A world of red that consumed everything with its greedy, merciless mouth. The red left no being alive. It drowned anything in its path with no restraint. Why did the red swallow everything? Why did it cry every time it struck someone with its hatred?
It seemed endless as Yuki trekked as far as he could go through the dystopian land. Echoes of his footsteps carried down the empty world, the only sound made. It was such a desolated world. Nothing had a beginning nor an end. Not a soul was in sight. Loneliness accompanied every step Yuki took. The emotion hauntingly devoured him ruthlessly. It left him cold and painstakingly hollow. The land appeared barren, not a thing in sight. There was nothing. A world of nothing. He suddenly stumbled and looked to see what tripped him.
A hand.
Yuki gasped. He staggered back clumsily and fell back. He paled considerably as cold sweat layered him. A severed hand that laid gruesomely on the cold ground and a mauled body not too far away, but that was not all. Yuki squinted. A large mound stood farther away. The closer Yuki looked, the clearer it got.
A mound of dead bodies. Yuki gagged against the bile that followed right at the heels of the sickening comprehension of what he saw. Piles among piles of dead indistinguishable, dismembered bodies. Some with their lifeless eyes bulged out as if still in pain, some whose mouths hung open as if they died while they screamed, some didn't even have heads. Rivers of blood flowed down the mound like a waterfall. Yuki felt as if the blood coated him in layers from just the sight of it. He looked down apprehensively and screamed.
Blood. Blood everywhere! Too much! It was all over him from head to toe. Some where still sickly warm, some had dried and tightened like paint. They dripped down his hair like droplets of rain, only it's blood. They were like chains choking him. He couldn't breathe. Why? Why were there blood on him? How did it get on him? A frightening thought came to him so suddenly, it washed over him like cold water. Did he kill them? Was it him who killed all those people? He didn't know. He couldn't remember. Why would he do such a thing? These were unrelated, innocent lives he crushed without remorse, right? He couldn't tell. He just couldn't tell anymore.
A monster. He was a monster. Yuki shook his head.
"No," he was in denial, "I didn't do this. I would never!"
A beast who killed without mercy. Something of this horror should not exist. Someone who can kill so violently should just disappear.
"But, it wasn't me."
"You're right, God's Light, it was... me."
"...Ki?"
"...Yuki? Can you hear us?"
Long eyelashes fluttered open. Golden-green eyes squinted from the harsh sunlight that flared from the bright sun half-way under the horizon. At first, they were slightly unfocused and dazed until they shifted to the seven pairs of worried eyes that surrounded him in concern. Yuki sprung up from the gravelly, hard ground in shock. Bright lights flashed painstakingly through him that left a harsh migraine. He clutched his head and groaned.
"Are you okay?" His comrades fretted.
Yuki waited a few more seconds before he carefully brought his head up again with a small smile.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," he assured.
"If you're tired, why didn't you just tell us? We could have stopped for a bit," Hotsuma scolded with a glare that contrasted with the worry underneath.
Yuki sheepishly grinned, "Sorry."
Hostuma's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. He shouted, "That is not what I want to hear you say, you idiot!"
Toko brought a hand down harshly upon the top of Hotsuma's head. She yelled indignantly, "You insensitive, stupid hot-head! Why can't you be more gentle?"
Hotsuma cried in disbelief as he rubbed his sore head, "Says the girl who stomps and punches like one hell of a manly guy?"
"What was that?" Cried Toko as a swift blush dusted her cheeks, "I don't stomp nor hit like a man. I am a honest-to-goodness, petite girl!"
Yuki chuckled good-naturally as the two argued. With a push, he tried to get back up his feet, but a jarring sting from his chest left him disoriented. He lost his footing. If it wasn't for Luka beside him, he would have crumpled back down.
"Are you really all right?" Luka asked with obvious concern as his arm carefully wrapped around his waist. He heeded no attention to the two bickering Zweilts.
Yuki nodded as he patted his chest unconsciously, "I'm fine, really. I'm just still a little out of it. Please, don't worry."
Luka's lips formed a thin line as he could only feel helpless when Yuki continually hid his pain. Yuki straightened up and stepped away from Luka's arms. He tested his stability before he turned back to the group with a smile.
"Let's go," he said.
Everyone quickly nodded in agreement. Toko and Hotsuma immediately dropped their argument. They walked for miles without any interruptions. It was a while later when the stillness of the city finally wove its way through the Zweilts' nerves. Hotsuma was the first to break the silence, "Have you guys noticed it's been very quiet?"
Shusei hummed in agreement, "I thought so, too. It's strange, too abnormal."
"What do you think is going on?" Toko wondered worriedly.
