The Light of A Broken Destiny:
The Shadows in One's Heart
Akari stumbled around, tears blurring her vision as she tried to get away from the two witches and one human. She bumped into someone but didn't notice as she tried to get away from the three.
The swordswoman eventually found herself in a dark hallway, completely devoid of a soul. Akari dragged herself to a wall, leaned against it, and sank to the ground. She curled into herself and let the tears she had been barely holding back flow.
Akari clutched the side where her scar was located and nearly screamed as a voice spoke in her mind.
"I love you, Ma-"
Akari shook her head violently to banish the memory before it could go any further and curled further into herself. Her sobbing gave way to anguished cries as she threw her head back.
"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SOOORRRRYYYYY!" Akari screamed to the heavens. Her head suddenly fell to her knees, and she moaned weakly, "I'm sorry…mama."
"Hey?" a voice suddenly asked. "You doing okay?"
Akari didn't bother to look up, knowing who that voice belonged to. She didn't even acknowledge King's question, shrinking further into herself as her sobbing worsened.
King frowned with his eyes as he looked at the human. For reasons he couldn't understand, the last titan felt something familiar about this human. Maybe it was the scent he picked when he first saw Akari; the scent remained King of the magic of a Titan's glyph.
King scowled with his eyes as he clutched his right shoulder. During the attack on the Owl House, Odalia had personally attacked King. She somehow found a spell seal that worked on Titans and used it on King.
"...How did she even find that thing?" King whispered, staring at his shoulder.
The seal couldn't be seen because of the concealment stone hidden in his necklace. When Eda given him the stone, she explained that as a Titan, people might lose hope if they learned that Odalia was able to cripple the last of the Titans.
A sudden choked sob brought King out of his thoughts, and he looked at Akari. He frowned with sympathy, once again feeling something familiar about the human. The young Titan gingerly walked up to Akari and took a seat next to her.
King looked at the swordswoman, frowning with his eyes. He tried to figure out something to say, but realized he didn't know this new human. Instead, the young titan snuggled close to the human, hoping his presence was enough to soothe the girl.
Akari felt King against her, and her sadness worsened. But she didn't pull away; instead, she hesitantly reached out and wrapped an arm around the young titan.
Despite herself, Akari felt a small, sad smile blossoming. She leaned into King and took in his presence to soothe some of her worries.
(SC)
"...Are you certain of this, Edalyn?" one of the war councilors asked calmly.
The Clawthorne sisters had gathered the war council, and Eda told them everything that had happened. Eda resisted the urge to groan and rolled her eyes as she looked at the rest of the council. Without Raine and Darius, the council was just six members, including Eda and Lilith.
Osran was sitting to Eda's right with Hettie next to him. The former Oracle head had lost all but one of his arms during the early days of the war. He also shaved his mustache and wore leather armor.
The ex-wild witch had noted that during her visit with her kid, the ex-Healing Coven Head had donned leather armor with studs.
Eda looked to her left and frowned as she looked at Steve Tholomule.
The once chipper and somewhat airheaded scout had undergone massive changes since the war with Odalia started. Steve had let his hair grow to the point that he tied it up in a ponytail. His horn was broken in half, and the remaining piece had been smoothed.
Like the others, Steve wore leather studded armor.
The ex-wild witch's frown deepened when she saw how thin he looked. She ignored the ping of guilt in her chest as she looked at the final member of the council, her frown twisting into a scowl.
Galeth Wave was half of Eda's age, but due to the scars covering his dark-skinned face and his silver hair, he looked older. Unlike the others, Galeth wore full-body steel armor, with a helmet resting on the table.
He must have sensed eyes on him because he looked at Eda with a glare.
Eda returned the glare, but before she could say anything, Steve said something.
"Eda…" the ex-scout said calmly, "You said you found this out after two humans came to Isles?"
Eda looked at Steve, his face softening but filling with conflict. She didn't miss the suspicion in the ex-scout's voice, and she couldn't blame him for his suspicions.
