Chapter 2: Ajal; Vagril 4th, 343SR; 22:40

"Re-entering Imperion's atmosphere in... Five seconds- Three seconds- Commencing re-entry," a mechanical voice from the ship announced.

The dropship rocked back and forth as it entered Imperion's atmosphere, a glass of wine on the table rattled as the ship descended to the planet. The curve of Imperion slowly became flat as the dropship descended towards a dense storm of clouds with concrete buildings protruding out of it.

"Autopilot, set course for Solron's capital..." Enma spoke to the computer.

"Affirmative, setting course for, Solron, Karna district..." the mechanical voice replied.

"What are your orders Ajal?" Enma asked.

The rumbling faded and the hum of the thrusters returned, Ajal reached for the glass of wine. He held the thin stem, swirling the maroon liquid in the bowl. He brought the rim close, and a sweet smell filled his nose. Upon taking a sip his mouth was overpowered by a tangy, but bitter taste that would make anyone who hadn't tasted worse gag. However in that moment, it was relieving. He gulped down the rest of the wine, then put the empty glass down and let out a sigh.

"It's been a long day..." Ajal whispered as he pulled the zipper on his collar down.

Ajal reached for a grey device on the counter, a tool used for communication. He detached an earphone from it, and fitted it into his right ear, then used a clip on the back to secure it to the collar of his uniform. The dropship approached the city of Solron. The sea of clouds flooded the overpopulated urban jungle, flowing past the buildings like water. A river of smog and fumes emitted from rampant amounts of polluted factories deep in the heart of the city.

"Put me down at our old apartment, the Solkaz building... I have a straight path to the church from there," Ajal requested.

"Affirmative," The mechanical voice replied.

The wheel turned and the entire ship shifted sideways, they traveled over the buildings silently. The dropship lowered above one of the taller buildings in the city. Enma reached for a green button which lit up as they got close.

"Don't land, it's just me getting off here," Ajal stood and pulled his mantle over his shoulders.

Enma wore a dark grey vest and pants, the standard uniform within the Imperial military, providing both durability and mobility. Over his shoulders was an Imperial mantle, a white cape with a collar made from the white fur of tundra wolves. Ajal noticed Enma sweating profusely, he was scratching his red hair, and his orange eyes were wavering. 'I've never seen Enma like this... Can't really blame him though...' Ajal felt a hint of self doubt, but he knew this had to be done.

"I'll give Anor your regards," Ajal told Enma.

"Just because I learned from him, doesn't mean I started caring for him, he's a scumbag!" Enma replied angrily.

"My bad..." Ajal didn't expect the sudden emotion from him.

Enma froze as he looked at him, his eyes wide, as if regretting his choice of words. "Don't apologize... I know this is hard for you too..."

Ajal looked down, then walked towards the door.

"Hey... Wait," said Enma.

Ajal turned. Enma stood there with his head down, it seemed like he wanted to say something. "Look, I... Sorry, never mind, it's nothing..." Enma stuttered, a look of concern still on his face.

"You're unusually tense..." Ajal commented.

Enma's eyes were hidden behind his bangs, and his normally excited and confident expression was replaced with one of anxious concern. His fists were clenched tight, but Ajal knew why he was like this. 'Killing the archbishops will save Imperion...'

"It'll all be over after this. I'll shoulder the burden," Ajal assured.

Ajal grabbed the smooth silver handle and pulled the sliding door to the right, walking through and entering a small corridor. There were two rooms on each side, and a door leading to a small armory at the back of the ship. Ajal's black hair just barely touched the ceiling, he was used to it though having always been tall. He passed by the first room on the left, the door was held slightly ajar.

Ajal looked in to see a blue-haired woman with a black and white book in her hands. The ethereal held her head low, her blue hair covering her eyes. Ajal felt like he should talk to her, he was about to open the door but reconsidered. 'This mission might be taking a lot on Aria too. Was this the right... No, this was the only choice...' Another sliver of regret crept over Ajal.

The room adjacent to Aria was occupied by Kadyr, the door was left open as per usual. Kadyr was sitting down on the floor with his legs crossed, most likely in meditation. His skin was clad in brown fur, he was a descendant of the beast clans from Junipus. The claws of his thumb and index finger touched as he meditated, his breaths were rhythmic before he grunted and rested his head in his palm.

Ajal didn't want to disturb him, but after he stepped passed the room he noticed a mask in front of Kadyr. The smooth silver mask resembled the head of a wolf. 'I never really see him without the mask anymore...' Ajal didn't pay it much mind and continued through the hall to the next two rooms.

