The Four Colossi

Four hours had passed since the first tremor.

At first, the intervals were long enough for Lumeris to pretend there was still time. As the hours passed, however, the impacts grew more frequent and intense, making windows rattle, knocking objects from shelves, and opening small cracks across the oldest buildings.

The watchmen confirmed the approach of an army before it could even be seen from the walls, and a group of messengers immediately departed for Orvain with an urgent request for aid from the King of Lumeris. Even by the fastest routes, everyone knew reinforcements were unlikely to arrive in time.

While soldiers occupied the fortifications and additional defensive lines were established around the gates, the Queen was escorted into the underground complex beneath the palace, taking both Primordial Stones with her—one already used, the other still untouched.

At her own request, Raysa, Tenshi, and Alicia were taken into the shelter as well. Above them, Nino and Three waited atop the walls, watching a horizon that seemed to grow grayer with every tremor.

THUMP.

Dust fell from the stones beneath Nino's feet.

Three stood beside him, both sai secured across her back and her dark hair loose in the wind. Soldiers hurried behind them, carrying arrows, weapons, and crates toward their defensive positions, though none kept their eyes away from the horizon for long.

"It's getting stronger," she said.

Nino nodded. His right hand rested on the hilt of the black sword, where Alicia's red ribbon remained tied. Ever since leaving the chamber, he had been trying to adjust to the loss of vision on his left side. He had to turn his head farther to follow movements he once would have noticed naturally, and even judging the distance between his hand and the sword's hilt demanded an extra moment of attention.

Three looked at him.

"How's the eye?"

"Blind."

"I noticed that part."

Nino turned toward her.

"I was trying to be nice. You know, show some concern," she added.

"Doesn't suit you."

A small smile escaped Three.

"Good to know losing an eye didn't change your personality."

"..."

"Hmm... There's something I would've liked to tell you before we went into this war."

"Tell me what?" He looked at her.

"Back when we were at the academy... we dated." Her face turned red the instant the words left her mouth.

"What?" His eye widened.

"I found out I had a family and friends. I found them a few months ago... Obviously, they didn't recognize me. Whenever the King chose someone to become part of the Shadows, he erased that person from the memories of everyone they had ties to. To them... it was as if I'd never existed." Her expression darkened.

"And how did you find out about us?"

"There was a drawing in the house. I don't know who made it, but it showed the two of us holding hands, with a heart between us. To them, it was probably just some drawing made by a child..."

"Or maybe some traces of those memories are still there."

"Maybe..."

"But that drawing was enough for you to think we dated?"

"Eh?" Her face turned even redder. "Forget it... Maybe I was wrong, or..."

Nino clenched his jaw. The thought that he might have lived through so much and remembered none of it weighed heavily on him. He returned his attention to the horizon. After a few seconds, Three followed his gaze, though her eyes eventually lowered to the red ribbon tied around his sword.

"She got to see you."

"She did."

"And what do you think she felt?"

Nino took a moment to answer.

"She cried."

"Can't blame her. Must've been a huge disappointment."

This time, Nino managed a smile.

THUMP.

The brief moment of levity vanished instantly.

The old Hero of Lumeris appeared a few yards away, sliding his hands into the enormous metal gauntlets as soldiers assumed their final positions. Archers already occupied the towers. Pulse barriers rose among the ranks below the walls.

Then one of the watchmen pointed.

"Movement!"

Nino narrowed his right eye. The first banners appeared on the horizon: Mezi.

Hundreds advanced across the fields surrounding Lumeris, carried by a mass of soldiers that seemed to grow as it approached. Then other colors began appearing among them: Solvar.

Men who only days earlier had fought to stop the invasion now marched beside those who had destroyed their defenses. At the center of the formation, golden light flickered between the ranks.

"Leo," Nino whispered.

Farther ahead were the Shadows. One walked before the others; Four carried his segmented spear, Five kept her hands near the black blades strapped to her body, Six carried the enormous hammer over his shoulder, and Seven's chains rested across his arms.

Then the silhouettes appeared behind them.

One after another.

The old Hero of Lumeris lost his smile when the fourth emerged. It was larger than the others.

Much larger.

The Primordial Nino had brought down over the gates of Solvar was walking again. Its body still bore the marks of its fall—including the missing arm—but each step crossed vast stretches of land as though they were nothing. The other three were giants. Beside that one, they looked small.

THUMP.

"Four," the old Hero said.

Nino drew his sword.

"Four."

The horns of Lumeris sounded.

The sky disappeared beneath the first rain of arrows.

Mezi's lines continued advancing as blasts of Pulse crossed the battlefield in both directions. Soldiers of Solvar marched among them, some with strained faces as their own bodies obeyed a will that was not theirs. When the two forces finally collided before the fortifications, metal, screams, and energy erupted across the entire line.

