Kaoyru

Chapter XIII A Goddess of Earth and Stone Noisy clamor echoed from within a bustling inn, hearty laughter resounding from the small dining area just to the right of the entryway. They drank and sang merrily, an uplifting air filling the room, lined with numerous, round tables, each having a low light lamp situated at the very center for ambiance. With the wall along one side of the room, bright, square-paned windows lined the opposite wall that overlooked the streets just outside. People came and went, going about their business in a hurry as the entirety of the city seemed to be setting up for something grand. They hung colorful banners across lamp-posts, placed numerous, eye catching signs across the brick-laden roads. Kiosks were half placed almost in a hurry, haphazardly, even, as boxes full of various wares sat behind them. Each were the telltale signs of a wondrous festival on it’s way. Even as the evening was steadily closing in, noisiness permeated through the inn walls

A vibrant spray of red splotched against a mixture of earth and green. Intertwined within these colors, silhouettes in the shapes of people laid motionlessly across the ground, each having long since drawn their very last breath. They appeared Human, like any other, but such was not so. Their bodies bruised and battered, they remained indiscernible, their identities unknown, forgotten. ...To all but one, who stood over them from above a hidden ledge, his face shadowed behind medium, soot-gray hair, his head hung down. Only his thin, gray-black tail gave any indication to his remorse, his anger, his resentment. Standing at the cusp of the forest, he balled his hands into fists before turning on his heel, heading back towards the mountains towering in the distance behind him. Deep in those mountains, high above, Demons stirred in the darkest depths. They gathered around in a mighty cave, illuminated brightly by glowing crystals overhead, glittering with dazzling light, as

Chapter XII Melting Into Spring Silence. An empty, eerie silence, the stale, damp scent of being underground hung heavily in the air. He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear anything side from the steady beating of his own heart. A dark colored cloth covered his eyes, blocking his vision, and a steel bar had been firmly jammed between his teeth, a metallic taste lingering in the back of his throat. The cool, hard sensation of concrete was pressed against his cheek, his arms wound behind him, cuffed together at the wrists...And all the while, he could feel pain burning away at his nerves, eating at him, gnawing at him. He wondered what would become of him, feeling a certain sense of unease, yet respite in being unable to see nothing in this darkness...All around him...He almost felt as though he would fade away, melding with this void engulfing him. Until the creaking sound of metal echoed. Max instinctively tensed, piqued, wondering who had entered the room, and what they had planned for

A long corridor spanned out ahead, marbled floors glinting under the sunlight, filtering in from the windows lining the walls. Lined with redwood doors, a young man frantically glanced between those doors as he rushed about, two-toned fixating upon one door in particular. This was the one, and without even taking a moment to knock, the young man burst into the room. The interior was in complete disarray, things thrown about carelessly. Two men stood in the room, in a heated disagreement, before looking up, startled as he barged in. "Where is he." Eon demanded, disregarding any sense of formality as he stared daggers at the two men. He was infuriated by what he had heard, by what transpired. "I did not give you permission to-" "I'm not asking." Eon hissed, interrupting Alacard before he could even finish. "I asked where he is. What did you do to him?!" Black tail lashing out behind him, Eon didn't have an ounce of delicacy, despite who he was speaking to. He'd tolerated

The stench of blood. It choked the night air, chilled, frigid, enough to freeze one right down to their core. Silence filled the surrounding, dusty air, worn down, wooden buildings stood still all around. Not even a single breeze swept in through the dirt laden roads, twining through a minuscule, little village. The world itself seemed to be holding it’s breath. A large shadow sat still across the dirt, the scent of death rising from a thick, scaled body. Blood red eyes glistened under the moonlight, clouded over, transparent, like glass beads. They mindlessly looked up, devoid of life. The creature had long since taken it’s last breath as another stood before it. White, then red. White...And red. The colors mixed together, emerald eyes, looking on vacantly as they glinted in the night. In a way, those eyes were not unlike those of the dead Demon, glazed, and empty. He felt nothing, as though blind to the scene displayed before him. He didn’t want to see it. Even so, the

Thump. Thump T h u m p. A heavy heartbeat, drumming loudly in the back of his mind. Everything had gone dark, as though his consciousness had been pulled into a blackened sea, deep within it’s depths. He could see nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing...Nothing aside from that steady thump. That beating drum. ...No...Was that really all he heard? He was certain...He could hear a voice. A soft voice. A gentle voice. Was it calling him? He could have sworn a vague scent tickled his nose. Warm, tender, a strange sense of familiarity carried within it. The sound of something in the distance, sweeping in, receding, crashing…Waves? Did he hear the sea?? He felt as though he could almost make it out in the distance, bright and blue, reflecting the sun’s rays like glittering jewels upon it’s surface. He was mesmerized by the sight. He wanted to run towards it, but the voice he heard called him away, just behind him. He caught sight of a flash of red, sweeping softly in the

Agitation. That emotion alone lingered in the air, fraught with tension as a lone finger stood within a disheveled inn room. With a single hand running through his slicked back, cerulean blue hair, the man snapped his gaze around, sensing that he was not alone. “You have a lot of audacity, to be showing your face after the stunt you just pulled.” Golden eyes met with an infuriated, rusty red. “Oh my...You look quite angry, Roan. I wonder why?” An amused, sing-song voice replied, humming to a beat no one could hear but himself, or so it would seem. “Before I slit that filthy grin of yours from ear to ear, I suggest you tell me why you let them escape.” Roan hissed, shooting the man a look that would have killed...If looks could kill, that is. “I have no qualms with enlightening you, but you should know something, dear Roan.” Golden eyes lost their playful light. “Do pick your fights a little more carefully, yes?” Roan was struck silent, regarding Xordin in slight caution, but as

Chapter XI Unraveled A chilling splash of cold water collided with his body, sloshing noisily against a gray, cement floor. Trickles of red imbricated with the translucent fluid before spiraling down a nearby drain. “Clean yourself up.” A voice crashed down on him, more freezing than the water that chilled his body. Then, without sparing the trembling form of white a second glance, he left without another word, the heavy door slamming shut. Silence. Not a single sound past the gentle trickling of lingering water echoed in the tiny room, Max staring down listlessly. Candidly, he didn’t quite care for the state of his appearance. Both his hair and his fur were caked with filth, having long since lost it’s healthy sheen…But he knew refusing to clean himself would land him in hot water later. So, removing his bloodied clothes, Max cast them aside, plucking up the bucket of ice cold water, and pouring the remainder of it’s contents onto himself. His body shuddered in protest, but