The creature of chaos crumbled into a shower of bright ash, leaving only the smell of burning in the air. Aries lowered his sword, breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Finally..." he muttered, staring at the remains of the monster.
Behind him, Cale watched the ground silently, paralyzed by anger and curse. His hands trembled, fingers clenching in fist trying to control the desire to simply destroy something.
But he was surprised when a pair of arms wrapped around him. The smell of perfume that Alinys had always worn never changed.
"You're safe... thanks to Ereghast" murmured Alinys, squeezing Cale against herself "You're alive and well. But how did you get out of the World of Chaos? I have not heard of your return."
"Breathe... I need to breathe, Alinys..." asked a choked Cale.
"My goodness, forgive me!"
As soon as she let go of the hug, Cale can breathe again. Nevertheless, he was happy to see his twin. He could feel his own heart racing in his chest. Cale could hardly believe who he saw right in front of him. It was like coming home.
"This can be for another time. How did you find us here?" intervened Aries.
"It's been some time since the cities of Riteun have been targeted by attacks" Alinys let go of Cale's embrace, and evaluated him from top to bottom while explaining "Based on the attack patterns, I assumed that Solastera would be Guyel's next target, so I came to check."
"So it's really his thing. Looks like we'll have to think about it when we regroup."
"Regroup... wait, Aries, where is Yvaine?"
Aries pointed to the city, where the starry protective fields occasionally appeared as huge bubbles. The sound of explosions and screams were still possible to hear.
"Is she facing a battle alone?"
"I would not say that she's alone..."
"Let's go" Aries pulled Cale's arm with a certain impatience, and began to descend the hill "Those two will not hold much longer, if they come across monsters like our friend there."
Alinys adjusted the position of her weapon on the back, following them curious. The three descended the hills, without taking their eyes from the explosions of the city and the chaotic echoes that reverberated.
The time was not propitious for reunions, but Cale found himself anxious to ask so many questions to his sister. She looked so different, more mature, more serious... stronger. As expected, Alinys was an enviable warrior. In addition, she seemed to know Aries well, since she talked comfortably with him during the journey.
"No one was sent here?"
"Being under Riteun's protection, your permission is required to act. But things are chaotic all over the nation" Alinys explained calmly as she hid behind a broken wall and watched the entrance to the city "Local deities are helping in any way they can, but we're talking about the one who inherited the chaos from the god himself who rules it..."
A shiver passed through Cale's spine. Also hiding behind the wall, he stretched his neck and watched the entrance of the city. No sign of the enemy, but the trail of destruction was desolate. Unconsciously he shrugged, as if he could feel the energy that had been wrapped in the World of Chaos under torture.
"Let's move forward." Alinys looked at them and whispered, pulling Cale's hood to cover his face "Stay close to me and keep hidden, okay?"
"Without a sofa to watch the show? A snack... gee, it's not fun to see you fighting if I do not have some pamper."
"Ha... I can't believe I missed that sharp tongue" laughed Alinys, still pulling the hood to cover her brother's face.
Cale wanted to test his new ability further, but agreed that it would be difficult to do this when he was in danger of other creatures attacking him at the same time.
Ah, what controversial feelings he carried.
The three advanced through the entrance of the city, listening to the silence in the surroundings, and the wind laden with the metallic smell of reddish tones that colored the sands and broken cobblestones.
An entire city destroyed in a matter of minutes. Even without ever having known the city in its joy, Cale could see remnants of life destroyed on all sides. His chest was clenched in compassion for the lifeless eyes that were unjustly mowed.
Where were the gods?
Lives were being lost, and the gods did nothing?
Clenching his teeth, Cale swallowed his own frustration and disbelief. The pain in his chest by the harsh reality only deepened feeding the rancor. The purple eyes narrowed as they advanced through the city, until they heard sounds of battles and metal colliding. The grunt of creatures alerted them, making them hide behind rubble and assess the situation.
"Wait, is that Mikhal?" Alinys widened her eyes.
However, Aries had already run away in a dash, raising his sword and intervening in the battle that seemed to be unbalanced for his allies. The monsters that surrounded them roared and approached trying to take advantage of the humans that Yvaine protected. Mikhal clearly could not handle several monsters at the same time.
"Aries?!" Yvaine screamed as she saw the fellow jumping into the air, and cutting the creatures with a cold precision "Wait, what is he doing here?! Where is he?!"
"Oh, stay calm. The little dragon just wants to clear a bit" Cale smiled, stroking his sister's shoulder.
Aries did not stop moving. His help was welcome, giving the sigh of relief to Mikhal, who managed to prevent the monsters from approaching Yvaine and the survivors. The fight was balanced, but the monster of chaos stronger did not give up attacking them.
