"Time for the world to open it's eyes to the true enemy..."
It was a day like any other.
Peaceful times across all the Tribes. Stability was beginning to become the norm instead of the exception.
Sans the battle with the Devil, it was hard to recollect when the last time a major conflict unfolded.
There were still grudges left unburied, bridges that were yet to be crossed.
There was time to make this happen.
Emphasis on..."was".
Little did the people know, that the air was beginning to stir with something sinister. A sensation that they knew of, but could never believe would enter their lands.
Even the Titans' hairs began to raise on the edge of their necks.
In the coldest prison, the greatest grudge had festered, and plotted. Now was the time to strike.
Soon, very soon...All at once, the world would know the wrath of the sole survivor to extinction.
But for the likes of Auris and her son Zeno, they were just enjoy time together as any mother and son would.
After a brief training session, Auris was pleased to see that he was getting better at swinging around her shield. He was almost inches away from hitting her arm, only hesitating due to the familial bonds.
Perhaps there was no need to go along with these sessions anymore, but it was something he liked to do. It was a ground they could connect on. Sarajin was better at treating him like a child.
He was off-world with Solomon on duty for the 'higher-ups' today. He wouldn't be gone too long, he assured her.
But she couldn't shake the feeling in her head that for his confidence, not too long was still too long.
She tried to shake it off by focusing on spending time with her son.
He had gained a ferocious appetite at this age. It was funny to watch. The only thing he didn't treat like an animal was his vegetables.
"I cook them, I steam them, I broil them, but you just won't take them, Zeno. You're never going to grow up at this rate." Auris said with a fond but worrying sigh.
Zeno shook his head and debated, "Dad said he never ate too many vegetables though!"
Auris smiled and wiped some of the potato residue on his face onto her sleeve, "And are you your father?"
"N-No." He replied shyly.
"Then you have your own needs to be taken care of."
This made him at least try to stomach some of the vegetables with a pout.
After a little time, Auris felt a cold itch on the back of her neck and glared behind her. The tension exuding off her body enough to alarm Zeno.
"M-Mom? Is everything alright?" He stood up but she held her hand back to stop him.
She narrowed her eyes and took a couple steps forward, hand tensed to draw her sword at a moment's notice.
But the phenomenon she sensed moved faster, and before Zeno knew it his mom had been swept into a rift.
"MOM!" Zeno jumped from his couch and ran to where she was. He could no longer sense her. His body shivered.
He bit his teeth and nervously tip-toed through the living room, swallowing deep the flavor of loneliness that filled the house.
He could search low and high, but it'd never be close enough.
For Auris now found herself floating over the moon's surface looking at her home.
No sound. No air.
Just the pressure of space repeatedly crushing her eyeballs and organs into a bloody mess, because that cursed mark refused to let her go.
"People of Genestasia..."
Around the world everyone heard this voice echoing from the sky.
"You have struggled in search of peace. Clawed for resources, forced into battle against one another. And yet you still fail to achieve satisfaction. Why is that?"
In the ravine of Oreore, the Gaia family rushed outside of their house and joined their fellow people in looking up at the sky.
Ezekiel grit his teeth and wondered, "That voice...why's it sound so familiar?"
"You look around and blame your neighbors. You curse the lands beyond your borders and their rotting stench."
"But that foul, putrid stench is not from the wastelands. It comes from within your walls."
"That's right. Your true enemy has hidden among you all this time across countless generations."
In Aquamoria, Torren and Brine were just minding their own business atop their favorite place when the call of this voice caused Torren to feel dread welling up inside of her.
"Parasites...!" Did the voice raise in volume, "Feasting, loitering, infectious parasites corrupt any chance you may have of knowing peace!"
"You ask for their name? I shall tell you! They are the Ten Sages of the Aurians! One exists in each Tribe, disguising themselves in human flesh!"
"Some of you are aware of their presence..."
Rai and Adderbolt looked at each other in the tower of Pulsa Minoria.
"Others are woefully ignorant..."
Carolina remained stationary over the disquieted lands of Cryofloe.
"Ignorance...Yes, as a matter of fact. I have yet to introduce myself. How incredibly rude..." From resounding to cold, the tone of voice changed as easy as it was to breath.
"Remember the dragons?"
"Remember the wyverns?"
"Of course you do not. We were thrown to the trash on the outskirts of your small worlds, and then wiped clean without a single tear shed in mourning."
"Save for I, the last survivor..."
Carmine rose alongside Ividae and when faced with an unhealthy chill crawling along the forest floor, remarked, "What is he doing?!"
