Broken Wings

 †  NIGHT HAD FALLEN IN RESMNT TOWN……

 A knock came at the door. “Yes—coming,” a woman called out. When she opened it, two men stood waiting. She immediately knew they weren’t there to talk. One of the men stepped forward. “I’m Lutwel. We have come to see you,” he said, eyes cold as he looked around the dim room.

Lutwel asked You know Luzie, right? You are her daughter…

The woman replied, trembling, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She tried to close the door, but a hand stopped it. Akura pushed into the house. As he began searching, she attempted to stop him, but he struck her. Her jaw cracked with a sickening snap and hung broken. Through clenched teeth she tried to plead, “Please, I don’t know anything—” but the words were barely audible.

Lutwel snorted and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back so her shattered jaw glistened in the torchlight. don’t play the fool,” he snarled. “Tell us where she is, and no one gets hurt.” she insisted again, tears spilling from her eyes, “I—I don’t know.” Lutwel’s expression hardened further. “We don’t want your excuses.”

Suddenly a child’s voice cried out from the corner, “Mom—where are you?!”.Her Face Twisted With Panic. Akura glanced at the terrified children huddled in the corner before turning back to the women. “Now you want to talk?” he muttered and leaned over her. He added coldly, “I don’t care about you or your children as long as you obey. Tell me where she is.”

She tried to answer through swollen lips, but nothing more than a hoarse whisper escaped: “I DON’T KNOW.”

Lutwel shoved Her face-first into the wooden floor. Dust and grime filled her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. “I told you not to be arrogant,” he murmured.

Akura glared at Lutwel. “I have a better plan,” he said quietly. Lutwel watched as Akura formed a needle of swirling lyth energy in his hand. Without hesitation, Akura flung it at the nearest child. The razor-sharp needle pierced the child’s chest. One of the children collapsed with a strangled cry.

The woman screamed, but her voice broke on the ground. The wounded child’s body shuddered violently. Twisted, knobby arms burst from his flesh, and rows of jagged, animalistic teeth shattered through the skin of his lips. Where once a little boy sat, a grotesque, snarling creature now stood. Its eyes were blank with terror.

Even Lutwel was momentarily surprised, but he quickly masked it with forced calm. Akura observed the hideous transformation in silence.

Akura stepped toward Her and calmly declared, “Your child is with me now. If you want her back, bring yourself or may be luzie.. to the Rusted Market in the wastelands. You’ll find me there.”

Before leaving, Lutwel leaned down and said quietly into her dirt-smudged face. “Tell her soon,” he snarled. Then he and Akura vanished into the night, leaving  her alone among the wreckage.

After they left, she somehow crawled over to her children. Her jaw throbbed horribly, but she clung to the broken hope of her children’s safety. The children, frozen in horror, did not even cry. Wide, terrified eyes stared blankly. In the darkness she cradled them and whispered through broken lips, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

»….»…..»….»….»…

Far down the street, Lutwel and Akura walked away without a shred of guilt in their expressions. Akura spoke softly as they walked. “You’re getting soft, Lutwel. Developing emotions at last?” Lutwel snapped out of the daze of that night’s violence. “No,” he growled. “I’m not developing any emotions. My job is to kill, to hunt—whatever they tell me. They said we should let it be, that we’re close to finding her. It pisses me off, all of it.”

Lutwel forced a grin. “Wanna grab a drink?” he asked, tone smooth. Akura glanced up at a nearby tavern. “It’s been a while since I had anything stronger than water,” he admitted. Lutwel slapped his shoulder. “Then it’s settled!”

They entered a crowded tavern where the guild members were already carousing. Lutwel and Akura took a table near the bar. Lutwel waved down a waitress. “Rum! A barrel of rum,” he ordered loudly. The waitress and the nearby drinkers gave Lutwel strange looks, but he only laughed.

Raising his mug, Lutwel called out, “The feast is on me—so enjoy!” Immediately the tavern erupted. People cheered, clinked glasses, and began drinking heartily. Lutwel himself guzzled down mug after mug, dancing roughly with the barmaids and laughing boisterously. The hall resembled a festival in full swing.

Meanwhile, Akura sat calmly at their table, flipping through a leather-bound book he had pulled from his cloak. He felt someone sit beside him but kept his eyes on the pages. “What are you reading?” a voice suddenly asked. “It looks interesting. Doesn’t the party bother you?”

Akura glanced up and saw a man in a dark cloak leaning on the table, a faint grin on his lips. “I have something far more interesting,” the man said. “I know you’re searching for that old hag. I know where she is.”

