Chapter 36: Jack; Shauran 46th, 344SR; 1:00

"Hey, come on wake up!" Lector's faded voice echoed through Jack's foggy head.

The ground was rough and rigid, several pebbles stuck to his skin. Jack opened his eyes only for his gaze to sink into pitch black darkness. Despite that abyss around him not having a source of any light, the ground was surprisingly well lit. 'Huh... Ah... Ow!' Jack's chest was poked by the jagged surface he laid upon. He pushed his forehead against the white stone, dust fell from his hair as his dirty arms wobbled. 'Ah!' Jack winced when he rested his weight onto his right hand, he promptly fell against the ground again, unable to support his body.

"Come on get up! We can't stay here," Lector tried to help.

"Ah stop... My hand..." Jack groaned.

"Yeah... You're gonna have to walk it off..." said Lector. "We need to go, like soon!"

The pain from using spirit arts recklessly lingered, but now it felt like his entire wrist had shattered, each movement sent waves through him. His head was numb, both of his shoulders ached. Lector tried to lift Jack under his shoulder, the pain suddenly swelled and Jack pulled away.

"Ah! Let me go!" Jack shouted as he fell again.

Jack's vision became blurry for a moment, his head felt incredibly woozy. 'What the hell...' Lector's blonde hair was a mess, he seemed to be in a better shape than Jack. However blood poured down from his head past his eye. The guard's clothing he wore managed to protect him better from the fall, but he was still visibly shaking from the pain.

"There is no time, the faster we get out of here, the better. Let's go!" Lector urgently demanded.

Jack looked at his hand and noticed a black bruise on his wrist, 'This won't work... I can't fight...' He got on one knee, his entire body ached as he tried to move, he had bruises in several places, his head throbbed. 'My shoulders... and my head.... Ugh...' Jack stood on one knee as he held his shoulder and looked around.

"Where are w- Ah!" Jack whimpered in pain as his left shoulder ached.

"Come on!" Lector shoved Jack.

"Screw off you stupid angel!" Jack cursed. "Why are you even trying to help me!"

"I really don't have to! You wanna stay here and get eaten?! Be my guest!" Lector turned and stomped off. "I'm wasting my damn time trying to help this idiot... Dammit... Dammit!" Lector muttered to himself as he hurried away.

'What's up with him... Why do I even care?' Jack looked down at his right arm and tried to move his fingers, just making a fist came with excruciating pain. 'I should use my left arm for now...' He looked back to where Lector went, only to see darkness. 'Huh?' Jack looked left and right with a puzzled expression. 'Wasn't he just there... Where did that guy go?' Jack looked at the ground once again, he looked all around him for something, anything that wasn't just darkness. 'Where am I...' The black walls surrounded him, but for some reason the rubble around him was well lit and easy to see.

"Help..."

Jack turned around, he heard a voice.

"Whose there?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"Help..." A weak voice pleaded from within the darkness.

Jack pushed against his forearms, it still hurt, but using his wrists caused much more pain. He slowly stumbled to his feet, huffing from exhaustion. He turned and walked down the pale stone rubble, it didn't take to long to reach the end of the slab of rubble. He hopped down a step to a level where the ground was made of a green colored stone covered in roots that stuck to the surface. 'What the... Where... Where am I?' Jack felt anxious.

"Help..." The weak whisper in the darkness was barely audible.

He gulped, took a deep breath and pushed forward down the green stone. The strange ground almost seemed orderly, eventually reaching pillars made of a similar stone. 'This looks like it was made by someone... By who? And where the hell did I fall?' Jack limped slowly through the darkness, he was getting adjust to the pain in his arm. For some strange reason, the ground in front of him illuminated more and more the further he walked. 'Is this someone's gift? Where is this light coming from? I don't see any light around me... This is creeping me out...' His foot splashed against a wet puddle.

A tan skinned hand lay in the red blood, small in size with slender fingers. Jack approached slowly. The darkness around the arm cleared. A woman's head and shoulders came into view, her brown hair obscuring her face. She wore torn red robes. 'Someone from Welis?' Jack walked forward a bit more and saw more of her body. The woman was on the ground bleeding out.

"Hey! What happened?! Who did-"

Jack stopped as the darkness cleared even more. Underneath a large chunk of white stone, her other hand and her lower body had been crushed. Jack stepped back hesitantly, his teeth rattled as he grimaced at the body. 'She's... dead... Who, who did this-' A sinking feeling in his chest suddenly overpowered him. His eyes widened. His chest tightened.

"Ha.. Ha..." Jack huffed.

'Why am I breathing so hard...' Jack turned but his face remained shocked, he hurried back the way he came. Jack reached the white stone and stepped onto it. He stopped climbing and looked at the white stone. 'I did it...' He looked up at the darkness. A blank look on his face as his breathing became uneven. 'I did it... I killed her...'