Tsukumo silently took her hand in his and squeezed. Toko grabbed on just as tightly. Silence settled upon them again until the quiet Yuki sighed softly and combed through his hair. Kuroto noticed and asked, "What's wrong, Yuki?"
A flicker of annoyance flashed through Yuki's eyes in a short, split second before he looked away. Kuroto blinked. Was it his imagination?
"Nothing," Yuki replied shortly.
"You've acted strangely since you fainted. Are you sure you're okay?" Tsukumo inquired in worry.
At that moment, before anyone could say anything else, a shrill cry of a raven flew above them ominously. Before anyone could react properly, Yuki sprinted after the bird. The others were left in surprise before they snapped back to their senses. Luka ran after Yuki. The group followed behind without a clue on what happened. They just followed without question like the loyal knights they are.
The ragtag group ran after the ebony bird as it cut through the sky with fierce gracefulness. Its feathers shimmered in the luminous sunlight when it streaked down toward the ground and landed elegantly. The Zweilts arrived in time to hear it crow one last chilling cry before it suddenly ruptured into a cloud of ash. They stopped in shock. Yuki continued toward the spot the mysterious bird disappeared from. The others watched curiously in silence. Yuki tilted his head as if to listen to an inaudible sound that the Zweilts couldn't hear, even if two were God's Ears.
"Hey," Yuki murmured suddenly, "Would all of you survive if I disappeared?"
The Zweilts, unsure of the reason behind the question, knew the answer without any second thoughts. They replied in unison, "Of course not!"
"You're our precious Yuki!"
"We never would have survived this long without you."
"Is that so?" Yuki murmured. He grinned; a chilling, humorless grin that doused anyone with a sense of absolute hopelessness. Before anyone knew what transpired, a sudden burst of a strong gale erupted and threatened to flatten the Earth. The tall trees bend as if they bend to the will of the powerful wind that demanded respect. The Zweilts shield their eyes from the forceful wind and struggled with their balance. Just as sudden as the wind came, it abruptly stopped in its destruction. The bewildered Zweilts drew their weapons. They squinted in the dust that quickly settled. What appeared before them was a terrifying sight.
They exclaimed in horror, "Yuki!"
"Don't move," the fair-haired Duras threatened as he wrapped his whip tighter around Yuki's neck and dug the connected blade on the end deeper into Yuki's chest menacingly. Yuki grasped at the coarse strip of leather around his throat. The Duras laughed at the Zweilts in wicked amusement.
"You..." Luka gasped.
The Zweilts glanced at Luka in surprise. Kuroto asked Luka tensely, "You know him?"
The petite Duras answered instead, "Of course! I'm sure you would remember me. It hasn't been that long since we last met."
Luka's eyes narrowed. He growled, "Why are you here?"
"We got bored," replied the Duras with an air of indifference. He sneered.
"Why, you... Let Yuki go!" Hotsuma shouted enraged.
"And if I don't?" The Duras countered condescendingly.
The Zweilts glared, but they could do nothing that could endanger Yuki. They and Yuki were at the enemy's mercy. The deceptive-looking Duras, highly entertained at their unadulterated resentment, chuckled lightly to himself as he reveled in the power he felt from their helplessness. He smirked, "How do you like it? Feeling so useless, I mean. What can you do to save your precious God's Light now, I wonder?"
Unexpectedly, another charming chuckle penetrated the air and wrapped its hostility around the Zweilts. The dainty Duras' grin broadened as two other figures appeared before them in a flaring explosion of fire. The Zweilts avoided the spray of fire that spit out from the makeshift inferno.
"What do you know? It looks like we got company!" The childlike Duras cheered, not once did his hold on Yuki or his weapon loosened as he conversed with his two companions, "Where have you been? You were almost late. I would have started without you guys."
The two addressed Duras chuckled at their comrade's childish antics.
"Forgive us, Prince," a yellow-eyed Duras mocked as he faked an apologetic bow.
The younger Duras retorted, "Of course. I would never leave you out of the fun, Leader."
The mentioned leader grinned, "Well, I thank you for your consideration. Right, Sage?"
A dark palatinate-purple eyed Duras sighed, "As much as your easygoing attitudes amazes me, aren't you two being too careless? Have you forgotten we are in the midst of a confrontation? It seems the nuisances are getting restless."
He glanced at the Zweilts with a cold stare. They immediately froze from the chill that shivered down their spine. They halted their discreet movements to try to save Yuki. The fair-haired Duras pulled the whip tighter. Yuki choked as his air supply suddenly cut off completely. The Zweilts cried in distress. The Duras with an air of intellectual superiority sneered. The Zweilts glared with absolute contempt. Yuki's vision began to see stars and he felt his consciousness waver on the edge of blackness.
