Chapter 524: Defeat
A tall figure emerged from beneath the shattered stone platform. His skin was burnished silver. His body bare, save for a black bracelet and a tattered white silken cloth wrapped around his waist. Locks of wispy black hair swayed in the breeze. A long scar ran down his wide back to his waist. Rippling muscles shifted at Melantha’s approach. His head turned in her direction for a moment, but he ignored her and knelt next to Ananta.
“Ann,” he whispered softly and brushed her warm brown cheek.
She gazed up at him, her eyes tired. “Solis… I’m sorry… I took so long.”
He smiled bitterly, “Don’t apologize, my friend. You’ve done enough… I’ll deal with the rest.”
Ananta nodded faintly and closed her eyes.
The Ebon Wolf stood to his feet and turned to Melantha, his deep golden eyes ablaze with power. The sun rose behind him on the horizon, its light stretching across the sky.
“You did this to her?” he asked in a deadly voice.
“Solis… Holo, what did you do…?” Melantha whispered.
“I asked you a question, daughter of Death.”
She gripped her sword and shield, and looked at him head-on. “I am Melantha and I am here to kill Ananta.”
“Melantha…?” he muttered. “You’re the leader of the Mortem Order’s uprising. Is that why you’re here? Some sick part of your war?”
“Uprising?” She narrowed her eyes, “The uprising was three centuries ago. How long were you sealed in that tower?”
He stared up at the twin black spires to his right and left. “Three centuries…?” he whispered. “There was no tower.”
“Solis!” Lunae cried out as she arrived at the plaza. Holo hopped off her back and her wolfen form shimmered away and transformed into a silver titaness, a reflection of her twin, pale white hair and silver eyes.
“You…” Solis growled. “I see. You’re here with them, Melantha.” Golden flames sparked to life around him, growing with his every breath. “So, you stand against me once more, sister.”
“Brother,” Lunae whispered painfully.
He held up his hand, a faint white scar stretched across his palm. “Did the Sigte bond truly mean nothing to you?”
“It meant everything!” she yelled hoarsely.
“Then why? Why did you betray ME?!”
“You were going to destroy the Realm!”
“I was trying to save it!” he snarled. “The Realms’ bridges were falling apart, if I didn’t do anything they would be destroyed!”
“You were messing with powers you didn’t understand!” said Lunae desperately. “The backlash of tampering with the leylines and the boundaries of the Dark Fringe would have killed countless of thousands.”
“And what happened in my absence?” He glanced at Holo, “Did you save the realm bridges?”
“Nothing could have saved them,” she admitted softly.
“I could have. I would have, had you not convinced my own sister and daughter to turn against me,” said Solis.
Holo shook her head, “I did no such thing. They knew the risks of what you were trying to accomplish. They chose to save the lives of the realm’s people instead.”
Solis snarled. “You chose the wrong side. Tell me, how many people died after the realm bridges fell? What sort of chaos ensued in the wake of their demise? Thousands? Millions? You’re not even sure, are you?”
“There was nothing you or anyone else could have done to prevent the Schism, it was madness to even try,” said Holo. “You would have only hurt more people.”
“Schism? Is that what you call it? The greatest failure of our kind since the world was Sundered?” he laughed bitterly. “And now here you stand, poised to kill our queen, the last hope of our people.”
The golden flames roared and the sheer heat burned the air, setting aflame the nearby corpses strewn around the tower. Holo and Melantha stepped back and grimaced in the sweltering heat.
Lunae stepped forward, even as the edge of her white robes caught flames. “Don’t do this, brother.”
Solis faltered at the pain in her voice. His glare softened. “You still don’t understand. I’m doing this for us.” He reached into his tattered robe and drew a black crown. It reverberated with power as he placed it on his brow. “This time, I won’t turn my back to you. I’ll face what must be done with eyes wide open.”
“Lunae, get back!” yelled Melantha. She jumped in front of her and raised her shield.
A white fox abruptly crashed into the plaza like a comet’s flash.
Solis furrowed his brow. “Lin Lu?”
Purple flames shielded the fox goddess from the golden inferno as she limped towards his side. Traces of her battle with Lunae covered her fur in bloody patches. She stood over Ananta and nuzzled her face with her nose. “...I’m glad Ann made it to you. You have no idea what we’ve gone through to get you back.”
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“I can imagine,” whispered Solis. He glared at his sister, Holo, and Melantha. “I won’t let her suffering go unanswered.”
“Now is not the time to fight. Ann needs time to recover. We need to retreat,” urged Lin Lu.
The sun god growled at the thought, but he glanced at the queen’s face and the anger drained from his expression. He knelt next to Ann, gently picked her up, then climbed atop Lin Lu’s back.
“We can’t let them get away!” Melantha yelled and dashed forward.
Solis stretched out his hand, the golden flames surged to life and blasted her away. He glanced at Lunae’s broken expression one last time, then turned away. Lin Lu leaped into the sky, small bursts of icy clouds forming underneath her paws with every step.
Vorphyrux, largest and strongest of the dragonbanes, spotted his Mistress flying above. He pushed aside the mound of dragon corpses around him and took flight. The dragonbanes soaring over the city followed his lead and trailed behind them.
The dragons gave no chase and instead flew down to the smoking chasm where their lord had fallen. A few flew towards their lord’s son, Reldros, and joined the battle against his enthralled sister.