Akura closed his book, eyes narrowing. “Who are you?” he asked evenly.

The man chuckled. “Name’s Vyren, leader of the gang Recural enX.” He leaned in, voice low. “I have an offer. I can lead you to her. You’ve already set all this up to find her, so why don’t you let me do the heavy lifting?”

Akura’s gaze was steady. “What’s in it for me? Why should I trust you?”

Vyren’s lips curved into a sly smile. “It’s not about gold. It pays me in another way. I want access to the Solzen’s Hanging Soul.” At those words, Akura felt a spark of interest, even as he remained cautious. Instead of anger, a measured calm settled over him.

Akura asked, “And what do you need in return for this ‘favor’?”

Vyren’s eyes gleamed. “I thought you’d never ask,” he purred. “Do you know a man named Kento in Solzen?”

Akura frowned. “Kento? I think so. Why?”

Vyren grinned. “Because if you want to find the Hanging Soul, you’d be wise to join my gang. We could use someone like you.”

Just then, Lutwel bounded over to the table with another mug of rum. “Drink up!” he urged, slapping a mug in front of Akura. “One sip and you’ll be hooked!” Akura raised an eyebrow but shook his head. “Who were you talking with?” he asked.

Vyren stood to leave. “Just a random stranger,” he said over his shoulder, voice dripping with mockery. “Random, huh? Interesting. We’ll meet again.” "As he slipped out of the tavern, half of the rowdy crowd follows him, as if they’d suddenly grown tired of the partying.

Akura sipped his rum eyes full of contempt. “He’s cautious, that one,” he murmured. “Clearly he came prepared.” A smirk tugged at his lips. “Not bad for a rookie.”

It wasn’t long before Lutwel let the alcohol take hold." . He slumped onto the table, snoring and mumbling incoherently. Akura returned to his book. The tavern gradually quieted as the night wore on. It looks like every good moment lasts for only a short time… he couldn’t help but think bitterly.

»…»….»….»…»

† Meanwhile, In The Distant Region Of Euxler….

Yenza and Yukan were attending a tense council meeting that very same night. As they scanned the room, they spotted three men who looked out of place….possible spies, or “rats,” as Yukan ca lled them. But as time passed, both Yenza and Yukan found themselvs in shock….for very different reasons.

Yenza narrowed his eyes at the people in the chamber. Above everyone’s head were thin, silvery strings attached to small, bubble-like orbs hovering in the air. He looked at Yukan: the detective had the same strange thing above his head. Attached to his own bubble, but all the strings in the hall led back to a single, larger bubble attached to one particular man. Yenza swallowed hard. “No way….it can’t be real,” he whispered.

Yukan smirked confidently, thinking he had the traitors cornered. But his expression froze. A strange sneeze erupted from one man in the room, then another. A third sneeze echoed through the hall, then a fourth—until the entire assembly was overcome by fits of sneezing. Yukan’s expression darkened, eyes narrowing with concern. “What is this?!” he thought. Then recognition dawned. “I know what this is,” he murmured to himself.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yukan leapt from his seat and crashed down from the balcony onto the council floor. He strode across the marbled hall and grabbed one of the suspicious men. “How many people do you know in this hall?” Yukan demanded, thrusting a finger at him. The man stammered, “I….I Know A Lot Of Them…”

Yukan didn’t give him a chance to continue. In a swift motion, he drew his sword and slic ed through the man’s neck. The head fell perfectly clean from the houlders. Astonishingly, the body remained standing, eerily lifeless, with no blood spilled.

Yukan held the severed head up by its hair. “So you’re the one who orchestrated the Euxler Citadel massacre,” he said coldly. “Look, Yenza…..try this.” Yukan lightly balancedfallhead on thfog-filledis hand. “It’s weightless.”

Yenza’s eyes began to glow with a fierce orange light. He pointed at a man hastily entering the chamber. “I think it’s him,” Yenza hissed, recalling that the man had tried to slip in during the chaos. Under the table, his lyth rifle (Lyzen) was already aimed. He steadied his hand and pointed directly at the newcomer.

Panic crossed the stranger’s face. “What is this?!” he yelled. “I’m an invited member of the family..this is madness!” But Yukan ignored his protests and calmly smashed another head onto the table next to him. “Does this look real to you?” Yukan taunted. Yenza added in a chilling voice, “I can feel it. You’re soaking in lyth magic.”

