Solitude in the Dark

Episode 3: Iron Sharpens Iron

Somewhere in a fortress of heavy concentration of ominous shadows and towering bastion of darkness. The fabric of reality shatters into place as Envy breaks into a throne room. He takes one good stretch, "Ahhh... Good to be back—" Then he staggers as a rapier pierces through his skull with absolute force and violence.

"What happened to Busan!?"

Envy nonchalantly stands with a sword in his eye and replies, "Patience, Wrath, I just want to kill someone, but an Archangel intervened not one but two actually. They're still one hell of a problem, I tell you that," Envy explains the events that unfolded. He also mentioned the part where he made up a story with his name just to fool his victims.

Bursting a nerve, "Hurensohn! All of that for a thirst to kill?!" Clenching tight on his fist with a deadly gaze at Envy, he summons another sword and swings it at Envy aiming for the other eye.

But Envy effortlessly stops the raging rapier with only two of his fingers, then he breaks a smirk, "Since when you started using rapiers, I thought you like the zweihänder, the big one?" As he pulls the other sword out of his blood-spilling eye, "Oh, I remember now, last time you used that kind of sword, you almost died." he chuckles.

"Release" mana starts to materialize into Wrath's hand forming his broken zweihänder, "It's either you're blind or stupid, Lord Astaroth--" Wrath hitting the ceiling with a shout and anger suddenly interrupted by the man on the throne.

"Enough! I don't acknowledge such a name. Wrath, control yourself. Do not ever say that name..." The man on the throne said.

Wrath dematerializes his heavy blade and extends his palm to retrieve his rapier from Envy.

"If your victim isn't significant to them, you won't have seen and encountered an Archangel, such warriors don't have the time to waste for a random pair," the man on the throne said to Envy.

"Yes, my Sovereign, in fact, one of my targets is a Low Mana Concentration and yet he can perform dark magic with ease," Envy said as he healed his eye.

"Perhaps one of the reasons an Archangel is present there is because the Low Mana Concentration boy might be one of the Divine Vessels. Give me proof, then I will deal with him... personally," With sheer authority, as he reigns on his throne even the shadows tremble below his feet, he commands, "Envy, do what's needed to be done, now go!"

"Yes, my Sovereign." Envy kneels to the man on the throne in respect as he is immediately on his way to fulfil his master's bidding.

....

Concluding the burial of Cloud's passed-away mother, now lying in her final resting place. His heart cries out, being separated from his protector, home, and world.

Yunika finds Cloud at his lowest point, sobbing on the ground. Then Cloud asks her with tears flooding down to his cheeks, "Why did it need to end like this?"

"It's not your fault," Yunika said.

"She was my everything,"

And she pulls him closer towards her heart, "It's not your fault, don't blame yourself..." Yunika said as Cloud poured his heart out, tears of regret, hatred, and vengeance, are spilt on the ground.

Michael who's been looking for them, "There you are, I've been looking for you two—oh..." Then he was shushed by Yunika.

Then he approaches Cloud and pats him on the shoulder, "It's okay my friend, life is full of suffering and loss, but there's also hope and a new beginning, crying all day will not do any good to you," Michael said to Cloud.

Letting go of such grief and loss is easier said the done, not so different to a man keeping his grasp on a vine of thorns.

"Come on, you have a plane to catch. Hayan is already in the airport waiting" Michael said to the two.