Remnya

East.

Run east, and don't stop.

Those words resounded in Remnya's head, hammering her brain as she sprinted through the forest ruins. Her shoes had melted under the intense heat, and her bare skin scraped against the sharp edge of rocks and burnt thorns and vines, closing the path ahead.

As her lungs fought for oxygen, her stride weakened until Remnya couldn't feel her legs anymore. However, they kept moving on their own, fueled by the fire burning in her chest.

The flames surrounding her faded, and the green of life slowly grew beneath her feet. Even the song of birds echoed louder with each step.

Immense canopies rose in the distance, covering the morning sun behind an emerald sky, darkening everything ahead of her under eternal shadows. The humid air lingering in the forest appeased the hell in her lungs, and her wild heart slowed down.

How long had she been running for?

Her body began to shut down, and her vision blurred, turning her surroundings into an unknown land of life and death. The loud symphony of birds ringing in her ears was the only thing keeping her awake and moving forward; the sound of life.

Having lost all her senses, Remnya collapsed against a mountain of dried leaves and rocks, opening wounds in her knees and elbows as she tried to avoid slamming her face against a net of thorns. Burying her face into the moist soil, she groaned in pain and frustration. She wanted to keep going, but her body didn't respond anymore.

Remnya tried several times, dragging herself over the ground with her only usable arm, but exhaustion forced her to stop. Rolling over moist dry leaves, Remnya lay down on her back and stared vacantly into the sky, covered by thick canopies intertwined in a web of life. Weak sunbeams reached her face, and an odd feeling of peace filled her body.

Reality began to fade.

And the melody of those beautiful birds watching over her assured her it was safe to rest.

Everything turned into darkness.

But the precious glow of his eyes flashed in her dreams. Remnya had made him a promise; she would never break her word. She would never fail him.

Run east, run east.

Run east, and don't stop.

The break was short; the intense heat in her heart didn't allow her to relax anymore. Her eyes opened, full of tears.

Something tickled her broken arm.

As Remnya turned to her side, she saw a squirrel standing by her side, observing her while its nose inspected her strange smell. Unconsciously, Remnya smiled. Perhaps seeing life among so much death reminded her there was still hope.

Having recovered some energy, Remnya sat up, causing the squirrel to flee from her. and scrutinized her surroundings. An endless maze of giant trunks faded in the distance. Squeezing the ground, she noticed a mattress of dry leaves of all tones of green and red beneath her.

Next to a trunk, a family of blue mushrooms shined brightly under sun sparks.

Remnya remembered Zeo's nerdy talks about the forest. Red meant edible, green poisonous, violet deadly, and any other color unknown. She needed energy as soon as possible, and there were no fruits in sight.

Her next option was hunting. Remnya stared up at the squirrel, observing her atop a mossy rock. Clearly, that animal had never seen a human, and its curiosity turned it into easy prey. It wouldn't be hard for Remnya to lure it toward her with some patience. And then, she could snap its neck and cook it.

No.

Remnya twisted her lips. As hungry as she was, she could not kill an innocent animal. Her gaze returned to the mushrooms. If the food from the orphanage hadn't killed her by then, neither would such innocent-looking things, she thought.

Remnya fell twice before she could stagger toward the blue fungi. Up close, they looked grosser, with white and green spots and sticky slime dripping from their caps.

Overthinking would make her dumb resolve waver. Remnya yanked a mushroom from its family, held her breath, and took an angry bite.

A salty flavor invaded her mouth and nose, reminding her of the ancient mold growing in the orphanage mixed with mud. The blue delicacy dissolved in her mouth like a mix of sticky flour and sand. She did her best not to taste it and swallowed the goo filling her mouth.

Throwing up was tempting, but her body needed energy. The subsequent bites tasted better until the mushroom family disappeared.

"I'm a Nephilim. A mushroom can't kill me," Remnya murmured, wiping the juices dripping from the side of her mouth. The flavor would stay with her for a long time.

Remnya sat on the mossy rock and observed the animals surrounding her while she waited for the mushrooms to show their effect on her body.

Her stomach grumbled for the next twenty minutes, and mild pain and nausea made her clench her teeth. But that was it. Whether because she was a Nephilim or because she was lucky, the mushrooms didn't harm her.

It was time to continue.

Tearing her long pants, Remnya crafted a sling-like device to hold her broken arm, stopping it from dangling around and torturing her with electric pain. Finally, she stood tall ready to continue her journey.

Remnya looked at the squirrel, who had climbed down the rock, and observed her from the ground. She smiled and waved at it before taking the first step toward her destiny, resuming her journey through an unknown land.

