Iris locked eyes with Ryoka, staring into the blue and purple glow coming from her pupils that contrasted with the human brown of her irises. A part of her refused to believe the inevitable conclusion yet she could not deny it for much longer. She stammered as she tried to find the right warning to give, the right explanation to give. The only conclusion staring at her in her face was she was now in a secluded room alone with an Eikon and the only person she knew that was capable of fighting them was beyond her reach.
“Get away from her,” Iris whispered softly, barely able to get the words out of her.
Setsuna rubbed her nose as she slowly turned back towards Iris. “What–”
“Get away from her now!” Iris shouted, cutting Setsuna off as she pulled her and Moria away, Setsuna fighting back all the while.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” Setsuna called out while pulling back against Iris.
Iris held Setsuna and Moria firmly by their forearms as her gaze narrowed on Ryoka; the girl watching Iris with a blank expression as the purple glow of her eyes shimmered. “She’s not herself anymore; she’s gone,” Iris whispered to the girls, hoping Ryoka was still too dazed to hear her. “We need to get out of here.”
“What are you saying?” Setsuna asked softly, keeping her eyes on Ryoka.
Iris groaned as she backed up a few steps, pulling the girls with her. She wondered what the best way was to show them that Ryoka was not herself. She groaned as she cursed Arylos under her breath for not showing her how to fight them. A thought came to her at the last moment as she remembered when Nerseis turned into Tyranny. “Designation,” Iris commanded in a loud voice.
Ryoka’s head turned sideways as the purple glow of her eyes strengthened for a moment. Iris internally prayed that Ryoka wouldn’t answer, that there was still enough of her left. “Barricade,” Ryoka answered in a soft deadpan voice.
Iris let out a defeated sigh as she recognized the Eikon by its name alone. “We need to go now,” she repeated sternly as she watched Ryoka intently.
“Is she…dead?” Setsuna asked softly, wondering what was going on.
“In a way; Ryoka is dead and now Barricade inhabits her body,” Iris said while tugging on the girls’ arms. “She’s now just like that dragon outside.”
“She can’t be dead, she’s not dead,” Moria said as tears welled up in her eyes as she started pulling against Iris’s grip.
“Moria, you’re going to have to listen to me,” Iris said softly while keeping a hold of the grieving girl.
“No!” Moria shouted while pulling free of Iris. Iris jumped forward as she tried to catch her before the Eikon could grab her. Yet before Iris could reach her, she felt a cut along her abdomen that stopped her short as she watched Moria hug Ryoka. Iris held the cut on her stomach, not willing to take her eyes off of Ryoka and felt a sickening horror come to her when she could see a spot of blood pool from the back of Moria’s shirt.
“Fuck,” Iris cursed as she picked herself back up and backed away as Moria fell to the ground, leaving Ryoka covered in blood. Iris grabbed Setsuna as she saw her sister lifeless on the ashen floor. Setsuna could not help herself as she grabbed her hair and screamed like a banshee.
Iris pulled at Setsuna as she tried to make it for the door and watched as Moria’s body convulsed repeatedly as the sound of blood gurgling filled the room. Iris and Setsuna watched in horror as Moria slowly rose to her feet and looked at them with a face devoid of any emotion or pain; like who she used to be was now consumed by the Eikon within.
And Iris locked eyes with Moria’s now purple eyes.
“Come on,” Iris groaned as she pulled Setsuna from the house as the girl continued to cry. Out in the street, Setsuna fell to her knees as she covered her face. Iris growled as she watched the purple eyes of the Eikons approach from the shadows. Without a second thought, she drew fire and lightning from within her and lashed out in a blast that incinerated the house with a violent blast. Iris watched the blue flames burn the house as she held her bleeding abdomen, wondering if now was a good time to display her divinity to Setsuna.
Yet Iris did not have time to consider it; within the flames two pairs of purple eyes glared at her with murderous intent.
