Paramythi I: City of Glass
Chapter Ten: Strong As A Flower

Helios had never been the best at staying asleep after sunrise.

Call it something akin to instinct, but he would always crack an eye the moment the sun would start to lift over the hills and face down towards the ground in a pleasant rise of occasion that was dawn. Sadly, he was never too good at keeping his eyes shut after sundown, either. He had been subjected to such a routine since he could remember, and while he tried to drown out the sounds of snores and mumbles from his comrades around him, he could not stand the atmosphere for too long and was soon climbing out of his bed and pulling on his boots.

The inn was quiet and creaked lightly as he stepped along its floorboards. If Eris’ parents had indeed been so keen as to pay for the expensive décor within the building, Helios hoped and prayed Eris would gain a wealthy check for this first mission. He was considering sharing his own costs with her since he never really found the value in money all that worthwhile. He had everything he could ask for and a place in the Rebellion’s units.

Inhaling deeply, Helios crept through the reception area and past the round dining chairs to reach the front door and pry it open with a soft sound of noise. He was surprised at the lack of locking mechanisms on the polished door and took a guess to say the village must have been quite a friendly place to be able to keep one’s house left open during the night. Scuffing his boots along the porch seemed to be the loudest thing Helios could have done in that moment and he managed to frighten himself with the unnecessary noise; along with the figure sitting on the edge of the porch, hunched over until Helios’ rude entrance.

“Woah!” Helios hurriedly closed the door behind him to drown out his rather boisterous voice of surprise. Blinking his colourful eyes, the young man stepped towards the edge of the porch and smirked down at the redhead sitting alone. “What are you doing out here, Ri?”

Riyo merely glanced over their shoulder before returning their attention to the damp, murky ground at their feet. “I have as much reason to be out here as you do.” They said, hand moving as they drove the head of one of their arrows through the mud. “You shouldn’t be so loud at this time of day…”

“I couldn’t really sleep,” Helios shrugged and slumped himself beside Riyo with an almost too casual approach of choice. “Can you really tell what time of day it is from here?” He mumbled and tilted his head upwards towards the foggy, dark sky.

“It’s late.” Riyo said. “So late it could be considered early.”

Helios allowed such a comment to slide and turned his attention back towards his partner and what they were doing. When his eyes travelled down Riyo’s shifting arm, he tilted his head and examined the scribble of a word etched into the muddy ground and spoke aloud with a blurt of tone.

“What’s Erebus?”

Riyo, taken aback by Helios’ observation, kept their mouth shut for a collection of seconds and ceased their scribbling. Their throat bobbed and they lifted their leg to drag the sole of their shoe across the word with spite until it was nothing more than an abused mound of dirt.

“Nothing.” Mumbled Riyo. “I’m just bored.” They added whilst cleaning the head of their arrow by sliding it across the edge of the porch.

Sceptical was Helios’ face and he was rather determined to suck any further information from his partner when, as if to save himself the humiliation, a low growl emanated from the distance and the two Rebels stiffened, eyes wide.

The fog in the air hung like a low curtain. It made things difficult to decipher and pinpoint on whatever could be hiding in its thick walls. The only source of light for Helios and Riyo had been the small lantern sitting on the edge of the porch as provided by the latter of the two. It was hardly enough comfort to keep them at ease when another growl reached them, this time from a completely different angle.

“…I didn’t bring my guns.” Helios whispered.

Riyo remained situated where they were beside the Faeman and swallowed the lump in their throat whilst offering a nod. “I have my bow…it’s fine.” They whispered.

“Could be a Shema? Eris said the farmers here owned some in pens.”

“I have no idea what Shema look like.”

“Oh, well…they’re kinda popular around the border of Minoas, so I’m not surprised if you’ve never seen one.” Helios kept his voice low and tilted his head in case of another growl. “Just think of sheep with antlers like a deer and…well…as big as a horse.”

