“W-What? This can’t be… forgive me Xeros, but I’m just a little confused. I mean, I don’t understand! I don’t get it. Why is the former Grand General—

“I… okay. Keep my mouth shut, got it. I just gotta keep my mouth shut… phew, let’s talk realistics, then.

“Sure, I can build a conduit. Have some veins run along the city, connect them together, and lead them back to the spire: simple enough. The problem is… her body’s volatile. She’s already lost, er, passed on the Will of Desire to you; all that’s left are remnants—echoes. If you try to bring it out, the power’s gonna be much weaker. It won’t work on inheritors like the King of Polus. Are you really sure about going through with this?

“Alright, alright. If it’s for the capital’s peace… but I doubt you’ll ever need to use it anyway. I mean, who’d dare to try and invade us of all nations?”

- Seraphina Lockhart, former Chief Engineer of Nox Caelum

———

Luxanne

It really, truly, is a shame that Luxanne has to save Libevich, but she can’t be picky about her methods. Not now. There’ll be no rest for that hag anytime soon, and unfortunately the same is true for her.

The gate’s been breached by that steel titan, but fortunately the defensive line is holding up well. It’s only a matter of time before the inner city is overrun, though. The enemy’s not just out there—it’s from within.

Supply routes are ambushed, sabotaged war machines litter the streets, and factories providing ammunition for the legion are all being raided in the droves. This isn’t some spontaneous protest; it’s a coordinated assault by Caelum’s own people. Who knows how long they’ve planned for this—waiting for the exact moment to stage their rebellion.

They’re the people of the Slums, tired of being treated like filth. They’re the dregs of the outskirts, dragged away from their homes and forced into service. They’re the weary and the lost, the disillusioned and desperate: men, women, old and young. They are citizens of the nation like any other, and instead of protecting this land, they would rather watch it all burn. Just like the Luxanne of the past.

That’s why she can’t bring herself to harm them. Their pain, their wrath… it’s all so familiar. And even now there’s a small voice inside begging her to give up and let this wretched place be destroyed.

But she can’t. Hope still exists for Caelum; a future still exists, but that’s only possible if they can succeed in fending off Polus here.

The rebels must be stopped, and Luxanne will do so without using violence or cruelty. She will not be like Xeros.

An explosion erupts below her. Smoke rises up from one of the Freedmen’s workshops; looks like her target’s been set.

Luxanne rushes to the edge of the upper layer and jumps off without a moment’s notice. There she falls, wind howling in a frenzy, before shooting a bullet that explodes into a soft, pillowy cloud and softens her descent.

Angry cries deafen her ears - toppled buildings and fiery fumes are all that plague her sight - but even though the destruction seems endless, she can’t let herself be overwhelmed.

“One at a time, Luxanne…” She takes a deep breath and collects herself. “Quickly, calmly, then move on. You can do this.”

Luxanne crash lands near a crowd of rebels throwing fire-bombs at the workshop’s base. Engineers and technicians attempt to fend off the mob as best they can behind a makeshift barricade, but it won’t be long before the entrance’s broken into.

“Attention, citizens of Nox Caelum!” she bellows. “Cease your transgressions at once. The city is under lockdown; for your own safety, please comply and proceed through the designated evacuation zones. If you proceed any further, I will be forced to detain all within the vicinity.”

The rebels turn around and encircle her like a pack of ravenous beasts. They’re desperate—brought to the brink. Luxanne’s expected as much; hate’s a hard thing to escape. But she wants to at least give them a chance to reconsider, even if it is unlikely.

One of them steps up and points at her with a mocking finger. “I recognize that armor… Praetor Luxanne in the flesh. Hah, shouldn’t you be out there defending the city instead of dealing with us common folk? Guess Xeros’s dog is too scared.”

Luxanne sighs and shakes her head. “I will only repeat myself once. Cease your transgressions at once, and you will be forgiven. Otherwise I will be forced to restrain everyone here until the evacuation edict has been released.”

A different person speaks up now, a young man. But his expression holds a grudge far too deep for one should his age. “Restrain… that’s a funny way of sayin’ we’ll be killed. You think the Grand General will just let us waltz back to our old lives? Nah, we’re not stupid. Either we get executed in the gallows or be sent off as slaves. There’s no going back now!”

