Residual flares of blue mana siphoned from Xerxes' arm. The pain from the unorthodox method of releasing mana was excruciating, and to call it merely 'excruciating' was generous to the pain he was going through.
His arm's skin was torn from his arms, revealing the deep and intricate design of his muscles that were charred black and torn. Xerxes groaned and began stumbling back. Trying to suppress the pain, he held his arm and gritted through his teeth, "Leiya, we need to go."
Airi's voice was distant in Xerxes' mind, 'You need to get out of there, Xerxes, listen to me, please just listen to me!'
He wanted to listen; he wanted to heed her advice. After all, it had gotten him out of many situations where he surely would have met death, but his body and mana felt so damaged that his mind was going insane. It was difficult to even command his legs to rise and move forward.
Looking up, Leiya saw debris from the castle racing down, but Xerxes wasn't in any state to move; he needed some time, but Leiya was too broken to even move.
It wasn't physical, but mental. Did it even matter? She wondered whilst clutching at her chest, trying to keep some semblance of herself intact.
'Everywhere I look, I see men fighting a hopeless battle. They stand no chance; their bodies are torn apart by the beasts, and the women can't even run with their children. Father, oh father, he's faced his end and grandfather, will the same happen for him? What's the point in trying anymore? I should just...'
"Leiya, listen to your mother and move. Save Xerxes and run." It was Aliya, Leiya's mother. She was doing her best despite the injuries she faced from the initial attack.
Her mother managed a weak smile, and she did that even in the face of loss. She could definitely sense her husband's power that had faded from the world, yet she still kept moving forward for those who remained.
Leiya wiped her tears, masking her pain and listened. She needed to do this.
Aemon was still alive. Her mother was still alive. But she was going to be caught in the line of debris, which would kill her.
She was left with the gruelling choice: save Xerxes or save her mother.
Her eyes raced between Xerxes and Aliya, back and forth, as she tried to figure out who to save. She couldn't abandon either; she refused to.
Yet Xerxes looked back and decided for her. "You still have your mom, Leiya. Save her. You said to me I have nothing, nothing worth living for but you still do. Forget about me and SAVE HER, DAMMIT!" he roared, giving an expression she had never seen before.
Leiya was frozen, stuck between the choices, but Xerxes forced her; he raised his hand and used wind mana to push her towards her mum.
She needed to save her.
This was Xerxes' penance, for not telling anyone, for keeping the knowledge of leaving today a secret, and he was ready to pay that price.
Xerxes looked up at the debris as blood began to flow from his mouth.
Leiya immediately grabbed her mother, as the rocks were nearing, the huge debris would crush Xerxes in an instant, and she couldn't do anything.
But someone could.
"I still have a mission to accomplish, Xerxes. I'm not going to let you die. I'll burn through everything that tries!" Emerging from the turbulent and thunder-ridden clouds from above, Airi soared downward at rapid speeds, her chest growing brighter and brighter.
Then, from her mouth, she released a flame so destructive that everything before her turned into piles of molten debris and ash.
Xerxes' eyes widened, not expecting Airi to be here so fast, but that was the sort of person she was. The light that illuminated the dark cave, where futures were uncertain. She always led the way, and Xerxes powered on through it.
"So even if I can't use my other arm, I still have one that I can use to fight!" Xerxes' teetering figure grasped his blade as he looked up at the pieces of molten magma that were still approaching. "Thank you, Airi," Xerxes said aloud.
Then, one by one, he began slashing through the lava and evading it, jumping left and right. It wasn't an easy task; Xerxes was practically running on adrenaline and willpower alone, and once either of those faltered, he would be in trouble.
He slowly started to move backwards, using the footwork of his sword style to retreat as Airi was coming back down. But all this time, Xerxes was focused on the debris; he failed to realise Yves was still an issue.
Leaping through the dust, he saw Yves, with blood that slightly trickled from his cheek. Xerxes looked on in fear—even after all that, he only had a scratch! As Yves darted forward and blitzed past Xerxes' defence, gripping his hands around his neck.
"S-so..fast..." Xerxes muttered.
