Arty was back in the capital.

Flames engulfed the area around him, burning away at his surroundings as he ran through the narrow streets. Behind him, black cladded monsters chased after him, clawing and tearing at his clothes and skin whenever they got close. He pictured the long and short curved swords he was so used to, trying to conjure them to fight back at the growing horde behind him, but his power simply failed him.

A sob of desperation grew within him. Just a dream… Just a dream… he thought, trying to force himself away from what he saw, to dream anything else. However, his body dragged him along, moving him further and further into the cataclysm before him. He resisted, dragging his feet, not wanting to see it again.

Bursting out into the open, Arty looked around, panting as his eyes laid upon the debris of a house, ashes bellowing about in the draught. He felt his heart drop as he watched its inhabitants screaming, trying to claw their way out of the rubble. Yet no matter how much he wanted to move, his body continued to disobey him, staying rigid on that spot.

Standing there, helpless to do anything, his gaze fell upon the broken figure of his sister. Her burnt fist was still tightly gripping her twin, curved, short swords as they turned to ash, dissipated into the wind. The blank stare in her eyes reflected the ragging inferno around them, her face a blank mask. He felt the warmth of her body slowly give way to biting cold, abandoning her to the elements but still, he couldn’t look away from her soot covered face. And as he stared unmoving at her face, the pursuing monsters reached him, unrelentingly mauling and tearing him apart piece by piece, all while he continued to stare at his inanimate sister. Distant pain tore through him, blood and claws clouding his vision until he saw nothing at all.

Arty jerked awake, hands clasped together instinctively to conjure his blades before he could stop himself. Pain shot through his body as his muscles protested at the action, leaving him writhing about on the car floor, tears streaming down his face in its wake.

His hands shook as he felt the blood flow return, lessening the pain to a dull ache. He took a moment to compose himself, wiping away at his tear stricken face, his thoughts slowly moving away from the pain to the events of yesterday, still fresh in his mind.

Right… Yesterday… he remembered, subconsciously touching the wounds he’d sustained. He brought up both arms, holding his hands out in front of him and watching them tremble against his will. Burn marks crossed both palms, streaking outwards from the center of his palm, a stark reminder of what they’d done the previous night.

They’d run.

All their valuables, the memories they made, their home itself, all burned to ashes and they did nothing, could do nothing, but run when those in black armour came down upon them. Even when they fought back with their blades and injured those coming for them, they couldn’t do enough to make a difference against their pursuers, only managing to delay the inevitable. They didn’t even know why they were being chased in the first place, baring some speculations.

Arty thought how pathetic he must’ve looked now, losing everything but the clothes on his back, his sister and the Black Dahlia in his shoulder holster. Even the doomsaying and what-ifs they’d all talked about in school wouldn’t have been this harsh, to throw them into a scenario with nothing but a tool and the clothes on their backs.

His cuss echoed in the dark, joining the frustrated thumping of his fist slamming the floor sending a shooting pain through his injured hand. He wanted very much to conjure his blades and slash at something, to quell the desperate anger lingering within but no matter how much he tried, he could barely manipulate the heat around him, much less form a blade. A roar of anger burst from deep within and his hand clenched into fists again.

His outburst continued for a short while, profanities thrown to the wind before slowing to a stop, feeling his blood freeze over when he remembered he wasn’t alone. His heart froze in his chest as he looked around the car, looking for the person in his dreams, hoping that it hadn’t come true.

His eyes fell onto the bundle of cloth on the floor, sweat clinging to her skin as she shivered in her sleep, her breathing irregular. Her clothing was in disarray, her light green coat completely ruined, signed and torn in multiple areas while her white dress was stained with the dark brown of dried blood.

“Eli!” Arty cried out, stumbling over to where his sister lay. His body continued to protest against his actions, straining against his movements, but he pushed through the pain, putting himself by her side. He shook her hard, trying to wake her up from her slumber but her shivering seemed to quicken at his grasp.

Eli sat bolted up awake, screaming as she too clasped her hands together in an attempt to conjure her blades. Arty braced himself for the adverse effects he’d personally experienced moments ago to materialise in her, but nothing happened, not even the movement of heat.

