The black smoke began to solidify and formed into a large black cloaked figure.
It was as big as Ruzo: its face was shadowed under the darkness of the hood; its arms hidden under the long robe; its hands bony with rotten flesh hanging off in small pieces with worms, maggots, and flesh eating beetles crawling in and out of the rotting flesh.
It floated above the ground and its feet were unseeable.
A chilling moan floated through the air like a slow creeping mist, sending a chill up their spines.
In the blink of an eye Lugo lurched forward with his dual blades. He sliced through the cloak like he was slicing through parchment, exposing the eerie reddened sky behind the creature.
Ruzo and Tsugi joined in on the attack.
Tsugi swung her daggers slicing through the smoke making an explosive impact on the ground and sending dirt and sand flying through the air. The creature roared and screeched but there were no blood splatters.
It reached its long creepy fingers toward Lugo, but Ruzo latched onto its arm, pulling at it with all his might. Lugo cut off the arm and Ruzo threw it across the desert like it was nothing but a twig.
It reached its other arm toward Ruzo, but with a powerful swing from Tsugi, she severed the arm and it fell to the floor with a loud thud, throwing sand into the air. She danced with her chained daggers, swinging them back around once more and sliced through the creature again and again. Ruzo latched onto the cloak and pulled onto it to keep the creature still while Lugo sliced up the middle of the creature in an attempt to half it.
Spinning through the air, Tsugi’s daggers severed the creature's neck and the head rolled onto the floor, just as Lugo sliced clean through the creature, splitting it into thirds. The cloaked figure dropped to the floor and everything was silent except for their heavy breathing.
“Well, that was easier than I thought.” Lugo breathed. “I was going to come here myself, but I hadn’t planned on getting drunk and passing out last night.” He chuckled.
“You want to carry this giant creature back?” Tsugi raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at the giant creature on the ground.
“No, just something from the creature.” He climbed onto the giant chest and proceeded to pull open the cloak, revealing the rotting thin layer of flesh that covered the ribs and sternum. “Let me see your dagger.” Lugo reached an open hand toward Tsugi.
She sighed and climbed onto the chest with him, placing a dagger in his hand.
Slicing through the squishy flesh and peeling it apart, in the middle of the chest where the heart should be, was a glowing red stone.
“There it is.” Lugo grinned.
Tsugi’s reflexes took over, without her even realizing it she grabbed a hold of Lugo and pulled him off, right as Ruzo snapped his mouth shut right where they were. They rolled on the ground and stood up, their eyes locked on Ruzo’s – or what used to be Ruzo’s eyes, which had turned from a light brown to a black so dark that no light seemed to not even be able to escape or even reflect off the surface.
“Ruzo?” Tsugi said with caution. She calmly dispersed her daggers and lowered her hands to her sides, lowering her body into a less threatening posture. “Ruzo – it’s just me buddy.” She said with a soft tone, but he showed no sign of change. He just stood there, staring blankly at them as though they weren’t even there.
The cloaked figure on the ground began to rumble and shake. Its severed body parts began to crawl and roll back together, reattaching itself.
“Damn these fucking regenerative monsters.” Lugo muttered. He reached his hands through the air once more and pulled out his dual blades again. “You snap Ruzo out of it and I’ll take the big guy.”
Tsugi carefully walked away from Lugo, as Ruzo eyed her, his body turning, following her every step, but he stayed close to the creature as if protecting it – from her.
“What’s wrong with you buddy?” Tsugi said softly. Drool dripped from his chin in a long line and landed on the sand below him like he was a nonsensical creature, or – he was starving and she was a most delicious meal placed before him.
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When she glanced back at the creature once more, her eyes flared in shock.
When did the creature get the scythe?
Tsugi and Lugo were so into the stone in the creature's chest, they didn’t see that the arm thrown across the desert floor had already returned, and in its bone thin, rotten hands – a scythe.
The creature was once again whole as it touched the stick end to Ruzo. As if on cue, his eyes blazed a flaming red and he launched at Tsugi, baring his teeth and snarling loudly.
“Ruzo!” Tsugi called out, but he didn’t respond. He just continued to attack Tsugi over and over, as though he were fighting for his life. She pulled out her daggers, but not to hurt him, she only used it to parry his sharp teeth. Even with the chains, they were only an attempt to bind him, to hold him in place long enough to try and straighten her thoughts out.
