The Creed's Emergence

Chapter Eighteen: A Cold Day

Several members of the Sect and the Raiders had finally fought their way into the Church, yet they were met with teams of Church members who were part of several lines of defense. They wouldn't let the enemy pass. Although, some of the Sect managed to slip by using their own, twisted version of the Decrepit's cloak. They traveled through the halls, unsure of where to go. The layout of the Church was confusing. There were hallways that lead to nowhere, rooms that seemed to go on forever, and secret passageways only leading back to where they stood before. It was hard to find the Throne Room at this rate. The Sect hadn't seen anything so confusing. Perhaps this was all a trap, built to be confusing. There was always the risk of someone finding the small group. Members of the Church seemed to come out of the walls, there were simply so many.

But soon they heard a growl. It sounded like a person, yet at the same time, it didn't. One of the Sect turned, seeing a strange member of the Church standing there, hunched over. They were staring right at the group as if they could see through their cloaks. The person's eyes were black with glowing orange pupils. It was an unsettling sight. They had the uniform and skull mask of a high-ranking member of the Obscure division. But... There was something awfully different about them. They twitched oddly, and their breathing was heavy.

Suddenly the person took out a twin-bladed weapon. The smaller blades floated around them and pointed toward the invisible group. They glistened in the dying candlelight like diamonds. Each of the small blades was at least three feet in length. They seemed sharp enough to pierce through steel.

"I know you bastards are here..." The person had a feminine voice, yet it was hoarse. She sounded like she was struggling to form a basic sentence, but there was something sinister about it. She definitely knew that the group was there, and she wouldn't let them pass. Before the Sect could do anything, the blades flew out at them. They quickly took off their cloaks, but several were impaled by the glowing blades. The woman then tackled one of the men, screaming as she started to repeatedly stab him with the twin blade. He was panicking and soon his allies came to his aid, attacking the mad woman. She was hit multiple times but showed no signs of pain. Then, the blades came back to her side, only to fly out at the men again. As they were forced off of her, she finished off the one man she tackled. Her eyes were glowing more, but now something was starting to change about her. Her hands were black, and they were growing claws. One of the men tried to kick her in the head, but out of nowhere she suddenly bit his ankle. Her jaws had clamped down at a speed so fast it was hard to even see when she initially opened her jaws to bite.

"Ow, what the?!" The man yelped, trying to shake off the woman, but her grip on his ankle was incredibly strong. It wasn't long before he then heard a snap, then came even more pain. The woman had snapped his bone in two with her bite alone. The other men backed away, although one of them soon fell, unable to support his injuries any longer.

The woman let go and began to growl like a beast. Her blades returned to her side, aiming toward the few survivors of her onslaught. Before she could finish her enemies off, they all fell to the ground. Her growling stopped. She stared in confusion, only to notice that blood had begun pooling around them. In the blink of an eye, someone had silently killed them.
She knew exactly who did it, but why did he come? Wasn't he outside? No, shouldn't he be outside? The others were fighting, and he wasn't with them. Unless he wasn't needed for now.

"Decrepit... Those were my kills." She looked towards the shadows that were being cast by a lantern on the wall. There was nothing there. Or was there?

The air seemed to ripple in the shadows, soon a bloodied figure came into view. Black hair, horns, and a shadow covering his face. His eyes weren't visible in the shadows. Tiny black feathers drifted down onto the ground below him before disappearing. He stood tall, staring down toward his ally.

"Thaliya, you know you weren't supposed to be out here." The man said, staying in the shadows. He sounded worried, but also a little disappointed in the woman. This wasn't the first time she was caught sneaking out to fight.

"Mm, I know, Crow. I was craving some chaos, you know?" The woman chuckled as her weapon soon faded into glowing sparkles. The sparkles faded away into the darkness. Where the weapon went exactly was a mystery. She cracked her knuckles, then stretched her arms.

Crow shook his head with a sigh. Then he ran a hand through his thick black hair. He said nothing to the woman, although he could just scold her right here and now, he held back. She had taken out a group trying to get to the Throne Room.

"The girl is asleep. I checked on her to make sure she didn't escape somehow. Everyone else is safe. Zar is keeping everyone safe, and so is Chroma. Don't think any of these bastards are getting anywhere close to our low ranks." The woman then crossed her arms, facing away from Crow, who then chuckled. She pouted as she heard the soft chuckle.

"Anika? She better stay safe. Thorn has lost his mind out there, he's unleashing an Obscurity not even Moon knows about. Not only has he lost his mind, but he's lost an arm too. Someone had an explosive. Splinter was pretty badly wounded too, but since he was behind Thorn, he wasn't hurt as much. Thorn, however, aha, I don't think he's going to make it through the night." Crow thought about the two Decrepit outside. He recalled seeing Thorn's injuries. He doubted the Decrepit would live for much longer considering how severely he was hurt. He swore he saw his ribs exposed. Splinter at least only had part of his side blasted but he'd survive. Maybe he'd be in a ton of pain but unlike Thorn, he wasn't dying.

