Souls Entwined ~ A Millennium story

Souls Entwined

Th'Erzagar made her way to the capital city of the Elfu. Her own people—the Guvri—had abandoned her, all because she had decided to love the son of the former Elfu leader, Adeyemi. She had teleported as close to the capital as was possible without being detected, but now came the hard part: saving her lover.

Withering the soul of their own scion, she thought, anger making her blood boil. And making it a public spectacle to boot!

Razor-sharp crystals sprouted from her bare back; the multiple shards floated in the shape of a half-circle behind her head. The translucent blue wings gave a single flap down and the pale-skinned demon shot through the thick forest. She was a mere blur of black and azure—the colours of her short hair and long dress. She weaved through the trees, her wings leaving deep gashes in their dark bark here and there.

She knew she was flying straight into a trap—it was why she had tried to get the Guvri to stand by her side, to help her... But instead, they had forsaken her, either because they too thought her love was not allowed or because they didn't dare start a war over it.

Her jaw tightened, her resolve set. She was not going to let Agni's soul get withered. Army or no army, she was going to fight.

I'm not going to get out of this alive, she thought. But that doesn't matter. All that matters is Agni's soul remaining whole. I'll kill Adeyemi if I have to. Worry about Agni's reaction to that made her slow down ever so slightly, but she quickly picked up the pace again.

The giant marble wall of the capital became visible through the trees. Th'Erzagar flew up and landed on a thick branch to assess the situation. The city was surrounded by a special wall with various tunnels that would crush any unwanted visitors. She had never tried to sneak into the city before because of that—as she was at the top of the undesired demons list. Flying into the city was also not an option as a protective barrier shielded it from anything living passing through—at least, anything larger than the size of a decent fist.

She tilted her head in thought. Living...

Normally, there were no guards, but today she could see some pass behind the parapet at regular intervals.

She scoffed. So, they are expecting me then. Well, let's not let their little trap go to waste...

The crystals that made up her wings vibrated with energy as they grew before she shot up through the canopy and rose high into the air. The city below her got smaller and smaller until she could barely make out where the inner ring was, the location of the main temple and the sacrificial plaza. Her wings were still growing as she kept her position, levitating right above her target location.

Th'Erzagar took a few deep breaths, folded her wings, and plummeted feet-first back to the ground. The crystals of her wings wrapped themselves around her, growing and interlocking, until she was in a tear-shaped chrysalis.

The sharp point connected with the barrier and for a brief moment, Th'Erzagar's heart stopped along with her movement down. With a feral scream and a burst of psionic energy, the barrier relented and allowed the unknown object through. The final drop down to the ground took but a second. Th'Erzagar had to quickly adjust her trajectory and with a crash, the crystal cocoon embedded itself into the marble floor.

A horned, umber-skinned demon protected his eyes from the dust and debris caused by the impact. The tall Faceless that stood behind him remained unfazed—the human-demon hybrid had no eyes, nose or mouth that needed protecting. Its white hooded robe bellowed in the created wind, but it was otherwise still as a statue.

Th'Erzagar's wings splintered to release her, and she gasped for air, only to cough upon inhaling the dust. Her gaze fell on the horned demon before her, his violet eyes looking up at her through his red locks. Her lips moved to form a smile, but then she spotted the Faceless behind him. Without giving it a second thought, her right wing reformed into a halberd and decapitated the hybrid before it got the chance to move. Its head rolled over the tiles, flashing between the white of the robe and the pale yellow of its skin, and left a trail of orange blood in its wake.