Current day

Lianne’s exasperated breaths burned her lungs as she slowed her pace slightly. The ash was gone from the ground along with the footprints, but the pulsing in her head was enough to point her in the right direction. She placed her hand to her hair clip, tracing it through the black strands. Air whistled past her head and blew her hair past her eyes, the depth perception screwing with her vision. It was odd, after limiting herself for so long it felt wrong to regain proper sight. She would have to cover it again eventually, but there was no point doing it right now.

The sky remained a blank grey slate and she pushed onwards, gritting her teeth from the sensation which pushed into her. She slowed her run down to a walk, taking a look at a battered storage house. It was small, barely even standing as the stone walls messily lay on top of each other. The wind howled again, sending pinpricks down her neck. She slowly laid her hand on the door, feeling the wet wood beneath her hand. The light shone inwards, illuminating the desolate interior. Stalls lined the sides of the tiny walls with thin wooden beams supporting the collapsing roof.

A rustling came from the far end of the room as Lianne stepped forwards, her feet carefully moving in front of each other. She stopped short as a figure emerged, their long almost silver hair draping down to their waist. Cold and dulled grey eyes stared at her, their gaze carrying a softened sadness. Their lips parted as Lianne stepped forwards, her footsteps picking up quickly. They raised their hand upwards, their blood covered shirt shifting as they stepped back. “Lianne-”

They didn’t finish as her fist slammed into their temple, sending them to the ground. Lianne went to the floor with them, throwing another punch straight into their face. They brought their hands up, feebly trying to shield their head with a pained whimper. Lianne dropped an elbow downwards with a grunt, watching them cry out, trying to speak. She grabbed onto her ripped shirt, pulling her upwards as she hit the side of her face, causing blood to fly from their mouth.

They lay their hand onto hers as she picked them up, grabbing their head and smashing it into a wooden pillar beside them. They groaned and slumped down, dazed. Lianne threw them to the floor, letting them curl up and hold onto themselves. She stood above, walking close, eyes filled with rage. “Get up.”

“Lianne, I’m sorry-”

“I SAID GET UP!”

They reached their arm out as Lianne pulled them upwards, her hand gripping their throat. They tried to gasp as she slammed them against the wall, their legs struggling to regain their footing. Her knee slammed into their stomach, followed by two more before they hit the ground once again. A kick cracked their ribs and Lianne straddled their body, her right eye burning orange. They almost shrieked as she grasped her hands into their throat, pushing them down. She squeezed tightly, her arms and shoulders tensing as they lay their hands on hers. “You fucking killed them.”

They weakly squirmed, looking up into her eyes as they suffocated. Lianne tightened her grip, feeling her own nails dig into her fingertips. “You ripped them apart, for what?”

Their hands barely even held onto hers, their body barely moved underneath her weight. Her hands hurt from holding on for so long, but she kept going. “Why?” Their eyelashes fluttered as they started to stop sputtering. “Why? Tell me.”

Their hands weren’t gripping on anymore, and they couldn’t even squirm. Lianne growled and released, letting them take a desperate and choking inhale. They cried and coughed, still laying in the same spot beneath her. “I-I’m so s-sorry-”

Lianne slammed her hand into their throat with a scream, cutting them off before they could finish their sentence. They would’ve cried out if she wasn’t crushing their windpipe, but it didn’t matter that she couldn’t enjoy those screams as long as they still felt the pain. Their back arched as she dug her fingertips into their skin, feeling it compress. Tears spilled from their eyes as they looked up to her. Even when they couldn’t speak, they found some goddamn way to give their empty apologies. She pulled them upwards and then smashed them back down, hitting their head against the stones. A crack echoed as their skull hit the floor and blood seeped from their already stained hair.

Distant yet fast approaching footsteps reached Lianne’s ears as the thing below her faintly raised a hand upwards. She cursed and released her hands, letting them take a broken inhale as she stood up. Jerking their arm upwards, Lianne pulled them to their feet while holding their throat in a chokehold. Their breathing was laboured and their voice was hoarse as they spoke in their irritatingly pleading tone. “Lianne, I-”

“Shut up.”

“I’m sorry-”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“I’m so sorry-” They screamed in pain as she grabbed onto their arm and bent it behind their back, almost dislocating it. They continued through their tears. “Please, don’t fight him-”

“How many fucking times do I need to say it?”

The light from the doors was shadowed by a familiar face, cloak, and sword. Lianne drew one of her swords, pressing it to the throat of her hostage. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

Merrick flicked the guard of his sword, popping it out of its sheath. “Let her go.”

