.
The lesser soul suckers scattered, letting her fall. The action almost sucked Warrior Cipher's strength, "No!" Cipher cried. She quickly gathered what was left in her soul.
She sprinted forward, reaching out, launching herself through the air in a desperate dive. Time slowed as she cradled Emma just before she hit the ground.
Cipher from the intra-multi-gaming-voyage's breath came in ragged gasps. As the scene before scared, for she did experience what Warrior Cipher was feeling at this moment.
Warrior Cipher lowering herself to a crouch, she held her sister close, trembling hands pressing against Emma's cooling skin and pale.
"Come back to me, Emma." Her voice cracked. "Come on, talk to me, sister!" But there was no response. She had dead.
Warrior Cipher moarned, her voice slicing through the chaos, but the warning was swallowed by the weight of time itself. She saw herself—helpless, watching Emma slip away. She was supposed to protect her but instead it was a twist.
The sky split apart, the mother Mornogan soul sucker came viciously at Warrior Cipher.
Cipher from the intra-multi-gaming-voyage saw. She panicked, "Look out Cipher!" She attempted to warn her but she forgot that she was just a spectator and she could not be heard.
The mother Mornogan soul sucker unleashed a brimstone of fire. Flames cascaded down, consuming her in an unforgiving blaze. Lost in grief, she did not realize the fire licking at her own skin until the pain became undeniable.
A dark, curling laughter echoed through the battlefield. The Queen Mornogan soul sucker sneered. "Filthy wretch. When will you learn? Now, there is no one left who can defeat me!" Her voice dripped with victory.
Above above Warrior Cipher, the true menace revealed itself. The Mother Mornogan who had disappeared in the heavens at the beginning of the battle had returned. She was the one who had spat the brimstone fire. She now whirled in the sky, spinning in exultant triumph. Revenge had finally been exacted, and it sang in the crackling embers of destruction.
Warrior Cipher's hair burned away, reduced to ashes. She continued to scream as pain became more severe in her every part of her body.
She released Emma's corpse, her scream piercing through the stormy night. She threw herself onto the blood-soaked, rain-drenched ground, trying to extinguish the flames, but the rain and pooling water, tainted with blood, offered no relief.
The queen Mornogan soul sucker descended to the ground where Warrior Cipher suffered in pain, mocking her.
"Finally, I have placed you where you belong, mortal. Enjoy purgatory!"
Warrior Cipher's vision blurred, the fire consuming her senses. She cried terribly and no matter how much she tried to put out the fire, nothing worked.
"And now, all the souls you've protected for so long are mine—crispy and ready. Earth, my first dwelling in the Milky Way Galaxy, is mine once more."
"How pitiful humans are," she groaned in triumph, reveling in her power.
The remaining Mornogan soul suckers slithered forward, grotesque forms reveling in victory. They came down and lined up behind their queen.
When all hope was lost, she waited her death, six cherubim descended from the heavens, their radiance slicing through the darkness like a blade of divine judgment.
The seventh, astride a majestic white-golden dragon, led the charge. Without hesitation, the dragon unleashed a torrent of opaque, water-like solution onto Warrior Cipher.
The unquenchable flames vanished instantly, leaving behind charred wounds and scorched flesh. Though the fire was gone, the pain remained—a cruel reminder of the battle she had endured.
Warrior Cipher coughed, her lungs raw, her body barely able to hold itself upright.
The lead cherub's voice was deep, commanding.
"Rise, Warrior Cipher. Your battle is not yet finished."
Warrior Cipher lifted her gaze, locking eyes with the celestial warriors who stood before her.
The queen Mornogan soul sucker snarled, but a flicker of uncertainty flashed in her gaze. The beings who came to rescue Warrior Cipher made her tremble because of the aura they emitted.
In the span of three and a half minutes, the Mornogan soul suckers met their end, slain by the seven cherubim.
Cipher from intra-multi-gaming-voyage watched the scene before in astonishment. Her part was to observe and learn.
Pain tore through Warrior Cipher's body as she found herself ascending, weight pressing against her limbs, yet she was not alone. Two angelic beings—one on her right, one on her left—held her arms, guiding her through the unknown.
From the intra-multi-gaming-voyage, Cipher was ascending still, her senses overwhelmed by the breathtaking sight of swirling clouds—colors unlike anything she had seen before, blending in a mesmerizing dance.
"Where are you taking me?" Her voice, weak and fading, escaped in a whisper. Dizziness wrapped around her mind, gripping her brain, tightening around her eyes. They shrank bit by bit as fragments of her past flickered in her consciousness—laughter, sorrow, battles won, battles lost. The weight of realization settled: this must be her departure.
"Don't strain yourself," the angelic being on her left reassured her. "You must heal. We are taking you somewhere safe for your recovery."
But Warrior Cipher was already drifting, her weary eyes shutting as darkness took hold.
Moments later, they arrived. The golden palace loomed before them, radiant and celestial. Without hesitation, the angelic beings lowered her into a fountain of glimmering blue soluble solution, its surface shimmering under the glow of mounted golden bullets.
The seven angelic beings assumed their places, their solemn gazes fixed on the fountain—on her. Then—suddenly—Cipher erupted from the depths of the shimmering blue.
"No!" she screamed.