As midnight fell over Sentoraya, Battalion walked through the streets, keeping to the shadows as he thought about the next course of action. He shuddered as he felt the lure of fear on the corners of his mind. He shook it off before, believing it to be a flaw of his mortal host, yet now it seems to be a reaction of his own. Had he not escaped when he did, the Titan would have found him. The mere thought of being unable to fulfil his end of the Great Work sent chills across Battalion’s body. His masters never took failure lightly, and such failure would be dismissable by death.
Suddenly, Battalion’s mind emptied as his eyes shone a bright orange. Words came to him in a blinding flood of energy and power that deafened his mind as the Eikon within stood to attention. As glowing symbols filled his mind, Battalion could finally make out words he could understand.
Battalion, the haunting voice called out like thunder in Battalion’s head.
Battalion ducked into a corner and knelt down. “My lord,” he said aloud as he beheld the mighty voice.
I have finished analysing the data Tyranny supplied us; it may prove invaluable to us after all, the voice said as it pulsed in Battalion’s mind.
“I see,” Battalion said in an eased voice. “It is good to know his sacrifice was not in vain.
However when I peered through Tyranny’s eyes just before his death, I could feel the Titan’s anger; he will come for us and lay waste to our kind, the voice said as it rang through Battalion’s mind. You will remain there and monitor the situation; our work is not complete and the Titan will come for you.
“Yes, my Lord,” Battalion said as the blinding light faded from his view and his eyes ceased their otherworldly glow. After a moment, Battalion felt the fear come back to him like a crashing ocean against a cliff as he slammed his fist into the ground, cracking the stone underneath.
“No, it can’t be,” Battalion growled under his breath. “How could Lord Tyranny have fallen? He was insane, but he was perfect. Dammit!”
Battalion panicked as he pulled at his grey hair, afraid of what future awaited him. ‘The Titan will come for me’? Battalion asked himself. What did he mean by that? Does he know? Does he know I was the one who woke up Reyz?
Battalion’s fear grew as he pondered defying his orders, fleeing the city before Arylos could find him. He looked around him as he planned his escape. He needed to get off the streets before the Titan could find him. He made up his mind and followed the side streets as he made his way along his path, heading for a safe house he had prepared in the city walls. He snaked his way through the quiet streets, avoiding every street lamp he could in an attempt to remain in the shadows.
After nearly half an hour of navigating the maze that was Sentoraya, Battalion found himself in a familiar alley. His heart eased as he realised he was not far from safety. He quickened his pace down the street but before he could make it to the safehouse door, a shadow stepped out into the street, remaining just beyond vision as it blocked Battalion’s path.
Battalion readied machinery in his arm, preparing to fight his way to safety if he must; even if it means killing one of the Sentorayan guards. As the machinery in his arm clicked under his skin, he watched the shadow closely, waiting for it to make the first move.
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Until the shadow stared at him with burning red eyes.
Battalion shouted as he lifted his arm and an arm cannon began to unfold from it, but before it could open completely, the alley was consumed in a wave of dark flames that knocked the Eikon to the ground as he moved out of the way of the searing flames. The Eikon peered back into the street and saw the familiar shape of the Titan standing amongst the flames as his sword burned with spiralling flames that growled loudly.
Battalion shouted as he lifted his arm and fired energy blasts at the Titan, yet the monster shrugged off the blasts and swung his sword in the air, sending another avalanche of searing flames barrelling towards Battalion. The blast knocked the Eikon back out into the streets as flames burned at his robes.
Battalion stammered as he looked back down the burning alley and saw the monster approaching him with his shadow of flames. The Eikon gave up and began scrambling to his feet as he tried to run. As he jumped up, another blast of flames struck him along his back, sending him into the stone of the city walls as the liquid flames melted his flesh and burnt metal.
“What are you?” Battalion asked softly as he raised his hands in surrender.
Yet the Titan did not stop his approach, lifting his sword as the flames churned around it and roared louder than a dragon. Battalion screamed and ducked just as the Titan rammed his sword into the wall, melting the stone from the intense heat. Battalion lined up his arm cannon and fired a blast right in the Titan’s face. Yet the Titan only growled and backhanded Battalion, sending him into the dirt once more.
Battalion scrambled back up to his feet and ran down the street, seeking any kind of salvation from his waking hell. He looked for any of the city guards, he sent messages out for anyone of the Eikonic fleet to help him, he desperately searched for alcoves to hide in.
All the while, living flame and death itself chased him with an unholy hunger.
Battalion took a turn and stopped in an intersection just at the gate of the city walls, once again measuring abandoning his orders. Before Battalion could make up his mind, a blade of pure fire screamed through the air and cleaved off his mechanical arm, dropping his arm cannon to the ground as it spat sparks. Battalion screamed and held the bleeding stump of his arms as sparks flew from the burning wound. He turned left and ran out into the night and away from the city, panting and trying to find anywhere to hide.
He looked around for anywhere to go, for any cover he could get, for any safety he could find for himself. The empty planes around the city offered little; even the distant trees themselves offered no succour, too far away for him to reach on foot. Battalion stopped running and looked around for anything else; boulders, carts, even midnight merchants that he could use as cover.
In the air, Battalion could hear a strange sound, as if something was spinning in the air and coming closer. He instinctively turned around and before he could react, a burning sword landed itself into Battalion’s abdomen, nearly skewering the Eikon on the blade. Battalion felt the machinery in his torso begin to fail as his legs lost his strength. As Battalion fell to his knees, he saw the Titan approach; silently and effortlessly like an angel of death coming to collect a soul at his leisure. Battalion gasped for air as he beheld the furious Titan with flames in his eyes that burned like the sun in the night. As the Titan came closer, he lifted Battalion’s severed cannon arm and pulled on the wires as the weapon charged with power.
Battalion shed a tear as the angel of death took his last step before the Eikon. “You cannot stop the inevita–”
BOOM
Arylos pointed the cannon at Battalion’s head and fired the weapon, exploding the Eikon’s head like it was a melon as blood and metal shrapnel exploded. The Eikon’s body went limp like a brick in a lake as the machinery in his body winded down to silence. Arylos growled as he dropped the Eikon’s gun and pulled his sword out of Battalion’s gut with disgust. With his sword in hand, he turned away, leaving what remained of the creature to the birds.
In his actions, Arylos answered Battalion’s question; the Titan is death.
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