Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I've had a really bad case of writer's block, but it's all out of the way now!

Enjoy!

Chapter 8

"Scion… Scion… I'm sorry…"

Her fingers grasped tightly to the clothes on his torso.

"I didn't mean for things to turn out this way…"

Thing seemed to be frozen and silent. Nothing else was grabbing her attention in that moment.

"I love you Scion…. I'm sorry…"

Lime green orbs widened as she could hear the world again. She could hear the murmurs of the people standing around her.

"Wasn't there another girl with that man?" a woman asked someone else; her tone low.

"Did those other two take her with them?"

"Was this all planned?"

The moment Scion turned her head to the first woman that she had heard, everyone became quiet. Getting to her feet, she grabbed the woman by the collar of her shirt and pulled her closer. Her brows were furrowed as she looked coldly down at the woman.

"What happened here?" the silver haired girl demanded; her voice hard.

The woman let out a small cry as Scion jerked her hand. The girl knew that her hands and clothes were covered in her lover's blood. She knew how she must have looked to these people. She didn't care, not now that she knew that Sin had been here as well.

"Tell me what happened," she demanded again.

"A-a young girl and that man were talking," the older woman explained; stuttering, "T-then they were attacked by a man with long tan hair and a boy with blue hair."

Scion's jaw tightened at what she was hearing.

"That bastard," she hissed, releasing the woman.

Turning around, her lime green orbs landed on the fiery red haired General that had made his way through the crowd. Beside him stood both Syft and Dailiin; Dailiin looking almost horrified as she looked at Din's unmoving body.

"Everyone leave," Syft ordered loudly, "There is nothing more for you to see here. I'm sure as a guardian of our city he wouldn't like being gawked at."

Her eyes were unmoving as the people around her dispersed. Asch's green orbs didn't move from hers; his gaze serious. She didn't move as Syft spoke to the three of them.

"I didn't expect that they would come right into the city," the green haired emperor stated tonelessly.

"You didn't expect they would?" Scion growled, anger filling her with his words, "Isn't that the whole point of being in a war; to be one step ahead of your enemy?"

Her fists tightened as she turned her gaze to Syft.

"How was I to know they would gain passage thought the gate to the city?" he rounded with furrowed brows.

"Those idiots would let ligarres run through the city if they smiled at them," the silver haired girl hissed.

"I'm aware that you're upset-"

"I'm upset?" Scion asked, venom lacing every word, "Din is dead and the enemy has Sin because you couldn't put a few more soldiers at a gate. Upset isn't the word for it."

"They have Sin?" Dailiin questioned with worry.

"She went to see how Din was doing," Asch stated, his tone sounding controlled, "She probably got there before all of this happened."

Scion's lime green orbs narrowed as they looked back at Asch with his words. She could tell that he was trying to hide the things he was feeling in that moment. The girl knew that the man probably just as she did at what had happened. They both had just gotten everything they wanted back… and not they were both standing there with nothing. For the first time Scion could see Asch as if they were on the same level.

"If they have her then that means they have the ability to read the seventh fonstone," Syft stated with almost a sigh, "When do we start getting some good news?"

"When you start doing a better job of defending your city," Scion hissed almost hatefully, turning away from everyone.

"Where do you think you're going?" the young emperor demanded.

"To do something about your mess," the girl continued, not looking back.

Being sick… being weak hearted… she was sick of all of it. There would be no more being captured or followed by the enemy. If there was one thing Scion knew in that moment, it was that she was going to run her blade through Jion's beating heart.


Asch's fists clenched tightly as he watched the silver haired girl walk away. She had always been quick to lay the guilt onto another person like she had done to him. This time… he could feel as if her words were true. While in a war why would you not place more security within your city walls? It was common sense.

"Has that girl got no rationality?" Syft seethed from beside him.

Asch knelt down to roll Din's motionless body so he was on his back. The man's last expression had been an anguished one. He could tell the blond had been crying in his last moments. It had been a cruel death…

"I don't believe she does," the red haired General said quietly, "I can't say that I blame her for her actions either."

He knew was it was like to have everything slip through your fingers. That had been his entire life until he had met Sin. Even with her she sometimes felt too far away. Everything in Scion's life had been that way.