Jack went in the same direction Lector had gone, the darkness suddenly stopped clearing and he approached it. 'Is this... a wall?' Jack moved his hand closer slowly, but as he touched it he felt nothing. Instead, Jack's fingertip disappeared. 'Woah...' only to see it pass through. Jack squinted at the sight, stepping forward and seeing more of his hand go through. Jack poked his head through the darkness and stopped.

'Huh...'

Jack walked forward and looked up at the somber grey sky. 'What? But... It was so dark back-' He turned around and was bewildered to find a massive black fog. The dark cloud behind him, a mass of shadow which almost resembled smoke, however it didn't move at all. 'What the fuck is this... Why can't I see anything through this.... Why is there light in there...' Jack stepped back and analyzed the whole size, looking to the right and seeing the destruction in the side of his eye. His attention was quickly drawn back to the devastation, but as he turned he realized that everything around him was part of the devastation.

Bits of destroyed buildings and debris we're scattered out for miles in all directions. A thick wall of uneven earth surrounded the destruction. The sounds of running water crashed in the distance. The rotten scent of Logorite lingered in the dust. A leaning tower at the surface tipped, cracking more of the surface with it before it plummeted down the three hundred meter drop.

The building fell silently, until smashing against a building in the distance with great speed. A new pillar of smoke started to grow where it landed. A white layer of concrete just two stories thick lined the upper edge of the chasm. 'Did... Did I do all of this?'

"This place was underneath Andurill the entire time?" Jack asked himself.

In front of Jack was a massive hill of stone varying in color between rustic reds and dark grey. A dull green liquid dripped down the uneven rubble. Jack looked up to see the tank which stored the Logorite, now riddled with holes and blown open from the inside. A structure not too far from there, the top of a building stood out. A shiny silver tree glistening in the light. 'Is that... a tree? It's undamaged... I've never seen a silver tree before...' Jack noticed someone in the rubble, it was Lector slowly climbing, he seemed to head towards the silver tree.

"John and the others... should be... somewhere around here..." he said to himself. "John!" Jack shouted, "Sarah!"

A fear crept up Jack's spine, he tried to ignore it.

"Jack!?" Sarah shouted back. "Where are you! John's hurt bad!"

The fear he tried to ignore rippled through him. Jack hurried up the uneven stone, trying his hardest to keep his footing stable. 'The voice came from that side of the hill... Please... Please...' There was enough foot holds to reach the peak of the hill. Jack promptly reached the top of the

"Sarah!" Jack shouted as he got over the hill.

The moment he stepped over the peak of the rubble, it gave out underneath him. 'Ah-' Jack fell onto his stomach and tumbled over onto his back and rolled down the hill.

"Ow..." Jack grumbled.

"Come on push!" Ben struggled.

"Use your spirit!" Franklin grunted.

"Easier said- than done right now!"

"Jack are you alright? Your-" Sarah stopped and stared at Jack for a moment.

Her black shirt was covered in rips and streaks of dust, she wasn't very injured. However she stared at Jack with wide eyes and a pained look. Jack blinked in confusion.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked with a guilty look.

"Uh... Yeah!" Sarah smiled awkwardly as she glanced left and right. "John! John needs- help..."

Jack's eyes widened as he heard more, "Where is he?! He was hurt?!"

Jack glanced past Sarah towards where Franklin and Ben we're struggling. They we're trying to push a blue chunk of debris. Ben was shirtless, a gash on his lower back oozed blood over his shimmering skin. He fell onto his back and breathed in and out.

"It's too heavy... My back... Ah..." Ben groaned.

Franklin's sleeves we're torn, he fell against his right shoulder onto the wall from Cabac. His head and arms were covered in dried blood. Franklin huffed in and out before gritting his teeth and grunting. His feet dragged against the ground but he fell on his knees.

'They... The alliance... Deserved this...' Jack told himself. He walked forward and looked down. 'They... Deserved it...' The closer he got the more the regret piled up inside of him. Jack slowly looked down, 'They...' His eyes went wide, a short gasp left his dry throat. John was breathing weakly, a harsh wheeze could be heard as Jack got close enough. His injured friend on the ground turned his head

"Hey... Jack..." John uttered weakly.

Jack froze where he stood, the rumbling a pressure in his chest made it hard to breathe. Blood was leaking from his mangled arm. John's head was just short of being pulverized, his left arm and shoulder. Jack walked forward, scanning John's body from head to toe, 'How do I get him out... How do I-' Jack looked up at the boulder and put his hands against the uneven and cracked surface. He tried to focus his spirit, but he struggled to make it flow.

"Dammit! Move!" Jack cursed at the boulder.

"I can't feel my left arm any more..." John wheezed.

