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Varnalia
5. Maelstrom

5. Maelstrom

Hunuki looked around frantically. Seeing nothing but darkness. He tried to move, but couldn't. Heavy chains bound him in place, seeming to disappear into the void. He tried to scream, but nothing came out. Visions of his dream from this morning came rushing back to him. He looked around once again. His eyes falling on her. The woman that haunted him for months now, suddenly standing before him. The chains binding him creaked, rattling as they pulled him downwards, forcing him to his knees in front of her.

Lunadea smiled, watching him uselessly flail and struggle, chuckling in amusement. "You're like a insect caught in a web. But.. don't worry. I have no intention of killing you." She grabbed his chin, lifting it upwards. Her scarlet nails digging into his flesh. "You see.. you are my key. A piece of a puzzle I've been trying to solve for years now." She looked him over. "So you are safe here. The world you are trying to protect so much and rule over with your skewed sense of justice and kindness." She raised her other hand up, grinning. "Is not." She snapped her fingers. It piercing through the darkness around them like a knife.

"Please priestess you need to stop this. What has happened to you?" Illiya still stood in the market, trying to quell the angry mob and take control of the situation. Things had gone back to chaos, even as the guards tried to calm everyone down they were being slowly overwhelmed. More rocks being thrown as The people around them grew more violent. The holy woman laughed, suddenly shooting her hands skyward. "It is time!" She screamed, her body twitched, convulsing. The woman's body began to spark with lightning. Illiya's eyes widened. "BARGUARA!" She yelled, before the priestess exploded.

Flame and electricity shock-waved outwards into the square. The angry mob was vaporized instantly, buildings and even the ground itself melting and turning to dust and glass from the massive explosion. The blast grew, completely decimating the entire market district in seconds. A massive ball of fire lifted into the sky. It happened almost instantly, and was gone only a moment later. As the dust and silence fell on the devastation Illiya remained, hands shaking, barely able to get the warding spell up before it happened. She stared in horror around her as the entire district was nothing but ash and glass. Burnt corpses falling to glowing red pieces. Shadows burnt into the ground itself. Illiya stood, holding her stomach as the emotions washed over her. Disgust, fear, anger. She didn't know what to do until she was ripped back to reality by another flash of light. She turned quickly, looking towards the Housing district, watching as another explosion ripped through it, forming a rising cloud of flame and lightning. "No..." She fell to a knee, about to give into despair when a singular thought of clarity hit her. "Hunuki?!!" She yelled, forcing herself up quickly.

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Lunadea danced in the darkness in front of him. Slow, but graceful movements. She smiled, looking to him. She extended her hand out to him. "That's right.. you can't hear it in here can you." She stretched, grinning. "It's almost time for you to return. But first I'm taking my gods gift back from you." She moved her hand down, tracing it over her stomach before shoving her hand inside with a violent movement, blood spilling down it and into the nothingness under them. Completely unfazed, she seemed to grab something before slowly retracting her hand, pulling out a blood soaked thorned vine. It stretched out and onward as she pulled, seemingly no end to it in sight. Hunuki growled, struggling in vain as he watched her. The chains digging into his skin, causing it to bleed. She stopped finally, breaking the vine off. Her stomach instantly healing as though no wound had been there. She grabbed him by his hair, yanking his head to tilt it upwards. "I bind you with the Rose Thorns of God. You are exiled from your grace and shall never speak their tongue again. You will never be able to see their light and darkness ever again." She placed the vine on his brow. It turning bright red and started grafting itself to his skin, burning and branding into him. Hunuki screamed silently in agony, trying to get away, but couldn't move, forced to writhe as the vine burned into him. It coiling around his face, and passing through his clothes, binding to his torso, arms, and legs. After minutes of agony it finally stopped. He went limp, passing out from the pain, suspended on his feet by the chains that bound him. She leaned in close. Her lips brushing his ear as she spoke. "Enjoy your home, whatever is left of it."

The darkness faded away and Hunuki's body fell onto the ash covered streets of Belfeia as more explosions erupted in the city around him. "Hunuki!!" Illiya ran over to him, tears streaming down her face as she got to him, pulling him up to her. She was confused, and terrified, looking him over, noticing the strange burning gold vine like tattoo etched into his skin now. She flinched as another explosion went off far off from them. She looked towards it, before forcing herself to her feet, picking him up in her arms. Covered in ash, she started towards the Castle as quickly as she could with him.