We stare at them and they stare back at us, the few seconds before the battle starts. The imaginary rift between us is ready to collapse in the moments leading up to this. The dark mages on my side with their tomes already open, while mine remains closed, guilt still in my mind.
The sun burns against the green fields and the forest greeting us, moments untouched from the consequences of this battle. But after it, only taint will remain to paint the green into red. The peaceful hums of the birds blissfully unaware of the coming battle, like the first moments in the rites of spring, therefore destined to turn into the dissonant cacophony of sacrifice and war.
Mustafa and his army are on our right, soldiers with lances and shields in formation, archers readying bows and the cavalry prepared, with the horses neighing in anticipation. How many are there? Hundreds? Thousands? Yet, for our purposes, they serve as mere cannon fodder distracting the others as we fight in the main event.
Reflet gazes at her enemies, her eyes praying at, perhaps, the best of Ylisse. With the new guards surrounding her, it is as if a new fortress was erected to make talking to her impossible. I slowly step away from my position and toward the Vessel.
The moment I'm still a few steps away she turns her body around, opening the impenetrable wall of guards, and faces me. She yawns, putting her hand in front of me while flicking her hand in my direction.
"Gabriel, step back. I need to eliminate some annoying scraps along the way." Her reply is boorish, just another day for Grima and her plans.
While stepping back, I gaze at the other side, where a small squad pops up from the blue permeating it. The blue-haired prince stands front and center, Ylisse's champion himself, none other than Chrom.
I focus my sight on him, but beyond his arm and falchion shining bright against the sky, I can't see much of his reaction.
What are the others doing amidst all of this? But with the little seconds creeping upon me, Mustafa's army marches toward the other side. The confirmation of the battle dawning, I open Flux and grab my dagger. Today will not be a pretty sight to see.
"Ready…" With the first sign, I prepare in my position, the others follow suit, the guards dissipating.
"Go!" Reflet screams at us and runs toward the battlefield, with a sword ready on her right. Within a few seconds, the distance between her and us increases tenfold, her velocity making me fasten my pace, sweat coming down already.
Mustafa's army makes contact with its Ylissean counterpart, and the fight begins. None of the others comes toward us, leaving us to cross the field without much of a fuss, delaying the inevitable for a few seconds.
And yet, Chrom screams against the skies, brandishing his sword and running toward your direction. May the Mark of the Exalt and the Vessel fight and may the righteous one win. I grit my teeth as the Shepherds come in my direction, halting my run and refocusing my attention.
There is no time for regret anymore. I have to survive if I want to face Reflet again. With flux at the tip of my fingers, I aim at anyone approaching me, the dagger an insignificant obstacle in the process.
Then the impact comes, the swords of the Shepherds and the Vessel impact against each other. Chrom's swing is slow and heavy compared to Reflet's. She dances around him, dodging the slashes while looking for a spot to attack.
I didn't find any archers in the opposing ranks. Perhaps I shouldn't be worrying about ranged attacks, but still, I must focus while I gaze at Reflet. I notice someone approaching my direction, a tall man with an axe in his hand, running in my direction while flexing his muscles.
I aim at him as he approaches and release the spell, which flies in his direction. He moves to the right, and the spell only hits his arm, making him drop the weapon.
His face contorts into anger, his mouth wide open as he runs toward me like a blazing bull. I aim once again, but before I can go, bandages laced with armor in front of me block my view. I peek around to see what happened.
There is a cut bone where there should be a fleshy arm. It dropped to the ground, the blond man in shock. Before the guard can land the final blow, the Blonde man runs away clutching his wounded arm while gruffing from the pain. The guard gazes at me. I look away from him and towards the others.
There is no need to help Henry as he is stuck once again with the swordsmen, the repetition of the events in the castle. Him coding the slashes from the swords while the tall man avoids his attacks, if anything else, will remain in the status quo.
After breaking my sight away from Henry, I gaze towards Tharja instead. With her Nosferatu, she creates a mist that covers her like a protective shield, making the other Shepherds wary of her presence. I guess she doesn't need my help after all….
Before I can deglue my eye away from her, I see a red short-haired woman running toward her with her horse, lance in one hand ready to pierce her. Damn it, Tharja, you idiot! Don't you see what is happening in front of you!? Allow her to die, perhaps giving more chances for me to survive! ... What hell I'm thinking! I can't just allow her to die! I spell out flux.
The orb passes through the air, but misses the horse's head by a few centimeters. It is still enough to halt the animal, as it lifts itself up in the other direction and gallops away from Tharja. The short-haired woman holds and kicks the animal but it is in vain, as they get away from the battlefield faster than anything else.
