Chapter 4: Alexander; Vagril 6th, 343SR; 06:30

Alexander raised his palm into the air, a green light flashed above it. The handle of his greatsword protruded out of nothing, falling as most of its blade took form. The massive weapon dropped into Alexander’s hand, he caught it easily and pointed its bright green blade toward a man and a woman on their knees. They both wore white robes commonly used by alchemists. The man was bald with dark skin, the woman had very short brown hair, but fair skin.

“Please, have mercy!” the woman groveled, but a black boot slammed down on her head and shoved her face into the dirt.

“Don’t make demands of a noble and know your place vermin,” a young female angel ordered.

“Somebody help! Anyone! Please! How long will you live under these tyrants!” the male alchemist cried.

Alexander turned his head nonchalantly to the crowd of non-unified people who watched.

“Well?” Alexander asked the crowd.

The people in the crowd said nothing. Alexander lowered his blade and smiled as he looked back at the man’s devastated face.

“Vivian, take your boot off of her, she can’t see the people she tried saving,” Alexander ordered.

The angel quickly followed. The woman on the ground coughed raggedly, dirt was smeared all over her face. She kept her head low.

“Great Celestial, please save us. Please. Please. Please,” the woman repeated.

Alexander’s face cringed in disgust.

“When will your entire race learn this is the hand the Celestial dealt you, yet you beg for its help as if you deserve it? Why is it so hard to understand that angels are the rightful rulers, that’s why we were trusted with its power… Heh, unlike… You two mongrels,” Alexander pointed at the two of them and laughed. “We angels protect you from the demon king. Don’t you get it, the non-unified are unworthy of the great Celestial gifts and always will be! You should be grateful we don’t let your useless race rot and instead put you to some use!”

The woman looked up at him.

“It’ll be your great Celestial which kills you one day! Praise it then!” she hissed.

A green flame seeped through the edge of the blade, it sizzled on the air itself and started to burn off his sword. He smirked as he swung upwards, sending a wave of green fire over the two. The two angels behind them moved out of the way as the couple was smothered in fire. They screamed as the heat seared their skin to the bone. The woman writhed on the ground as the man reached forward weakly.

“Jack...” he uttered.

They were burned to a blackened crisp. The screams faded into croaks, then into silent wails. All that was left was a green flame that burned away on the charred bones. Alexander turned and raised his arms while he pointed at the corpses with his blade.

“Do you see! This is what happens to those who deny the will of the Celestial!” Alexander walked forward confidently and gestured for someone to try and step out of the line. “Well!”

Alexander’s grin fell as he turned back to the two corpses, only to see that they were gone. In place of his two subordinates were two humanoid figures made from wooden sticks. Alexander turned around again to see the entire crowd of people around him had become the same kind of figure.

“What the...” Alexander froze.

He turned back around to the exact spot where the man and woman were. However, a shirtless boy stood there with his head down instead. Black robes covered his legs, and the skin at his feet was pale. Alexander heard a rumble behind him. He turned and looked up to see the towering Celestial fall towards Logos. ‘No... No no no-!’ Alexander’s heartbeat quickened.

“Who are you?! What’s happening!” Alexander demanded an answer from the boy.

The boy kept his head low.

“Damn cretin, you will--” Alexander tried to raise his blade but he couldn’t lift it.

Alexander looked down to see his arm had been made of sticks as well. He looked back only to make direct eye contact with the soul of the boy. A fury was burned into it’s eyes, with black marks around them that resembled tears. Alexander stared at the boy, fear clouded his mind as the ground around the boy exploded outwards, Alexander tried to cover his face with his arms.

* * *

Alexander’s eyes shot open, immediately being met with the discomforting chill of his sweat. He found himself staring at the top of his bed frame. Alexander shivered. The image of the boy was burned into his mind, he felt the hair on his skin rise.

‘The Celestial!’ Alexander pulled himself out of bed and ran towards the window, he leaned against the cold glass. The Celestial hadn’t fallen, it still towered over the city of Helios. ‘It was just a dream...’ Alexander let out a sigh of relief, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and placed his back against the cold stone. As he exhaled, he felt the wall rattle. ‘Huh?’ Alexander suddenly heard a slight rumbling in the distance.