On the left, a black-haired girl was in tears. She was being comforted by a woman with white hair and blue eyes. 'Kono's taking this mission hard as well, Crystal seems more composed, but that's just Crystal... Was it wrong of me to send them to assassinate Kiros?'

Ajal looked to the other room. On the right was a clean white bed, and on the left was a green-haired man sitting at a desk wiping blood off a long katana. Gale was a keen swordsman Ajal had known for a long time. He was tall and lanky, and his appearance commonly misled his enemies to think he was weak. His green hair was combed to the right, his bangs covered one side of his face. The curved katana was at least six feet in length, with a long green handle, and a curvy golden guard resembling a cloud. Gale usually looked calm, but his red stained hands made that tranquility feel like apathy.

"Are you heading out soon?" Gale asked Ajal while still focused on the blade.

"Yeah. Everyone seems tense, it's only natural though, we're taking steps towards a better future for Imperion, anyone would be anxious," Ajal responded.

"Yeah..." Gale replied.

Gale picked up the sword and angled the edge towards the ceiling, he analyzed the reflection of his eyes in the blade. He almost looked disappointed. Ajal looked down for a moment, until Gale stood. He turned towards Ajal and rested the katana on his shoulder.

"You're gonna cut the ceiling," Ajal joked.

"Yeah well I think I should, that way your big head won't hit it," Gale smirked.

"Heh..." Ajal laughed as he turned and walked back towards the corridor, but he stopped outside the door. "How many people were guarding the Senator of Bree?" Ajal asked with a serious tone.

"Four... Don't hesitate," Gale uttered as he closed the door.

Ajal looked down, his eyes filled with guilt as he clenched his fist. 'I won't...' He turned to his right and walked through the last door. The armory was much wider, well-lit, and multiple tools lined the room. A hatch on the other end served as the ship's entrance and exit was wide open, allowing for the moonlight to flood the room. A cool breeze slipped through the armory, the air was crisp at this altitude.

Titan sat on the left with his arms crossed. Ava stood at the edge of the ship, gazing at the full moon. Titan always wore his hood, sitting with his arms crossed, and a silver halberd resting on his shoulder. The large man was a reserved fellow for someone of his notoriety, the eight foot cyborg usually kept to himself. Ajal had known him the longest out of everyone. Like Kadyr, he always wore his mask, a culture amongst the citizens of Junipus.

Ava was an ethereal. The ponytail of purple hair behind her head flapped in the wind. She had small facial features, but big purple eyes. She stood just taller than six feet, her shoulders broad and her legs especially long. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, her feet inches away from the edge. Ajal took a step forward down a small set of stairs but noticed a blue light.

He looked down and saw Ryu, a young boy with blue eyes sitting on the stairs. A dragon manifested from bolts of energy coiled around his right arm. Ryu was also an ethereal, but also the youngest on board. He had short blue hair, and over his left eye was a scar. Coiled along his arm was the tail of a dragon formed from blue bolts of his energy, the snake-like dragon sat upright in his palm and bared its fangs at the child.

"If you're nervous, Antiri will be too," Ajal crouched down next to Ryu.

The boy's head jolted as he heard Ajal. His worried expression turned worse and he turned his head back at the dragon who glared back at him. 'Huh...' Ajal felt horribly awkward.

"Ah..." Ryu winced.

The small dragon tightened its long tail around Ryu's arm, it kept its head low, and sharp teeth on display. Ryu cringed at the pain from the dragon tightening its tail, and it disappeared into thin air. Ryu didn't look up at Ajal, but he held his head down. Ajal patted his head, his loose blue hair was fluffy.

"Don't be upset if you didn't get it this time, just try again when you're feeling better," Ajal encouraged Ryu.

He ruffled Ryu's soft hair before he stood and walked towards the hatch. Titan stood and walked past Ajal with his halberd in hand.

"I suppose it's time for this age to end," Titan said as Ajal passed by.

"Yeah, about time," Ajal assured the armored man with a smirk.

Ajal approached Ava who stood at the edge of the ship with her back against the wall.

"You seem like you're in a good mood for someone who's been killing world leaders," said Ava.

Ajal stepped up to the ledge right next to her and looked down. They were directly above a square roof. The building was surrounded by white clouds which obscured the streets below. Ajal looked up and stared at the bright white moon.

"Everyone is on edge," Ajal frowned.

Ava's eyes widened slightly when she heard Ajal say this.

"I didn't consider how anxious this might make you all, the imperials will rule over Imperion after the Archbishop dies. The era of serving false prophets will end..." Ajal explained.

Ava said nothing, instead, she reached out and held his hand.

"Everything we did, and everything we will do... It's for the future, our future. We all know this and we don't need to burden it alone... Peace requires sacrifice," Ava replied.