Instead, Eli dropped her arms, looking around until her face met Arty’s. The shocked look on her face gave way to despair and tears streamed down her face, like a dam bursting open. A wail escaped her as she clutched at her brother, sobbing uncontrollably as he squatted there, slightly surprised by the ferocity of her cries and the strength with which she grasped him.

“You’re fine, Eli. We’re fine,” he muttered, slowly returning the hug and patting her on the back in an attempt to soothe her. “We made it out of there, that’s what matters.”

Her body trembled as she sobbed and her breath came in snotty gasps. He felt his heart break in time with her sobs, wishing he could do something to help her other than just hold her. It didn’t feel like enough.

“I dreamt about last night,” she bawled, still holding her brother in a vice grip. “We… we just left them… our family and… and…”

“It’s just a dream, everyone will be fine.”

“But what if they didn’t make it out? What if they’re all already-”

“Eli!” Arty interrupted, startling his sister. He pulled away from her, his hands grasping her arms to hold her still, watching as she refused to meet his eyes. “They’re fine. Once we find a way to contact them, we’ll go to where they are, but for now, we need to stay safe.”

Even as he said this, he could tell that Eli hadn’t believed him in the slightest. He didn’t believe himself either. Even so, she wiped away her tears, putting on a smile over her disbelief. “Yeah... you’re right,” she answered, her voice quivering. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

Arty felt his eye twitch at her forced smile. Bullshit, he thought to himself, forcing himself not to scrunch his forehead. You aren’t fooling anyone. Especially...

He wanted to call her bluff, to poke fun at the little kettle in front of him and lighten the gravity of their situation but all the optimism he had died in the capital and he knew, deep down, that he shouldn’t pursue the matter now. She needed him to carry on.

“Alright,” he forced a smile in return, his mind now shifting towards the more pressing matters. His gaze wandered about the car, trying to discern their surroundings, before noticing how hot it was within the car. “How are you feeling now?”

“My whole body hurts,” she answered, shaking herself free from her brother’s grasp, her arms still trembling. “But I think my injuries aren’t that bad now.”

He watched as she rubbed her arms hard, trying to assess her injuries, chewing on her lip as her gaze bounced around the car. Compared to him, the damages she received were rather superficial, mostly small cuts strewn all over her arm.

“And your powers?” he asked hesitantly, having watched her try to summon them before.

Eli raised her hand, concentrating as she tried to move some of the heat around the car, but however hard she tried, not even a breeze formed. “Nothing,” she admitted, looking dejected at her brother. “I can barely sense the heat difference between the car and the outside, but I can’t control it.”

He knew exactly what she meant. He’d felt the same once before, years earlier during one of their petty fights. Nodding, he took a moment to ponder over the sequence of events. “We pushed our power too much,” he mused. “Then when we collapsed, it went into a rampage, and that’s why we didn’t freeze to death last night.”

“That’s not a good thing. It shows we can’t fight using our powers if it comes down to it,” she looked down at her hands which were still twitching slightly.

“Not that we’ll be able to fight in this weather anyway. It’s too cold this time of year,” he pointed out. The cold had always been a massive problem for them, always interfering with their ability.

“Speaking of cold, where are we even right now? It’s freezing compared to yesterday. How far did we go?”

Arty stood up, wondering for a moment when they closed the door but dismissing the thought just as quickly. Taking a shaky breath, he moved towards it, grabbing onto the handles and tugging at it. Cold air raced inside, clashing with the warmth within, before giving way to biting cold.

Even with his jacket, Arty shivered in the icy winds, trying to keep himself warm from the elements. With one final tug, the door opened fully, offering a view to the outside world. Squinting in the light, he allowed his eyes to adjust before taking note of his surroundings. Sunlight shone across the frozen landscape, revealing the eerie whiteness blanketing the ground. Further, the towering mountains loomed in the background, their dark edges jutting out against the snow.

Arty felt his face pale as he realised where they were, so far away from home. The picturesque mountain peaks were the most recognisable and also the most remote place to access from the capital, with only train services and small roads interconnecting the dwindling number of towns and villages.

They were in the Haiya Mountain Range, just a stone throw away from the border with Nazak.

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