The single statement gave Oscar pause as he glanced past the shimmering barrier and honed in on the woman who had spoken. Her blue hair shimmered like an ocean under the sun and was tied into six tails held by golden rings. Half of her beautiful face was warped, twitching in disgust with bitten lips, and the other kept a serene smile. She somehow noticed his gaze and peeked at him with her azure eyes, sparkling like sapphires. While he despised their arrogance, he couldn't dismiss the inherent beauty all Caerulumen possessed and the Grade Nine Exolsia he felt within three of them, including Charisse.
'Agree or not? Disagree, and the rest of my wayward kind will descend.' Charisse declared. She glanced up and urged him. 'Hurry up! I'm secretly delaying for as long as I can. But it will complete.'
'Why are you betraying your people? I can't understand.' Oscar asked but thought better of it. Betrayal was the one sin he could never forgive, even if it benefitted him against the enemy. That was why he despised Serit's methods, which were quite similar to how Saul had misled and betrayed him. However, now was not the time for his personal beliefs. He took a deep breath and refocused on the barrier blocking his way. 'Nevermind. I'll know after this is over. For now, I'll go along with your rebellion.'
Sensing a hostile presence, Oscar spun and looked back, expecting the bloodied corpses of the twins, but instead, was stunned to see them alive and well. The twins stood on clean ground as if the blood he had spilled from their bodies was a mere illusion. A strange azure mark on their chests resembled the outlines of a watch and ticked down, the hands all pointing up. The clocks dissipated apart into motes, and the twins wiped the sweat off their pointed chins, faces pale. Their watchful gazes fixated on him as they retreated a short distance, wandering around his body, presumably looking for a weakness.
'Was that a time spell?' Oscar grew curious. He couldn't speak for all time users since he only knew the Pavilion Master, now the Headmaster of Haven Academy, Remulus Grant, to be the sole wielder of the time element, but nowhere in any tomes of knowledge existed a time spell that rewound death itself. Or else, his own master might have been spared that unfortunate death. His alertness slightly rose as it seemed the Caerulumen possessed unique spells that never existed in Talos. Still, he ignored the twins, unable to consider them a threat, and held out the seven-pointed star necklace.
"Where did you get that?!" The man who had been fighting Lysander bolted straight toward Oscar. He blinked out of sight and reappeared behind Oscar, looking shaken when Oscar turned to face him. None of the man's movements had escaped the grasp of his Prinstyct, enhanced to the eyes of an Ancient, capable of witnessing not just his, but everyone's in an area surrounding him. Most people would not have known how the man moved so quickly, but to Oscar, his means were bare and naked before him. He had to admit the use of gravity in boosting his speed to mimic spatial movements was impressive.
Thanks to his enhanced Prinstyct, he reached out the necklace and tapped it on the barrier, knowing the man behind him would not strike. Lysander charged down and forced the man to defend himself in a hasty, unstable position, a deadly mistake for anyone, yet the man swerved and backed away, suffering only a few scrapes on his arms. Truly, the Caerulumen possessed frightening might and ingenuity in battle; Oscar couldn't deny that. That raised the importance of stopping their plans to bring more. Any more might spell the end for Talos despite his powers since he remained only one man.
'Alright! Nicely done!' Charisse smirked and snapped her eyes wide open, pointing her necklace directly at his. Ein beamed from the center and linked to his necklace that now spun in place. He didn't know much about formations, but even an ignorant man could tell the symmetry of the formation had been broken due to this new link. Like a discord worming its way in a symphony of sounds, the entire delicate network of Ein distorted and snapped apart, one by one. Without hesitation, Charisse slammed her palm at the other woman beside her, easily blocked yet forcing a pained groan from the woman. Charisse used the free moment to leap up, flipping in the air and landing by his side.
"Thank you for the cooperation!" Charisse beamed a wide smile and glanced at the sky. Oscar followed her gaze and noticed the gap in the sky closing as if repairing itself and stitching it back together. A low roar quaked the sky and dimmed the brightness of the stars, sounding resentful and enraged. Once the gap fully closed, the roaring ceased, clearly having originated from the outside. Charisse sniffled and wiped a tear off the corner of her eyes.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Why do you weep?" Oscar asked.
"Aunt Evelyn said if someone does come forward with her necklace and stops the family's plan, then she would certainly be punished," Charisse said somberly. "I can't imagine what they'll do to her for betraying them twice."
