80.

Kasian

Cedric spoke first, each of his words becoming a fine mist in the chilled air. He asked, “Kasian?”

The man in the black mask slowly turned his face to leer at the boy with his dark eyes. “I'm impressed.”

Faunia’s blade was stuck in his throat. And yet, he could speak as clearly as ever. She pulled the blade free and hopped backward, her stance light and agile, ready for combat.

Kasian rubbed his throat with one gloved hand, calm and collected. “I thought you'd gotten my Talek stuck in his Kogar state perpetually—the threat you posed was so grand...”

“So you're the leader of the Twelve.” Faunia dropped her white helmet to the ground with a gentle clatter. Her silver hair fell loose around her shoulders. “I've been meaning to share some thoughts with you.”

He shifted his attention to her. “Faunia Vleren. I've been even more impressed with your progress. At least, up until this point. You truly mastered the native Dyosius, the one which resides in all of our hearts.”

“The one that shapes dreams,” Cedric added.

Kasian nodded. “So you see why I had to fracture it.”

Faunia’s face hardened. “Rykaedi fractured it. Or, Akvum did when we fought her.”

“Well, we’ve all got our devices.”

“Devices?” Cedric's voice shook with rage and fear both. He sucked in a breath and let it come out in a steady steam. “You mean to say that Rykaedi was just a pawn in your game?”

Kasian tilted his head back somewhat as though entertained by the thought. “You could call it that. But then, what is an Etherian Device if not a pawn for someone else’s game?”

Faunia flicked her blade. “Alright. Enough riddles, enough of your gloating.”

His attention turned back to her. “My dear, Faunia Vleren. You simply don’t understand the nature of what’s going on here.”

Cedric’s eyes showed a hint of fear when they landed on her. She choked on her words, and they died in her throat.

Then Cedric himself said it: “Turn around, Faunia. Leave now. I want you to live.”

Her eyebrows quivered.

“That’s an order.”

She hissed in cold air as her tears began to well and stream down her cheeks.

“Faunia…”

Kasian said, “You’re running out of time.”

It felt like an eternity that she stood there. It felt like forever.

And her rapier clattered to the ground from her hand. Cedric could still see her hand tensing and relaxing, an uncertainty welling from within her. So far they'd come, and now...?

“Okay,” she barely squeezed out of her throat. “Okay, Cedric. I’ll go.”

He nodded to her. “Thank you.”

Kasian turned his gaze to the darkening sky.

Her face hardened again. She nodded back.

And Faunia Vleren walked down that center road away from them, walked all the way out of Calamon and abandoned Cedric to what would be his ultimate fate.

Kasian mused, “Are you ready? Did you learn everything you’d intended to?”

“I think so. I can’t think of anything I’ve missed. Oh—Axys Amar. Can you tell me about that?”

“Do you really care?”

He rubbed the back of his neck innocently enough. “It’s not like it’ll keep me from where I’m headed. Doesn't hurt to ask.”

“Very well. Axys Amar was the device we designed to mimic Llestren’vatis’ knowledge. Or, rather, it was made to imitate his ability of Truth. Predictive awareness. The ability to guess with a high percentile of accuracy.”

“I see.”

“We named him Ithlo’vatis.”

Cedric’s breath was ripped out of his chest. “That was Axys Amar? Ithlo was a device?”

“Does that surprise you? His cold collectedness and infinite wisdom should have been evidence enough.”

“But what about Liara? He felt something for her, didn’t he?”

Kasian shook his head. “It was merely something I’d implanted within him for the proper functioning I needed. Or, at least, an experiment to see what Dyosius qualified as a heart.”

“So you implanted a ‘heart.’”

“That’s correct.”

Cedric looked at the ground to collect his thoughts.

Kasian looked up to the sky again. “They’re here. Sorry, Cedric. This bout is concluded.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The sky swirled in two tones, black and white mists which spiraled down from the centered moon. Zanthiel and Azatos were returned. A rain of blood began and the moon began to whiten again—Vekzul was dead, just like that. Rykaedi, Vekzul, Kogar... Suddenly, they all seemed so insignificant.

“I hope so. I really do.” Cedric muttered. Then he leapt up from the ground in the instant before the two-tone mists should have collided with Kasian. In his hand was the icy red crystal—Tirolith. He slammed it right into the center of Kasian's chest.

Like a blade, a shard of ice burst outward and cleaved the man’s ribcage in half. Blood smattered across the cobbles and merged with the sky’s. He stumbled backward, in shock and disgust that he’d suffered such a wound.

Cedric’s other hand grappled his mask. “Let’s see what you look like, just once before I snuff out your light!”

Kasian used all of his strength through both of his hands, pushed back against Cedric’s immense force. “N—No!”

But Serkukan was more than enough—his arm not only gained in strength, but gained in reach. Just enough to pry the top of the mask away from Kasian’s forehead, enough to rip it free from his face.

“NO!”

Kasian’s shout shattered the sky. Purple cracks grew all throughout the blackness, separated the stars. The moon shook and rattled like it would fall.

Then the blood finished draining from it.

