- Attributed to Legate Swane, Year Unknown.
With Claudius and Eight's departure, Judas found himself stared down by two lingering figures—a human and an Anathema. Both held countless injuries and scars, showcasing the struggle they had overcome to reach this peak.
Blood spewed from Dante unceasingly, a ticking clock for his remaining breaths. Still, he demanded answers while Judas knelt, “Who are you! Tell me! I doubt I can kill you here, but I swear, Judas, I will make your life a living hell.”
A scoff rang from the copy of Dante’s younger, yet aged-up, brother. The human, deep down, already knew the truth. He just refused to acknowledge it.
Nevertheless, he, stemming the blood in his gut, crouched before Judas. Astraeus shifted closer to help his struggle, but Dante waved him back, bringing his own face inches from Judas’ scowl.
“I don’t know how you made a Lightless Pact. Or two of them. Or why. I am in the dark about countless things. But... Judas. You. Do. Not. Want. This!” Dante’s eyes glowered with the azure wrath of an endless, raging ocean. Again, he inched a little closer to emphasize his point as Judas merely laughed. “Tell me. Or I will be your eternal enemy. There are none I am unwilling to bend and work with, but... I will make an exception. I will hunt you and yours down across the galaxy. I will scrounge up every minuscule detail about your life. I will ruin you. And if you don’t think I can...”
Dante’s pupils met Judas’ pits of nothingness. He stared into the abyss and did not flinch as it returned his gaze, “Tell me. Do you think I am incapable?”
The long-hidden fury within Dante emerged all at once, yet it remained bottled by his mind. Years and years of loss, guilt, and grief warred for the chance to tear this man apart for answers, but Dante restrained it all with a shivering coldness.
For now.
Finally, Judas responded with a furrowed brow as the Lightsea itself wrought ruin upon his figure, “You are a splendid foe. But no. You are not my match, young man. However, I welcome you to try. Run yourself ragged for the mere glimpse of my coattails, Dante.”
The words from Judas settled into Dante’s mind in but a moment. They detonated the rage piling within him all at once. No longer could the facade hold back the fire.
His hand, clutching the dagger from his own duplicate he had slain, sang for Judas’ throat. But it never reached.
A featureless hand caught the blade, pierced through the palm. A firm grip held Dante as his entire body began to tremble. Astraeus pulled his friend away as Dante fought back.
“Hey! He’s baiting you! I bet you striking him back would only help his condition! I don’t know much about Contracts. Less about what they do! Think, Dante. Think. Use that brain of yours, not your heart,” Astaeus' shifting eyes met Dante’s, and the human began to calm.
Not enough to quench the fire within, but it allowed room for his thoughts.
I need to... No. He’s right. That fucking smile. It’s what he wants. So what? Am I just supposed to leave? Without any information on him? Or my brother?
Dante clenched the dagger in his fist before throwing it to the ground with force to implant it into the Inferose’s peak. Then, he took one last look at his ‘brother’s kneeling form with a building resolution, “We will meet again, whoever you are. And when we do, I will kill you.”
Judas raised his head toward the challenge, and his grin revealed the truth, “Perhaps I was wrong. You are not capable. But you gather enough to make yourself An interesting path. However, masterminds don’t make it far in our world,” the man gradually stood as he spoke. His body shook while an illusory river restrained his arms, legs, and throat with watery chains. “Power is what matters most. No matter how brilliant you are, you will be crushed underfoot without the power to match it.”
Without looking back, Dante shambled toward the shimmering rift in space, held open by Eight. The teen nodded to the two approaching figures as his face crunched by the strain of his Stigmata.
However, just as Dante’s foot slammed against the fracture’s edge, Judas spoke a last time, “I shall await our next meeting. Your brother had the talent but not the perspective. You have the perspective but not the talent. You and the Seer have swayed my plans a little, but that is no matter. Let’s see how far you can go. You. And you alone may call me Ego, for we share the same Sin wrought by our awful world.”
The instant Judas’ words flew over, Dante turned his head, but the portal had already closed, leaving him to see only devastation. However, amongst the ruins of the planet he had landed upon only a few days ago, he found his crew.
Lucius sat on a scorched log, pushing the slumbering head of an Araki off his shoulder. Sonna complained from her prone position on a stretcher, with Joan working atop her. Astraeus held Dante’s shoulder as the captain strode forward.
He gave his crew a thankful nod before turning to face Claudius. While propped up by Astraeus with Joan already rushing to close his gaping wound, Dante addressed the Judge, “Claudius.”
Every member of the Jury met the captain’s word. Eight held the Fruit O’ Mirror under his arms against his suit while Talander and Yue prepped their weapons. Rosa stood beside the Judge, and Claudius narrowed his eyes.
