Legends of the Stars

Chapter 18: The Death Riders

Chapter 18

The Death Riders

July 20th, 2019 AE, 2:27 PM

Jaden carried Astra high above Ventasia, which had been swept up in a wave of fire and destruction. They both watched as Kaiser's mechanical army marched all over the city, obliterating everything in sight. Jaden could sense hundreds of lives being extinguished each second. But all he could focus on were the screams rising up from the ashes. Astra shielded her eyes in his jacket, unable to bear the chaos down below. Jaden himself could barely watch what was unfolding. He was reliving Newtown all over again.

Every fiber in his being wanted him to fly down there and do something, anything to try to stop the massacre. Jaden couldn't just let those beasts kill all those poor people, and he could sense that Astra felt the same way. But he was all too aware of how weak he was after his battle with Kaiser. Even after being healed by the Star of Azura, he knew losing the stone was too great a risk. So the Ark Knight just looked away from it all, instead focusing on the skies in front of him.

* * *

After flying through the air for almost ten minutes, Jaden and Astra crash-landed in a wetland several miles away from Ventasia. Combined with a lack of experience, the Ark Knight flew too fast to make a proper landing. But before they hit the ground, Jaden rolled over so he would break their fall. As the Ark Knight shredded across the ground, he kicked up a trail of mud and rain that sprayed them both.

"Are you okay?" Jaden asked.

"I'm fine," Astra answered.

The Ark Knight struggled to stand up, as the rapid flight took a lot out of him. His body was so wrenched it felt like he went right through a wringer. Wiping the dirt off of his face, Jaden looked around to see that there was no sign of civilization anywhere. They were alone in the wilderness, surrounded only by trees and rain, but not for long.

Jaden sensed the Death Riders flying towards us at an incredible speed, and he knew he didn't have any strength left for another flight.

"We have to go," he said. "Kaiser's men will be here any moment!"

Jaden turned around to see Astra hanging her head, not moving at all. He knelt down in front of her to see her face covered with dirt, rain, and tears. This was a Princess fallen from grace.

"How did I let this happen?" she asked. "That was...the Destroyer."

Without sensing that creature's immense power, Astra already knew what it was: a demon the likes that no human has seen for over two millennia. Kaiser had summoned the spirit of Zadon himself, and it turned the Imperial Army against them all.

"It's all my fault! I let everyone down!"

Jaden realized she sounded like him when they were trapped in that cell together, like she had given up. In the back of his head, he knew there was no time to lose. He didn't know what to say, but he had to do something. She was there for him then, so he had to be there for her.

"Astra, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You did everything you could."

"No, I didn't! I could've stopped this. I couldn't prevented all of this if I could only use my power! But now it's too late. Zadon's returned, and I failed. After everything I've done, I couldn't do anything!"

For ten years, Astra lived with the pressure of being her mother's successor. She tried and tried to be the strong and confident Princess everyone needed, hiding all her true feelings deep inside. But right then and there, all that anger, fear, and sadness came pouring out all at once.