Chapter 9: The Abyssal Bulwark
?...
(? POV)
In this life, I am known by three names.
"Right flank! They're coming from the right flank!"
"There's another wave!"
The Siegebreaker.
"Wait, where's the Captain?!"
Mountama,
"Forget him! We need to get the hell out of here!"
"Come on! To the gates!"
And Kyrion, the Legionless.
*Wrrrrrrrr…* *Slam*
And yet, the last thing I'd ever be called was none of these things. The last name I'd ever be called before it all faded away, was 'son.'
Meanwhile...
"Follow mommy sweethearts! We're going to see Aunt Mari!"
"Yay!"
*SLAM!*
Ugh… Come on sleepyhead, it's only a scratch, wake up… I think the sky is on fire… Why is it all red… Why do I feel warm… No… That's the ground… Hnnngg, hurts to stand... but they're not after me... I just need to find Lotus… The neon signs are shining through the dark… It's so pretty… I think I see someone… She's running towards me… She's giving me a hug… This is comfy… I guess I'll rest for a bit.
Three days later…
"Ky... darling, please, wake up…"
I woke with a start, another nightmare to add to the pile. Best try to figure out where in the hell I am. It's a dark room, freezing cold, more so than usual for a place down here. I felt my chest. Someone had tied it up with a cloth and seemed to have bandaged my other cuts and bruises too.
"Ky?! You're awake!" A familiar voice called out.
"Lotus? That you?" I asked the black air before me.
"Oh Cod, I'd gotten so nervous that you were a goner... It's been so lonely without you, dear."
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't just abandon my friends out of nowhere… I had to watch out for them, you know how it is down here."
"It's fine, I'm just glad you're still alive. Get some rest, and we can talk in the morning."
"Alright, night, Lotus."
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
I didn't get to sleep as quickly as I wanted to, as my mind was all over the place just trying to piece together exactly what happened before I went unconscious not even four days ago. But, it was only until I remembered the trademark bright green and blue tone of my foes before I remembered who we'd been fighting.
Tomorrow, I need to get Lotus to tell me what the hell happened before Caspia falls. I need to regroup with my squad...
While I was lost in thought, trying to grip my memories in place for just long enough for me to gaze into their true shape, something was also trying to get a hold on me, and as I lay there, countless thoughts trying to circulate around in my head to fit together a long forgotten puzzle, the black void consumed my sight, and I fell into the warm abyss of sleep.
Tomorrow Morning:
I woke up at roughly 8:30 the next day, I got out of bed, and walked out onto the porch to have a chat with Lotus.
"Mornin', sleepyhead, are your wounds feelin' any better?"
"A little, yeah… Hey, Lotus, I have to ask you some stuff."
We talked on for an hour or more before I had the information I needed, and armed with it, I headed out to the guard posts at Caspia Minor to be redesignated as a Captain.
In short, the situation had gotten much worse. The Sanitized hordes had carved their way through the outer border towns of Caspia, and now stood hungeredly gazing at the walls of Caspia.
They were a menace, who stood under no known directive, now that whatever forced had previously had controlled their great armies had been destroyed. They now terrorize their nearby neighbors, and every time they carve their path into a town, they capture it's citizens and soldiers alike, only to swell their ranks to an even more unimaginable scale.
We stood as one of few civilizations that had managed to fight them off, as we were much stronger than any of those who tried before us. But, our strength was beginning to falter.
Previously, we'd set up jammers to block those the probing eyes of those above who might look to us as not an ally, but an opportunity, one to seize territory, and our people. But, while we keep our existence a secret, a new threat has emerged, and is something far beyond our capacity to fight off, and very soon, those ancient jammers may have to be destroyed, as otherwise, Caspia would fall, and the Abyss would forever be a bulwark of darkness, from which no light would ever escape.
*Author's Note: Hey everyone, so I finally got around to making that new cover art, and while it may not be great, it's a fine improvement. Speaking of improvements, I finally had time to read back through my story, and I fixed some plot holes / crappy writing on my part. Those of you who are willing, feel free to go back and read through it, but be warned, the changes haven't been showing up for me, and they may not for you guys too. I'm working to see if I can fix it. Thanks for reading, and have a good one guys and gals.*