"Aah!" Jack screamed as he slammed his hand against the surface of the boulder. "Ajal! Ajal! Aja-hal! Somebody! Somebody help!" Jack choked on his words, tears flooded from his eyes.

"Jack..."

'Focus! I have to move this thing! Spirit Ignition!' Jack grunted as his all of his muscles flexed. His wrist screamed in pain, his arms throbbed but he didn't care. The ground beneath Jack's feet cracked as his spirit bursted. His wrist twisted against the building and he fell against the wall just like Franklin.

"God dammit all!" Jack slammed his hands into the wall. "This isn't- This isn't," Jack sobbed as he hit the wall with his forehead.

"Jack..." said John. "It's okay man..."

Jack looked down with tears coming out of his eyes, he knelt down next to John. His blonde hair was soaked in the blood spreading from underneath the building. John raised his right hand slowly, grasping Jack's shirt and holding as tightly as he could.

"I don't know if i'm going to make it- but I need to tell you something..." said John.

"You're going to make it!" Jack demanded.

"You guys- are some of the best thing thats ever happened to me and George..." John coughed weakly. "We've all lost things... Back when we were in Roccan, our mom went missing in the mines. George believed it, but I know the angels did it... People, freedom, our lives. We should be the first ones to want to take away those things from others... I understand... But Ajal is right... It won't solve anything... It only continues the ongoing problem..."

"I didn't want this! I didn't want you guys to get hurt!" Jack screamed.

"But you wanted someone to get hurt... we have to be- the dif-" John coughed again, a painful wheeze after he inhaled sharply.

"Don't speak! I'll get you out of there!"

Jack stood up and stepped back. He tried to focus his spirit into his left hand, and then threw his fist into the wall. 'Spirit Ignition!' His hand slammed into the boulder, it didn't budge at all, he pulled his hand back as it throbbed, his fingers shaking. Although he was in pain, he threw his fist forward once more, barely controlling his spirit properly and smashing his hand against the rocky surface. However to his surprise, the boulder started to rise, several pebbles fell from the bottom of the structure and rattled against the ground. 'Huh?!'

"Ah..." John winced.

Jack took a step back, the piece of rubble lifted up, as it rose, the people behind it came into view. However the blood stuck between the ground and the rock caused him to shudder. He looked down at John's arm and was horrified at the sight. 'I...'

Mixed with rubble. All of of the blood spread out. Skin torn and smashed against bone and flesh. 'I...' The stone was inches away from damaging his face, any closer and he would've died on the spot. 'I did this...' John glanced at Jack and saw his expression.

Descendants of Ophi stood on the other side, they ran over to John's aid as the boulder lifted. Jack took a step back, as he saw Marina followed by multiple descendants of Ophi. 'I...'

"Find any of the survivors! Save anyone you can!" A hybrid yelled.

Jack took a step back, he watched large chunks of rubble lift up one after another. 'What...' He watched the people he tried to kill rush to his aid. A sickening feeling of guilt only continued to rise up his stomach. As the crowd of descendants of Ophi ran past him, rushing for Sarah and Ben's aid. Jack continued to step back, 'They... '

"Jack! Are you okay!" Marina ran forward and grasped Jack by the shoulders. She looked at both sides of his head, and then put a hand to his head. "You have a bruise here, it's amazing you came out with just that..."

Marina didn't have any injuries, none of the descendants of Ophi did around them sustained many injuries. 'They must have been able to avoid being hurt with their gift...' Jack looked at her and felt glad she was okay, but couldn't smile. Her eyes we're filled with so much concern, it was heart wrenching, 'Stop...' She leaned forward and gave him a tight hug, her soft coat felt warm.

"I don't know who would do something like this... It's okay Jack... We can get out of this," Marina comforted him.

"John... John needs help," Jack uttered quietly.

"Don't worry, they're tending to him. You need to rest, let the doctors from Welis treat you. We're all going to get out of this together!"

Jack gulped as he looked at Marina with sorrow filled eyes, she let go and went to go check up on Franklin who was nearby as well. Jack got up and looked around, there were other hybrids amongst the descendants of Ophi. Jack shook his head and looked down. He looked to the right and noticed a path through the rubble, he quickly walked towards it.

Jack slowly walked down the path, unnoticed by any of the hybrids. Jack didn't know where to go, or where he wanted to go. He walked without purpose as he tried to avoid the reality of what he did. 'I... I was right... I know I was right... Am I right? They tortured Lydia... They killed Carol...'

'They deserved it! They deserved it!' Jack continued to argue with himself. He grit his teeth as his overflowing feelings of regret continued to gnaw at his conscience. 'I wasn't wrong! I'm not-' The surface he stood on suddenly rumbled and gave out underneath him. 'I-' Jack's thoughts came to a sudden halt as his feet dangled mid air. He looked up and saw the silver tree ahead of him. 'Oh no!' Jack felt someone grasp his arm, he looked up to see Franklin. He was one foot on flat ground, the other focusing spirit to not slip further

"I got you!" Franklin shouted.

