Inini had fallen to the ground… She spat out a tooth… Arlo who struck her shrugged and said, "My God, you're a tough girl… You haven't fallen yet?" She pressed one elbow to the ground, groaning in pain, "Arlo…" Arlo grabbed a shard of broken wood from the rubble, sharpened at the tip, and said, "I told you, girl… Your beloved isn't here anymore…"
Inini screamed, "Arlo!! I know you're still in there! I… I wanted to tell you I love you! To thank you for everything! To kiss you one more time! So! So come back to me! Come back to me and don't kill me!" She looked at him with sob-filled breaths… Arlo is still inside… She was sure… He wouldn't die… Arlo wouldn't die and leave her…
Arlo stared at her briefly… Then knelt down, drawing near. Inini's eyes shimmered with tears as Arlo leaned toward her mouth… and kissed her… Arlo… Inini wrapped her arms around him… She wouldn't let him slip away again… But… he slipped out of her arms… And as soon as his lips separated from hers… blood gushed from her mouth… Inini stared at Arlo's smiling face… and at the sharpened wood buried in her stomach… She looked again at Arlo walking away… and heard him laughing, saying, "You said you wanted one last kiss from him… Don't say I didn't grant your final wish."
Where was she… The sky… looked red somehow… Her body… refused to move… She couldn't stand… Why was she this exhausted… Her head… her limbs… and that smell… The stench in the air around her… such a foul smell… yet strangely familiar…
She heard a distant voice yelling into her ears, "If you kill them… I'll kill you myself…" That voice… One of the black-winged ones… That boy… Mika… Why did he sound so broken… so sad… She didn't know why… But despite her body refusing to move, those cries of his… his voice… made her want to get up, even if she'd fall down again immediately afterward…
Sabana rose despite her burned, wounded body… moving toward where Mika and the others stood… She limped slowly, until she reached his side… Mika turned to her in surprise, and she said, "Your screaming like a child woke me up!" She smiled at him, but Mika's crying face didn't change. Sabana looked around at the people of Byal, their red eyes, and said, "What the hell is going on… How long was I asleep?"
Mika didn't answer, just continued to fend off attacks, kicking them away… Ayk was doing the same… In fact, all of them—Fojta and Rin too… They were only pushing the townspeople away, not trying to hurt them… Rin said, "They're all possessed by the fires…"
Sabana's eyes widened, "The fires?" Mika shoved someone aside who was about to attack Sabana, swiftly blocking their blade and knocking them to the ground… Then he turned and shouted at her, "Why'd you get up if you're just going to distract us in battle!! Focus!!"
Sabana gaped—her body ached from his shove. She said as Mika's face instantly showed regret, "You're right! I'm sorry…" Mika gritted his teeth, beating back a few more attackers, then ran to where he'd pushed her. He offered her a hand, and said, "I'm sorry…"
Sabana took his hand and stood by him. They positioned themselves together to fend off those around them… The battle is not going anywhere. The possessed townspeople's bodies were weak… Their power was feeble… They couldn't do much if they didn't overwhelm someone with a sudden attack… The five of them just stood, hitting them and knocking them away… And the possessed got back up again… Without pain… And without any intention to stop…
On the edge of the battlefield, where they had left Elir's body to rest… his body returned to its original state as he was regaining consciousness… He couldn't keep his eyes open… But he saw that standing figure… Nier… Elir muttered, "Nier…" He closed his eyes again, then opened them… Nier was still standing in front of him… Elir sprang awake, screaming, "Nier!" He looked around, muttering, "What's happening…" He remembered what happened… All of it… His whole body ached… A terrifying shudder ran through him when he remembered what happened to Nier… But Nier was standing before him now… Elir tried to jump up… His body still limp… He collapsed again, but landed on his hands… He started moving on all fours toward Nier… He cried through gritted teeth when he reached him, "Nier, are you alright? You really are okay!!" Nier lifted his head, his eyes burning red, a frightening smile on his face as he said, "So you're the Light everyone talks about?" Elir's eyes bulged, "What…"