"Obscurity? Isn't that the thing that made Bramble go berserk on you guys?" The woman asked. She fondly recalled when the much larger Decrepit had caused such chaos in the Church. He had unleashed hell on everyone, and to see him so calm now threw her off a little. She hadn't expected it one bit. Yet she didn't trust the Decrepit, he could go berserk again someday and perhaps next time the damage done would be far greater.

"No clue, but I guess they have something to do with each other." Crow soon yelped as another explosion rang out. The whole Church seemed to shake. It was soon filled with an unsettling aura, the same one he felt when he saw Thorn suddenly change. It was cold like the winter wind. He felt goosebumps rise on his arms.

The chaos outside wouldn't die down. Fireballs flew through the air as the Sect launched them toward the Church. Arrows flew through the sky, raining down on everything and everyone. Bodies were everywhere, slowly fading to dust. For each man killed, another one ran out to fight. Yet no one dared to approach the mad Decrepit. The Sect ordered all their effort to kill him before he killed any more of their ranks, but some had other ideas. There were some chances to get past the crowd and into the Church. A few members of the Voiceless crept along the Church roof. The woman had killed a few, but there were many more coming from the Sect base deep in the forest. There was no end in sight to the battle.

Anika couldn't sleep. The sounds of war became overwhelming. She could recall the hell that broke loose when her city was attacked. The wail of the bomb siren, the men firing at survivors, and then the bombs raining down. The planes passed overhead, whistling as they unloaded the fireballs which burnt everything. Then the shimmering of the atomic bomb as it fell from the heavens. That very bomb that brought her here. Would she ever forget it? Even if she hadn't seen the aftermath she couldn't stop imagining it herself.
The barren wasteland that was once her city. Piles of rubble everywhere, with only one or two walls from crumbled buildings, left standing. Charred bodies beneath the rubble. On one wall of a building, the permanent shadows of three little girls running cheerfully remained for eternity. Everyone had been reduced to nothing but statistics. Statistics of how many people perished would appear all over the news. Anika nearly became nothing but a number too. It still sent chills down her spine even after everything she had gone through these days. No matter how many happy times she went through, the memories were haunting her.
It all felt like yesterday. She would have been dancing at a dance recital a month from the explosion. She would have been training alongside professional ballerinas six months after the explosion. So much in her life had come to a dead halt. Everyone she knew and would have known was gone.
She longed for Thorn's comforting presence. Even if she had nightmares of the past, he eased her mind. He meant the world to her. He may've been a probably eight-foot tall, horrifying cultist beast, but he had a gentle heart. No matter what he did, he was as gentle as possible with her. Whether it be by carrying her and avoiding poking her with his horns or claws, or by keeping her warm and safe as he slept.

"Stay safe for me, Anika," Thorn said as he gently rubbed Anika's head. He had knelt down to her height and was staring into her eyes. His hand soon moved down to her face. He gently caressed her cheek, which felt warm as always. The other Decrepit were waiting for him at the doorway to the Obscure dormitory. They all silently watched, but Bramble soon snickered and became the first to exit.

It had only been a few hours prior, but those words echoed in her mind. Anika wanted the raid to end and for him to come back safe. However, she was unaware of what had happened to him. She stared at the stained glass ceiling above the pool, keeping most of her face buried in Thorn's cloak. His scent remained strong as ever. There were hints of blood and smoke, but it was something she was used to at this point. She didn't mind it. It was just like when girls her age stole their boyfriend's hoodies. Her eyes closed halfway, but she wasn't able to drift off to sleep. Every time she tried, there would be an explosion, or the ground would shake. She could hear panicked shouting from outside. She knew she had to get used to it at some point. This was her home now. She wasn't in the city where things got quiet after a certain time anymore. But a different sound woke her up fully. It was the sound of footsteps yet again. Looking up towards the glass dome, she saw Voiceless standing above. These seemed to be different from the ones that were taken out earlier. Likely of higher ranks or possibly even more than that.
This time, one of them took out a large sword. Anika gasped, feeling her heart drop. She got out of bed, grabbing her mace tightly. Before she knew it, the man slammed the blade down, shattering part of the ceiling. The small group of Voiceless quickly got into the dormitory. They noticed Anika, but rather than letting her be, they became hostile.

"How cute, there's just one person here. Easy for us." One of the Voiceless giggled.

"Are you going to just swing at us aimlessly, kid?" They joked as they then approached Anika, only to take out a small dagger and quickly disarm her with their free hand. As the mace fell, they kicked it away from her. It slid for a bit before stopping at another Voiceless' boot. Anika was swiftly grabbed and thrown onto the ground outside Thorn's room.