"Franklin..." Jack gasped.

Jack looked down to see the surface fall several meters down. 'It's not too far!' Franklin grunted as he held on, he tried to pull him self up. The jagged wire mesh sticking out of the rubble creaked and bent. Franklin grit his teeth as he pulled with all his strength. However, even more of the rubble started to shift, Franklin grimaced as he turned his head back and forth between the moving ground and the depths he'd soon experience. The platform broke off.

"Ah!" Jack and Franklin both let out a cry of fear as they fell.

Jack looked down at the darkness they fell into.

"Franklin! Focus your spirit to your legs!"

Jack focused his spirit to his feet and knees. His feet hit the ground and he fell onto his knees and then onto all fours, sending a ripple of pain through him once more. Franklin hit the ground and fell backwards, grunting as he hit the ground.

"Ah... dammit..." Jack groaned as he pushed himself up off his arms.

"Hey... Why are you leaving?" Franklin asked.

"Why did you follow me..."

Jack quickly used the same maneuver to get back up, putting his weight onto his elbows to get up. The pain from hitting the the question as he stood and looked up. The residual light shone from above into the room between the gaps in pieces of rubble that had landed above the pit they stood in.

"Where did you find Lydia?" Franklin asked.

"In a secret room within the logorite facility... Leading to some kind of twisted show room... They tortured her..." Jack grumbled.

"Oh no... "

'What the...' Jack looked around, the ground was made of dark stone bricks, more stone that was different from the pale concrete of Andurill. As his eyes adjusted, the stone walls of the room didn't look flat, they resembled giant feet. The water dropping from above into the strange hall became quiet as Jack looked up. His eyes adjusted to the dark and the sides of the room came better into view.

"Jack?" Franklin called.

The statue resembled an armored knight, clad in bulky armor. Jack looked up to the head of the statue, however he tilted his head when he noticed it was missing. 'What the...' Jack looked around the room, to his left and right, across the room, we're eight giant statues of headless soldiers, holding shields and swords. At the other end of the room was an arched tunnel which led out of the hall. The breastplate and shield both had the design of a vertical branch, carvings of leaves with jagged edges around it. Four on the left. Four on the right. And one at the top. The bottom of the branch possessed five circles.

"Jack..." said Franklin.

"What?" Jack yelled back

"Stop ignoring me!"

"What do you even want! Why did you follow me?!"

"You blew up that building... Why?"

Jack froze as he looked at Franklin, his chest felt heavy as he contemplated how to answer.

"They... They don't deserve that logorite... But I didn't want this, any of this," Jack looked around at the pieces of rubble which had crashed down from above.

"I'm not very smart... But, any of us could have died after that, we don't even know for sure if we all survived! John's arm is broken! We don't know if anyone else is okay!" Franklin shouted.

"I didn't-" Jack looked to his right. "I didn't think... The entire fucking country would fall if I did that... Okay!"

Franklin just looked down as he shook his head.

"Now go back to the others and stop following me, you idiot!"

"Where are you gonna go?" Franklin asked with an annoyed tone. "And don't call me an idiot! You're an even bigger idiot!"

"Huh?!"

The two of them were interrupted by the sound of metal shifts and clanks, the scraping of armor against the ground. 'What was that...' Stumbling steps of metallic boots followed by the rattling of chains. Jack and Franklin both turned around to face the other end of the room, opposite to the entrance.

A headless person in a dull golden suit of armor similar to the ones of the statue. On its breastplate was a similar design, the branch with nine leaves and five circles around it, Jack noticed the handle of a sword under the cape. Franklin held his breath in shock as the headless armored man looked at them. There was no head, just an empty spot where a head should have been.

"What... what is that?!" Franklin

Jack had a horrified expression on his face as the armor took a step forward. Jack and Franklin both stepped back, and the armor stopped. It suddenly waved at them.

"What the fuck!", " What in the!" Jack and Franklin both shouted in terror as they stumbled backwards.

The armor put it's hand to where its mouth should have been, as if it was shocked by their reaction.

"What are you!" Franklin shouted.

The armor turned it's torso left and right, before it pointed at itself.

"Yes, you!"

The armor turned left and right once more as if it was confused, then pointed at Jack and Franklin. The two glanced at each other and back to the suit of armor.

"It can hear us... Without a head..." said Jack.

"Where's your head!?" Franklin yelled across the room.

The suit of armor shrugged. The clanks and scrapes of metal appeared once more although the suit of armor didn't move. Jack and Franklin looked around to see headless bodies clad in armor start to get up. 'Those we're in the shadows?!' All around them, headless knights clad in bright metal armor.

"What..." Jack watched in disbelief.