The rebels rush at her before she can say another word. They have no real strategy and attempt to overwhelm her with numbers, but Luxanne doesn’t give them a chance. She leaps into the air and fires a bullet above them. It explodes into a large, heaping pile of ooze—ensnaring their bodies head-to-toe in a sticky substance.

They spit curses at her and squirm in their slimy prisons, but it’s no use. Struggling only makes it latch on harder.

The members of the workshop begin to trickle out from the building, and their leader pushes past to personally meet Luxanne in person. “Appreciate the assistance, ma’am. The name’s Cid Barker; I’m the man in charge around here.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Barker,” she says. “But I really must be going—”

“Oh, I get it. I really do,” he interrupts. “Today’s been a crazy day, no doubt you have a ton of things that need doing, but really I just wanted to say thank you for not turning this place into a bloodbath. It wouldn't sit right with me, rebel or no, to see people slaughtered. So I’m mighty thankful that you handled it more peacefully.”

“I’m glad you understand. The last thing we need right now is for all of us to be divided; spilling blood will only worsen the situation.” She gestures to the trapped rebels. “For now, take those people inside. Do you have a way to evacuate without going into the streets?”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

He nods. “The shop has an underground route to the outside we usually use for hauling materials.”

“Good, try to leave as soon as you can, and bring those people with you. The casing will fall off by itself in a couple of hours.”

“Will do, ma’am. Good luck out there.”

“You too, Cid. Stay safe.”

With that, Luxanne sprints off and searches for more rebels to capture. They’re all over the place, in every layer and every street, but something’s strange. There’s too many of them; their movements are too organized. I’ve heard of a resistance group called the Yurodiviye before, but were they really this big? This orderly?

Rather than a crude group of dissenters, they resemble more a veteran, tight-knit division of soldiers. A couple of groups have even managed to get their hands on some custom-made chemical substances and machines. She should have suspected something being off after the firebombs; their leader has to be someone from Xeros’s upper echelon. But who?

Eventually, Luxanne stops and confronts a group near a factory in the Proletariat. Unlike the others, this mob’s geared to the extreme. Their armor looks like the exo-suits worn by the legionaries, but the plates are less thick—more compact. And in the very center of them all is a tall, auburn-haired woman in a black robe.

The woman turns around to face her, and she… she looks familiar.

A pit forms in Luxanne’s stomach. Her throat dries, her eyes widen, and her heart—it aches. It hurts. And it pounds and pounds like it’s about to escape from her own chest.

“Here so soon?” the woman says. The other rebels quickly move to form a barricade around her. “I, um, didn’t expect for us to meet here. Not really the most touching of places for a reunion is it? Dark, dirty, miserable… well, I guess that’s how it is. The city’s rotten no matter where you go.”

Luxanne wants to cry. Her mind’s spinning—thoughts whirl past her before she can even comprehend them. There’s a force clawing at the back of her throat, preventing her from saying even a single word.

That voice… it can’t be. How long has it been since she’s last seen her? A decade, maybe. Yet even now Luxanne hasn’t forgotten a second of the time they’ve spent together.

She is the only one—the only one Luxanne has ever cared for in that sick gathering of freaks Xeros calls his elite. The only one she has ever given her heart to.

“… Seraphina?” Luxanne weakly mutters. “I-I thought you were—”

“Dead?” She says with a bitter smile. “No, I’m not. It was really hard making it look like I was, though. Otherwise Xeros would have hunted me down long ago.”

She looks… tired. The creases on her face are much more worn than Luxanne remembers. But even so, the grit in her eyes is the very same as when they’ve first met.

“Where were you?” Luxanne tries her best to hold back her anger, but it’s just all too much. Her head’s hot, thumping, struggling to keep calm. “All this time, and you never once tried to see me?”

Seraphina reaches out her hand, but meekly pulls it back. “I had no choice, Lux. I didn’t want to involve you in this.”

“Involve me—are you being serious right now?” She’s trying really, really hard not to scream. “I mourned you. For years, all I could think about was you. Could I have saved her? Was she hurting and I didn’t realize? Is this my punishment for daring to have a shred of happiness in this miserable, putrid mess of a world!? Night after night after night, and you know what? I cried, and I healed. I finally came to terms that you were gone.”