I sigh in relief. I still hate Tharja, but then again perhaps seeing her body in a grave isn't something I want anymore. Before I check the other side, another guard comes and blocks my sight away from her, his head falling down to gaze at mine. I look to my left and another is there doing the same thing. A black goo drops from his eyehole, hitting my forehead and making me wipe it away.
The only place where there isn't this blockade is behind. The three of them show the blades and point in my direction! I walk backward away from them while they close towards me. Wait, there is no in there!
I turn my back to the other side and run away from them! I can't allow myself to die! C'mon, you lazy idiot! Do you want to die!? The legs burn in the running, I gaze backward. They are running! C'mon with the armor, can't they just stop or be slow! A swift wind passes through me.
I look back once again, their bodies fall to the ground. The dark blood pours out from them. What is happening? Anyways, I can't afford to be away from Reflet and the group. I try to gaze at them but they are far away. This is going to take a while, I look at the sky and sigh.
A white bright star stands against the blue sky shining amidst the sun. It is impossible, there aren't stars during the day, and they don't increase in size and shape. Oh no…
I jump to the ground, putting both my hands above my head and turning myself into a ball. Who is the Shepherd with the pegasus, weren't there two? A thud echoes from the ground, metal against the soil. I turn my head toward the sound, still crouched. On the other side, the red-haired lady comes in my direction, furrowed brows annoyed by the miss. Dammit, it is that same person from the other battle.
I get up from the ground and open Flux again. Um, dois, três, que nem uma valsa. The energy pulsates back into my arm, creating pellets on the tip of my fingers aimed in her direction. But noticing that, the woman flies to the top of the sky, the beating wings of the pegasus throwing off my aim.
Now she has become a bright dot in the sky again, ready to fall at any moment and pounce on me, not enough information for when she falls. The dot hangs in the sky, ready to fall down at any moment. One second, two seconds…
The heart palpitates as if It's going to explode right here, I'm going to die! Calm down, it's now or never. I ready the shot by locking my arm, aiming at the dot even if it's smaller than a coin. A few centimeters is the difference between life and death for me or her.
The orb travels at high speeds, crossing the air in a swift motion. The dot moves to the left avoiding the damage, but at the same time, it falls from the sky, the incoming counter-attack beginning. I run away from the dot, but the figures come closer, pegasus and rider becoming distinct.
I jump to my right, the pegasus passing straight by me, cutting the grass with the force of the wind, leaving a trail of soil in its passage. My eyes widen at seeing the trail at the trail, I could have become a human mashed potato.
The animal loses speed as the rider forces it to break its momentum, stopping meters away from me. The animal walks for a bit in the other direction instead of going up, neighing for a bit. Jackpot.
With the opportunity, I aim at the rider who stays still, calming the animal by passing her hand in its scalp. She dodges, falling to her right but still holding to the pegasus. In response, she quickly turns herself around, the animal coming at galloping speeds.
Before coming into contact, the pegasus goes up into the air, going faster in the air than on the ground. I fall to the ground, dropping my tome and dagger in the process. When she is on top of me, she attacks with her lance, but it only hits a part of my arm and cuts the cloth. The pegasus knight, once again, goes to the top of the skies.
Same old patterns and same old tactics, how the heck can I survive for something that demands so much energy and I haven't cracked the code yet? I lift myself up, my legs trembling as if my bones were broken, the muscles sore from the attacks, my arms trembling while still trying to hold onto the dagger and the tome.
Once again the star in the sky gazes down to eliminate me from this world, the repetition of the shooting star. There will be no stopping her after all. With the tome open, I let the energy flow in higher quantity, the orbs englobing my hand, reflecting the space around me. Whatever the damage to my hand, I must hit the pegasus no matter what. If it doesn't hit, then I'm as good as dead.
I grit my teeth. It is now or never. I point my arm into the skies as the bright dot comes down to kill me. Um, dois, tres. Seconds turn into milliseconds the closer she gets. The dot turns into a figure, the target clear to eliminate. It is this or death
I let out the orb and immediately jump to my right. The sphere travels and passes straight into the sky in her direction. For mere milliseconds, the animal turns sideways, evading away from the orb. With it the red haired woman attacks me with her lance, it only hits the soil but she removes it in an instant. The pegasus flies away but turns towards me.
She once again gallops toward my direction as if it is a jousting match, but the only difference is that I'm the target practice right now. With the decreasing distance, my legs tremble. I need to find a way. Perhaps…
Within the few seconds of life and death, I prepare an orb the size of my palm. I aim toward the animal's body instead of the jouster. May it work! I launch it, my arm recoiling the power behind it.
