image [https://img.wattpad.com/story_parts/1442227528/images/17e098fdfe2755a6998205617409.png]

Despairs of Peace

As Ivory and I surveyed the restless mob of clones below, my mind was partly on the strategy but mostly on Kyriah. "Have you seen Kyriah?" I managed to ask, my voice more anxious than I intended. Her erasure powers could come in handy here, but mostly I needed to know she was safe.

"No, I haven't," Ivory replied, concern creasing her brow. She caught the edge in my voice, understanding the dual weight of my question.

"I think she might have landed over there," I said, pointing toward a particularly wrecked stretch of the neighborhood. It was a long shot, but my gut told me it was right. "It's away from where you came from, opposite to the main cluster of Mateos' clones."

Ivory nodded. "Let's move that way then. We'll need to pull some of these clones with us, and thin out their ranks while we search."

As we prepared to step into the fray, Ivory's hand landed firmly on my shoulder. "Ready to take a few more punches, Ellion?" she asked with a teasing voice but with truth.

"That's part of the job description, isn't it?" I responded with a wry smile. "Taking hits is what leaders do."

She returned my smile with a quick, grim smirk of her own before turning her gaze back to the battlefield sprawled out before us.

Ivory's hand clamped down on my shoulder, the familiar rush of teleportation briefly disorienting us before we landed squarely amid the mob of clones. As we materialized, the clones—each bearing the faces of Alexander, Charles, and Mateos—turned toward us, their expressions shifting to ones of malicious intent.

One of the Davos/Mateos clones stepped forward, his smirk chilling. "Do you really think the two of you can take on all of us?" he taunted, his voice echoing oddly among the identical voices around him. "One touch, that's all it will take to end this."

Ivory's response came quick and sharp, her confidence unshaken. "That's all, huh? Well, I just want to say that I've never lost a game of Tag," she quipped, a wry smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Without missing a beat, Ivory unleashed her 'push' ability. Her hands shot forward, sending a wave of force that rippled through the air, blasting the nearest clones backward as the farthest ones stumbled, momentarily thrown off balance by the sheer power of her attack.

Seizing the moment, I called upon my own powers. Ice crystallized at my fingertips, spreading rapidly across the ground and up the legs of the advancing clones. Some managed to break free, but others weren't so lucky, their movements hindered by the thickening ice encasing their limbs.

Ivory covered our surroundings as her force blast repelled everything that Mateos was throwing at us. My ice froze the clones' legs and blocked their paths. But the clones were relentless, they regrouped quickly, their numbers overwhelming. Every cleared path was soon filled again with advancing duplicates.

As we fought, I led us subtly, guiding the skirmish toward the area where we suspected Kyriah might be. Every step was calculated, every blast and barrier strategically placed not just to fend off the immediate threat but to herd the clones in the direction we needed them to go.

Ivory and I maneuvered our way through the ruined landscape, the tense atmosphere punctuated by the sharp crack of a nearby house splitting apart. I barely had time to register the danger as large chunks of the building hurtled towards us. Ivory, with her quick reflexes, teleported away in an instant, but I wasn't so lucky. A heavy piece of debris clipped me, sending me sprawling across the ground.

Moments later, Ivory reappeared by my side, her expression tense. "Ellion, are you alright?" she asked urgently, helping me to sit up.

Grimacing from the pain, I nodded and opened my eyes, only to find ourselves completely surrounded. The clones had us encircled, some even perched ominously on the rooftops looking at us with cold stares.

One of the Mateos clones stepped forward, his voice clear and confident. "I know what you're trying to do," he said, a smirk playing across his lips. "You think by putting distance between us and the other clones, you stand a chance. But you're wrong."

He paused, letting his gaze sweep over us, "Admittedly, by dividing ourselves, we are weaker. Our magnetic force isn't as strong, and our ability to create clones is diminished," he confessed, "But what you didn't count on is that we've been preparing for weeks."

The clone's smirk turned into a grin, one that didn't reach his eyes. "There are hundreds of us, hidden away. We've imprinted all the abandoned neighborhoods with my magnetism. We've been waiting for the right moment to tear this place and The Sunspears apart."