“You had your chance to kill me before I got here.” She felt shaky breaths struggle against her arm as she pushed the blade upwards, drawing it under their chin. They whimpered in pain as the sword scraped their jaw and ground against the bone. Merrick gripped his sword, anger flaring. “I should have left you.”

Lianne let out a breath through grit teeth, staring with widened eyes. “Before or after you ruined my life? Because I don’t give a shit either way.”

“That wasn’t her fault-”

“Bullshit.” She tugged the sword, pulling it under their jaw with a splatter of blood. “This thing thought it would be fun to play savior, didn’t it?”

Merrick pointed to her sword, his hand wrapped in bandages. “You don’t deserve that.”

She chuckled as a smile pulled across her lips. “Yeah? Fine, have it.”

She released her arm and pulled the sword back, the smile still on her face. They gasped as the sound of crunching bone and ripping flesh echoed through the cramped storage room. They cried out and looked down at the blade protruding from their chest, the length of it slick with blood. Lianne unhooked the sheath and swung it into the back of their head, feeling the wood meet their skull. They fell to the floor, shivering and choking on their breath, curling tightly into themself as blood ran down the sword impaled through them. The sheath hit the ground with a clatter as Lianne drew her other sword, stepping her foot back into a stance as she pulled her knife out with her other hand. Merrick’s gaze darted between the quivering mess on the ground and her, his hand on the handle of his sword in a white knuckled grip. A hand reached from the floor out to him and a quiet whisper drifted upwards. “...Please… don’t.”

His movements were instantaneous as he lunged forwards, drew his sword, and struck with a single motion. Lianne backed out of reach, familiar with the length of the swing. She counterattacked with an overhead strike but her sword passed through the empty air, her target now beside her and priming another strike. She pulled her head back, feeling the air in front of her face violently yet cleanly separate as the blade swished past. Raising her knife, she lunged in a stab, aiming for his chest. A kick slammed into her leg as she moved forwards, making her lose her balance. She swung wildly with her sword, trying to disembowel him as she fell forwards. He let her move past and poised for a stab which she rolled out of the way of.

A swipe cut into her arm as she stood up, sending a shock of pain into her hand. She struggled to keep a grip on her knife as she swung outwards with her sword, retreating away from another attack. Merrick dashed forwards with a sidestep into a slash, almost hitting her throat. Lianne tried to step backwards but tripped and tumbled to the ground. She looked up to see what she had fallen over to see a set of red eyes flickering dimly. They pulled themself up with a groan of agony, the sword still dripping with their blood. Lianne gripped onto her knife, glaring at them as they held their hand upwards to Merrick’s sword above them. “Stop-”

His footsteps stuttered as his eyes traveled down to them. They struggled to breath as his hands twisted on his sword’s handle, the curved blade glinting in the scarce light. They tried to speak again, but only managed to get out a fit of coughs. Lianne resisted the urge to eviscerate them and scrambled to her feet, bringing her sword and knife in front of her. A thud hit the floor as the hand by Merrick’s leg fell down. He cursed and brought his sword up, his eyes glaring.

Lianne barely noticed his movement before the sword launched at her, stabbing towards her throat. She dodged out of the way and sliced down at his extended arm only to feel a sharp pain in her hand. A needle pierced her skin, causing her to wince in pain as his sword flicked around and into her chest. She tried to back away but felt the sword cut into her shoulder, cleaving through and to the collarbone. His hand reached forwards, extending to her midsection. A blast leapt from his arm and into her, throwing her off the feet and far across the room. She hit the floor, coughing in pain and arching her back. Her vision blurred as she looked up, seeing him pull the body off the ground, their quiet whispers drifting in through the dusty air.

He placed a hand onto their shoulder, quietly talking into their ear. They nodded and braced themselves before crying out in pain as the sword was ripped out of their back, blood spurting from the wound. Lianne tried to push herself up, feeling her chest ache as she breathed. Merrick leaned the quivering body against the wall as he picked up the sheath on the floor. He walked forwards, the blade in his hand slick with blood. Lianne fumbled for her weapons, gritting her teeth as the footsteps drew close.

