With the royal palace located above the mountainous dune on Gietha's Peaks, a sudden rumbling occurred which shook the foundation of the entire six cities. An earthquake, sounding the attack from the pirates of the Wastes, had begun. Flying forces led by pirate leaders, and secretly by Ardine underground, assaulted the palace grounds to lay waste to their royal oppressors.
The flying airships utilized mechanized engines and a balloon-like structure to keep them afloat. The flames of their machines fanned outwards, keeping them propelled long enough in the air to make direct twists and turns. Their readied cannons blasted shards of forceful devastation against the many barracks and military designations that the greedy imperial council had in store.
But Kaiden, the imperial warlord, would not let this suffice. A small war had broke out after retaliating against the flying airships with weapons of their own to counterattack. Numerous Rot creatures held back by their capturers were set free to devour the pirates' resistances as they leaped from their ships below with scimitars wielded to murder.
The sands shook underneath Lyn as she escaped the underground jail. She pressed upon her earpiece and could hear Ardine and Dorothy speaking to each other, mentioning Lyn by the seconds.
"L-Lyn- Lyn? If you can hear me-" Ardine's voice broke through. "Get your arse to the palace! Twenty minutes! That's all I can give you!"
"Hurry, Lyn!" Dorothy called through.
Lyn watched as the guards from Gietha evacuated the civilians from the Wastes out of the cities with their horses. Women and children hurried with their families atop many wagons, seeking refuge and safe passage outside. However, problems arose, as too many people crowded through the streets to block those who wished to escape.
An unexpected attack from the Rot managed to find themselves on the lower levels of Gietha, attacking and attempting to infect innocent civilians. As they begged to be released from their ensnarement, Lyn leaped from the skies and cut down the Rot that rushed toward the crowd.
"Go!" Lyn cried, charging through to the palace while engaging with the Rot. She refused to let history repeat its crooked and twisted demise.
The guards witnessed Lyn's noble deed and motivated themselves to press on with the evacuation process. Lyn dove in the middle of the streets as pandemonium broke out. The Rot, coupled with Kaiden's royal guards, attacked the pirates and the Giethan guards. Lyn placed herself in between, cutting a path through to the palace.
After an armored royal guard managed to pierce through Lyn's shoulder with their spear, Lyn retaliated and seized control of the guard, executing him on the spot with a clean stab through the nape of his neck. She dragged his body into a dark alleyway before adoring herself with his set of light red and silver plated armor to disguise herself.
With her newfound armor, she dashed through a multitude of winding stairs, through collapsed blockades, pillars, and Rots that prevented her from advancing. Aema's words rang deep within the adrenaline of her rush, allowing her to empower herself with improved strength and something to battle for.
The ground beneath her shook again, and a massive pillar toppled on top of an innocent family struggling to escape their home. Lyn dashed in and yanked them out with brutal force before the pillar crushed them, saving them on the spot. She then turned her attention toward the palace once more, battling and defeating the guards that impeded her position.
She met herself at the front gates of the palace, and a royal phalanx blocked her path with pirates facing their frontal opposition. A blasted cannon struck an incoming pirate airship, causing flames to engulf the sail. The airship split in half as it struck a a colossal portion of the tower, leaving debris to crush both friend and foe alike beneath her.
After Lyn dodged the airship's collision, one of the cannons manned upon it remained intact and functional. She leaped on the broken ship and ignited the cannon before aiming it at the royal phalanx. She dove out of harm's way as the cannon shattered their oppressive guard, breaking them apart as an explosion of blood and debris massacred them altogether.
Lyn took the opportunity to rush into the palace door, shutting it behind her to prevent anyone from entering on the inside. Yet inside the palace was not so different in terms of overall destruction.
Flames set the Wastes' flags on fire, signaling the long coming end of Kaiden's reign. Golden vases, treasures, and weapons alike lay shattered below her feet, which were at least priced over millions. Bodies of the royal guards and pirates were proof of the long-coming resistance that was built up over the years; Lyn was first of her kind to witness it all.
Lyn ventured forward up a flight of stairs, breaking through a set of double doors. The underground battle had nearly begun, shaking the foundation and leaving the palace a complete calamitous mess. Nearly decades of architectural design and faithfulness to craft had destroyed the palace, leaving it almost impossible to pass through.
