Summer Garden

Luna

Luna wandered aimlessly, alone.

They'd split up to search the city, to try and understand what had happened. The group seemed less intimidating that way. Interviewing survivors was difficult when they assumed you were a military patrol sent by the destroyers of the city.

The princess paused, and raised a hand, tossing up a quick sigil into the air with her dust. She was right. She could feel magic. Faen magic, close, but weak. Incredibly weak. Could this be the Fae that had attacked Calis? Were they dying after burning out all their magic?

She moved towards it, pausing periodically to try and trace the essence again. It was rapidly fluctuating, coming and going. She could get a general direction, but not much more than that. She walked through the rubble, running over the uneven and broken bricks that had once been buildings that towered into the sky. She was moving towards the outskirts, where the damage was even worse than the centre, if that were possible. Here the ground itself seemed to have liquefied and turned solid again, burying entire sections of the city. Human hands and arms protruded above the solid rock as Luna ran passed them, feeling guilt.

They had died, and she hadn't been able to do anything. Whoever they were, to die this way was... Wrong.

She paused, her wings fluttering as she crested an apartment building just barely poking out of the soil, and looked down at the two figures she could see.

Her heart twisted as if she'd been stabbed.

One of the figures was Trei. It was broken, bleeding, and a light was pouring out of the myriad holes in the body. It had to be his original body, the one he'd left to F'rir when he escaped her and came back to them. This was the broken body of a ghoul, stolen and used by Vastras, no doubt.

Next to the body was another figure she recognised, and it terrified her. She didn't know how he could be here. It didn't make sense. He was meant to be stuck outside of time.

She dropped beside them, her wings rolling up behind her, "Tyr."

The black-eyed Fae waved a hand towards her, "Ah, Princess Luna. Right on time. So you see, Summer, I wasn't lying to you. I told you that you would see her before the end. Even if your end is imminent. Here is your little sister, all excited to try and save you, to try and cheer you up."

Luna fell next to Trei's body. She tried to put a hand over one of the light-bleeding holes, to try and seal it. She screamed, pulling her hand back in horror as it turned to ash. She looked at the figure trapped there. Looking into the eyes of the sister she already thought was dead, and was going to lose again.

"I wouldn't recommend trying that again, Princess." Tyr yawned, "That is the pure and unadulterated form of the lifestream itself. Touching it just going to kill you. Burn you up inside."

Luna looked over at him, "Help me."

"Help you?" Tyr screwed up his nose, "I did this to her, princess. I'm not about to undo the thing that is finally breaking the walls of me -"

He cut off as Luna's fist crashed into his face. She pinned him to the ground, both hands slamming repeatedly into that smug face of his. Over and over again. Her knuckles were bleeding, leaving a stain on him, but he wasn't reacting. As if she were doing nothing at all to him.

"Are you done?" He asked with irritation, and Luna flinched as she felt herself tossed backwards. She stood upright, tired. Tyr wiped his face, and she looked in surprise. He wasn't injured. Not even a slight swelling or redness. No chance at bruising. She couldn't hurt him. She was so much weaker than him that it wasn't worth considering.

"Now, I made a promise to Vastras." Tyr yawned, "And I am a man of my word. There only two people left connected to the lifestream, little princess. One of them is your weak-willed sister, already given up on living. The other is me. The one who has survived eternity and more through nothing but will. I think it's time, don't you?"

Luna looked at him cautiously, "Time for what?"

"Time for Summer to kill you."