Something shot above her head and into him, a streak of orange. Merrick grunted as it hit him, pushing him back. He stumbled for a moment, his knuckles whitening around the handle of the sword. His knee hit the ground as he grabbed onto the object stabbed into him. Lianne looked closer, realizing it was an alghoul needle. Heavy thuds came from behind as she glanced backwards, seeing a wall of darkened steel blocking the light. Merrick dashed forwards, swinging his blade upwards and above Lianne. A clash of metal and a dull pang echoed through the room as Haureulman easily blocked the attack, pushing forwards as he did so.

Skittering links of metal snaked across the floor, quickly jumping upwards in a flash of murky green and cinnabar. Another needle shot into Merrick’s chest, sending him to his knees. Haureulman looked down, resting his poleaxe on his shoulder. The lights underneath the darkened helm flicked to Lianne as she scrambled to her feet, her hands gripping onto her weapons. She warily glanced at the spear portion of his poleaxe, the light from outside sharply bouncing off of it. A figure moved from behind him, his hand raising the chains. “I told you, it would be easier if we worked together in the first place.”

Tylocke moved forwards, pushing past Lianne. Merrick tried to stand up straight only to be whipped downwards by the metal links. He moved over to the body slumped on the pillar, the blood covering them drenching their clothing. They looked up tentatively, fear set in their dulled grey eyes. They barely were able to speak as he crouched down. “Please, don’t hurt them.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to if you just cooperated.”

They trembled and looked down to Merrick and up to Lianne, their gaze drowning in hopelessness. Lianne felt movement from behind her, the memory of a pain piercing her chest floating through her mind. She whipped around, preparing for a stab, but none came. Haureulman looked at her through the long slit in his helmet, his body like a statue. Tylocke sighed and pulled the chains up. “So, what will it be?”

They closed their eyes, shaking with tears falling down their face as they nodded slowly. Tylocke smiled and twirled a needle through his fingers, a sly smile on his face. “Good choice. Now, don’t resist.”

The needle ran into their neck, stabbing into their spine. They gasped before violently shuddering, their muscles spasming as the toxin seeped through them. Tylocke laughed and stood up, watching the pain course through them as they fell sideways, eyes wide. “I must say, these are more effective than I remembered.”

The chains wrapped around their hands, dragging them across the floor as they choked on their own breath. Lianne twitched and walked towards them, knife ready. A metal line snapped towards her, binding her wrist. She immediately felt her strength start to wane as the chain bound her tightly, robbing her of her ether. Tylocke looked back at her, disappointment in his eyes. “Wait your turn.”

He started to move out as Lianne gasped and fell to her knees, the chain pulling even more energy from her. His footsteps stopped as he showed a smile. “Oh, I almost forgot, here.”

A blur of motion was thrown at her and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. She looked down to see a bag with bits of gold peeking out from it. The chain released her, allowing ether to course back through her veins. Merrick tried to push himself off his knees, shooting a glare at Tylocke, ignoring Lianne. She grimaced as the chains drifted away, dragging a quivering and bloodied mess behind him. A metal gauntlet raised upwards, the fingers flexing outwards. A concussive blast shot through the air, hitting Merrick directly in the chest and sending him flying. He grunted and tumbled across the floor, his body rolling over. Haureulman growled to Tylocke, his hand clenching into a fist. “We should just kill him.”

Tylocke chuckled, his hand waving nonchalantly. “It’s fine, he won’t be a problem later. Besides, it’s more fun to watch this.”

Haureulman took one last look before growling and walking away, his footsteps crushing the ground beneath him. Lianne hesitated as Merrick struggled to move, his hands gripped into fists. It was the first time she had seen him so defeated, so weak. Tylocke had a point, it was fun to watch. Curiosity plagued her mind as Tylocke’s chains dragged across the floor into the middle of the courtyard, his ripped and tattered robes flowing softly. She slowly stepped out and into the light, brushing her hand across the doorframe. Footsteps echoed faintly down the streets as a small figure in the distance ran towards her, their blue cloak standing out against the grey walls. Lianne cursed, quickly darting towards Tylocke. A chain whipped in front of her, barring the path forwards. “Patience, this will be over soon.”

He smiled and looked down at the now splayed out monster in front of him, their knees chained to the floor and hands pulled outwards. They looked up, eyes glowing red but still softened. Lianne shivered as she looked into them, their crimson flame burning dully, piercing the air. Tylocke yanked the needle from their neck, looking at the hollow and empty shell. He sighed and tossed it over his shoulder, rummaging through his pockets. The ground started to shimmer, with dark arcane lines swirling outwards. Lianne examined the glowing symbols, realizing they were made from blood. Tylocke chuckled and gazed around him, a smile pulling at his face, his eyes hidden under his cloak’s hood.

