It's been two days, and still nothing. Not a single scrap of paper. I sit at the front table, staring at the black chandelier above me. Beside me, Azu shifts through texts and imagines on her glass, her fingers flying across the digital keyboard. Too bad I can't do anything. I came here hoping to find answers, but I only have more questions. I'm getting real tired of going somewhere and only leaving more confused than when I arrived. I still don't have practical skills besides combat. And money, I guess, but that isn't useful in the field.

I balance Nebula on a finger as Bell comes storming in, his eyes wild with emotion and his voice trembling with urgency. "You two, we are leaving immediately."

"Huh?" I stand quickly. I've never seen Bell flustered, but that is all I can decipher in his expression, "What's wrong?"

He turns to Azu, "Zack is awake."

Her eyes light up with the life that has been missing, but they immediately harden, "Something is wrong."

He nods, "Come. I will explain on the way to the tunnel."

We hurry down the hall. Bell explaining the situation, "There has been a mass attack on the city. Shells came pouring out of the forest. It would seem there are various breaches in the wall, and several wyverns were also part of the attack."

Azu pales, "Zack?" Her voice wavers slightly.

"He is fine. He woke up a few hours before the assault started. It would seem he is the one leading the defensive effort."

I pant heavily behind them, barely keeping pace, "How is that possible? I thought shells couldn't think or organize themselves."

"So did we," Bell says gravely. I lag behind until Bell grabs me by the collar, accelerating to speeds I will never reach. Ten minutes later, we are taking the ANTs back to my father's grave, speeding through the small tunnel at max speed. No one talks, but the tension is palpable. Who would have thought shells could accomplish a united assault? Who's leading them, and why now?

We emerge from the tunnel, Heraon already there with our harnesses prepared. Thanks to automatic wenches, we scale the cave-in effortlessly. I glance down at the receding massive yellow P-core. I will come back one day and give Father a proper burial. It's the least I can do.

The ride back is tense. The only people on board are Bell, my companions, and the six crew members of the ship. The airship tears through the sky so fast the main deck is off limits, in fear we could be flung overboard. The four of us remain in the navigation cabin, Bell sitting tensely by the radio.

It takes us less than eight hours to reach the city. I didn't realize that humans had the capability to go so fast. Too bad we had to slow down five hours in. The engines couldn't handle the strain. We stand on the deck, the ship having slowed down enough for us to survive the wind. The sun has just hit its highest point when we approach End City.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The air above the city is eerily clear. No floaters fly by, and no holograms paint the buildings. Only a few people walk along the streets, and those who do practically run.

"The city is quiet. Like it's holding its breath," I mutter.

"Yes. It is often like this when a shell gets past the wall. A complete lockdown is manditory." Bell anxiously taps his sword hilt. My own weighs down on my back, as if reminding me to stay alert.

We fly over the civilian district, and it only takes a few minutes before I see the smoke. Great plumes rise into the air, visible for miles around. That's in the direction of my place. Worry gnaws at me. What's the damage? Have people died? Surely, they have. And this timing. It's too convenient. An attack on the city as its general is out of town, and the strongest diver is bedridden? This was planned. We have a traitor.

My thoughts get interrupted as a scream echoes through the city. An inhuman one, sounding like a woman's screams and the roar of an engine mixed together. A black object streaks past us.

Bell unsheaths his sword, the entire center of the blade embedded with cores. One, two, three... Seven? How is that possible? The pure white blade glints in the sun as his eyes scan the sky. I draw Nebula, but it feels like a false comfort. The shadow flies by us, its crescent wings slicing through one of the masts, cutting it clean in two. I watch as the beam of wood falls into the city below, wedging into a building. How the hell are we supposed to fight that?

Bell curses, "Shit, a Razorwing?" I want to ask what that is, but I see the shadow flit across my gaze. I lock onto it, watching as it climbs.

"Uh, Sir Bell?" I tap his arm, pointing above us. The creature is now a speck in the blue sky. Bell tenses. A scream is heard, but this time, a male one. As the speck grows bigger, I realize what it's about to do. It means to cut us in half. We're too high. I'll die if the ship crashes. Panic sizes me, my heart beating so hard it hurts. Escape. I need to escape.

Before I can react, the shadow figure is upon us. I brace myself, but the creature never hits. Instead, it slams into a building below us, destroying it completely. What? It missed? The ship has completely stopped now, and below the monster emerges from the ruined building, its left wing obliterated. It looks like a scaly bird, and its face is shaped like a cone, with no visible head or neck attached. The wing that is still intact is razor-thin and at least three times as big as its body and shaped like a scythe. Before its entire body can exit, a spear screams down, literally exploding the shell, creating a small crater where it rests.

Zack's spear. It's hard to mistake the bandaged weapon for anything else. Azu leans on the railing beside me, her face white as paper. Suddenly, the spear is gone, and a thump sounds behind us. Red hair colored like blood, electric blue eyes—Zack. He stares at us, his trademark grin nowhere to be seen. White and gold armor don his body, the white metal covered in the blood of shells, only a few spots showing the true color.

"Zack?" Azu's voice trembles. She worded it as a question. Why? I look at him as his gaze rakes over Azu and me. I can't help but shudder. He looked in my direction, but it was like he didn't even see me. Something's wrong. It's as if he is hollow. Empty. Dead.

He rests his eyes on Azu momentarily, a small, tired smile tracing his lips, and then he's gone. The deck remains silent as Hearon thunders up the stairs. No one says a word. What do you say in that moment? I look at Bell. His face is blank—not in the impassive blank he usually wears but in an almost perturbed blankness. Something just happened. Whatever it was, it was major. Beside me, Azu slides to the floor, her head between her legs.

Bell races off the deck as I crouch in front of her, "Zack's back. Right?" I try to read her body language, but she has hidden herself. Not letting any emotion escape.

"I don't know," Azu whispers, "I don't know."