“What kind of creature is that?” Riyo snapped harshly, their voice a mere hiss of a whisper now as they plucked their bow up from the porch and tugged on the dirtied arrow they had been using beforehand. “Are they even capable of growling like this?”

Helios felt his face drain of colour and he offered a sincere smile to clear it away. “Heh, well, honestly I’ve never even heard them do anything but bleat.”

“So it’s agreed,” Riyo scoffed as another heavy growl rang in the air. “Shema don’t growl.”

Without a warning to either of the young Rebels, the description of what seemed to be a Shema appeared from the fog and rammed itself against the porch. It was swift and quick, turning its head left and right as if in a frenzy. Its mouth was open, emanating another harsh growl and it lifted its head with a harsh exhale from its flaring nostrils. Its eyes were black and pouring with a murky substance.

Helios had already jumped to his feet and had swiftly yanked Riyo up by the elbow to avoid the crushing of Shema antlers against their legs. “Gods above, what the hell is wrong with its eyes?!”

“It’s ill!” Riyo barked and shrugged Helios’ hand away in order to resume their stance and pull back their arrow. “Could this have killed our guide?”

Helios was unable to provide an answer when he felt a sudden pain pierce his stomach. Looking down, he was granted with the sight of the Shema’s antler wedged into his gut and bright droplets of blood spurted forth to coat the ivory texture embedded in his skin.

“Helios!” Riyo shrieked and released their arrow, firing it into the neck of the beast’s thick flesh.

The Shema made a high-pitched sound of agony and shook its head to yank its antler from Helios’ stomach and it turned, leaving the young Faeman to stumble back against the Inn’s door and slide down towards the porch in a state of pain and shock.

Flaring its nostrils, the Shema stared Riyo down and scuffed its hooved foot against the creaking floorboards of the porch – much like the actions of a bull that had seen red — and it dashed forward before Riyo had the chance to reload their bow.

“Drat-!” Riyo hissed. They pivoted on their heel faster than their own mind could account for and jumped off the porch and into the fog. The lack of light source made things uneasy for the first second or so, yet the adrenaline pumping through their veins forced them to keep moving and lure the Shema away from the Inn and Helios. “I don’t pray much, but Gods, don’t let the villagers step out of their homes tonight!” They grunted and made an abrupt jump to their left, avoiding the sharp contact of bloody antlers in their back.

The Shema seemed unaffected by the lack of direction and heavy fog clouding its vision as it scampered in a circle and faced Riyo once again. If it was worn out, it was doing a mighty job of keeping itself in check and motioned with its antlers threateningly before charging after Riyo.

“What was that noise?”

Eris’ gentle voice filled the room and drifted down the hallway, stirring Elias from his wondrous dreams and thus caused the young Rebel to rise from his bed and rub his eyes to discard the hints of his sleep. Eris had already scurried out of her bed the moment such horrible sounds had begun to emerge from outside her window and had instinctively run along to Elias’ room to engage the situation further with a serious frown forming across her gentle face.

“Did anyone else hear that?”

Tovi sat up first and appeared to be wide awake. His face was lit up by the dim candle Eris was holding and he nodded with a grim expression.

Enzo grumbled in his sleep and slowly sat up as Tovi hopped out from his own bed and started to tie his boots on and strap his quiver to his side. “What noise?” Grunted Enzo, hand brushing across his forehead as he attempted to tear reality and dreams apart.

“The noise outside, sir,” Eris said. She extended her hand to illuminate the room just a tad more and pointed towards the empty bed. “Where’s Helios?”

Psykhe appeared behind Eris, as if on cue, and shook her head with a sharp click of her tongue. “Riyo’s not in our room, either.”

“Maybe they went out to train?” Elias suggested and pushed back his covers. “Maybe they want to coordinate their teaming skills a little better?”

“I don’t see Midas being that cooperative,” Psykhe remarked from the doorway.