The mysterious man realized at once that he had been found out. He shoved both Yenza and Yukan hard and rushed for the heavy oaken door. “Move!” Yukan yelled and flung himself after him.

BAM! The man’s shoulder rammed into the thick wood, but the door barely budged. Yukan raised his hand. “Stop him!” he shouted…

Suddenly, the figures seated around the room shook violently. Heads twisted in impossible angles; limbs jerked and snapped. The faces of the council members tore away like masks, revealing metal and wood underneath. Puppets…the hidden defenses…..emerged where people once sat.

The man gave a taunting laugh. “Catch me if you can.”

Without hesitation, one of the puppets lunged at Yenza. Yenza gritted his teeth and fired at it. BOOM! The blast tore through the puppet, but instead of falling apart, The pieces moved across the floor toward the other puppets, like tiny, restless insects, fusing together into something even more nightmarish. Before their eyes, the destroyed puppet bits twisted and grew into a gigantic, misshapen hand. Flesh, metal and wood entwined; its fingers were as thick as tree trunks, its palm an abomination of tangled limbs.

“Move!” Yukan screamed. He dashed aside as the monstrous hand slammed into the spot Yenza had occupied, splintering the floor. Yenza rolled out of the way and came up on one knee, firing a tracking beam from his Lyzen. A spiraling line of light snaked toward the creature’s core. It hit solidly, but the monstrous hand ground forward, unstoppable.

Yukan was under assault from other puppets as well. He rolled and weaved, slashing through the wooden automatons with his blade. Even as limbs tore and wood splintered, new puppet soldiers rushed in to take their place. The hall filled with the snapping of breaking puppets and the screams of the fleeing assembly.

Yenza slammed his back against a pillar. He focused his mind; the silver cross pendant at his wrist began to glow. The little pearl at its center flashed bright as his lyth magic flared. Then—FLASH! A cross-shaped wave of golden light exploded out from him, scattering every puppet around. The thin control threads that animated them shattered like glass, and the puppets collapsed in heaps of disassembled parts.

Yukan didn’t hesitate. He sprinted across the wreckage straight toward the mysterious man, who was frantically pressing runes against the wall by the door. Jagged red symbols flared to life where he touched. “Yenza, stop him!” Yukan yelled as he closed in.

But it was too late. The man thrust out a hand and spoke an incantation. The door in front of him exploded inward with a thunderous blast, throwing Yukan, Yenza and even the man himself backward. Dust and splinters filled the air.

In the haze of debris, the man hurried up to his feet and rushed through the new opening. Yukan and Yenza pushed themselves up, but they were too late. The man crossed the threshold into the night air. In a heartbeat, he blurred and vanished entirely—like the final step of a disappearing act. All that was left were the glowing runes on the door frame

Yenza spat on the ground. “Damn it,” he cursed quietly. “He got away.”

Yukan dusted himself off. Outside the hall, guards were pouring in, alerted by the noise. Yukan noticed a faint, pulsing mark on the ground exactly where the blast occurred. He tapped it with the tip of his umbrella. “So it is…” he muttered. “They’re using Solzen’s magic. This confirms it.”

Yenza turned to him. “What did you find, detective?” he asked.

Yukan chuckled softly. “It’s a Yuvi Space.”

Yenza blinked, confused. “A… Yuvi Space?”

Yukan nodded. “Yes. Yuvi Space is a powerful Solzen spell. It creates a self-contained domain. Inside that space, the user can control everything at will.” He sighed. “Those people in there….the puppets…they were crafted within it. Perfect puppets, made to look like real people who never actually existed. There’s no record of those identities anywhere. Solzen magic.”

Yenza frowned. “If he can do anything inside that space, why didn’t he vanish from within the hall instead of coming out here?”

Yukan explained, “He can’t. The spell’s power is limited to creation and manipulation of those puppets. He simply can’t teleport or vanish while inside. It’s the trade-off….he must leave that space to use other abilities, including disappearing.”

Yenza stared at the fleeing crowd. “How are we going to find him?”

Yukan smirked. “He’s not very smart.”

Yenza raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Yukan gave him a knowing look. “Illusion is his greatest trick…..and his downfall.”

The distant sound of more guards running toward the hall snapped them back to urgency. “Shit, we have to move,” Yenza said, already retracing his steps through the chaos. As they fled, Yukan tapped that strange invisible mark on the meeting hall’s floor with his umbrella. Moments later, guards arrived to see the eerie aftermath—lifeless puppet bodies strewn across the floor like discarded dolls. Everyone whispered theories of what had happened.

