Darkness. Nothing but pure darkness had overwhelmed the Anacardian land that Melissa and Milo could have called home. There was no trace of green, instead, there was the darkening cobalt to match the grass that marked Shadow territory. There was no daylight, but rather night. And it wasn't a pretty kind of night. For one, there are no stars or constellations for all of them had fled. The moon was the only sun, and it shone brightly upon the land torn by the Shadows, like a flashlight being held there to enable everyone to see the mess and wreckage.
The mess itself, it will be near impossible to get rid of the memories of seeing it. It's that traumatizing and sickening - The air was filled with the scent of violence; The metallic scent of dried blood, ashes, dust, burnt plants and decay. Not a single life of Anacardian blood remained left on the field before the living duo. Everyone was gone. Every man, every woman and every child. And even the sentient Pistachions weren't spared. All of their remains laid scattered on the field, broken and shattered, like the homes and the palace that once stood in a light full of glory.
Just like its dwellers, the land is clearly as lifeless as they are. One can hardly feel a breeze, or hear so much as the call of an animal. Everything was dead silent. Trees have turned into charred black, some of the soil began to lose its grass altogether. If one took the time to realize, the land was not only torn by war, but it was killed altogether by a paralysis; The Time Guardian was dead, and so was the flow of time within the Anacardian kingdom. When Orton died, his power haf died too, and there is no more of his own kind to keep time flowing…
And speaking of Orton, he and the other Guardians were the first that Milo and Melissa have seen upon arriving on the ruins. Shadows have been seen dragging Brick's corpse. Another was seen pulling out a spear from Savannah's back. Vinnie was lying face down on a pool blood. Orton's head was hanging at an unnatural angle and his chest was a mess, the flesh torn open and the forcibly broken bones visible. His death was possibly the most brutal out of the four Guardians. Poor Melissa had barely stifled a scream and she had cried when she saw her father's mutilated body…
Then there was Balthazar, Milo's biological father. Unlike the others, Balthazar wasn't killed by Block or the Shadows. But rather, the cause of his death had been more heartbreaking. A group of Gethens led by the Halfblood Kyle Drako, the very small fraction of good amongst the monstrosity that is the Shadows, had seen the First Guardian after he pulled through the Corruption. Balthazar had seen everything that remained of his home, his dead brothers and sister.
The eldest Guardian was silent... Shuddering and plucking the spear that laid with it's blade coated in blood beside Vinnie's corpse. And then he screamed a scream full of grief and heartbreak - Shoving the stake right through his own heart, sending a spray of blood splattering on the horrified clan of Drako. They couldn't scream for him to stop, as it all happened so fast.
Balthazar fell down to the ground, dead. His arctic eyes glassy and lifeless with the stake in his chest, blood pooling out of the fatal wound. He had nothing left. His family and tribe are dead, likely his son and niece are too. The Guardians will never be alive to realize the children are alive, and Melissa and Milo are all alone.
The two young ones had long accepted the fact that there was nothing left for them now. The Shadows have won, the Anacardians extinct. Why continue to stick around in a field full of ruins? With heavy hearts and a quiet request to Drako for a peaceful burial for their Guardian relatives, Milo and Melissa left Anacardia with no plans on returning. Ever. They went back to Swamp Hamlet, and they spent the next few weeks grieving and being comforted by the families that raised them for thirteen years; The only ones they have left.
It was truly painful for all of them. Even the Mortals weren't spared from the despair and the Murphys and Richard Chase were utterly devastated and horrified to find out what's become of the Guardians. Their feelings however were nothing compared to what Milo and Melissa felt, for it was their blood family that's affected...
Soon, the time came for the last two Anacardians to move on and they had mutually came up with a solution. Their young mortal friend, Zack Underwood, had accompanied Milo and Melissa to Mt Laurel for the second time and standing there in wait was a solemn-faced Drako. His closest companion Heinz was present with him and their exchange with Milo and Melissa had been short.
The adults were frowning in uncertainty by the time the young Anacardians had finished talking. "…Are you sure you want to do this?" Drako quietly asked, which gained stiff yet affirmative nods from the two youngers, which the two Gethens understood. They couldn't blame these two for making this decision. Even if it is unright, there's just.. Nothing that can be done.
"There's just nothing left for us up there. So whatever we have with us now, we're gonna let that go." Melissa said in a low voice laced with controlled grief, with Milo clinging to her with his face buried in her shoulder. "You put our fathers, uncles and aunt to rest.. Please, keep our magic with them. That way, they'll have me and Milo wherever they'll be after this."
Drako and Heinz exchanged a final glance of sadness and Drako nodded slowly. He held out his hand and it ignited in crimson aura - Milo and Melissa did the same, their hands lighting up pink and orange. Drako began to absorb their magic as Milo and Melissa channeled out everything they've got at once. The moment the absorbing is done, Drako had 'held' the Anacardian pair's magic in cupped hands and he held them out; The magic now in the form of two glassy orbs the size of his palm.
Tears were streaming down Melissa and Milo's faces as they gently stroked their physical formed magic for the final time. They can never use their magic again. "We'll never forget you, Papa... Take care, wherever you are." Milo whispered as he pulled his hand away from his pink orb. Melissa did the same after a quiet farewell to Orton and they allowed Drako to carefully slip the two orbs in a wooden box Heinz had brought along for containing them.
The two Gethens left not long after that; Taking away the Anacardian souls of Milo and Melissa with them to bury with the remains of their deceased elders.