The glass window suddenly shattered outward as the tower shook from the impact. Alexander panicked as he remembered the boy from his dream, he hurried to another window. In the distance, a part of the mountain between Helios and Logos had been smashed off, and large boulders had crashed into the woods south of the lower city. Alexander walked across the room to a wardrobe, he opened it and pulled out a white dress shirt and black pants. He quickly put them on but paused as he held the black coat. ‘What was that dream...’ He threw on the coat and made his way out.

“Vivian! Lector! Bruno!” Alexander yelled the names of his three lieutenants as he entered a spiral staircase.

Torches lit the stone walls with an amber glow. The sound of a door opening could be heard above before suddenly closing. A set of heels clicked down the steps. Vivian came from around the corner, a dignified woman with straight black hair that reached down to her shoulders. She just reached six feet tall with her heels, and was just finishing tying her hair back with a clip. She wore similar attire to Alexander, a typical white shirt and black pants. On the left side of her chest was the green insignia of a fist, it almost resembled a skull without the top of its head.

“Sir,” Vivian addressed.

Another door opened above, and Bruno’s loud footsteps could be heard. A large man with a full head of grey hair, and a scruffy beard made his way down the stairs. He pulled his coat over his shoulder but didn’t button it as his belly was too large. His muscles stretched his sleeves around his broad shoulders as he reached under his plump nose and scratched it.

“You two feel that quake?” Bruno asked as he yawned. “What was that…”

“We are going to find out as soon as... As soon as Lector gets down here!” Alexander yelled that last part.

Another door opened, a slow set of steps crept down the stairwell. A lanky man with a messy head of blonde hair held the wall for support as he tried to keep his eyes open. He wore just the white dress shirt buttoned halfway up. He yawned the entire way down the stairs, he bumped into Bruno and stopped.

“Hmm,” Lector didn’t open his eyes.

Instead, he leaned on the stone wall and continued to sleep.

“Wake up!” Alexander yelled.

“I am! Stop yelling all the time...” Lector groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

“House Rover is most likely already mobilizing a scouting party, we will assist them!” Alexander commanded as he started down the stairs, his squad followed.

“Wait slow down, do we need to rush?” Lector whined as he tried to hurry. “Wait- Vivian how did you have time to do your hair?!”

“Stay focused, we don’t know what we’re dealing with! Lector, when we get outside set up a line with Vivian so she can give us reconnaissance of the area. We’ll use Bruno’s stone chariot to get there faster,” he instructed.

“Yes sir!” the three responded at the same time.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and Alexander pushed the door open, the wind pushed back. The bottom of the stairwell split into two paths perpendicular to other, each stretching to other towers designated to noble houses. There were four towers connected by walls, forming a square shaped structure between the Government Bureau and the Celestial itself. The wall was just over seventy meters tall surrounded the Celestial, the noble towers were built at each corner of the central wall.

The sky was a gentle blue as the sun slowly rose in the distance. Bruno put his fist onto the ground and the stones began to flow like a liquid. It stretched forward for miles, forming a pathway that extended over the cities of Helios and the outer wall. Lector put his palm on Vivian’s shoulder, a glowing symbol of dot at the center of a gold circle appeared on his hand. The spot he touched had a similar symbol. Vivian drew a black feather from her pocket, and it faded away in her fingers. At the same time, the black feathers of wings materialized out of her back. Bruno pressed his fists against the stone again. The rock rose in front of him, stretching out like wet clay. It took the shape of a horse and chariot, before hardening and becoming rigid.

Vivian jumped off the wall and dove straight down, her wings were tucked in, shrouding her body like a cowl. She spread the black wings and banked upwards into the air, soaring toward the forest quickly with wings that spanned over five meters on each side. Lector, Bruno, and Alexander mounted the chariot. The stone chains rattled as the horses started forward.

“Hold on tight,” Bruno warned.

The horse accelerated down at an astounding speed, it’s hooves tapped rhythmically against the stone path. As they passed over the inner city, a red light from one of the nobles towers shot across the sky, descending upon the forest at an incredible speed. A voice came out of the yellow mark on Lector’s hand.