She took Ajal's other hand, their hair both waved from the strong winds outside. Their white capes flapped in the wind. Ajal squinted at the bright moon. Ajal brought his hands together while she held them, and he gently grasped her soft palm.

"I'm going to change that, peace should require bonds. All of us, despite coming from different corners of this damn world... You're like family to me, we fought for each other... Became strong enough to stand for what we each believed in, and here we are... Paving the way into the future," said Ajal.

Ava's purple eyes gazed deeply into Ajals. He held her close, and she tilted her head and inched closer. Their eyes narrowed as they got closer, Ajal's hands shook. Her soft lips pecked his, then pushed forward and kissed him. Ava wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him forward. After several seconds, she raised her hands and slowly pushed him away.

"I can taste the wine on your lips..." Ava whispered to Ajal. "You're in pain..."

"You know me too well..." Ajal sighed as he pushed his forehead gently against hers. "After today, I'll only open wine for good meals and celebration... And sometimes, just for the two of us."

Ava stepped back with an innocent smile, her cheeks red and her eyes quivering. Ajal smiled as he let go of her hands. He took a step backward off the drop ship, falling towards the building. He landed knee first. The wisps of clouds around the roof were pushed away. The warmth of her kiss still lingered on his lip. Ajal took a deep breath as he looked forward. 'I will end the tyranny tonight, and bring peace to Imperion.'

The large blue rectangular ship slowly turned, '#78-MC Imperial Dragoon' was written along the side. The thrusters roared and propelled the Dragoon forward, the sound of the thrusters soon disappeared as the dropship flew off to the east into the abyss of clouds, in the same direction as the church. Ajal approached a stairwell that led down the building, he clicked the device on his collar as he made his way over.

The device emitted a see-through blue hologram that appeared in front of him, displaying a grid with the numbers zero to nine. 'If I recall correctly the church number was 6-0262...' Ajal pressed the keys in front of him while he walked down the dirty stairs, far enough so that the sound of wind wouldn't be heard. A scent like urine and dirty water stung his nose.

"Hello?" Ajal heard a brittle old man's voice from the earphone, Ajal clicked a button on his collar.

"Good evening Archbishop, I was just calling to confirm if you'd be attending the ceremony in Braxus tomorrow?" Ajal talked into the device on his collar with fake enthusiasm.

The device simultaneously displayed a holographic map of the city. A red dot pulsed on several blocks from the building Ajal was in.

"Ah, Ajal, how are you doing my boy. Yes, yes, don't worry I'll attend. How are Shin and Enma doing? I haven't seen them since they left Solron," The Archbishop said over the phone.

Ajal continued down the stairwell.

"They're good, they haven't changed much, that might be for the worse though considering Enma," Ajal laughed.

"Oh, that hot-headed boy will never change." the archbishop chuckled.

'Hot-headed... He didn't seem that way earlier.'

"Yeah he's quite the character isn't he," Ajal replied with a fake enthusiasm.

"Who else will attend the ceremony?" the archbishop asked.

Ajal approached an elevator and clicked the button with an arrow that pointed upwards.

"The archbishops from the other clans will be attending as well," Ajal answered.

He put one finger on the blue hologram and turned the map, changing the display to a side view of the city, the red dot that had appeared was now near the bottom of the display, while Ajal's position was much higher. The walls of the elevator were dyed blue by the light.

"Anyways, I just wanted to confirm your attendance so we can organize the banquet. Have a great night Anor, I'll see you tomorrow," Ajal concluded the conversation as he pressed the button for the tenth floor.

"You too my friend, oh, and we won't be forgetting the tributes for Ra, our city requires prosperity after all," Anor chuckled before coughing raggedly.

Ajal's stomach turned at that last line. He glared up at a panel in the elevator that displayed the current floor number, the number was currently at forty. Ajal clicked a button on his collar and it reopened the number pad. He punched in a new code, and then waited for an answer.

"I'm listening," Gale picked up.

"I have the archbishop's signal, he's in the church. I'm heading in, inform everyone to be ready, you're moving in as soon as Ryu takes out the lights," Ajal ordered.

"Got it," Gale responded quickly.

Ajal stopped at the tenth floor and exited the elevator, he turned and walked down a pathway that led to a balcony.

"That old bastard, he's planning on tributing more innocent people," Ajal spoke into the device as he walked down the hall.

"Well... That's what we're here for, to end him," Gale said as the elevator stopped at the twenty-fourth floor.

"Yeah," Ajal clicked the device on his collar to end the call.

Ajal exited the hallway and took a left into a lobby that was used as a lounge. The light from outside bounced off the surface of the tables. Ajal walked between them to the glass door that led outside.

