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Death's Homecoming
49: The Sun Market PT 4

49: The Sun Market PT 4

The moment Vin stood and grabbed his longboard, a blinding arch of magic light blasted toward him, making him duck again. He wanted to curse at the falcon for allowing a mage to cast their spell, but they were simply outnumbered. The proud bird had lost control of the situation and was frantically dodging projectile magic, doing its best not to expand too much of its master's essence. Vin sensed stress from its flicking flame. He found himself surprised that the living fire could experience an emotion like anxiety. 'Hang in there just a little longer...'

He managed a deep breath before ferocious, heavy, metallic footsteps charged down the white marble floor. While others struggled to adapt to the spinning, the tall paladin clumsily drove toward him. The stockpile of open wounds on Vin's body took its toll on him, making it hard to run yet along ride his longboard, so he had to face them directly.

The Captain with the red cloak around their armor wobbled but found sufficient footing and swung his runic sword. Even knowing the result, Vin blasted fire to slow them down, but the knight's glowing shield deflected it. Vin pathetically hurled himself out of their sword's path before it decapitated them, but the man didn't stop there. They roared and bashed their heavy shield against the intruder, who launched through a sturdy merchandise shelf and onto their back.

By the time Vin had struggled to his feet, he had to jolt out of the line of another sword swing. He took a slash wound on his upper torso to avoid a fatal injury, but he still wasn't clear of danger. This man's attacks came in pairs, so their weighty shield rammed into Vin again, slamming him through the last two aisles and into the main wall. The impact caused the hanging instruments to fall, one of which was a golden bell that fell onto the floor with a loud, noisy clang.

Opening his eyes, Vin saw the moment the keen-eared Elves quivered. It wasn't much, but there was a slimmer of hope yet.

He coughed up blood but pushed himself upright, perseverance burning in his eyes. He dropped his longboard and grabbed a pair of cymbals that fell- two bronze, saucer-shaped instruments. He growled as he mustered his strength to slam the disks together, causing a noisy shrill that made all the Elves clench their heads.

The blaring sound and the constant spinning were a deadly combination that must have made their heads revolve in chaos because some collapsed while others outright vomited. Vin continued to go haywire, buying time for his firey friend to rush and engulf as many enemies as possible. Its first target was the archer with the yellow scarf that had killed its master once before; it ensured that Elf suffered as they burned from the waist down.

For each clang of the cymbals, another body burst into flames at the touch of the flacon. With the mages and archers targeted first, the knights were the only ones capable of reaching Vin and stopping the noise. There were hints of movement, but it would be over by the time they reached him.

So Vin believed. However, the livid Captain didn't sit still while his unit was wiped out. Desperate, he did the only thing he could in that situation.

Vin glared at the man and brought the cymbals crashing together with even greater force, hoping to stop whatever he had planned. Yet, they moved on raw rage alone, and the runes on their golden sword began to glow red. Since they were dozens of paces away from Vin, he had to assume it would be a ranged attack.

A frantic, Elven man's voice cut the air. It sounded like a caution from the mage with the silver, wavy hair and green cloak. It was a warning. A warning that was ignored.

Vin often recalled this day. He contemplated whether there was anything else the broken knight could have done at that moment to save his team- his friends. If their actions were justified.

It became clear why this man had only relied on his shield's ability. The sword's runes lit, and a second later, tremendous red flames erupted around the golden blade. This hopeless knight's face was filled with anguish as they swung their saber with immense force, sending a wave of fire at the villain.

Vin peered beyond the wall of flames at the paladin, who had to have known their efforts would be futile. That man was as a fool- but a decisive fool who fought till the end and wouldn't perish on their knees.

Vin dropped the instruments to free his hands and picked up his longboard to ensure it wasn't burned. Then, he scowled at his enemies and muttered, "You lose."

He bolstered his will, and with a finger snap, all the red fire abandoned its creator and defected into a dark, alluring violet blaze. Using Flame Conversion spent less essence than producing his own heat, so he didn't hold anything back, powering up for an attack that would wipe everyone out simultaneously.

He was amid the build-up of a devastating blaze when he sensed it. Something was building beneath him. Danger. While he was charging up, someone else in that shop was doing the same. Vin shouted for the falcon to find them, but the unknown spell was activated before it did.

There was a massive detonation of wind that blasted Vin upward with impossible force. He crashed through the roof and launched upward, losing control of his flames while only managing to maintain his grip on his longboard. He soared higher and higher, feeling as if all his bones would break from wind pressure alone. With each passing moment, the buildings in the market looked smaller and smaller, and he lost his ability to breathe normally.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Soon after he was sent flying, there was an explosion of dirt and dust as a massive green vine uprooted from the earth. It fired upward, carrying the hated Elf in green robes who began channeling light from their staff. A female mage in white robes flew beside him, straining as she held their palms toward the intruder as if their sheer willpower controlled the wind around him.

Vin flew through the center of the sun halo like an arrow through a target, squinting to combat the blinding light. Not long after, the white-robed mage exhausted her mana and released the spell, allowing him to fall. He descended fast, barrelling directly toward the young man riding a giant green stalk into the sky while casting their deadly magic.