“Fuck, that couldn’t kill them?” Iris cursed as her heart skipped a few beats. She lifted Setsuna back to her feet and looked her in the eyes, away from the Eikons that used to be her sisters. “Listen to me, we need to go,” Iris ordered while trying to keep a firm grip on Setsuna to keep her from running into the flames. “We need to run, and we need to keep running until our legs give out. Okay? We can’t stop for any reason.”
Setsuna rubbed her nose as her crying fit took control of her. “But my–”
“Don’t think about them; they’re gone, we need to run, okay?” Iris cut in, watching the glowing eyes come closer.
Setsuna wiped her eyes and slowly nodded. Iris then grabbed her forearm and pulled her along as she sprinted eastward, practically dragging Setsuna behind her. As they got a distance away, Iris made the mistake of turning around to look behind her and saw two creatures of burnt flesh and metal tumble out from the house and run towards them on all fours. The sight gave Iris a second wind as she ran as fast as she could, knowing just what awaited behind them.
As Iris ran, she tried to figure out just what the next step would be. Just how far could they run before they couldn’t run anymore. What if she was leading the two Eikons right to the refugees? Yet she couldn’t stay behind and let Setsuna run to safety on her own; there was no guarantee that she could make it.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Iris could see two armored soldiers leading another group of refugees the same way Iris was heading. Iris waved her arm frantically to get their attention as she ran, finally drawing the attention of one of them that motioned towards him just as Iris and Setsuna fell to the ground, heaving for breath as their legs refused to run any further. Iris laughed under her breath as the soldier lifted Iris up and called for help from one of the others. She turned around and saw that the two Eikons chasing them were gone and let out a sigh of relief.
“I need a sword,” Iris instructed the soldier as he examined the wound on her abdomen.
“No, quite frankly you need a doctor,” the soldier quipped as another soldier came forward and examined Setsuna.
“There were two of them chasing us; we have to fight them,” Iris insisted as she brushed off the soldier’s concern for the cut on her stomach.
“People with purple eyes that wanted to kill us?” the other soldier asked with shock on his face as he realized he didn’t imagine it.
“Exactly; they won’t stop until we’re dead,” Iris said as she tied her hair back in a makeshift knot.
“They’ve taken enough of us already; I’ll take my chances in the mountain,” the soldier answered as he led Setsuna away.
“What? You won’t fight to defend our home?” Iris asked with frustration.
“We already tried fighting, and we had to kill the ones we trusted to fight,” the first soldier said with sorrow in his voice. “We won’t risk anyone else being lost; not with a giant dragon over our heads.”
Iris groaned as she looked away and saw Setsuna struggle against the soldier, trying to break free. She slowly approached the struggling girl before Setsuna struck the soldier in his gut and took off. Iris cursed as she ripped the soldier’s sword from his scabbard. She chased Setsuna as she ran towards a figure in the dust with a sword in its hand. Setsuna slowed down and approached the figure, a dark-haired woman with blood and a dark purple liquid covering her clothes and dripping from her sword.
“Mother,” Setsuna whispered as she approached the woman with Iris hanging behind with her sword ready just in case.
“My dear,” the woman responded while reaching out her hand and beginning to cry. The two embraced as tears flooded from the both of them. “Where are your sisters?” she asked softly while rubbing Setsuna’s scalp.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“They didn’t make it,” Setsuna answered softly as she rubbed her face against her mother’s chest.
“I see,” the woman said softly while kissing Setsuna’s scalp. “Your father fell behind as well. I took his sword and did what I could, but it was too late.”
Iris’s eyes narrowed as she watched the woman intently, seeing more emotion than an Eikon had ever displayed was concerning but she was far from in the clear. “Designation,” Iris asked in a stern voice.
The woman looked at Iris with confusion and concern in her eyes. “I’m not one of those things,” the woman replied with a slow shake of her head.
Iris slowly nodded yet refused to lower the sword. “I have to be sure,” she said just as the two soldiers came close. Before they could take control, a loud and haunting screech filled the air and Iris’s ears ached under the sound. The roar was all too familiar as she felt panic consume her, looking up to the sky to find the Eikon. Iris watched the woman hold Setsuna tighter, shielding her from the otherworldly scream of the dragon.