Seraphina opens her mouth, but doesn’t say anything. Luxanne can practically see the guilt on her face. Good.

“I just wanted to see you again,” Luxanne croaks. “Involve me, whisk me away… I would have been satisfied just seeing your face. Was that so hard, Phina? You’d think there’d be some trust between us after all we went through, but I guess it was only ever me that thought that way.”

“That’s not true, Lux,” she whispers. “You know it’s not. I was trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting!” If anything, it should be the other way around. “Hells, Phina. Did I look that weak to you? And now, I…”

Luxanne clenches her fist, and raises her blade. “Now I have to stop you.”

“Lux.”

“By my authority as Acting General…”

“I’m sorry, Lux. And I—I know I messed up. Some things I could have handled better, and you don’t have to forgive me. Stars know I wouldn’t. But believe me I thought of you every single damned day we were apart. Always, constantly, just waiting for the moment when this could finally all be over.”

“… I demand you surrender at once…”

“I know you despise Xeros as much as we do. This is our chance! We can finally bring him down. You can finally be free.”

“… If you comply, you shall not be charged with mutiny upon the dismissal of the evacuation edict…”

“And we—we could finally be together again. Just the two of us.”

Luxanne’s voice quivers, her eyes tear up as she gazes at Seraphina’s pleading face, but nonetheless she continues. She has to continue.

“… Otherwise, I will be forced t-to restrain everyone here, and you will be held accountable under…”

“Luxanne, listen to me!”

“I can’t!” Luxanne sobs. “I can’t let you burn this city, Phina. This is my home. I despise Xeros, I despise what he’s done and how twisted everything’s become, but it’s still my home! I won’t let Polus, or you, or anyone else destroy it!”

The two fall silent for a long time.

“So, what now?” she says, voice barely above a whisper. “Will you capture me? I doubt the others’ll be spared even if you give Xeros my head.”

“You know I could never do that! I just… I can’t let you wreck any more workshops, but I’ll make sure you and everyone else that wants to will be able to leave the city. I’ll find a way to make sure he doesn’t notice, so please lower your weapons.”

She glares at her. “You’re right. This is our home, and that’s why it has to be destroyed. Look around you, Lux! It’s too late for this place. Everything’s too dirty, too stained with Xeros’s corruption. All we can do is let it all fall, and then we’ll build atop the ashes: a new Caelum. A better Caelum.”

Seraphina slowly steps toward Luxanne. Her blade is still raised, but it’s overcome with a slight tremble. She wants to yell at her, to beg her to stop moving closer, but the words refuse to leave her throat.

Eventually, Seraphina stops right in front of her and pushes the blade away. Luxanne reluctantly complies, and the two embrace. They hold each other tight, silently making up for the years spent apart.

“And we can do it together,” she says, gently brushing Luxanne’s cheek. “Home is where the people make it. As long as we’re here, we can rebuild; we can create a nation free of Xeros’s legacy. I’ve been watching you for so, so long Lux, and I don’t want to see you suffer anymore. All I ask is that you trust me just one more time.”

The beating of her heart is getting louder. It’s stifling, crushing, and full of loving promise.

But it’s not enough to make her give in.

“Phina…” Luxanne says. “I can’t.”

But rather than be disappointed, Seraphina only lowers her head—solemn. As if she’s already expected her answer. “I… see. Even so, I can’t stop either. I hope you can forgive me.”

She walks away, and approaches a strange man mixed among the crowd. He’s dressed in a tattered, shredded suit, smoke rising from his body as if he’s escaped from an explosion mere moments ago, and a peculiar mask covers his face with a rose covering the left eye. The man exudes an uncomfortable presence that Luxanne is not really sure how to describe. It feels dangerous.

“Mr. Rose?” Seraphina asks. “Please call for your benefactor.”

He bows and lets out an eerie chuckle. “But of course. Any special requests?”

“Don’t kill her.”

“That shall be arranged.”

The man disappears into a nearby door, and after a moment, a bright light suddenly blinds her from above. Luxanne looks up, and there, armor wreathed in white, is Lorelai: the Throne of Heaven herself.