It was rare for Gaius to shed any tears. He has learned to bury his emotions deep beneath the Black Wolf's armor he wore. Yet now it has sunk to the sea's pit, leaving no shield, no protection from the whirlwind that was about to consume Gaius. And the pain wasn't his anymore; it was that of his daughter. Milisandia heard all about their infiltration and battle, how Allie was almost saved only to be snatched away from them at the last moment. She knew that they could return empty-handed, as did Gaius, yet it did not make any of the pain subside.
It was hard to focus, hard to recount that which only happened recently, but Gaius told it all. He saw Milisandia shedding tears for her fallen sister, felt the warmth of her body as he offered her an embrace, and sensed her gratitude as he wiped her tears. Only now Gaius truly understood how immensely fortunate he was to have her here, away from Valens's claws.
But this time, neither of them wanted to mourn. Not while Rex and Ricon were still trapped and so much work remained to be done. When Gaius heard of the Emerald Weapon, he thought that perhaps waiting for Valens to strike first would be good enough, but he underestimated his opponent. Perhaps there were some ways in which Nero was right…And it was time to discuss their strategy before it was too late.
"Did she…Did she suffer?" - Milisandia's voice quivered as they walked across the great hall.
"I don't know." - Gaius replied dryly, wondering if he wanted to know the answer at all. "I imagine the transformation has been quick."
Milisandia closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. She didn't want to speak anymore; she was just tired of the nightmare they lived through. She wanted to live while she still could, and Gaius understood it. He dreamed of this day coming to pass, but with each step they made, it eluded them.
As Gaius and Milisandia approached the conference room, they saw Nero strolling in the opposite direction with smoothness. As he passed Gaius, the engineer gave him only a slight glance, but it was enough for Gaius to understand that Nero sympathized with his loss. He wasn't smiling or talking, not getting ready to throw another jab at someone, just nodded before continuing to walk.
Raubahn himself seemed slightly perplexed by all the news he had just heard, but as he saw the Shadowhunter and his daughter enter, the general made an effort to stand up. Gaius could see that his knees were still shaking, but Raubahn did his best to not show his pain.
"Gaius…I thought whether to go look for you." - The general said as he examined the Shadowhunter. "I'm sorry for your loss." - He spoke as he looked over Gaius and Milisandia.
"Thank you, general." - Gaius responded as he sat beside him.
"We came because there is a need for a plan." - Milisandia said grimly. "Valens has made it so Allie was impossible to save…I told father we shouldn't wait any longer."
"You have to admit, it has worked with the weapon…The Emerald was delivered right at our doorstep, and you destroyed it; if not for your loss, this would've been an overwhelming victory." - Raubahn noted, trying not to upset them. Both Gaius and Milisandia understood that he was right, but this strategy would not work again even if they wanted to.
"He has only one weapon, and he won't risk it. Deploying it along with the army seems like the only way he will make use of it." - Gaius noted. "We will have to move to Werlyt headquarters, have your spies found them?"
"Yes, at least we so believe." - Raubahn said. "Valens has a base to the northeast of Terncliff, and I assume the Diamond Weapon is kept there." - The general sounded unsure. "He will probably use it to defend his headquarters, so a frontal assault is out of the question, and I doubt our allies from other states would be of much help.
"You don't need that many men. As long as we have a location, me and others can destroy the weapon in a way similar to Emerald." - Gaius said, knowing that they could find another of his children imprisoned there. But he believed that Valens would not be so quick to waste his final weapon.
"Are you sure you can pull this off?"
"What other choice do we have?"
"And what happens after?"
"The advantage will be on our side, with the Ruby Weapon. Nero managed an entire city into surrender; the came can be done here." - Gaius explained. "If we are successful, that will be the end of Valens."
"I understand you want to free your family, but I'm not sure if we are…"
"I won't act until we all agree, but we can't afford to wait any longer. The sooner this ends, the better."