Similar to the one on the hill, it was a creature that knew very well who and when to attack. At least Aries had the chance to let out his anger, because he could fight without worrying about the protection of his master. There he turned his sword and cut the enemies with all his might, annihilating them quickly and leaving for the clash with Mikhal.
They were able to entertain the stronger creature, and keep it away from the survivors. Yvaine, keeping her barrier around the humans, tried to share her magic force by assisting from afar.
Watching the fight from afar was fascinating. Cale barely blinked as he watched his Theiodesmos in action with such... intensity. His heart had come to beat fast in his chest.
Cale wanted to be like them.
He wanted to be strong and reliable.
Ah... oh lovely envy.
"Damn. Stay here, Cale, and don't leave."
Cale barely understood why Alinys also left the hideout and made his entrance into the fight. Not until he saw Alinys draw her sword and hit the second creature that appeared behind the humans. For a moment, Cale froze in place.
He had not noticed that creature there.
Nobody, except Alinys, had noticed.
And it was a relief when she cut the creature before the worst happened.
Now, Cale was the only one to cowardly hide behind rubble. His body trembling with the divine presence of his "allies". The fear of losing life whispering in your ears like a cruel song.
A sudden heat rose up his spine. It did not come from the sun, nor from the sand around. It was internal, as if his curse sensed something.
"Did you come to see me?"
The voice whispered in Cale's ear made him freeze once more. His heart beat harder against his chest. A freezing cold passed through every muscle. Slowly, the head turned over on his shoulder, making the purple and wide eyes come across a pair of bright golden eyes and an evil smile.
The whole body of Cale reacted to the divine presence of that subject. Writhing from the inside, as if ghost hands held each organ of his and squeezed without any shame. The pain, the ghostly sensations... one of his curses came into action.
"Cale Arkalis. It's a pleasure to see you out here."
Cale tried to back down, but his legs seemed rooted in the ground. His dry throat made no sound but a trembling sigh. Looked like a man... wore heavy armor that smelled of iron. But part of his neck contained scales, and the eyes were so different from a human...
"Who are you?" he managed to mumble, although his body looks like it's about to collapse.
The subject tilted his head slightly, like a predator analyzing its prey.
"How rude of me. My name is Guyel" he replied softly, almost in a melodic tone, but with some threat.
The name fell like a sentence, the purple eyes widened in terror. The memories came back in fragments — shouts, chains, a black sky. The same emptiness that will swallow him in the World of Chaos insinuated itself behind those golden eyes. After all... he was the son of chaos.
"Don't be afraid of me" Guyel continued, leaning to stand at eye level with Cale "I'm not here to hurt you... yet. Even because I know that you are not a hindrance while you are so... cursed."
He took a step back, his eyes never leaving those of Cale. The boy swallowed dry, clenching his fingers to the side of his body as a force to resist the obvious fear.
"What do we owe the honor of your visit, cross-creed cub?" Cale tried to open a smile, but it came out so weak and strange that it made his cowardice clear.
Guyel tilted his head.
"Do you want to help me with what I'm looking for? I don't think you're up to it."
Cale's fingers clenched. He couldn't feel his ability working against Guyel. He felt absolutely no vitality leaving that body and coming to your...
Would he still be weak?
"If you are the son of that... damn, then the last thing you need is my help with something. But I am curious to know what you are looking for and the reason to attack this village."
Guyel remained silent, staring at him without expressing any emotion. For a moment Cale hesitated, thinking that he had crossed the line and that the guy would kill him for it. After all, the intensity of those golden eyes and his divine presence were so suffocating...
Finally, in what seemed to last agonizing millennia, Guyel broke the silence:
"Do you intend to prevent me from getting what I desire? Your Theiodesmos are no match for me... nor someone cursed like you. Then does it matter that you know?"
The air was heavy. Cale could still hear those four fighting against the creature of chaos, not knowing that near him there was chaos itself. Helpless. Cale felt like an ant before a giant, about to die crushed.
Still so...
Still, he did not lower his head.
"Of course it makes no difference."
"It seems you know your place" Guyel murmured, and suddenly he held Cale's face "Let's make a deal, Cale Arkalis. I can say what I am looking for, but should not tell anyone about it."
"What..." Cale muttered, silencing again when Guyel's claws tightened his face even more.
Guyel's hand slid through Cale's chin until the fingers wrapped around his neck, squeezing it tightly. Cale coughed and grabbed his fist, trying to get rid of the grip. But the difference between them was so great that it made their attempts fail before they even began.
"My deal is... There's someone hiding under the false light of this sand god. A boy. If you give me him... Chaos may forget you for a while. But if not... well, I can see you in your dungeon."
The explosion of the battle created a sand fog, which spread throughout the area. The grip on Cale's neck was gone, causing him to cough and choke for air. When the dust went down, Guyel was no longer there.
"This is not a deal... it's a threat" muttered Cale stroking his own neck.