The sphere flies in slow motion. The woman notices its target, pulls the reins. The pegasus slows down in the other direction, the woman gruffing. The knight raises herself into the air. Why can't she just stop!?
Although still going fast, the pegasus goes noticeably slower than before. Is she going to try to make it with this speed? Then she stops in the air. I blink at it, then she falls like a missile going straight for me. I roll out of the way, the lance missing me by a few centimeters. I pant, all members feeling like cooked pasta, way too soft and turning into mush. The pegasus knight arches back in the air in the other direction, then come down once again, Ah yes, a pendulum to screw me over!
Once again I dodge, jumping out of the way and once again she goes back into her original position. The cycle continues. Another step unto another step, the same actions over and over again. Fall, hit and arch away from her, we dance into this waltz of madness following into the instrumentation of three, her spear and my feet play together into the rhythm of the pendulum.
I remain stuck for what seems like hours, my legs burning and ready to crumble, my heart exploding into pain, but suddenly it stops. Once coming back into the sky, she rises to the top of it, leaving me to rest for a bit, my breathing cooling my head off for a bit and the air not so stuffy anymore.
Within the brief seconds of rest, I gaze up to the sky. The shooting star is stuck in space, staring down at me just like the sun. So this is the end. The pegasus knight dives toward me, the latest attempt to kill me. It will probably succeed, my body is already exhausted, dizziness affecting my legs and my head. Does death come alone or with eager reinforcement? Dammit.
Um dois, três. Flux pierces my existence once again. The shockwaves spread throughout my arm, flowing non-stop like a broken dam. There is no need to stop. There is only one true need: eliminating them before they can exterminate me. With the electricity of flux coming, it burns the arm as if someone launched a Molotov in my arm. I scream at the top of my lungs, gritting my teeth once it ends. The sounds spread everywhere, the pegasus knight going in a straight line towards me, the spear point in the center of it all, shining against my eyes.
Sweat comes to my brow. There is no need to stop, but the waltz needs to stop for a moment. With the last of my forces, I jump backward, the adrenaline causing the pain for a tea, and I launch the orb. The pegasus hits the ground, dust spreading everywhere.
A few meters away from me, there is a spear in between the void in my legs. Had it been a few milliseconds later and it would be in my crotch or innards. Damn, how many times have I already got close to death!? I look up once again and I see the pegasus with a heavy scratch
in its body, blood painting its white body into the red.
The woman scowls to my face then she gazes back atthe injury. She tries to caress the animal's scalp and whispers what are probably sweet nothing, the thrashing of the animal dying down. And within a few moments, its wings flap against the ground as she removes the lance from the ground. I must survive somehow. There is no escape, just facts. The moment the thing flies, I will die.
I get up from the ground, struggling to even be on all fours. My legs burn like there was a fire within my flesh. I run toward the pegasus it and shove the dagger into the animal, sticking it up in its backside. The animal trashes its legs and wings around as it huffs in pain.
With both of my hands, I hold on tight to the blade as instead of the ground I receive air passing by my legs. Remember, don't look down! The pit in my stomach surges. The flapping from the pegasus makes the wind hit my head. The force increases as my arm trembles on the blade as I'm pushed, the sweat covering my palm making my grip slippery.
I need to get out right now. Removing one of my hands from the blade, my hand on the animal's back, then the lady counter attacks. With the spear in she tries to pierce me with a sweep of it. I contort my body on the other side, the tip scraping my hand but otherwise missing.
With that happening, she retreats her lance. The light injury makes my hand crack against the pressure, the ache spreading through my hand. I must get out now! I put my hand above it and pull myself getting at the top of the animal, behind the red-headed pegasus knight, sitting upon it once arrive at it
Within the same instance, she tries to hit me with her spear, but the length doesn't allow her to do it. Putting it aside, she dishes out a punch straight to my face. I turn to my left side, it's going straight. I need to counter-attack. Another comes with her other hand, hitting my cheek.
My vision dims as I see the green fields and the massive height where I'm at. The battlefield with one side retreating. Sweat pouring out from my feet, the pit in my stomach increasing, as I gulp. I pull myself again, my muscle tensing up until I return back into position. The dimness reduces down where I can see the sky, the pegasus and the pissed-off pegasus knight trying to kill me once again.
One false step, one more hit, then death will come to me from the bottomless abyss of this height.
No time to think. I punch the red-haired woman, a sharp pain emerges instead, stinging like hell. It didn't hit me, I hit her shield. Wait, they have shields as well!? She returns the jab but I lower my head, evading it.