The snow fell into the abyss of the city. The tops of buildings reached above the clouds, and the base of the buildings was hidden under the fog of the city below. The annoying buzz from hover car engines could be heard all around, zipping by for miles in every direction. Lights from the buildings reflected off the snow and filled the fog with vibrant neon colors. But the air reeked of sewage and tar all the while.

Ajal stood over the edge of the balcony of the building, he stepped forward to see over it. The city streets were obscured and out of sight. He saw nothing other than the lights in the fog and the occasional hover car zoom by quickly. The fog of Solron made it difficult to even see a short distance ahead.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Ajal lowered his knee to the floor and placed his hand just over the snow-covered ledge. 'Dark Passage.' A black and white flame appeared on his hand. With the same hand, he touched the ledge, leaving a patch of black and white flame in the same spot. Ajal stood up and shook the flame off his hand, then clicked the device on his collar.

"It's time. Tell Ryu to kill the lights," Ajal ordered.

"Affirmative," Gale responded over the radio.

Ajal looked into the sky as he watched a bright blue light flashed through the city. The lights all slowly began to turn off. The abyss of bright colors that reflected on the snow was now just a grey abyss of white flakes and darkness. The hum of electrical circuits came to an abrupt stop.

Ajal looked through the clouds of smoke in front of him, the roads below which split the buildings in front of him made it the perfect path. Ajal stepped off the edge of the building, and dropped into the fog. He descended fearlessly to the streets below, picking up speed while falling. The wind pressed against his face. His hair whipped back in forth in every direction, he put his arms to his side and began to dive at full speed head first.

A vertical line split the middle of his forehead and his skin pulled to the sides to reveal a purple third eye. Ajal listened to his cape flail in the wind, the strong gusts made him feel relaxed rather than tense. He didn't see the ground, only the fog a short distance away. As the dark ground became visible, his third eye flashed purple. A black-and-white aura shrouded his body as he collided with the ground. But instead of crashing into it, he slipped right through and appeared at the mark made at the balcony of the building he last stood over.

The momentum from the fall propelled Ajal through the air, and between the buildings. He soared horizontally and slowly descended towards the church as his speed fell. As he got closer to his destination, the lights in the city started to turn back on. He stretched out his hand and his third eye flashed purple once more.

A black shadow began spilling out of Ajal's palm and formed into a pole. Ajal clutched it while he flew, focusing his spirit through his arms at the same time. He held the pole above his head, the liquid-like shadows curved and manifested into a black scythe. Ajal swung the scythe down through the air, the fog split to the sides in front of him as a slice echoed through the silence. A slash of pure force cut through the fog, then cleaved through the wall, exposing the inside of the church.

Chunks of the building smashed down around him, filling the foggy streets with dust. Ajal landed feet first on the ground of the street below, the white snow had piled up quite a lot as it submerged most of Ajal's boot. His feet shivered, the air was riddled with the pungent smell of the sewer.

Ajal walked through the opening he made and stepped onto the red carpet in the nave of the church. The snow off his boots left a deep brown stain on the vivid red carpet. Multiple followers of the church were already in a panic from the crash, they cowered in fear at the sight of the eight-foot man with three eyes emerging from the smoke. Ajal closed his third eye and walked past the citizens and up the stairs toward the archbishop.

Anor was wrinkly old man, with long messy grey hair and saggy eyes. He wore tattered grey robes. Anor reached for his staff, while he struggled to his feet, all the while shocked at the sight of the person he had just spoken to a few minutes earlier.

"Good evening Anor," Ajal greeted him with a confident smile.

He approached the man in white robes with his scythe in hand. The civilians attempted to run through the opening however, they stopped as more figures clad in Imperial uniforms entered the church. Ajal's team blocked the followers at the entrance.

"What is the meaning of this Ajal! We just spoke!" the archbishop cried.

"Peace. With your death, Imperion can welcome its new future," Ajal replied with a cold smile.

"What- Then... The others-" Anor grimaced as his rage boiled. "You call this peace? Destroying my temple! Ra will not stand for such-" Ajal lifted his scythe, and Anor cowered.

"Ra and I are good friends, and I don't see him coming for my head any time soon. I can't see why he would care about your temple though. His followers needlessly die here, thinking that their sacrifice will bring prosperity for Solron, except the fact they only contribute to the ongoing industrialization of their home."

"You- You knew?!" Anor's voice shook with his whole body. "I mean- Ajal, please! Come to your senses! I- I've always been there for you!"