"Tell us, where are we?" One of the other Voiceless demanded.

Anika refused to speak. She couldn't tell them that a majority of the Obscure were just outside. She shook her head, trying to get up. But another Voiceless soon scoffed and yelled at her.

"You want to die?! Tell us!" She then kicked Anika in the side, hoping to get the girl to talk. Usually, it worked on foolish Zealots who didn't know any better.

Anika kept shaking her head. She inched away from the Voiceless members, covering her head with her arms. But one of them soon noticed the cloak she wore. The others sneered at the sight, some reeling back in disgust.

"I know exactly where we are. We can just kill the girl instead of wasting time. This has to be the area where Obscure live. Or rather... Decrepit." The Voiceless woman then pointed her sword at the cloak. Decrepit had unique cloaks with various designs, but the most important things they had were the bone adornments below the fur collar. They were tied together with an ornate silver thread.

The woman raised her sword, ready to kill Anika off. She didn't care that she was about to kill a Visitor. She could always just pass it off as the Visitor being a nuisance. The high ranks wouldn't care, they'd all get away with just a slap on the wrist. Anika suddenly grabbed onto a bone that lay on the floor, throwing it at the woman. It caused the woman to flinch, but it didn't stop her. Anika used this chance to get back up and throw another bone at her enemies.
Annoyed, the woman charged toward Anika. She grabbed her, pinning her against the wall. The one with the dagger came forward, putting the blade to Anika's neck.

"Don't act cute, kid. You'll be dead soon anyways." She said, watching Anika struggle. She observed her appearance. Her striking blue eyes, her shiny hair, and even the earrings which she wore. Anika didn't seem to be anything too special.

The Voiceless then pressed the dagger into Anika's skin, almost to the point where blood could be drawn. Any more, and they could slice her neck and leave her to die.

Anika felt as if she couldn't breathe. She gripped the woman's hands, trying to pry them off of her. She then made eye contact with her. Suddenly, she spits in the woman's face. The woman didn't react. Instead, she only frowned.

"She deserves a slow and painful death for that, ya think? Do it." The woman then nodded to her companion who then lifted the blade from Anika's neck. Instead, they quickly stabbed her in the leg. They dug the blade in, listening to Anika scream in pain. They watched as tears began to roll down her face.

"You're just hurting a Visitor, you know? H-how pathetic." Anika croaked, staring at her attackers. She was fighting through the pain, although it felt just as bad as when she initially came to the Church, wounded by a bullet.

"Shut up, you're with those bastards. Now tell us about what is being held here, valuables, the sacred weapon those bastards have. The Obscure, perhaps? Where the hell are they." The woman hissed, gritting her teeth together in frustration and slight annoyance.

"W-well I'll say one thing... This place isn't for pansies like you two." Now, a smug look came onto Anika's face. She felt the blade get yanked out of her leg, causing her to cry out. But even then, she wouldn't wipe that smug look off her face. She felt the blade go for her neck, only stopping a hair away from slicing her. She saw the Voiceless becoming far more annoyed with Anika's behavior.

Her companion pulled the blade out. But as the woman prepared to bark out another order, a demonic aura filled the air. It felt eerily cold and heavy. It could make the hairs rise on someone's skin. Blood began to rise from the ground around the group. The woman's companion looked down, then up towards the ceiling which they had entered through. There was no one in sight but someone was coming for sure. The woman didn't want to waste time. She knew that something was awfully wrong and the girl wouldn't give her an answer. Anika was wasting their time on purpose.

"Shit. Just kill her already, something is coming!" The woman ordered, quickly taking out another weapon in case her companion failed to kill the girl.

Her companion spun the blade, then as they went to slice Anika's neck, the blade only dug into her skin and stopped. Their arm was frozen, and it wouldn't move.

"I-I can't do it! My arm isn't moving!" The companion panicked. Their arm felt completely paralyzed.

"Then let me do it, fool!" The woman used her own blade to go for the kill instead. But she felt her muscles weaken immediately. However, it wasn't going to stop her. She tried to raise her arm up to gain speed to stab the woman, but as soon as she brought the blade down, her arm froze too. It felt as if someone, or something, had grabbed it.

Anika could only watch as a shadow overcame everything. But the Voiceless didn't move. Crouched on the glass was a large beast with a skull for a head. But... It seemed so familiar. Its chest was bloody, its ribs were exposed. It was missing an arm too. It was horribly wounded. Yet its horns were much more demonic, with a ghostly look to them. Red markings were spread all over its face and body. Its claws were larger, ready to slice at everything that got in its way. It had a lower jaw where black blood leaked from its teeth. But there was something that stood out from the rest of the demonic appearance. Nine glowing eyes, locked onto Anika. The beast seemed familiar. But Anika noticed how his skull and horns were intact. All in one piece.