"Run... Just run!" Franklin panicked in fear as he looked at the knights.

Franklin turned and ran for the exit as fast as he could, Jack watched the suit of armor raise a hand towards them before he turned and ran as well.

"Where do we go?!" Franklin asked.

"How should I know! Where the heck even are we?!" Jack replied as they ran through the arched tunnel.

"Let's go back to Marina and the other-"

"No!" Jack declined immediately.

"Why?!"

"I- I can't!"

"Why not!? It's the safest place to be right now!"

Jack just grit his teeth as he tried to run ahead and ignore him. 'Ugh... of all the people who had to follow me! Where am I even going though... I can't face the others...' The sounds of clanking metal behind them made Jack's heart race even faster.

"Stop following us! What are these things!" Franklin yelled wearily.

"Ah! I don't know!"

Jack glanced over his shoulders, all of the headless knights ran while waving their hands in the air. 'What the- Ah!' Jack turned his head forward and focused his spirit to his legs, trying to run even faster as he saw the frightening pursuers. Up ahead, the path led outside. Jack and Franklin sprinted out of the tunnel and found themselves in another hall with a crumbled ceiling. The cross-shaped hallway had three paths, one which led to an area which was well lit, the path on the left was an intimidating darkness. Jack turned to the last path, which Franklin already was looking at. He turned to see a giant skeleton standing in the middle of the path. It's head slowly creaked downwards and it's green eyes pierced their souls.

"Ah!" "Ha!" Jack and Franklin both gasped and ran even faster for the path which led outside to the well lit area.

They ran for the courtyard, approaching a flight of stairs. As Jack reached the first step down, he looked down and realized the stairs had been destroyed. 'Oh sh-' Jack focused his spirit to his legs as he hit an uneven ramp, his right ankle bent and he landed on his shoulder, rolling down the rough slant. His sleeve and the skin on his shoulder tore as he slid against the ground.

"Ah!" Jack rolled onto his front and grunted as he grasped the scraped skin.

Franklin kicked off the slant as he landed on it, jumping past Jack at the bottom of the steps and rolling to break his fall. The courtyard was full of rubble, jagged metal pipes and chunks of buildings. Right next to a plate of metal stuck into the ground, was a part of the casino from Anka. Jack watched a spark fly off of a live wire, the wire lead behind the chunk of the building.

"Hey! Are you good?" Franklin shouted as he rushed to Jack's side.

"Yeah... it's just a scratch..." Jack replied as he got to his feet.

"Who was that!" an unfamiliar woman yelled.

Jack and Franklin's heads both shot up as they heard a voice somewhere in the courtyard, 'Crap... Who could it be?!' Franklin stood and crept towards the chunk of the building, glancing past the wall to see who it was. Jack tried to stand but fell to his knees, his shoulder was burning in pain, but the rest of his body ached as well. 'My spirit didn't break the impact of the fall... why?' Jack pondered, but he squinted as he realized he'd pushed himself past his limit long ago. Jack focused his spirit into his legs and struggled to stand straight, 'My arms and legs... I've used way too many Spirit Ignitions...' Jack moved his spirit to his knees, then limped towards where Franklin was.

As Jack got around the rock he saw a small clearing where three people stood, one of them was Lector. They were all blonde, one had a braided ponytail on the right side of their head, a tall woman. The other had a braided ponytail on the left side of their head. The two of them wore tight white clothes with torn white capes. 'What the heck is that outfit?' Lector was standing several feet away from them. However what alarmed Jack and Franklin the most was the insignia on their chest. A golden symbol of a sword with an eye embedded in the guard, always watching. 'Lightbringers! Wait isn't that guy also one of them...'

"Laris I know I heard a voice..." The woman with a braided ponytail on the right side of her head whispered.

"Leanne, we're surrounded by who knows how many more of those freaks... we're in their territory now..." said Laris.

"Screw that, we need to go! Where's Arid! The darkness can spread to the surface, we need to-"

"We?" Laris spat, cutting Lector off. "Listen to the bastard with his tail between legs, you weren't even supposed to be here!"

"You weren't even supposed to be here either!" Lector spat. "Lucifer wasn't even here!"

Laris raised his hand and created a block of light above Lector. The block fell, knocking him down and trapping him underneath. 'What the?!' Lector grit his teeth as he was pressed against the dark green stone, he didn't seem very strong from the whimpers Jack could hear.

"Agh!" Lector groaned.

"Nosey bastard... You we're spying on family eh? Grovel you failure... You should never have been born..." Laris pressed his heal into Lector's head.

"Stop- What's that!" Leanne reacted to the sound of metal clanking footsteps approaching.