Closing Din's empty blue orbs, Asch stood back to his full height. He had lost one of his closest friends.

"Raise the amount of soldiers in the streets to protect the people," he ordered as his green orbs followed Scion's left behind steps, "If you don't then your rule will suffer and more people will die."

"What do you plan to do Asch?" Dailiin questioned with some concern.

"I'm going to follow an irrational woman into battle."

There was no time left to plan. He needed Scion and her hatred to help him find Sin. Together they would stand a chance. If they went alone then even he would be outnumbered.


She felt her body jerk as an ache filled the back of her skull. Her brows pushed together at the feeling. It wasn't a pleasant one. It took her a couple moments to realize why she had felt that way and where she was. She felt the uselessness and despair of picturing her blond friend dying before her eyes. She had been tossed aside so easily… Was she truly that weak?

"How much longer?" a toneless voice questioned from not too far away.

"Soon enough," Jion's voice stated afterward.

His tone sounded too pleased as far as she was concerned. They very thought of him being pleased made her jaw tighten hatefully.

Sin knew she had been thrown in a cage and they were probably taking her to read the fonstones.

"Damn it," she hissed, opening her demonic orbs.

What would she be able to do in this situation? How could she even live up to Din's sacrifice in a moment like this? She felt almost useless sitting in this cage. Even with her hatred toward these Sky Generals she didn't feel like she could do very much.

'No…' she thought to herself bitterly, 'I can't just sit here and wait for them to take me to the stones.'

She wasn't going to die… not now after she had been reunited with Asch. Her friends had fought to keep themselves together. They had fought against what was there even if it wasn't their real enemy. She wasn't going to let them take everything away from her.

Sitting up from her laying position, Sin's orange orbs looked at the layout of the cage. It was really no different than the one she had been trapped in before. Shifting her weight the girl managed to get to her feet. She ran at the side of the cage, throwing all of her weight against it. The action caused the old steel to rattle in protest. As she gathered her bearings, Sin did it again.

"I know you're eager to away little demon," Jion's voice caught her attention from behind her, "but these bars aren't going to break."

Sin glared hatefully in the man's direction; him safely behind the cage's bars.

"If I get out of here then I'll kill you," she growled; her tone filled with venom.

Jion seemed to laugh at her threat, making her jaw tighten.

"If you're getting this upset about that blonde's death," he mused, a dark smirk going across his lips, "Then I would love to see what fight would come out of you if I killed that other girl."

Sin's fists clenched tightly. She knew that he couldn't kill her if Scion wasn't anywhere close by. It was the threat in itself that made her angry.

"Or even that red haired General of yours."

In that moment she threw herself against the bars that Jion was standing beside.

"I see," Jion continued to muse; his tone sounding pleasant, "For you to fight your best I'll have to kill those two that remain standing. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"Don't worry," she hissed, "You'll have more than a fight to ease your dead soul."

Kicking the bars forcefully, Sin watched as the man laughed and climbed back on top of the cage. She was done sitting by and watching everyone around her. All this time she felt like she had been standing still and not doing much. If there was anything useful she could do now, she knew it would be her first path. Jion wouldn't get the chance to harm the people closest to her. She was sure she would get in the way.


His heart almost jumped when his room door had opened suddenly. He hadn't thought that anyone would come visit him today. When he saw Scion's face he wanted to smile and greet her. That feeling only lasted for a moment when his dark green orbs caught sight of her lime green ones. They were dull and almost lifeless. The sight was almost hard for him to wrap his mind around.

Her eyes widened for a moment, as if realizing something that had happened.

"… Razal?" she asked him with some confusion, "Why would I come here?"

"Does it really matter why?" he asked her as he raised a brow.

Shaking her head, Scion came to kneel beside his bed. Her expression seemed to empty and void… he wasn't sure how to act.

"I don't understand…" she started quietly, her eyes staring at the edge of his bed.

"What don't you understand?"

"Why am I not allowed to have anything?" the girl asked him, her tone cracking the slightest bit.

Pushing himself to a sitting position, Razal watched her with concern. Her expression made his chest ache more than he liked. She was crying…

"Why can't I just hold onto something?"

