It happened quicker than she was able to process. Everything had been quiet, then… there was nothing but chaos.

She didn’t know how—perhaps one of the Fallen’s Angels had come in with the citizens, or beasts tore through the Automations—but the demons found a way in. And once they were in, there was no point in trying to get them back out; the humans had already lost, no matter how hard they held onto the idea of fighting.

Helyana didn’t join the fight, instead staring from where she’d been before. The thought had never occurred to her to try to defend her home and the others. She told herself that perhaps that was the reason they never touched her, but then… why did the children, who only cried, or hid their younger siblings from the massacre, also die?

At one point, all the humans had scattered. She’d mustered the will to move and guide a group to her workshop. Perhaps she’d activate a few half-finished Automations, or simply use some weapon or another. Maybe she’d just convince Mekha to hide with her so she knew that, if all else were to crumble, they’d at least be together.

Demons came there, too. Killed the humans, except for her. One—the leader of the beast demons, she realized—pinned Mekha to the ground when he tried to defend her.

And the demon pressed its sharp claws onto his metal, right around his chest, then effortlessly picked him up and tossed him across the room.

“Mekha!” Helyana gave one step toward him—though she was afraid to see the damage up close—before the demon spoke.

“How does it feel?” it asked. She looked at it, maybe in an attempt to work up the courage to confront it, but she was swayed immediately. Its eyes were bright, because it enjoyed the chaos; its beak, talons, fur, and feathers were all bloody; the wound on its side oozed a golden substance, yet it paid it no mind. This wasn’t something that could be fought. “You are responsible for this—the fall of humans, the deaths of all these people. I, for one, quite enjoyed it. It’s too bad it’s coming to an end soon… there’s not a lot of humans left, after all. Our Father has asked them all to be wiped away. I’m going to enjoy those cries…”

It didn’t leave anything to be explained—it walked over and slashed at a wall, giving itself an exit to casually walk out of. Then it spread its giant wings and took flight, hopefully far from Cyrene.

She was about to go to Mekha—she was afraid, now, given he still hadn’t moved from his spot—when a human soldier came in. Looking at him, she knew he wasn’t going to survive. The thought of trying to help him had never crossed his mind.

“It seems—it seems things here have fared no better than we have,” he said through wheezes and pants.

“Do you have something to tell me?” she prompted, almost impatiently. “Where’s Rhuni? Is she still out there? Did… did the demons do something to her?’

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He shook his head sadly. “I don’t know where Rhuni is. She was damaged sometime in the fight and no one was able to locate her after.”

No, no, that couldn’t be right. Helyana was more panicked at the news than she was with what the soldier continued with; after all, she could think of Rhuni, and look at all the bodies and Mekha… and she knew that she’d lost everything already.

“The demons have left Cyrene,” the soldier continued. He coughed a bit of blood. “But they’re heading for the other cities in the mountains. We believe they won’t stop until they’ve done the same thing here to all of the others.”

She’d stopped listening to him at that point. While he crumbled to the ground—his mission over, and adrenaline wearing off—she went to Mekha. This couldn’t be the end. She had to still have something left.

“Mekha,” she said softly. When he didn’t stir from his spot, she tried louder, more desperate, “Mekha?”

Still, there was no answer.

Helyana quickly looked over every part of him. He had several scratches, dents, and missing pieces—serious damage, but not something that would cause unresponsiveness. Perhaps his energy stores were just drained? She was filled with a sense of dread when she realized something else.

There were holes in his chest, where that beast had stabbed him. Usually, she’d be able to see the dim glow of his soul from the gaps.

Yet now, there was no glow.

She dashed over to her workbench, digging past whatever was there in order to get to her tools. Once she had them, she went back over to Mekha, and opened up his chest and the little compartment that held his soul.

His soul was cracked.

The only hope she had was that it seemed to pulse slightly. If nothing else happened to it, there should be something she could do to fix it.

But something like that would take months, possibly years of research and testing.

Then… she realized—or, rather, let it sink in completely. She had nothing left. No family, no “friends,” not even a single soul to share in her despair.

She remembered that note she’d read what felt like decades ago; what it would take to allow someone to live forever.

And it didn’t sound nearly as bad of an idea now. After all, she had nothing to lose, right? So what if this had started because of her messing with souls? If the demons thought that would stop her, well… they didn’t realize what humans did when they were desperate.

So Helyana slowly stood up and walked towards the soldier. He was still breathing. Good.

She did her best to pick him up, but she ultimately had to drag him to the workbench. He grunted as she pushed him up on it.

“Still have some consciousness left in you, then?” she mumbled. She felt nothing as she started a process she’d only done twice before. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep the memory of Cyrene alive… and I will fix my family, no matter how long it takes. Humans were wrong to believe that an entire civilization could be immortal—that we would endure every test we were put against. But the demons underestimate the willpower of humans—what they’d do when they have no other choice. Even if it’s a false immortality… if it gives me what I need to fix my family, to be together with them again… I will do anything. But at least your life was already coming to an end.”