Chapter 1
(A/N: I changed the first chapter. I hope this one's at the very least a bit better than the last one)
Don Orbit: Good point. Hence the reason why I rewrote the chapter
Our tale thus far: Two brothers desert on the eve of their race's extinction, a powerful figure watches the actions of two new arrivals with interest, let us continue
After passing through the gate, the two brothers found themselves flying through some form of tunnel with many colors that couldn't possibly exist. It was beautiful and yet maddening. After some passage of time, both Nephilim found their journey through madness at an end. Pestilence found himself falling through the air and landed on his feet, his legs absorbing the impact as he landed with his fist on the ground to support himself. His brother did likewise. The two brothers looked around, scanning for potential threats.
The wind blew through the trees without the song of birds or the noise of local wildlife. Odd... very odd. It didn't look like the Nephilim horde had touched it. No scent of smoke in the wind that he could tell and not a pillar of smoke was seen. Pestilence looked at Famine whom looked back at him with a shrug. His gaunt face raising a skeptical eyebrow. Something was off. The hooded Nephilim sighed.
"Be on your guard. This may be our new home, but dangers wouldn't surprise me." Pestilence warned.
"You don't say," Famine sarcastically said, grunting as he produced twin scales that he used as a hybrid form of offense and defense. Said scales had been taken from the corpse of a starved fiend that was put out of its misery a number of centuries ago. The scales were found to be very hard and dense, but also light enough to carry. Despite his sickly appearance, Famine could carry them both with ease.
Pestilence produced his own bow: a massive bow masterfully crafted for ease of grip as well as for defense. Pestilence had made sure to bring his quiver along for the journey with arrows as long as his arm. A scan of the trees revealed branches he could make arrows out of. It would take a bit though. If all else failed, he had a cruel-looking dagger for defense. He had cross-trained with other weapons in his now-terminated tenure with the Nephilim. Both of them had, if not all of them.
Just then, they heard a series of growls in the trees next to them. Both brothers looked at the demonic red eyes that looked back at them. "Demons?" Famine asked, readying himself for a fight. Pestilence squinted. "No, something else." He said. He fired off an arrow, hitting one pair smack-dab between the eyes. Its brethren charged out of the forest: massive, hulking beasts in black with quills protruding from their back. Their red eyes were hidden behind white masks above snarling teeth. The Nephilim both readied themselves for a fight. Famine smashed one scale into a black monster's head, caving it in on impact as another prepared to strike him with its claws. Pestilence opened fire with his bow, rapidly reloading and took out the monster's eye, killing it as the arrow was pretty long. He then used his bow as a makeshift splint, catching another monster's jaws before they could close on him. He produced his knife, stabbing its eye and then its neck, multiple times. The thing's still-open mouth let out a pained roar before falling to the ground. The two Nephilim would notice their enemy didn't bleed.
A few more arrived, having heard their kinsmen call out. Pestilence took his bow out of the monster's jaws and reloaded, firing again. He would do so again and again as quick as he can, until his quiver was nearly empty. Pestilence, meanwhile, would pummel his enemies with his scaled shields, using the sharp edges to puncture during the punch, further damaging his foes in addition to the brute strength of a Nephilim. He smacked a monster in the face, staggering it, before delivering fatal punches to its chest as it stood. He would then jump up and then crash down on another, caving its head. He looked around for more after landing... there were none. Famine sighed. "Well... at least there are none left... for now." Famine said, scanning the area. Arrows came out of bestial heads as others had caved in skulls and broken teeth.
"You alright?" Pestilence asked his brother as he walked over to him. Famine nodded. "Obviously," He said. "But, I would like to thank whomever sent the welcoming party." He sarcastically said. Pestilence smirked. "As would I. I've never seen beasts like this before... except on those statues-" He thoughtfully said. "Back at the gate we went through," Famine completed his sentence. "Well, now we know that they're real, but whom made them and-" Famine's thought was cut short as the bodies dissipated into nothing, the arrows dropped to the ground, their arrowheads a little damaged. Famine and Pestilence stood back.
"By the Creator... what the hell?" Famine asked in shock.
"A sorcerer made these?" Pestilence asked aloud. They had to be the work of some foul sorcery. Both looked at each other. "You don't think someone from... back there came here before us... do you?" Famine asked in shock. His brother blinked at this. He suddenly had the feeling of being watched. He turned around, seeing nothing there, but sensing the presence of someone... something, maybe. He turned around, warily scanning. "Come on, we have to go somewhere else. Find out what's going on." The elder Nephilim ordered. Famine nodded. "Yeah," He agreed and walked away.
Far away, a woman sat relaxed on her throne, the orb showing her an image of the new arrivals. "Interesting," She commented. "Enhanced strength, stamina... obviously not of this world, if that's actually true... but no signs of a Semblance... possibly." She said, thinking. She leaned forward as one of the giants paused and turned, his yellow eyes looking at hers. She jerked her head back a bit, not out of fear, but of surprise. The hooded giant's eyes stared at hers, scanning for something. He then walked away with his comrade... perhaps his brother? They looked close. She wondered what lay underneath the hood. She wondered many things.