The mahogany haired man was cautious as he placed his hand on the top of her head. He didn't know what had happened for her to be in such a state, but he had to assume that it had to do with the blond haired man.

"What happened?" he questioned, his brows pushing together with concern.

He didn't think there was anything that could put the silver haired girl in this state.

"Din died," Scion nearly whimpered, her hands grasping tightly to the bed's covers, "Jion came and now Din's gone too…"

Shaking her head she looked up at him, her brows furrowed in her confusion.

"Why can't I just have one thing to keep my sanity?"

He had to hold back words that almost escaped him. He wanted to tell her that he would be there for her and that she could depend on him when she needed it. Now was not the time to be saying that he could take the blonde's place.

"You really don't have much left do you?" another voice cut in from the doorway.

Razal's heart clenched at the sound of the red haired General's voice. The feeling caused him to glare at the man.

"That's a new way to comfort someone," he hissed.

He felt Scion's head turn to look back at the red haired man, as if realizing he had appeared.

"It's simply the truth, isn't it Scion?" the man wondered as he walked into the room, "All you have left is Sin, just as I do."

"Is that all you came here to do?" Razal asked with agitation.

"No, I came here to take Scion with me."

"Take me where Asch?" she asked him, her eyes watching him intently.

"To take Sin back from Jion," Asch stated simply, crossing his arms, "As well as Jion's life for what he's done."

When killing Jion was mentioned, Razal could see a small spark of life come back to the girl's eyes. Revenge must have been something high on her list in that moment.

The mahogany haired man let out a small sigh before giving a wry smile. Seeing Jion die would satisfy him greatly.

'That's funny… a while ago I wouldn't have even considered the man dead,' he thought to himself before shaking his head.

"If you're going to leave right now," Razal started, turning his green orbs to look into the red haired General's, "You might want to consider where they are going to be."

Both Scion and Asch raised a brow with those words. Did they really think that Jion would keep the stones in the same place after being found out?

"He's probably moved the stones to another camp," he continued, "One that's on an island not too far from here."

"…An island?" Scion questioned, sounding concerned.

"There are some ancient ruins that Jion thought would come in handy for a place to hide," Razal stated as he winced and turned his head to the window.

He had to admit that it was hard for him to sit in the same position. His wound was burning violently.

"Its name is Eldrant."

Razal caught the red haired General's eyes narrow at the mention of the ruins. Did he know of them? Was it possible that he had been to them before?

"Let's go Scion," the man ordered, turning to take his leave.

"Scion," Razal called as she got to her feet, "Come back in one piece."

As she turned away, he saw her shake her head slowly.

"I make no promises."

In that moment they both left the room together. With the thought of her going back out there and getting even more wounded, he slouched back into the bed.

'I don't care if you won't promise… Just come back anyway.'


Jion's smirk remained on his face the whole ride across the ocean. It hadn't taken them long to ride the waves across to the island where the ruins were hidden. The thought about being close to his prosperity were almost hard to bear. He could feel close it was the moment he stepped off the small ship. It was like a surge of energy was filling him from inside. He found it pleasing.

"Finally!" Soran's voice groaned as he came to greet them, "I was wondering when you would get here."

"All good things to those who wait Soran," Jion stated, turning back to look at the ship.

Aeros walked off with the Eyes of the Demon rolling out behind him; soldiers pushing the cage out. The sight of her hateful glare was pleasant to see. It was time that he got to see some real fight rise from within her.

"Was she hard to catch?" Soran questioned from behind him.

"Hardly, plus we removed the unknown force from out path," Jion explained, turning to continue walking inland.

To remove that wretched blond from his path brought him some ease. It was one less thorn in his side that he had to deal with.

"What about your venture Soran?" he wondered with a raised brow, "Did you find anything about removing this damned mark?"

"A lot of things I read didn't have much to say about the fonstones. Most of them just had a bunch of nonsense about people's fonons and how they work," the teal haired boy explained with a yawn, "I think I found something useful though. There was one text saying how the seventh fonstone had the ability to interfere with the fonons around it."

Jion's brows pushed together at what was being explained to him. He didn't quite understand what Soran was saying.

