- Heaven's Last Breath -

Inferior Creatures

- Jade -

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"Then you will die here!"

Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the handle of my blade, ready for what was coming. The situation was already out of our grasp and I felt that it was only going to get worse. There were dozens of questions racing through my mind but there was only one way to get answers.

I kept my gaze fixed on the cloaked man as he hovered above the sandy floor. There was an absent look in his icy white eyes, as if there was something more behind them.

Then with one quick motion, our newfound opponent swung his right arm forward, taking control of a sweeping gale. The rush of wind parted the soft sand, coursing through the desert as Ariel and I quickly stepped to the side, evading the sudden attack.

But the enemy didn't stop there. With a twist of his right hand, the powerful gust followed, turning back on itself. I turned my head around, seeing that the windstorm was quickly closing in on me.

Just as I was about to unsheath my blade to defend myself, a hand tugged at my arm, pulling me into a soul mirror. As I realised what had just happened, I emerged from the window, standing beside Ariel.

I looked to the rose blonde, seeing that she knew something that I didn't. For a moment she was silent but then she spoke up, "We can't allow that wind to touch us."

Quicky, I brushed the sand off my kimono, turning to Ariel, hoping she would elaborate.

"Jade, that man is Kaiden. One and the same as Raya's brother." She paused for a moment, turning to me, "But that's not him talking."

Then, the rose blonde looked away, facing the direction where Kaiden was still floating above the sand.

"I-I didn't think it was possible but he's being controlled by a powerful spirit." Ariel raised her voice as she continued, "Notus of the East Wind, why are you here?"

The desert became silent and for a moment, I wasn't sure if the cloaked man understood what the rose blonde was saying. But then a response came,

"Soul Sorceress, you are beneath even my response." As he spoke, the hooded man slowly reached up, pulling back as he revealed his short brown blonde hair, confirming that he was Raya's brother, Kaiden.

"But I shall indulge you this once."

He paused for a moment and in that time, I found myself stunned at what I was seeing. If you were to overlap the two siblings' faces, they were near perfect copies of each other, minus some minor discrepancies.

"War Goddess. Soul Sorceress. And the two others who are nearby. The Olympians have taken interest in your journey. They will watch on as you either succeed or fail. Should you become a threat, it is agreed that you will be eliminated on the spot."

Ariel didn't back down, "Yeah well, tell the Olympians to shove it up their asses. I don't have time for those cowards. All they do is hide away in their realm, refusing to help anyone here."

The spirit that had taken control of Kaiden only smiled in response, "Oh? But is that not the reality? Olympians, Kami, Incarnates. We of the Heavenly Realms are the superior beings and there is no changing that. This lowly human can't even stop me from doing this-"

At that, the young brown blonde raised his left arm into the air, closing his fist tightly. In a flash, a sharp wind spike pierced through the man's chest, leaving a gaping hole directly at the centre of his body.