“Sir, there’s rubble scattered around the woods, whatever came down took a part of the mountain off. There’s smoke coming from a clearing through the forest. House Rover is on its way, I’m sure you noticed but Arthur just got there. It shouldn’t be hard to find,” Vivian explained through the mark on Lector’s hand.

‘That little runt Arthur... I can’t stand him...’ The stone path arched downward after it passed the border between the cities. Bruno looked nauseated, his eyes wide open and sweat dripping down his forehead. A portion of the forest in the distance had been cleared of trees, Alexander squinted at the pillar of smoke rising out of it. The chariot descended the last slope of stone, just as the end of the path reached the clearing. The horses picked up speed, then leapt off, and landed in the clearing.

‘Huh…’ A blocky object made of rigid shapes sat in a pile of dirt and debris. It was cobalt blue, and about five feet taller than Alexander. He stepped off the chariot and approached it. A slab of metal stuck out of its side, it seemed like a wing. But it was shorn off during the crash, exposing the inside of the slab where dangling wires and liquids were spilling out. Sparks crackled out from the wires, it looked like a creatures innards.

“What the...” Lector commented when he saw the blue thing lodged into the ground.

Vivian glided in and landed gracefully while Lector and Bruno got off the chariot. Multiple scouts searched around the area and checked around the debris site for anything of value. Several of them analyzed the odd purple crystals around and inside of the unidentified object.

“Gather all of that crystal substance and take it to the Lightbringers for analysis,” a young man ordered the other angels.

Arthur was short, standing at just five feet and eight inches, but that wasn’t the reason Alexander despised him. He had black hair, tied back into a ponytail except for a few bangs that covered the right side of his face. His white coat had red stripes on it, and over his chest was the red insignia of a dragon coiled around a spear. Despite his youth, he was the noble of House Pendragon and the youngest noble in history. Arthur turned towards Alexander and faced him with a blank stare.

“Good morning Alexander, lieutenants of House Rael. I’m sure none of us were expecting something like this,” his red eyes analyzed Alexander and the rest of them sharply as he nodded.

‘I could never tolerate this so-called... Son of the hero. You’re just some punk living in Shinra’s shadow... And you always will...’

“No need for the formalities boy... This object... What is it? A gift of the Celestial?” Alexander asked.

Lector wandered over to the people collecting the purple crystals on the ground. Vivian examined the peculiar object while keeping a distance, cautioning Bruno while he investigated the metal surface closely.

“This thing took off a decent portion of the mountain, perhaps we should make the people of Logos mine for logorite up there too,” Alexander chuckled.

“Something struck me as odd. Please, follow me,” Arthur requested.

Alexander gritted his teeth ‘This damn kid thinks he can tell me what to do... Whatever...’ He followed behind the young noble, towards the back of the object. Alexander was surprised to see an interior. It housed tools of an unknown origin, and all around the interior were purple crystals that gave Alexander a bad vibe.

“Do you think this is some kind of demon sorcery or one of those damn resistance from the gutters of Torovince?” Alexander asked.

“I doubt the non-unified could do this… Hey, there are footprints,” Arthur pointed out.

Alexander looked down to notice several footprints of mud within the interior and a large amount of blood-stained along the walls of the craft. Alexander turned and followed the steps outside the ship to notice a smeared trail in the mud that led out of the ship towards the woods.

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“Arthur... What did the scouts from House Rover discover inside?” Alexander asked.

“They didn’t report anything, I got here first...” Arthur replied.

“You really are a newbie aren’t you,” Alexander sighed. “Someone was here before us. There’s a trail leading out of the woods towards Logos!” Alexander pointed to the tracks.

“Huh, you’re right... Good observation,” Arthur replied.

Alexander felt a storm brew within him in anger at the younger noble, but before he could release his anger a fierce explosion rippled through the air from the other side of the mountain. A purple light lit up on the other side for a brief second.

“See... Someone did get here before us yo-” Alexander was cut off when he heard the ethereal sound of a gift materializing behind him.

Alexander turned to see the young noble Arthur squatting down with one hand on the ground. His legs had formed a jagged black armor around them. He jumped high into the sky towards the mountain. Red and black colored energy propelled his flight.

