Anna

Anna shoved aside the charred stones blocking her way. Remnants of Emil’s stone wall laid by her feet as she crawled out of the burning wreckage. She coughed, her lungs itched, irritated by the intake of the arid smoke drowning her airspace. Her head was ringing.

Did I get knocked out?

She touched the side of her head. Her fingers, blacked with soot, felt the warm, sticky trail of blood cascading around her ears. A minor wound, she hoped.

Anna glanced around. The entirety of the temple was submerged in a raging inferno. In hindsight, the potency of the naphtha was greater than she anticipated. If Emil hadn’t reacted instantly to her call, then she probably would have been devoured by the ensuing firestorm.

Where is he?!

She climbed over the crumbled stones. Flames danced dangerously around her, cackling ravenously as they feasted on the materials within the temple. She winced at the scathing heat, choosing to rip off the ebon cloak still clinging onto her back. It was a nuisance. There was no need for it. Amidst this blaze, it would only serve as tinder to fuel the conflagrations.

Still, no signs of Emil.

I swear to the Goddess—he better not be dead! Guilt clamped her heart. Panic rippled through her mind as she searched frantically through the flames. She had dragged him into this mess of a plan, and now they were paying the price for her recklessness. She would never forgive herself if he died.

As she got closer towards the entrance of the temple, the sound of combat raged over the flames. Anna strained her eyes, peeking through the gaps in the inferno. She found Emil. The boy was sandwiched between the abomination and the researcher.

The ground before Emil suddenly split open as a torrent of green tendrils erupted from the fissure. The macabre vines swarmed at Emil, like a heinous monster threatening to swallow him whole. Emil, however, made no efforts to evade.

Why isn’t he moving?!

Emil was trying—his legs appeared to be bound by vines protruding from the floor.

Realizing his dilemma, Anna moved on instinct. Mana popped at the soles of her feet. Electricity pulsated across her body, stimulating the muscles and nerves, strengthening her limbs beyond human limits.

She launched herself through the wall of flames. With her arms open, her shoulders clashed into Emil’s torso, knocking him out of the path of the vines. One of the tendrils grazed her waist, drawing blood. She clenched her teeth—no time to dwell on the pain as the two of them tumbled to the ground.

A painful groan escaped Emil’s mouth. Anna ignored him, spinning around immediately to keep their enemies occupied.

“Shock!”

Electricity surged from her outstretched hands, beckoning towards the researcher like a whip. The forest of vines moved immediately, reforming their shape into a massive wall. Anna’s attack fizzled out the moment the electric whip made contact with the nonconductive vines.

“Anna, move!” Emil’s voice suddenly boomed in her head. Huh?! Her first impulse was to retort at his ungratefulness. Realizing there wasn’t the time for arguments, she immediately climbed to her feet.

“Can you fight?” he asked. Anna shuddered as their eyes met. The boy’s gaze was barbaric. Blood and soot were smeared across his savage expression. His pale blue eyes were unbelievably cold.

“Y-Yeah,” she answered, slightly aghast.

“Then you take the ogre,” Emil spat, “Your Gift should be a better matchup against the shapeshifter. I’ll take the vine freak.”

Anna spun around towards the ogre. The abomination was collapsed on its side, struggling to get up as its right leg was stuck in the crevice in the ground.

“Y-You sure?”

“You said you’ll listen to me, right? Then trust my direction,” he hissed. The intensity in his gaze was chilling. “And whatever you do, do not turn around unless I say so.”

Anna raised an eye at the last statement. Before she could voice her concerns, Emil had already rushed into the fray. Stone projectiles and vines swarmed at each other, filling the airspace with a fierce exchange of phenomenon as the two of them fought for dominion. A startling bellow from the ogre forced Anna to face her opponent.

Dammit all! You really want me to fight this thing?!

Now that she was closer, the eight-foot monstrosity looked even more grotesque. The beast was like a creature straight out of the folktales—the nasty, macabre beings that parents used to scare children. Only except this wasn’t a bedtime story, but a nightmare brought into reality.

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The ogre stomped forward, shattering the earth as it pried its leg free from the fissure. The entire floor shook under its weight. Startled, Anna was nearly knocked off-balance. Danger danced on her skin. In the corner of her eyes, she saw the ogre pick up a chunk of stone from the ruins of the temple.

Anna dove left—right as the ogre threw at the rock at her original position. Fragments exploded as the stone crashed into the floor. She winced, covering her face as her arms were pelted by the shards.

“Anna! What the fuck are you doing?!” Emil screamed over the chaos. Anna realized her hands were trembling out of control. The ogre roared once more; its foot dug into the ground, ready to charge.

“You can beat him! Just think of him as a huge pile of moving meat!”

What the hell are you saying?! Anna let out an exasperated snort—the absurd mental imagery temporarily made her forget her fear. As she observed the monstrosity, she noticed the plethora of wounds littered across its body. Blotches of blood leaked from the various injuries along its torso. Its flesh, thoroughly tenderized, were beginning to purple.

Was this all Emil?!

The realization made her grimace with anger. Suddenly, she couldn’t stand the thought of her cowering before an opponent that he was able to face.