And Iris saw a purple glow in the woman’s eyes. “Barricade, Zephyr; now!” she shouted.
Iris gritted her teeth and ran forward but before she could do anything, she watched Ryoka and Moria’s burnt and torn bodies jump out from the shadows and repeatedly stab Setsuna with long blades stretching from the tips of their fingers. Iris howled as blue flames and white lightning overtook her body as she charged forward, screaming not unlike the dragon in the sky. As she screamed, the blade she held in her hand was consumed by the same flames as she cleanly sliced Moria’s mechanical head off of her shoulders and ran it deep into Ryoka’s chest, pinning her to the ground as the machinery in her corpse died.
Iris then watched the woman run her sword through Setsuna’s chest. Iris continued to scream as she grabbed the Eikon’s arm and snapped it at the elbow as chunks of metal and wiring stuck out from the broken joint. She then grabbed the Eikon’s head and snapped her neck in a violent motion that released a shock wave as the Eikon growled softly before hitting the ground and falling silent.
All within a blink of an eye, the attack was over and Iris saw Setsuna on the ground, clutching the sword in her chest as blood poured from her mouth. Iris choked back tears as she came to Setsuna’s side just as the soldiers kicked the Eikon’s bodies away. Iris watched as Setsuna’s choked breathing slowly stopped and she was left staring at the burning sky above her as her eyes glazed over. Iris felt a pain in her chest as she bit down on her teeth, stifling her pained screams. She then quieted herself as a startling conclusion came to her.
“They kill us by using our love against us; our compassion is our weakness,” Iris muttered softly, trying to control her tears. She realized exactly why Arylos was cold-hearted for a long time and why he questioned his love for her.
It was his weakness they could use against him.
Iris turned around to Setsuna’s mother and could see more clearly that the Eikon within her was not new; the purple fluid on her clothes was new and cuts hidden under her clothes showed mechanical parts mixed with flesh.
“What the hell happened to her?” one of the soldiers asked.
“She died, and the roars of that dragon bring them to life as those things,” Iris explained while stifling her crying. “Slowly, the human we are becomes replaced by that machinery.”
“Wait, we become these things?” the other soldier asked in disbelief as he pointed towards the corpses of the two girls, their human side barely recognizable anymore. “She was right here; she wasn’t dead and she still became one of those. There’s no way she could have changed that quickly.”
“Unless she was already dead,” Iris muttered as she looked at the Eikons. “These creatures share each other’s thoughts and they actively use our emotions against us. Maybe she was hiding what she was just for the chance to get close enough?”
“That’s a hell of a deceptive plan,” one of the soldiers said as the realization hit him. “That means that if we’re not careful, one of those things could already be amongst the refugees.”
Iris and the two soldiers stared at each other as the realization set in for them; they could not evacuate anyone else for risk that they were more Eikons. Before Iris could get up, she could hear the dragon in the distance roar once more. She looked down and watched in horror as Setsuna’s body began to convulse as her eyes began to take on a purple color and her veins carried purple lights under her veins. Iris screamed and reached for the sword she left in Ryoka’s body, pulling it out and quickly beheading Setsuna without a second thought. She watched as her body jerked a few more times before going cold and silent.
Iris let out a defeated sigh before one of the soldiers tapped her on the shoulder repeatedly to get her attention. She looked up and down the dust-filled street, she could see shadows of people amongst the dust. A part of her had her hopes raised before the truth punched her in the face.
She stared down an army of people with glowing purple eyes that shone out from the dust.
“We need to get these people out of here and to the caverns,” one of the soldiers said while lifting his sword.
Iris jumped up to her feet and stood next to the two soldiers with her stolen sword in hand. “I think we can handle this, since I have your sword, you lead these people to the caverns. We’ll watch your ass.”