Vin wouldn't wait for death, so he began funneling a risky amount of essence into his hand, building the deadliest flame he had ever produced. He couldn't continue that fight any longer. Not when even more knights were arriving at the music shop as reinforcements. No matter what, this would be his final attack.

A magnificent luminance now radiated from the earth mage's staff. But, contrasting, a sinister, violet flame also had amassed in Vin's palm.

It would have been a breathtaking sight for any onlookers: a tremendous vine spiraling to impossible heights toward the market's mesmerizing sun halo. Above it, a menacing flame descended, streaking through the air like an ominous comet.

Vin's eyes widened with intensity, and he hurled his hand far behind his back, ready to throw the accumulation of all he had to give.

The shining, silver-haired mage inhaled sharply and roared something up at the vile invader who'd caused so much grief. Vin didn't know Elven, but he felt their final words. Their emotion. "It ends now!"

Vin gritted his teeth, his entire body bare, and ignited like a star. His essence was dangerously low, and he felt that he could faint of blood loss at any moment. Still, his spirit raged on like a hell storm. His eyes enlarged as the flaming ball in his hand reached its summit. It was only the size of a dinner plate but extremely compact and deadly.

The green-eyed mage and Vin roared simultaneously and unleashed their supercharged attacks. A massive radiant beam of light fired upward while a dark sphere of concentrated flames plunged down.

It was quiet while they traveled. Frighteningly peaceful.

Then, both attacks met at the very center of the sun's halo. They impacted in a ruinous instant, and a blinding light consumed everything- even time and space.

The whole world became still. Suspended in existence.

Then came the explosion. An earth-shattering boom that released a violent shockwave so powerful that it blasted both men away and shattered the golden ring into billions of particles that fell like snow.

Once the halo was destroyed, the darkness of night drowned the sky like a flood of shadows. It was almost pitch black. However, the condensed ball of flames wasn't completely gone. It had merely fractured on impact, and now dozens of deathly blasts barreled toward the earth like a reverse firework.

Once covered with a stunning golden glow, the Sun Market became sickened with a malevolent purple light as a devastating meteor shower befell it. The first fireball crashed into an empty shop, blowing it into smithereens with a ground-shattering explosion. The second fell onto and erased what remained of the music shop, the corpses that littered that place becoming ash in the wind.

There were even more eardrum-shaking booms followed by monstrous dust clouds that covered the ground like a dense fog. Meanwhile, Vin was soaring- somewhere- wherever the shockwave had sent him... He fluttered his eyes into focus, listlessly squinting at the devastation below. He used his power in various manners that night; however, this miserable scene taught him that these flames were only meant to cause calamity.

It didn't make him feel strong or content. As more of the market was eradicated, he wondered how he got to this point. How he, some dumb teenager, entered a portal and ended up capable of decimating an entire district in an instant.

Vin held his aching chest, his eyelids slowly closing as more blood exited his body, 'It's a wonder I even lasted this long...'

As the ground neared, he shut his eyes completely, pulled the longboard to his chest, and hugged it tightly. He squeezed all his sorrows into the creation and thanked it for enduring that long battle. At least six Ravenours had died in their escape from the market so he would resurrect. However, the wooden board would not survive the fall. 'You did good out there.'

Vin stepped into his mind and communicated, "You too, Bonely. Thanks for saving me."

'I require no thanks, sir...' the skeleton spine on his back responded with evident regret.

On the way down, Vin found something to be odd. Despite the fight being over, his essence was still slowly ticking away. Not only that, but a portion of it was active and moving?

He opened his eyes, and to his surprise, the flaming flacon was rocketing toward him through the night sky. The bird caught up and flew alongside his free-falling body. Vin lifted his numb arm and pat the head of the loyal, warm creature, "You did good. Rest now."

The falcon spun happily, and then its flames flickered and contorted. While its form collapsed and reverted to a simple mass of fire, Vin could sense the creature was happy it had fulfilled its duty. Upon entry to the ground, Vin released the flames all at once to throttle his landing. His velocity decreased, but he still hit the stone hard, skipping across the market streets like a pebble across a lake. If not for his reforged body, he would have died long ago, but he continued to endure.

Vin eventually smashed into a wooden wall that caved in. He barreled into an unlit building onto wet stone and rolled into shallow hot water. He fully submerged in what he identified as a hot spring but swam up and wheezed. He trudged from the water and collapsed on the floor, barely alive after everything he went through.

The building had no roof since the market relied heavily on the sun halo for light. There were also no lanterns or torches. Vin just lay in the steaming, dark chamber with broken breaths, looking up at the night sky. His entire body was tense from pain, and his hands and toes curled tightly as he tried his hardest not to wail.

As if he wasn't suffering enough, he felt a sudden tug at his existence. There was a flash of bleach-white light, and he was violently ripped away from that place. He heard a voice before he left; a woman with a sophisticated but fed-up tone said to him, "We have to talk."