The general seemed to accept the inevitability. Nero's mistake was in his refusal to coordinate his actions with others, yet now they could avoid such miscalculations. There was only so much time left for planning.
…
As the fight against Valens got more eventful with each day, Nero felt the need to take a brief break after their battle with the Emerald Weapon. He would never admit to it before Gaius or anyone else, but a certain part of his consciousness genuinely wished and believed that it would not come to utilizing the weapon. With how this operation had been planned, Gaius's confidence, and such a skillful squad, he was expecting to see Gaius's child out in no time. But with how it has turned out…It wasn't exactly encouraging.
He wanted to offer genuine sympathy to Gaius and Milisandia but was never that good at it, so the engineer decided to stick to what he does best-taking joy from the moment. Nero traveled to the Ala Mhigan wall, closest to the breach and still remaining intact. He noticed the memorial citizens have created on his way, reminding him of just how many people can perish due to recklessness and cruelty…It made him ask himself uncomfortable questions, those he did not really want to answer.
Only as Nero stood atop the wall, gazing down at the sunshine dancing on the Ruby Weapon, did he finally realize the source of his doubt. Back there, in Terncliff, how far would he go? Nero took pride in getting that city to surrender without any deaths bar Alfonse's, but what if they refused to give up? Turned out to be loyal to VIIth? Nero knew he would not simply leave such an opportunity, whatever the situation was, and the only other option was to open fire on defenseless civilians. Nero didn't have to imagine. The hellish fire raging on the streets of Ala Mhigo back when the weapon attacked was enough for him. If he was to attack Terncliff, this wouldn't be any better than what Milisandia did, and what she did was forced on her by Valens…Being degraded to the same level as that rascal, Nero shuddered to even imagine it.
"Here you are, you son of a coeurl!" - He heard a voice brimming with his usual excitement with only a few sparkles of annoyance within. "I've been looking for you all over the place."
"Do you miss me that much, Garlond? Well, I can't blame you for that, can I?" - Nero turned around with a sly smile emerging on his face.
"I'd call it "wondering how the hell you even survived for so long," but to each their own." - Cid shook his head and stood beside Nero, looking at the proud engineer. Nero knew he wasn't truly angry because there was no way Cid didn't expect it from him. "Should've told that we need more guards…But hey, you outplayed me on this one." - Cid sighed.
"Just admit it, you were worrying about me."
"Considering how much of a talent you have for getting yourself into a life-and-death situation and you flying to an entire city-damn, right, we were all worried." - Cid crossed his arms, but Nero could feel that he did not hold grudges. Perhaps he even saw some merit in his actions. "Had the whole city up in arms and made me realize how much of a fool I was for not predicting that…"
"Well, we both might have miscalculated a little, but your blunder far outdoes mine." - Nero said proudly, only to notice Cid smiling and looking up at him, slightly surprised.
"Did you just admit to making a miscalculation?" - As Cid said those words, Nero realized his brutal mistake. Before Estinien and Raubahn, it was one thing, but not before bloody Garlond…
"No, you heard that wrong."
"Oh, don't try to wheeze out of it now! Gaius told me you never admitted to any mistakes on your part, but is that humility I sense?" - Cid chuckled, though he meant no offense.
"With all seriousness, I didn't wish for Alfonse to die…" - Nero uttered with regret. "There could've been another way, yes, but I did what I thought most effective, and even you have to admit it bore results…"
"Sure did, but it could have been more have you waited for a little…" - Cid had something on his mind. "You know, I was about to tell you about an invention that will certainly pique your interest, but you flew away hours before I got the chance, so I doubt you care that much." - Now, he was pushing it.
"Excuse me, after all the work we've done together…" - The engineer responded with annoyance. He respected Garlond's invention and wanted to see each and everyone, especially because almost every single one he could improve.
