The Cloak Guard

The Sculptor, Part 2

Luke had been enjoying himself. For once, Emily wasn't talking to him like he was an annoying blowhard (her words). And he'd managed to even hold her hand. It was much firmer than he would have thought but it still felt really nice.

They'd been talking for a little while about nothing in particular, Luke relishing in her presence while she seemed to be just tolerating his out of some sense of pity, not that he was complaining. If he hadn't been stabbed earlier, Luke would have said this was a great day.

So, naturally, it had to be ruined again.

"Luke! Emily!"

They both turned and saw Sumin in the doorway panting a little. "Sumin, what is it?" Emily asked. "What's wrong?"

"We have a problem. A big one. Please tell me you have your phones."

Luke frowned, not expecting that response, but he shook his head. "Sorry buddy, my parents went to get it from my house."

"I have mine," Emily said, pulling hers out. "Why?"

"Contact the others, immediately."

"What's going on?"

"Swarm is not the only threat."

Luke's eyes widened and he heard Emily gasp next to him. "What? How do you know?"

"My grandmother. She somehow knows about all of this. My powers and everything. And she informed me that there is another threat out there called the Sculptor. He is coming to destroy us all. And before you think to ask, no she is not senile."

"Don't worry, we weren't going to say that," Emily said.

Luke wisely just nodding, having been about to ask something close to that. Or exactly that. "So was that it? Did she say anything else?"

Before Sumin could reply, they all heard a buzzing sound and turned to as Emily's phone twitched in her hand. "I just got a message from Travis," she said. "He says he and Madison are checking out a possible threat. He thinks that the dirt monsters weren't Swarm's creations but someone else's."

"Hey, that's right," Luke said, sitting up straight, ignoring the pain. "Swarm never used those in the battle." He hadn't thought about it before but that was strange. "So, is it this Sculptor person? He attacked me last night?"

"Travis doesn't say. Just that he's investigating someone named Eustace."

Sumin gasped and they turned to them. "You know him?" Luke asked.

"Yes. I've sat next to him at lunch for a few years now. I don't know him very well but he is a talented artist. He prefers to keep to himself though." They began tapping their finger to their chin, looking agitated. "It makes sense though. My grandmother informed me that the Sculptor is a parasitic being that finds hosts, takes over them, and uses them to further its own goals. It especially likes artistic minds that it can warp to its own vision."

"Ok, hold up," Luke said, stopping them. "There's a lot to unpack there. Parasitic being? Host? Artistic mind?"

"Why did that last one make the list?" Emily asked him.

"I don't know. Why is it part of this in the first place?"

"My grandmother told me that the Sculptor is an artist at heart, wishing to create a masterpiece out of our world's destruction. It can seek any host out, but prefers artistic ones."

"Ok, fair enough. But that brings up something else, what was it...oh yeah, OUR WORLD'S DESTRUCTION?" Luke cried out. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I believe it means the Sculptor seeks to destroy this world like all the others."