Eris pursed her lips together and swiped her free hand through the air in front of her, urging her comrades to be a little more enthusiastic. “We should at least go and check. I believe it’s early hours, anyway. We should be getting ready to finish our mission and head back to base!”

“The girl’s got a point,” Enzo mumbled through his long and much needed yawn. “Let’s go.”

Already acting one step ahead of Enzo’s orders, Elias had practically sprung up from his bed and pulled on his coat. He tied up his shoes and swiftly tugged on the holsters for his knives without a thought to process the danger laying beyond the inn’s comforting protection.

“I want everyone to be wary, alright? We’re on a mission so treat it like one.” Enzo gave the usual speech he would offer any new Rebel as he strolled out of the room and buttoned his coat. “Watch out for your comrades; partner or not…” Pausing, he glanced towards Tovi and resisted the urge to flinch. “Keep an eye on their back and they’ll keep an eye on yours.”

Eris followed closely behind Enzo and Tovi to provide them all with light from her candle. She had no time to undress from her nightgown which brushed against her exposed knees and left her arms bare, yet she did not look at all defenceless with her axe gripped tightly in her spare hand and the muddied, worn boots loosely strapped to her feet gave the impression for well-earned hardship.

“Suppose there is a specific threat targeted on us, sir,” Eris whispered. “What are we to do?”

“If you feel threatened, you make a stand and defend yourself,” Enzo said quietly. “Whatever might happen in your state of defence will happen. So choose my words however you see fit, just don’t ruin what we have fought so hard to build.”

When Eris said nothing and stared with wide, seeking eyes towards the back of Enzo’s head, Elias stepped up and cleared his throat to offer a determined “yes, sir!” As if to ease the tension running through Eris’ troubled features.

Mister and Misses Crysanthe were standing behind the reception counter when the group came down into the candle-lit room to the front of the inn. Their faces were unsettled, hinting the answers to every question the group could have asked regarding the noises outside and if it was normal or not around the village. Their grim expressions were cast towards Enzo and then to Eris before a short exaggeration to the scenario broke out.

“You are not going outside, young lady.” Mister Crysanthe commanded from his place behind reception. He looked the entity of fury with his curly locks of brown streaking down his face and eyes wide with a seriousness he was not keen to dismiss. “You stay on this side of the door while the Rebellion sort this out!”

“I am the Rebellion!” Eris spun around to face her father and slammed her candle holder on the reception desk. “This is what I was made to do! I joined them to fight for you! To gain your respect and keep you safe!”

“You are a child!” Mister Crysanthe looked ready to jump over the desk and drag Eris back to her room at this point. “While you are here, you shall do as you are told!”

Eris gripped the shaft of her axe with both hands. “I will not! I am an adult now and have changed from the daughter you once knew. You will be proud of me, father. I will make it so!” Biting back the urge to cry, Eris darted towards the door to the inn and pulled it open without thinking to follow the appropriate orders Enzo had been calling out.

“Stop, stop!” Elias ran up to Eris and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her away from the exposed porch and the figure laying up against it. “It’s Helios! Helios is…-Gods, he’s bleeding!”

“Out of the way!” Enzo moved without a second thought and hoisted Helios into the inn, with the help of Psykhe, and laid him upon the reception desk—much to Eris’ parents’ discomfort. “Where are your medical supplies?”

“In the back room,” Misses Crysanthe replied in a mere whisper. “I’ll fetch it.”

“Why must you waste our resources on a dead Faeman?!” Mister Crysanthe barked. He watched his wife leave despite his angry cries and balled a fist against his side before turning back to his daughter hovering in the doorway. “Eris Crysanthe, don’t you dare step outside!”

“You will not stop me, father!” Eris shrieked.

She used the height advantage between herself and Elias to free her wrist from the young man’s grip and sprung out of the inn. Her boots splattered against the pool of blood Helios had made and she jumped off of the edge of the porch and into the foggy curtain of her village to scout ahead for the enemy.