Sabana didn't know any of these people… But… She too could do nothing but shove them away, like everyone else… Eita noticed this as well and growled at Lazith, "Lazith… The fire folk are too weak! We won't finish this fight if this continues…" Lazith spoke inside her, "Alright…" All the people of Byal froze, as though some great power pinned them in place… Their veins bulged at their necks… Their heads tilted upward… Their feet almost left the ground… Fojta shouted in terror, "What now?!" The squad watched as the bodies were enveloped in a red aura… Then they seemed to regain control of themselves again… Ayk said worriedly, "Do you see what I see?" Mika said, "Their aura just got bigger…" A woman in front of Sabana yelled excitedly, releasing a fireball from her body toward Sabana, "Thank you, my lord Lazith!!! This is so thrilling, so exciting!!!" She produced more and more fireballs from her hands at Sabana, who dodged them, barely… Ayk cried out, clutching his head in despair, "They can produce fire from their bodies now!" The woman, even more excited, moved toward Sabana, trying to strike her with her flames… Were it not for their incomplete control, Sabana would've been charred on the spot. But it wouldn't take long for them to learn… And Sabana's exhausted body couldn't keep up… That's what Sabana thought as the woman rushed at her, looming over her. She laughed, childlike excitement in her voice, as if playing with her favorite toy, "I've never been able to play with fire before!!" She lifted her hand and took her time forming a large fireball… Sabana's hair blew from the heat… Her eyes stung from the flames… Her breathing came in quick rasps… She stared at the woman… And at the growing fireball… And at her increasing laughter… Then… Sabana watched the fireball vanish… And her laughter ceased… Her glowing red eyes went dull… Her body swayed on Sabana's weapon, which was lodged in her heart… Before she dropped to the ground, taking the weapon with her… Sabana killed her…
Sabana's breathing sped up more and more, turning into gasping sobs struggling for air… She couldn't breathe… She clutched her chest… Her heartbeat thundered in her ears… She fought to inhale with all her might… Her body nearly gave out… Her lungs refused to let her breathe… Until she heard a voice beside her, "Sabana! It's alright… I'm here… It's me, Rin… It's okay… Just breathe… Don't think about anything else… Just calm down… And breathe…" She looked at him, still gasping, and saw him standing guard in front of her, protecting her from the attackers, "I felt that too… Look… My hands won't stop shaking… But we need to keep going… We have to keep going if we want to get home…" Sabana's breathing gradually steadied as he went on, "Yes, that's it… We'll go home…" Her breath calmed, and just as she tried to stand, she vomited everything in her stomach. She slumped to the ground, finally able to inhale air into her lungs for the first time… Rin said, "Better?" Sabana mumbled, "Yeah… but…" She didn't get to savor that brief calm… Because before her… Was a face… She didn't want to see… Seeta's mother… Standing in front of her, lifting a fireball between her hands… Seeta's mother laughed, "Tell me… What's the smell of roasted human flesh like?" Sabana glared at her, outraged, "Why… you…!" She glanced at Seeta, saw her pale face staring wide-eyed… Sabana gritted her teeth, "Anyone but you!!"
Meanwhile, Ayk kept repeating in Mika's ear, "Just strike… Don't think…" That's all Mika has to do… Strike, don't think… He struck the man before him in the chest before he could throw a fireball, not thinking about the fact he used to watch him buy breakfast at Skiki's bakery every morning… He hit that woman without thinking who she might be… And so on… And so forth… Their red eyes flickered out one by one, blood spilling onto the brothers… They didn't think… They just struck… They didn't think… Mika went into a rage-filled trance… Blinding him to who stood in front of him… He only struck… Without thinking…
Nier—possessed body—toyed with his fire powers in his hands, saying to Elir, "Don't think I'm as weak as those around you… I am Modritao… The strongest fire of the… I'll level you all to the ground. Not because my master Lazith demanded it…" Modritao looked at Elir and grinned, "But because I'll really enjoy it."
Eita shouted, "Modritao! Get away from that young man! That's an order from Lazith!!"