The swordless soldier looked between Iris and his partner and scoffed. “Alright, if this is how you two want to go out, fine with me. At least tell me your name, girl.”
“Vahsmorn’r Iris,” Iris replied, deciding to take Arylos’s name finally.
“Vah–...Vahs–...I’ll remember you, young Iris,” the soldier said as he struggled with the strange name, resting an arm on her shoulder before taking off.
“Vahsmorn’r, you wouldn’t happen to be Lord Arylos’s girl, would you?” the other soldier asked in disbelief.
Iris chuckled nervously as her hair took on its silver color and her eyes went blue. “Have a problem with dying alongside the Titan’s girlfriend?”
“No, if anything that means we get to take a few of these fuckers with us,” the soldier replied with a prideful laugh. “The name’s Naomasa by the way.”
Iris gave Naomasa a firm nod before turning back to the horde before her, staring down the otherworldly creatures and basking in their purple light. If this was how she was to die, she wished to die by Arylos’s side.
Yet fate would not give her the chance.
----------------------------------------
“You mean to tell me that you lived a life that should have been mine?” Korseis asked the darkness as frustration took over his voice.
“I’m sorry; I know that I was selfish,” Arylos’s voice answered from the flames in the darkness.
“And now you expect me to give control right back to you while I stay here? Do you hear yourself right now?” Korseis said while the frustration turned to anger.
“I have to protect her, our home,” Arylos pleaded, sorrow heavy in his disembodied voice.
“Your home; that life isn’t mine,” Korseis cut in while gritting his teeth. “You took that life from me; any life I could have had.”
“You gave your body to me, surrendering your life,” Arylos reminded, hoping for a chance.
“I gave you my body to protect our people from the Reig; I said nothing about this!” Korseis said as he ran his hands through his hair.
The flames that surrounded Korseis shuddered before they began to fade. “I didn’t want this. Your brother cursed us to be like this. I only want to protect my home, your people from a fate that should have never been theirs.”
“Don’t tell me that you decide now to become a hero,” Korseis said with a dark laugh.
“No, I became human,” Arylos answered softly, his voice barely more than a growling whisper.
Korseis thought about Arylos’s words, wondering what he was meaning. “Human?” he asked.
“I have never let myself love before, never let myself call a place home, call a people my own,” Arylos said softly in a voice that carried the tears he would shed if he could. “I thought it was above me, beyond my reach. Yet my time here taught me a valuable lesson; it taught me to live. It taught me why you wanted me to defend your people and now I feel that same drive. I’m grateful for the lessons you have taught me; I could only ask for more time, although that will never happen.”
Korseis pondered Arylos’s response, trying to find the white lies hidden within and wondered just what he could teach the ancient Titan. “You sound like you’re begging,” Korseis said with a sad voice.
“Because I am,” Arylos replied softly. “I am fully at your will; I cannot protect the one I love without your help but it is not my place since I robbed you of that life. So all I can do is beg you and accept my punishment if you decide I am not worthy of that chance.”
Korseis’s tone slowly shifted as he realized exactly what was going on; this was exactly like when he came to Arylos asking for the strength to protect Kaiyumi. The roles were reversed and now this powerful Titan needed him, more than he could realize. Korseis closed his eyes, wondering just how to proceed. He still felt anger, sure, but this is no better than what he did. He let out a sigh as he came to his conclusion all the while the flames of the formless Titan around him faded away. And then his eyes shot open, casting a bright red light around him as the endless sea of fire consumed him.
It did not take long for Arylos to realize that he was back in control as flames consumed his body. He looked up and saw the sky turn red as ash fell like snow; the sky itself on fire under the wrath of the Eikon.
Arylos groaned as he put his weight on his sword and lifted himself to his feet as the hole in his gut slowly healed over. Arylos kept his eyes on the sky as the Eikon flew through the air, screaming an otherworldly roar all the while. Arylos rolled his shoulders as four black wings grew from his shoulder blades and wings of flames crowned his back.
He watched the Eikon with his burning eyes, preparing to decimate his lifelong foe.