*°*°*

Zeo

The forest trembled as emerald lightning spread across the sky, striking the ashes of oblivion. Zeo released all the fury he had restrained in his heart and soul, unleashing all his dreams and nightmares into a tempest that wrecked the remnants of life.

His spectral arms turned into beams of green plasma, hissing and glowing with electric arcs swirling around them. All his power was released into Edo, who struggled to hold the vectors drilling into his face. Time was meaningless. Zeo knew he had to stop him for as long as his body resisted; Remnya needed enough time to escape hell.

The veins in his body began to explode into bursts of blood, and his energy drained rapidly. The power of his vectors weakened.

Regardless of the love and hatred filling his heart, his body had reached its limit. Zeo let out a last roar, his voice echoing throughout the forest, and then his muscles paralyzed and cramped, forcing him to collapse on his knees.

Edo bellowed with fury and finally broke through the vectors, shattering them into a rain of emerald crystals.

Zeo's heart stopped for a moment, and his body stiffened, threatening to shut down. The emerald aura surrounding him faded, and his brain disconnected from his limbs. Reality lost its meaning.

Groaning and cursing, Edo stood up, blood rolling down his cheeks. His right eye was closed, and a red stream erupted from his eye socket. There was death in his grim face, but Zeo didn't care anymore. He had stopped that damned beast.

He had fulfilled his mission.

Edo touched his right eye with his fingertips and lifted his eyelid. Blood filled his empty eyesocket, erupting in a stream of crimson, staining his face and clothes.

Blue fire engulfed his fingers, and in a quick thrust of his hand, he buried his fingers into his eye sockets. Unfazed, he burned the remnants of his eyeball with his flames. The blood stopped, and his scowl turned into a stiff smile.

Edo chuckled, locking his remaining eye on Zeo. "I need to congratulate you, crossbreed," he said, his voice soothing and calm, "You've proved yourself worth keeping as a pet."

Zeo returned an unbreakable gaze, his heart beating peacefully in his chest. He had already accepted his fate. Remnya was safe. That's all it mattered.

Zeo's body trembled out of air and energy, threatening to collapse, yet he never lowered his head.

Edo sauntered toward him, cracking his neck and wiping the blood from his face. "I never thought a crossbreed like you would be able to damage my body like this." Anger filled his words as he smirked wickedly. "Unforgivable."

Edo halted, looming over Zeo like death itself. Using his remaining strength, Zeo lifted his eyes, staring into the face of his executioner. Bloodlust filled his remaining red iris, flickering with the flames in the distance.

"Do whatever you want with me," Zeo whispered with the last breath of his lungs and closed his eyes, collapsing above Edo's feet.

A powerful kick to the face awakened Zeo's senses as his body flew against a rock. However, no pain reached his nerves. All he felt was his bones cracking as Edo jumped over him and crushed his head with vicious punches.

Remnya's face flashed before him. Like ecstasy, she took the pain away. Zeo managed to smile while blood filled his mouth, and his jaw bones cracked like glass.

Holding Zeo by the hair, Edo lifted his face and twirled a knife between his fingers. Through a red blurred vision, Zeo glimpsed the gleam of metal aimed at his left eye. Thinking of Rem, Zeo took a deep breath and waited for that monster to finish what he had started.

Silence lingered, followed by a gush of hot wind.

. . .

A high-pitched cackle made the forest shiver.

"That's enough," an unknown voice resounded in Zeo's ears.

Edo became petrified and dropped his knife.

A lanky man emerged among the flames, followed by a trail of fire glued to his clothes. As he snapped his fingers, the fire vanished, revealing his uniform, which resembled Edo's, with the same emblem sparkling on his shoulder. His horns and tail revealed his Nephilim nature. However, his aura was different; whereas Edo's emanated a grim presence, this one emanated rotten energy.

"Captain Leuko!" Edo shouted, turning his face toward the unknown man and bowed while the rest of his body remained frozen on the ground.

"When they told us Ronner, and the Doman's brothers were hiding a Nephilim and an Anglish, I couldn't believe it." The man scrutinized Edo from head to toe, and then his gaze landed on Zeo, making him shiver under his venenous violet eyes. "It seems you gave Edo a hard time, young Anglish." He smirked.

The captain licked his lips and nodded to himself. "I've heard your kind has the ability to regenerate your bodies. I'm anxious to test if that's true." He lifted his right fist and opened his hand. A violet flame burst in his palm and engulfed his fingers.

Zeo widened his eyes, blinking to wipe the blood blinding him.