»….»…»..»….»

High above the scattered clouds, rain began to fall on a deep, unknown forest. Yukan and Yenza stood atop the tall bell tower overlooking the misty expanse. The dense wood below had already changed into a rolling fog. Yukan lifted his umbrella, not for rain, but to reveal something unseen. “He’s not very far,” Yukan murmured.

Yenza asked, “What are you looking at?”

Yukan’s eyes narrowed. “Come under the umbrella,” he invited. Yenza stepped in beside him and gasped. Inside the small dome of the umbrella, the world looked different—like a hidden layer of reality. Bright trails of yellow light traced through the misty trees. “Do you see that yellow trail?” Yukan pointed out. “That’s him. The lyth residue. He was here just moments ago.”

Yenza squinted. “He didn’t get far, then. Was that part of your plan?”

Yukan smiled grimly. “You could say that. This umbrella was given to me by my master. I have bitter memories of him, but this is something he left that I treasure.” He patted the umbrella’s handle. “It allows me to see these trails.”

Yenza looked impressed. “I guess there really is a story there.”

Yukan nodded. “It’s why I told you to trust me. I added a special crystal to the umbrella—something that picks up the exact scent from that lyth. So once we got a trace, we could follow it.” He tapped the side of the umbrella. “Shall we?”

Within minutes they had slipped into a waiting carriage in Euxler. Yukan murmured a destination under his breath. The coach rattled through narrow lanes, then stopped in a quiet part of town. They stepped out and walked a few more minutes through deserted streets. Soon they emerged at a clearing edged by thick fog. A shiver ran down Yenza’s spine. “This is it,” he breathed. “He should be close.”

Peering through the umbrella, Yukan followed the yellow streak deeper into the shadowy Vampy Delt forest. “Stay alert,” he cautioned.

Almost immediately they heard footsteps among the trees. Yukan and Yenza froze, peering into the darkness. Ahead, two figures emerged: Lan and Kairen….familiar faces. Yenza blinked in surprise. “Lan? Kairen? What are you doing here?” he called. The figures didn’t answer; their lips were still. A dreadful realization hit them both. “They’re illusions,” Yukan said quietly. “Look closely.”

Sure enough, the illusion flickered. Yenza’s heart pounded. Lan and Kairen suddenly lunged toward them with unnatural jerks. But then both images flickered again and vanished.

Yukan sighed. “Ignore them. Illusions can’t physically hurt us.”

Yenza nodded. “So the real one must be near.”

At that moment, Yukan spotted movement above. He pointed. “He’s here.”

Yato hovered overhead, wings like silver sails spreading wide in the dim light. He saw them and grinned coldly. In a heartbeat, he summoned dozens of  Ghostly spears in the air. "They rained down on Yenza and Yukan.

Yenza and Yukan dove behind rough tree trunks for cover. “How do we fight him up there?” Yenza shouted. “I can’t fly at his level!”

Yukan crouched, thinking. “I have a spell… but if I use it, I won’t be able to move for a moment.”

Yenza gritted his teeth, rolling with each spear that missed them. “Find a safe spot. I can cast something too.”

Yenza ripped off the bandage on his arm….and his wound almost healed . Yukan watched, astonished. “You healed already?”

Yenza nodded. “The spell is called 'Shatter'.Suddenly, seven sharp metal shards appeared, spinning in mid-air around Yenza.

Yenza turned the shards over in his hand. “But what now?” he asked Yukan.

Yukan smirked. “We have to throw them up at him.”

Yenza’s eyes gleamed. “I think I know what to do.”

                                            ….THE MIST AMBUSH….

The ancient trees of Vampy Delt rise into the fog, their forms dissolving in the mist. I slowly move ahead, heart pounding, straining to make out shapes through the gloom. Everything blurs in the dense fog. Pale light from glowing butterflies drifts among the shadows. At the base of a twisted trunk, a single ghost-white flower glows softly. The forest feels alive, as if a thousand hidden eyes are watching my every move. My skin crawls. Every glowing insect seems to carry a quiet malice.

I can't see Yato anywhere, but I know he's here….somewhere above the swirling haze. A shivering charge runs across my skin….he's waiting, My fingers tighten on a cold metal shard in my hand. We only have seven of these jagged pieces; they are our only chance. Scatter, Yukan’s calm voice whispers in my mind.