The ex-wild witch sighed reluctantly and replied, "Look, Stevie, we have been over this. I know how things look with how Obalia tricked us last time."
"US!" Galeth screamed, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands on the table. "There was no us in that scenario, Clawthorne!"
Eda glared at Galeth with a hot glare that could have melted Titan's bones. She opened her mouth to spit a retort, but Lilith put a hand on her sister's shoulder. Eda glared at her sister, but Lilith just looked at her calmly. The ex-wild witch could see a message in her sister's eyes, and she sighed in bitter defeat, looking away.
Lilith smiled slightly at her sister, then turned serious as she glared at Galeth.
"Galeth Waves," the ex-coven head spoke evenly, "We knew of the risks of taking in Camila Noceda, but she's family and had a right to know what happened to her daughter."
The dark-skinned witch turned his scorn to the elder Clawthorne, the heat in his eyes growing tenfold.
"Knew the risk?" Galeth growled, "The door to the pathetic realm was under Odalia's control, and neither of you even considered the possibility that something was wrong."
"We did," Steve said, glaring at the older witch. "That's why I was watching her."
Galeth turned his attention to the ex-scout, his face unchanged. "And look where it got you, Tholomule!"
Steven frowned as he glared at the older witch. His spell finger began to twitch, and Galeth saw this, moving his own hand into a spell-ready position.
"ENOUGH!" Osran suddenly shouted, his voice carrying across the room.
Everyone immediately stopped and stared at the ex-oracle head. Osran looked at the dark-skinned witch with a look, and Galeth took his seat, looking at his helmet with a scowl.
"Regardless of how this information was given to us," the oracle stated calmly, "We finally have something to work with. Now, Commander Clawthorne, what's your plan?"
Eda looked at the oracle for a second and sighed. "Nothing but the usual," she replied reluctantly. "You know, setting up another base and trying to take back any towns to up our numbers."
"This AGAIN!" Galeth screamed, slamming a fist on the table. "We finally have some information, and you want to sit on it as you failed with that plan for the third time?"
Eda glared at Galeth and stood up. "And I guess you want to try and take Bonesborough, don't you?" she asked angrily.
"OF COURSE!" Galeth shouted his reply, standing. "If we take the capital, that would be a huge strategic advantage. We could finally mount a full assault against Odalia!"
"Galeth," Hettie said calmly, "We simply lack the numbers to take Bonesborough. It would be suicide even to try."
Orsan nodded and looked the dark-skinned witch in the eyes. "I agree. Edalyn's methods may be slow, but they are getting results. Even if we lose the base or the town, our ranks are going up. It shouldn't be much longer before we have enough members to attempt an assault on the capital."
Galeth glared at the two ex-Coven Heads. Orsan and Hettie weren't scared by the gesture, looking at the witch with indifference. After a moment, the witch looked away, turning his attention to Eda.
"Fine," Galeth growled reluctantly, then pointed at the ex-wild witch. "But you're taking that human with you! I wouldn't have it here and risk everyone at this camp!"
Galeth then stood up, grabbed his helmet, and glared one last time at Eda. Eda just looked at the witch with a grin, and Galeth scowled as he took his leave.
Everyone watched as the witch left, then turned their attention to Eda. The ex-wild witch looked at each of the council members, then sighed.
"I know, I know," Eda said with slight defeat, standing. "I was going to take the kid with me, anyway."
Lilith frowned as she watched her sister's demeanor change ever so slightly at the word "kid" and sighed. She stood and looked at the elder members of the council.
"I believe we had discussed everything we wanted, correct?" the elder Clawthorne asked, and the council nodded. "Good. Now we all must prepare."
The council nodded, and all stood. The group then left the room, but the Clawthorne sisters stayed behind.
"Eda…" Lilith said slowly, looking at her younger sister, "Are you certain about the human?"
Eda looked at her sister and sighed. "Don't you start with me, Lily," she retorted. "It's like I've been saying, if you saw what the other human did, you wouldn't question a thing."
