other stories from the EOA

-Danielle, Spirit and Starlight-

“Over there, that group of Nintendrian soldiers!” The pair of healers were quick to move to the aid of the troops their guard was pointing out. It was a struggle to keep the medics safe in such a crowd, even despite Spirit's increased channeling ability since meeting Hemera. The Existen dropping aerial attacks didn't help.

Starlight's twin blades cleaved through the flesh of the humans surrounding quite easily. The trouble was only in numbers, there... the nasty surprise came when the draconic being that had been assailing them dropped down, looking for a snack.

“Goddamn scaly bastard...” She was quick to dive out of the way of the beast's first strike, not expecting it to swing around with its tail and knock the wind out of her.

“So you want a fight, do you...” she coughed. “Can never make this easy...” Starlight folded her katanas to her chest.

“Awaken, Dragon King of Wind and Light!”

An electrical field surrounded her, stunning the Existen out of its attack as she stood back up. The katanas were gone, and in their place was a set of plate mail that made her look remarkably similar to the beast, except on two legs, and admittedly much smaller. She took to the air and swirled around the beast as it recovered from its shock.

“Let's go you right bastard.” She darted under its breath of ice and dove over its head, where she grabbed it by the neck with her Storm hand and blasted it.

She was given pause when the action didn't kill it, but that pause would cost her. The Existen caught her in its mouth and shook its head violently. The two channelers she was meant to be defending heard her scream out, before it moved to swallow her.

It wouldn't get the chance before it would feel the hot white burn of light against its body, causing it to spit her out and make an attack on Danielle, whose hair went blond and whose back held six glowing wings of energy. She seemed utterly unfazed by this, instead grabbing it by the head the moment it tried to bite down upon her.

The dark gray corruption on its scales burned away as she continued to force more and more light energy into it, revealing the shining cyans and blues patterning it underneath as its deep, echoing roar shrank to a more human-like scream.

She only let the beast drop the moment the last of the corruption burned off it, though this made her very faint. As the channel faded, and she returned to normal, she would be caught by a pair of surprisingly humanoid hands as she fell.

“Please... tend to your ally... I must atone for my sins.”

-Shelly-

So many souls... so... many.... souls... too many souls. How many were left unattended for this hundred years? Not every creature on this battlefield was human or Existen or subguardian... this ghoul was a Spirit Child, that one was a Skrieni... the price to pay for letting a soul lie too long was great.

It was foolish for these mere mortals to challenge Death herself. Those who would strike against her would fall dead where they lay. And so they would rest in peace, as Shelly collected their soul and moved on. She would allow them another chance, later, Alastor permitted.

It was not their fault. They could not have known what she was. But the timer was ticking... at this rate, would she be able to make it to the top of the tower in time? With so many other souls to attend to, she hoped she would be able to reach them in time...

One of the dying in particular caused her to personally come over and investigate. She lifted the eviscerated psionic into her arms.

Foolish, just like usual. She could not fault him either. How fortunate that he should stay out of the way of the upper battle... won't that be fun...

“So there was one other... whom you could not get a grasp on...” Her voice was barely a hiss. “Perhaps you could have taken... the channeler... if not... but it was not their time... it... is not your time either...”

She carried him away from the battle and deep into the twisted forest beside them. She would be able to handle any Existen, not that she could sense any left. They would be hard pressed to hide from her.

“Foolish... so foolish... I will teach you...”

Shelly lay him on the ground, and the earth would split underneath him, binding the hole in his chest and repairing the cuts in his legs.

“You... are mine now... you are my Agent...” She turned away from Ank, with a smirk on her face. “When you wake... all will be finished. When you wake... you will seek me out... yes... seek me out... as you should have done... before you got yourself killed...”

The timer was still ticking down. She would have enough time to get to the top of the tower and watch the big show. Two gods, yes... two gods...