"You make me sick... The people of Imperion don't need middlemen between Ra or any of the demigods, your temple is merely a façade for your own profit. These people will pray to Ra, not your foolish sub-"

"I am an asset to the Imperial higher-ups!" Anor screamed out, interrupting Ajal.

He stood up and raised his hands in the air as he tried to reason.

"Shin will be the next king! What do you think he will do when he finds out about this!" Anor cried.

Ajal continued to hold the scythe at the old man's neck, he raised his scythe and the man looked down.

"Shin wanted me to kill you," Ajal revealed, the old man's expression sank. "Enma sends his regards... But me... After everything you did... I don't give a single fuck about you... I'm almost excited to this... I'm glad that you'll be the last person I ever cut down."

"Wai-" Anor tried to speak, but couldn't get the word out before Ajal's blade glided through his neck.

The body of the old man fell onto its side, his head dropped onto the floor with a thud. After a few seconds, smoke rose from the corpse, forming into a ball, and beginning to glow yellow as more of the substance collected. The ball of light in front of Ajal shone brightly, its beautiful radiance illuminated the room riddled with destruction. 'Even the soul of the worst scumbag is this bright...'

As all the light from the archbishops body collected, it cracked like glass and crumbled into the air. Under where the ball of light once illuminated, lay the corpse of Anor Ranad. A cold breeze from outside scraped over Ajal's skin, and his scythe vanished. He turned and walked toward the exit.

"Don't let the followers leave yet. Word of what happened here can't get out, not yet," Ajal ordered.

He clicked the device on his collar.

"Shin, it's over," Ajal said.

"Excellent," Shin replied.

Ajal waited for several seconds, after many seconds had passed he was somewhat confused. He clicked the device again.

"Hey, what about the followers? They don't really need to be kept quiet now that the last of the archbishops is dead... Shin? You there?" Ajal turned once more but heard no response. "Did I lose the signal?"

Screams suddenly filled the room. Ajal quickly looked over his shoulder to see the source of the noise. He was shocked to see his team slaughter the captive followers at the front of the church. 'What...' Ajal froze in place.

Gale stabbed his blade through a young man. The blood splattered onto his white cape, the red carpet, and the wooden walls. The man tried to reach for the blade but Gale tore it out of him. The old man fell to the ground helpless as he slowly passed, reaching for his family in his final moments. Ajal remained speechless, questioning if what he just saw was real.

"Hey, what the hell are you-" Ajal was cut off as Aria clapped her hands together.

A circle of light surrounded the dying man's family. 'Aria... Wait-' It erupted into a bright white inferno, the silhouette of their bodies crumbled within as they burned. Aria's bangs covered her eyes as the family screamed in pain, weak pleas croaking from their charred corpses.

A young girl among the followers, no older than twelve looked around in panic, her face horrified. She quickly grasped her younger brother's hand. The two in grey tried to hopelessly run away from the entrance. Enma noticed, then flew forward, grabbing the two children who tried to run and flying to the top of the room. 'Hey... Wait... Enma... Don't-' Ajal watched in disbelief as Enma let them go from that height, the bodies of the two young children spun slowly in the air. Their terrified screams echoed through the room.

"No!" Ajal screamed.

Ajal dashed forward as fast as he could. Enma changed course toward him. 'I can save them!' Ajal jumped upward, catching the young girl and holding her close. Ajal held her to his left side, she huffed frantically with shut eyes. As soon as he hit the ground he crouched down and took a short breath. Then immediately lunged for the younger brother.

Enma dived in and angled his feet towards Ajal, his shoes engulfed themselves in a red flame as he entered his range. 'Shit!' Ajal shielded the girl and blocked Enma's feet with his right shoulder. As Enma's foot connected, the force of his kick launched flame forward, burning Ajal while he was blocking the impact. Ajal tried to shield the girl but she shrieked the moment her face got burned. Ajal's arm stung from the impact of Enma's kick, and his arm continued to burn at the touch of the flames. Enma's wings began to grow and propelled him forward adding more force to his kick. 'Are they being controlled?! Who?! Who could even do something like that!' Ajal's thoughts raced, however, his eyes widened as Enma focused his spirit on his legs.

"Rgh!" Ajal grunted as his feet left the floor.

Ajal's was launched backward, he quickly curled his body inward to protect the child. His back slammed into the wall and crashed right through it, he fell into a dark room at the back of the church, coughing in pain. Ajal looked up to see specs of dust flying in the light from the room he was just in, the specs became brighter and hotter. Flames from his clothes had spread to the junk around the room. 'Dark Abyss!' Ajal's third eye opened and let out a wave that surrounded him and the little girl. The grey field sapped the color from everything it passed over, and extinguished the flames.