Modritao, in Nier's body, replied, "Ah, I know… I can sense he's a Light…" He looked at Elir and continued, "You don't know how much I hate the Lights… Why… Why were you the ones chosen by God!" He spat out those words, hurling volley after volley of fireballs at Elir.
Elir rose, but the fireballs kept knocking him back… Still, he kept advancing… Raising his arms, moving toward Nier, saying, "Nier… Let me explain…"
Modritao snarled, "What?" He leapt deftly, steps accelerating as he formed a fireball in his hand… He stomped the ground, propelling himself upward… Then hurled the fireball at Elir, "Didn't you hear me? I said I'm Modritao… That blond kid isn't here anymore!!"
Elir, as if the mere thought caused him pain, said, "What are you talking about?"
Lazith's heart pounded within Eita, and his voice echoed from her body, "Modritao… That's an order! Don't go near him! Don't provoke him!!"
Elir turned in the direction of that voice, seeing Eita clutch her throat hurt by Lazith's voice, her face stricken with terror… This was who killed Valwa… Who frightened Exlazira and Turath into fleeing… As for Elir… Her red hair… Her red cloak… Awakened something in him… He didn't understand any of it… He didn't know why Nier… Kept saying such strange words… But that red hair of hers… He wanted to tear off the head that bore it…
Elir moved toward Eita… But Modritao stepped in front of him, saying, "You won't lay a finger on Eita or Lazith before getting past me, boy…"
Elir froze when he saw Nier's body. He just wanted to get close to him… To feel his pulse… And forget about that coldness he felt last time he held him…
Elir approached Modritao, but Modritao struck his face, sending Elir to the ground. Elir tried to stand again, muttering, "Nier…"
Modritao grew annoyed, "So this is the one the great fires feared?" He punched Elir again in the face, making him fall. Then Modritao continued, "I don't even need fire powers to kill him…"
Elir looked at Nier's burnt, wounded face, crying so hard it shook his whole body, "I'm sorry…"
Modritao laughed, sitting on top of him, "What's this, you won't fight?? Where's the fun in that…"
From a distance, Rin's anxiety and alarm for Elir grew, but he was embroiled in his own battles… All the remaining townspeople had closed in on them, wielding fire… They were fighting in the midst of an endless swarm… But he can't just leave them there. Rin shouted from his core, "Elir! That's not Nier! You have to fight! Don't die at the hands of your best friend!"
Nearby, Sabana was still on the ground before Seeta's mother, who was launching fireballs at her… Sabana was crawling to escape, but there was nowhere to go… No escape—the fires surrounded them from every direction, and Seeta's mother had zeroed in on her…
Is there no other way?! Seeta's mother said, "Where will you run from my flames!!" Sabana stared at her helplessly, hands hesitant on her weapon… Is there really no other way?!
Seeta's mother drew closer, her scorching heat growing… That sensation Sabana truly hated! Seeta… I'm sorry… Sabana lifted her head for one last look at Seeta… But… Seeta wasn't there! She glanced at the trail of blood leading away… Seeing it end right where they stood…
Sabana looked up to find Seeta standing in front of her mother, hugging her… Her body shook… All Sabana could see was the back of her head, her uneven hair… And the drops of blood falling… She was holding her mother, pulling her mother's head toward her with her left hand…
Seeta's mother stared, eyes wide… The red glow drained from them… Sabana heard the clang of the weapon hitting the ground! She looked at the weapon that fell from Seeta's hand… Then heard a sobbing voice, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Sabana snapped out of it when she saw Seeta's frail body struggling to hold her mother's lifeless body… She quickly moved to catch Seeta before she collapsed, but Seeta looked hysterically at her blood-soaked hands, repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
Mika heard her voice and cried out, "Seeta!" Seeta looked at him, weeping with ragged sobs and screams, still repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
Mika tried to break through as fast as he could, but a woman blocked him… He had to reach Seeta… He didn't know why, but he felt she needed him… But that woman in front of him… Mika felt a pang in his heart, he murmured, "Skiki…"
She said, "Come on, boy, let's have some fun… These past decades have been so boring!" Mika tried to get around her, not wanting to even look at her… But she stopped him, her voice ominous, "Aren't I talking to you, boy?"