-Lucidia and the Blackwood Clan-

Now, not everyone went up to Cerphixen to fight the good fight. Some were simply incapable, and others did not wish to see the fighting. And some... some were kept home by their loved ones. Angel was one of them, and she had kept the likes of Kaze and Daniel home, one because he needed the recovery time and the other because she refused to let her girlfriend face death now. But these women were a very different story.

They stood to the side as the queen drew a circle on the floor in dark chalk and charcoal, then placed crystals in each of the provided places in the pattern. A Seer's Circle and Seer's Blessings... also called Voidsinger's Blessings.

Indeed, the young woman with the dark hair and violet eyes, wringing her scarf nervously despite her calm demeanor, looked quite intrigued.

“So... what you're saying is, this will let us view where Sister went.”

“That is indeed what I am saying.”

“That... numbskull... running off to war... she'll get herself killed!”

“I worry that of many who went to Cerphixen today. But we will at least be able to see that she is safe.”

“That's my goil! Fightin' the good fight, kickin' gods in the dick and gettin' ass!” The much larger woman beside the first stopped for a moment to think. “...She is gettin' ass, right?”

“Not really any of my business.” Lucidia sat down cross-legged and motioned to three large circles around the large one in the center, each with six dark blue candles placed around them. “Have a seat, if you would, please. We will be beginning shortly.”

“You sure this is gonna work?” The final woman, much paler than the other two with the red hair to match, wrung her hands.

“Absolutely sure. You may be unfamiliar yet, but I have done this many times.”

“And you're sure this is gonna lock on to my little girl.”

“Once again, absolutely sure, particularly with you lot here.”

“What's so special about us though?”

“You three are the other Creators who passed through the veil. Surely there must be something left.”

The first young woman looked toward the ground solemnly. “Just... please, as long as it can prove Sister is safe.”

The lines of the circle began to glow brightly as Lucidia placed another Seer's Blessing in front of her. “Watch, and I will prove it to you.”

A deep mist welled up from the center of the circle. Inside it, they could begin to see a young woman doing hand to hand combat with the shadowed figure of a madman, bloodied up and enraged. It looked as if he'd had his wings sheared off by some blast. Strewn to either side were the two they knew to be on the strike team, one man in a leather jacket and one woman, obviously more battered, with her multi-hued hair splayed out all over the place.

“S-sister...” You could see the young woman's heart sink into her stomach. “You idiot...”

“C'mon, kick him in the dick already- attagirl!”

Beyond Kali's loud cheering, the room was quiet as the fight played out before them. Sure, Xerizero was already injured, which may even have been the only reason for it, but she was winning. You could almost hear the sickening cracks when she struck a joint.

But as much hope as they had, it all came crumbling down when, on the image played back, she was inevitably stabbed through the chest with a black-glowing blade once, then another time, just to seal the deal.

“Sister, no...” Anya tried to reach out for her, coming back disappointed when all she was able to touch was mist. “Sister... why would you... what?”

After flopping over, to be left for dead for sure, it was certainly a startling sight to see her push herself back off the ground and keep fighting. Though the sparking around her was concerning, and why were her eyes glowing? Why was the image distorting? Why was it getting so bright- was that a meteor?!

It grew so bright, so quickly that the light overtook the room, causing her pain from the brightness. The Seer's Blessings crackled, clearly startling Lucidia, as the power from the event overloaded them. They burst, one right after the other, in short order, and the image faded. The surge from the crystals bursting was enough to apparently overload Lucidia, and she fell over, knocked out, leaving the Blackwood clan in the dim room they had started in.

There was silence.

It was a pained silence, as they struggled to recover from the light show, and a sad silence, as the three of them were forced to assume their sister and/or daughter had died there.

It was a long silence, or at least, it felt that way. Longer than eternity, before one of the few royal guards left entered the room.

“It's... over.”

“Over...?” Anya looked up at him.

“He's dead.”

“Was... anyone else found dead in there with him...?” She dreaded the answer.

“...No. Everyone was alive. Like a miracle, really.”

One could see her exhale in relief, a bit of a tear coming to her eye.

“Dammit, sister...”