Ajal looked down to see if the girl was okay, she had blonde hair and white skin. The young girl's white eyes were wide open despite being unconscious, her terrified expression sending waves of guilt over Ajal. The flames burned the sleeve on her right arm, and her face was scarred from her neck to the right cheek, but she was still alive. Ajal's heart was pounding out of its chest.

'She's okay... She's okay... The other-' Ajal looked through the hole in the wall to see a mangled body on the ground. The child's legs took the brunt of the impact from the way the femur stuck out of his thigh. The little boy's body oozed blood from various places, one arm had bent backward. Ajal lifted the small girl, he took off his cape and wrapped it around her. There was a large box tipped over onto its side. Ajal opened it and gently placed the little girl within it. He couldn't take his eyes away from her terrified face, he covered her body with a cloth.

"I'm so sorry," Ajal whispered with grit teeth, he looked up and walked back into the church.

Bodies littered the floor. Men, women, and even children all lay lifeless at the front of the church. Light rose from all their bodies. Ajal looked down at the remains of the child who fell, and just like the others, particles of light rose from his body as well, collecting into a ball of light, and dissipating into the air. Ajal's expression remained cold before he looked up at his squad and tried to raise a smile.

"I was hoping this would be the last time I saw this. I never told any of you this before, but this eye of mine can see what happens to the soul when someone dies," Ajal explained as he pointed his thumb at his forehead.

Titan pulled his silver halberd out of a corpse and whipped the blood off it before he took a stance.

"Their souls drift off and disappear into nothing. That's it. Why would anyone want to this? Why would I want this? I wanted this to be the end... Why would you do this... The archbishop was dead, there was no need to kill the followers," Ajal asked calmly.

His smile faded and he reached forward into the air as his third eye flashed, a black scythe manifested out of his palm. 'They aren't saying anything...' Ajal thought back to the people who died along the path he's taken. 'Do I have any right to question them...' They slowly spread out to cut off any escape route for Ajal to take.

"So I'm also a target huh," Ajal gripped his scythe and readied himself to fight, however, his hand was shaking at the thought of it.

Titan ran forward and leaped into the air, he closed the distance quickly despite his size and swung his halberd down. Ajal raised his scythe and parried the blow, Titan stumbled backward. Ajal quickly spun his scythe in his hand and repositioned for another strike before he cleaved upwards, 'Spirit Ignition!' Titan quickly guarded but the force from Ajal's strike knocked the large man off his feet.

Ajal spun his scythe around to follow up, but Gale dashed from under the airborne Titan and swung his katana forward. Ajal and Gale clashed, they pressed their weapons against each other. Ajal looked Gale dead in the eyes, he was still as calm as he was earlier. Gale kicked Ajal back as Titan crashed into the ground on his back. Enma flew forward. 'Gale and Ava are the best at spirit arts, I need to watch out for them!' Ajal jumped and raised his leg over Gale, then slammed his foot down. Gale dodged, but before Ajal could follow up, he felt another kick to his left.

'Guh!' Ajal gasped as he was launched to the other side of the church. Before he hit the ground he flipped in mid-air and recovered quickly, his feet dragging against the wooden floor. Enma floated where Ajal had just been. A blue light suddenly smothered the room.

A sudden roar caught his attention as Ryu's dragon Antiri grew to a towering size, she let out a thunderous roar as sparks of blue lightning acted as its scales. 'Shit...' Ajal thought as the dragon flew towards him. He attempted to jump but felt a sharp pain stab his right knee and ankle which stopped his escape, he looked down to see two knives stuck deep into his right thigh. 'Kono's knives!' He didn't have time to take it out as he looked up to see the dragon reared its head, Ajal couldn't move his right leg.

The snake-like dragon lunged forward, rather than take the hit Ajal's third eye opened and flashed. 'Dark Abyss!' The wave expanded outwards out of his third eye. As the wave touched Antiri, the dragon disappeared and revealed Ryu, the young ethereal who summoned it. The little boy tumbled forward from the inside of the dragon only to get knocked out by a quick strike from the back of Ajal's scythe. 'Even Ryu is coming at me for the kill...' Ajal looked down at his thigh and pulled the two knives out, he winced at the sharp pain.

'Kono is attacking from my blind spots...' He looked around the room. 'I can't see Ava-' He turned to see Gale sprint towards him and swing his sword. Ajal redirected Gale's strike, spun his scythe, and swung again to disarm him. Ajal grabbed his scythe with both hands and raised it to strike, before he could hit him he felt a chill down his spine. He remembered the time he spent with Gale growing up, and he turned his scythe, hitting him with the blunt end of the staff. Gale got launched to the side but swiped at Ajal with a short dagger, Ajal dodged backward but a thick purple tail coiled around his leg. 'Shit!' He was yanked off his feet and dangled upside down. The long purple tail suspended Ajal in the air, to his horror he saw that it was Ava who had ensnared him.

