Author's Preface
Naren crumbled to the ground, no longer able to support the weight of his body with his shattered legs. He bent dropped to his knees in a crash, sprawling out over the ground. His body had better revert to normal.
Around him, he saw no change for a moment...The flames continued to dance, latching onto any surface they could find. The ground continued peeling off, a black indescribable pitfall in it's place.
Soon nothing would be off Lastlight at all. Let alone Naren, Cairo, and Yuna.
But, just as he was about to raise his concerns Naren's ears twitched. His golden eyes wandered to the sky above, the oceanic view of cascading waves.
He squinted. He could've sworn he heard something, but everything looked the same. Straining his eyes, he finally managed to spot it. And as he did, it grew larger.
A crack in the sky began branching off. It's rigid edges zapping through the entire horizon, streaking like lightning until it seemed like the ocean might just shatter and fall atop them. But to his surprise, it did exactly that.
The pieces breaking off and falling, fading off into oblivion as everything seemed to be wisp away into nothingness.
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Cairo grabbed his head as he sat up. His grin biting through his lips as his anger began seeping out. He was going to gave that red-haired shorties skull in.
But just as he went to move, a light nudge brushed up against his shoulder.
Turning around, Cairo saw the toothy grin of a boy with big-wide eyes. His scruffy hair finally in a neat comb over. His clothes looking newly washed. And his face finally reflecting the easy going nature of a child.
"Em ot doog rof uoy knaht."
"Huh? Speak clearly shorty."
But before the boy could get another word out his body rippled, wisping away into nothingness.
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Yuna breathed a heavy sigh as her breath grew shaky.
She was able to show the Dreameater a nightmare of it's own. Forcing it to spit them out.
The black needle in her hand began to violently shake in excitement. It's point itching towards Naren. Even after swallowing the Dreameater's fable, the needle was still filled with an overwhelming avarice.
Yuna shot a blood-lusted glare at the needle, forcing it into submission.
"If only I could use you whenever. Then this would be a whole lot easier."
She feel to a seat. Heaving in exhaustion. Well, at least she made it out alive. That's what mattered for now.
Yuna stared off at the city of Lastlight. Her mind wandering through it's streets. She smiled, thinking about the endless smiles that had once walked across these stone slabs.
She watched silently, her beating heart growing more and more uncontrollable as it all began to wisp away into nothingness.
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Naren's eyes fluttered open as a familiar dull pain radiated through his shoulder. But there was something else as well. A repeatedly blunt pain in his back.
"You think shit's sweet?!"
Naren's ears twitched as he flailed to clamp them shut from the sudden screaming.
Finally, adjusting to the light emanating from a small ember he was able to realize what was happening.
Cairo continued to stomp on Naren's back, relieving all his pent up anger.
"I had that slimy fucker in my hand and you stole the kill!"
Naren tensed his jaws. He hated getting hit, it hurt. But he was also too lazy to drag out the confrontation with someone like Cairo. Instead, opting to suck it up and let it go.
"I'm sorry buddy. I couldn't help it..."
Naren looked around to see Yuna leaning against a tree right beside them. Immediately, he wriggled around, pointing at her.
"Her! It was her! She forced me to do it pal. Come on, me and you? We're locked. Why would I try to take what's yours?!"
Cairo looked over at the princess sleeping soundly against the tree. He let Naren wriggle free from underneath him, focusing his agitation towards the princess now.
"Stop being an idiot..."
Yuna's eyes were still closed when she spoke.
"If you killed that thing, we would've been stuck in that hell forever. If it held that deep a grudge on us, it's fable wouldn't hesitate to continue haunting us until we withered up and died."
Cairo grinded his teeth, snapping his face at Naren.
"But you still stuck it me, didn't you?"
Cairo pointed at his cheek.
Naren grimaced, remembering how he snuck in a kick to Cairo's jaw just cause he was still annoyed from when he burned his feet. He had hoped the one-eyed man wouldn't remember me.
"Who me? Why would I?"