I step back trying not to make a sound, holding my breath. “Show yourself!” I shout into the darkness. My voice is steadier than I expected. For a long moment there is only silence. Then, from high in the canopy, a voice echoes down, mocking. “Such courage for a creature  someone like you…

The voice is soft but cruel. I inhale sharply, adrenaline surging. “I know you’re out there, Yato,” I growl into the night. “Come down and fight like a man!” Moonlight filters through the leaves, lighting damp ferns at my feet. A glowing butterfly flew flying, its delicate wings shimmering in the mist.

Far above, I see Yukan. He’s holding up a shard toward the pale moon, almost invisible against the stars. I raise Lyzen to my shoulder, feeling its lyth magic hum in my hands. If I can shoot higher than Yato can fly, Yukan will pull me straight up.

“Ready,” I said. Yukan’s steady breath answers me.

“Fire,” he nods.

I pull the trigger. A blinding pulse erupts from Lyzen. The shard streaks skyward like a meteor, trailing sparks through the fog. In an instant, Yukan’s power wraps around me. The ground vanishes beneath my boots as wind and sky rush past.

I plunge through the darkness toward Yato. His enormous wings are spread wide; golden eyes burn like embers in the mist. “Where did you come from?” he snaps.I tighten my muscles and force a smile.

Lyzen flickered with lyth . I fire again. The barrel flares into a white-hot beam of light. Yato twists, but it’s too late…..the blast slices through the tip of his scarlet wing. He screamed in agony, and scales and feathers flew in every direction.

Yukan yanks me back through the clouds. We falls into the fog..filled forest. Yato’s agonized cry can be heard as he crashes into a Forest ground. Blood trails in the air from his wounded wing.

I land in a crouch, shotgun ready, lungs burning. For a moment, I dare to hope we’ve won….but then Yato’s scream twists into a scream of fury. Through our mental link, I sense Yukan’s tense fear. We gave away our advantage, and Yato will suspect who launched me into the sky. I can’t let him find Yukan.

Yato shouted above the trees and conjured a halo of spinning swords and spears. “Is that all you've got?” I shout. The demon shrieks and flings the weapons at me. Steel whistles through the air. I dive behind a gnarled trunk. Blades slam into the wood inches from my head.

No time to waste. I jump out from cover, letting Yukan’s magic pull me upward. Mid-air, I fling two shards. One lodges in a high branch overhead, the other disappears into the fog. Yukan locks onto them instantly.

Yato dives for the spot where I just was. I reappear fifty feet behind him, landing on a mossy boulder. “Come get me!” I mock.

“Damn you, trickster!” he yelled. Then his form shimmers. Five illusions of me appear in the trees, each holding a Lyzen aimed at Yato.

Focus. I catch the flicker of his eyes as they pass one illusion. In an instant, I vanish again, materializing at Yato’s back. I fire for his wing. Sparks erupt; he howls. I throw more shards, teleporting in a blur at his heels.

But Yato swings a claw. One swipe catches my arm. The pain burns through my flesh. Blood soaks the sleeve of my jacket. “You won’t stop me that easily,” I yelled.

Yato calls his weapons back to him. They return, spinning around him, gleaming with blinding light. The forest trembles. I squeeze lyth magic into my palm….Cross Flash, a trick he never saw coming.

Light erupts between us. Yato staggered, blinded.  His weapons from his hands were thrown off by the burst of energy.

“This is it,” I whisper, diving forward. Lyzen shifts in my hands from gun to glowing sword. I slash upward at his shoulder. Bone cracks; flesh rips. Yato’s wing comes free in my grip.

Golden blood sprays through the fog. Yato staggers, gasping. Then, with a savage shout, he beats his remaining wing and disappears into the darkness, vanishing into the misty night.

I stand trembling, the severed wing heavy and slick in my grasp. Moments later, Yukan drops from the canopy behind me. His eyes are wide. “You nearly killed him!” he exclaims, concern in his voice.

“He almost killed us,” I reply quietly. The forest is eerily silent. Only a few glowing butterflies drift in the still air.

Yukan steps forward and gently takes the wing from my hand. “You could have died,” he says softly.

I prop myself up against a tree, exhaustion weighing me down. “He could have killed us,” I retorted. “Either way, he’s grounded.”

Concern and pride mix in Yukan’s expression. “Next time, we plan together,” he says.

I nod. The night holds its breath, but I know calm is temporary. I sling Lyzen over my shoulder. Shoulder to shoulder, Yukan and I step into the mist. Vampy Delt’s ancient Forest close behind us, keeping their secrets as the night deepens.

The battle is over…..but this night will follow us into the dark.

                                                  …………★………….