"What does that mean then?" Aeros wondered curiously from behind them.

"If you're near the stone then it negates any artes that are used there," Soran stated as he walked, "So that means that if someone cast an arte on Jion, Death's Breach would still affect the girl but not Jion."

Those words caused Jion to smirk darkly. He could attack the silver haired girl and take her out of the picture as well.

'Or use this information to make the Eyes of the Demon cooperate…'

"I don't suppose that a sword would have the same affect," the man thought aloud.

"Unfortunately no," Soran said with some disappointment, "If you were to be stabbed by a weapon then you as well as the girl would die."

"Do you know what happens after the stone is read?"

"Once the seventh stone is read, it will absorb the life from the replica and pour it through all seven stones. Together the energy will summon the eighth stone, as well as release enough fonons into the area to remove any other remaining fonons," Soran explained, a small grin on his face.

"…Meaning?" Jion wondered.

"It means that the energy from the stones will be enough to remove the lingering fonons that were left behind by the Presence of Moonlight," the boy continued, "Which will remove Death's mark from both yourself and the girl."

The man was once again smirking pleasantly. Things seemed to be planning out well into their favor. Once they convinced the Eyes of the Demon to obey and read the final stone then there would be fewer obstacles to stand in their way. Prosperity was within reach and the moment was drawing all the closer. The only things standing in his way were the lives of the silver haired girl and the red haired General.


Asch stood beside his horse as he waited outside the city gates. He was waiting for the silver haired girl as she said she would follow sooner after. He could see it in her expression that the moment they would kill Jion was what was keeping her going. In a way he almost felt guilty that he was using the girl's hatred and drive for his own personal gain. If they couldn't get Sin back… he was sure that he would be in no better condition than Scion herself. How had they managed having nothing in the past? After tasting happiness… he was sure it would be difficult to be able to again…

Standing straight, Asch turned his had to mess eyes with his approaching ally. Her face was expressionless as she looked back at him. Scion's lime green orbs were once again numb. Climbing onto his horse, he watched as she threw a few things into a saddle bag before doing the same.

"Do you know where you're going?" she asked him tonelessly.

"No need to worry," the former God General stated as he turned his horse, "I know exactly where we need to go."

How could it be possible for him to forget such a place? The ruins would be exactly the same as the ones in Auldrant. It was a place that had been engraved into his mind long ago… the place that had brought him to where he was standing now.

Asch pushed his horse into a gallop and rode toward the direction of the forest. If they cut through the trees and followed near the shoreline it would be possible for them to get there sooner. If anything, he wanted to be able to get there as soon as possible. He wouldn't let the very same ruins be Sin's resting place when they had very well almost been his own. It wouldn't come down to that… he wouldn't let it.


Sin sat in her cage as she waited with her enemy. Why they were taking their time with their plans she didn't understand. Wouldn't you want to complete a journey when you were to close to the end?

'Or maybe they don't really have a plan from here?' she wondered, raising a brow.

It was possible that they had started making it up as they went along. Having a plan thwarted more than once by the same people would be frustrating. They must have been off planning and thinking about their next move in another part of the ruins while she was left with guards. The thought made her scowl to herself. Sitting with silent guards wouldn't give her any information.

When they had first arrived at the ruins Sin had to admit that she didn't think very much of them. As he orange orbs had scanned over the area there was nothing that grabbed her attention. Why make run down ruins a base to hold your plan? Her question was answered thought when she had been taken inside. For ruins the place was still well intact and its inner workings caught her eye. It was almost like the things she had seen in Asch's world. It was something entirely different from how things looked now.

These were the things that drew her into the atmosphere. The feeling of the ruins was nearly the same as from the fonstones; their fonons were nearly the same. The black haired girl knew that the more she looked the more she would be curious. The markings… the atmosphere… the fonstones… what did they all mean? Why were they all within the same place?

'I guess I'll know the answer soon enough once they get me to read the seventh stone,' she thought with a sigh, 'Sooner or late they're going to make up their minds and come here.'

She knew she couldn't wait for her friends to come to her aid. She didn't have the time to waste waiting. The moment Jion came he would make her read the fonstones. She didn't know what put that confident smirk on his face, but he had something; something that would work in his favor. Between now and that moment, she needed to think of something to have in her own favor. It was her only hope to be able to counter against her enemy.