‘This runt…’ Alexander thought as he saw Arthur’s shrinking figure land on the mountain. Alexander ran towards Logos as well, specifically following the footsteps in the mud. Vivian followed while Lector and Bruno continued to analyze the mysterious object. Alexander picked up pace as he ran, eventually, he reached the forests and lost sight of the trail in the mud, but it was obvious the route led to Logos. ‘Looks like this will be an interesting morning, I get to kill some…’ He stopped as he reached the entrance of the mines.

He wasn’t expecting to see the entrance blocked. A foul scent of rot lingered in front of the mines, it stung Alexander’s nose. ‘What happened here... That scent... No... It can’t be... Again?’ Alexander heard a thud behind him, he turned around to see Arthur stand up with his black armor disappearing off his body.

“The pieces of the mountain all got sent to the other side, there’s no reason the mines should be blocked off on this side... Something else happened here,” Arthur observed.

“Was there a similar scent at the top of the mountain?” Alexander asked.

“No?” Arthur replied with a puzzled tone. “Something strange is going on though that’s for sure... When I was on top of the mountain a purple fire was burning on a small section of the farm, in the north of Logos,” Arthur added.

“Purple fire... Could the demons be making their move...” Alexander pondered.

“I doubt Abaddon would invade without sending an army,” Arthur replied.

“Alexander please handle the situation in Logos, I’m going to investigate the debris a bit more,” he ordered while walking off.

Alexander felt his jaw tighten, ‘That inexperienced little shit... He told me what to do again... Just because he became a noble and was able to wield Balakin’s spear... Now he thinks he can tell me what to do!’ Alexander slammed his fist into a tree, his head began to ache as his rage built up. Vivian flew in through the trees before she landed.

“Sir, the people of Logos seem to be caught up with some kind of-” Vivian said.

“I know!” Alexander roared, cutting her off.

Vivian’s expression filled with fear, and her legs shook. She immediately put her knee on the dirt and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry sir,” Vivian apologized.

Alexander turned and headed towards Logos, he stomped heavily as he marched onwards with the intent to show his rage. However a thought lingered in his mind. ‘The mines were sealed... That strange scent... It happened during the night... This is like the incident caused by the Eldritch family...’ The name Jack rang in his head. ‘What was that dream...’

As Alexander exited the forest he noticed the path blocked by a crowd of slaves gathered around the purple fire. ‘What a majestic flame...’ Alexander approached and the citizens turned, they promptly moved out of the way when they saw him. The crowd had kept a short distance from the flame, and as he got close he realized why.

A strong heat emanated from the small fire. Alexander was surprised to feel such heat in the air even at that distance. The flame dissipated and the slaves looked to the noble.

“Who did this...” Alexander asked them all.

The slaves looked around asking if they saw anyone. The mumbles in the crowd made his fist clench.

“Someone did this, who did this! I want an answer!” he ordered.

Alexander raised his hand outwards to summon his weapon. A green light glowed within his hand, and particles of light clumped together into a black handle, a silver hilt, and a vibrant green blade.

“We don’t know!” someone in the crowd yelled.

“We only showed up after we heard the explosion,” another voice shouted.

“Jack and Carol aren’t here!” someone cried.

Various voices in the crowd cried and pleaded, but Alexander’s head shot to the right as he heard that last line. He heard the voice come from a dark-skinned slave with curly hair. The slave suddenly looked tense, his shoulders rose, his hands shook. He was in his teens, somewhat muscular but lanky, with curly short black hair. ‘Him… I can’t remember his name… But I know he’s been in Logos for at least three years…’

“Jack you said? Jack Eldritch?” Alexander felt his blood boil.

“Y-Yeah,” the boy replied.

Alexander squinted, “Jack! Jack Eldritch! Caroline Endoran! Show yourselves this instant!” Alexander turned as he waited for someone to come forward, but no one did.

Alexander stabbed his greatsword into the ground and walked towards the teenager, then kneeled in front of him and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Tell me where can I find Jack,” Alexander asked calmly.

Alexander’s eyes remained piercingly wide. His presence frightened the young boy to the bone.

“He... He lives in his parent’s house,” the slave admitted.