In her state of adrenaline, she would not so easily succumb to the crushing reality of how she had no real idea where she was going or what to look for. The whole situation could have been misread and perhaps Riyo had stabbed Helios for talking so inappropriately about the Allawo and took off. Allawo were naturally creepy, right?

Eris came to a stop soon after these thoughts clouded her judgement and inhaled deeply. The fog was heavy around this part of the village and not even she could be sure just where she had ended up. The sun was likely stuck behind the curves of the mountains in its attempt to rise, thus causing the heavy shadow and dreary weather to continue onwards like a prolonged nightmare.

“Eris, watch out!”

With no time for reaction or question, Eris felt herself being pushed towards the ground after taking a heavy weight to her shoulders and Psykhe appeared to force her down to the murky grass and mud. It would have been a rather uncivil and rude gesture if it had not been to save her from the ill-looking Shema thrashing around in the spot Eris had been standing in seconds ago.

“Oh, my…” Eris whispered, hand shooting up to cover her mouth with horror.

“What is it?” Psykhe grunted. “One of the farmers’ pets you mentioned earlier?”

“…Yes.”

“Is it ill?”

“I have no idea.”

Clicking her tongue, Psykhe climbed off Eris and unclipped her scythe. “Its antlers are covered in blood. It must have attacked Helios.” Tying the small lantern in her free hand to her belt, Psykhe raised her chin and took note of the arrows digging into the creature’s neck. “It got Midas, too.”

“Are they both dead?” Eris shifted to her knees, staining the purity of her nightgown in mud and grass. “Have we lost our comrades already?”

“Think about that later,” Psykhe said. “Focus on the target.”

Nodding, Eris took up her axe and stood beside Psykhe just as the Shema collected itself and thrashed its savage head through the thick, foggy air. It growled lowly and stamped its hooves against the mud, turning up chunks of ground in its rage.

A throwing knife shimmered through the air and clipped the Shema’s ear, gaining the creature’s attention and averting it from Psykhe and Eris before they could be recklessly trampled. With a flare of its nostrils and a low growl, it turned and narrowed its bleeding eyes towards the young boy standing in the fog.

Elias swallowed down the lump in his throat and swiftly retrieved another knife from his holster, visibly displaying his posture of defence and courage in a measly hope to make himself appear threatening. Alas, compared to the large, furious creature standing before him, Elias was nothing but a scared little child about to be run down by a mysterious case.

A low growl emerged into a painful shriek of agony and the Shema bucked its head back, wide eyes glinting as an arrow plunged itself into the centre of its head with a sickening crack of bone and cartilage. It stumbled to the left, then to its right, constantly displaying weak attempts to give Elias at least a scratch before it toppled over and ceased moving.

“…hairy bastard.” Riyo’s scratchy voice echoed against Elias’ ear and the young man jumped to the side, only having realised the redhead’s presence behind him. Rolling their icy-blue eyes, Riyo lowered their bow and propped a hand upon the curve of their hip. “Helios?”

“Enzo is taking care of him with Eris’ parents,” Elias spoke in slow tones as he tried to calculate every shaking moment which had just passed by. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and tucked his knife back into his chest holster. “…thank you, Riyo.”

Riyo’s eyes were serious and kind all at once. “You’re welcome.” They muttered and strode over to the Shema’s body to retrieve their lost arrows.

Psykhe and Eris joined Elias’ side and shared their momentary joy of victory and dying adrenaline to their very first mission. The conclusion of returning to the inn was to be their next objective when, all of a sudden, the fog evaporated and swallowed itself into nothingness, leaving the whole village naked and uncovered with the horror of many more Shema in the distance.

“Midas!” Psykhe called and gestured up towards the sky with her scythe. “New target!”

Riyo, kneeling down against the dead Shema, craned their neck to see a figure hovering high above the village and drew back a new arrow from their quiver. “The bastard’s got a hood on.” They grunted. “Are they with the Rebellion?”

