Relic-Verse: Champions of Hope

Chapter 29

-- Part 1 --

The small cloaked form of Pivot floated on top of Faron's apartment balcony, staring out at the city below it. The Hiduway's three yellow orbs slowly circled each other as it watched people go about their daily business. The afternoon sunlight lit up the streets and basked the creature in a comforting warm glow, making it all the more jarring when it sensed a twisted anomaly. Unbeknownst to it, Pivot's orbs darkened from bright and vibrant to dull and lifeless as it felt the world change around itself.

The busy streets became lifeless, buildings were suddenly nothing but rubble, fires now raged across the city, distant sirens were now the only noises in the air. Pivot spun around in alarm to find that the apartment building was now split in two, the support beams seeming to have been in some way melted. There wasn't any life left in the building, the Hiduway knew it, so instead it floated down to the ground to try and get a feel for what happened.

As Pivot traversed the streets, it found more and more melted buildings, as if someone had unleashed a storm of devastating fire. Once tall towers had been reduced to pools of molten metal and glass. Piles of ash littered the streets, making the creature only guess at what had once been in their place. The further Pivot traveled, the more dense the ash and fire became, until eventually it reached a crater melted into the ground, surrounded by the dying flames of a once roaring inferno.

In the center of the crater was a girl with charcoal colored wings, collapsed onto her knees and crying. Pivot's orbs spun around quickly as it further observed the scene. The girl appeared to be the origin of this apocalyptic disaster, with the spiraling burn marks that were etched into the ground seeming to surround her. Directly in front of her was the body of another girl, who appeared to have been spared from the flames, but instead was covered in gashes and puncture wounds. Nearby was a pile of burnt tentacles, and although their shape and color were unclear due to the wounds, Pivot deduced that due to the number of them they must have originated from the supervillain Kraken.

After taking in the scene, a male voice spoke from behind Pivot. "That is Avery Kennedy. Her registry states that her power is 'Apocalypse Wings'." The Hiduway spun around and saw a tall dark skinned man with short white hair and an ornately decorated suit of silver combat armor. "She killed this world." His silver eyes locked onto the small creature in front of him.

Pivot floated into the air to get eye level with the stranger. "Impossible. Avery is a Champion of Hope, she would never do something like this! And as far as I am aware- she doesn't even have the power to!"

"My eyes do not lie." The man frowned and detached a small hilt from his waist, the hilt suddenly producing a glowing white blade. "She is going to melt the world in her grief if I do not stop her."

"What do you mean your eyes do not lie? Are you some kind of truth seeker?" Pivot's orbs began to flicker as the man shook his head.

"No. I am Destiny. I am the savior of worlds. And that girl will die, by my hands, to preserve our own." The man spoke with conviction as he began moving to the edge of the crater. "As soon as I return home, I will ensure that this fate does not come true."

"Return home?" Pivot's eyes faded to a dull yellow as the city faded from its vision, and it realized that it was still on Faron's balcony. The Hiduway looked around, taking in the site of the bustling city once again before shaking itself and flying back inside. "I must warn Faron!"

-- Part 2 --

Netri groaned in pain as he was thrown into his wall of vines, the rapidly growing plant quickly ensnaring him as Ziro grinned sadistically. Nearby, Alice was sitting on the table next to the register, with Rose and Revenant sitting on the floor and placing bets on how long Netri will last.