“What is your name? How old are you?” Alexander asked curiously.

“F-Franklin... I’m thirteen years old,” the boy answered.

“You hear that everybody!” Alexander yelled suddenly, the boy cowered in fear.

“Franklin! Knows his place as vermin and he’s just thirteen... You lot should be ashamed! I ought to execute you all right now! How can someone this young be more compliant than the rest of you lot!” Alexander scowled.

Alexander pulled the greatsword out of the ground and turned toward Franklin.

“Now, lead me to that house, or die,” Alexander ordered coldly, pointing the massive blade at the boy he just praised.

Franklin’s eyes widened with fear, he didn’t hesitate to comply. “I-I-Know the way!” he stuttered as he slowly turned and walked towards Logos.

“Good,” said Alexander, he continued to glare down at the boy.

Franklin led Alexander through the town, straight to Jack’s house. Alexander felt sick to his stomach while he walked through the streets. He couldn’t stand walking in the town of slaves, the scent alone was enough to make him gag. ‘Only the repulsive belong here...’ As the sun rose over Logos, Alexander started to notice purple crystals reflecting the sunlight up ahead. They were coming from the opposite direction, but still toward Jack’s house. ‘So the trail leads here too... Hm...’ After a short walk through the outer part of the city, Franklin stopped and pointed to his left.

“This is the one,” said Franklin.

Alexander walked towards the house past Franklin, brushing passed the child. He turned and checked for the purple crystals but noticed they had stopped several houses back. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door once, then paused and knocked again, and then paused, and made one final loud knock. ‘I can’t believe I’m knocking on this door again... Eldritch scum... They should all die for wasting my time...’

“This is the Warden speaking. Open the door, or I’ll break it down scum,” Alexander threatened. “Come on, I don’t have all day, open the door!”

He didn’t hear a noise.

“Open. This. Door!” Alexander yelled.

A few seconds passed and he heard the cellar door at the left of the house close. Alexander turned to see a girl with short black hair run out onto the street and into the crowd of people. She held a purple crystal in her hand, and her eyes were wide as she glared at Alexander. ‘Is she serious...’ Alexander smirked, as he got ready to close the distance and catch her, he was surprised to see the townsfolk grab her and pull her to the ground.

“What the hell?! Stop! Let me go!” she cried as she struggled to the ground.

People in the crowd whispered amongst themselves, Alexander heard the name and recognized her, ‘Carol... The one who was always following the Eldritch family...’ Alexander walked forward and laughed loudly at the failed attempt.

“Come on, one more time, ask them again please,” Alexander requested. He squatted down, closed his eyes, and put his hand to his ear.

Carol looked confused but she tried once more. “Let me go! Why are you doing this!” Carol begged her fellow slaves.

“Haha, there it is!” Alexander laughed cheerfully. “You don’t understand, do you, they don’t take orders from you, why would they take orders from someone as pathetic as the rest of them?” Alexander mocked them all.

“Now, what were you doing in the Eldritch house cellar,” Alexander asked Carol.

“I was getting something,” she answered quickly.

Her willingness to answer made Alexander squint, normally slaves were too scared to reply. ‘Caroline Endoran... Transferred from Roccan at least three years ago...’ Alexander recalled seeing her speak with Jack’s parents several times before their execution. The fact no one opened the door puzzled Alexander. ‘Where is Jack?’ The question lingered on his mind, his mind constantly remembering that dream.

“Don’t play games with me now, on the way here I saw the mines... It’d make sense if the two of you were behind it, your parents did it first a year ago, then the Eldritch family followed, and now here we are... Their idiotic children are repeating the mistakes of their parents. Where is Jack?” Alexander asked once more.

“Jack was staying over at my place because he didn’t want to stay at this house...” Carol answered.

“Why would he want to stay with someone as ugly as you?” Alexander mocked.

“Maybe because he’s scared of your massive forehead, who knows when your ego is gonna explode?” Carol lashed back.

“Wow, out of everyone here, you’re the first to say something back. However, I know you’re lying, that crystal in your hand. I know where it came from. Why do you have it!” he asked, his tone impatient.

“I was in the forest last night, and I happened to find it. And I used it to blow up the mines,” She stated confidently.