“Will you have trouble with Lucius? Or us?” Dante asked with blood trailing down his lips. Despite his condition, none looked down on the human. Without him, they would have all died in the Inferose.
Claudius’ bloodshot gaze shifted away with a sigh. Once more, he had to concede, “We won’t. Nobody is in the state to continue fighting. But once the information about this place gets out, no promises. The higher-ups will want Lucius’ Inheritance. They will want your knowledge. And they will want Joan’s medicine. If the Anathema stays with you... that will only add to your bounty. Will they send us? Maybe. Maybe not. But they will send someone.”
Dante nodded with relief. Then, he waved to the Judge. They had fought together. They had bled together. If circumstances were different, if their births were different, they could have been allies. Friends, even.
But not in their world.
“Very well. Next time we meet...”
Claudius returned the nod and finished the words, “... will end in your death,” as Eight Dived, teleporting the whole crew away and into the distance. In just a moment, only Dante’s crew remained.
A weight left their shoulders as those that were still awake—everyone minus Rejo—shared a laugh. They had survived. More than that, they had gotten stronger and claimed a part of the dimension. It was less than they dreamed but more than they expected.
Before Dante had entered the Inferose, he wasn’t sure if Lucius was a genuine member of his ideal crew. Now, he was convinced. Even if Dante had to change a little and mold his actions so as not to enrage Lucius, the Martian would stay.
With a flicker of a thought to Ego, he opened his mouth, “Everyone. We did it. Now, we just have to find a way off—”
Dante’s celebration was cut short by a body bouncing across the terrain. Crimson blood sprayed from each impact until a crater skidded a groove mere feet from them. Eyes fell to find a woman, missing one leg and an arm, grunt and curse in pain.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Thanaris’ eyes twinkled as she noticed those above her. Instantly, she lit up with excitement upon seeing Astraeus. Without regard for her body, which leaked like a running faucet, she looked toward her student. “Astraeus? How did it go?”
The Anathema shook his head with sadness as he answered, “I didn’t claim any part of it. Lucius, Eight, and that Friday did. I did get stronger, though! My Frigo can form away from my arms, and I managed to get the Snowsaw working!”
Thanaris’ countenance flashed with a hint of disappointment, but she quickly hid her true emotions. Her shoulders cracked as her Domain, the bloodied moon above, redoubled its efforts in healing her. For the past two days, she had fought alongside Praetor Sun. At first, she merely wanted to escape, but that wasn’t possible.
Joseph was just too overwhelming.
“That’s okay. What’s important is that you’re alive. Now... Go with Dante. I need to hold off, Joseph. I could’ve escaped a while ago but burned my Tide Reversal to reignite my Domain Collapse. Otherwise, we could just go now,” Thanaris’ face boasted confidence in her battle, something that transitioned to Astraeus’ mind. However, Dante saw through the cracks.
He knew how fragile Thanaris’ position was. Without her Tide Reversal to escape, she was at a serious risk of death here. Furthermore, as she set herself upon protecting Astraeus, that would only increase the difficulty.
Dante recalled Joseph’s terrible might.
And he saw the streaks of lightning in the distance grow larger.
The man turned to face his crew to run as a crackle resounded from Sonna’s pocket, halting his orders before they emerged. Dante nearly doubled over as he ran past Joan’s care and Astraeus’ help to grab the communicator from Sonna.
He browsed through the screen while the noise of thunder intensified. Lucius’ eyes sparkled as the seed he had laid bore fruit.
A voice burst from the device, piercing through the Domain Collapse with the descending proximate of a roaring starship, “Sonna! Dante! This is Archimedes! I see you guys! I’m landing the ship!”
“No! Don’t land! Swing around, and let us latch on! We don’t have time!” Dante squeezed a button on the device, shouting over the thunder and engines far above that revealed themselves.
Had the region not been laid to waste by the war upon it, the starship above would have been impossible to see through the countless trees. However, with the devastation, Dante could see the Heron’s Wing approaching them with a blistering velocity.
The captain gathered his crew together. Lucius held onto Sonna while Rejo blinked open his eyes. Joan brought her things together and gazed upward with a blank expression.
Despite their movement, Astraeus stood beside his mentor. His Master.
Dante shouted over the cacophony as Joseph neared and the Heron’s Wing brought the winds to a hurricane’s whirlwind, “Astraeus! Come on! Rejo can tag her with Mojo!”
Simply saying such a thing hurt Dante. After all, Rejo’s right hand held not just any figure. It held Ego within its Mojo, and Friday on the other hand. The connection was priceless.
However, to Dante, so was the Anathema. They had been through too much together. He knew Astraeus wouldn’t leave without Thanaris, even if Dante couldn’t care less about the Caesar.
