Act 4 - Chapter 4

Chapter 39: Jack; Shauran 46th, 344SR; 1:55

The giant husks in armor and smaller robed ones hollered and roared with excitement and bloodlust. On the walls, crawling from the ground, skeletal creatures holding silver or wooden scepters emerged. Their bodies were forged from patches of black rotted flesh, sprouting logorite from their wounds and under rib bones. Hundreds of green eyes glowed with a bright flare as viridian light flooded from their cores and out the mouth or ribs. The druids raised silver scepters, all of them spun it at the same time, then dropped to their knees and slammed it to the ground all at once. They bowed to Oaraun. Giants in lustrous gold lifted hammers, clubs, and jagged blades used to bludgeon. Jack gulped as they beat it against the battered surface of their shields. It was an astounding sight, however, his mind had been occupied by the grim truth of his life.

'The angels... And the demons... Came from a different world?'

Franklin was standing not too far away, his dark skin covered in ash, arms covered in branching lines of blood. His expression was equally shocked. 'Me... Lydia... Carol... Everyone... We really are just slaves from the moment we're born... Until we die...' Franklin grasped his curly head of hair and shook it, shaking his head to forget desperately. Even Lector looked at Oaraun with shock as he heard the truth of his own race.

"You're insane!" Franklin shouted as he whipped his hand to the right in frustration.

The eight-foot-tall man once known as Alexander Rael turned around slowly. Oaraun was clad head to toe in black jagged armor. His green hair appeared paler than usual, smothered in the green flames flowing around his head. He stared down at Franklin with black eyes, a bright green pupil in the center. 'It can't be... Alexander Rael... Was the divine being of Grelt this whole time?!' Jack's head struggled to process everything.

"You're- you're just as bad!" Franklin cursed at Oaraun.

"Oh?" Oaraun turned back, slightly annoyed.

"Jack! Get up, we need to get out of here!"

Jack didn't respond, his mind was racing faster than before. 'They use us just to make use of us...' The memories of Logos flooded back to him. 'The Celestial never abandoned the non-unified... They destroyed ours!' Jack's head throbbed.

"I'm not that smart... And I don't know much... I don't get much of what he said! But!" Franklin shouted. "This guy is just planning to cause more bloodshed!"

'Why did Carol have to die... Why did any of us have to die... Who would do something so sick!' Jack grimaced as tears started falling from his eyes. He felt sick to his stomach. His head throbbed. The aching pain in his muscles was a lingering afterthought compared to the frustration brewing through his veins.

"Franklin? How surprising, seeing the two of you allied together considering what you did," Oaraun mentioned.

"Huh..." Franklin uttered.

Jack clenched his fist, dragging the dust on the ground with his fingers. He breathed in and out, and a throbbing pain in his head began to swell. Franklin looked down in thought, his eyes widened after a moment of silence. Giant steps from beyond the courtyard rumbled the ground. A broken rhythm of footsteps echoed throughout the chasm.

"The only reason that girl who defied the angels died, was because you gave away her and Jack," Oaraun pointed at Franklin.

Jack flinched, and his thoughts came to a stop all at once. 'What...' His head slowly turned towards Franklin with confused eyes. Jack's head turned to Franklin with wide eyes. 'What did he just say...'

"I... I was-"

"A perfect example of what the angels molded you into. Obedient slaves, completely dependent on the angels. Protection, food, shelter, they gave you the bare minimum. Telling you that you should have been grateful for scraps while stuffing their mouths full from the profits they made of you. My mind had been destroyed, but I was molded into an instrument to sever the limbs of those reaching for what they truly deserved. I instilled fear in you all. I made you too afraid to step out of line. Too afraid to have bonds, out of the fear of them being ripped apart. Too afraid to believe in your own selves and fellow brethren. To the point, some of you had even started to sell out your own," Oaraun explained.

Franklin was speechless as he stood still in front of the divine being. He glanced to the left and shivered at the sight of Jack. The veins on his forehead bulged as he looked at Franklin with a look of hatred.

"You... Carol died... Because of you?" Jack huffed.

"Jack... I..." Franklin uttered, he didn't know what to say.

Jack stood up, he looked Franklin dead in the eyes. His mouth twitched as he could barely form words, the rage bubbling within him was about to burst.

Franklin stepped back hesitantly, "He would've killed someone if I di-"

Jack suddenly lunged forward and slammed his fist across Franklin's face, his fist aching the moment it made contact. He didn't even notice the erratic and violent flow of his spirit. Franklin hit the ground, he grasped his face as he curled and rolled onto his side. Franklin opened his eyes as Jack charged forward, trying to flee but the enraged slave pinned him. 'You!' Jack drove his fist into Franklin's nose, his fist ached in pain as he looked down at the other slave. 'You! Carol died because of you!'