Jack turned to the building he and Franklin had escaped from a minute ago, to see their pursuers still coming, the giant skeletons behind them and all. They ran out into the courtyard. The headless knights pointed their swords forward, the golden ones sword being especially long. His sword possessed a gold handle and what looked liked a golden triangle. In the center was a green dot with some engravings surrounding it, a golden rod connected to it rose up the middle of shiny sword which was also quite long.

"Holy-" Franklin cowered.

"Woah!" Jack screamed and ran out of the cover once the giant skeleton jumped into the courtyard.

The two Lightbringers turned to Jack with shocked faces.

"It's him!" Leanne said while her face curled into a grin.

"Jack... Jack Eldritch!" Laris shouted.

'What the hell?! How do they know me?' Jack focused his spirit to his legs, 'Focus on movement! You can't fight right now!' Leanne grabbed her whip, the golden light radiating from the whip flashed as she flailed her whip at Jack. Jack noticed and dashed behind a boulder. The whip struck the ground just behind him, sweat left all of his pours at once as he dodged the whiplash.

"Jack!" Franklin cried.

"Ah-" Jack turned while behind cover.

The headless swordsmen in silver and green armor surrounded Franklin, the one with gold and green armor stood atop the broken stairs. One knelt down and offered a hand to Franklin, 'Huh?!'

"Jack! Why are they doing this! Jack?!" Franklin shouted in terror.

"So that confirms it, you are the one Alexander Rael fears," said Laris, standing in front of Jack.

'When did he get there?!' Jack turned to the left and tried to run away. But he ran straight into a wall of light which appeared in a flash.

"Ah!" Jack grabbed his nose.

"Haha? Alexander Rael fears this weakling?" Laris laughed.

Laris moved his hand to the left, the wall of light followed. Jack was still holding his nose, and was then struck by the wall and knocked backwards. Jack rolled on his back and fell on his front, but his neck was suddenly ensnared by the whip of light.

"You're mine! I'll have your head for Alexander if he still lives!" Leanne laughed. "He'll be so disappointed to know I was the one to kill you!"

"Aah!" Jack cried.

Jack's shoulders and head took the brunt of the damage, he winced in pain every time he was dragged through rough and jagged ground covered in rubble, before he heard a loud stomp. 'Ah, what stopped me?' Jack looked up and saw the golden headless knight.

"Ah?!" Jack was suddenly startled.

The headless knight simply smacked his fist onto his chest, over his heart.

"Huh?" Jack's eyes widened

"Damnit!" Leanne shouted angrily.

The golden knight turned, drew its sword and lunged forward. Leanne jumped back, her braid getting cut by the edge of the blade. Her hair was freed from the lock of her braid.

"Damn fiend!" She flailed the whip around wildly, unavoidable at close range.

The suit of golden armor simply dodged every singly lash, expertly stepping into the right spot to dodge most efficiently. Jack didn't notice at first, but it looked like a green light glowed within the armor as it dodged every whiplash. It then drew it's sword as it dodged three more wild flails and then jumped forward at Leanne, slashing her right shoulder in a single second with a large straight sword.

"Agh!" Leanne cried.

The knight spun the blade around and slashed her waist and arm. 'He's swinging that huge blade so easily! Who is this guy?'

"Ah!" the Lightbringer cried once more as she dropped her whip.

"Leanne!" Laris shouted.

A wall of light suddenly blocked the knight's fourth incoming strike. The knight in golden armor swiftly leapt above wall of light. Laris ran for Leanne, only for the headless knight to land in front of him and cut down his chest.

"Ah!"

A purple beam shot across the sky, lighting up the entire chasm. 'Ajal?! That came from the black fog... He's in there?' Everyone turned to it and noticed a silhouette standing atop a wall. The figure had a hood, and the ends of their cloak looked like feathers. A golden staff reflected off the light on their back, the figure stepped off the wall and fell into the courtyard. Jack got a better view of the bright silver breastplate, gauntlet, and silver boots with greaves covering up to her knees. The rest of its body was covered in black feathered robes, at the left side of its waist was a sheathed short sword, and at the right was a book as well as several vials full of logorite. 'What the...' She had messy hair, and a silver mask which covered her mouth. 'A woman?' It's eyes we're black besides the green glow on it's pupil. It walked towards the headless knight who looked at her and waved.

"Reygar, the great druids are being summoned, Oaraun has returned," the woman spoke with a serious tone.

The golden suit of armor grasped the air around his head as if surprised, then jumped for joy. 'What the hell is going on... Great druids? And... Oaraun?! I heard that name... He was in that book...' Jack's thoughts were interrupted as he saw Laris and Leanne running for a gate at the end of the courtyard. 'Wait... Wait!'

"Get back here! Which one of you hurt Lydia!" Jack shouted in a rage. "Damn angels! You'll pay for what you did! You'll pay for everything! You spineless cowards!" he screamed.

"Cowards?!" Leanne and Laris both scoffed and came to stop.

