The Light of A Broken Destiny:
The Shadows of The Streets to…
Latissa, once a bustling city even in the dead of night, is now barren, as curfew is in effect. A trio of scouts patrolled the street, stopping as they passed by an alleyway. One of the scouts looked into the alley for a moment, then drew a spell circle.
The scout sent the spell into the alley, and the area lit up red. The scout continued scanning the alley, then looked at his unit members. Nothing was exchanged between the three as they left the alley for the next point of interest.
A few seconds after the scouts left, a green glow highlighted a corner of the alley. Hiro and the witches stepped out from behind a trash can a second later. Hunter and Darius looked at the alley, wearing different expressions. Hunter looked at the scene with curiosity, and Darius with suspicion.
"What did you do?" the witch asked pointedly.
Hiro shrugged and made his way to the mouth of the alley. "I just sent some of my ki into the air," he explained. "What I do with it is to distort any sort of sensory input, even those used with magic."
Darius glared at the human but said nothing, joining him at the edge of the alley. Hiro cautiously peeked out of the alley, looking around in all directions. Once he was sure no one was coming, the swordsman turned his attention to the lanterns lighting the streets.
"Can either of you temporarily snuff out the lanterns?" Hiro asked, looking at the witches. "Doing so would make things easier on us, but we can't afford to leave the lanterns unlit; it would draw too much attention to the path we're taking."
Raine looked at the lanterns for a second, then they summoned their violin. The bard brought the instrument to their chin and played a quick tune. Bardic magic flared around Raine and formed into a dome around them. The dome compressed around the bard after a few seconds, leaving a slight glow around them.
"With this spell," Raine explained, looking at Hiro, "the lanterns would go out when I passed over them and relit a few seconds after I left."
Hiro nodded and held up his right hand. The hand glowed green, and particles of ki came from it. The particles floated to the back of the witches' neck, and they felt a slight tingle.
"You three take the low road," Hiro explained, lowering his hand. "I will jump across the rooftops to keep watch. If you feel a tingle at anytime, hide quickly."
Green fire erupted from Hiro's back and formed into his fairy wings. Before he could fly to the roof, Darius grabbed him by the arm.
"And why do you take the high ground?" the abomination witch inquired, glaring at the immortal.
Hiro showed indifference as he pulled his arm free. "I thought we were past suspicions, kid," the swordsman said calmly. "Besides, I have the experience with this sort of thing. Now, if you have nothing else to say, we should move."
Hiro then flew up to the roofs. Darius scowled as he watched the immortal disappear and then looked at Raine and Hunter. The grimwalker and bard decided not to say anything. Instead, the two cautiously stepped into the street.
Darius watched them for a second, scoffed, and then hurried after the two.
True to their word, when Raine reached a lantern, it went out and a few seconds after leaving the torch, it relit. The three cautiously made their way down the street, keeping their eyes sharp for any incoming threats.
Hiro was jumping from rooftops to rooftops, keeping his eyes on the street ahead of him. He came to a sudden stop when he saw movement not too far from the group. The immortal crouched low and focused his ki into his senses to increase their range.
Hiro frowned as he noticed another patrol coming down a street the witches were about to step into. The swordsman narrowed his eyes as he watched the patrol. He brought out his right hand and it glowed with ki.
After a few tense seconds, he watched the patrol take a different route, taking them away from the witches. Hiro breathed out, and straightened up. He looked down at the others and saw them proceeding with caution.
Hiro watched the patrol for a few minutes and sighed with relief when he saw the scouts venture farther from the witches. Then he began moving across the rooftops again, keeping his senses on high alert.
(SC)
It took roughly ten minutes for the group to reach their destination because of a couple of close calls. The group hid in the shadows as Hiro studied the building that housed Odalia's factory.
The building itself was basically a cube, gray and three stories tall. There was a fence around the building with the only entrance guarded by two scouts.
Hiro worked his jaw as he assessed the building's overall appearance. The only windows were on the third floor, and though the fence was barely ten feet tall, he felt something about it would prevent them from trying to enter.
"Have anyone actually got into a building like this?" Hiro asked the group, looking at Raine.
The bard looked at the immortal swordsman with their eyes and sighed. Raine looked back at the building, and his face twisted with bad memories. Hiro looked at the bard, seeing the conflict on the witch's face.
"...One time," Raine finally said. "When Odalia first came to power, we managed to get Willow Park out of the first one she set up."
Raine sighed, and looked at Hunter. The grimwalker looked at the bard, face hard, and nodded. A hollow smile graced Raine's lips, and they looked at Hiro.
"But we didn't get a good look at the inside of the building," Raine continued. "We have other priorities at the time."
Hiro nodded and looked at the grimwalker. The immortal's face was indifferent when he caught Hunter staring at him curiously. He filed this for later and returned to Raine, gesturing them to continue.
The bard sighed with regret, and turned to the building. Raine frowned as they studied the building, taking in everyone they could.
"But since then, we've been too busy trying to stay ahead of Odalia to try again," Raine finished, voice heavy with regret.