The ogre charged. Debris and flames splattered with every rumbling step.

Anna stood her ground. Sparks began to flicker along the length of her body. Indignation burned in her throat at her pathetic self. She slammed her knuckles together, silencing the wailing terror in the back of her mind.

Electricity stormed out of her. The air shrieked with a high-pitch ring, not dissimilar to the chirp of songbirds. As the monstrosity got into striking range, the energy streamed out like an expanding web. Sparks charged with potential combed through the airspace, desperate to land on something to offload the excessive current. It made contact with the ogre’s skin.

The monstrosity screamed in pain. The electric discharge torn through its pulsating mass, ravaging its interiors, and overloading the nerves that powered its colossal form. Paralyzed, the ogre collapsed with an emphatic thud.

Anna didn’t relent. She ran forward, aiming another blast at the ogre’s cranium. The monstrosity convulsed under the merciless attack before flopping onto the floor, seemingly unconscious.

…Is it over?

Cautiously, she approached, completely alert, sensitive to any sudden twitches or movements.

Her mind suddenly trembled. Anna grimaced. The side of her skull throbbed with a needle-like pain—as if some sort of foreign matter had wormed into her head. Once she became aware of the alarming reaction, the rest of her body also started protesting. Intense shivers crawled down her back. Her guts churned with discomfort. Instincts took over. Without warning, Anna slumped to the floor as the contents of her stomach pried itself out. A putrid mixture of partially digested food and bile splattered in front of her.

Her throat burned from the painful experience, but the rest of her body began to normalize. She wiped her mouth with the sleeves of her leather armor. Her arms were still shaking. The tips of her fingers were glowing in a faint blue.

Panic seized her as she stared at the discoloration. A symptom of Overclock, occurring when an Exalted was overdosed on mana. Mana had a toxic effect on living beings in high concentrations, and Anna had just circulated an exorbitant amount from the previous attacks. Now she was paying the price for abusing her body.

It’s fine. It’s just the onset. She clenched her teeth through the pain. Her body felt like it was about to fall apart. My head is still working. I’m not seeing illusions or hallucinations. And there’s no one talking to me inside my mind.

Steam suddenly rose from the fallen monstrosity. Anna jumped back. Beneath the smoky veil, she saw the ogre’s anatomy rapidly shrink—until it eventually took the form of a normal human.

It took Anna a moment to realize that the monstrosity was the product of this researcher’s Gift.

As the steam thinned, she realized the researcher was still conscious. He was on the floor, motionless, but his eyes were bloodshot, glaring at her with a murderous gleam.

What now?

As if her mind had been read, a metallic cling echoed below her. She looked down—finding a dagger, roughly twice the size of her hands embedded by her feet.

“Kill him!” Emil yelled from behind, “Remember what I said!”

“If we’re caught, then we have to fight to kill.” The chilling voice blared in her mind. Anna gulped. Reluctantly, she picked up the dagger. Light from the raging flames bounced off the blade. Sharp. She walked up to the paralyzed researcher, squeezing the handle, feeling the grip, weighing it in her hands. The dagger was light. Unnaturally so.

Emil’s right. They won’t just let us go after destroying their research. They’re pursue us for revenge.

She crept behind the researcher. She crouched down. The bare neck of her enemy was just in front of her. Her heart pounded. Her vision flickered in and out of focus. The sound of the flames cackling in the background suddenly grew outrageously loud. In her head, she sworn she heard voices—screeching.

KillhimKillhimKillhimKillhim!

Anna raised the dagger. No matter how tight she squeezed the handle, her hands refused to stop shaking.

It’s the logical thing to do. If you don’t kill him, he’ll come for you. Kill or be killed. Survive or die. This is what you signed up for, right? These people were responsible for Ellen’s death. They’re not innocent.

All she had to do was plunge the dagger down. Close her eyes. Listen to the blistering flames. Ignore the squelch of blood and the ensuing scream. Simple. Better yet, commit to the attack so that the researcher had no time to react before death’s embrace. It would be the humane thing to do.

“Dammit…” she cursed softly. Her hands were sticky with sweat. Tears welled up in her eyes.

She couldn’t do it. She can’t. There was no way. How can she take another life? The idea of it was so revolting that she didn’t want to entertain it any longer. But then—

Ellen’s smiling face came to mind. It was a beautiful sight that she would never see again.

Is your resolve that weak?

That broke her.

Anna screamed.

The incessant thoughts in her head vanished.

A caustic burn drenched her throat.

She brought the dagger down.

She was ready to accept her blood-stained hands.

An intense blue light suddenly radiated from the researcher’s body. Anna squinted her eyes, undaunted by the surprise.

Squelch!

Her dagger sliced into the person’s neck. Blood gushed from the nasty wound. The cerulean blue light, however, refused to cease.

The researcher’s body began to grow rapidly. Anna stumbled backwards in shock. In a matter of seconds, she was once again staring at a colossal monstrosity.

Her mind blanked. Incoherent words dangled at the tips of her tongue. The static around her body spluttered pathetically, unable to generate a proper discharge due to the effects of Overclock.

Death beckoned.