"Jack wai-" Franklin tried to plead, only to be punched again.

"How dare you!" Jack screamed as he continued to bring his clenched fist down at Franklin.

Franklin's hands clawed at Jack's wrists but paused for a moment after Jack's fist knocked a tooth out of him. Jack held onto Franklin's collar as he reared his fist back, Franklin desperately swung his hand. He struck Jack in the nose, however, Jack kept holding on. Franklin kicked and struggled but he wasn't stronger. Jack was completely fixated on killing him as he squeezed down on his comrade's throat.

"It's your fault!" Jack screamed.

Another strike to his head managed to knock Jack off. Franklin desperately tried to run but limped and fell. He grasped his right bruised eye, tears mixing with the blood already running down his head.

"Agh!" Jack grunted as he rolled over, but kicked off the ground. "Raah!" Jack screamed.

Jack rushed forward into Franklin, tackling him. The two fell to the ground, Jack tried to pin Franklin once more, but he turned and swung his fist around and struck Jack in the head once again. Jack barely registered the pain. He grasped Franklin's neck with great force, and the boy's frightened expression turned to a pathetic look of terror. Franklin croaked and uttered whimpers, he reached for Jack's face.

"Sta-" Franklin uttered weakly as his eyes started to fade.

'Die!'

A cold metal gauntlet grasped Jack's arm and yanked him off of Franklin. The dark-skinned boy coughed raggedly as he managed to take a breath.

"Let me go!" Jack shouted as he tried to break free from the knight's grip.

Jack stumbled forward as Reygar let go, he quickly turned to the headless knight, stepping back hesitantly as the suit of armor towered over him. He hesitated as the imposing knight took one step forward and pulled his hand back. 'Huh-' The knight stepped forward, and in a split second, he planted his gauntlet into Jack's stomach.

"Ack!" A sharp exhale escaped Jack's throat as he rose several feet off the ground before he fell to his knees. "Ahagh!" Jack winced as he fell on his side and curled up into a ball. "Rgh!"

His torso felt pain like it had never felt before, there was definitely spirit behind the punch. Reygar stood over Jack before walking towards Franklin. Heavy footsteps in the dirt walked away as another set approached slowly.

"You possess the most envy of any single being in this world, Jack. But you are powerless to make any change at all. It's frustrating, isn't it... We are the rightful rulers of this world. The angels and demons are a plague, they are responsible for all of this," Oaraun offered his hand to Jack. "It is up to us to make it right. We must be the cure to that plague. Jack, you must be the one to witness their fall."

"Witness... The angels fall?" Jack stuttered.

"But... Sir-" Lector stepped forward.

Oaraun turned away from Jack and to the angel behind him.

"Lector... You no longer need the formality..."

"But... Vivian, and Bruno, even Yami! What about us?! Where will the angels go without Helios!"

Oaraun didn't answer.

"Say something!" Lector shouted. "I thought of the squad as a family! You're trying to destroy all of that!"

"We aren't family..." Oaraun replied. "Countless friends and families- my entire race who looked up to me was wronged by them. I do value you four, you were the closest thing to a family I had for the past hundred years... But I know you all will be okay. I'm confident in that."

Lector's shoulders slumped and he dropped to his knees.

"Now, I'd like to know what happened in Andurill..." Alexander asked the spy.

Lector shook his head, "I went there looking for you and the others... That off-worlder made contact with the hybrid queen to work out some deal to free the non-unified... Things went south, a fight broke out between them, and then the resistance attacked... Banhu Uunan devastated Cabac."

"Devastation seems..." Oaraun looked up at the edge of the chasm, "like an understatement..."

"The Lightbringers weren't present during the festival... But Lawrence and that red-haired recruit were... I went to investigate Anka, and ended up running into Jack who was trying to reach the logorite facility..."

Oaraun glanced at Jack with a somewhat surprised look.

"Shit happened... Jack was captured by House Pendragon... Then Arthur betrayed them and saved Jack, Arthur would've killed me, but I agreed to help... We destroyed the facility by overflowing it..."

"The logorite facility in Andurill... Is gone?" Oaraun repeated with a bewildered tone.

Lector pointed to the cylindrical tank riddled with holes at the top of the rubble. It burned with green flame. Oaraun looked up to the edge of the chasm, carefully analyzing it.

"Arthur... So he has been working against the angels in secret..." Oaraun put a thumb to his chin. "Hm..." Oaraun took notice of something.

The top of the edge of the chasm was a perfectly burned circle. However, about halfway through the burn stopped, and past that point all around became jagged and cracked.

"They used the Lightbringer..." Oaraun stated.