We fall into this loop of attacks, of this stalemate of exchanged jabs and hope the other falls. I need the dagger, where is it? I look to my left, still sticking out of the animal's flesh, not moving a centimeter. Damn it, of course, it is there. Then, within a brief moment of distraction, another punch lands on my face.
I fall backward, the air hitting the back of my head. Damn, death is knocking on the door. I get up, gazing at the woman frowning at my recovery.
How long can I last before I fall to the ground!? I grit my teeth, I can't stop no matter what. While she frowns, she lowers her shield's guard, her body wide open for an attack, as she returns into position. I come closer toward her, her eyes widening.
Um, dois. Um, dois. I jab her, repeating the same movement, my fist getting red from contact with her shield, no blood on my hand yet. But with it my punch, she slides a bit towards her back. I keep jabbing her, making her come closer into the neck of the animal. Th eyes eyebrows turning furrowed.
With it she begins a counterattack: she pushes her shield, blocking my jabs while making me retreat from it. I stop jabbing, the pain consuming. She grins while keeping her eyebrows furrowed once I stop jabbing. Another plan comes to my mind, please work for fuck's sake!
Once her pushing stops, I lunge at her. The surprise makes her drop her shield, which falls off while her body falls into the neck of the animal, pointing his neck to the ground. The pegasus rumbles, thrashing its body to get us off its neck. The flapping of its wings is uncontrollable to the point its spam ceases the flight.
While this happens, her face contorts into surprise, her mouth and eyes wide open from the shock of the occurring events, but she furrows her brows once more and contorts it into a murderous frown.
She pushes against me, wrestling against me to regain control. I push more of my weight in it, trying to maintain this moment of control. The air flows faster, her hair hitting parts of my face, blocking my view. I push more of it toward her, making the red-haired weigh more on the neck of the animal, making the pegasus scream.
With my arms trembling and my legs getting weaker, I pant like there is no tomorrow in sight. The red haired woman pushes me off away from her, making me go back towards the back of the animal, she goes straight for the saddle, grabbing the riband and forcing the pegasus to slow down
But the grass and forest are in sight. There isn't enough time to stop the momentum. I hear a loud crack coming underneath me. I'm thrown away by the impact, the air caressing me as I become a human missile. My back turned to the ground and within moments, I land on it.
I'm dragged against the ground, soil turning into a rock, grazing my back, my worn-down cape serves only the minimum of a shock absorber, barely containing it and ripping along the way.
My calves are burning, the only part not hurt is my arm, which is sore and twitching in pain. I breathe and out, I need to get up otherwise I don't know. With any movement, the pain strikes back, sweat covering most of my body in a burning salt. My back stings like there is a burning pyre under it. I put both of my hands on the ground, both of them worn down, rough, the musculature rock solid. Then I put my legs down and stumble, legs soft as gelatin, ready to break at any moment. Saliva is pouring from my mouth.
I stumble toward the carcass of the pegasus. There it is, the broken neck of the enemy, most of his head stuck in the ground. The wings splayed with the bones all broken resembling a rotten decayed leaf. The legs, they aren't there. It's dead. But there is no sight of the woman. Is she gone as well? The only thing in there is a broken spear, the tip at the side of the animal, the pole broken.
Then I see the dagger still deep into the flesh of the animal.
Ha ha ha.
The laugh constrains my chest as it devolves into a pitful moan. How the heck is this cursed thing still stuck in it? Plegian metallurgy, I presume. I approach it, seeing the little details still intact. I grab it, trying to pull it away.
One pull, the edge burns a little bit of my hand scratching it in the process. Maybe if I push a little bit harder I can get it out. I pull it harder, making my hand burn against the handle, my fingers grazing, the metal serving as nothing more than fire in my hand. I remove my hand and wave it around, hitting swings of air to refresh it. I gaze at it, the palm very bright red with some scratches spilling some blood.
I put my other hand on my knees, breathing as to relax my muscle and then remove the darn thing in there. Damn, the thing is still in there, isn't it? There is much of it. One full deep breath comes to me, I need to take it out no matter what. I put both of my hands on the handle. Um, dois, três. Puxa! It doesn't botch a single thing. I push my leg against the carcass and add to the pull. Um, dois, três! Puxa. The dagger slowly pulls out of the flesh, blood seeping out of the wound. It feels like pulling a sword out of a rock. C'mon, let's go…
Then I fall into the ground, holding the dagger in the palm of my hands. Well, at least I have the darn thing now. I breathe, well I have come to kill her. You are not- A thing emerges from the other side of the carcass, casting a shadow over me. Sliding from the other side, the red-headed figure appears, blood seeping from her head while she grabs the tip of the lance.
