- Heaven's Last Breath -

Agony

- Aaron -

---

"Hey Aaron! Long time no see!"

The familiar voice echoed over the snowy plateau, a drop of sweat falling down my cheek as I turned on my heels. I didn't want to recognise the voice but my mind was racing at a million miles an hour.

I turned around, my eyes meeting a very tall, extremely muscular man. He must have reached well over ten feet tall, his olive brown skin dulled by the slow snowfall that had just picked up. His hair was a short, matte black, styled into an undercut. The man's face was well defined, his stone brown eyes piercing into my soul, freezing me in my place.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go silent on me now."

Slowly, the tall man stepped forward, his upper body exposed to the harsh weather but that didn't seem to faze him, three silver chains hanging around his neck. Two inked black wings were tattooed across his chest, the lower half of a jewelled skull inscribed onto his lower torso. Along his right arm, a full snake sleeve was tatooed and on his left, a flock of hawks were inked.

The lower half of his body was clothed in rocky brown camoflauge combat pants. He wore some heavy duty ankle high charcoal boots, leaving imprints behind him as he slowly walked forward.

Then all of a sudden, a blur of midnight black flashed in front of me. Jade was stood in between the two of us, taking a defensive stance as she held her samurai blade in her right hand.

"Oh? What's this?" A malicious smile crossed the man's lips as he looked down to Jade. He didn't seem intimidated by either of us, taking another step forward, "It looks like you've got a crew now, Aaron. You know, I only came here to take your head but seeing as there's four of you, I don't mind dealing with all of you right here."

Before the tall man could take another step, Death and Ariel joined me at my sides. Their faces were serious, their eyes fixed on the man who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh come on, you could at least introduce me."

I felt my eye twitch as he spoke, feeling a wave of anger wash over me. But I remained calm, knowing that this situation was already on the verge of boiling over.

"The Earth Incarnate, Cabrakan." I paused, spitting out as I spoke the man's name, "Why are you here?"

Cabrakan seemed a little taken back that I asked such a question. He shook his head, a half smile crossing his lips as he spoke up, "Isn't it obvious? The Celestials aren't taking you seriously enough and if it was up to me I would have killed you the moment you sent that message."

A tense silence settled on the plateau, the snowfall starting to become heavier. The gears in my brain spinning faster than ever, thinking of a strategy to get us out of this alive but no matter what, I knew there was no escaping now.

"It's a shame, really. All four of you are Incarnates and yet we stand on opposite sides. But I'm past giving you another chance Aaron, you've already made up your mind."

The moment he finished talking, Cabrakan disappeared into a blur. In a flash, he swung his fist forward, Jade just about managing to block him with her blade.

"A samurai, huh? Why are you protecting Aaron? He's only going to get you all killed."

Jade wasn't buying into anything he was saying, using all of her strength to keep the opponent at bay. But then, Cabrakan kicked into second gear, the muscles in his right arm bulging out as he pushed Jade backwards and out of the way.