Then the Colossi arrived.

The first slammed its shoulder into an outer fortification, tearing entire blocks of stone free. The second walked straight through a defensive line, forcing dozens of soldiers to scatter before its feet crushed everything in their path. The third advanced directly toward one of the gates.

The Primordial remained farther back. Even so, every one of its steps made the entire city tremble.

Nino leaped from the wall.

Violet Pulse wrapped around his legs before he touched the ground. Three descended moments later, while the old Hero simply threw himself over the edge and struck the earth with both gauntlets, opening cracks around his feet.

At that moment, the Shadows changed direction.

Nino headed straight for the King. Four moved to intercept him.

A sai struck the segmented spear before it could reach Nino. Three appeared between them, deflected its point with her second weapon, and forced Four backward.

"He's busy."

Five threw three blades toward her. The Hero of Lumeris raised one gauntlet and released a burst of Pulse that knocked two aside, but the third continued through the energy without changing course.

The old man tilted his body. The blade passed beside his face.

"Some of her blades nullify Pulse," Three warned.

Six was already upon them.

The hammer came down.

Three vanished before the impact, while the Hero crossed his gauntlets above his head. The collision drove his feet into the ground, but he remained standing.

"That one's strong."

Nino left the six behind.

He made it four steps before a sword appeared from his left.

He saw it too late.

One's blade slipped past his defense and opened a cut along his side before Nino could bring the black sword around. Steel collided, and Nino retreated as blood began seeping through his clothes near his ribs.

One studied his face.

"Your eye."

Nino adjusted his stance, keeping his right side angled toward his opponent.

"I still have another."

One attacked.

Their swords collided again and again. Nino blocked one thrust, evaded the next, and sent Pulse through his blade, forcing One backward. Before he could pursue him, golden light spread over the violet.

The Pulse wrapped around his sword like fingers closing around it. The blade was dragged aside.

Nino turned.

Leo stood ahead.

The Hero of Solvar raised one hand, golden energy compressing before his palm.

"Leo!"

The blast came.

Nino jumped aside, and the attack destroyed the ground where he had stood. One appeared before he could regain his balance. Nino blocked his sword and absorbed the impact with his left arm.

A shadow covered them both.

The Primordial raised its hand.

Nino and One separated at once.

BOOOM!

The blow struck the battlefield and hurled dirt, stone, and bodies through the air.

Far beneath the palace, Alicia raised her head.

The impact had made the torches fixed to the walls tremble, but the sound wasn't what bothered her.

She closed her eye.

Hundreds of manifestations of Pulse spread above them. Some disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared. Others collided, mixed together, and separated again. Amid all of them, there was one she knew better than any other.

Alicia brought a hand to her chest.

"Nino..."

Raysa approached her.

"He'll be all right."

Alicia wanted to believe her.

Then she felt his Pulse waver.

Nino emerged through the dust and managed to rise before One reached him. He blocked a thrust, but the loss of vision on his left forced his entire body to compensate for every movement. One noticed and began attacking from that side.

"I don't know what you did, but you just made my job easier."

Leo raised his fingers.

Gold spread over the Pulse surrounding Nino's sword, twisting the violet energy and forcing the blade downward.

"Leo! Listen to me! Break free from his control!" Nino shouted, trying to bring him back.

One found the opening.

His blade cut across Nino's left arm.

"It's useless. That madman has the power to control everyone now. It won't be long before he controls you too."

Nino retreated.

Leo prepared another attack.

The golden blast came directly at him. At the last instant, it changed direction. It passed beside Nino's face and destroyed a barricade behind him.

Nino looked at Leo.

The Hero of Solvar remained still, but the fingers of his raised hand were trembling.

Across the battlefield, the King noticed. He closed his hand.

Leo doubled over for a moment. The gold surrounding his body thrashed violently, as though something were squeezing him from within, until it finally stabilized again.

Nino understood.

Leo was still in there. One noticed as well and immediately attacked again.

In the underground levels of the palace, Alicia couldn't remain still. Four guards were stationed nearby, but they were protecting only the Queen and her son inside the royal vault. The law prevented anyone else from entering, so Alicia and her family had been forced to remain outside. They were protected nonetheless.

"He's hurt."

Raysa held Alicia by the shoulders.

"You don't know that."

"I do."

"Alicia—"

"It's like last time."

Tenshi stepped closer.

"What last time?"

Alicia was already looking toward the exit, but her thoughts were back in Arvendel.

The Colossus falling.

Nino almost completely drained of Pulse.