Ava released his leg and jumped, Ajal fell toward her. 'Can't dodge! Block!' Ava spun and swung her leg towards his head. Ajal focused his spirit into his arms to block the kick. The smack echoed through the church, his forearms stung, he couldn't brace against the impact, and was launched through a wooden pillar. Ajal crashed into the ground and rolled onto his stomach, Ajal slipped into the shadows, and fell through. 'Ava... Even you... You...' Ajal recalled all the time they had bonded together, it was the most heart-wrenching.

The inside of the shadow was nothing but darkness, the only exit was shadows in the real world. Ajal floated in the cracked rifts within the darkness, there were white rifts above him he could use to exit. 'It'd be best if I got away...' Ajal looked for a shadow that led out of the church but heard footsteps approach behind him. 'Shit! I taught-' Ajal turned to see Kono charge at him through the darkness. He raised his hands to block but instead, she tackled him with all her weight and pushed him out of the shadow.

'Shit!' Ajal didn't have time to think, as he was immediately struck in the head by Ava's foot. Ajal felt his skull crack and his neck whip to the left. He was launched through the air, spinning into the middle of the church, and crashing into several chairs along the way. Ajal grasped his head, it stung from the kick but his attention was drawn to an indigo-colored light that glowed at the front of the church.

Ajal looked up to see Kadyr at the back of the room with his hands on the floor. 'He's going to use Akara's Idol?! They really are trying to kill me...' Ajal gulped as he stood up quickly, his body going numb from the pain. A black aura surrounded his body as he prepared to engage Kadyr. He tried to move, but his legs didn't. Instead, they felt colder than they did outside.

Ajal looked down and noticed the entire ground around him was frozen, and his feet were stuck in ice. He looked up to see Crystal with her left hand on the floor, glowing a bright white light. A trail of ice had spread across the ground from her hand to his feet. Ajal then heard rapid and heavy steps against the ice as he turned to see Gale charge in with his katana, and Titan with his halberd. 'Damn!'

Ajal raised his scythe to smash the ground but he felt something pull his scythe backward. He glanced backward, only to see Ava behind him, her tail pulling his scythe out of his hand. 'Shit...' Gale stepped on Titans halberd, and Titan swung him forward. Gale flew through the room towards Ajal.

'I can't dodge-' Gale's katana pierced straight through the left side of his abdomen, exiting through Ajal's back. Red blood splattered against Ajal's white cowl. Ajal had no time to register the pain as Gale tackled him with his shoulder which broke him out of the ice and knocked him backward. Gale stood, stepped down on Ajal's chest, then ripped the katana out of him.

"Ahagh-" Ajal grunted as his mouth filled with blood.

Ajal gritted his teeth from the pain, he held his wound tightly. Warm blood flowed out of him and leaked past his hands, and as he coughed out blood. He huffed in and out with wide eyes, exhaling more blood than air. His vision was hazy but three sources of light began to brighten the entire room. Gale raised his blade once more to stab him. 'Dark Passage!' Ajal's left hand was covered in a black and white aura, he quickly left a mark on the ground at the same time Gale thrusted his katana forward. 'Dark Passage!' Gale's eyes lit up as Ajal disappeared, and reappeared standing upright out of the blade's way with his right foot raised. 'Spirit!' Gale's green eyes widened. 'Ignition!' Ajal kicked straight forward, striking him in the chest.

"Ack!" Gale coughed, he tumbled backward and bounced back to his feet.

Ajal breathed in and out as he looked up at the source of the light. Aria had a glowing circle of light behind her shining a radiant white. Enma put his right foot forward which ignited into a bright red flame, growing brighter as he prepared to launch a devastating attack. Kadyr stood under Akara's Idol, a large statue with six arms, three wolf heads, and blue sapphire gemstones for eyes. The beast glared down at Ajal, the middle head had its mouth fully open with an indigo light seeping out of its maw, growing brighter by the second. Ajal noticed movement in the corner of his eye and saw Titan hurling his halberd straight toward him. He barely had time to dodge, he leaned back and moving his head out of the way just in time. The blade grazed his face and left a deep cut over his left eye.

"Agh!" Ajal winced.