“You have to realize, this took ages to set up. Good thing those scriptures were right.”

A small crystalline shard glistened as he gingerly dragged it out of his cloak, the purple and blue light swirling inside of it. The tip of it was sharpened like diamond as he aimed it at the victim below him. The circling chains around him started to shudder as he concentrated, light pouring from the object in his hand. All Lianne could do was watch in awe as it glowed bright azur lights, bathing the area. The footsteps from behind her snapped her trance, causing her to whip around and raise her weapons.

“Lianne, what the hell-”

She backed away from Sirius as he approached, his messy hair swept out of his eyes and shoulders heaving from exhaustion. He glanced from her to the ritual happening in front of them and reached for his sword, stepping forwards. The chains fell and came back to Tylocke, circling around his wrists as he plunged the crystal downwards. Blood shot out and onto the floor as the object seemed to melt into the flesh it was embedded in. There was a deafening pause as the red eyes burned even brighter, and then went white.

Pain shot through Lianne’s head, causing her to scream out and fall to her knees. Her eye seared with pain and glowed with the same bright light before her. She was barely able to see through the tears in her other eye, but a dark swimming pool of purple and black was visible in front of her, and in the middle of it all was the monster with light pouring from their eyes and mouth, their body convulsing silently. She felt a hand grab onto her shoulder as Sirius held onto her, keeping her body from shaking too violently as a deafening roar filled her ears.

Movement stumbled from the storagehouse as Merrick crawled across the floor, his arms desperately grasping at the dirt. Lianne tried to stand up straight as she felt the agony course through her head. Tylocke glanced over to her, his smile growing with wonder. “Fascinating.”

The light grew brighter, enveloping the ground and mixing with the darkened swirls of corrupted ether. A ping and a sudden jet of flames blasted into Haureulman’s back, causing him to grunt and react with a kinetic blast of his own, pushing against his attacker. Lianne moved herself forwards, trying to get to the centre of the circle. She looked to her side as Merrick reached towards the middle, his fingers grasping onto a shivering and blackened hand. A clash of metal sang outwards as a greatsword slammed into Haureulman’s poleaxe and clothing of blue and white flashed out of the corner of her eye. Lianne cursed and forced her body upwards and towards the light.

Tylocke pulled his chains around his arms and walked forwards as a screech echoed outwards. The light turned to a darkened orb which spilled purple strands of ether onto the floor. The monster was gone along with Merrick, pulled into the orb. Tylocke stepped inwards, his movements swift and confident. Lianne felt the pain dissipate and quickly rushed towards the black abyss, feeling Sirius pull on her hand. “Lianne, wait-” She didn’t listen and surged into it, feeling a strange cold sink under her skin.

~

Sirius watched Lianne get pulled into the reverberating orb of darkness in front of him, tendrils of darkness pulling her inwards. He cursed and ran forwards, his mind racing. Tylocke had run in there, so it shouldn’t be instant death, but he was basically insane, so what did that entail? His hand touched the surface of it, feeling the chill of it’s aura envelop him. His arm started to be pulled inwards and his body followed, the cold compressing him tightly. He gasped as it pulled into his throat, making its way through him. Everything was dark as he opened his eyes, an uncomfortable silence filling his ears. His body was floating, as if it was in water as his feet hit stones below him. A voice rang out, not through the air, but in his head.

Another? I’m quite curious about what’s going on.

Sirius struggled to find his way through the heavy black smog in front of him as he called out. “Where is she?”

She… the girl? An interesting one, isn’t she?

“Lianne, she came through here a few seconds ago.”

That one has a few problems, don’t they? Such a troubled mind, it really is sad.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Shouldn’t you have more pressing questions? For all you know, you’re dead, that’s what you were worried about when you first came in here, right?

“How-”

The city, I’m fascinated with how it progressed, but you didn’t have the best time there.

Sirius remained silent, attempting to find any way out of the void he was currently in.

Deserting, you aren’t allowed to leave willingly? Or am I missing something?

“How far have you gone through my mind?”

About halfway.

He smirked, whatever this thing was, it at least had a personality.

… None of you even know about this place, do you?

“No-”

You rushed in blindly, for what?

“You should know that.”

I still don’t get why you’re obsessed with this ‘Lianne’, she seemed very unpleasant when I met her.

He almost laughed, there was no denying that, but in all honesty he didn’t know why he was chasing her himself.

Oh well, I’ve already learned a bit about what’s going on in the other realm from the lot of you, I wish I could visit myself.