"Got you there." - Cid smirked before switching his tone away from light mockery. "Don't get all spiky on me; it's not like I don't want to tell about it." - Cid looked at the Ruby Weapon before continuing. "Something tells me you enjoy powerful magitek warmachines…Just a feeling."
"How did you guess?"
"I do not discard them either, but this one and others have been tainted by that oversoul function." - Cid said grimly. "It's dangerous to the life of the pilot, especially considering it can activate automatically if the weapon receives critical damage."
"Wait, it can?" - Nero was dumbfounded.
"Should've looked at our findings for a change." - Cid shrugged. "Point is, I have begun working on another variant, the one that will not be so destructive, focuses on damage control rather than complete destruction."
"Taking all the fun out of it…"
"It's the one the Alliance will use when the time comes. I am not quite sure of the name, but so far, I dubbed it G…"
Cid didn't finish as both engineers felt the ground trembling before them.
"What's that?" - Nero said and immediately looked at the weapon. It remained static and was clearly not the source of this turmoil…
"Over there!" - Cid gestured with Nero following his lead.
A magical surge was forming in the distance among the Gyr Albanian desert. The enormous spike of aether has grown stronger with every second. And soon, a structure emerged in its stead. A gigantic black tower overshadowed the desert, sending its signal up into the Azure sky. It appeared out of nowhere, mesmerizing both Nero and Cid, yet the tower that emerged was pulsing with malice and darkness.
"Are we seeing the same thing?" - Cid asked with some uncertainty.
"Don't remember taking any somnus lately…"
Whatever this could mean, they had to warn others.
…
For a moment, Estinien was almost convinced that the mysterious man watching them was nothing but a figment of his imagination. The dragoon chased this dark presence, but wherever he went, he would once again find himself wandering among the sheer void, unable to follow the trace. Estinien knew that he was being watched, and it was likely that someone was toying with him in his performance of a rather cruel joke.
Yet he could not force himself to stop. If he shows a lack of resolve, then this mysterious stranger will be left to his own devices once again. Estinien did not know much of the ascians, but he heard much about the influence they had in the world. Lahabrea has orchestrated the Archbishop's expedition into Azure Lla for his own ends, even if it turned sour for him. Same with the tale of Gaius van Baelsar. To become a pawn of the ascians was a fate far more horrific than death.
And soon, all of Estinien's worst fears have come to life. The moment this tower emerged out of nowhere, he knew that it was connected to the ascian. The twisted creation brimming with darkness and death. Estinien did not know what it could do, but the consequences could be devastating. And due to the breach in the city's wall, it won't be long before all of the people see it.
Estinien rushed to the conference room to warn others, though he had no doubt that they had already noticed the tower. It was, however, only the beginning of their trouble. As the elezen approached the building, a shadow of giant wings covered the sky above Ala Mhigo. As Estinien looked, he witnessed a dragon colored in purple hue with its skin set ablaze. The beast roared, striking terror into people's hearts. And beside it, there was another, the stranger Estinien saw. He was floating in the air, giving directions to the creature and eyeing the target to strike. Reaching him was impossible; there was no building or wall high enough, except perhaps the menagerie.
Estinien needed to find a fitting point if he was to strike. The Ruby Weapon would come in very handy now…
The dragoon found no one in the conference hall and decided to press on to the menagerie; there was a passage that connected it to the building. Estinien was racing against the clock. The ascian still held back and didn't attack, though such hesitation could hardly come from humane empathy. It meant that he simply had another plan. When Estinien ascended, he realized that he wasn't the first to come up with this idea. Raubahn, Gaius, Milisandia, Cid, and Nero have gathered atop the menagerie, watching the dragon and the ascian in shock. Each was ready to fight him, though no one knew how to reach him.
"Look who decided to join the fray…" - Nero said, bringing some attention to Estinien.
"I was searching for an ascian, but it seems he "found" us first." - The dragoon replied and stood between Raubahn and Gaius. "What's the situation here?"