Leanne turned and swung the whip of light horizontally, Jack raised his arms to guard, he braced for the pain. But the woman in black feathered robes darted in front of him and caught it.

"Ugh! Get out of the way!" Leanne spat.

"What the..." Jack uttered as he looked at the golden staff in her other hand, the triangle tip had a dark green gem embedded in the middle. 'That's the same as the one in the knight's sword...'

"You there, and that other one over there... You're both purebloods from the surface..." the hooded woman in black and silver asked, her voice slightly muffled by the mask.

Jack tried to crawl away while facing her.

"Fear not, I would not harm my own,"

"You're... Own?!" Jack repeated.

"You damn husk of bones!" Laris raised his hand and a wall of light appeared.

"Husk of bones? I am Elisia Von Friede, a warrior for the ancient druids!" she drew her silver short sword.

"Leanne! We need to go! The headless knights are still over there!" Laris warned.

"I'll kill that boy! I must!" Leanne cursed with a wicked grin.

Jack was confused by everything happening around him, 'Who is she? Who is that headless guy? Where are we?! These people were underneath Andurill?!'

"Lightbringers? Hm, this day offers many miracles..." Elisia stepped forward and twirled the golden staff.

Reygar landed in front of Jack with his broadsword drawn, his armor rattling with a nerve wracking crackle. The suit of armor stood up straight and pointed towards the two Lightbringers, and then clenched his fist. The fierceness in his movements told Jack he was truly angry. 'They know the Lightbringers?'

"And who the hell are you two?!" Laris squinted.

"Forgive him, he is not priveleged with speech," Elisia gestured towards the headless knight. "Reygar Von Aegis, first son of Viceroy Gungnir. I am the first daughter of Viceroy Evangeline. Do you recognize your crimes yet? Desecrators,"

"Desecrators? Never heard of you two nobodies..." Leanne scoffed.

"I'm sure, your crimes predate your life after all,"

"Huh? Predates our life?" Laris replied.

"The crimes committed by the angels and the demons, you are responsible for the curses placed upon our parents, you will pay with your bl-"

"Stop with the damn rambling!" Leanne shouted and swung her whip.

As the whip struck Elisia, hundreds of black flower petals splashed out wards in all directions. Elisia vanished.

"What the-"

Leanne stopped as the black petals flowed like a gentle breeze towards them, and collected. Taking the form of the female knight once more as she swung her blade down at Laris and slashed his cheek.

"Wench!" Laris cursed.

Elisia thrusted her blade forward, a wall of light blocked her stab. It moved forward and her metal boots dragged through the dirt. Jack watched as the headless knight dashed forward, his sword raised overhead, he focused his spirit to the blade. 'They can use spirit arts?!' Reygar swung it at the wall of light. Elisia dodged to the left as a shockwave focused directly into a single slash ripped the ground in two and split the wall of light, Laris noticed the shockwave coming and stepped to the left as the braid on the left side of his head was cut off, his expression filled with disbelief.

"He's strong enough to break my wall?!" Laris stepped back in shock.

Leanne swung at Elisia again but she glided around quickly with legs made from black petals. She floated around the rubble filled battle field and disappeared from sight behind a building from Anka. Leanne swung her whip down while maintaining a distance, splitting the building Elisia hid behind.

"Where is she?" Leanne looked up and down.

Elisia ran over the split debris, her footsteps clanged against the stone. She jumped off of the building and raised her blade as she soared for Leanne. The Lightbringer stepped into her range and planted her heel into Elisia's breastplate. However the knight grasped her leg and thrusted the golden staff into her stomach. Leanne took the hit and swung her whip at the spellcasting knight, striking her face and leaving a deep scratch on her silver mask. Leanne swung right around, the whip lashing Elisia's face as she threw something into the air. As the whip connected she transformed into hundreds of flower petals once more.

"Show yourself!" Leanne shouted.

Leanne looked up and noticed a vial full of Logorite glowing a bright green, slightly obscured by the flower petals. She hesitated the moment before it exploded. The force launched her back, she dragged across the ground and rolled backwards onto her front. The petals recollected and Elisia's body reformed, she grasped Leanne's hair and pulled her back over her knee.

"Darkroot Magic, Dark Seed!"

Elisia grasped Leanne's face and pulled Leanne over her knee jabbed two of her armored fingers into Leanne's shoulder. Her whole torso was exposed, wide open. Elisia took two fingers, she held something between them,. She thrusted her sharp gloved into Leanne's shoulder.

"Ah!" Leanne cried.

The Lightbringer cried out in pain as and shoved Elisia away as blood spilled from the small wound. Leanne flailed her whip wildly towards the spellcaster knight. Elisia blocked it with her blade, but fell back from the force. She rolled backwards and focused her spirit into her feet, 'Again! Spirit Arts!' Elisia dashed forward, slashing wildly at Leanne within her range. Leanne raised her foot to kick her away once more. However Elisia blocked it with the flat end of her blade, and redirected Leanne's foot.