“Should we take that kind of risk?” Elias grit his teeth and unsheathed the knife he had put away seconds ago. “Or should we wait for Enzo and Tovi?”

Psykhe nodded towards the herd of Shema. “We can’t wait for them, not when there’s a bunch of those things coming this way.”

Eris felt a cold shudder run down her back and she frowned, head turning to look about the area. Normally, even at this time of day, there would be other members of the village peeking out from their homes to begin their daily routines. Everyone had been accounted for the day before when they had arrived to inform them all of the dangers outside, so it made no sense for them to up and disappear altogether!

“It’s got a bomb!” Psykhe snapped. “Midas, shoot it out of its hands!”

Eris was broken free from her thoughts and turned her head up to the mysterious figure in the sky. There was a black box in the stranger’s hands with a collection of flashing numbers flickering upon its shining surface in luminous lights under the haze of dawn in the visible skies above.

Riyo needed only a second to send an arrow through the air and force the box out of the enemy’s grasp. The enemy in question had managed to anticipate such an attack and sent a thin bolt of purple lightning through the air. The dark matter made contact and shoot straight through Riyo’s shoulder just as Riyo released their arrow.

The arrowhead plunged into the enemy’s hand, thus causing the bomb to fly through the air with a splatter of dark blood to accompany its visage from its owner’s fresh injuries.

“It’s going to hit the ground!” Elias grabbed Psykhe’s elbow without thought and tugged hard as if she could produce an answer for everything as wide, blue eyes watched Riyo topple back into the ground with a painful cry. “What do we do?!”

“Calm down!” Psykhe barked and freed her elbow from the young man’s sturdy grip.

She parted her lips to say something more when Eris darted forward, jumped over Riyo and tossed her axe to the ground as her arms reached up towards the open skies and she enclosed her limbs around the bomb without a flaw to accompany such a heroic measure of patience as her body glowed a green colour and her skin began to break apart and flourish with petals.

“Eris!” Psykhe shrieked, knowing it was far too late to stop her friend now.

“Capitol has undergone a new procedure,” the Governor’s green eyes and pleasantly symmetrical features were flickering upon the Rebellion’s screens as she spoke, keeping her voice level and professional as she looked down towards Ciiria with a hidden mockery. “I would appreciate it greatly if you could, perhaps, keep your band of underdogs away from the villagers between Emvolo and Minoas.”

Ciiria cleared her throat and took a seat in front of the large monitors and Reidonn stood at her side, arms crossed over her chest. Within the room was a large window to overview the skies and pilots maintaining the floating base at their stations with the Governor’s face filling every monitor lit around them, keeping the base’s top floor uneasy to stand in and caused Ciiria’s people to flinch and excuse themselves while the small meeting took place.

“You must understand that most of your procedures are just ridiculous excuses to exclude the justice in things my men are capable of fulfilling,” Ciiria said. “Keeping my units from the ground during the day was not part of our initial agreement and I will be willing to state a few more reasons as to why I shall be inclined to dismiss your request altogether. Perhaps we shall even take it to a more open court in Dioscuri, you are not the only kingdom within Galaxis, after all, Phobos.”

Smiling, Phobos tucked back her dark hair behind her ear and nodded thoughtfully. “Indeed, yet Emvolo is the only kingdom which will allow your Rebellion to live in the skies. Not even Dioscuri would offer you as good as an agreement as I have done.” Clasping her thin fingers together against her knee, Phobos shifted comfortably in her seat and stared Ciiria down. “Consider this a fair warning for your dear Rebels.”

Ciiria withheld the urge to twitch a brow and rested her elbows upon the arms of her chair. “What could possibly be so terrible that you would have the decency to warn me? Or is there a secret election going on that I should be part of?” Ciiria cooed, thus causing Reidonn to crack a smirk beside her.