"That bastard is waiting for something…And I'm already getting calls saying there are those towers in other regions!" - Raubahn exclaimed in anger. This seemed to get worse with each second.
"As powerful as ascians are, they are not invincible." - Gaius claimed confidently. "Two paragons fell to my blade already, and if this one decides to fight…"
"Look out!" - Cid pointed to the dragon who flew towards the menagerie, noticing the crowd that had gathered there. The ascian followed and descended before the group, finally allowing them to see his face. A young man of doman descent with short black hair must have been another victim forced to be the paragon's host.
"My, my…" - The ascian smiled. "To be received by such illustrious cast, I must say, I feel quite starstruck! The wounded general, the Azure Dragoon, and even the Black Wolf himself! I have been watching all of you while running errands for that lordling you so despise, but I was looking forward to finally making your acquaintance." - He said, receiving maniacal joy from this moment, all while the dragon stood behind him in utter obedience.
"I saw you on the day Milisandia attacked! Who are you?" - Estinien bared his lance; he would have attacked already if he didn't know that the ascian would just teleport away.
"Oh, pray, accept my sincerest apologies. How rude of me to not even introduce myself! I am Fandaniel, the sundered ascian." - He introduced himself as the red glyph gleamed before his face, a signature mark of ascians. Estinien saw Gaius taking his gunblade and watching Fandaniel furiously.
"Do you serve Valens?" - Milisandia asked cautiously, closely following his every move. Before Fandaniel could answer, Gaius spoke.
"Nay…A paragon serves no one but himself."
"How shrewd of you, van Baelsar! I assume you speak from experience…" - Fandaniel responded, trying to anger Gaius, but it was clear that the Shadowhunter was no longer ashamed of his past. "Truth be told, Valens played a key role in setting the stage for a truly grand performance. Alas, I might have overestimated him." - Fandaniel turned around and pointed at Milisandia. "Even you were a better harbinger of doom than that fool."
"I am not proud of what I did… And I will never do anything like it again!"
"I'd doubt that…Anyone has certain motivators that work wonders…"
The ascian was interrupted by Raubahn.
"Stop bloody toying with us! What is it you want? What are the towers for?"
"Going straight to the point? Very well, I shall oblige." - Fandaniel bowed before them, like an actor preparing for his magnum opus. "In the time immemorial, a cataclysm has flooded this world. Your broken souls would, no doubt, be ignorant to its tale, but soon you will witness the Final Days for yourself. For this is my single purpose, to return this world to oblivion in a paroxysm of pain and suffering! I want each and every one of you to die! And I want to die too…And take this world with me!"
Those were the words of a madman, to which Estinien would not have paid much attention if not for might he has already demonstrated. This ascian managed to summon towers all across Eorzea, perhaps the whole world, and now they knew for certain that there was no reconciliation with this maniac.
"And that's it?!" - Nero said angrily. "I was studying your kind and trying to figure out your motives ever since Lahabrea made a deal with Gaius, and you turn out to be that shallow? Seriously, just destroying the world?"
"Do not confuse me with Lahabrea or his unsundered colleagues; there is nothing in common between us!" - Fandaniel exclaimed with agitation. The ascian looked at the sun above them as if he was looking at something beyond the rift, something that Estinien and others couldn't see. "And while those ancient fools struggle to rejoin a single withered shard, I have taken the liberty to prepare a show far more exciting. Those towers will serve as a gateway, but oh…The best part is still ahead." - The ascian smiled and looked back at the group.
"And what are those towers for?" - Cid asked sternly, but all of them knew that Fandaniel would give no answer.
"I will let you figure it out for yourselves; otherwise, how is there any fun in it?" - Fandaniel shook his head. "But have no worries, you will be entertained. My companion here, which I have dubbed "Lunar Bahamut," will be here to unleash his inferno if anything gets out of hand…And speaking of Valens, his plans for the Diamond Weapon have even impressed me." - Fandaniel said with twisted pride. "It will take just a few days for it to fly and give you the true taste of annihilation. You will have no resolve left!" - The ascian chucked maniacally, with others being uncertain of how even to respond. Nero was the first one to retort.
