FOUR YEARS AGO — BENIN CITY — O.G.B CAFE
The evening was warm. A ceiling fan turned lazily above their table, stirring the air without cooling it. Tessy sat across from Eloghosa, her bare feet tucked under the chair, her silver boots nowhere to be seen.
"Time for me to go," she said, checking her phone. "TJ is waiting you know."
Eloghosa leaned back, stirring his coffee.
"Stay a little longer."
"I can't."
"You can."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You're being pushy."
"I'm being honest." He smiled. "Spend more time with me. The boy will still be there."
Tessy looked at him. He was smiling, but there was something behind it — something that didn't want to be alone.
She stayed.
---
FOUR HOURS LATER — TESSY'S HOME
The door was unlocked.
She stepped inside. The lights were off. The air was warm — too warm. She called out.
"TJ?"
No answer.
She walked down the hallway. The bedroom door was open. The smell hit her first — iron, copper, something sweet and wrong.
Holy stood in the center of the room. Six wings extended from his back, brilliant white with golden tips. A halo hovered above his head, pulsing softly. His eyes were beautiful. His smile was gentle.
Blood was everywhere.
TJ lay on the floor. Half-eaten. His blonde hair matted with red. His small body broken.
Holy looked up.
"Oh," he said. "Sorry about the mess."
Tessy couldn't move. Couldn't scream. Couldn't breathe.
"He was very sweet," Holy said. "I couldn't finish him. You interrupted."
He stepped toward her.
"Maybe next time."
He vanished.
Tessy fell to her knees. She didn't scream. She just held her son's body and rocked back and forth.
The halo's afterimage burned in her eyes for hours.
---
PRESENT — COVENANT BASE —
The blood was fresh.
Holy stood in the center of a corridor, surrounded by bodies. Humans. Civilians. The ones Praise had been trying to save. He was eating — not with hunger, with purpose. A man still alive screamed beneath him, his legs already gone.
"PLEASE!— PLEASE!—"
Holy tilted his head. Chewed. Swallowed.
"Shhh."
He noticed her.
"Oh. A woman."
Tessy stood at the end of the corridor. Her bare feet were planted. Her hands were loose. Her face was blank.
The memory came back. The unlocked door. The warm air. The blood.
"Hey," Holy said, smiling. "Nice to meet you. My name is Holy. What a wonderful day, isn't it?"
The dying man screamed again.
"PLEASE HELP ME! —"
Holy's smile didn't waver.
"Shhh. Don't interrupt me. That's disrespectful. Don't you see I'm talking?"
He manifested a sword of light. Raised it to stab the man.
Tessy moved.
She took the man from Holy's feet. Blitzed across the corridor. Set him down against the wall.
"Are you okay?"
The man's eyes were wide. His breath was ragged. He nodded.
Then his body burst open.
Blood sprayed. Cuts appeared across his chest, his arms, his face. He died in Tessy's arms, his eyes still open, his mouth still forming the word please.
Holy stood where he had been. His sword was gone. His hands were clean.
"Hmm you're fast," he said.
Tessy stared at the body.
Flash — TJ in her arms. Half-eaten. Blonde hair matted with blood.
Flash — Present. The man's body, cooling.
"Don't worry," Holy said. "Just drop him there. I'll make sure he doesn't go to waste."
He stood up. Brushed off his body. His wings folded and unfolded lazily.
Tessy looked at him.
He reminds me so much of Eloghosa.
"I'm a Photophobia," Holy said. "Or anti-Scotophobia? Oh well. You get the point. It's my duty to bring light so darkness doesn't devour it."
"Bring light," Tessy said. Her voice was quiet. "Devour darkness. Don't make me laugh."
"I wasn't telling a joke was I?"
"That man was screaming for help. You killed him."
Holy tilted his head.
"I helped him. He no longer feels pain. Everyone fears death. That's why I eat them. They live inside me forever. In light."
"You're crazy."
"Uhhh — we only just met. Why are you so mean?" He brightened. "Oh, I know. Something must be really bothering you. I'm all ears. You can tell me."
"Something is bothering me." Tessy's voice cracked. "Don't you remember the child you ate four years ago? Blonde hair. You killed TJ."
Holy's eyes widened. He tapped his chin, thinking.
"Oh! You mean that lady. You had such a gentle, sweet child. I remember. I couldn't finish eating him because you interrupted me." He smiled. "Sorry about the mess though—"
Tessy blitzed him.
Her fist connected with his face. He blocked — just barely — his hand catching her wrist a split second before impact. The punch still landed. Still pushed him back.
"So quick," Holy said. "I couldn't stop you in time."
He raised his hand. A flash of light exploded from his palm. Tessy dodged — barely. Her shoulder burned. Her arm went numb.
"You're really fast," Holy said. "But it's useless. You can't kill Phobias without applying Faith. Or a Gift. I think. But i must say you punch like a truck."
Tessy raised her hand. Silver light gathered — spinning, condensing.
Spiral.
She moved. Holy didn't block this time. The spiral connected with his chest. It detonated. He flew backward, crashed into a wall, slid down.
TJ. I'm sorry. Please. I'm sorry.
Holy looked down at his chest. Blood poured from the wound. Silver light still crackled around the edges.
"This is much stronger than the punch," he said. "This is really Faith."
He looked up.
"I was told to be careful of Vanguards."
He pressed a hand to his chest. The wound stopped bleeding. The flesh knitted.
"What's this? I've healed already."
He smiled.
"I'm sorry. You worked very hard on that technique. Was it new? Did you develop it yourself?"
He stood up. Rolled his shoulders.
"Oh, this is fun. I even liked getting hit with it. A little."
