If Only it Was Real

Struggling to hold their focus steady as the effects of the neurological attack dug deeper, Saba and Iddak vehemently tried to locate the source. With Saba’s script now failing, Akari tumbled back to the ground, Toro’s grip, however, wouldn’t loosen, the creature unaffected by the attack that plagued the twins. Saba, slowly locking in on the direction that the dog whistle was emanating from, was then forced to briefly release her hands from her ears to push Iddak out of the way from an incoming projectile.

As the twins collapsed to the ground, the dog whistle began to strike Saba even further, leaving her sense of direction going haywire. A shadow suddenlycasted over them, and with quick thinking, Iddak kicked his sister away before rolling just out of Azu’s reach.

Azu had finally revealed himself, but with the dog whistle still scrambling their psyche, the twins still had to tend with figuring out who was behind the relentless script. All the while dealing with the threat of Azu.

“Don’t let him touch you!” Saba yelled, fearful of his surgical scripts.

Azu then turned towards Akari, his goal to grab her and flee as quickly as possible. But not willing to let that happen, Iddak removed his hands from his ears, racing against time as he casted a script of his own. With Akari pinned down, focusing on keeping Azu away would be fairly easy for Iddak. He only needed to hold out long enough for Saba to do something about the dog whistle.

A green hue traced a line between Azu and Akari, with a wall of pure chakra rising from it. The markings surging through it gathered into a symbol at its center. Azu barely managed to make out its meaning before narrowly escaping its path as everything before it instantly turned into glass.

As Azu tried to circle around, the nature of the script became clear. Whatever symbol it projected, it manifested as an attack. At the moment, that symbol was glass, but the extent of what it could produce, and how long the attack would last, remained a mystery.

Iddak cried out in frustration to Saba, blaming the dog whistle for making impossible to keep up with Azu’s movements. Saba, however, was still struggling to pinpoint the source, which appeared to be moving locations unpredictably. Having had enough, she then resorted to her antigravity script, planning on lifting Azu in the air. But as the script failed, she was left nothing short of stunned.

“Huh?” she decried, only then noticing the barrier script covering Azu’s feet, negating her from lifting him. “How is he so agile without accidentally breaking it?” she quipped, but her lapse in focus left her wide open for a counter.

Azu launched one of the Coordinator General’s pocketknives at Saba. Iddak managed to deflect it with a kick, but it would send him off balance, causing him to briefly lose control of his script as it shot into the air.

Azu took advantage of the opportunity and lunged at Akari, aiming straight for Toro with his palm brandishing a script symbol.

With swift thinking, Iddak refocused and switched the symbol to light. It would move more quickly than glass and allow him to pinpoint its trajectory in hopes of not harming Toro or Akari. Forcing Azu to once again change directions. Saba then lifted a slab of glass paved over the ground with her antigravity, angling it to reflect Iddak’s light beam and make it more difficult for Azu to anticipate its direction. But the twins would let a small detail slipped past them yet again.

Akari had grabbed hold of Sir Didact’s knife once more, managing to wiggle herself over just close enough to grip with her teeth. As she forced her way into a kneeled position, she dropped the knife and caught it in the tip of her hand. Though she knew her strength wouldn’t amount to much, she threw caution to the wind and ran the tip of the blade into Toro, causing the creature to wail.

Incensed by Toro’s anguish cries, Saba snapped, unleashing an antigravity script so powerful that everything around them was thrust into the air and suspended, including Iddak himself.

Saba’s feet rose slowly off the ground, gliding her way over to Akari with effortless grace. The glow of her eyes was exalting, her gaze deafeningly cold. With the flick of her wrist, both she and Akari gently descended to the ground.

Iddak watched in awe of Saba’s incredible control. Antigravity alone was challenging without question, but to independently manipulate specific objects within an active script was unprecedented.

With a swift motion, Saba pulled the knife from Akari’s hand, releasing it to hang suspended in midair. She then summoned Toro back to her bag, comforting it with apologies for allowing it to be harmed. Anger seared through her as she peered at Akari, now appearing as though she was a completely different person.

“Why are you so important to everyone?” Saba maligned, “She’s become so obsessed with you.”

Fear coursed through Akari’s veins, the threat looming over eclipsed even Sir Didact. Saba grasped at her wrists, turning them side to side as if searching for something. “Hmm?” she mumbled in confusion, “Whatever.”

Placing her hand on Akari’s chest, she moved to activate a script, but a cry from Iddak stopped her in her tracks.

“Move Saba!”

As the sister turned to her left, she stared straight into Azu’s palm, a medical script brewing before her. Her instincts told her to evade, but Azu’s tranquil voice held her steady. Ayur’s should have no effect on me. She argued with herself, only then realizing that Azu’s other hand had a tight grasp of her arm. I forgot about the dog whistle.

“It’s okay, Saba.”

Slice!

Saba’s head spliced into three, her body quietly tumbling to the floor. Everything came crashing back down to land as her antigravity script was no more.

Akari was frozen in shock. How had it all come to this? Why did her very presence seem to bring nothing but endless death? What was it that she was meant to do? Was any of it even real…?

Her breathing grew heavy, unable to accept what lay before her. Azu needed to move quickly to keep her safe. The Eyrie Empire’s men were undoubtably closing in on the area, but he knew he was already out of time.

Drawing a faint smile on his face, he faced Akari with his eyes at ease. “Stay away from s-”

Toro lunged at him, thrusting him to the floor as it wrapped around his entire body.

Crush.

Blood gushed out like a geyser, sealing Azu’s fate.

Akari stared ahead, still feeling the warmth of Azu’s smile lingering as her mind fell blank. The sky drew stretches of orange and purple hues across its visage, its colors popping out at her like never before. She let her mind sink into its embrace, her thoughts drifting inwards.

If only it was all real.