"Let them come! If you haven't noticed, we have an anti-eikon machine of our own! Bahamut's aether would do well to feed it, or perhaps I should make it go straight to yours?"
"Oh, you've caught me!" - Fandaniel fell on his knees and spoke with theatrical sarcasm. "How would I resist such a powerful creation, oh my best-laid plans and their ruin…Try it. Try blasting me right here. I'll teleport somewhere else, from one building to another, but you can carry on; it would be an extremely hilarious end to this city of yours." - Fandaniel said mockingly. "I assumed that your Alliance prefers to avoid unnecessary casualties…But considering that your vaunted heroes will never save your day once again, who am I to judge you for tapping into extremes?"
"What are you talking about?" - Estinien was the only one to speak as the sheer feeling of shock pierced him. "What do you mean, "never"?"
"You mean to say you don't know…" - A wide grin emerged on his face. "A dagger through lord Zenos's heart, an unexpected twist in the plot! The warrior of light and his companions have been dragged to a distant shard to prevent another calamity…But they died! Every single one of them has already perished with nothing but a soulless vessel left in this world! Even the Warrior of Light has fallen, fallen with an explosion of light so powerful, even from this world I could feel a disturbance."
No, this could not be…Estinien always maintained a shade of fear for his comrades and their fates after they had fallen comatose. But to hear about them dying…No, they were the strongest people he ever knew. The threats they overcame were countless. His heart was pounding as Estinien could not believe it. Not Alphinaud, not Edwin…But then he thought about Krile. Remembered her hauntingly depressive demeanor, as if the entirety of her life had suddenly lost meaning. If Fandaniel felt a disturbance…Could she have felt it too?
"I can see it in your eyes, dragoon. You can't force yourself to deny the obvious! At least now you might see how little worth this world has, even when your strongest…"
Estinien rushed at the ascian with his lance, ready to pierce his foe out of unbridled rage. Before he could, however, Bahamut unleashed a wave of purple flame that had emerged between Fandaniel and the dragoon. Estinien made contact and immediately felt agonizing pain which forced him to jump back. Bahamut moved closer to Fandaniel to protect his master.
"My, my, such hostility, haven't you heard it's rude to shoot the messenger?" - Fandaniel said dramatically. "I will leave you to your own devices for now, but be wary. The "heart of Sabik" is beating…"
Fandaniel has opened a dark portal and disappeared; moments later, Bahamut took to the skies, becoming unreachable for Estinien. The dragon would fly towards the tower, leaving the dragoon and his allies in utmost terror as they realized the doom that was spelled out for them.
…
Rex knew there was no point in fighting, but he still fought and felt the sheer catharsis of it. He stuck to his creed, finally getting a chance to perish in a blaze of glory. He wanted to kill as many of those bastards as he could so that his name would be remembered with fear by those who survive. In this blind rage, however, he forgot about Ricon, who was forced to fight too.
This yielded no result for them. Rex managed to strike some of the soldiers, but none fell. Those were mere moments before he was pushed to the ground by force. Rex screamed and resisted, cursing Valens and the VIIth Legion, but the efforts have been fruitless. It wasn't long before he could see nothing but pure darkness before him. Were this the end, Rex would have welcomed it with open arms, but fate has been playing a far crueler game with him.
When he woke up, Rex was overtaken by a blurry agony. He couldn't see anything around him, but he could feel the wet floor and the smell of burning rod, as well as immense pain piercing his body. The cold chains have forced the au ra to the floor, unable to reach for the light. He must have been inside one of the most remote prison rooms. The sight was still evading him, but now Rex could sense others' presence. Small silhouettes surrounding him slowly emerged in his impaired vision. With every passing second, the fleeting echo in his ears deteriorated; soon, it was buried beneath the weight of soulless chanting. A chorus of children's voices, monotonously colliding in a chilling unison, have trapped in a cycle of repeating four simple words.