Ajal fell back once more clutching his face as more of his blood spilled over his hands. He moaned in agony at the pain in his eye which spread through his face. He tried to open his eye, but he could only see red on that side. A sudden kick to his back launched him off his feet once again before he could understand his surroundings. 'Ah, damn this is frustrating!' He thought as Ava delivered a series of kicks to his back, each amplified by spirit. He flew forward into the brown broken chairs. 'I can't fight all of them at once!' Ajal fell towards the wooden debris but suddenly stopped as he felt a knee hit the wound on his stomach, he opened his eyes to see Kono. Her face and body were covered in black armor that allowed flexibility and stealth, her eyes shook with hesitation.

'Fight?' Ajal thought as he stood weakly in front of the girl he trained. Kono drew two knives from her belt with one hand and threw them at Ajal's left leg, he anticipated an attack from Ava or Gale at the same time. 'Why am I fighting again...The Archbishop is dead.' Ajal jumped high, he held his eye, and his head was hazy from all the blood he had lost.

Aria, Enma, and Kadyr continued to charge their attacks, they intended to finish this with one final strike. 'I can't win in this condition, I don't know if that little girl will survive this blast, and they aren't even saying anything to me... Ah... This is the worst...' The three of them prepared to fire, Ajal landed and opened the purple third eye. It glowed brighter with each second. Ajal felt a pressure welling up in his forehead. He looked forward, his left eye still throbbing in pain. 'If I can at least save that one girl...' Ajal felt a chill as he realized this was the end, he smiled.

"Was it all a lie... None of you are even saying a word to me. Were all those years we spent together so insignificant that I'm not even worth saying goodbye to..." Ajal laughed, grinning with a mad expression on his face as he huffed heavy breaths.

He looked Ava in the eyes, even though he couldn't see her face. He struggled to see any of them except for Akara's Idol who gazed down at him. Its gaping maw produced a blinding indigo light. Blood covered his eyes, but even so, he could feel his tears falling.

"I refuse to die... Not until I see the future I strived for," Ajal uttered.

The third eye glowed brighter and brighter, its pressure rumbled through the room. Aria fired a white beam of light. Enma raised his right leg straight into the air and swung down, releasing a focused wave of fire from his foot. Kadyr's statue spat an incredibly large indigo beam from its mouth with a bone-chilling roar. The light from the three attacks was blinding, it obliterated every part of the church it touched.

"Dark... Blast!" Ajal roared.

Ajal's third eye released a bright purple beam. The blasts collided and the energy bursted outwards, creating a massive explosion that engulfed the church and the buildings that surrounded it in a pale blue inferno. Ajal flew backward from the force of the blast, crashing through several buildings, and slamming into multiple walls. His head crashed through wooden pillars, and then his shoulder through concrete. He eventually stopped as he rolled onto a pavement covered in glass.

"Ack-" Ajal coughed weakly, his throat filled with dust.

The ground was old and cracked, Ajal pushed himself up against the rugged concrete. He looked up and saw nothing but smoke. He listened to the sounds of buildings crash around him, rumbling the rest of the city. A collection of screams filled the air in response to the sudden chaos.

The asphalt in the air stung his nose and wounds, especially the one on his left eye. Ajal walked forward aimlessly through the smoke and debris. His jacket had been burned off, blood continued to leave his wounds as he struggled to walk through the smoke. He eventually came towards a large shadow, as he got closer her noticed the white letters against a blue surface. '#78-MC Imperial Dragoon.'

'The dropship?!' Ajal didn't think twice and entered through the open entrance, he closed the door on his way in. He quickly made his way through the cramped corridor, however, he fell onto his knees in the middle of the hallway. He felt his throat fill as he coughed up even more blood. 'Huh...' Ajal looked at his stomach and saw a steady stream of blood drip out.

His hand pressed against the cold yet smooth floor warmed by blood, he tried to get up again but he fell back over. 'I'm almost... Almost in the clear, come on!' Ajal used all his strength to reach the cockpit, he dragged his body onto the seat. Grabbed onto the edge of the table, flipped the power switch, and activated the engine of the ship. He pushed a knob forward and the ship started to rise upwards quickly. Ajal flicked a switch which activated the ships autopilot. 'I just... Have to get to someplace safe... Some place I can lay low!'

"Autopilot, set course... Anywhere away from Imperial settlements... The nearest pla-"

Ajal coughed up even more blood and his vision became too blurry to see, the thrusters started to rumble as Ajal's head swung groggily. He fell and knocked the already fallen wine glass off the table. His hand slammed into the seat of the chair. Ajal held on to the seat, but his fingers went cold. 'What am I going do... When I wake up... If I even...' Ajal's arms gave out, and he slammed face-first onto the floor. The dropship soared into the air at a high speed and turned upwards, as it started to move, Ajal closed his eyes.

"Affirmative. Setting course to the nearest planet," the mechanical voice on the ship replied.