Without warning, an arm shattered the glass of a nearby window, reaching through with alarming speed to grab my face. It was a Mateos clone, its grip firm. Just as I tried to pull away, Ivory's power surged, sending the clone flying backward with a forceful blast.

But before I could catch my breath, I felt my face being pulled. I tried to withstand it, but the magnetic force was overwhelming and yanked me from one clone to another in a dizzying, disorienting dance. Ivory vanished into thin air, reappearing beside me in an attempt to grab hold and teleport us to safety. But the magnetic pull was too strong; I was ripped from her grasp once more, sent spinning through the air as the clones cackled around us.

The sound of their laughter was a grating echo in my ears as I was tossed like a ragdoll. Each pull felt stronger than the last.

Fury ignited in Ivory's eyes as she witnessed what they were doing to me. Without hesitation, she disappeared again, reappearing above the ground where she unleashed wave after wave of her powerful blast. Each burst sent a group of clones tumbling, disrupting their coordination and freeing me from their control. The force abated, and I collapsed to the ground, exhausted and bruised.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Breathing heavily, I tried to regain my bearings, looking up to see Ivory preparing to teleport to my side. But something went wrong. Her form flickered unnaturally, like a static-filled image. Then, with a horrifying inevitability, she was pulled towards the clones, her expression turning to shock.

In that fleeting moment, before she was taken, I realized what had happened. During one of her teleportations, amidst the flurry of movement, a clone had managed to touch her arm.

As I saw Ivory flickering, unable to stabilize and teleport away, desperation surged within me. I forced myself to my feet, pushing past the pain and exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm me. Gritting my teeth, I launched a barrage of ice at the encroaching clones, determined to reach Ivory and pull her out of their magnetic trap. It pierced some of the clones, but the others dodged it or deflected it.

Just as I was about to unleash another volley of ice, a sudden pink energy wave sliced through the air. It cut a clean line through the clones in its path and my ice shards alike, dissolving them into tiny lights that flickered out like extinguished candles. The unexpected intervention stopped me in my tracks, and I instinctively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the sweeping energy.

But the close call didn't strike fear in me—instead, a surge of relief and exhilaration washed over me. That distinct pink energy could only belong to one person: Kyriah. Her presence here, her power in action, meant she was not just alive but fighting. The weight of worry that had been pressing down on me lifted, replaced by a renewed vigor.

I searched the chaotic battlefield for Kyriah, and anxiety gnawed at me until I finally caught sight of her. She stood among the devastation, strikingly untouched—no blood, no tears in her clothing, not even a smudge of dirt. Her appearance was pristine, but her expression was intensely serious, her eyes hard with focus.

Kyriah moved with purpose, her hands sending waves of pink energy cascading forward. Each wave touched a clone, disintegrating them instantly into harmless lights that vanished into the air. Her power was absolute, her control of the situation evident as the remaining clones, recognizing the threat, began to retreat in fear.

At that moment, Ivory now stabilized, grabbed onto me, and with a brief blur of teleportation, we were standing next to Kyriah. She looked briefly surprised to see us but quickly returned her attention to the task at hand, her energy waves relentlessly pursuing the scattering clones.

I had half-expected a warm reunion, perhaps a moment of relief at seeing each other safe, but Kyriah's demeanor was all business. There was no room for sentiment—not yet. The seriousness etched on her face told stories of relentless combat, a battlefield she was all too familiar with.

"Have you been okay?" I asked, knowing how redundant my question was given her unscathed appearance.

She responded without looking away from her targets, her voice steady but soft. "I've been fighting these waves of Mateos clones non-stop since we were thrown out of the hideout." Her hand flicked, sending another burst of energy into a cluster of clones trying to regroup. "Davos tried to trick me several times with his clones. He's relentless." Her lips thinned into a determined line. "He thinks I'm a fool, playing these childish games."

Watching her, I could see the resolve that drove her actions. There was no hesitation in her movements, each wave of her hand precise and lethal. Kyriah was in her element, a warrior unyielding in her focus to eradicate the threat.

"I'm glad you're okay," I managed to say, though it felt inadequate in the face of her formidable presence.