Alexander stood up and looked down at the short-haired girl. She blew her short black hair out of the way and looked forward with green eyes full of confidence. ‘She’s too compliant... Why...’ The townspeople looked at one another, murmuring and whispering about the mines closing. Alexander turned, walked towards the door, and simply pushed it. Even though it was locked the door broke open and he walked in. The lock fell against the floor and spun to a stop. ‘Where is he...’ The thought swirled in his head constantly.

Alexander walked into the bungalow, dust in the air scratched at his clean skin and he immediately felt even more disgusted by the town. His attention was drawn to the dust on the floor. There were footsteps too and from the front door. The floor creaked as he followed the trail, the only light in the room came from outside. There was a lantern on the table next to where the footsteps ended, to Alexander’s surprise the trail led back the way he came and out of the house. He stepped outside and looked down at the other houses to the left.

“Why are you even looking for Jack?” Carol asked.

‘Why am I...’ Alexander thought about it for a moment but stopped immediately. “I know it was him.”

“What?” Carol replied with a confused expression.

“You said he was at your house?” Alexander asked.

“Yeah... He should be in the main room,” Carol answered, still unnaturally compliant.

Alexander was still confused at the immediate compliance, ‘Most non-unified fear me, but she doesn’t... I’ll have to remind her who I am, but first the Eldritch brat.’

Vivian walked forward and pulled Carol up by the arm, she flew to her feet easily and barely resisted. Vivian followed Alexander as he walked a couple of houses down. Alexander reached the front of Carol’s house. It was unpleasantly silent, the townsfolk all stayed quiet as they followed the noble. ‘Why is she so compliant, what’s going on...’

“Jack do it now!” Carol suddenly yelled to everyone’s surprise.

‘Huh!’ Alexander jumped and summoned his sword in hand. Vivian backed up dragging Carol along. Alexander looked to the surrounding houses or alleyways, anticipating someone to approach. However, nothing happened.

Carol burst into a fit of laughter, even wheezing in response to their reaction. Alexander glanced at the woman, the front of his head throbbed with anger.

“You are honestly such a coward, you act all high and mighty swinging around your stupid green sword but you cower immediately!” Carol laughed.

“How dare you disrespect-” Vivian scolded but Carol cut her off.

“Jack isn’t even here! I lied! I got the purple crystal on the road here... You’re both a coward and an idiot, take away your stupid Celestial and you have nothing!” Carol chuckled.

Alexander felt his blood boil, ‘This lowlife non-unified scum... Just called me a coward?!’

“Coward? Take away the Celestial?” Alexander’s tone sounded annoyed but Carol froze when she saw his twisted grin as he started to laugh maniacally. “Do you think our positions would be any different if you had this power?”

Carol’s smile slowly lowered as she felt the intent in his voice. Alexander tossed his sword forward to Carol’s feet. Vivian stepped back with a confused expression, she squinted at the noble. Carol looked down at the vivid green blade as it lay flat against the dried dirt.

“Take it,” Alexander offered.

Carol didn’t know what to say or do but she was visibly confused. She looked at Alexander and then back to the greatsword.

“Go on, pick up the sword and strike me,” Alexander gestured for her to engage.

Carol’s mouth hung open in confusion as she tried to register what the noble just asked.

“You better pick it up quickly, the person you just called a coward is going to beat you to death,” Alexander declared as he cracked his knuckles.

Carol’s eyes widened, she looked left and right and then reached down for the blade, her hands shaking all the while. She dared not take her eyes off him. Carol gripped the handle of the blade and attempted to lift it, but even with two hands it was far heavier than any pickaxe she ever mined with. She just barely lifted the handle, but couldn’t get the blade off the ground. No matter how hard she tried, grunting, struggling, she just couldn’t lift it. She released the handle from her shaking hands and stumbled back. Alexander rolled up his sleeves.

“It’s a little difficult, isn’t it... This is why you non-unified...” Alexander walked forward. “Should be grateful!” Alexander roared as he slammed his fist into Carol’s face.

