The man’s posture shifted as he transitioned into a more relaxed stance. Never letting his hand leave the hilt of his sword, his steely glare drilled heavily into the woman as he returned her gaze. The woman was deep in thought and the man had no intention of waiting for her to resurface as he broke her train of thought by drawing his sword slightly from its sheath. Her thoughts broke as her body, responding reflexively to the crisp sound generated by forged steel against lacquered wood, tensed up in anticipation and took a step back of its own accord.
Although nothing had been established outwardly, the momentum appeared to have shifted entirely away from the woman within the past few seconds. Based on what she had just witnessed, if what she currently believed turned out to be true, then the woman understood that everything she had been planning for over the past centuries was currently in jeopardy!
'But, how? It make no sense!' she thought in bewilderment. She still needed to confirm the situation, but it seemed like all of her worst case contingencies might be pulled into play, just like that. Mind racing she scramble through the implications, 'The most direct method would be the most efficient, but what then? Where to go from there. .'
“You seem to be preoccupied. I hope my presence isn’t an inconvenience to you, Ms. Marks,” the man said, not giving her anytime to compose herself, his tone much more polite when compared to his previous outburst, “If it is, then feel free to go back to hell or to whatever hole you keep yourself in these days. At your leisure, of course.”
Understanding that she no longer had the luxury of time, the woman, Ms. Marks, refocused her full attention on the man in front of her. Since her eyes had never left his, she knew that he could tell that she had been scrambling for a means to recover her lost advantage. Anticipating the decision she was trying to make, he had taken the initiative to bring her attention back towards him. In doing so, he left her with little options and her face hardened with resolve as the choice she needed to make became clear to her.
Taking another step backward to fix her stance and to place some more distance between them, she smiled disarmingly at the man and brought her hand, which had remained fixed below her chin this entire time, back down to her other elbow in a loose hug.
"Please, Mr. Cameron, it's Chloe. There’s no need for the formalities, surely,” she said slowly, noting the growing intensity of the storm and subtly bracing herself against the wind as she spoke, “All this time, it seems there’s much you’ve kept to yourself."
Her tone dropped precipitously, losing all pretense.
"Tell me. Was it you?”
The man snorted. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to.
All he needed to do was lift his hand and the rooftop around them began to break apart even faster. At the rate of the rooftop's disintegration, two wooden fists the size of compact cars formed in the air in front of Chloe, looming menacingly, threatening to crush her at any moment.
The wind began to howl, carrying with it more and more dirt and dust. Chloe squinted her eyes and shielded them with one hand in order to try and maintain her vision. Conversely, the man seemed oblivious to it all, the two meters around him remaining clear of all debris while he just stood casually; one hand raised, the other remaining gripped firmly around the hilt of his sword.
"You know," the man began lazily, his voice clear despite the raging storm, "You were our friend. I used to think that there was something more to you than just ambition. That, along with your intelligence, kindness and loyalty were your best traits. "
The two car sized fists split into four motorcycle sized fists and spread themselves out to encircle Chloe, preventing her from being able to keep track of them all.
"But after what happened back then, after how, even after everything we achieved, you just threw away everything, I understood.," the man paused meaningfully.
His expression became stone.
His voice was ice.
"You were all of those things. You just didn't care."
Ignoring the blinding wind, Chloe's eyes widened, her pupils dilated to pinpoints, as the man's hand clenched savagely and the four wooden fists exploded forward like they had been fired from a cannon.
For nearly a minute, obscured by the climaxing storm, loud crashes resounded and bright flashes of light could be seen from afar; bursting out from deep within the thick cover of wind and sand that had engulfed the ruined town.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
A few minutes later, not long after the crashes and flashes of light had ceased, the storm passed, allowing the clear sky to illuminate the ruins once more. With the veil provided by the storm lifted, the moonlight revealed a flattened desert landscape, craters scattered intermittently across the area.
The town, with all of its long forgotten glory, had been wiped entirely off the map.