Yves had a wicked look, and he was fueled with anger. He looked back at the castle, and then the murky green power emanated from his free hand as he muttered, "Decay: Total Destruction."
The green energy extended from his hands in a webbed shape and began decaying the earth, the trees, the rock, and anything that stood in its way. Airi was barely able to evade as Yves looked back at Xerxes.
"You want to know whose fault it is, you brat?" As Yves raised Xerxes into the air and slammed him down to the floor, a large crater was left below Xerxes, which broke through the earth and caused many bones in Xerxes' body to break.
Xerxes began gasping for air, but that air never came; he was still subject to Yves' grip. Xerxes clawed at Yves' arm and then noticed something: there was an inked... no, it was Yves' shadows that resembled the number 3 brandished on his neck.
"I knew Aemon was still alive, that he had this place long before today."
He paused, then continued, "But it was you. I sensed a surge in power five months ago that piqued my interest, and with investigation, I saw you. I saw Aemon. And I allowed him the privilege of safety, for a while, I let you create some sort of home and peace, and then I took it from you."
Xerxes tried to speak, but the words came out muffled: "You're just a lonely bastard who couldn't even be half the man Aemon is!"
Yves tilted his head. "I'm not half the man Aemon is?" he questioned.
Xerxes clenched his teeth and tried to force himself out, but it was useless; he was like a squirming animal, vulnerable to the lock of a predator's jaw.
"You know, Aemon taught me a lot. He showed me how to be human by embracing this side of me. Maybe I should teach you something. Then you can look back on this when you're dying and thank me. Now, let me educate you."
Yves released his grip. He punched Xerxes with such overwhelming force that the earth between them split apart under the pressure. A deafening crunch echoed through the battlefield as Xerxes was sent hurtling hundreds of metres, crashing towards Leiya and Aliya in a storm of dust and debris.
As he skidded to a halt, his vision blurred as he caught sight of Leiya, clutching her mother whilst desperately running. But Yves had already closed the distance, his speed beyond comprehension for Xerxes and Leiya. Then, with a single shove, he knocked Leiya aside, and Aliya slipped from her grasp.
Before Xerxes could react, Yves was there. His hand clamped around Xerxes' throat, lifting him high into the air, "No, please!" Xerxes roared.
But Yves wasn't a man of mercy; he showed how cruel reality could be. He slammed Xerxes down like a hammer, driving him straight into Aliya.
Blood sprayed across the ground. Bones shattered. Muscles tore. Her body crumpled beneath the weight, her life extinguished in an instant.
Leiya looked at her mother, who had suffered a worse fate than her father. Bones protruded from her body; her head was practically rotated 180 degrees and flattened, and blood smeared across Leiya's face.
She buckled to her knees. Leiya touched her face and slowly drew her hand away, seeing crimson blood. Raising her head, she looked at her mother. She began shaking her head, her eyes wide open, and her hands trembling.
"M-mom..." She whimpered like a cub.
Yves began laughing maniacally; it was his sick and twisted version of a symphony for the dead. Leiya's face contorted with emotion as she broke. She started crawling to her mum, the person who raised her, the person who fed her, the person who loved her, the mother she had always wished to have.
"Mom, don't be dead. Don't LEAVE ME TOO!" she screamed in horror whilst looking down. However, there wasn't any response. Xerxes was swaying in and out of consciousness, and Yves loomed over them.
Leiya looked up as rage tore from her throat: "LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" she bellowed as she jumped forward and attempted to punch Yves, who caught her hand effortlessly.
She used her other arm and punched forward with as much force as she could possibly muster, but it still wasn't enough, as he caught her hand again with even more ease.
"You see, granddaughter, I have had my fun. But now I must complete my mission—and that means killing Xerxes Draedon and taking Aemon Truth. You aren't needed, so I will start with you," he coldly said.
The green energy began cycling through his arms as he pushed his decay magic forward, directly into the person in front of him.
But her arms never started to decay; there were no sensations of pain or death.
"5th palm, open: Twisted mirror." Leiya looked up and found Aemon in her position. The person who was actively challenging his decay magic was her grandfather. They had swapped, but how?
