Fall of the Heavens
Koromos dragged Ariel into the dark room and rudely dropped her to the floor. She groaned in pain and rolled away from him. Within a few strides, he reached her and stomped his foot against her back. She fought back the urge to scream.
"What have you done?" she said between gasps.
"Me?" he asked innocently. "You're the one who's heralding the destruction of the natural order of the Universe. You should feel proud of yourself."
Ariel moved as if to sit up. Koromos removed his foot so she could do so. Her withered twisted limbs gave out under her own weight. "What are you talking about," she whined. "What will you do with me?"
"Someone wants you dead. He'll have to give me what I want before I let him have his way with you."
(X)
When Dante and Isaiah stepped out of the hospital, something in the sky caught their attention. The sun was lowering in the sky at an accelerated speed.
"What time is it?" Dante asked.
"3:00," Isaiah answered. "In the afternoon."
Before their eyes, the sun dipped, stopped, rose, then dipped again. The second dip sent it completely beneath the horizon. Unfamiliar stars shone in the new night sky. The sudden silence of the city was broken by screams as some of the stars grew large. It was almost upon Dumaray Island before anyone realized it was a meteorite. It crashed into several buildings beyond the hospital. A sonic boom and a roar drowned out the screams. A hot white blast of fire and energy covered the city. More meteorites assaulted the island for a full minute. Then there was total silence again. All that was left behind was debris, fire, death, and confusion.
"Well," Isaiah said, "that was fun."
(X)
Lilith heard the blasts from the collisions outside. She tried to sit up, but Sparda placed his hand over her eyes. "Don't bother," he said. "You will only get yourself killed. At least, let me help you find the strength to fight."
Lilith arched her back as if she were in pain, then fell limp against the bed. In her mind, she saw a starburst. It faded away and morphed into a serene nighttime beach scene. Lilith felt her feet sink into wet sand as the waves tickled her feet.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I told you," Sparda's voice said, "you're going to die."
Lilith looked into the sky and saw a flaming beam flying towards her. At first, she considered running, but instead she raised her arms and waited. The beam rammed into her chest and pierced her heart. It continued on until it was grounded into the sand. Lilith spat up blood and fell to her knees. Sparda grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her back to lean against him.
"Die," he said into her ear. "Die so you can live again."
A tear of blood flowed from her eye. She closed her eyes and died in his arms. Sparda removed the glove from his free hand with his teeth. He bit into his thumb until he tasted his own blood. He opened Lilith's mouth and dripped his blood onto her tongue.
"Wake up," he said. "You can live now."
(X)
The nurse carefully closed the door as he stepped into Liilth's room. She was alone and appeared to be sound asleep. He absentmindedly removed her empty intravenous bag to replace it with a new one. His hand trembled as black dots swirled across his field of vision. He took a few deep breaths before placing the new bag onto the stand and connected the tubing.
Lilith stirred as if she were dreaming. The nurse stared down at her as if he were thinking about something serious. He had felt fatigued since the cosmic assault minutes before. As if something invisible were manipulating him, he pressed two fingers against her throat to feel for a pulse. It was weak but consistent. He slowly walked to a chair in the corner and sat with his head in his hands. He could here various footsteps in the hallway, along with shuffling, dragging feet, moans of pain, and claws clattering against the tiles.
(X)
Lucia stood on the roof of her grandmother's house as she stared in the direction of the meteorite assault. The closest one had been at least a mile away, but she could feel the heat as the flames leapt into the sky. The fires blocked out much of the stars.
"Lucia!" someone called from below. She recognized the voice and jumped to the ground. When she landed, she remained on one knee for an extra second before standing. "We need some time to rest without being seen."
"The princess?" Lucia began.
"She's fine," Dante said with a wave of his hand. "The hospital was spared."
Lucia nodded once as she opened the door. "Matier!" she called.
"I know!" Matier called from inside. "Let them in!" Dante and Isaiah followed Lucia into the house. Matier motioned for them to follow her into an adjacent room. There were already four cups of a hot drink on the table.
"Did you already know we were coming?" Isaiah asked as they each took a seat.
"How could I not?" Matier leaned her cane against the table. "The Rebel Son of Sparda has been called to defend his empire."
"By whom?" Isaiah asked.
Matier simply smiled at him. A stiffled chuckle managed to escape from Dante. He feigned a cough when Isaiah looked his way. "He knows his duties," Matier finally said.
"Unfortunately," Lucia said, "his daughter does not."
"She will," Dante assured her. "She's learning right now. The Universe has begun to fall apart around us, starting with the behavior of the sun and stars. Within moments, even right now, worse will happen. The question is, where is Ariel?"
"Koromos has her," Lucia said. "Lilith and I saw him leave with her. There is no doubt that he will lead us to her."
"But why? Why did he help her?"
Lucia merely shrugged. "Maybe he wants to offer her to us. I don't believe he wants the Idda Corrof to complete its task."
"Are you willing to bet your life on that?" Isaiah asked. "You can lose it as easily as anyone now." He took his first sip of the drink, paused, then spat it back into the cup. "What the hell is this!"
"It's an aquired taste," Dante explained.
The mood was broken by a sudden tremor that rolled through the ground. It wasn't powerful enough to raze the house, but they could literally feel the ground heave beneath the floor as if it were breathing. Something in another room crashed before the sensation passed. A deep rumbling receded in the distance as everything finally calmed down.
"We should leave now," Isaiah said barely above a whisper.
"Where would we go?" Dante asked. "Even if we know that Koromos has Ariel, we don't know where he's keeping her."
"Where would he hide?" Matier asked. "Where does he call home, where he is safest and feels the most secure?"
"Mallet Island," Lucia said off the top of her head. "But that is too obvious."
"That is why he is there," Matier said. "He wants to be found. He has something you want, but you have something he wants as well."
Dante pushed his cup away. "I don't understand. How can you be so sure of such a thing?"
"What else can you do? Where else can you go? What time do you have to find out?"
"None," Isaiah said.
"Exactly."
