Arthur Storm's Story

Their line was breaking, Arthur,Skye and Alabaster must have slain whole legions of them,but perhaps so had she.Nevertheless,their line was breaking as well; the higher the sun rose, the more vulnerable their dark army became. The slightest light could scorch a shadow warrior in some brief moments.The time was growing close,when they'd have to face her,when she'd have to face him, when she'd have to rescue Jaxin and Arthur.Alabaster did not have a single drop of blood on him, where she was filthy and sticky with it, he was as pure as fresh snow, ironic given the fact that his thirst was all but satisfied.Wails and cries echoed all around her,but they were falling through now,quieter than before.Too many dead or much too weak to even beg for life,to even remember what life was before this battle, before they faced beasts who wore the skins of men.She saw Arthur plunge his sword into the groin of a man, then slashing and thrusting through him,tearing his body wholly up to his throat.Blood and foul white muccus ran down his neck as his corpse fell to the ground.She stood there,staring at him,her daggers in hand. No matter how hard she looked,there was nothing left for her too see of the boy he had once been. That hurt more than every wound or cut or scar she had acquired, on that day and any other.She felt his presence behind her before he touched her; he hadn't left her side since that man tried to split her skull in half. She turned around to face him, bend her head or the knee, anything for him not to have his mind swayed. But he was not looking at her. He was smirking smuggly, full of false confidence at Eruda who stood dark and eerie a good five meters away. Like himself, she was untouched, and although he had taken part in the bloodbath, it was evident she hadn't moved a single finger. Time lapsed slowly, as if the man forging it had gone on a break to rest his weary bones.As if they were shadows themselves,the others fell around them. Arthur was on her left, so close,yet he felt as distant as he had ever been. Skye and Jaxin closer to each other,so different,yet so similar in their seraphic nature.

Eruda's long face was hardened,her features sharp and her mouth erased into a thin line.She stood straight and tall,her eyes black as coal, as night,as death itself creeping right into her very soul.Like Alabaster,she had no trace of battle on her,but while he had fought and slain his foes, it was evident she had steered clear of any intervention.
"Don't be ashamed,my dear. You've got to learn to survive defeat.That's when one develops character."
He crooked his head to the side and grinned, crimson blood glistening at the corners of his lips.
"Victory is of the same price as defeat.You see,you say I'm unforgiveable,otherwise you'd let me be and make use of me once more.The thing is,Eruda,I have never lost a single battle.For years,you have enslaved me and made me obey your every order, had your fun hurting me or thinking you did whenever you pleased. I was your weapon,but now it is time to have a taste of your own sweet."
With a wave of his hand flames encircled them,engaged in a deathly dance,entrapping not only Eruda but the five of them as well.They rose and rose and rose higher above them,until the sky itself seemed to be bleeding red,until the moon turned black.The screams of those who had the misfortune to stand in the fire's path,men and shadows alike, shrieked as their bodies were scorched to bones or dust.Time seemed to slow down then, as Eruda and Alabaster stood petrified facing each other,measuring gazes and power.She watched Arthur enter their mental battle,but she knew he alone would not be powerful enough to stop Eruda.She'd have him dead in a minute,should Alabaster fall.As she watched him, his blade in hand, his eyes such a dark blue,concentrated on his prey,paint struck at her. She tried hard to find the boy he had once been,but there was no trace of him and the realisation hurt her more than any scratch, any scar or any wound she had acquired on that day or any other.She redirected her energy to him,although that would leave her unprotected without wards or magic to save her from Eruda's attacks.Still,if that meant his salvation,then so be it.He didn't take his eyes off Eruda but felt her presence around him.He knew better than to argue with it,though,it would only lead to another distraction.