“What are you?”

Hm? Oh, don’t concern yourself over that, I’ll let you go for now. You’ll be bright enough to figure things out along the way.

“Wait, you still haven’t said anything about Lianne.”

Ah yes. I’ve had fun speaking with you, I’ll put you with her as a thanks. Just be warned, she won’t want to see you.

“She never does.” Sirius swore he could hear a faint chuckle in the darkness as the shadows dissipated. The stones melted into dirt, the rough ground unevenly squishing beneath his boots. He took a deep inhale as long and lush grass swept against his shins, wild and uncut. Trees lined his sides, large and untouched with swaying evergreen needles on their branches. Everything around him seemed familiar yet still off; the colours were a tint darker, the winds were slightly too harsh, the air was harder to breathe, and the atmosphere seemed to have a permanent low pitched hum. Looking around, There was a giant towering wall beside him which reached to the skies, it's dirtied white stones looking blue under the overcast above.

A flicker of movement pulled his attention away and the sound of a sword being quickly drawn pushed through the air. He turned around to see Lianne standing there as she breathed heavily and stared at him with wide eyes, one bright blue, the other a dull steel grey. She took a moment to look at him before quietly speaking. “... It was them, wasn’t it?”

“Lianne, are you-”

She raised her sword and stepped back, gritting her teeth. “Don’t get any closer.” He paused midstep, confused as she continued. “They were there back then, when I got stabbed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You piece of shit.” She started to breath rapidly as she gripped her sword tighter. “You let them- no, you helped them, didn’t you?”

“The woman?”

“No, that goddamn thing, the thing you were supposed to be hunting.” Lianne shook and continued. “I never should have worked with you.”

“Lianne-”

“I trusted you.” Her eye swam with orange light and her breath shook. “I fucking trusted you, you asked me to trust you. Why did I ever think you were different?”

“Wait, I don’t-”

“What was this for? You listened to her, didn’t you? Why the hell did you do this to me?”

Sirius watched her shake and shift her footing. She was unstable, irrational. Her voice rose and her now singular sword glinted under the light. “I let down my guard for a single moment, one damn moment and you exploit it. I should’ve known, it was all an act, wasn’t it? You killed those soldiers, didn’t you? Did they even know you? Or was that also a lie?”

He took a step forward to which she retreated away, her sword still pointed at him. “Don’t.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you.”

“Shut up, I’m not falling for that. Not again.” She slowly started backing away, her steps struggling to find solid ground. A wind shrieked above them, blowing through her hair. She took a second and shook her head, lips trembling and voice in a whisper. “Fuck Sirius, I trusted you.”

He stood still, unsure of what to do. Her last whisper was barely audible as she started to turn away. “I wanted to trust you.”

Sirius’s hands stayed by his side as Lianne grew distant, her eyes giving her one last mixed look of anger, fear, and disappointment. Her hair had splatters of blood on it, the red reflecting brightly upon the dirtied jet black as it swept through the air, flowing behind her as she ran. She was being delusional, but he couldn’t completely blame her, especially since he had no idea what she was going through right now. It wasn’t his business, but he was entrenched in this mess, especially now that he was stuck wherever he was. He looked around, gazing upwards to the overgrown floating islands. There was no mistake about it, this was the city, but everything was decrepit. The stones beside him were worn and misaligned, and the buildings seemed to sink into the floor. More importantly though, the central tower in the distance looked to be broken at the apex of the spire, it’s tip flattened with a jagged line.

He looked down the path which Lianne ran, cursing himself as he felt his body move after her. She was probably going to try and kill him, but her threats didn’t stop him when he first met her and they wouldn’t now. Nothing about her told him she was alright, and she wasn’t doing herself any favours by doing whatever she thought was right. He needed to help her, not just for her sake. The locket felt heavy as he laid his hand on it and brushed his fingers across the jagged crystal. This is what she would’ve wanted, right? In all honesty, he wasn’t sure what she would want anymore; how long had she been planning to die?

He cursed and started to run down the stones and hoped that he could find Lianne before she was ripped apart by whatever was out there. The city, or rather this version of it, didn’t feel safe, and judging by the damage, there were probably monsters roaming. Even then, that was assuming there even were monsters here. The air flew by his face as he ran down a path which had dying trees that shook dead leaves off of their dark and withered branches. Death was in abundance, but that wasn’t too different from home. Even so, he didn’t want Lianne to face it, not alone at least; there was too much that happened already.