He stepped forward.
"Hello Miss? Do you have another one? Do you think it will work? Let's try."
---
Stride
Silver boots manifested over Tessy's white socks. The liquid-metal sheen caught the dim light. She charged another spiral — smaller this time, denser, spinning faster.
"Is that so?" she said. "I'll grant your wish, then. After all, I've prepared for this."
"Is the technique ready yet?" Holy asked. "You can come at me anytime."
She moved.
Stride — Blur active. Traces lingered behind her. She reached Holy in a heartbeat, spiral extended.
He jumped.
Easily. Effortlessly. He floated above her, wings spread, watching her spiral hit the wall behind him. The explosion carved a crater.
"I said let's try it again," he said, landing softly. "But reusing the same technique is boring."
He spread his wings. Manifested a sword of light.
"Let's try something else."
They clashed.
Holy's sword met Tessy's fists. He laughed — not cruelly, joyfully. She dodged. He followed. She jumped higher, charged a double spiral — two orbs, one in each hand.
"That's slower than before," he said. "At this rate —"
He parried the first. The second. She zagged around him, found an opening, landed a spiral on his ribs.
It exploded. He stumbled. The wound healed.
"What's this? I've already healed."
Tessy moved back. Her breath was coming faster.
"The way you stopped my attack," Holy said, "was incredible. It was like the concentrated result of all your efforts. Keep it up. You don't want to break momentum. I love supporting people who do their best."
She went in again. Faster. Stride at full acceleration. Her fists — wrapped in silver light — struck his guard again and again. His wings deflected. His sword parried. His laughter echoed through the corridor.
"Yes. Just like that."
She landed another spiral. Moved back.
"That's how many times now?" Holy asked. "Looks like it didn't work. It's becoming less and less effective."
He tilted his head.
"How many more variations of the technique do you have?"
Tessy was panting. Sweat dripped down her face. Her legs were shaking.
He's way more powerful than me. It's so hard to keep up . My spirals aren't working anymore. He's developing resistance to it so quickly.
"Painful, isn't it?" Holy said. "Your Gift helps you move fast. But I'm faster."
Tessy took a deep breath.
She charged multiple spirals — not one, not two, a dozen of them, spinning around her hands, orbiting each other. Spirals within spirals.
She moved.
Holy blocked the first. The second. The third slipped through. The fourth exploded against his chest. The fifth, sixth, seventh — all of them, landing in rapid succession, each one detonating, each one pushing him back.
She passed him. Landed on her feet.
"Oh my word," Holy said. "You're so fast. You might be the fastest Vanguard I've met."
He paused and remembered Eloghosa earlier.
"Maybe not." He chuckled.
Tessy looked down.
There was a hole in her stomach. Blood poured from it. She was vomiting blood.
"Shit," she whispered.
She fell.
Holy walked toward her.
"You could have killed me, honestly."
Tessy lay on the ground, her blood pooling around her. Her vision blurred.
Why am I so far from Eloghosa in power? If I was as strong as him — or Ezra and Benjamin — I could have killed this Phobia.
Holy stood over her.
"Are you done yet?"
Flashback — Eloghosa's voice. "Let's all be strong together."
"Damn you, Ohi," Tessy whispered. "You're such a hypocrite. You're already that monster all by yourself."
Tears fell from her eyes.
"GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, TESS!"
The voice was similar — but not his. Younger. Harder.
"DON'T BE A HYPOCRITE LIKE MY BROTHER. I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO CRY ABOUT THIS."
Tessy looked up.
Osagie stood at the end of the corridor, his red glove —Flicker—humming faintly. His Sanctite katana was drawn.
"GET UP," he said. "LET'S FIGHT. LET'S KEEP MOVING. BECAUSE VANGUARDS LIKE US ARE THE EXCEPTION."
He walked toward her.
"WE WILL WIN THIS BATTLE AT ALL AND ANY COST. Together!"
He stopped beside her.
"TESS. DIDN'T YOU PROMISE ME AND TJ THAT? YOU BETTER NOT BREAK IT."
Tessy stared at him.
"Are you done screaming now," Holy said laughing. "He really looks like him." He thought about Eloghosa and chills went down his body.
Osagie looked down at Tessy. Bent slightly.
"LET'S DO THIS. HEAL YOURSELF. I'M WAITING."
"Oh wow, still screaming." Holy said chuckling
He walked toward Holy.
Holy raised his hand. Swung mockingly — not to kill, to test.
Osagie snapped.
The red glove—Flicker— flashed. Holy was somewhere else. Twenty meters to the left. He looked around, confused.
"What —"
Osagie was behind him. The katana was already moving. Holy turned — too slow. Osagie snapped again. Switched with a piece of rubble. Now Holy was facing empty air, and Osagie was cutting from where he'd been standing.
Again. Snap. Teleport.Switch. Again.
Holy couldn't track him. The red glove flashed from everywhere at once.
Osagie closed his hand. Pulled his fist back. The red glove—Flicker— pulsed.
False Communion.
He didn't need perfect alignment. He forced it. His body, his Faith, his intent — all of it, compressed into one moment. The air warped around his fist as he drove it into Holy's chest.
Holy flew backward. Crashed through a wall.
Osagie snapped his fingers. The red glove flashed.
"WELCOME BACK, QUEEN."
Tessy was healed. Her wound was closed. Her legs were steady. Her eyes were clear. She stood where Osagie had been — they had switched positions.
She raised her hand. A spiral — denser than before, spinning faster — formed in her palm.
She moved.
The spiral passed through Holy's chest. Not exploded. Passed. Detonated inside him. He flew backward, crashed through another wall, and lay still.
Holy smiled.