She didn't know how she had done it then. She still didn't. But she remembered the feeling of searching for him and finding something that connected the two of them.

"I helped him before."

Raysa tightened her grip on her daughter's shoulders.

"You're not going up there."

Alicia looked at her mother.

"I'm sorry."

Raysa realized too late.

Alicia slipped from her grasp and ran.

"Alicia!"

Tenshi chased after her, but the girl was already crossing the corridor leading toward the stairs. Guards farther above tried to stop her, but another tremor brought part of the ceiling down between them.

Alicia kept climbing.

When she reached the surface, the light struck her first. She raised a hand to her eye and blinked repeatedly until she managed to open it.

The sky.

For years, she had heard people describe how vast it was. No description had ever come close. But the first sky Alicia saw was covered in smoke.

Soldiers ran through the streets. The wounded were carried toward the palace. A distant section of the wall had disappeared.

THUMP.

Alicia looked up.

And finally understood what a Colossus was.

The giant towered above the buildings, so tall that she had to tilt her head as far back as she could. One of its legs passed through what remained of a fortification while soldiers looked like tiny dots around its feet.

Then another appeared beyond it. Finally, Alicia saw the Primordial.

Her eye widened.

That was what Nino had faced in Solvar. What he had moved to save Arvendel. And now he was facing it again.

Alicia searched for the unmistakable Pulse of her Hero. In the distance, she felt Three fighting the other Shadows.

Three slipped beneath Seven's chains, caught one between her two sai, and pulled. Seven lost his balance just as the Hero of Lumeris drove a gauntlet into his chest.

Five attacked Three from behind. She already knew the movement.

Three avoided the first blade and struck Five's wrist with the handle of her sai. Four moved to protect her, but the old Hero caught the segmented spear between his gauntlets.

Pulse compressed between his hands. The explosion shattered two of the weapon's joints.

Six raised his hammer.

The Hero charged toward him. The collision of their weapons shook the ground.

Meanwhile, Nino could barely keep One in front of him.

Blood ran from his side and down his left arm. Leo prevented every attempt to create distance, and above them the Primordial was already raising its foot.

The King spoke.

"One."

The Shadow stopped.

He pointed toward Nino.

"Stay where you are."

One looked up.

The shadow of the Primordial's foot grew over them both. For a moment, he didn't move.

Sacrifice requires choice.

One looked at the King. The foot began to descend. And he jumped. He had disobeyed.

Nino tried to do the same. His leg failed when he tried to push himself away. The violet Pulse surrounding him weakened.

There wasn't enough energy left. Then something found him.

Nino's eye widened.

A small presence crossed the chaos of thousands of manifestations and touched his own. Familiar. Warm. Impossible to mistake.

He had felt it before in Arvendel.

"Alicia..."

Violet exploded around his body. Nino vanished an instant before the impact.

BOOOM!

The Primordial's foot destroyed the ground.

Nino emerged beyond the wave of dust, sliding several yards before driving his sword into the earth to stop himself. The wound in his side remained open. His arm still hurt. Alicia hadn't healed anything.

But his Pulse was burning again.

He searched for the source and found her near the entrance to the palace.

Alicia was there. For the first time, she could see him too. Her blue-gray eye remained fixed on him as Pulse flowed between them.

Nino stood motionless for a fraction of a second. Then another presence noticed the connection.

The King turned his head and followed the flow. And finally, he found Alicia.

She felt his gaze before she even understood who she was looking at. The distant man remained motionless on the Colossus's body.

Alicia recognized the face Nino had described.

The King.

Nino saw where he was looking.

"Don't even think about it."

The King returned his gaze to him.

In the distance, another impact tore through the city. Six fell beneath a blow from the gauntlets while Three brought Seven down. Four and Five retreated, but their victory brought no relief.

Two Colossi had broken through the defenses.

One struck the wall and tore away an entire section of stone. The other advanced through the nearby buildings, forcing soldiers and civilians to flee through the streets.

Three looked at Nino. Then at the giants. The Hero of Lumeris was already running toward them.

For a moment, she hesitated. She saw Nino standing. But the people behind her wouldn't be for much longer.

Three secured one of her sai and ran after the old Hero.

Nino took a deep breath.

One stood several yards ahead, staring at the King after disobeying his command. Leo remained on the other side, gold trembling around his hands as he fought against something Nino couldn't see.

Above them, the Primordial began moving again.

Nino tightened his grip on the sword. His side was bleeding. His left arm barely responded. Half his vision was gone forever. Even so, Alicia's Pulse flowed alongside his own.

It was enough for him to draw one more breath and regain the control over his senses and emotions that had once made him known as the greatest Hero among the Four Nations.

The King ordered the Colossus forward. And this time, Nino advanced as well.