Carrying grit and ash that scorched my flesh, the wind whipped fiercely across the unceasing expanse of wasteland, dragging mercilessly at my cloak as if trying to separate it. As I looked about, my heart raced nonstop and I felt a terrible familiarity slink into my bones. The place was precisely as I had remembered—desperate, eerie, and cruel.
Scarlett came up next to me, her red eyes wary of our surroundings, narrowing just slightly against the stinging breeze. Trying to protect her face from the abrasive gusts, she drew her hood down closer.
She inquired gently, "Where exactly are we?" voice almost audible above the unrelenting wind.
"This is it," I whispered softly, memories bursting over my head. "This marks the beginning of everything. Where I first woke up, crawled out of the ground, back into existence.
The girl looked at me closely, her interest flashing. "You said that before—but how did you find up buried here to start?"
I shook my head, annoyance mounting. "I'm not sure yet. All I possess are bits. Distinctive memories of voices, suffering, darkness. and her.
"Her"? Intrigued, she asked, leaning just slightly closer.
Her name rolled off the tip of my tongue.
"Nyxia," the name catching in my throat.
Still today, the very thought of her makes my chest hurt with uncertainty and need. "She's somehow connected to all of this—Essence, the wasteland, the Dracus—but every time I think I'm close to understanding the truth slips away."
She looked at my expression for a minute, her guarded posture melting just so little. "She appears important whatever she is to you. You have to find the truth if we are to survive Ren. Perhaps she left some hints here."
I looked across at Scarlett and met her fierce red stare. "I never asked—what do I call you? I cannot keep calling you "cloaked girl.'"
She gave a weak, momentary smile, then her normal seriousness took front stage. "Scarlett." Though for now all I can share is not my actual name."
Thank you for even this little indication of faith; I nodded in understanding. " Scarlett it is."
Silence, heavy with unresolved questions, fell between us momentarily. She looked about the wasteland once more at last, eyebrows furrowed. "We should investigate this site if it holds particular meaning for your past. We could have missed something here.
I nodded, will rising once more. "You're correct. Let's begin our journey.
We went gently across the parched terrain, sand shifting underfoot. The desolate scene was dotted with broken stones and scattered bones, a sobering reminder of the violence this site has seen. I slowed and knelt to feel the earth where I had first woke. An uncomfortable feeling crawled over me as the chilly fingers of dread tightened their hold.
Scarlett turned aside momentarily to study something close by. She cried out, "Matte, come here," and her voice shook just slightly.
I hurried to join her, brows narrowing at the scene before us. She stood close to the burned ruins of what appeared to be a temporary camp. Under layers of sand, the burnt husks of tents and supplies were half-buried; their canvas was ripped and burned; metal poles twisted horribly from an old struggle.
"What's this place?" Scarlett said softly, her voice tense.
I knelt and cleared layers of ash and sand to expose burnt human bones from fire. Among them were rusted swords and thrown weapons, relics from a last-ditch effort. Under the sand, an old, frayed banner flapped weakly and hardly legibly. The fading letters spelled one word:
" Resistance."
Scarlett's breath seized, eyes opened with insight. "This has to have been among the first groups opposing the Dracus. And gone.
Taking up a rusted, fractured blade, I felt great respect for these long-forgotten fighters and a great melancholy. "They battled unfeasible circumstances, much as we did. But the Dracus and Ren—this conflict has lasted far longer than I had realized.
Scarlett turned swiftly, eyes burning ferociously. "Ren was not like this all the time. Along with me and my companion, he used to fight for the resistance. But he underwent transformation. Nil transformed him. He lost himself the minute he felt actual power.
Examining her face, I felt a great hurt underlying her tough front. "Do you suppose your mates are still alive somewhere?"
Scarlett's eyes turned far-off, grief taping into her voice. I have to think they are. But Ren won't stop though until he finds us.
I put a comforting hand on her shoulder, will burning inside me. We will find her. And we shall stop Ren as well. Whatever it takes.
She raised her head, eyes narrowed slightly with wary doubt. "Your careful making promises you cannot keep."
Trying to lighten the atmosphere, I flashed a confident smile. "A man just has two things in this world: his word and his balls. And you are an exception; I do not break either for anyone else.
Scarlett's eyes grew significantly, perplexity and delight blending in her face. She shook her head and fast turned away. "Okay, then, you are formally the craziest person I have seen since the world stopped. I'll stay away until I have strength again.
"What, but?" A dark and repressive flood of pressure blasted into me before I could finish. Ren's arrival was fast closing in like a storm.
Scarlett cursed gently, then grew rigid. "He came back to find us."
I added hurriedly, "We cannot outrun him forever." "Is there any other place around nearby we can hide?"
Her eyes strayed to something in the distance, a black, disintegrating shadow against the horizon. "Over there—a city destroyed since long before the Dracus. dangerous, but our best opportunity comes from here."
Running toward the far-off ruins, the wind seemed to be trying to pull us back by pounding constantly against us. Ren's presence skyrocketed dangerously near, hunger and hate blazingly visible.
Rising from the desert like a broken giant, the city's skeleton remains of a vanished civilization. Towers slanted skyward, walls cracked and broke from years of deterioration. The only sound our hard breathing and hammering shoes could produce—the air thickened with an awful silence.
Whispers softly, urgently, and achingly familiar swept across my head as we passed the threshold into the ruins of the city.
Matte...
I stopped; my heart hammered madly. "Nyxia?" I murmured aloud.
Scarlett stopped, turning back cautiously toward me. "What's it?"
The whispers grew louder, clearer, hauntingly desperate as I tried to respond.
"I need to see you before its TOO LATE!"
"Nyxia," I said once more, shudder vibrating down my spine. "She's here." Somehow, her spirit is screaming out."
Scarlett looked at me, uncertainty carved firmly into her features. Then we better move quickly.
I inhaled deeply, steadying myself, resolved firming in my chest. Whatever laid ahead in this city, would most certainly decide out fate soon.
Ren's strong presence surged behind us, a menacing threat hovering always at our heels.
But answers lie ahead, and we were in no position to be stationary any longer.
I said forcefully, walking forward into the wreckage: "Let's go." We're ending this right now".
Scarlett nodded, her look sharp with will.
Then we descended into the darkness together, toward the whispers of my past—and maybe our only chance of survival.