He launched at her, his mouth open wide, ready to swallow her whole. She kicked off the ground and kicked his bottom jaw closed, knocking him onto his side. While he was momentarily dazed, she quickly wrapped the chains around his feet and pulled them in tight.
She glanced over at Lugo fighting the monster, watching as sparks flew through the dim reddened air.
Ruzo struggled and squirmed, flipping and rolling on the ground frantically. He snarled and snapped at the chains on his feet.
“Ruzo! Calm down bud!” Tsugi begged. “What is wrong with him?!” Tsugi screamed.
“I think it’s the scythe!” Lugo yelled. “We need to destroy the scythe!”
Ruzo broke one paw free and soon the others followed. Jumping back onto his feet, he lurched forward. Tsugi barely dodged him on time, receiving a gnarly laceration on her tricep.
Ripping off a piece of cloth from the bottom of her shirt, she quickly tied it around the laceration to stop the bleeding amidst trying to dodge Ruzo.
“You’ll have to do that on your own!” Tsugi yelled and swung the chains through the air again, trying to bind Ruzo once more. “My hands are full!”
“I can’t hurt it! It keeps healing!” Lugo sliced through it, but it was like slicing through smoke. “We need to destroy the scythe!”
“Damn it.” Tsugi muttered, silently cursing under her breath, and kicked Ruzo on the ribs, sending him flying and sliding across the desert. She returned to Lugo’s side and they fought the reaper but Tsugi’s blades didn’t do anything to it either.
She and Lugo locked eyes for a moment and it was like they were speaking telepathically. Lugo went high and blocked the scythe while Tsugi went low to hold the bottom of it. Ruzo jumped through the air toward Tsugi and she pulled the bottom of the scythe up, placing the middle of it right in Ruzo’s path. He locked down on it and snapped it right in half as he flew over them and collapsed onto the ground.
The creature screeched angrily, but Tsugi kept her eyes locked on Ruzo, concerned as she watched his motionless body. He neither whined, moved, nor even the rise and fall of his chest could be seen.
“Come on buddy. Breathe. Please be okay.” She muttered, praying to anything that would listen.
“Tsugi!” Lugo screamed, but he was already in midair bouncing across the sand, unable to stop it.
Tsugi whipped around right as the rotting hand grabbed her. Her whole body was bound and she couldn’t move. It pulled her up to its ghastly face.
“Don’t look it in the eyes!” Lugo screamed, but it was too late.
Tsugi had found herself staring into the crimson fiery eyes. With every exhale, the grip tightened around her like a snake slowly constricting her to death. Her head felt like it was going to explode right then and there with the ringing in her ears that grew so loud she could barely even hear her own breath.
There was a pull, like the creature was sucking the life out of her. The world around her began to turn yellow, spinning – spinning and she could feel her body turning so cold. All the noise around her was muffled, even Lugo’s screams that were so evident before had turned silent.
Everything was replaced with Sir Gorou’s voice.
“Too weak!” He yelled and she felt a sting of the thin stick on her calf. “Hold the stance better! Tighten those ankles!” He barked and another smack across her ankle sent a searing pain up her leg.
She was only a little over a year old and had recently learned how to walk. According to Sir Gorou, that was too late, and she should’ve learned to walk earlier.
Where was this memory coming from? She was so young, and yet after all these years, it was still there, buried somewhere.
“Don’t cry.” He demanded, glaring at her domineeringly. If she’d known better, she’d say he sounded almost pained. Though it couldn’t be possible, someone like him would never know anything other than to inflict pain – not feel it.
She pinned her lips into a thin line and quieted her sobs.
Then she wasn’t there anymore. Now she was in a dark dank cell, surrounded by people she didn’t recognize as she stood with her shaky bloody fists in front of her.
Even in the darkness where only a dim light from the bars leaked into the cell, she could see the growing grin on each of their faces as they neared.
She opened her eyes, finding herself lying on the cold sticky ground, covered in blood – her blood.
Wave after wave of fists and kicks met with her body, sending her hurling to the dark corners of the cell, her arms bent in ways they were never meant to bend – she didn’t cry but felt a fury, a glowing ember of rage set alight within her.
And there, just beyond the cell bars stood her father, just staring from within the shadows, his face stark and arms crossed as he did nothing but watch from below his lashes.
“AERIS!” Lugo’s voice echoed like a distant memory buried far into the corner of her mind.