The dining room was rich with anxiety as the night crawled into the dim-lit room. Words were gone with the breeze as fear lurked in the guard's gaze.
"M.. Master Reynolds, we need your help!"
Loud, muffled sounds traveled from outside into the hall — a horrifying blend of collapsing massive structures and unanswered distress.
The situation urged an on-site explanation.
They all rallied out — XN, Reynolds, Valora, and Sora — in the lead of the guard. Their pounding footsteps lingered in the abode.
The indigo night was obscured by a canopy of dark grey smoke from the combusting abodes. The frantic dynamics of the terrified residents bred confusion in Sora and Valora.
"..what's happening?"
While Reynolds instructed the guards to control the chaos, his voice was composed yet authoritative, sparking a hint of admiration in XN.
Rapidly, the guards began to operate like ants, extinguishing the fire outbreaks. Then a girl's cry pierced through the cacophony. The voice came from the terrace of a shattering abode, charred by the flames.
"Aaah!" "Mommy! Daddy, where are you!"
Out of the blue, Valora was in the air — at high altitude. Her heroic instincts seemed to weld time, as she froze midair — leaving her companions' slow reaction meager.
"Gotcha!"
"Huh? What's that?"
From above, a large silhouette revealed by the filtered nightlights approached steadily. Its body remained indescribable behind the thick smoke.
[Thump!]
Back to ground level with the six-year-old girl in her arms, the rising dust masked Valora's nervousness — something Reynolds and XN noticed.
"What did you see?"
The old man asked, his calm voice dangerously contrasting with his earlier vulnerable tone.
"I.. I don't know."
The glow from the circular, hollow red eyes of the creature almost felt like whispers of death.
"It's massive.. even the tallest of our buildings won't measure its height."
Her blazing eyes widened on her troubled face. The sight of the creature reflected in her irises, while the child slipped from her arms.
"..and its red eyes."
The toxic fumes suffocated many of the citizens. Running became strained their lungs. Sora hastened to their rescue, instructing a few of his men to follow his lead.
"Regroup all the casualties to the cave."
"Prioritize those without the Shieldbreath gene!"
Though movements and interactions incrementally became ordered, the chaos was far from controlled. However, through all this, XN's thoughts clung to two words.
"Shieldbreath gene?"
"This is the second time I hear of genes."
For a while, he replayed his encounter with Eyes and Vixen's mention of the "Seer's gene."
"This village.. maybe I'll get answers about these.. 'genes.'"
Suddenly, stones and rocks began to rattle. The ground quaked with thundering sounds, sending strong winds from Valora's north.
"Here it comes."
Her teeth clenched as she pulled her slim sword halfway out of its sheath. Suddenly, the combusting abode to her north crumbled under crushing pressure.
The dying fire revealed a massive brown hoof. An olive-drab fluid constantly evaporated from its fetlock. A wounded limb with peeling brown fur stretched from then into the darkness cast by the creature's height.
Fear replaced the cold. The atmosphere was burdened with despair as lamentations occupied the silence.
Valora stood her ground, noticing Sora was paralyzed.
"Sora, move!"
"We need to act before it's too late!"
Her ruby red hair glided in the gust as her focus intensified — eyes locked on the threat.
"Right!" — Sora nodded in agreement.
A rotting scent escaped from the creature's evergreen wounds, carried in the murky green aura released from the injuries.
The soldiers shielded their lower faces as they gradually yielded. Not because—
"The air.. it's unbreathable.."
—Rather—
"..It stinks!"
The soldiers complained.
The lamentations were brief, interrupted by the sound of wooden heels softly colliding with the pavement. The sound was familiar to the soldiers. XN recognized it.
"Master Reynolds.."
His voice was barely audible.
The old man gradually removed his arms from his tunic, revealing his sculpted torso. On his right chest, an "X" cut was cicatrized, with several scars decorating his back.
The moonlight glowed almost intentionally on his silvery hair as he tied it into a horsetail — his shining blade held by his teeth.
"All of you.. leave."
"Go protect our families."
His white brows squinted severely as his gaze dangerously locked onto the creature's head.
"I'll take care of this from here."
An unbearable pressure crept from him, rendering his instructions undisputable. He looked at Valora and Sora to his left and softly hushed,
"I'll be fine."
His eyes were lost in the shadows of his tangible, silvery aura.