Hiro hummed and glanced back at the building. He studied the guards and noticed something strange about them. He narrowed his eyes and saw the two were stiff and too close to the grate entrance.
"Darius…" Hiro said, getting the witch's attention. "Can you do a bit of scouting. There's something that's bothering me about the fence."
Darius scowled at the Japanese man, but still complied. He summoned some abomination matter at his feet, and the substance wrapped around him. The group watched as the abomination sipped into the ground, and they turned their attention to the building.
It was barely a minute before Hiro felt eyes on him. Looking to his left, he saw Hunter staring at him. The blonde saw the immortal had caught him, and looked away, a slight shameful look on his face.
Hiro smiled in a fatherly manner and gently placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder. The grimwalker looked at the swordsman with a slight bashful look.
"You have been giving me looks ever since we got into the city," Hiro said fatherly. "Is there something on your mind?"
Hunter's bashfulness increased as a faint blush spread across his face. Hiro saw this and continued to smile in a fatherly way. Hunter looked at Hiro for a second, then sighed as he decided it was best to ask the question that had been on his mind for a while.
"That ki stuff," the young grimwalker asked curiously. "What exactly is it and can anyone learn it?"
Hiro's smile turned slightly conflicted, but he sighed and took his hand off Hunter's shoulder. The immortal brought it in front of him and extended his index and middle finger.
Hiro created a small of ki as he began to explain.
Hunter gasped and stared at the ball in wonder. Hiro smiled at this and began explaining how Ki worked.
"Ki is basically turning your spirit into useable energy. As you have seen, mastering it can lead to a great many things, like augmenting your physical strength or senses. Learning how to use it, however, is a bit of a tricky matter."
Hiro frowned as he absorbed the ki ball into his fingers, his hand glowing as he turned it to show Hunter his palm.
"The best way to learn how to use ki is being born with high spirit attunement. If not, it could take years to learn how to channel your ki into something as small as the ball I just showed you."
Hunter frowned as he processed the information he had just received. Given his state of being, he wondered if he could learn such an art.
Hiro's voice brought the young blond out of his thoughts, and Hunter focused on the immortal.
"There are workarounds to this with the most being a near-death experience that causes one to become more aware of their spirit."
Before Hiro could continue, Darius appeared next to the group. Hiro looked at the abomination witch and saw how irritated he was.
"...Nothing good," Hiro simply said.
Darius scowled in the Japanese man's direction, then let out an irritated groan. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he began to report his findings.
"I tried to scale the fence, but there are magic wards that neglected my abomination when I tried to get under or over it."
"Hmm.." Hiro frowned as he looked at the entrance to the building.
He stared at the guards for a minute, sizing them up, then turned his attention to the group.
"You three stick to the shadows," Hiro told the witches and grimwalker. "I will handle things with the guards."
Hiro then zipped up his jacket, his sword vanishing and he left the shadows. He casually walked up to the guard, noting that they didn't acknowledge his presence. The immortal swordsman filed this into his mind, and then Flash-stepped up to the guards.
The guard didn't react when the swordsman appeared between them and chopped the back of their necks. Hiro sent some of his ki into the guard to knock them out, and they fell to the ground.
Hiro hummed as he looked at the guard to his left. It bothered him that the guards didn't react to him even though he was in clear view. He filed that for later, and looked at the entrance.
The immortal reached out and tried to push his hand through the passage. Suddenly, a purple barrier flashed and knocked Hiro's hand away. The immortal pulled his hand back and rubbed as he stared at the entrance.
Hiro studied the entrance and when he noticed a post on each side of it. He growled when he saw the blood stains on them. He looked down at one of the guards and saw the hole in their backs that he missed earlier.
"The more I learn about this Odalia, the more unnerved I get," Hiro muttered darkly, unzipping his jacket. "And that's saying something."
Hiro's sword reappeared and he unsheathed it. He thrust his sword to his side and it changed into its wood rapier form. He pushed it into the ground, and vines burst through the ground, lifting the scouts up.
"What's happening here?" Raine asked as they and the others joined Hiro.
Hiro sighed a faint sigh as he picked up one of the guards.
"Those aren't guards," Hiro informed the group. "They're keys meant to look like guards."
Hiro checked for a pulse and scowled when he found one. He next took off the guard mask and saw none of the signs that it was one of Odalia's hybrids. With a disgusted sigh, the immortal gently placed the guard on the post.
"What do you mean?" Darius asked, his disgust evident in his voice.
Hiro picked up the second guard and placed it on the second post as he explained.
"I think these guards are brain dead. They're made to look like they're guarding the entrance when what's really going on is that they keep a barrier spell from activating."
Hiro left it at that, but he knew he didn't need to say anything else. The witches and grimwalker exchanged disgusted looks, their hatred of the woman growing.
Hiro finished putting the keys in place, and heard a slight hum. He looked at the entrance and cautiously reached out his right hand. He pushed it past the entrance and wasn't surprised when he was met with no resistance.
The swordsman scowled as he didn't want to be right about his theory, but pushed it out of his mind. He looked at his comrades, face hardening.