Astraeus shifted his featureless gaze, meeting Dante’s blue eyes as the Heron’s Wing hovered a dozen feet off the ground. Lucius leaped behind the captain, bringing Sonna up before dropping a rope down for the others.
“No. I’ll stay here with—”
“The hell you will. Get up there, Simmer, before I make you,” Thanaris interrupted Astraeus as her leg finished regenerating. With a single step, she soared forward, a tsunami of blood shifting into a piercing spear for her to wield. “I will catch up! GO!”
Dante only looked at Thanaris’ vanishing form for a moment before returning to Astraeus. The Anathema’s eyes fell as he sighed and faced his sole friend, “She isn’t coming back. Is she?”
Dante had the chance to lie. He had the opportunity to guarantee that the Frigo would come with him. However, he had promised to be a better man, not to leave anyone behind or ruin their trust.
These were the few that had stood by him. So, he would do the same.
He spoke honestly and without a trace of deceit, “No. No, she isn’t. Thanaris and her Sanguine Dream will fall on this planet. For you, she will die.”
A strangled cry emerged from Astraeus as he gazed across the clashing Nectos, “Why?”
Dante’s hand patted the Anathema’s dark shoulder as he had some guesses within his mind. Thanaris seemed to be one of the few Dirge who resisted the ‘call’ of the Lightsea. But she wasn’t perfect. Hints and signs had bled through.
She was like Geist, struggling to maintain herself.
Astraeus revealed a sanguine stone in his palm, shaped and translucent like an amber. It emanated the same aura as Thanaris, that cold, dark moon of blood.
His grip tightened upon the amber as it slipped a cool sensation through his mind. The crimson purified his thoughts and seemed to protect him.
Dante pulled his friend a little more, not forcing him but egging him on. They could not stay here. Between Ego, Joseph, Friday, and all the other forces that would arrive once news spread, they had to run.
Praetor Sun might have been the sole Praetor here, but that didn’t mean she was the only one coming.
Thankfully, Astraeus obliged, and the two ran toward the dangling rope. Both climbed up in mere moments with the remnants of their exhausted Tides. Then, they stood within the Skull of the ship.
This was Dante’s first time here, and his hardened gaze softened upon seeing Archimedes at the controls. Before the captain could say a word, Isaac was already stuttering out words, “The ship... it’s resisting the Domain Collapse with Euclid’s help, but it won’t last forever. Two are against Euclid, and he’s losing.”
Eyebrows raised at the new name, but no one questioned the genius for the moment. Everyone seated themselves with straps, except for Dante, who stood over Archimedes. The human still bled, reopening Joan’s rushed work.
His vision wobbled with motes of darkness as he watched the ship flying toward space. Diving into the Lightsea with a starship was unsafe while still affected by a planet’s gravity. A near-guaranteed death.
So, against the blood loss, Dante remained awake as they left orbit and entered space. Falling asleep here was out of the cards. He thanked Pythagoras as the boy set in coordinates to dive into for an escape, but the lights and alarms of the starship brought the Skull to a reddened tint.
Those behind the two rose to help, but Dante stopped them with a raised hand. There was nothing they could do.
Outside the Heron’s Wing, there was a fleet of starships. One from each Empire.
Rome, Glaniece, and Ostacean were all here, with ships flying their colors. They neared the Heron’s Wing as Archimedes prepped for a dive. It took the starship a while to enter the Lightsea under such strain as the Domains from below stretched to orbit.
Weapons emerged from the side of their ship to threaten the Empires, but Dante once more waved them away. He picked up the communicator dangling from above the center controls.
With a click, he spoke into it, “This is the Heron’s Wing. Why is Glaniece and Ostacean here?”
A crackling voice answered Dante a moment later, “This is Praetor Oswen. Praetor Aurora stands beside me. Where is Claudius Vermillion? He should be the commander of this ship.”
Eyes turned toward their captain as Dante’s mind spun with painful alacrity. The loss of blood ate away at his neural plasticity, making each thought more and more difficult. Nevertheless, he stood tall, even doubled over with one hand on the console while Archimedes typed away, and the ship roared to life.
“He is onboard. I am a recruited merc’ from Gladius. The battle for the Inferose left him gravely wounded. He cannot talk right now,” Dante lied through his gritted teeth, just trying to buy a few minutes.
However, those on the other end of his line were not stupid. While they did not see through his lie, they suspected foul play. Praetor Oswen clicked through the communicator again, “Is that so? Then why is the Heron’s Wing preparing for a dive? And why have Sunwin’s vitals crashed? Aurora. Collapse their ship’s functions. Somehow, it’s still live with two Domains below.”