Mika's voice was weary, "I don't want to…" She drew closer, "Is it because I'm in this woman's body?" She laughed and whispered in his ear, "But that makes it better, doesn't it?"
Mika glanced around as if begging for help from anyone… Anyone… He felt his heartbeat pounding in his chest, "Are you really going to force me… to kill the woman who raised me?!"
Mika, eight years old, stood before some shop… Trying to steal a loaf of bread from that hefty woman's bakery… Skiki's Bakery. She saw him and grabbed him before he could run, saying in a terrifying voice, "What are you doing? Are you a rat?"
Mika struggled in her grip, "Who are you calling a rat, you big brute?!"
The woman said, "Those who steal food are rats. So tell me… are you a rat?" Mika, tears streaming down his cheeks, replied, "My brother Ayk used to bring food every day, but he's sick! Should I just let him starve?!"
The woman punched him, sending him to the ground, and said, "So what?! Rats starve all the time." Mika screamed, blood on his lips, "I'm not a rat!"
She dragged him into the kitchen, "If you're not a rat, prove it to me!" Mika fumed, "How?!"
She threw him a large white shirt, "You want this loaf of bread? Work for it today!" Mika muttered, "What?"
She moved away and watched him from afar as Mika put on the shirt, far too big for him… He rolled up the sleeves and stood with the other workers… Watching what they did… Imitating them… The workers laughed, and one said, "Skiki, what are you doing? The boy will melt from the oven's heat!"
Skiki said proudly, "Men are like metal! Heat molds them!"
Mika's eyes filled with tears, and he stood before her, saying, "Skiki… I wanted to bring you the finest foods and drinks from Farata… You always loved food!"
The woman roared with laughter, "What's this, the boy's crying? Aren't you too old for that?"
Mika gritted his teeth and shouted, "I can't…" His voice caught in his throat, and he shouted again, "I just can't…" Mika stood there, gasping between sobs as Skiki raised a fireball, "I can't…" He lifted his head, tears flowing, "I never knew any mother but you… I never once called you 'Mother,' but I never had another mother, Skiki!"
The fireball glimmered in Mika's eyes as his hair blew back, but he didn't move, only stood there crying… A gentle hand touched Mika's shoulder… Mika looked at him, seeming to complain like a small child… Ayk, standing in front of him, said, "It's okay, Mika…"
Mika raised his head, "Ayk…" Ayk smiled, "It's okay… I'm your big brother…"
Mika, "But… your promise…"
Ayk blocked Skiki's fireball, tossing it aside so it smashed into some building. He said, "Ah… I did promise her…" He dashed at Skiki, knocking her down… Skiki was a large, muscular woman… Ayk stood, swinging his weapon in front of her, but she grabbed his weapon with one hand and him with the other…
Ayk funneled all his strength into his weapon, pressing so hard he sliced off Skiki's arm, yelling, "What use is a promise made to a dead woman?!"
Mika closed his eyes as Skiki's fingers scattered on the ground, covering his face with his hand… Skiki released fire from her body, seizing Ayk… Burning his shoulder… Mika heard his brother's groans and cried out, "Ayk!!"
Ayk lifted his hand to stop him… He looked at Skiki… At the evil grin on her face… Yet… He recalled his memories with her… Skiki was always strong… Always kind… That wicked smile had never touched her face…
Ayk swallowed back his tears… And ran through the fireball Skiki hurled directly at him… Charring his body… He whispered, "Goodbye, Skiki…" before plunging his weapon into her heart…
After Ayk stabbed her through the heart, and she died… Ayk and Mika stood there… Time seemed to freeze for them, staring at Skiki's body… Mika finally collapsed, falling to the ground, gazing at Skiki's face now free of that horrible grin… And red eyes… It was the same face they had always known…