Amethyst Genesis: Bleeding Ruby

Azurian Red

The sky was darkened, the full moon was out, the city lit up by streetlights and cars, straying away from the main streets dark alleyways of gentle shade were exempt from the light. In the darkness, blue flames emerged from the pitch.

A pair was running across rooftops towards the palace. It was Hal and Jeta. Hal kept up his pace as Jeta ran gracefully rooftop to rooftop. Several figures in white followed by a figure in black pursued the two with great efficiency. They managed to make it in front of Jeta, they surrounded the two on the rooftop.

"Them?" Hal asked as he clutched his blade tightly.
"Fellow Fragments. Loyal to her ideals." Jeta said as he looked at the crowd before staring at a man rummaging through the crowd.
"Well well well, if it isn't the Azurian". The raspy, sarcastic, forced civility voice emerged from the group. The figure and black pushed through the crowd. They were a rather short man, silky smooth and well-groomed black hair, he donned a rather black baggy robe of a priest with a mask style red stitching on his left side. His eyes grey with red slits like snakes, he grinned at Hal while, he pushed past the crowd. He walked with a rather odd staff cane. It was made of a hard metal lined with dark red cracks leaking with black ooze. Jeta and the man who seemed no older than Hal opposed each other blades ready and eyes locked. It was a standoff between seconds.

"Who is he?" Hal asked turning to look at Jeta on his left.
"Vrykos. Pride." Jeta muttered quietly while drawing one blade while keeping one sheathed.
"It seems like you've brought Lyra such a gift. She's been feeling rather generous." Vrykos chuckled as he talked out to the two.
"She even has the little girlie in one piece. In exchange though...." Vrykos chuckled.
"No." Jeta said scanning the crowd.
"Very well. Diplomacy never works with such a brute like you." Vrykos said as he turned to the crowd.
"She wants the kid alive. The man however...." The Vrykos commanded, as the soldiers formed their own weapons carved from various colors of light.
"If you manage to bring me the core of the Azurian. I will promise you that the Empress herself will grant you any wish!" Vrykos declared to the 79 soldiers as he walked towards Hal.
The men and women didn't hesitate. They lunged at once.
Jeta walked towards the group and sheathed his blade. He began to break the weapons, and break bones with just his fist.
Hal tried to help with the blade of his own, but Vrykos stood in front of him, refusing to budge or leave. The two were locked in a standstill. Hal was frozen by the pressure the man exuded.
"As much as I wanted to kill you, there will be no bigger pleasure for me than seeing your fate with Lyra" he paused. "There are fates worse than death. The Vrykos said as he smirked widely full of sadism, just as much as Lyra did.

"Hal, leave. I will buy you time. I'll be fine." Jeta commanded as he was kicking a soldier to the ground.
"Yield." Jeta said glaring down at his dispatched opponent. The man refused. Jeta stomped him out. Jeta slid past an axe strike and landed a firm strike to the face to the wielder.
Despite being unarmed he held his own with no stress. No fury. Pure unadulterated Tranquility. Even in his display of combat he left everyone alive.

The soldiers fought tooth and nail but Jeta dwarfed them in prowess. He dispatched them quickly, shattering spines with his fists. Snapped bones with his knees and kicked away another fragment mid swing. One woman managed to get the jump on him by cutting his eye, but he uppercuts her stomach, making her cough up blood. Not killing her but sending her falling to the street below on a bush. Jeta starts punching jaws, flipping people over and knocking people out. He held back his punches not only to spare them but to keep them out of the fight. Hal was left to face off Vrykos.
Vrykos stared at the crowd before turning to Hal.
"Failures." Vrykos sighed before revealing a macabre hunger filled smile.
Hal was stunned. But his resolved made him move.

Hal ignored Jeta. For he felt Vrykos wasn't someone you could take on alone. He began to strike at the man, but his sword was stopped. Hal felt an overwhelming darkness, a void that drags everything inside. The man was nearly as powerful as Lyra. Vrykos remained still as if he was a wall of ice. Hal felt tendrils grip around his legs and slowly pull down him in the void, it starts to crush him limb to limb. Hal screams in pain. Jeta notices and rushes to Hal's aid but the tendrils hold him still for the other soldiers to stab at him, he struggles to break free but gets impaled through the chest by a spear from the soldier. Hal squirms as the tendrils shatters his prosthetic . The soldiers notice tendrils on themselves as well and scream from the crushing grip, the man is intent on killing everyone but Hal, he laughs maniacally as he gets shrouded in shadow.