A New Battle

“Great Drakin!” a Seraph called from above them, descending on black wings.

He was a Raven Aspect Seraph. Just like Beltran. She frowned at herself, a twinge of sadness rising into her at the thought of him.

“We’ve spotted a gigantic ape running towards us from the rear,” the Seraph said, his beating wings dragging through the air. “Looks like a Cypher user. Potential Forest Aspect Druid.”

The Drakin raised a hand. “Thank you, Seraph.”

The Seraph paused, his black moustache reaching down the sides of his mouth, hanging off his chin like saber-teeth.

“Would you like us to intercept?” the Seraph asked.

The Drakin turned to Kiyomi. “No, Seraph. Let them get closer. And then our Red Archmage will lead your interception.”

The Seraph gave a nod. “Yes, great Drakin. Should I alert the Hallowed Titan?”

“Yes, please. I think he would appreciate the opportunity to wipe his slate clean,” the Drakin mused.

The Seraph swooped away, leaving a black feather to flit down to Kiyomi’s shoe.

“It would appear your opportunity to prove yourself has arrived early, Kiyomi,” the Drakin said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

She felt something burn in her stomach. Whether it was guilt or resolve, hatred or ambition, she couldn’t tell. They all seemed to blend together after a certain amount of time.

“Yes, great Drakin,” she said.

She stumbled backwards as he pushed her. Her back pressed against the battlement, and his hand slid from her shoulder to her throat.

“Then why didn’t you do anything when you heard what the Seraph said?” the Drakin asked, an orange light burning inside the black visors of his helmet. Like someone had lit a fire behind them.

He let go of her, and she gasped, coughing as she clutched her neck.

“Go intercept the enemy, Archmage,” the Drakin said, turning and walking away, Ezequiel’s head dripping as it swayed from his hand. “And don’t come back to me without a head to show for your work.”

Her neck burned, throat aching.

Are they back already? She thought. There had to be another explanation. Maybe they were more reinforcements from the Sanctum?

But the Seraph would’ve known that, she thought.

Regardless, the next challenge was here. Failure wasn’t an option. It never was with Cypher Corp.

No more failures.

She bared her teeth. “Yes, great Drakin.”

Ignacio held his arms wide as he stood atop the head of Shun’s gorilla form, the beast galloping on all fours towards the back of the Sentinel.

He smiled. The wind billowing his black robe in the wind, hair whipping around.

They had reinforcements. Lots of them. People with wings flew over the Sentinel’s tower-like head, about five of them. To the Sentinel’s left walked a lion. A massive lion with a scorpion’s tail curling over its back, dragon wings folded at its sides. And to the Sentinel’s right lumbered a four legged creature coated in black scales, spines protruding from its elbows and backward-pointing knees. Its skin cracked like a dry riverbed, a volcanic glow emanating from inside. Ignacio scanned the right hand side of the plane as Shun galloped towards them. Sure enough, there were gigantic footprints left behind by the wingless Dragon, the grass burnt to ash.

“I’ve never seen two Dragonkin in the same place before,” Shun barked.

Ignacio lowered his head. “What are they?”

“One on the left is Manticore Aspect, one on the right is Magma Aspect,” Shun said.

Like Chey, he thought. His stomach burned as the memory flashed back to him.

Ignacio took a deep breath. “Can you handle the Manticore?”

“Handle it, dismantle it, you name it,” Shun said. “But I’m not going near that Magma Dragonkin.”

Ignacio raised his eyes. “I know. That one is mine. That and the-”

A flash of light blazed ahead of them, turning everything white. Ignacio winced, shielding his face as Shun roared and slowed to a halt. A warping sound rippled through the air, and the light disappeared as a giant cloud of white smoke opened in the air, and from it fell the Hallowed Titan. It hit the ground running, smoke wisping off its body in thick columns as it roared.

The Manticore and Magma Drake turned around, spotting Shun.

“I think they see us,” Shun said heartily, sitting back on his haunches.

Ignacio frowned down at him, hands on his hips. Shun’s wooden gorilla form glowing with blue markings on his chest and arms that curled and branched like vines. His eyes were hollow, leaves sprouting from his body here and there, a large ivory tooth jutting from his lower jaw. He raised a giant wooden finger, sticking it into his nostril.

Ignacio chuckled. “You’re so… calm.”

Shun bellowed a slow laugh. “I think it’s because you’re so calm.”

Ignacio smiled. “Maybe.”

Shun raised a wooden hand twining with roots to Ignacio, and he climbed onto it.

“You sure this is gonna work?” Shun asked.

Ignacio squirmed in his wooden grip, head sticking above the fist to watch the Hallowed Titan charging towards them, opening its arms as it roared. The Manticore took to the sky, its gigantic wings bending trees beneath it as they flapped. The Magma Drake also ran for them, its legs galloping like a giant dog’s.

Ignacio could feel his heart beating. And it was slow. So… slow. Like he was watching it all on a holo-screen. The earth began to tremble, and Shun sat forward.

“Ace?” Shun asked. “You sure it’s gonna work?”

Ignacio sighed. “I couldn’t tell you, Shun. But this is what Koharu said Ezequiel did. And if you really are stronger than his Golem, then yeah, this should work.”

Shun sighed. “Well, here goes nothing.”

Ignacio closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as the ground rumbled, growing to a tremor that rattled his organs.

He tapped into Dario’s Aspect, and sure enough, there branched all kinds of images. Flashes of possible futures. He opened his eyes, and instead of one Hallowed Titan, he saw five. Five doing different things. Moving in different directions, having different results.

Then one of the five flashed out of existence. Then another. Then another. And Ignacio could see exactly what was going to happen.