Then something happened. Eruda seemed to stumble and lose her concentration, giving them the advantage they needed. Arthur lunged forward but Alabaster signaled for him to fall back. An eerie grin flowered on his lips, and he expanded his tendrils more,digging into her mind. Eruda's body shook violently as he approached her with eager strides. Alienor's chest was heaving up and down in anxiety. Something seemed wrong.It shouldn't have been so easy; a few thriumphant and prideful words, a bit of silence and then death. And those terrible seconds she knew, were harder than anything else she had undergone. Alabaster stood over Eruda, as if the weaker she became,the more she shrunk.
"Shame for it to end like this. I had expected you to put up a bigger fight. It is true,then, that it is harmful and dangerous to underestimate your opponents; Almost as much as to overestimate them."
He would finish her with his own hands. Turn her dainty,pale neck and snap it in two. She knew. He would use no weapon,no magic, no mental game. His own flesh and bones. But as he leaned in, there was the slightest flicker of movement. Her hand, her own, small and human hand, tore through his chest. Time stood still. Alabaster didn't seem to understand what had happened. Surprise, disbelief, anger even, then pain. It all passed in waves through his eyes. His breath hardened and when her fingers pressed tightly, he produced a sound between choking and an agonised scream.
It was her turn to smile.
"Why,Alabaster,my dear,seems the common jape was untrue. You do have a heart. And it is not even made of stone! How utterly, dispicably sweet."
She crushed it beneath her fingers and raised him higher, streams of his black blood,shining silver in the moonlight running down her arm.
"You made one mistake; You thought you were irreplaceable. However..." Another convulsion of her skeleton-like fingers.He screamed as if they were talons,instead. "I can kill any bug who desires to claim my power.Time to finish this celebration.I trust we all had our fun."
She didn't have time to think,to stop and take a breath,to look around her.She couldn't weigh her chances, she couldn't count the possible losses.She removed the wards around Arthur as she moved out of distance and leapt on Eruda.Her dagger in hand sliced through the air as she bared her fangs to dip into her flesh.
She overestimated herself.
Eruda's hand shot through the air and she crashed into the ground. The woman pulled her hand out of his body and licked her fingers one by one, a sinister glow in her eyes. With that same hand he grasped her by the neck and raised her body above the ground, her feet swinging,kicking the air as her grip tightened. She produced ice blades which melted. She clawed at her skin and even bit down on her hand. And when Arthur tried to run to her salvation, she was grateful Skye produced hard,black roots to bind him to his place. His protection had been but her sole purpose.
"Alabaster's little slave." Something shone in Eruda's left hand.A blade.A long,thin, razor-sharp sword.She plunged it through her chest.When Alienor screamed,Alabaster made a feeble attempt to rise. "Pitiful.Weak." The second one was impaled through her neck.Her blood painted Eruda's face in crimson."What could have possibly led you to sacrifise yourself for him? Mhm? Was it loyalty?" Alabaster slid a hand in his shirt,coughing muccus and blood."Maybe fear? Need for glory? Profit?" The third blade nailed her heart."Ah.So,it was love.Too bad it can't wash the iron off steel,isn't it,little girl?"
Her lips formed a silent scream,but she could make no sound. Her body spasmed beneath her fingers and the weight of shadows.
"Don't you know he can't ever love you? Don't you know he's a monster?"
And Alabaster indeed broke her neck. He turned it and snapped it and even tore the head off her shoulders. She could see it all through blur and colours and shades,for the world was darkening around her. She knew his teeth dipped deep into the corpse's flesh.Arthur was screaming her name.Somewhere, at some other place, a girl with green eyes and a boy with golden hair were exchanging words of love and trust and playing with swords. In some other life, they might have been happy. In some other life, she might have been that girl. But there was no more life for her.
The last thing she saw before the world around her was lost, was the colour of blood and a pair of eyes, dark brown eyes, looking down at her, glistening with tears.

Skye stood still, unmoved by Arthur's screams and curses as he was threatening her if she didn't free him to run to his little almost-corpse of a lover.
"Oh,please.Someone shut him up. If our dear head-vampire resurrected her once I'm sure he can do it again,even with a discount."
Jaxin, that foolish joke of an angel had tried to pass through the fire wall Alabaster had raised while trying to fend off Eruda's men.Now he was lying a good twenty meters away, trying to heal himself and stop his river of silver blood, blissfully unaware of the events around him. Angels do not make good heroes. They are not meant to fight. They are meant to give commands, have others carry them out and then receive the glory, not try to win it themselves. Too much gore isn't too agreeable with an angel. Alabaster,however...that she had not expected. He'd always declare that whore was nothing to him but a powerful tool- so much for power- but now there he was, with that look in his eyes that made the hair at the back of her neck rise. It was the look of a grieving man, a man who was just a stitch away from insanity; given Alabaster's instability and ruthlessness she would have chosen to steer clear as quickly and queitly as possible but Arthur just would not shut his mouth. He slid his hands under her knees and back and lifted her up in his arms. Her head dropped to her right, a small trail of blood jewelled her placid skin. So lovely,even when perished. It made Skye want to retch.Alabaster walked inside the castle with blank eyes and ashen-coloured skin and unstable steps. Now was the time. If Alabaster came to his senses too soon, that'd be their only chance.She was relieved to find Feardia on her side when she turned around.
"Enjoyed the massacre?" she asked, the black trails on her skin slowly receding."I sure did. Be a dear and go tell Jaxin to grab Faye and say farewell. Time is running short."