The full moon hung over the sky, illuminating everything it could. Its light would have made it perfect to travel through the night. He had stopped the horses though, knowing that they were getting close to the ruins. They would need a night's rest for what was approaching the next day. Sitting beside a fire, his green orbs watched the flames as he could hear Scion training not too far away. Her blade was scraping roughly against a tree's bark, making the crack of wood travel. Having seen the jagged blue dagger hanging at her waist caused his brows to narrow. The silver haired girl must have realized how much of a disadvantage she was with when that large sword was knocked from her hands. Artes alone wouldn't always be fast enough to save her from a skilled swordsman.

Asch knew what a battle of a large scale was like; it was something he had come face to face with many times. Having a disadvantage against a highly skilled enemy would surely mean the end. A second was all it took to lose everything.

'I guess that's something Scion had learned earlier,' the red haired General thought to himself, the image of his lost friend coming to mind.

A hand went to his chest with that thought. If they didn't take the right moment to strike then they would all become lost. Tightly, he grasped at the fabric at his chest; the place where his most prominent scar was. Why would he remember the feeling of his death at that second?

"You having a heart attack?" Scion's voice broke through his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

Dropping his hand he shook his head with narrowed brows.

"Just remembering something," he replied as he cast his gaze toward her.

"I assume it was painful," she stated tonelessly, her own lime green orbs watching him.

Scion's eyes were unmoving and her posture oddly stiff. It one saw her now they wouldn't think that she had just been fighting a tree. For almost being an empty shell, the girl was still sharp.

"Unfortunately," Asch admitted, "though afterward I was brought here, so I can't really complain."

With those words, the silver haired girl turned her gaze toward the flames of the small fire.

"It must have been nice," she nearly murmured, "Not having things of your past come back to haunt you."

"This world maybe be different from my own, but its landmarks and some people are the same," he started, looking into the fire as well, "Being forced to serve a woman that looks identical to one that claimed to love you in the past doesn't exactly bring fond memories."

"Lady Nadelay," Scion said aloud, "That woman must have been a stalker."

Shaking his head, the thought of Natalia being a stalker brought a small smile. It may as well have been true, her having been so needy.

"I won't fail tomorrow," the silver haired girl stated as her brows furrowed, "I won't make you regret leading me here."

"I wasn't planning on regretting anything."

They would reach the ruins and take down anyone that got between them and Sin. Their strength together would be enough, of that he was sure.


She stood there panting as blood dripped from her weapons. The moment the teal headed boy had opened her cage door she had asked for her weapons. It had only taken a moment for her request to be granted and she attacked. She lunged into the air and drove a blade deep into his chest. Within the next passing moment the other dug into his stomach, not giving him the chance to retaliate. Now she stood over his unmoving body, turning her gaze to the few guards that were standing in waiting.

They raised their weapons as she ran at them. Even alone Sin knew that she could take down a few of Jion's soldiers. Using her fonons she threw boulders of a fallen pillar into two of them, leaving on standing. He attacked first, swinging his spear down at her. Parrying, she pushed the weapon to the side before coming in close and repeatedly stabbing the man in the stomach. Panting, she could feel the adrenaline flowing through her body, making even her fingers tingle. She felt like she was strong again, like she had moved up the ladder ever so slightly. Soran, one of the last Sky Generals was lying dead because of her blade.

Turning her head, Sin started to search for the upward staircase. She would take the challenge of facing Jion on her own with the weak hope that she might be able to cause him some physical damage.

Running, she went up the staircase as quickly as her feet would take her. As she burst through a doorway and caught sight of Jion standing in the middle of a circle of the seven fonstones, she smirked. Now would be her chance to strike against her enemy.

"There you are, little demon," a guard hissed as he grabbed a fistful of her dark locks.

Putting a dagger to the girl's throat, he dragged her toward the seven stones. Her heart pounded violently in her chest at what was happening. Why? Why was this happening when she had gotten so close?

"As I expected, Soran failed to do this little task," Jion spoke out; his tone sounding disappointed, "It's good to see that your fight hasn't left you."