"You all ready to find out what the witch is doing with her captives?" he asked coldly.
No one replied to Hiro's question, but he wasn't expecting anyone to. Instead, he turned and led the group into the building, ready to face whatever they were about to find.
(SC)
Akari began to shake as she stared at the girl on the bed.
The girl's dark skin was paling ever so slightly, and her dark brown hair, which looked purple in the right light, had a noticeable gray patch around the edge. The upper right side of her face was bandaged, and her chest rose and fell steadily as she breathed through a mask that covered her mouth and nose.
"...Oh, Luz?" Akari barely heard Eda moaned sadly.
The young Japanese woman stiffly turned her head and looked at the witch. Eda frowned sadly as she moved to the girl's side. She gently patted Luz's head, and the sadness in the witch's eyes grew.
"...Eda? Is that you?"
Akari's eyes snapped open, and her shaking got worse. She knew right away who that voice belonged to. She wanted to run away but found her feet glued to the floor as the owner of the voice came into view.
Accompanying the human woman was Lilith and King, but Akari didn't notice them; her eyes were solely focused on Camila Noceda.
"Hey, Camila," Eda replied, a hollow smile gracing her lips. "How you doing today?"
Akari stared at Camila, studying her. The woman's left eye was covered with an eyepatch, and claw-like scars ran across the side of her head. The human woman's hair was tied back into a short ponytail.
Camila wore gray pants, a navy blue tunic, and a gray shirt with sleeves that ended at the elbows. She also wore a belt with different potions, and a bat slung over her back.
Strangely, a purple snake with cat ears and a teal orb for a rattle was wrapped around the woman's neck.
Camila noticed Akari and looked at the Japanese girl, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Akari couldn't help but squirm under the woman's glance, avoiding eye contact. Lilith and King also noticed Akari and turned their attention to her, causing the Japanese girl to squirm more.
"Edalyn," Lilith asked, eyeing the young human suspiciously. "Who is this?"
Eda sighed and got beside Akari. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, and Akari flinched at the gesture, looking away to hide her shame. The witch noticed this, but chose not to do anything at the time.
Instead, Eda focused on her sister, her face turning serious.
"...Don't worry about this gal," Eda said. "I know how it looks, but she isn't with Obalia."
Eda looked at Akari, and the Japanese saw something in the witch's eyes. The shame in Akari got worse when she realized the look in Eda's eyes was familiarity, and the Japanese girl looked away shamefully.
Eda stared at Akari for a minute, conflicted. She still couldn't help but feel like this human was familiar to her, but she couldn't pinpoint why. She tried to shrug it off after a moment and turned her attention to Lilith.
"But…" Eda's face fell as her eyes landed on Luz.
Akari looked at the girl on the bed and then at the witch. She saw the conflict turn to sorrow in Eda's eyes, but she did not say anything about it. Akari heard Lilith sigh and looked at her. The Japanese girl saw the sorrow in the older witch's eyes as she looked at Luz.
After a minute, Lilith looked back at her sister, and Akari saw the regret replacing the witch's sorrow.
"...Unfortunately, no chance," Lilith informed her sister regrettably.
Eda frowned sadly and looked at Luz. She moved closer to the bed and gently patted the girl's head.
Akari watched the witch's sadness grow, and she wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Suddenly, before the Japanese girl could act, Camila was at her side, sizing her up.
"How are you, dear?" the human mother asked kindly. "I noticed you haven't stopped shaking since you came here."
Akari looked at Camila, guilt highlighting her face. She moved her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Camila saw this, offered the Japanese a kind smile, and placed a hand on the girl's face.
The Japanese girl flinched at the gesture and pulled away from Camila. Everyone watched as Akari started to breathe heavily, a hand on her chest, and tears welling up in her eyes.
"I-I-I," Akari struggled to say, but found her voice catching in her throat.
Suddenly, the Japanese turned on her heel and bolted out of the room. The witches and one human stared at the exit for a few seconds, confused by the girl's behavior. King was the first to recover and strangely went after Akari.
"Edalyn…" Lilith said slowly, looking at her younger sister. "Are you sure we can trust that human?"
Eda looked at Lilith and sighed. "Trust me on this, Lily. If you saw what the other human did, you wouldn't want to mess with that one."
Lilith cocked an eyebrow at this new piece of information, but didn't get a chance to inquire further as Eda made for the exit.
"Lilith," the ex-wild witch spoke seriously. "We need to get the rest of the war council together…like yesterday."
Lilith made a face as the urgency in her sister's words, and exchanged looks with Camila. Both knew Eda well enough that when she used a person's full name, it meant she had something important to tell everyone.
"Why?" the human mother asked curiously.
"...Because," Eda replied, face darkening and voice lowering, "I learned a few things about Odalia's operations, and it's making me skin crawl."
Camila and Lilith could feel their dread growing from Eda's tone. They could tell whatever she would be revealing wouldn't be good.
(G Corner)
I planned a special scene between King and Akari but decided to leave that for the next chapter.