"Enough of this stalling. Let go of Yuki," Senshirou demanded, "Or..."
"We will kill you," finished Kuroto as he wielded Izanagi.
The Duras watched unperturbed. The Duras addressed as Prince narrowed his eyes, "Do you honestly think any of you have the right to order us in this situation?"
The yellow-eyed leader rolled his eyes, "Plus, does it look like we care? We can handle ourselves better than you Zweilts."
"What did you say?" Hotsuma shouted, "You fucking Duras are the last creatures I want to hear that from."
"I speak from experience," stated the leader with a scornful grin, "I came across one vile Zweilt before. I believe his name was Ob-something. Well, I hardly care."
Kuroto's green-golden eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You met Oboro?" He hissed.
The leader's eyes slowly locked on Kuroto's livid face. He said nothing as he scrutinized Kuroto with mirth and a hint of spite.
"You met Oboro?" Kuroto reiterated with very little resistance left to attack the irate Duras.
The leader studied Kuroto with abhorrence interest. A cold smile appeared. The Duras ignored Kuroto's question. He sneered, "You were his partner? If I remember correctly, he got killed, didn't he? It's too bad. I wanted to kill him myself."
With no warning, Kuroto flung himself toward the mocking Duras. He saw only a vivid red; anger, vengeance, and hate. He planned to tear the infuriating Duras to pieces, only to abruptly be pulled back by strong arms in a tight grip around his waist. He struggled fiercely against them.
"Let me go, Senshirou! I'll kill that bastard!" He bellowed, eyes only on the smirking Duras.
Senshirou struggled to keep his hold on his wrathful partner. He cried over Kuroto's furious screams, "He's only playing with you! You can't fall for this! You have to snap out of it, Kuroto! He's lying!"
The Duras gave a bark of laughter. He swung his sword lightly over his shoulder nonchalantly that belied his agitation.
"Lying?" He said in mock astonishment. His companions chuckled darkly, "I'm hardly lying, but I guess it's impossible to stay civilized with unreasonable humans."
Kuroto cried outraged. With a fierce struggle, he broke free from Senshirou's grasp and charged blindly straight toward the leader of the Duras. Senshirou yelled, but the cry fell on deaf ears as Kuroto continued to rampage toward the Duras.
Senshirou cried, "Kuroto! Stop!"
Kuroto heeded nothing to Senshirou's pleas. He ran straight toward the infuriating leader who dared spout such hateful words in his face. His Izanagi sliced through the air like the sharpest of knives with the clear intent to hurt, to torture, to kill. He will make the Duras eat his words, spit it back up, and shove it up his ass. The katana slammed down with the aim to decapitate the Duras' head off, only to stop short by a wall of fiery flames. Its heat flamed hotly and at the small distance Kuroto had between the wall, it smoldered and suffocate him. He jumped back in shock. The edges of his sleeves were partly singed black. The glare sent towards the Duras was as blazing as the flames that were in between Kuroto and his target.
The leader paid no mind to the Zweilt's glare. In fact, it only egged him on. He smirked with cold anticipation, "Great, I was hoping we could have some fun. We got bored anyways. Maybe this time, I could satisfy myself and pay back that partner of yours, who so very rudely up and died before I could get my hands around his throat and snap it, through you. You Zweilt partners are like one, right? So, if I kill you- Kuroto was it? Than, I'm technically killing that annoying Zweilt, too."
Before Kuroto could say or do anything else, a supporting hand gently patted his shoulder. He turned in surprise.
"Senshirou?"
Senshirou smiled warmly at Kuroto's inquiring eyes before turning his eyes to the Duras coldly. He protectively stood in front of his partner.
"If that is your intention, than you would have to go through me first."
The Duras grinned with malice, "My pleasure. I couldn't ask for more."
Fire shot from his hand and raced inhumanly fast toward the Zweilt partner before anyone knew what happened. Its path burned and blackened everything it touched in its destructive path, just like the Duras' wrath and revenge.
"I hope you all burn in Hell- no pun intended," the Duras cackled with utter spite.
Hi, hi! How was it? I'm actually in China right now. That's why I couldn't update sooner when I wanted to. I don't get wifi that often. And when I do, sometimes it won't even let me go on the Internet. I won't be able to update all that often because of that. The only thing I could really go on is Instagram, which is all fine with me, but it gets kinda boring after a while.
I'll be back in the USA in about 2 weeks, but I only have like 2 days left before school starts again. So I'll be busy getting ready for school. Thus, I'm not sure when I could update again. I'm sorry for that. I'll update as soon as I can when I get the chance.
XOXO, you lovely people :3