“Call it purifying,” Phobos replied. Her voice had seemed to drop a note or two, emanating a seriousness to rattle her speech when she continued to add, “there’s an outbreak of serious disease along the borders and we have deployed a selection of explosives to prevent the spread before it proves to be a pandemic.”

“Is that not another way of destroying evidence?” Ciiria challenged. “To burn everything down and leave no remainder.”

Phobos quirked a brow. “…we could have used your analysis here in Capitol, Ciiria.” Gradually, a smirk crawled its way onto her lips and she leant forward. “Such a shame the law was quick to change and demote little girls like you.”

“Such a shame a bitch like you was laying down the law at the time of my degree.” Ciiria countered without a crack to her stoic mask. “You could never stand competition, though, could you?”

“I believe in one leader and one voice.” Phobos sighed and rose to her feet.

“I suppose that is why we are so different.”

“I suppose it is,” replied Phobos. With a flip of her hair, she stood and turned to stride out of sight. “Don’t pretend I didn’t warn you.”

Shema were bashing against one another in painful wails, cries and growls as they rushed in a herd towards the young Rebels in the distance. Their hooves trampled the ground and tucked up the earth beneath them, kicking and spewing mud and grass in all directions whilst staining their white locks of wool a dirty colour of mess.

Psykhe had stepped forward to pull Riyo away from the centre of chaos and laid them next to Elias’ shaking frame. “Stay put, alright? Enzo and Tovi should be here in no moment at all to sort the rest of this havoc out.” Though her serious eyes were focused upon Riyo, it was clear she was directing her words on Elias.

Riyo’s hand flew out and they clutched Psykhe’s sleeve before she could turn away. Blood stained the whites of the young woman’s shirt and Riyo’s fingers gripped tighter and tighter as they forced words to come forth through the strain of their throat. “Don’t get too close to that thing. Whatever is in the sky…it’s a user of Magick. They’re devils to fight.”

Psykhe visibly flinched and she took a moment to glance over her shoulder and up to the sky where their hooded enemy was hovering like a ghost; unmoving save for its cloak and the noticeable droplets of blood which splattered upon the ground below.

“Eris,” Elias whispered. His knuckles were white and his palm was slick with sweat around the handle of his throwing knife. If he had the will to defend his friend, he would have stood and taken a clear shot of the mocking enemy in the sky, yet shock had ridden him to kneel on the damp ground and watch the scene with unblinking eyes. “Eris. She… needs us.”

Psykhe pulled her sleeve free of Riyo’s grip and she turned, laid her scythe upon the floor, and dropped her hands upon Elias’ shoulders. “Snap out of it, Kara. The shock will only eat away at your insides!” Shaking the young man seemed to do very little in terms of assisting Elias out of his trance and Psykhe cursed lowly. “Come on…! Don’t make me do this all on my own!”

“Trezla!” Enzo’s sharp voice cut the air and he appeared seconds after, guns in hand and a frown fixed on his face. “Stay with me, girl. We gotta get this trickster out of the sky!” He grunted, fingers brushing the triggers of his weapons.

Psykhe swallowed down the lump in her throat and she stood, leaving Elias to remain in his state of shock, and took up her scythe. “Yes, sir.”

“Attagirl,” Enzo grinned to distinguish his concern and sympathies stretching out towards the young Rebels in agonies of their own around him. He took a collection of shots at the floating figure and rounded the ground, protecting Elias and Riyo; who were hunched, unmoving and kneeling in the centre of the village. “Psykhe, there’s a herd of Shema coming this way. Be wary!”

“Yes, sir!” Psykhe replied and jumped onto a crate resting against the side of a low house. She hopped up and grabbed the edge of its porch-top and skillfully swung herself on top of it single-handedly. “What do we do about Eris?!” Cried the Rebel as she darted along the rooftops and climbed higher and higher, making her course a simple one to the lonely church in the village.