"My name was Justek. I had hopes and aspirations."
"I had dreams. I had...a promise..."
"But the Ten Sages robbed me of all possibilities and caged me in the prison they've named their 'Sancturary'!"
"For years I have suffered in silence, forced to watch as my rights as a living being were stripped from me, and any comfort was taken to be molded and corrupted...!"
Borealis emerged from his palace alongside Stonestein. The two had only seconds ago lost sight of Justek's aura.
Gabriel joined them and wondered, "Lord Borealis, how is this possible?"
"I do not know." He replied.
Their sight simply did not reach far enough to see the man hovering over Sancturia with staff in hand and his eyes glacial with hate.
The winds of omen blew in his favor. He could at last bear down the weight of his vengeance on these outer walls, and force his captors to look up at him in terror.
"Now...HERE I AM! DO YOU HEAR ME ROAR, BOREALIS AURORA?!"
He slowly extended his staff out to his side and muttered, "You cannot even begin to fathom...how much restraint it took me to reach this moment in time."
"And now..." His eyes widened, with his pupils becoming draconic slits, "Let your bones crumble to dust before my stampede of hatred. Watch...as your heart breeds despair from pain and helplessness...! And then, when your fortress lay fallen, know what it's like...to fail your people."
A dark glint flashed off the top of his staff right as Borealis, Stonestein and Gabriel reached the front of the pyramid.
All was silent in the city. Justek vanished from the sky above.
The atmosphere above the normal citizens bled open close enough for Borealis to bear witness to.
A flash of light burst through the bleed like a geyser and crashed down upon a random Aurian before anyone could blink.
And in it's wake...remained only a ring of ash around where their feet once stood.
"No..." Borealis' heartache was felt throughout the city. Melancholic suffering burrowed into his gaze as he nearly collapsed forward from the pain.
But in the wake of this merciless divine retribution, he was forced to keep his eyes open to the immediate change it had on his people.
They did not know how to smile.
They did not know how to cry.
They DID know...how to scream.
The Aurians awakened to the emotion of fear and fled from the sight of this proof of vengeance shrieking and flooding against each other to escape.
And soon fear spread like a wildfire.
And screams rose like smoke.
Yet Justek forced Borealis to focus only on the sound of his voice, the voice heard all across the land.
"You cowardly Ten Sages will reveal yourself to accept your judgment at my hands."
"Your days of hiding and sapping away at the joys and pleasures of this world are at an end!"
"And any who sympathize or guard these...criminals...Shall know a taste of my vengeance...and despair!"
All at once did rifts open within the other Tribes.
From them crawl mechanic monstrosities cloaked in black, bleeding fog, with scars glowing to resemble eyes.
These twisted fabrications resembled Rot Walkers, but had a dim sense of sentience they lacked.
Meaning they were born to hunt...guided by their master's wrath.
Yet whereas there were some places that were safe for the rotting beasts...
No one, nowhere, could hide from the Vortexians.
Beasts ran amok between the trees. Sea monsters pierced the surface of the sea and walked onto the shore. Winged terrors flapped around in the sky.
Even the pocket dimensions of Caimanabel and Obscura were penetrated by these rifts.
Lilith observed the Vortexians flood into her home and grew ecstatic with wickedness in her smile, "So...you've finally come out to play, little beast...!"
Without their king, it was up to the Vizier, Dimentio and Xiark to fight off these twisted monsters themselves.
The Vizier blasted them through the skull with magic bolts and Dimentio tried to send them away, only for the rifts to outmanuever him at every flank.
Dimentio kept out of range of their wild attacks, however, "Mechanical puppets? A little tacky, no?"
Xiark easily slaughtered his way through the Vortexians with his many-angled form, but doing so soon made him slow down and be forced to retreat and reassess.
"That cursed mark...bleeds from these beast's fog. What a troublesome disruption..."
But this left none of them privy to the behavior of 'D.' The sickest of all parasites scowled throughout the back half of that toothless rant.
"One...lived...?!" He had remained rested for years over the knowledge that he had at least slaughtered his prey fully. Yet one slipped through his fingers...
He began to grin, "This...will not do, oh no no no..."
The last thing Justek had to say was for Borealis' ears only, "For every minute you do not surrender, Borealis Aurora, another Aurian's blood is on your hands."
"I wonder how many arrows will pierce your heart before you succumb?"
"Will they equal the years I suffered as a lesser being in your eyes?"
"No. I fear even ten times that amount will not satisfy me..."
"Make peace with your Lords, monster. They cannot save you now."