Lilith frowned as Eda left the room. The elder Clawthorne sighed faintly and then hurried after her sister, uncertainty hanging over her.
(SC)
"...This wasn't what I was expecting," Raine muttered, disturbed by the inside of Odalia's factory. "This is nothing like the factory was raided before."
Hiro frowned as he looked around. The room was just one big room, with a flight of stairs leading to a second-floor door. He looked up at the ceiling and saw it didn't extend past the second level. He turned his attention to the center and noticed rows of chairs around a device.
The immortal swordsman walked up to the center, eyes narrowing as he looked at the setup. There was a device in the center of a row of chairs, eight on each side. He looked down at the device, seeing it reach his waist, and studied it.
The device was a wheel on a post with a large oracle stone in the center. Hiro's frown deepened as he noticed something sticking out near the stone. He grabbed a knife, lifting it to his eye level.
Hiro scowled at the oracle stone that had been sharpened into a knife point. It didn't take much thought to figure out what the object was for, and with a growl, he set the item ablaze. He watched as the black fire made short work of the knife, reducing it to nothing but ash.
"Just want is all of this?" Hiro heard Hunter ask.
The swordsman looked at the grimwalker and saw him looking over one of the chairs. Hiro walked over and saw what Hunter was looking at. The immortal scowled as he saw tubes with thick, sharp needles resting on the chair. He leaned in and could see abomination goo filling the tube.
Hiro picked up a tube and held his hand over the needle. To his horror, the needle felt warm.
"TITAN!" Darius screamed. "This is worse than I thought!"
Hiro and Hunter looked at the older witch and saw him looking over a chair. Curious, Hiro threw the tube away and walked up to Darius with Hunter. The two looked around the taller witch, and Hunter was horrified when he saw the blood mixed with abomination goo. And to make matters worse, the blood was fresh.
On the outside, Hiro was indifferent to the sight, but on the inside, he was boiling. In his long life, he had seen things that would make even the most hardened person sick, and as such, he had grown numb to a lot. But, he could feel his blood boiling with anger the more he learn of the monstrous acts Odalia committed.
The immortal swordsman clenched his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"I don't care!" a familiar voice suddenly pierced the air.
Everyone looked to the second-floor door and saw a shadow on the window. The two witches, one grimwalker, and one human saw movement, and everyone looked at Hiro. The immortal swordsman quietly pointed at the stars, the only thing with a hint of cover, and everyone got the message.
The group silently but quickly hurried over to the stairs. Hiro gathered some ki into his left hand and swung it in front of him, spreading his energy in front of the group. The group huddled close to the shadows and held their breaths as the stairs creaked.
"Ma'am," a weak, sniveling voice said, "Be reasonable. We just finished processing these scouts, and they would need a few hours to settle before they would be ready for the field."
Everyone watched as Terra, her group, and Tibbles came into view. The pig-like demon nervously looked at the older witch, fidgeting with his hands. He flinched when Terra looked at him with a glare.
"And I told you I don't care!" the plant witch shouted angrily. "I want every single scout this factory has, and I want them NOW!"
Hiro narrowed his eyes, watching Terra stormed to the other side of the room. He looked to his right when he heard a growl and saw Darius glaring death at Terra. Hiro looked back at Terra, frowning as he watched the plant witch belittling the pig-like demon.
"Darius," Hiro whispered evenly, looking at the witch. "Did you want to come here thinking that Terra would come here to get reinforcements?"
Raine and Hunter looked at the abomination witch, surprised by Hiro's words. Darius looked at each one, face twisting into a scowl. Everyone knew from that look alone that Hiro was correct with his guess.
"Darius…" Raine said slowly, reaching out to his friend. "I know you're still feeling responsible for what happened to-"
Hiro tone Raine as he looked at the witches and one demon, sensing some eyes on him. He frowned when he noticed Mason looking in the group's general direction. Because his ki distorts one's senses, there should be no way the construction witch would have been able to see them.
The swordsman gasped as he realized Mason wasn't using his eyes to see them, just as he felt the ground under him rumble.