I know she heard me, but her eyes never left the battlefield. "We need to keep pushing them back," she stated, her tone leaving no room for debate.

Kyriah, still intensely focused on the threat before us, paused momentarily to solidify her control over the area. With a determined flourish of her hand, a massive wave of pink energy burst from her palm, sweeping through the neighborhood. The pulsing energy washed over houses, small buildings, and every loose object in sight, leaving a charged silence in its wake. "Now their magnetism won't be of any use," she declared confidently, ensuring that the debris could no longer be weaponized against us.

As we took a moment to absorb the scale of her power, a voice cut sharply through the still air. It came from afar, one of the Mateos clones, his tone dripping with frustration and anger directed squarely at Kyriah. "Your powers are such a snore-fest," he shouted, his voice echoing off the remaining walls. "Can't touch you, can't throw anything at you—that's why I tried to keep you away from the others!"

The clone's admission was chilling. "I knew we had to kill you first," he added bitterly. His next words carried a heavy resignation. "I know I can't win against you, but I won't die in vain."

With those ominous words, the remaining clones scattered, their movements desperate and erratic, like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Kyriah's expression hardened, her fury palpable. "You won't get away," she vowed, stepping forward as an immense surge of pink energy began to build around her.

I watched in awe and horror as the energy expanded, knowing the destructive potential it held. "Kyriah, wait!" I shouted, my voice laced with panic. "Alexander and Charles are out there!"

For a fleeting moment, it seemed Kyriah hesitated to stop, her gaze meeting mine as the significance of my words sank in. "Hurry!" she yelled out.

I quickly looked at Ivory who was already moving, putting her hand on my shoulder and teleporting in the middle of the masses of clones, all running amok. "Alexander! Charles! Do anything to let us know you're the real one!"

Many of them tried to jump on us but Ivory blew them away easily. Just then, an explosion could be seen not too far away, it couldn't be none other than Charles. I looked towards where the explosion was and saw many clones of Charles on the ground, a few of them were turning into small particles and dissipating in the air, while the others struggled to get up, all of them covered in blood and black scorch on their bodies from the explosion.

Ivory teleported us there quickly, "Charles!" she yelled out as we tried to figure out which was the real one lamenting on the ground.

"Here," one of them said while groaning.

I ran to him as suddenly orange light appeared floating around Charles and exploded, turning into small particles of light, just like the clones.

I turned and saw Charles standing with small orange volatile balls of energy floating around him, as blood ran down his head, covering his right eye. Just then he knelt, the energy around him disappearing as he fell to the ground.

Ivory teleported quickly next to him and held him in her arms, looking at him with worried eyes. Then I heard Kyriah yelling from afar, "I can't wait any longer, I will release the energy, come back!"

"Kyriah wait! Alexander is—"

"HE CAN'T GET AWAY!" Kyriah screamed, her voice resonating with a firm and demanding tone, one I had never heard before.

My lips were ready to protest, but Ivory teleported next to me, grabbing my arm. "It's no use. She is right. The clones can't get away to group up with the others," she said, her eyes reflecting the urgency of the situation.

"But, Alexander..." I whispered, but Ivory pretended not to hear me. She teleported us back to where we were, with Charles in her other hand. He had collapsed due to using his powers excessively, his body trembling with exhaustion.

"Kyriah, please," I pleaded one last time. But her face told me the decision was already made. She unleashed a monumental energy wave that swept through the neighborhood until it disappeared from sight. Hundreds of small lights flickered and dissipated into the air as the energy wave passed, a beautiful yet terrifying sight.

As the pink glow faded into the far distance, the silence that followed was heavy with consequences. Ivory, Kyriah, and I rushed toward the figure lying on the ground—Alexander, struggling to rise.

I helped him up when suddenly he winced, a sharp cry escaping his lips as his hand came away with blood from a cut caused by glass on the ground. His face quickly filled with horror, looking at his bleeding hand in disbelief. He realized the grim truth. "My... my skin, it's not... it's not protecting me anymore," he stammered, his voice filled with fear and confusion. He was now as vulnerable as any ordinary human.