Enzo took a temporary glance towards Eris’ body and felt his stomach clench. He had witnessed the death of many Sylvannix in the past due to Capitol’s torment and previous missions. He knew well enough that, when a Sylvannix died, they would evolve and turn into nothing but flowers — which was why Ciiria and Kane never allowed any kind of flora to be used to decorate any part of the base.

Psykhe swallowed the silence of Enzo’s reply and gripped her scythe tightly as she jumped the gap between the next roof and the church edge. Her climbing skills had been marked the highest possible grade during her training and she did not let Enzo down as she reached the very top of the building and launched herself from it, scythe in both hands, and sliced the curve of the blade against the floating foe; tearing their cloak from their face and bringing them down with her to the ground below.

Enzo would have praised such a scene of victory if not for the herd of trampling Shema finally within dangerous distance. He grit his teeth and slipped his guns back into their holsters, knowing there was no way he could shoot them all down in such a rampage, and hurried over to lift the unconscious Riyo into his arms and urge Elias to his feet.

“Come on, Kara! Don’t let us down now!”

Psykhe, with a small twist to her ankle, limped her way over to Elias and the others as quickly as she could to help Enzo evacuate the ground. “He’s in shock!” She remarked and folded her scythe away and clipped it into place on her back. “When Eris caught the bomb, he froze up.”

“Bomb?!” Enzo barked and looked back to Eris’ glowing body. “What the heck is a bomb doing here—”

“Please…don’t worry…” Eris’ voice drifted like chimes in the wind and she raised her head, snapping the pedicels of the flowers growing forth from her neck and face. “The Shema won’t harm you.”

Elias blinked at long last and stiffly got to his feet. “Eris…please, no!”

Psykhe was quick to lace her arms around Elias and keep him from running out towards their friend. “You can’t save her, Elias.” Whispered Psykhe. Her eyes slipped shut, unable to watch the unfolding scene.

“No! Eris is our friend! We don’t leave people we care about behind! She’s my partner!” Elias thrashed around in Psykhe’s grasp and accidentally caught her arm with the end of his blade in his panic. “This can’t be happening! No! No, Eris!”

Despite the glowing of her face, Eris's smile was on perfect display for Elias and her comrades before the Shema trampled over her in packs and the whole herd began to glow and flourish with flowers in a large blast of explosion from the bomb Eris had risked her life for.

When the havoc died down, it felt as if the world had stopped spinning.

The ground was a curved indent upon the explosion’s impact with mud. Damp trickles of water were slowly filling the crater’s centre. Petals wafted through the sky and landed on Elias’ cheeks. There was still no fog to cloud the scene – yet Elias would give everything just to put some kind of curtain over the horrible sight — and the sun finally broke out to cast an orange hue on the damp ground for the first time in many years.

“...Eris,” Elias whispered. He dropped his knife and raised his hand to the sky, fingers extending with a dull ache from previous tension and he felt a tear run down his cheek when a pale petal brushed against his palm and flew away.

“She’s gone,” Enzo said with a low tone of choice. “Our mission is over.” His eyes had long ago moved away from the destruction in the centre of the village and over to the cloaked figure laying upon the broken remains of a wooden crate. “We have what we need.”

Cruel as it sounded to Elias’ ears, he knew Enzo was right and gingerly pried himself from Psykhe’s embrace. He would always remember looking at the young woman at this point in time and how her eyes, always so serious, were filled with tears.

“I’m sorry for hurting you,” Elias spoke, albeit in a collection of low volumes from the crack in his voice.

Psykhe shook her head and swiped her arm against her face, ridding the tears that only Elias would ever know about. “Don’t apologise. I understand.” She muttered and rose to her feet.

Elias noticed how Psykhe never took a second glance at the remains of the village as she turned to walk away from Elias, Enzo and Riyo. It made him feel cold inside and he was unable to stop himself from blurting out after her. “Where are you going?”

Psykhe continued walking. “The inn.” She replied distantly. “Someone needs to tell her parents.”