High over the planet, Auris fights against space's hostile atmosphere to turn herself towards the surface, her brows slowly edging out with rage.
And on another world, Sarajin and Solomon were seen through Justek's eyes fighting together against a 'Blank'.
His smile increased in confidence as the future was secure in his grasp, "...No one can."
Chapter -11: My Freedom, My Wrath
From the dirt, from the sky, these Vortexians launched vicious on Oreore's ravine.
The miners readied their weapons and smashed them down, but their pursuit proved as relentless as their predecessors and their inner hide more durable than most metals.
Ezekiel had better odds of breaking through with the pick part of his weapon, but it wasn't long before the ravine was being flooded by these creations.
"Damn it...what the hell Justek?!" He panted as the fog off these beasts suffocated him.
Cecilia armed her lance with thick frost and twirled through the air, impaling multiple Vortexians at once before sending her weapon to the ground, "They don't appear to be completely immune to our elements at least!"
She recalled her lance and dropped behind Ezekiel, the two exchanging positions to fend off the assault.
"Stonestein ain't even been 'ere in weeks!" Ezekiel commented in frustration.
"Well maybe he's coming here now!" Cecilia argued.
"How would he know?!" Ezekiel shouted while pounding a Vortexian flat against the ravine wall a few times for good measure, then peeling it off and uppercutting a one trying to drill through the wall at him.
Cecilia flipped onto his shoulders and stabbed her ice through the hole to destroy a couple other Vortexians trying to bleed through.
Upon landing she swiped the sweat off her stray hairs and huffed, "Why else would he be attacking us?!"
The two's minds clicked at once with fear, "Pulsa Minoria...!"
The city of progress had no defense against the many-legged crawlers going over their walls. Their fog let them phase right through and descend into the city.
They ran across the rooftops and bounced across towards the back tower.
But they found their hides penetrated by a few rounds of magnetically charged ammunition fired off by Pitori, Valic, and a few other scientists forced to wear prototype duplicates of Pitori's armor.
Valic grit his teeth and was sweating profusely between reloads, "Never thought we'd be forced to arm ourselves like this...! GHH...! Horrid machines, this is not your place!"
Pitori kept his aim steady and true and took out multiple Vortexians in one shot to help conserve ammo, "Don't worry teacher, I won't let a single one through!"
"Good...!" Valic's aim was shakier but with how thick the horde was it was impossible for him to miss, "I may be a scientist, but...I still remember how to fire these!"
Inside the tower Rai was trying to keep Adderbolt closely guarded, causing the Sage to tensely giggle and remark, "S-Shouldn't I be the one protecting YOU?"
Rai glanced over his shoulder and gasped, "Oh, yeah."
Adderbolt finished off the last of his treats just in time to see a reflection coming off the bottom signaling that there were Vortexians crawling on the ceiling.
"Above us!" He shouted.
"How did they...?!" Rai remarked
"There's nowhere to run." Justek's voice haunted the air as the Vortexians leaped down to hunt.
In Tanglefae, Glade ran amok through the trees to escape the Vortexians. Many had been designed like snakes to slither around his attacks and follow him without losing ground.
His sickles tangled on the tree branches and his poison were useless against metal.
He was alone and fearless. But these beasts were never going to let up until they sunk their fangs into him.
"I will find you wherever you go." Justek made certain that the ones he hated the most heard these words.
Ividae and Carmine were stunned by the Vortexian's presence. Ividae trembled having them run over it's roots and branches.
Carmine remained stationary and directed his gaze towards the path they carved forward.
He glared. He remained silent.
He chose to sit still and do nothing.
Justek was pleased.
Less so towards Darnia.
The old man grabbed hold of his sword and fought alongside Twinbeak to destroy this accursed flying flock.
The birds had yet to make a move to provoke their ire, and now Justek was forced to have them dive into the city and attack the two.
"You should understand my rage the most, Darnia Stratos. How long have the Ten Sages stood in the way of Sarajin's goals?"
Darnia's reflexes allowed the birds to get the drop on him countless times, but the strength of his resolve ensured he'd take one down for every scar inflicted on his body.
"You would defend that cowardly cretin?! WHY?!" Justek's exasperation did not fall on deaf ears, and briefly, Darnia was paralyzed by them to doubt his stance...
"Perhaps I have chosen the worst time to be in a forgiving mood..." He muttered to himself, weighing the sole act of bravery the Sage of the Sky showed for his kin against the targeted wrath against his Titan...