"What?!" Lector looked up at the edge of the chasm. "But... The festival-" Lector stopped as his eyes raised. "Then... Lucifer's plan was to..."

"They sent all of our squad except you for some reason to seal the gate. However, as Bruno tried to seal it, we were met with resistance from the abyssal beings puppets... The resistance being there too didn't help..."

"The Lightbringers knew about the gate breaking weeks before they sent you..."

"The Lightbringers sent us to die. That's what you couldn't tell me..." Oaraun looked at Lector.

"Then... Even if you survived and rejoined the festival... You still would've died..." Lector's eyes shook left and right as he considered it.

"I believe they intended to kill all or most of the Lithonian forces in one moment... But... If they fired the Lightbringer... How are you alive?"

Elisia and Reygar looked up at the edge of the chasm. 'They fired the Lightbringer? What are they talking about?' Jack slowly stood up, his stomach still ached in pain, it didn't help that he was starving as well.

"They tried to destroy their own allies?" Elisia questioned.

Oaraun turned to Jack, "Why did I see you in that dream..."

"Huh..." Jack looked up at the eight-foot man standing in front of him as he knelt down.

"Why was it you I saw in my dream that day?"

Jack stared at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Why was it you who survived that day instead of Carol?"

The veins on Jack's forehead started to bulge, he felt a throbbing sensation swell up in his brain.

"Why was it you who made first contact with the off-worlder? Why was it you who escaped Logos and went on to cause Andurill's fall? Whatever you are, you are being tested by fate itself. Even now, you should have died against the Lightbringers. But fate continues to keep you-"

"Shut up!" Jack screamed as he lunged upwards and punched Oaraun in the jaw. Jack pulled his hand back, he winced as it stung but he clenched his fist anyway. Jack struck him once more. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut- Agh!" Jack pulled his fist back after the fourth punch, his hand ached as blood dripped from his knuckles.

"Despite knowing you have no chance, you continue to strike me, even when it causes you to suffer more."

"You! You of all people-! I came all this way to kill you! I will kill you! It has to be me!" Jack declared while screaming at the top of his lungs.

Oaraun looked at Jack for a moment. "Elisia," Oaraun turned to the spellcaster knight.

"My lord," she bowed.

"Reygar and I will lead the main forces to the abyss. This one who's so eager to die... Protect him with your life," Oaraun ordered.

"What?" Elisia replied in confusion.

"Huh? What the hell are you saying?!" Jack shouted.

"When the abyss falls, one of the three Celestials which once stood tall on Grelt shall rise again. At the moment there are two places where the abyss spreads, one south of Helios, and another to the west of it. Yuria's Celestial must still be standing if all of us are still alive..."

"Th-" Jack stuttered for a second. "Three Celestials!? What do you-"

"As I said, the Celestial that serves the angels only does so because it's from Jalrog, the non-unified have stopped receiving gifts because Xenia's Celestial had fallen."

"And what does this boy have to do with it? I'd much rather aid with the vanquishing of the abyss my lord..." said Elisia.

"This child's envy surpasses anything I have ever seen, it spills from him like blood. I want him to witness the angels fall, he should be there when I sever Lucifer's head from his spine," Oaraun declared.

"Whether or not this boy is there changes nothing... It'd be useless to bring him..." Elisia asked.

Oaraun looked down at Jack, "There's something about this boy... He's special... His Spirit Arts is powerful due to his druid roots... When Xenia's Celestial returns, it'd be interesting to see what'll become of him."

Elisia looked down at Franklin on the ground, then towards Jack. She closed her yellow eyes glowing under thick spiky bangs and knelt down on one knee. At the same time a footstep rumbled the ground, 'What was that-' Jack looked towards the outer wall. Four massive giants in gold armor stood outside the wall, shouldering a massive platform over the statues holding golden scepters outside the gate. 'What in the...'

"I will follow your order, my lord," said Elisia.

The almost titanic giants with helmets of gold knelt down, as their knees approached the dirt the skeletons all moved out of the way. Elisia, Oaraun, and Reygar faced the steps of the platform that just lowered. The rest of the damned touched their heads to the floor. Jack stood frozen still as the giants carrying the massive structure lowered themselves. 'What the hell are those!' Two large creatures were floating next to a throne on the flattened top of a pyramid, they hovered with tentacles for legs. Behind the throne was a triangular golden mural similar to the one on Elisia and Reygar's staff. The front section of the structure was a set of stairs that reached the ground. The pyramid-shaped structure was surrounded by pillars and a roof covering the top. A woman walked to the front of the stairs.

'Who- Wait...' Jack recalled the book he looked at in the library. She stood at the top of the steps and passed a bald man with dark skin and a mask covering his face. The bald man wore ragged clothes but the moment Jack looked at him their eyes met. The man rubbed his chin as he stared at Jack, however, the masked woman drew his attention.