A shadow stretched from a black steeple nearby, from a church. The shadow grew over Cedric, began to consume him.

Then came the white figure of an Etherian atop that steeple, the glowing Azatos. He raised his cross.

Cedric lowered his head. Zanthiel's attack was already present; it wouldn't be long for Azatos to follow. Black void, white light... Which way to go?

He pushed the crystal further into Kasian's chest.

"Sorry, Tir," he uttered to break the silence. "He needs to die."

And Cedric pushed her all the way through. Her ice exploded through the other side of his chest, gaped his chest into halves. A red mist took the air, the smell of iron, water smattered across both of their faces.

Zanthiel and Azatos wavered. But then they were upon him. Darkness snuffed out Cedric's vision. A white light glimmered, cut through the blanket of shadow.

Cedric fell away, let Kasian stand some feet ahead of him, waited for his body to become heavy and impact the ground.

If you kill me... at least let Kasian die. At least let me take this one victory.

But as Kasian turned, as his gleaming white grin became the only thing visible beneath his hood... he rolled his hand over the crystal stake in his chest... And it was all immediately converted into a teal marble in his hand. His wound was gone.

Cedric's eyes shot open in rage. His skin flared red, he rushed out of the encroaching darkness.

Azatos swung his cross.

Cedric ducked low beneath it. He exploded flames around his body, rid himself of the consuming shadow.

Kasian pushed his mask back on. He raised both of his hands to Cedric, an array of colors shone from his fingers.

WHAM!

Cedric's clawed fist shattered the mask into shards, knocked Kasian sideways.

Azatos moved at lightspeed with his next attack.

Cedric turned his gaze to him in an instant; the cross weapon was instantly evaporated.

"What!?" gasped the Etherian.

KRNCH!

Azatos' helm exploded into shards when Cedric crashed his shin into it. The shards fell away into big clumps, then a dusting of snow. His face was revealed underneath, a perfect complexion, the same subdued expression as Ithlo'vatis. The same blue hue.

The same cold emptiness as many an Etherian.

Cedric leapt at him with a flying knee, heard the sickening, wet crunch of his nose as it connected. He grabbed tight to the back of Azatos' head as he fell, led his skull to the cobbles below, and another sickening pop resounded from the impact of the Etherian's skullcap against the floor, crushed beneath the knee.

But Etherians aren't so easy to kill, or this would have been done so long ago.

Cedric struggled atop him. He placed both of his hands against Azatos' throat.

Can I create a device out of an Etherian which is still bound?

Then a scoff cleared his throat, more like a dry, pained cough than that. A weary, deliriant smile grew into place. No, that's not right. Kasian and Kogar never bound themselves to these Etherians. He's a pretender. A man using them as tools. So that means...

Just like that, Azatos was formed into a long white lance, spiraling and beautiful. An ornate, luxurious weapon, trimmed with gold.

Cedric spun the lance as he stood, radiant light pouring out of it. He primed the tip of it towards Kasian.

Kasian turned his back to Cedric, morphed into Zanthiel's shade. Just like that, he was gone.

Cedric leapt back, spun the lance. The light grew as it rotated, like a motor.

"You've grown, Valenkir."

Cedric lunged at a dark spot in his vision as he landed, a shadow just ever-so-slightly darker than the rest of the world. The dull shade manifested as floating ink around the weapon, clung it tight in place. Kasian was remade from the ink, close enough to touch. The places where his mask had shattered were black, lifeless, imperceptible.

"You've grown so well, it'll hurt to kill you."

"Then don't." Cedric swung a fist.

Kasian easily tucked his head back, avoided the blow, followed up with his own sideways strike into Cedric's throat. The boy gagged, stumbled when it hit him. Kasian took the lance in once hand and tossed it aside, let it cling and clang noisily across the tiles.

Then the masked man rushed in.

Cedric blocked, with his forearms, two of Kasian's terrifying blows, the strength of the attacks sending deafening shockwaves through the air. The third struck again into his throat, made his balance falter. Then Kasian feinted a right elbow, came in on the opposite side with a bludgeoning left elbow which slit open Cedric's eyebrow, ran blood into his eye. Already, he was half blind.

"I've had my time with martial arts, thanks to Kogar."

"An eternity spent learning, all while you sleep. Aren't you embarrassed by him?"

Kasian continued forward against Cedric's backpedal. He shrugged, "Why would Kogar embarrass me? He is me. Perhaps a younger version of myself, but me nonetheless."

"And what is Talek? Or should I say, who?"

Kasian's guard slightly lowered while he thought. "Talek is the version of me which could have existed. If she'd never been taken away from me..."

Cedric rushed. He swung his right arm with incredible determination, yet his lack of practice was all-too obvious.

"You know the interesting thing about sleep, Castelbre?"

Kasian ducked beneath the blow without falter, struck Cedric in the ribs with so much force that the boy's air was all ejected at once.

"...You never know when it'll take you."

And there was Zanthiel; the black shadow had already engulfed everything around them.

"Just like death—we can only await the inevitable."

And when Cedric spun back to Kasian—he was already alone in that familiar darkness.