He gripped his scythe in both hands and with a mighty downward swing, sent these mockery fliers hurtling up into the stratosphere, "But I know what blind revenge is like! Cease this senselessness at once, Justek!"
"...Isn't it pitiful that this is our first time talking to one another? Yet another opportunity stolen from me by that man and his chains."
"I commend your resolve. Sarajin learned from the right man. But you stand in defense of my enemy, so I must stop you as well."
"Whoa whoa whoa! Not cool, Justek!" Nimus suddenly appeared from up high, snatching the Vortexian's attention away from Darnia.
Nimus had gotten some magic bandages over the right side of his body and some shiny new blades on his back to fly with.
"If you wanted to play, you should have just sent out the invitation instead of making a big show over it!"
The Vortexians dove right for him and Nimus directed some of his blades to pierce through them. But to his surprise it took a couple blades per beast to send them plummeting to the surface.
Nimus tucked his hands into his pockets and used some fancy flips to dodge around their attacks and get further away from the city, "This is crazy...This is supposed to be one of the safe spots!"
"And what would you know of the word? You, whose kind has perverted it!"
"Feh, I can tell this won't go anywhere. You're pretty dead set on killing me? Alright! Bring it on!" Nimus spread his wings wide against the oncoming flood of twisted birds, "You better have brought enough hatred to make the cut!"
So far, Justek had flushed some of the more stubborn Sages out of hiding. And knowing that Stonestein, Borealis and Vermilion were inside of the city, the only one whose location he could not peg was Atrax's...
But there would be time to deal with the spider later.
He kept walking clockwise just of view of Sancturia, disappearing to another location the moment Borealis tried to look at him.
After a while of passing the time with these games, he opened another rift on an Aurian.
So far fifteen had paid for Borealis' negligence.
"Clearly you do not bend easily, Borealis Aurora. Or you think so little of your own kind..." He stopped and stamped his staff on the ground, opening two rifts beside him that summoned Solaris and Lunis to be with him.
Both stumbling into place, clearly taken by surprise.
"Father?!" Lunis shouted in confusion, "What's going on...why..."
She was the first to pick up that she was outside Sancturia.
"Aa...ahh...!"
"You suspected all along, my dear daughter..." Justek said in a heavy tone, snagging her speechless by the tongue. After nudging his glasses up he made a heartbroken glance her way and whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't gift you the taste of freedom sooner. But now...we can finally take back the life that's rightfully ours."
He gestured his staff at Sancturia, "Son, I need you to draw Stonestein and Vermilion out of hiding. Could you do that?"
Solaris was quick to be on board and drew his armor and sword out of hiding, "Heh, I don't know what's going on, but sure! I've been wanting to fight master for a while now!"
Justek opened a rift and sent him into the city, then used another rift on a random Aurian.
Lunis saw the flash of light pierce the city and shook, turning to her father with a frightened, worrying look.
He remained stationary, glaring into the city with an unwelcoming, cold hate.
"Are you still my father?" She whispered innocently.
His hate melted away slightly to reveal the glazed over expression she was used to seeing before he cried. He turned to her and steadied himself with a smile.
She could tell what was happening, "You...wouldn't kill everyone...right?"
Justek's heart twisted in a knot, making him grip his staff tighter. He then pushed his hand out to his side and opened another rift beside her.
"No. I leave that conniving snake Lilith to you."
And before a word was uttered from her mouth, Justek spoke tenderly, "I know it pains you to take a life. Blood was always too heavy in your hands..."
"But if we do not fight back now with righteousness, then who can guarantee they won't find a way to slip past the judgment of gods?"
Lunis closed her eyes partway and asked a poignant question, "Is this righteousness father...or vengeance?"
Justek widened his eyes and trembled in his chest. With a light tap of his staff, he summoned the knives she had been trained to wield into her hands and poised his own question, "What do YOU want it to be...my daughter?"
Seeing blood and the callous words of that serpent Sage in his head, Lunis quickly and shakily gripped these knives and turned for the rift, darting through it.
Justek then sealed it up and faced Sancturia once more.
"This is only the beginning, Borealis Aurora...If the fates of your people are not enough to make you move, then I will behead your privileged brethren one after the other and present them to you."
His eyes widened with a tunneled focus through to the future he saw where Borealis would confront him, "Your surrender is inevitable...! And soon, I will make certain that your death be the same!"
High above the planet, Auris continued to fight against the pressure of space to reach for her Drive. Whenever her gums weren't bursting wide open, she was scowling harder than she ever had.
"I have made sure of it...No one shall defy the fate I have seized."
Next Time: Selflessness over Duty