"Burn out the bad. Burn out the bad. Burn out the bad."
"AAAAARGH!" - Rex screamed as his back was melting. The sting of a burning rod has cracked his skin, forcing some of Rex's scales to become charred. His blood was pumping behind them; a few more seconds and it would flow moments after the scales are torn off…
This finally forced Rex to open his eyes and see the cell around him. Five children stood like statues, with a sixth one taking the rod off Rex just moments ago. And rising above all of them was Valens van Varro, looking down on Rex with a horrendous smile on his face.
"Finally awake, are we?" - He said playfully before kneeling before the pilot. Rex charged at him almost immediately, despite how hurtful it was. Of course, he wasn't able to reach the Legatus while being held by metal chains. Valens smiled even wider as he watched Rex try and desperately break free. "Don't bother, my dear Rex. This will only serve to tire you before it's time."
"Where is Ricon?" - Rex snapped, still trying to break his shackles.
"Ha, still care for your brother, do you?" - Valens laughed at Rex's pain. Such joy that he took almost in each second of it, an unbearable terror.
"WHERE IS HE!?"
"How uncivilized; I guess I shouldn't expect anything more from such scum as you. Don't you worry about that one. I left him locked and relatively unscathed, at least for now…It's you I'm interested in." - Valens chuckled. "Out of all those degenerates that I've put in their place, of all those savages that got a new home due to my mercy, you stand out above all. Such tumultuous passion, such vigor, and hatred to the man who has given you life! Such boldness and consideration, you've outdone all of your savage kind."
"And I am proud of it…Every second when your ego crumbles is worth hundreds of burns. How lucky am I that you're not exactly thick-skinned!" - Rex followed this by spitting at Valens's armor. This was quickly repaid by the infuriated Legatus slapping Rex. The au ra spat with blood on the floor, following it with a smile on his face. This felt cathartic. No more games, no more pretending or groveling; finally, Rex felt alive again.
"But for all your horrible qualities, you can be quite shrewd at times…I take it you know what I did?" - Valens smiled, once again consumed by the love of his own psychotic work.
"You forced Allie into the Emerald Weapon; you forced her to die!" - The au ra shouted. "Why? It's me you should have punished. The disobedience was mine alone!"
"And that's exactly what I'm doing. You dying to oversoul would be too quick of death to you. You deserve more pain and humiliation…Did it feel good to realize that your sister died because of you? Because you were a rash idiot? Must have been great…"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"And you know what's the best part?" - Valens sounded impatient to tell Rex more. "She did not even have a choice! I made the oversoul automatic with a few simple fixes…If anyone tried to open the cockpit, it would be set in motion. And someone did…" - Valens continued, closely watching Rex's horror. "Your sister was a weak, frail creature; she wouldn't have survived among the strongest. I thought she could be of use, at least here…But she still died to them! A failure to the end…"
"BURN IN HELL!" - Rex screamed, unleashing all of his hatred inside. Seeing him speak so gleefully about his sister dying, the one who was still a child, the one who tried to remain optimistic when her siblings lost all hope. At least the weapon was destroyed, but what good was it when Allie has perished? "We will kill you…Even if I won't, Ricon or Milisandia will. Father will! Our family will kill you!" - He continued to spur his chaotic rage, only for Valens to take even more pleasure at this moment, fueling Rex's rage. A self-destructive cycle that will drive him insane…
"Shh…Such an angry young man. You still have much to learn." - Valens took out the sword from behind his back. "Don't worry, I will not kill you." - This was precisely the reason to worry, but Rex maintained his courage. "When Fandaniel brought me your sister's horn, that gave me an idea…" - Now Rex understood. "A mark of shame fits you perfectly!"
Valens raised his sword, targeting one of Rex's horns.
Anguish followed.