The Salom'Sileyu Trilogy 1: The Kult of Salom'Sileyu

Episode 7: Ayela

The city district was evacuated of all civilians except for two.

A storm roiled overhead, crackling red lightning like it was a whip.

Airships from Enthedrill's navy hovered overhead.

Tallie cowered down the street at the sight of her...

And she...

Ayela...

She was full of fury that could level the city if it were left to its own devices.

Below, standing on the sidelines, were Kamille and Karinth, watching in awe as their demigoddess ally unleashed her power in raw form, consumed with bloodthirsty rage at the one who murdered her lover. But seeing them brought alarm to her mind, and shame at the lack of self-control. Sure, it was understandable, but if she was the better person, she should have control over herself.

But she didn't.

Tallie began to beg for mercy as she stood up from her position of prayer, and rage took over all-too-quickly. "AYELA!!! DON'T!!!" Kamille shouted from the side. "YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS! YOU'RE NOT A MURDERER!"

Not a murderer. That was correct.

But she was definitely pissed off.

Soldiers quickly found Kamille and Karinth, and they struggled to get them to safety. As soon as they were ushered back down the alley they came, Tallie threw her hand forward, and a beam of violet light exploded towards Ayela. She seemed to teleport out of the way with how fast she moved, and retaliated with a more refined, concentrated beam of pure light that had a black core. It seemed to warp and bend the light around it as it shot forth at Tallie. The witch quickly dodged it, but wasn't able to avoid receiving some sort of injury as she screamed and gripped her thigh in pain.

"You'll never win this!" Tallie yelled. "If you kill me, you'll be no better than my predecessors!"

"ENOUGH!!!" Ayela barked. There was so much power behind her voice, thunder clapped as though lightning had struck nearby. She was done waiting.

She threw her hands forward, and once again beams erupted from her palms. This time, though, she didn't hold back. She pumped all her emotion into the reality-bending, pure energy, and threw as much force into them as she could while Tallie erected a shield of her violet magic. The sound was ear-piercing, like sheet metal being torn in half.

Tallie pushed back with her shield for a few minutes, then returned the attack with her blasts once more, and the two were locked into each other's attacks, pushing back with equal force. A strange foam dropped to the ground from where the blasts impacted each other, pouring forth as though they were suds from an overflow of soapy water.

Then, Kamille emerged from the alley once more, panicked in her motions as she waved her arms wildly. "HEY!" She shouted, drawing Tallie's attention for the briefest moment. The witch smirked, and Ayela could almost predict what she was about to do.

So the dancer poured the most effort she could while Tallie was distracted, and a pulse in her beams threw itself from her palms and slammed against the witch's beams. Both their attacks were disrupted violently, throwing Tallie far away while Ayela nearly dropped to the ground.

"What are you doing?!" She chastised when she set her feet down, glaring at Kamille with eyes full of concern. Her light faded until she was normal, but the storm didn't dissipate. Kamille rushed over to her and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"You're better than this, Ayela. I know it," she said. Though she was emotionally exhausted, tears still formed in the Songrivan's eyes, and she started to sob uncontrollably. "It's not worth it to kill her. It's not worth it to stoop to her level. Trust me."