Renard leapt straight back. Blast it, that was close... The weapons tore into the ground where he was standing, sending shrapnel of stone in all directions. One hit like that and it would all be over...
But Renard couldn't die just yet. He had to make Duilin understand. He just had to... He didn't care what happened to himself afterward. The silver fox clasped his hands together as he weaved his very last spell...
Like lightning he zipped overhead, flying around back the empowered human, dodging those deadly weapons. He spun around and outstretched his left hand, which was glowing an ethereal white, and lightly touched Duilin on the shoulder...
Flash of white.
The world faded around them and a new one emerged from the darkness. A world of endless blue sky. They stood upon a floating island with a gleaming silver temple upon the center. Small buildings popped up all around. There were more islands floating in mid-air in the distance, simply hanging among the clouds.
"This is an illusion," Renard said. His ears fell low in shame. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at it..."
Despite what the fox said, the reality of the world was stunning. A cool wind blew around them, and the bright sun above was warm and inviting.
They were surrounded by Velkens. They did not wear their characteristic black, but rather the short silver foxes were draped in all sorts of colors. They dashed around. Giggling children zoomed overhead, tackling each other in mid-air. Merchants levitated their wares through the marketplace. What could only be Blade Knights zoomed out of the palace towers in tight formation. It was a world in which gravity was simply ignored.
Except they were all translucent. Like ghosts.
"We can talk here in the space between our minds without anyone ever listening. Not even the Dark Emperor can hear us." His tail seemed to droop at that thought as he wringed his claws, seemingly not entirely sure of the truth of what he said and looking quite frightened.
He turned and looked up at the sun. "This is what my homeland used to look like. Before I was born... Everyone is taught this spell, so we can all remember what life used to be like... Everything we needed was on these few islands. We grew our own food, and created our own materials. We never killed unless we had to." His ears drooped and he looked at the illusionary floor, twisting the toe of his boot on the swirling tile. "Bad people came for us many times throughout our history. But we killed them every time. We had to..."
He sighed. "Then one day," he threw his arms up into the air for emphasis, "the sun began to grow. It just got bigger and bigger, and the elders didn't know what to do. The sky turned red, and it got very hot. All of the mages of Welkin could not stop it. Soon, no one could venture outside without intense cooling spells, and even those were eventually rendered powerless. We were being cooked alive... Most of us died... Burst into flames in our very own homes..."
Renard shuddered.
"Then he came. He was like a shadow. With a horned helmet and crimson eyes... The flames could not touch him. He promised he would save us if we served him..." The Velken started to break down at this point, fighting back tears. "We had to, Duilin, we had too... We were all going to die...
"Virmir was there. He was very young, but he remembers. He won't tell us how Retan did it though... Retan killed the sun, Duilin. He killed the sun. Welken was thrown into chaos. The sky turned black. Lightning rains from the heavens. The Pull drags anyone who ventures to close to the island edges into the infinite abyss below...
"But we were alive... our souls bound to The Dark Emperor. He saved us when annihilation was certain. But if he even thinks we are disobeying him, or if he dies, the spell will be lifted and Welken will disintegrate into nothing. Everyone back home will die. I have a little sister, Duilin." He clenched his fists tightly, tears streaming from his eyes. "If anything happens to her I will kill myself. I swear it. And my parents... oh, gods...
"So few of us are actually fighters. The rest are all hostages. And we kill others when we are told to so they might survive. And I will kill a thousand more humans to save my family!" He was shaking now, and he suddenly opened his eyes wide at what he just said.
"No no no no no..." He clutched his head. "Humans have families too... They're just trying to survive, like us... Is one life worth more than another? Is my sister's life worth more than some random human I never met? I don't know, I don't know..." He shook his head violently... "I can take this anymore, Duilin. I can't... I can't..."
He shut his eyes tightly as a calm serenity overcame his face. He spread his arms wide and simply stood there. "Just kill me, Duilin. Kill me and get it over with. All of us fighters are going to die. I'd much rather die by an enemy I consider a friend, no matter what you think. You saved me once. Please... save me again..."
----
Virmir shot into the air, flipping completely upside down. The very tip of his sword hit the shock wave, and the energy was cleanly split in two, boring deep holes in the walls with the resulting blasts. The silver fox continued his flip and landed several feet behind his opponent. His face was expressionless, and he simply gazed at the angel with those cold battle-hardened eyes, the black tip of tail waving behind him. Long-tailed predators waved their tails to draw their victim's eyes from whatever attack they were planning. Velkens were no different.
He was bent forward slightly, his sword to his side as if he anticipated another attack. But other than that he seemed to have no interest in preparing a counterstrike of his own.
----
"Impressive."
The Dark Emperor pointed up at the entity, and the speck of light slammed into the tip of his finger. A furious explosion followed, and the ground was ripped asunder yet again, tremendous boulders flinged skywards like pebbles. The gash upon Gain's face was now over a thousand feet deep, and the planet seemed to groan in pain.
Retan calmly released the glowing sword. The blade disappeared and returned to his belt. He lifted both hands to the churning black clouds above, and a tiny spec of blackness appeared above his head...
The scythe hit the dragon's tail mid-way, and a small chunk of bronze flesh flew off. The wound did not bleed, nor did the dragon seem to notice it. Bone was visible through the small missing piece.
The great Beta Vraigus landed upon the rocky ground and spread his wings and claws wide. Orange orbs slammed into his flesh, but the resulting explosions did not seem to bother him. With a wide maw, he lashed out and tried to snatch up one of the elite with a single bite...
----
Vincent flipped the shotgun and it neatly compacted, folding in half with a click. He stored the device in his trench coat as he gave the zombie wyvern a look-over.
"Hmmm... interesting." He he shrugged and hopped on. It wasn't quite as repulsive as he would have imagined. He gave a quick salute to the man on the ground. "Very well. I shall see you again, then."
They wyvern did not wait before pumping its wings and taking off.
----
Ven slowly sat up after coughing a few times. He was a little well squeezed, but he was okay. He'd need to change his armor, though, as he now bore several dents. "Thanks. I owe you guys. Again."
He stood as he watched the remaining dark dragons flee. Hopefully they wouldn't come back.
"I for one, could use a nice long break from adventuring... I'll lead us back to Tjedon."
Rubbing the back of his head and limping a bit, he began to make his way north to the caves.
----
Draven swiped the air. Hard. The force from his palm resulted in a fiery explosion just before him that utterly consumed the projectiles. The blast was V-shaped, the point emanating from his feet. Therefore it completely missed the sergeant who was standing in the middle. On either side was a small trench filled with steaming water that used to be snow. It took about ten seconds for the flaming corpses to hit the ground.
Draven smiled insidiously and directed his left pointer finger at the man's head. A tiny speck of crimson energy materialized at the tip of his glive, glowing brightly.
"Let's you and I have a little chat about etiquette."