Ardine and Dorothy's voice were barely audible after Lyn found herself in much deeper territory in the palace. Here, the foundation was barely touched, as it was one of the most secure locations amidst the destruction. Lyn passed through bodies piled upon one another, leaving barely any conflict or obstacle in her way. While passing through, she found herself numb to the cause, only seeking Alfaic within her deepest desires.
She struggled to not think about all those who had opposed her inside internally instead as she began to enter the lord's official chamber; Krin and his clones, Elaina, and the Rots who had inflicted chaos among every corner. It was excruciatingly difficult to provide any ministration for her motivations. Now that she was about to approach the lord's chamber, with her palms, nothing would stop her from being the final guest in the toppling tyrannical kingdom that haunted the sands for eons.
Lyn's elongated ponytail swept against the floor as she ascended the lord's chamber, pressing both of her palms against the door to open the hefty room. She walked inside, stripped herself of the royal guard's armor, leaving her bandit clothing intact. Bodies of the royal council robed in priest-like clothing were murdered in cold blood, but there was no evidence of the pirates' doing. It was them and only the one man that stood in her wake, several meters away.
"Tell me, young warrior," Kaiden's hulking and tremendous voice rang loud and clear. "Did my established nobility assist you in finding your way to my throne room?"
Lyn's eyes reached Kaiden's golden throne; his massive body kneeled forward, right knee and foot rested upon a single slab of rock that fell from the foundation of his chamber. His left hand was adjusting his monstrous right mechanical fist that functioned as a trifecta of a disastrous weapon, which struck fear into those that keeled before him. He rotated a gear dial attached it it, seldomly igniting a cannon's flame within to intimidate Lyn.
Located directly behind Kaiden was a pale-skinned slender female with a goddess's body, nestled on top of his throne. She sat slyly with an impish smile revealed with her sharp teeth. She dangled both of her feet off the throne and rocked them back and forth, like a jaded child who hadn't seen the light of day for centuries. Her elongated left hand rested upon Kaiden's left cheek, caressing him to remind him of the pleasures that would await his future victory against his opposition.
Lyn's eyebrows furled back as she recognized the seductive white-haired servant as Teize.
Kaiden rose his left hand in the air, signaling for Teize. "Leave," He commanded. "This is between us."
Teize giggled and slithered down into his lap, sending a shy yet tender kiss upon his cheek. Her hips thrusted out onto his crotch, attempting to seduce him further. She looked back at Lyn with a bright yet mischievous smile upon her face. "As you wish, my lord." She whispered before disappearing entirely behind Lyn's field of view.
Aema was right. There was some use of magic being used. Teize had vanished through a mist-like portal, although Kaiden had failed to recognize it.
As Lyn approached Kaiden after Teize had vanished, her body began to struggle to keep up with the lord's presence. She had suddenly remembered, that she was in the presence of the second Lord of METIS, and with such a heavy price to pay for her failure, her body began to weigh down upon her, similarly to her battle between Krin and Elaina.
A single drop of sweat collapsed beside her foot, realizing that her mortality seemed on the line despite her regenerative abilities. Her heart paced rapidly. Her fingers fidgeted. Her eyes blinked in quick succession. She was no longer the cold, unsatisfied, or dense Lyn. She was alive.
But she was not afraid.
"I never knew that a veritable warrior of your status existed until that day," Kaiden began, examining Lyn's body from top to bottom. "Lord Slayer. Your bloodlust. Your rage. Your anger. That is what I want to shape the future of my empire. An empire shrouded in my sands, with my Rot at the head of our armies."
Remaining silent, Lyn continued to stare at Kaiden's hulking stature.
"The chip that I delivered to you that day... was no mere bargaining token. It was a symbol of commitment for you to join my ranks as one of my warriors, where we can rule all of METIS as one," He paused his conversation to himself about his dream and stood up slowly, revealing his strength in bare size. "But, disaster has struck my door, it seems. My empire is dying, and soon, all the cities will sink as a result of their failure to uphold my expectations."
Kaiden moved to the side of his golden throne and pressed his palm against the top where Teize previously sat. "Although I stand at the brink of death, I ask for a final favor," He looked directly into Lyn. "Join my ranks, and the three of us shall set foot atop this mountain as the highest of all mountains! Conquerors! Kings, and queens of METIS!"
"ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!" Lyn shouted, stopping Kaiden in his tracks. "Where... is my BLADE!?" She exploded in a fit of rage.
Kaiden chuckled maniacally, pressing his palm against his forehead as he did so. "Your... blade? The world around us is ending and all you care about is an arbitrary disposable weapon? You truly are a marvelous one, you. You reject my proposal. Slaughtered my guards. Defy my rule. Tell me, what is your true purpose here?"
Lyn stepped forward with her eyebrows pressed back aggressively. "I'm here to kill you," She said without hesitation. "But some people don't want you to die, including Ardine and Aema."
Kaiden's mouth opened in astonishment before chuckling once again. "Ardine and Aema," He began. "Two names I never thought I'd hear ever again. Once, they were my two noble allies. And now... they've become my noble deceivers, betraying me in the end!"
"You betrayed both of them," Lyn corrected, stepping forward again. "You renounced your loyalty to Ardine, and you replaced Aema!" She shouted.
"SILENCE!" Kaiden's voice shook the entire chamber in an echoing frenzy. "You know nothing. Aema failed me! She could not understand what I had in store for my future empire, and she wanted me to dismantle everything that our ancestors preserved! You could not possibly know the pain I've had to endure to gain this power, you wretch!"
"But I do," Lyn denounced. "And now, Aema is dead."
Kaiden paused in his tracks. His smile faded as Lyn's words came to life within his ears. It was a perishable fact that he had refused to accept, for a stranger was in his midst telling him how to feel. "Aema... is dead?" He asked, like a moth to a flame with his voice trickling.
"She is," Lyn continued. "I watched her die. Her final breath reached down my neck. Her blood touched my feet. Her final words uttered, drawing a line between you and I, begging for me to spare you."
Kaiden's breath trembled audibly through his nose. Anger began to violate his body.
"But with the amount of pain you've inflicted to this world, I'm inclined to cross that line," Lyn unsheathed her blade and pointed it directly at Kaiden's forehead with the intent to lunge. "YOU took my blade away. But it doesn't matter to you, does it? Aema and Ardine were nothing but pawns in your plan for conquest. So, your feelings right now mean nothing to me, and nothing to anyone."
Remaining silent, Kaiden gazed upon his leather boots. Darkness covered his forehead from Lyn's gaze.
"Are you afraid of me? A machine?" Lyn referenced their first meeting with each other, continuing to threaten him with her fearless attitude. She sliced through the air as she bellowed one final time. "Now, GIVE ME MY BLADE!"
Her voice echoed through the lord's chamber one last time before silence deafened the both of them. They remained still for several seconds with Lyn contemplating on his next move. At last, Kaiden lifted his head and gave a single emotionless chuckle, devoid of any thrill or command.
"At first, I had thought that having the Lord Slayer personally invited to my chamber was a absolute privilege for my conquest," Kaiden finally stated. "But I was wrong. I have now received a much better privilege. The privilege of killing you, and grinding your skull under my HEEL!"
One of the robust gears on Kaiden's gauntlet snapped, releasing a pure terrorizing and electrifying golden aura around his body that surged through his veins. His eyes expanded as the aura enveloped his feet, crushing the floor beneath him from his overflow of power. The gauntlet rotated to reveal a primed cannon, sapping energy from the chamber and surrounding him with a new profound rageful power.
"I didn't kill her." Lyn said.
"She was EVERYTHING to me, and now you've taken her!" Kaiden bitterly bellowed. "LORD SLAYER! You will DIE here and now! And I will stop at nothing until you've been reduced to ASH!"
Lyn's face transformed into a relentless and ruthless warrior as she drove her left hand deep into her stomach, piercing through her body. She twisted and turned an unknown dial inside her body, removing her bandit clothes altogether and replacing them with Alfaic's mechanized black, white, and golden futuristic armor to defend herself. Her ponytail dangled from behind as it naturally tied itself into its original stature when she had first met Alfaic, and an uprising in energy implanted within her bandit's blade, transforming it into pure energy that could cut through almost anything.
"You continue to betray your own feelings," Lyn clarified. "You've hurt so many people. Ardine, Aema, my Blade, and the people of this city who worship you and trust you to save them! After all this pain I've been through..."
Kaiden growled in absolute spite, rearing his fists.
"You'll be joining her soon."