"MOVE!" Hiro suddenly screamed.
The human immortal pushed the witches and one grimwalker out of the way just as a large stone slab erupted from under them. The group stumbled from their hiding spot, barely managing to keep on their feet.
"Well, look what we have here?" Terra said in a sickeningly sweet, mocking voice. "The wittle rebels. And they brought their nanny."
The rebels quickly straightened, looking at their foes. Terra was smiling at the rebels with a sickeningly sweet smile as her cohorts readied spells. Darius and Raine readied spells themselves, and Hunter called his staff.
"Coming from you, you young hag," Hiro retorted, drawing his sword. "I will take that as a compliment."
Hiro made the first move, rushing at the group of witches. Terra saw this, cocked an eyebrow, and draw a spell circle. A thick vine burst from the ground and flew at the immortal swordsman.
Hiro swung his sword, changing it into its fire shape, and a turret of flames shot from the weapon. The fire slammed against the vine, and Hiro was surprised when a flower bloomed from the vine and absorbed the fire.
Hiro was quick to recover from his surprise and darted to the right just as the vine tried to slam into him. A second vine grew out of the first, hitting Hiro across the face before the swordsman could act.
Hiro grunted as he fell to the ground, rolling into a recovery, then jumped to his feet. He looked up and saw the vines flying at him. He dropped his sword, the weapon returning to normal, and caught the vines with his hands.
Hiro screamed as he twisted the vine, ki infusing his hand as he tore the flora from the ground. He tossed the large vine away and looked at Terra, panting. He approached the older witch when a thick, yellow mist surrounded him.
Hiro frowned nonchalantly as he looked around. He found the source of the mist and pointed his right hand. He charged some ki between his index, middle fingers, and thumb and used his Celestial Fire move to strike Vitimir in the throat.
The potion witch gurgled as he grabbed his throat. Hiro watched Vitimir struggle to get air into his throat, then cough lightly, the poison mist starting to affect him. He picked up his sword, which changed into a saber with a blue edge.
The immortal swordsman took a deep breath and spun his sword clockwise, wind emerging from his sword. Hiro's wind mixed with Vitimir's poison and the yellow mist condensed around the weapon. Hiro breathed out, and his sword turned into his fire sword. A small spark jumped from the sword's tip, and the poison ignited.
Hiro watched as the mist burned away, the flames never extending past the area he had created with his wind saber.
The immortal warrior suddenly jumped back as a large slab of rock burst from under him. Hiro looked to his right and saw Mason readying anything spell. Before he could finish, Raine suddenly rushed him, tackling him to the ground. The bard pinned the smaller witch's hands so he could cast any spells.
"Mason!" the bard screamed. "Whatever Odalia did to you, you have to fight it!"
The construction witch didn't reply to the bard, struggling to free his hands so he could use another spell.
"Ha!" Terra exclaimed. "Good luck with that! Our Empress had made it so no one could break free once she had her hands-GGAWW!"
Terra barely managed to put up a shield as abomination blades assaulted her on all sides. Darius growled as he continued to assault the shield, adding more abomination weapons.
Hiro saw something move behind the abomination witch, and Flash stepped over to Darius. The Japanese man swung down and cut a vine with a sharp edge just before it pierced Darius through the back.
"Darius," Hiro informed the witch, getting beside him. "You need to calm down. Getting too angry would only lead you into the enemy's hands."
"And I suppose you would know," Darius growled, not looking at the swordsman.
Hiro went to reply when he felt the ground shake under him. He pushed Darius out of the way and jumped up just as vines burst through the floor. The immortal warrior bounced off the vines and got to the right of the vine shield as Darius took the opposite side.
The human and the witch got into battle stances as Terra's shield began opening. Hiro narrowed his eyes when the shield opene, seeing plants wrapped around Terra's waist and arms, forming a long tail and sharp claws.
The plant witch rose up, towering over her foes as she grinned sadistically.
(G Corner)
With this, we have a little more insight into the mysterious Akari's past, and King's interaction with her hints at something familiar.