Remnant whisps of wind slid across the earth, causing a torn piece of mint green cloth to flutter weakly while the metallic hilt of the broken sword that pierced it into the ground glimmered faintly beneath the cold desert sky.
#
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Hours later, the sun broke over the tops of the lowest hills in the southern highlands.
Birds chirped and thick mist hovered over the high, wild grasses, giving the air a mystical and mysterious vibe. As the sun gradually rose, the light rays scattered within the mist and the gentle golden light produced by the natural phenomenon made the landscape covered by the mist seem ethereal. This was a peaceful land. Barely touched by human hands and left to develop naturally in accordance with the desires of the local villages.
Broad antlers breeched the summit of a nearby hill as the body of an enormous mule deer made its way smoothly over the misty fields. Behind it came several smaller deer, each with a slightly smaller rack of antlers than the last. All of these deer moved with confidence, clearly used to living without the threat of many major predators. When the leader of the herd came to a halt and began to graze, the rest of the deer followed and soon the sounds of the chirping birds was joined by the faint sounds of the feeding deer.
Nature was harmonious.
The birds stopped chirping.
Without warning, a blinding light hurtled out of the west and smashed into the ground occupied by the herd of grazing deer, scattering animal parts all over the hillside and sending the survivors fleeing in terror.
"That bastard! He didn't even hesitate! What the hell even was that?! Just wait until I get my hands on his edgy little throat! Arghaahh!!"
A wide range of curses spilled forth from the depths of the giant crater, and a few pieces of tattered mint cloth could be glimpsed along the rim before the remaining mist rushed to fill the void caused by the unexpected disruption.
Soon, the sun had fully risen and the mist had begun to disperse; however, the curses of indignation and grievance could still be heard echoing through the hills.
#
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A new day had begun.
In the fertile valleys and fields of the north, farmers could be seen getting their animals and equipment in position to harvest, while wagons loaded with various goods were already secured and heading down the roads bound for the market. The sun was up and the sky clear, the weather already promising to be cool and fair; perfect for the fall.
Likewise, after the cosmic shift that occurred the previous night, the guard patrols were out in force to make sure that the many local degenerates didn't get any "creative" ideas.
One of these guard patrols, a veteran cohort led by one of the local garrison captains, had just finished helping a struggling farmer get his tilted cart back on the road when they were forced to a halt by their dumbfounded captain. An audible gulp came from the group as they stared ahead of them in shock, struck senseless at the sight before them. Of course, they weren't the only ones. Everyone currently in the valley with a clear view of the sky was witnessing the same unbelievable sight.
From the head of the valley, a man in a black cloak sat lazily against a tree at the edge of the Dark Sea and observed as various forms of light fell from the sky and landed at scattered places around the region.
It seemed as if the newly returned stars had begun to fall from sky!
At each of these points of contact, the light seemed to stop just above the ground and, as it faded, people were appearing out of thin air!
Some of these strange star people seemed excited, looking around in awe, while others just seemed to be staring listlessly into the air before them like zombies. Ignoring the difference in their initial behavior, one thing quickly became obvious to everyone: these people were insane!
No matter where they appeared, the strange people caused a great upheaval to occur in their surroundings. Soon, word of the disturbances began to reach the ears of those in power and many of the guard patrols began to be relocated to the locations where "starfalls" had been reported, given orders to bring these strange people to the capital for questioning.
Unnoticed by the people of the valley, another light had fallen close to the forest. This light was fading away, the person within having already come to their senses, by the time the cloaked man nearby had gotten to his feet and started to approach. As the man began to walk forward, a hand raised in greeting, what happened next went beyond his expectations and caused him to stop in his tracks.
Slowly taking several steps back, the man silently faded away into the forest before he could be seen.
The reason?
Standing firm and seemingly already comfortable with his surroundings, a young man with a shocking amount of red hair was already speaking to himself in a rage.
"That bastard! Mark my words, Ollie, when I get my hands on him, I'm going to kill him for the second time!"