'5th palm, twisted mirror, the ability that allowed Aemon to see a reality that he wished for, but in return it meant...'
Yves roared, "AEMON, YOU BASTARD!"
Aemon looked over his shoulder, the 5th palm's toll being evident as his right eye had been sacrificed. He gazed back at Leiya and Xerxes, who were barely still awake.
"Run, Leiya, run. I'll be okay."
A spiralling portal that donned blue silk-like patterns appeared behind her. Looking up, all she could see was the hidden fear in Aemon's eyes; it was the first lie she had ever seen him tell. Xerxes tried to get up to help Aemon: "No, I can't go without you, Aemon!"
Aemon sighed and muttered, "Do it, Airi."
Gliding under Aemon and Yves, Airi soared at incredible speeds and knocked both Leiya and Xerxes directly into the portal. The last thing Leiya and Xerxes saw was Yves retracting his hand and driving it straight through Aemon's chest.
"NO!" Leiya and Xerxes roared as the world began to turn into a pit of darkness. Time felt as if it had no meaning, and they both drifted through the reflectionless black until they eventually arrived somewhere within the continent of Elaijya, Xerxes' continent.
***
Yves' steps met the cold marble floor as he walked forward. A trail of warm blood from his previous battle painted the floor in warm crimson paint. In his grip, Aemon Truth's broken body was dragged; he was on the verge of death, and it was all because of his wish to protect those he called family.
As Yves walked further, the air thickened, pressing down on him like invisible chains. The atmosphere began to grow denser, the air in Yves' lungs began to escape, as his head naturally lowered, not by choice but by the right bespoken to him.
Casting Aemon's body to the side, as if he were an offering, Yves bent a knee and placed his hand on his chest. He closed his eyes, not daring to lift his gaze.
Before him, seated atop a throne forged from bone and held together by tendrils of animate shadow, was someone who demanded authority. The enigmatic figure that sat there was no ordinary person; he was far beyond that.
Clad in reflectionless black armour, with its surface devouring all light, lines of crimson glowing through the plates of his armour, he held his weapon. A massive broadsword rested in his iron grip, a sword that remembered. A sword that was satiated. The steel on the blade had savoured every drop of blood it tasted, be it human, elf, dwarf, demon..even gods.
Long jet black hair swayed through the subtle breeze that passed through the throne room; his skin was pale, slightly illuminated by the rays of moonlight that rested upon his face. His eyes, were like looking into the deepest void and as for the rest of his figure, it remained shadowed by the darkness of the room.
His deep voice spoke, "Tell me, child, why is it that I have granted you chance to pursue your petty vengeance, with the promise of you retrieving Xerxes Draedon, yet all you bring me is the broken shell of a mage." Yves flinched. His voice caught in his throat.
"I-I didn't have the chance, Aemon was more powerful than I anticipated and the boy was too unorthodox.."
Silence followed. Heavy and suffocating.
The man said nothing for a long time. Was he thinking? Judging? Yves couldn't tell. His presence was like a void, pulling in thoughts, emotion, and sound. His master was never one to express his true emotions, yet he expressed enough to make everyone fear him.
"Do you mistake my silence for wrath? No, child. Disdain or disappointment is a fleeting feeling, whereas a chance to learn and retain knowledge is lasting. Even amid your failure, I will always be able to grab the fruits of success because you bear my power, and my power is absolute and never failing. Now tell me what you have learned."
Yves attempted to calm his nerves; he repeatedly told himself to ease his mind. Though the figure held a disturbing calm, there was malice under every word. Yves then went on to explain the contents of what had occurred.
His voice rose again after processing all the information.
"From ants to mice..they evolve. But still not enough to concern me. Still, you have delivered something of value. Aemon Truth, the brother you despised for taking your position as apostle to the god known as Kalaryss Atasis Truth. Though, I made you become greater as my own apostle."
The Lord shifted his gaze at Aemon, who returned his look, "The subject still retains one of his eyes, that I can make use of."
He extended his hand forward, not a hand of mercy or generosity, but in sentence.
"Bring him forward, Yves, I'll grant the privilege of Aemon to embrace death."
[End of Volume 1: Exile]