Dante’s lies bought only another half-minute. He turned behind him. Astraeus heard the order through the mic and stood. With heavy breathing, the Anathema countered the incoming Domain Collapse with his own.
“Domain Collapse: Flames Of Perdition.“
“Domain Collapse: Inverted Palace.”
A wave of gaseous heat enveloped the entire starship, pushed back only by the shimmering figure of a reversed castle. Astraeus’ body shivered as he immediately fell to one knee, snowflakes bursting from his nose.
Dante cursed, seeing that Astraeus wasn’t enough. After all, each of them was weary to their bones. Rejo couldn’t stand after two Domain Collapses within two days, Lucius, even with his Inheritance, had difficulty walking, and Sonna was utterly paralyzed from her neck down until the drugs wore off.
Only Joan and Archimedes were without any grievous wounds. However, neither could stop a Domain Collapse nor the Praetors who were surely coming.
That left Dante a single choice.
Would he make it? There was a very easy way to buy them the time they needed to escape.
He walked toward the hatch they had entered from. Rejo forced his feeble body to move as he placed his hands together, but Dante smacked him across the temple. Without any resistance, the Araki fell unconscious as his captain stopped him from attempting suicide.
Joan raised her voice as Dante’s hand neared the hatch, drawing Archimedes’ attention to his actions, “You playing the sacrifice card again? Getting a little old, isn’t it? Not at all like you.”
“I’ve changed,” Dante said with a shrug.
The doctor’s eyes narrowed as she shook her head, “No. You haven’t. People don’t change. Well, go on. If you wish to die, do so. You just knocked out your only way out of that trap.”
Dante sighed, knowing that he had to do so. In another second, Rejo would have started his Domain Collapse or attempted to and likely killed himself in the process.
So, the human could only click the communicator, prepared to turn himself in for just the slightest bit of time as four figures flew across space with tight suits. Two Praetors, One Archon, and One Boundless. Rome, Ostacean, and Glaniece had allied for this event.
It was the same as Dante had done with Friday, Claudius, and himself.
But before he could open the hatch and leap out, Archimedes finally built up the strength to speak, “It’s fine! Euclid and I can handle it! Just... hang on tight!”
Dante flipped around to discover Archimedes had plugged his wrists into the ship’s console. Ice and steam circled his arms in equal amounts, two Tides consoling his bleeding flesh. The young boy bore the price instead of his captain as tears welled in his eyes.
“I... don’t want you... to leave again...” Isaac cried out as Astraeus’ Inverted Palace shattered, broken by Praetor Aurora. Pythagoras had been alone for only a few days, yet it had reawakened his greatest fears. He didn’t want any of his friends to leave him. Not Rejo. Not Joan or Sonna. And most importantly, not Lucius or Dante. They were his pillars, that of his past and his present.
Dante gnashed his teeth, sprinting toward Archimedes as the frail boy’s skin turned a deathly white. Yet he couldn’t reach, even with his extended arm, as space itself began to twist.
Archimedes had forcibly connected himself to the heart of the Heron’s Wing with Euclid’s help. With this link, he directly forced the starship to pierce the glacial fields of the Domains.
Lights twisted and contorted as Dante hung in the air, reaching for the young genius’ falling tear. Then, there was only fiery smoke where the ship had once been.
Four figures floated within the rampant Thermo, eyeing for any hint of where they had jumped. Oswen, with his drawn greatsword, sheathed the weapon before shooting back toward his ship with projectiles of Cryo to give him momentum.
He pulled back his sleeve to communicate as Aurora, the fiery Irfret, hovered beside him. “Vicar, she’s gone. There's no sign of life from Sunwin.”
The swordsman renowned throughout the galaxy shivered as he awaited a reply. Moments passed, with the other Empires' officials returning to their ships. Yet, Oswen and Aurora stood still in the cosmos with respect, adoration, and, most importantly, fear.
Eventually, an ancient, rumbling voice returned with an answer, “What a shame. I had hoped to welcome her. Hmm... Find Elize’s Judge. And gather the Inheritances. We can use them to track the other opening dimensions. Nandum's, and this is just a warning. More are to come. My friend said so long ago. I should have believed her.”
Oswen’s eyes widened at the Legate’s direct admission of Praetor Sun’s potential, but he didn’t argue or acknowledge it. He simply heeded the order, “As you say, Legate. I will personally track down the Inheritances.”
With a hum, the communicator shut off, leaving Oswen and Aurora in the silence of the stars. They gazed at each other before Rome’s Sword told the other, “You go after whatever is left on the planet. I’m going to chase these folks. My gut tells me they have an Inheritance.”
A nod bounced between them before they departed, leaving the space where Dante’s crew had once been empty. They had escaped.
But at what cost?