"You told me you could handle two children." Leuko's gaze shot daggers of contempt at Edo. "Now, I honestly believe you were just too afraid to face Ronner." His smile fell apart, giving way to a scowl. "Unfortunately, that bastard was already dead when I got there."

"Ronner is dead?" Zeo murmured as his heart halted in his chest.

Leuko lifted one eyebrow and smirked at Zeo. "Yeah," he replied. "Such a pity, though. I wanted to end that crossbreed with my own hands." The man clenched his fists, and his fire grew and danced wildly, shooting sparks and smoke.

Zeo bit his lower lip and narrowed his eyes, feeling the pain traveling throughout the broken bones of his face. He gulped while a heat filled his insides, mixed with unknown feelings of hatred and melancholy.

Ronner, the last wall separating Remnya from The Hunters, had fallen.

Leuko sauntered over in their direction, fiddling with his fire. "Oh, by the way, I found your bitch, Alayna." He told Edo and giggled. "That useless crossbreed was unconscious . . . What a failure! But worry not, she's still alive."

Fueled by fury, Zeo spat the bitter words he had been holding inside, "Alayna and her army were your puppets, weren't they?"

"Puppets? That's a strong word." He beamed at Zeo, putting out the fire in his hand. "She was our pet. A pet who did as I said, and despite being an inferior creature, she fulfilled my commands."

"A pet . . . " Zeo buried his fingernails into his thighs. "You knew she couldn't defeat Ronner."

"It was unlikely. However, Ronner was wounded, she had good chances, yet she failed." He brushed his thick jet-black hair backward and smirked smugly. "She'll be downgraded to slave now and sold to the best bidder."

Edo flinched.

"That's what your kind is best at." Ignoring the pain, Zeo shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Treating people like tools to achieve your sick goals."

"We, Nephilims, are at the top of the food chain," Leuko replied coldly and scanned Zeo with amusement as he strutted toward his ally. "EDO," Leuko roared, and Edo, who had remained like a statue on his spot, sprang from the ground, facing his captain.

"Sir!" Edo shouted, standing straight with both arms glued to his sides.

The captain stood before Edo and scanned his body from head to toe. Contempt and disgust filled his bony face as he spotted his wounds. "How is it possible that two kids did this to you?"

"It was my mistake, sir. I let my guard down. I underestimated the crossbreed." Edo's words came out like daggers, with no hesitation.

The captain chuckled and tilted his head. "Where's the Nephilim girl?"

"She's escaped," he confessed bluntly.

Leuko's lips twitched. "And why did you choose to beat up this fucking kid instead of going after her?" He leaned closer, his nose touching Edo's chin.

"I . . . " Edo's voice trembled.

"Give me your hand," Leuko's high-pitched tone turned into a gelid, deep whisper that froze Zeo's blood.

Edo lifted his left hand, and Leuko took it between his.

"Verkum Zakrav." Leuko's eyes glowed violet as he squeezed Edo's fingers.

A loud crack.

In a quick movement, Leuko yanked Edo's fingers, tearing them off his hand.

A spurt of blood shot from his severed knuckles, but Edo remained expressionless.

"Open your mouth," Leuko ordered, and Edo did as he said. The captain shoved the severed fingers into Edo's mouth. "Eat them." His voice was ice.

Edo nodded and proceeded to chew his fingers. Several cracks resounded across the forest, blood dripped between his teeth and lips, and bone splinters scattered the ground.

A wicked grin spread across Leuko's face. "The next time, I'll chop off your hand and, if I feel like it, perhaps your whole arm. Do you get it?"

Edo nodded.

"If you keep making stupid mistakes, your body will only be remnants of flesh, guts, and bones." The captain yanked Edo by the collar of his uniform and pushed him toward Zeo violently. "Now, stupid cunt. Your next mission will be to take care of this Anglish. You will heal him, wash him, dress him up. And you're not gonna touch him until I say otherwise. Bretzava?"

"Bretzavi," Edo shouted, chewing the remainings of his fingers in his mouth.

"I'll find the Nephilim myself. I can still feel her presence. She's not too far away." Leuko cracked his knuckles and glared at Edo. "You return to Crysalton and inform the crew. Tell them I'll be back by night with our sister under my arm."

Edo rushed to Zeo's side and leaned over him. Zeo grimaced at his presence, but he had no more energy to fight. Edo took him between his arms and picked him up.

"Now, go!" Leuko bellowed, and Edo darted away from him like a scared animal, carrying Zeo on his shoulder until they got lost in the ashes of the forest.

The next thing Zeo knew was that he was begging in his nightmares for Rem to make it while tears streamed like a river down his cheeks.

Finally, like the mercy of God, his mind vanished into hell.

*°*°*