'She's looking at me...' The faceless mask stood out immediately. 'She was the one from the book...' She wore a white hooded cowl, and her silver armor had the elegant outline of a tree carved upon it.

"Fate has been cruel to you, all of you," she said aloud. "The salt of our fallen weep with the anguish we all feel. For them, we must save our fellow brethren who've yet to fall to the abyss!" Xenia stated with a firm tone despite having such a soft voice.

'Huh... The abyss?' Jack turned to the black fog which was high enough to be seen over the wall. He turned back to the queen who faced the army, her mask was unnerving.

"Rise! Druids! There is no time to waste, the abyss is our target! And after that, we storm the angel's capital city and make them rue the day they ever stole our home from us! Onwards!"

The crowd erupted into a frenzy, then immediately began charging toward the wall and climbing over. Jack fell backward, completely stunned by the sudden motivation of the forces around him. As Xenia returned to the throne, Reygar joined the forces going to battle against the abyss.

"They're... Going to take Helios from the angels?" Jack thought to himself.

Jack looked to Oaraun who lead the damned. 'Are they... Are they really going to do it? But...' Jack looked at the ground, he felt envious of them for some reason. 'The angels... Are going to die today?' Elisia walked towards Jack.

"I- I don't need your help..." said Jack, he sounded nervous, and could barely keep eye contact with her piercing gaze.

Elisia didn't say anything, she knelt down in front of him, her armor rattled slightly as she poked her metal fingers into the dirt and stuck a seed into the ground.

"What... What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Dark Root Magic... Dark Blooming Gate" Elisia chanted.

The seed bloomed into a lustrous black flower that sank into the ground. Jack suddenly felt himself sink, 'What the!' he fell into the shadow as if falling into a pool of water. He held his breath as he entered a dark void, absent of any light except for the pathways back to the surface through shadows.

"What!" Jack shouted to his own surprise. "I- can breathe?!"

He looked forward at Elisia who had been glaring at him with shaking eyes, she was visibly upset. 'She seems... Angry...' A black tentacle wrapped around her arm and pulled her away. 'What the hell?!' Another tentacle slithered around Jack's waist and yanked him through the darkness.

"Ah!" Jack screamed, shutting his eyes out of fear.

The movement came to a stop but Jack could still feel the tendril coiled around him tightly, he opened his eyes slowly to see a woman with her hands behind her back. A mask covered her eyes, but the bottom half of her face was exposed, Jack felt unnerved by her wide smile. She wore a black dress that hugged her skinny body and flowed down all around her, it almost blended in with the shadows. That shadow is where the tentacle that held Jack came from.

"Hello, what's your name?" the woman greeted Jack with a bright smile.

"Er-" Jack was at a loss for words.

"Put him down, Wren!" Elisia demanded.

"Huh? Okay?" Wren obliged, releasing Jack.

The tendril loosened around Jack, setting him down gently to his surprise. but it didn't hurt very much. He turned to Elisia, and she approached quickly, as he turned to her he was immediately smacked across the head with the back of her metal gauntlet.

"Argh!" Jack grunted as he hit the ground.

Wren gasped in shock. "Sister! That's not nice!"

"Believe me I was ready to hit you even harder to stop you had my lord not stopped me. You know your enemy, the Lightbringers. To turn on your own friend and even try to take his life... I don't know what he sees in you," Elisia leaned forward as she seethed at him.

Jack looked down, "He... He wasn't my friend-"

"That boy clearly thought differently!" Elisia hissed.

Jack grimaced as he held his head low. He thought about all the time he spent with Franklin over the last few weeks. Then he thought about everyone. A large thud hit the platform, and Oaraun landed next to them, holding Lector. The spy held his stomach as Oaraun let him go.

"I'm gonna puke..." Lector groaned.

"This angel won't be of any concern, please get him back to the surface for me..." Oaraun kneeled to the queen.

"It won't be an issue, I assume he is another one of the comrades you value..." Xenia replied.

"Another one?" Lector asked.

"Yes, he is," Oaraun stated simply.

The ground lifted up and Jack wobbled as it did. 'Huh?' Jack turned to the right and noticed the front view of the courtyard, he could see where he once stood. 'That ability was like Ajal's... We somehow used the shadows to get here...' Jack turned around and saw the throne in front of the golden mural. The queen sat upon it and looked straight at him. The giants stood up straight, resting the massive platform on their shoulders. Jack turned, and Franklin's unconscious body remained on the ground back in the courtyard.

'The angels will fall today...' Jack thought to himself again. It wasn't happiness he felt. It was similar to the feeling he felt when he believed Alexander Rael had been killed by someone else.