She shows her bare teeth, anger contorting her eyes. The pegasus knight has come for revenge and screams at top of her lungs "Dastard. Du. sih. Behtalen!"
Whatever that means, her burning eyes translate it for me. There is no other option, someone will die today. She strides towards my position, her blade ready. Swift steps dragging the soil around her. One and two, she raises her blade, aiming at my heart while I fall back even more away from her, still sitting.
I put my left arm against it. It cuts the cloth and skin, stinging in the process. Another comes. I block with the dagger, the sounds of metal clanging metal dominating the air, but it isn't enough to stop her. The barrage continues, cutting a part of me every time, but it never pierces me.
The woman turns into a devil as I hear gruffing, she uses her empty hand to punch me in the face, I use both of my arms to block them, she slashes them like there is no tomorrow. The scratch marks burn as blood seeps and fall off of my arm. Porra
The barrage continues, a monster unleashed and I'm its target. I'm going to die from blood loss if this continues! I notice her legs trembling. Her slashes aren't tactical, it's someone flailing her arms in anger, discounting all her loss towards me. Until one moment, her slash goes up into the sky, a brief second where she doesn't move as if the bloodlust had kept frozen. It's time.
I lunge at her, putting my empty hand into holding her blade as I strike her with my dagger, but she holds it, blocking it from piercing her. Blood seeps from her hands, painting the dagger red. She pushes me off, the dagger getting away from her hand and her tip away from mine.
I see her tremble like an abandoned dog, panting while sweating. There is no doubt about it. This is the time to attack. I put the dagger in front of me and she lifts her spearhead above her head. One and two, we scream at each other as I run with my blade and she with hers, our blades meet, locking us into the stalemate once again.
We stare at each other in anger. I grit my teeth and she does the same, her eyes focused on my hand. Jackpot. I throw my first into her face. She burrowed in confusion, getting her blade away from mine, opening another opportunity. I thrust the dagger towards her stomach. The effect is immediate, her mouth opens wide in shock. Her blade falls down from her hand and she clutches her stomach. She growls against me, spitting in my face. I thrust again into her and it perforates her heart as her body falls to the ground, lifeless with brows furrowed in anger. The act is done.
I fall to the ground, relieved, breathing, removing the spit away from my face. She is done, with no chance of her coming back.
Hahaha.
What the hell is wrong with me? I laugh, screaming up to the sky as I can't contain it while tears come from it and the blood taints the knife. What I did, did I just kill… the name burns in my mind…did I just kill… Cordelia?
I… I just killed a Shepherd.
Hahaha.
No no no. I'm wrong, right? I come next to her body and notice the red pattern of her clothing, the wings in her hair and the red hair. I killed her. I killed her.
Dammit!
I punch into the ground. Droga, droga! I cry into the ground, my breath turning into a machine as I try to grasp for air that gets out of my lungs. There is no way. I did it.
"Você fez filho da puta. Não tem escapatória agora"
I cry into her body. What have I done? I froth from my mouth as I punch myself. I keep denying and denying, they are something foreign!
There is no escape from it. There never was, there never will be. I have killed one of the Shepherds. Nausea takes a hold of my mind as left and right mix into a soup. I get away from the ground, stumbling over the grass as I look towards people coming out from the forest. I laugh, looking at my left arm and my right, the blood seeping. I lose control of my breath, there is nothing coming out of my mouth. Um dois. A dois.
The saliva is pouring out as my throat becomes drier Then the Sahara. I'm so tired of this crap, of this madness. I fall to the ground, crying. I deserve this, I always deserved this. Nothing more, nothing less. At least, please let me have my books. The void consumes me and turns the world into darkness. Raskolnikov killed the old lady and had his guilt, what is left of me? Mother is always right, I always fuck up everything.
The world turns into a void.
Well, I guess this hiatus was rather short. Anyways, I'm going to drop this chapter and then focus on editing the rest of the fic. I have already finished writing it, but I need to edit about 15 to 20 chapters. So quite a while before the fic is completed on the site. As for the hiatus, I'm very sorry for my display and my illness. I will be honest that I'm not 100% well but I have a psychologist for a reason. Sorry for any damage I might have done.
Anyways, special thanks for Cavik for beta reading my stuff! and thanks for reading this chapter, thanks for 2010SI, Bigwavesxs and Crowbars357 for the kind message. I'm not exactly but I want to finish the story no matter what.
I participate in a Discord server with some wonderful people. here is the like: Discord. gg / 9XG3U7a