Solis watched the destruction of Hollow Shade from above. He saw the frost-mist of his sister’s wolves scattered across the valley and her goblins attacking a retreating army of valley warriors, his chosen people.
“They fought for our queen?” he asked.
“They fought for a better future for the Realm,” replied Lin Lu. “They’ve lost. …I’m sorry.”
“...It doesn’t matter. Not anymore. All that matters is saving the World Soul.”
~~~
Holo rushed to Melantha’s side, “Are you alright?”
She opened her eyes and looked up at her sister, though she didn’t get up. “I’m fine, just exhausted. I drew too much power from the leylines.”
“You’re both lucky, Solis is incredibly dangerous, especially when the sun is at his back,” said Lunae. “In your current weakened state, you’d have both died in an instant.”
“Don’t remind me,” Holo sighed.
Melantha closed her eyes. “I just need a nap.”
“That may be a bit difficult,” Holo said dryly.
The crowds of citizens stared at the three women from at the edge of the plaza, while pointing fingers and exclaiming in excitement and fear.
A vampiress in silken clothes broke from the crowds, crossed the empty plaza, and bowed deeply. “Good morning, dear goddesses. Please, forgive my intrusion, I am Lady Calantha of the Great House of Ashe, High Priestess of Hollow Shade—”
“—Holo’s Shade,” Holo corrected.
“Right, of course, forgive me,” Calantha bowed once more. “I am the High Priestess of Holo’s Shade. And I am here to serve you in whatever way I can.”
“Ugh, not this one again,” Melantha rolled over and turned her back on Calantha.
“You’re my niece's chosen?” asked Lunae.
“Indeed, I have the privilege of serving Mistress Bellum, but my duty is to the Ebon Pantheon as a whole,” said Calantha.
“Well, two of your Pantheon just flew off after threatening to kill everyone here. Actually, one of them did kill a whole lot of you,” added Melantha as an afterthought.
“Yes… Well,” Calantha winced, “A war is still raging in our city. If there is anything we can do—”
“You want our help,” said Holo. “There is no need to ask, it is already given freely.”
Calantha sighed with relief and bowed again, “Thank you, Mistress—?”
“Holo.”
Her scarlet eyes widened at the realization. “Y-You? You’re…? Of course. Thank you, Mistress Holo. Thank you, Mistress Lunae.”
Lunae bared her teeth. “I didn’t come here to save your city, mortal. I came to save my people.” She shifted into her wolf form and tossed Melantha on her back, before leaping over the crowds and then the walls of the Central District.
As if on cue, Holo Flickered away, leaving Calantha alone in the middle of the plaza.
~~~
Late in the evening…
Vorphyrux stood watch on a hill in the middle of Dusk Valley, far from any settlement. The other dragonbanes flew around the perimeter, searching for any prey to satisfy their never ending hunger.
Solis sat at the base of the hill, next to a campfire crackling with golden flames. Lin Lu sat around the fire, licking her wounds. Ananta rested on her side, her back leaning on the fox’s soft fur.
“You’re awake,” noted Solis without looking up.
Lin Lu’s ears perked up at his words.
Ananta slowly opened her iridescent eyes. “The siege…” she asked with a parched voice.
Solis took out a water skin and held it to her lips. She nodded faintly in gratitude and took a sip.
“The siege is over,” answered Lin Lu. “Lunae’s Sylvan warriors managed to surprise the Undergrowth army and destroy the majority of their forces before they had a chance to rally together. Ophelia Thorn is dead. As for the valley’s army, they were cut off from both sides and were forced to retreat. I don’t know Marek’s whereabouts. Without anyone to lead the tribes, I’m sure the valley army will break apart and the tribes will be exposed to retaliation from Holo’s Shade. The dragonbanes failed to capture Maeve Mora; she is still against us, for now. We’ve lost some of the dragonbanes, but over half have returned just fine. Unfortunately, the city is lost.”
“Lost? The Shade City is meaningless. We’ve already won. I would have preferred if we had brought Maeve to our side, but Solis was all that mattered,” said Ananta. “...Tell me, my friend, was it difficult to face your sister?”
Solis stared into the fire in contemplation. “She seemed— different. Changed. I thought she would have regretted her decision. Lunae always had a soft heart, but I thought surely she would come to her senses after seeing the destruction of this ‘Schism.’ But she stood by it, as if betraying our Sigte bond wasn’t betraying everything we had gone through the last 2,000 years.” He shook his head, “I don’t understand how she could do it.”
“I’m sorry,” Ananta held his hand sympathetically. “I can’t say I’m surprised, however. After all, she has made a Sigte bond with another.”
His eyes grew cold. “What?”
“She made the bond with a titan child, a baby, barely two decades old.” Ananta glanced up at the stars, “A son of Stjerne— His name is Stryg.”
Solis bared his fangs. “Another child of Death.”
“Yes, they have a way of destroying everything they touch, don’t they?”
“Holo, Melantha, and now this— Stryg,” he growled.
Ananta’s lips curled in a small smile.
Solis reached into his pocket and held up a smooth white gemstone, it glowed softly with an inner light.
Her smile widened. “Even after being sealed, you managed to hold on to it. I knew you would.”
He handed the gemstone to her gently. “As promised, I kept it safe.”
Ananta carefully grasped the gemstone and marveled at its sight. “Selyndra’s Key… With this Key, my mother opened our world to the vast infinite Null. And with this Key, I shall do the same. My father will return and this time we will finish what he started.”