"You bastard!" Sin growled hatefully, "How dare you use people as your pawns like they mean nothing to you?"

The man merely let out a laugh as he leaned down to her, his smirk still sitting on his lips.

"Simple," he stated, "Because they do mean nothing."

Sin started to thrash against the guard that was holding onto her, only to have the dagger pulled closer to her throat.

"Now be a good girl and read the seventh fonstone," he told her, standing back up to his full height, "I wish to get this over with."

"Read it yourself," Sin hissed; her jaw tight with anger.

Again the man let out another laugh as he took a few steps away.

"Listen, little demon, do you see this mark?" he asked her with a raised brow, "It's called Death's mark. Once marked your life is bound to the person that casted Death's Breach."

Her brows narrowed at what she was being told.

"The one who casted it was your silver haired friend. Whatever happens to me will automatically happen to her, but with these fonstones here, any arte casted will not affect me," Jion continued to explain with his dark amusement, "but it will still affect your precious friend. If you would like, I'll demonstrate for you."

A field of fonons appeared under him and her heart immediately caught in her throat. If it could still kill Scion then she couldn't take the risk. After everything Scion had done for her, she knew that she couldn't risk it.

"No!" she cried, struggling to break free, "Leave Scion alone!"

So much sacrifice had been given from her for Sin… she wouldn't let anything else be taken away.

"You bastard just stop!" Sin begged, "Please!"

Her heart raced as the field of fonons dispersed from the ground and he walked toward hers. His hand reached out and tilted her head for her to look up at him.

"Read the seventh stone and free your friend from this mark," he told her seriously, his steel eyes locked with her panicked ones, "The stones will break this bond I share with her, and you can spare her from a painful death."

Sin's brows pushed together as she nodded her head in agreement. If there was anything that she could do to repay her friend, it was to give her life back. This would bring everything to equal standards and it was all she could do in this moment. If she had let him attack she knew she would regret every second afterward. The guilt would eat her away if she didn't choose his option.

"That's a good little demon," Jion praised as he led her to the seventh stone, "Be a good friend and return the favor."

As her demonic orange eyes scanned over the text on the stone, she took a deep breath.

'Asch… I'm sorry…'


They fought through the first set of soldiers, running their blades through their armor. Each one fell lifeless before the next, only serving as a small distraction to their real goal. As they came out the last ones standing, Asch's orbs caught sight of the emotionless General that always stood with Jion.

"Do you plan to die along with them?" he questioned, gesturing to the lifeless soldiers behind them.

The boy merely shook his head as he watched the two of them.

"I have no reason to stop you from here," he stated tonelessly, "Jion has allowed my allies to perish without remorse, as he would do the same with me."

"Why come then?" Scion asked; her brows pushed together.

"I wish to ask that you take care of Razal," he answered, turning his gaze to her, "You were the first to show him kindness, and risk your life to spare his. He will make a strong ally to you."

Aeros gestured for the both of them to pass freely; Asch being the first to take step.

"I also wish to apologize for taking the life of your lover. I now see the unknown force stands before me, and he did not deserve death."

They passed him without another word, their footsteps turning into a run. There were no more soldiers to be found within the ruins. The place was nearly abandoned. As they drew closer to the right staircase, Asch caught the sight of four motionless bodies.

'That must have been why Sin asked for her weapons…'

A loud gasp of caught his attention before he turned to see Scion on her hands and knees, gasping for air.

"What happened?" he demanded, going to her.

"I-I don't know," she panted, shaking her head, "It's like I've been under water and I've just been able to catch my breath…"

She sat up and pulled at the collar of her shirt, only to find nothing there.

"It's gone…" Asch stated lowly with furrowed brows.

Death's Breach had been broken and the mark had been removed.

"I don't understand," Scion said with confusion, "It's not an arte that can easily be broken…"

Underneath them the ruins started to quake for a moment, causing rubble to fall from the ceiling. In that moment Scion was on her feet and running toward the staircase. He followed after her; hastily trying to reach the stop set of doors. Pushing through them, Scion was frozen still before he could catch a glance. As his green eyes stared forward, it almost felt like his heart had stopped beating.

End of chapter