The flame on Cairo's finger began burning brighter as his skin emitted a layer of steam.
"You lyin' now?"
Naren sighed, turning around, bending over slightly.
"Fine, just be gentle."
Cairo's face recoiled back as he scowled.
"The fuck're you talkin bout!"
Cairo twisted his body digging his knees into Naren's hind, sending the red-haired boy swiftly to the ground rethinking his actions.
Naren rubbed his butt, hoping this was the end of Cairo's wrath. He made up in his mind that he was going to kick his ass one way or another. Whichever way was followed by never seeing the one-eyed freak again.
But for now he let him live.
Naren stood up, looking around.
The dim light of Cairo's flame only managed to highlight about a ten meter radius, but even from that he could garner where they were. Lastlight.
Or at least, it was Lastlight.
The ground was covered in moss, the stone pavilion barely visible now. Vines crawling up ruins of stone buildings, with trees and vegetation sprouting up from whatever crevice seemed appropriate. It felt like he fast forwarded a thousand years into the future.
But there was still a dead giveaway that they were on Lastlight.
Naren tilted his head, staring at the statue that continued to peer at him through the darkness. It's feature barely lit up. Yet, even after all this time, it looked completely undamaged.
Though he wasn't surprised considering how tough it was to originally break. Just exactly what was that thing made of?
He shivered, as it's eyes continued staring at him. And exactly what was it.
His thoughts were quickly shooed away by Yuna's voice.
"Now, I assume we're all here for the same reason, right?"
Naren turned his attention towards her. Cairo sitting beside a couple feet away, examining the wound on his chest.
Yuna continued.
"Then, let's go together."
Cairo stood up, walking over to the princess. He held her gaze with one eye.
"Either way is fine. Just don't pull nothin funny, princess."
Naren popped up beside Cairo, his tired eyes barely able to stay open as he let out a yawn.
"Ignore the candle...Happy to have you."
Of course, as soon as he was free he was also going to make sure he never sees this witch again either.
But there was also one more thing Naren had to do before then. He decided to shift his focus onto the Dreameater not because he had given up on Vera. Quite the opposite. He wanted more time.
He tried pushing it off before, but after hearing Cairo call him by his name he understood.
Naren wanted to hear Vera call his name once more. He cared about her.
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Vera first felt the coolness that emanated from the floor below her.
Her eyes fluttered open to a dimly lit room. Slow to acclimate to the darkness as she pushed herself up from the floor. Her small frame trembling from exhaustion.
The last thing she remembered was Dian and Theron wrapping something around her eyes. Telling her that what was about to happen, she couldn't see.
The little girl smoothed out the wrinkles on her shirt before realizing it was a completely different outfit.
A long dark-green dress that landed right under her knees. It's edges frilled into a beautiful pattern as it laced over her arms as well. The sleeves running a little farther than it should with a little extra hanging off.
Then her gaze began wandering around. Trying to identify where she was. But it wasn't too difficult. In fact, it was overwhelmingly easy.
Vera was in a throne room. A massive domed roof with many cascading pillars piercing down from above like spears. Unlit lanterns dangling from them all. From the ground, sharp, thick pillars of white shot through, disappearing into the shadows above.
It was as if rods were jut right through the ground into the heavens.
Though that wasn't what Vera's gaze was most focused on.
No. The little girl was looking at the emblem hung up periodically around the great hall. The massive red panels had all been painted over. Only a ghost of the previous emblem remained behind what looked to be a blue bird.
Vera's eyes continued swimming around the room until it finally stopped at the far end, where the throne sat.
Her breath caught.
Raised high on a dais sat an ornate throne. Golden leaves peeling off from the carved wood with jewels implanted as often as possible.
And on that throne a figure sat cross-legged.
A figure completely consumed by shadows, with only his amber eyes piercing through the darkness.
His voice spoke in a shrill authority. One that completely subdued Vera, as her legs gave way. A shiver running down her spine as her entire body yelled at her to run.
"Welcome to the Tomb of Atlas...Vera."