The room was hazy
Smoke rose from the scorched bodies and broken benches
Settling against the ceiling
At the entrance of the room, huge chunks of stone had caved inward
Blocking the path
Some of the benches were still burning
Blood that had spilled onto the floor slowly stained the ground
"N-No, no... I'm real," a voice muttered
Their voice was hoarse, like someone who had been screaming for a long while
Odd enough she wasn't screaming at all
"No... I'm real," the voice whispered softly
It was Esther.
She lay among the dead nobles, who got burnt beyond recognition
Some of the bodies were still burning beside her
The blood from her eyes and mouth had dried
Her lips were cracked, half her face was scorched
One eye possibly ruined
Her whole body was burnt, barely resembling what it once was
She was on her back, staring at the smoke slowly getting thicker inside the room
"No," she repeated. "I'm real."
"I'm re—" her voice finally faded
No sound
She closed her working eye
The other eye was burnt. She didn't even know if it was closed or open
The bodies beside her began burning even more
Then a strange crumbling sound was heard
Like concrete caving in on itself
She opened her eye
The wall to her left was warping
A circular section in the wall grew violet
It shifted slowly, making space for something
A head.
The head of a horse pushed through the concrete
Then, legs.
It was the black horse
Mor Mor? She thought
The horse had fully stepped through
Limping.
Half its face was split into two parts
While the other half was normal
Purple liquid continuously leaked from the open half
Its purple glowing eyes weren't visible
On the normal half, it was swollen shut
On the drooping half, the eye was fused into the damaged flesh
Its ears twitched as it sniffed Esther
Slowly, it raised its head, towering over Esther.
Esther didn't move.
The flames had started to engulf her now
Do it....
She closed her eyes one last time
The horse's face transformed into four sections
It inhaled.
Even the flames beside her began dying
Esther began to levitate a few meters from the ground
The horse inhaled
Slowly, Esther began to wither
Skin pressing harder onto each of her bones
Eyes wide
Nails digging into the flaming bodies
Then she went limp
A soft thud as she stopped floating
The horse's face was now fully normal
It neighed softly, flicking its tail.
---
{A Few Minutes Earlier}
---
It was night, no moon.
Just craters, and the faint glow from the purple veil
The castle ground was no longer laced with beauty
But with ruptured grass, and a broken fountain
Bodies lay flat into the grass
Craters that varied in size
And small traces of fog moved around the field
Some patches of the fog, were colored black
Slowly enveloping the other fog it came into contact with
The fog flowed slowly
The moment a dark-colored one was within its reach, it began going the opposite direction
Just as the fog moved
Four silhouettes were in sight
They stood over a deep crater
"Bob..." a girl's voice mutter
It was Autumn and the group
In the center of the hole, a body lay limp at an unnatural angle
If they tried to move him, his body wouldn't stay together
Richie released a deep grunt, one eye barely open but focused
Thomas sighed deeply
"N-now... What did that?" Leo asked
He turned to Autumn, fear etched into his gaze
"It wasn't you," Autumn answered
Leo's eyes scanned her face, his mouth partly opened
Then
Briefly, he exhaled in relief
"Then what did that?" Leo asked
"I... I don't know," Autumn answered
"Good," Thomas said. "I don't think we should try to find out either."
Thomas had all his weight rested on Autumn
His left eye was squinted shut, while his teeth clenched
A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his lip to his chin
"Thomas," Leo said, pointing.
"I'm fine." He answered immediately
"What?" Autumn asked "You're bleeding again!"
The two gathered around Thomas
Richie side-eyed them briefly.
Eyes low.
Breath uneven.
He turned, stepping toward the edge of the crater
Below him, Bob's body lay. Richie looked back at the three teens fussing
Tears welled in his eyes, but he clenched it shut.
Then
He placed his other foot at the edge
Eyes closed
Briefly, a memory flickered.
He and his whole crew
Percy, Bob, and Maxwell
The four all sat around a wooden table
Possibly a bar.
All four wooden mugs were raised as they cheered
The froth overflowing and dripping onto the table
Briefly, Richie's eyes narrowed softly. Perhaps a smile
Who knows
The wind was now whipping behind his ears
...
Autumn didn't even notice when he fell
Just a heavy thud
Then another
As if something was rolling
Instantly, everyone turned
No Richie
They peeked over the crater
There, she saw him
On his belly.
Eyes wide open, blood trickling from his forehead
His hand bent unnaturally.
He landed right beside Bob's body
Both were limp
Autumn's breath hitched
Leo's eyes widened
Thomas just looked away, fists clenching
"R-Richie!!" She shouted
Her hands immediately covered her mouth
"W-we have to... help him" she stuttered
She moved but Thomas grabbed her hand
"We have to help him!" She shouted "What are you doing!?"
She pulled against Thomas
But he pulled back
"No!"
Autumn started floating, making Thomas skid toward the edge
"Let go!" She shouted
Thomas yanked her one last time
"What are you gonna fucking do!? Huh?" He shouted pulling her close
"Look at him!!" Thomas yelled
"Can't you see he's... gone" Thomas' voice was much softer now
His eyebrows began twitching, tears formed into his eyes
"C-cant you see?" His voice cracked
"This is all pointless?" He finished
Autumn stopped pulling, eyes locked onto Thomas
A single tear finally fell from his eye, running down toward his cheek
He clenched his teeth, but then—
Instantly, blood began running from his lips
Dripping onto his hand that held Autumn
Some fell onto the edges of the crater
Autumn's face softened
"Thomas?" she called
"Can't you see?" Thomas muttered, before falling forward
Autumn caught him
She floated with him away from the edges of the crater
She laid him onto a patch of grass that was still in good shape
Blood was settling at his lips
She tilted his head to the side, so the blood could drain
She watched him as he began twitching randomly
No conscious response
Autumn buried her face inside her palms, crying.
Leo walked over and sat beside Autumn
Looking at Thomas twitching
"I-I can't believe I caused all of this..." He muttered
"I'm such a fuck up" his voice grew heavier
A mix of emotions he was trying to suppressed
Leo gently nudged Thomas
"Come on... Just get up, it'll be fine" Leo's voice was soft, stripped of any confidence
No response
Leo remained silent and closed his eyes
Only the faint sobbing of Autumn could be heard
The moon finally began to show itself
Slowly shining on the wreckage as it moves from behind the clouds
Light covered half the field, slowly spreading across more of the ground
Ever so softly, a faint mumbling could be heard
Like someone arguing
Autumn still sobbed, but Leo stood up, turning toward the castle
He could hear it, but no one was there
The cursing was getting closer though
Leo clenched his fists
The moon was almost fully revealed
It's light shining onto Thomas' legs slowly moving upward
The closer the moon came escaping the clouds, the closer the sound became
Leo scanned
"Autumn," he called, but she was still crying.
The moon was now at Thomas' chest
"Tick tock." He heard the mutter "Tick tock."
"Autumn? Dammit get the fuck up"
She was still crying
The moon was now at Thomas' head
Instantly, they felt it
Another presence appeared beside them
"Another failure, I see"
Both Autumn and Leo reacted simultaneously
Eyes widening
Autumn dashed away from the presence
While Leo spun around with a punch
"Raaaagh!" He roared
He saw the figure's robe, but his punch went straight through
Like trying to hit smoke
"What?"
With the momentum of his punch
Leo phased through the figure's entire body
Then they looked at the figure
Standing over Thomas, a hooded figure
Autumn stood to their right,
Leo to their left
Then—
Leo relaxed
"You again."
End