Carol fell backward into the crowd of people, they moved out of the way as she fell on her back. The girl writhed on the ground as she held her face, rolling over onto her front and grunting under quick breaths. ‘I have to hold back or this won’t be any fun,’ Alexander walked forward, and the crowd stepped further away from the two.

Carol struggled to her feet, she couldn’t raise her head as she held her nose. Red blood dripped through her fingers as Alexander clasped both his fists together. He raised his arms, and swung down into the back of Carol’s head. She croaked weakly as she fell into the dirt. However, Alexander grabbed her leg and swung her into the wall of her house, her body slammed against a wooden pillar like a doll. Before she hit the ground, Alexander closed the distance, and planted his fist in her stomach. She coughed up even more blood.

Blood splattered onto Alexander’s hand. He grinned as he continually bashed Carol’s face, leaving her more and more unrecognizable each time he did. Carol tried to defend herself but it was pointless. The townspeople watched in horror and listened in terror at the sound of Alexander’s fists. Franklin covered his eyes as Carol struggled, she made inaudible noises as she was continuously pummeled by the noble.

“Say it! Call me a coward one more time!” Alexander laughed maniacally as each punch splashed blood across the dry dirt.

The girl’s face was bruised and battered, several of her teeth had been knocked out, and she couldn’t even keep one of her eyes open. Franklin threw up. Others in the crowd held in their reflex to gag at the sight of the beaten girl who was once barely different from them. Alexander grasped Carol’s bloodied head with his hand and showed the crowd her distorted face with blood dripping off it.

“Let me make it clear, this is why you worship the Celestial!” he thrust her lifeless body forward.

Alexander felt her blood trickle down his arm as he held her up by the neck.

“Go on, beg you maggot,” Alexander commanded as he grinned. “Beg for mercy!” he asked again.

Alexander tightened his grip on Carol’s throat. None of the slaves said a word, they just shielded their eyes from the horrific assault that took place. Most were afraid of being next.

“Sir we can’t afford to lose more of the non-”

“Shut your mouth lieutenant!” Alexander scolded, frightening Vivian at the same time.

Carol’s legs stopped flailing.

“Beg, and I’ll let you go, then you can start to appreciate the life I allow you to have!” Alexander requested once more.

Carol’s legs stopped and both her eyes went wide, Carol tried to speak but she couldn’t get the words out, Alexander loosened his grip.

“Now, beg for your pathetic life,” Carol coughed up more blood.

She looked at Alexander with a cold stare, void of fear.

“I can’t... Wait... For the... For your great Celestial to kill you too one day...” Carol struggled to speak, gurgling on blood.

She grinned a weak smile with missing teeth when she saw how these words warped Alexander’s expression. His entire mood flipped. ‘Why did she say that... That was... That was from the dream!’ Alexander’s thoughts suddenly bounced around chaotically.

“Why... Why did you say that!” he roared and threw the girl down into the dirt.

Carol fell on her back, she grinned the whole time. Alexander summoned his blade once more, it ignited in a green flame as he lifted it high above his head.

“Answer me!” before he brought the blade down upon her.

The blade pierced through her stomach, and the green flames burned at her skin. Carol didn’t scream, her weak smile remained, she had already died before she was stabbed. Alexander’s head shot up immediately. ‘This is when... This is just like my dream... The boy... The boy... He... Jack will appear. Where is he... Where is Jack!’

Alexander looked back to the Celestial, it still stood tall. He turned back to the corpse on the ground, ‘Why did she say that... Of all the things...’ Alexander turned to Vivian and the slaves to see if they had changed but they hadn’t.

“Vivian he’s coming!” Alexander babbled.

“Sir? Whose coming? What are you…” Vivian was alarmed when she saw Alexander turn to her.

She’d never seen the noble like this, his eyes wide with horror, sweat dripping down his skin and his teeth rattling uncontrollably. ‘The boy from my dream... Jack! He’s coming... Jack is...’ Alexander looked back and forth frantically, as he thought back to Carol’s words. ‘The house!’ Alexander sprinted forward and tackled the door down, only to pause as a brightening green light struck his eyes. Before he could do anything, they exploded, ripping the floor to pieces and striking Alexander point blank. He was smothered in an intense inferno of green flame that burned his skin with intense heat. ‘Jack!’