Then, Elisia grasped her whip and then brought her blade down and cut the rope of light. Leanne jumped back and reconjured her whip, then swung it at Elisia once more, however this time Elisia simply focused her spirit to her wrist and made a quick cut at the Lightbringers whip, shortening it's length by cutting most of it once again.

"Wow..." Jack was speechless. "They're strong..."

Jack glanced over to Laris and Reygar who we're also locked in combat.

"Damnit! Damnit! Why!?" Laris shouted angrily as he formed multiple squares of light and attempted to crush the headless knight wearing gold.

A hand fell upon Jack's shoulder, he looked behind him to see Franklin, uninjured. Behind him, we're the headless knights which chased them earlier. They stood with their arms crossed as they watched the two druids battle the lieutenants of house Lightbringer

"I think we can get out of here..." Franklin whispered as he glanced at the headless knights behind him. "They haven't tried to stop me, let's just go!"

"But-" Jack looked back to the battle.

"I don't know who they are, but I don't think they are interested in us... let's just get out of here!" Franklin advised.

"How!" Laris complained angrily.

Laris created squares of light all around Reygar, as they enclosed around him, he focused his spirit to his legs and dashed out of the enclosing cube. A square of light appeared underneath the headless knight and raised him upwards. A large square of light appeared above him, Laris clapped his hands together as both squares sandwiched together.

"I got him-"

A clank of armor landed behind Laris, and his eyes widened. He turned and an upward slash dragged through his chest and grazed his face.

"Ah!" Laris stepped back as blood squirted from his wound, staining the pristine white clothing.

"Holy shit- that guy's strong!" Franklin exclaimed.

"Laris! Why you-" Leanne stopped as the whip of light vanished from her hand. "Huh... what happened?" Leanne glanced at her hand, puzzled as she asked herself what caused her gift to suddenly fail.

"You're quite pompous for someone with such a small amount of ether or knowledge..." Elisia walked past Leanne who was on her knees.

"You swine! What'd you do!" Leanne growled

"While we druids lack the physical capability of gifts the retainers of Zadia possess, or the advanced elemental gifts the retainers of Yuria have, the retainers of Xenia possess gifts which offer utility over power,"

"Utility?! What are you rambling about!" Leanne repeated.

"Reygar possesses the Rite of the Innovator, he sees the ideas that come to your mind before you can even act on them."

Laris's eyebrows raised in shock as he heard that. Every time he had made a block of light to strike Reygar, the headless knight had already been moving to a position to evade it, even before the light formed.

"What... What kind of gift could do that?!" Laris shouted in disbelief.

"I possess the Rite of the Shepherd, I speak to the plants you see around you, and extract knowledge from them," Elisia pointed at the wound on Leanne.

She looked to where Elisia had jabbed her, something shifted under her skin. "What- what'd you do to me!" Leanne cringed, she squeamishly pulled and poked at her wound as she noticed something underneath her skin. She shuddered in terror as it started to move.

"Nature based magic is rather advanced, and the more advanced a magic is, the more constraints there are to its use. I embedded a seed into your shoulder earlier, it fed off your ether you needed to conjure that powerful weapon of yours."

"Get it out! Get this disgusting thing out of me!" Leanne shamelessly demanded with tears running down her face.

Elisia stood and raised the golden staff towards the wounded Lightbringer. "Darkroot Magic, Explosive Spore!"

The lump in her shoulder bursted into multiple spikes, Leanne cried out in pain as she fell back and writhed on the ground. 'Wo- woah...' Jack was shocked at the strength of the two. 'They are using spirit arts as easily as Ajal...' Laris heard his sister's screams, and ran to her aid. However upon taking his first step, the headless knight stepped in front of him and planted his gauntlet into Laris's stomach.

"Agh!" Laris fell to his knees.

Reygar raised his blade up and slashed down, but before it could connect, he looked up towards an eye of light in the sky.

"Light Magic, Shimmering Ray!"

A beam shot out of a blue eye of light in the sky towards Reygar and Elisia, they both dodged out of the way and jumped back. Jack's eyes raised as he watched a man in a blue robe jump into the courtyard. Behind him we're two floating blue symbols of eyes. They resembled two circles one big and one small on each.

"Oh no..." Jack thought. 'I've only seen him once before this...''

He had a blue cloak around him, a white shirt with the golden insignia of the Lightbringers on his chest. Short black hair, a face covered by his large collar, yellow eyes. He swung the white staff down, at both ends of it we're open sockets. The blue eyes behind him closed, shortly after they reappeared on each socket of the staff, wide open.

"Arid... Lightbringer..." Jack uttered.