The troop began to retreat, heading to Nekrolymion in the cave to the south. On their features, a complex mix of anticipated grief and anger summed up their despair.
XN tailed Sora without uttering a word. All he did was analyze the events while following orders. But then, a thought crossed his mind.
"It feels just like in the lab."
"The calm before the chaos; the impossible threat from nowhere; and then.. despair."
XN had known this moment. Memories of the scenes that led to his prosthetic arm surfaced. A strange feeling began to swallow his impartial demeanor as he compared them to the brief moments he spent by the old man's side.
"Is this.. empathy?"
"Anyways, I can't let the old man die now."
Valora tilted her head mid-run, watching back at XN who vanished. A fading purple energy sparked behind him as his hushed words lingered.
"I'm so close to the answers."
XN perched on the old man's roof, having a bird's-eye view over him. His thoughts pondered.
"Why would he face it by himself, when his chances could've been secured with his troops?"
"Has he given up already? No.. that's unlike his type."
His glance shifted from the old man to the creature. A human contour stood atop it. Threads of purple energy began to escape from XN's left face as his focus intensified. Gradually, XN could identify the anonymous person.
"Manson!"
The old man called out.
"What do you think you're doing?"
An arrogant voice scorned him from the creature's head.
"..nothing but justice."
"Justice for your incompetence, old man!"
His voice shook XN's memory. He had heard it somewhere.
"That's it! The guard who showed me to my tent."
"I see.. that's why he let them go. How nice."
The air grew warmer, heated by the rampaging flames. The battlefield was a canvas on which the spreading fire cast its orange gradients. At the center, the old man stood firm with his blade in his right hand. The relaxed green cloth on its hilt glowed in the light.
"I see.. explain yourself."
He urged Manson, who responded with sadness beneath his arrogance.
"It's been eighteen months now since Vlad is gone," Manson began.
"He was anxious to serve with you, the 'Great Silvery Tiger,' under the Regis."
"And then I saw them storm our streets, violently searching for Vlad."
His voice began to rumble as he expressed his anger, while the creature remained still.
"He had exposed the evil plans of the Regis — to sell us to BLOOM!"
"Then you appeared when the Regis troops hunted us into the Wastelands. Your presence filled us with hope."
As Manson grew emotional in his vendetta, the winds of the past set a courtroom where Reynolds was the culprit. He knew what Manson would say next. His jaws tightened with guilt.
"We waited.. for Vlad and you.. but Vlad never returned!"
Reynolds gave Manson a moment to mourn his loss before interrupting him with his calm, grave voice.
"No word can replace the loss of a loved one.. I can't bring your brother back."
"..I only know that too well.."
The night breeze brushed past them, almost as though it empathized with the warriors.
"But you should know that he didn't die by my sword!"
"I would never shed an innocent's blood!"
Reynolds emphasized. His honesty was palpable in his tone, while his pain resonated through Manson, who didn't seem surprised.
"But I already know that. And that's the problem."
Manson exclaimed. The giant creature beneath him roared in response to his anguish.
As Manson proceeded, the creature's head closed in on Reynolds while the aggressor's voice dramatically hushed.
"I know he surrendered so we could escape."
"But that was the only time your 'legendary kindness' could've truly been valuable!"
Manson's words felt like a hot iron in Reynolds's heart, sending shockwaves through the surroundings. Reminded of the one true defeat he had ever encountered, Reynolds lost focus, releasing his explosive energy.
However—
"I really wish you knew the truth, but.."
Reynolds gave a sad glance at the green cloth piece attached to his sword's hilt.
"I can't break my promise. Vlad wouldn't forgive me."
Instead, he let Manson unleash his wrath, hoping it would appease him. He knew he was the center of Manson's folly.
With a sad smile on his face, the Great Silvery Tiger looked up at the silvery moon as the toxic canopy swallowed it.
"If that's the price for my failure.. then I believe it's quite fair."
The hint of vulnerability that once settled was consumed by the scent of asphalt. The last tear dropped from Manson, his face now expressing disgust toward Reynolds.
The giant creature raised its fist high, ready to descend judgment's hammer upon Reynolds.
[Boom!]
"Why.. am I still.. alive?"
The thick cloud of dust from the deadly attack blinded Reynolds's sight. Purple sparks flickered within the dusty space.
From within, a purple eye glowed beneath the creature's massive fists.
The contours within grew familiar as the dust slowly vanished.
"How.. can this be?"