"Curb your tears. That can wait until after we leave. I still expect to hear what you have to say." Oscar stepped forward. The other Caerulumen rose and gathered, all nine, excluding Charisse, who just betrayed them. Some leaned forward, carrying hateful glares and itching for a fight, but one stayed calm, a Caerulumen garbed in a fine blue uniform and spectacles of crystal glass. He weighed the options and wondered how far his new powers fared against four Grade Nines with Ancestral Marks. Perhaps with Avril's Integration and Resonance acting as support and Lysander fighting off one, he could win.
His wife somehow knew his thoughts and already reached him, hiding behind him. The way she always seemed to come at the right moments, whether to comfort him or support him, made him smile. Here was the epicenter, the deadliest place, where Grade Nines gathered, yet she didn't hesitate to be here. Her Integration formed, forming a fine dress of long parchments of written word that reached her ankles and long, wide sleeves past her hands. The Resonance linked them, their hearts beating as one and mind and memory melding together. He learned of the Caerulumen's names and what transpired before his arrival.
"Did Talos risk everything to produce this warrior?" The man, Alverus, grinned the toothy smile of a berserker, clearly inclined to war and bloodshed. "Incredible. I didn't expect a person of this caliber. Out of all the lowborns here, I recognize you as an equal; be glad to have earned my respect."
What arrogance. Oscar knew there was no point in talking with such a person and waited for their next move, grinding his feet on the floor, expecting an all-out assault from the Caerulumen. But their leader, Artera, held out his hand, halting Alverus from attacking, garnering a few confused looks, but spoke in a clear, concise voice, "I thought it was a mistake due to the other variables, but did you meet the Ancient of Metal below? His presence is gone." Oscar didn't answer, and Artera resumed as if giving a lecture in a class, "I can only assume you had somehow fused with the Ancient. That, combined with the powers of Reis…not even the enemy, Volten, was capable of it."
"I am not of Volten's blood. I just happened to be the right man at the right time to take his place." Oscar said.
"Are you willing to risk everything in another war? Caerulumen and Ancients. If we start another war, then surely, Talos will fall regardless of the victor, who will enjoy a pyrrhic victory before watching the world break apart. How about a deal?" Artera glanced at the battle-hungry Alverus, forcing the other to stay put. Evidently, there was a clear hierarchy.
"A deal?" Oscar asked.
"Choose any number of people you wish. Once our duties are finished here, we can bring you all with us to a grander place beyond your imagination. I can swear an oath if that will placate any worries of us reneging on the deal. Caerulumen blood is too precious to be split in this lower world, and you must not want any harm to come to those close to you. War can be an unfortunate nexus of tragedies." For a brief moment, his eyes wandered to Avril behind him, not as a threat that could be perceived. Oscar knew Artera was reminding him to consider what was truly important.
"You have a way with words. But if your home is that much grander, then why come here? You came down here to commit a massacre and wish to avoid war?" Oscar scoffed. "What other response would be proper to such an act?"
"Then we are at an impasse. I wished to settle it in a civil manner, but much like Volten, you are unruly. Are you certain of starting another war? The last one destroyed half of Talos." Artera opened his pocketwatch and shut it with an audible click.
"Wrong," Oscar stated. "There is no new war. It had always been ongoing. I said it earlier. I have come to end it, once and for all." He pulled out Volten's sword, Artera's eyes widening in response, and raised it high, light radiating off its edges as a mix of black and rainbow coated the blade. The blade hummed with a hint of displeasure but relented to Oscar's will and allowed a single swing. Oscar swung once, and the Caerulumen were engulfed in an ocean of rainbow flames under a downpour of black needles glinting sharply. The sheer force of his blade bashed against the barrier that prevented anyone from flying over the edge. The Ein stretched out several miles before the attack was finally contained.
"Oh…you survived…." Oscar said, hearing a part of his antlers cracking. Forcibly using Volten's sword when it required the gift of all the Ancients and Volten's bloodline used up quite a lot of his Ein. But the result was magnificent. Artera had one knee on the floor, holding up his scarlet hands, the skin torn off, with a winding barrier between them. Several other Caerulumen had combined their barriers into his and barely survived with wounds covering their bodies. Still, two others, Grade Eights, lay limply, lifeless on the floor before the clock marks appeared on their chests and spun the ticking hands, bringing them back. They coughed and gasped the first air of their second life.
"Another." Oscar raised Volten's sword, ignored its cries, and readied for one more blow to end it.