Dawn Of Citadel

Chapter 21

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"Do you really want to know?" Annette asked again. Again? She smiled widely as she whispered slowly, "Not a great idea."

"Why not?" Phoenix asked. "Maybe I could get to know you." Her smile matched Annette's. "At least I have the right to know who I am working for, now, don't I?"

"Of course, you do. That is a born right of this land. But then we are ancients. We follow no rules." Annette turned again only to be pulled back by Phoenix.

"What is there to hide?" Phoenix asked. "The fact that you are Tide? Oh, please. I have enough sense to notice your dismissal when Selena tells something bad about him."

Annette's smile faltered a bit. "You haven't lost a lot of grey cells, it seems. Impressive I must say." Annette took hold of the door handle. "And I am not Hail. I hate him because he's married to Than. It was a sign of dismissal, not fury."

Before she left from Phoenix's view, she told the words, "Be sure that when you leave this room, you search for the one thing that matters to you the second most, excluding Titan, of course." And she left.

The second most important? Did she mean Ayden? That panicked her. What if something happened to Ayden? She ran out of the room, not caring about whoever saw her walking out of the room of rage, straight to Ayden's. She knocked at the door multiple times and pushed it open herself.

Phoenix ignored everything that was wrong with the room, including the very much non-human scratches on the walls, tearing off all the books and posters he had stuck on them. The folders were left open and someone had gone through them all. The room was filled with white feather which was evidently from the torn up bed. She walked directly to Ayden who was lying to the edge of the room, clinging his arm to the desk, pointing his finger to the water.

Phoenix walked to him only to be hit on her head by something hard, which forced her to fall on her knee. She hung her head down as she held her hands tight around her injured neck, her vision getting blurry.

She looked up in difficulty as the one who hit her came to view. "Oh, no. The chosen will die soon. How will Than return then?" He let out a sickening laugh as she sat there trying to see his face.

"I don't understand." The man said. "Why would the gods assign someone so pathetic for such an important duty? Oh yes, I know. They are as pathetic as you." He laughed again, and by now she knew that the laugh was supposed to scare her.

"Who are you?" Phoenix hissed out with great difficulty as she strained her neck to look up at him, but the sunlight from the balcony was doing enough to hide his hideous face.

"The substantial. The strongest in all realms. I'm he who would soon be the ruler over everything. Worship me and I shall give you the chance to live, Phoenix."

She did her level best to not roll her eyes, as she loosened her grip on the neck. "Are you serious right now? Worship? Seriously?"

"I am." That's all he said as he took off the shining material he had held. It wasn't a sword nor a pole. It was more of a mix of both, as though the true form might be as delusional as she felt.

"Tell me who you are." She stated, not in a pleading voice but which held power. "Tell me who you are and I will spare your life. For now." She threatened.

He laughed at that. "I am the ruler over everything. The evilness is my domain. Join me and we shall break the earth for our good. You will be the King and rule-"

"Shut up and tell me what you are. Or rather who you are." She was trying to seem tough when in reality, she was trying her best to not look at the unconscious Ayden as she didn't want the man to avert his gaze from her to her brother.

She stood up carefully and tried to look straight at his face but it was as if she couldn't see it. A faceless man?

He laughed again. "I am Equinox, the ruler over all."

Phoenix tried to hold in her surprise as she started to see those eyes behind the cape. Hollow eyes and.. "Equal nose?"

She never imagined his parents would name him that just because his nose has a weird complexion. No, he had a nose, but the nose was of the same shape as the eyes. "It's Equinox. And stop staring at my nose." He said and hid his face with the cape again.

"Should I be scared of you?" Phoenix rephrased the question. "You seem like someone who devour attention. Do you want me to be scared of you. I could sympathise on your situation and act for a while, you know."

"You were always like this." He stated. "You were always talking like this, making me trust you. And then I would finally realise that you are nothing but as evil as the god of evil himself."

"Maybe," She said, with a devilish smirk plastered on her too good a face. "I might be as evil as you but I can't cross the line of being as deadly as the death god. But I try my best."

He had an amusing expression on his face. "Only if you knew what you're getting yourself into."

"Oh, please, I do. I had to find you and take Than's past from you but it seems like you came here yourself. Thanks for helping me with the duty."

"I will give you the past." He agreed. "But I need a life instead."

"No. Not happening. Never even think about. Don't you dare look at Ayden." She screamed, losing her cool. It was difficult to concentrate on the talk when her brother was lying there, clutching to his dear life.

Equinox pulled out his weapon and walked to him slowly. She felt like she couldn't move. As though she was trapped in a glass room.

Suddenly, she felt the cold metal on her chest. She removed the metallic part of the pendant to find a sword outstretching from it.

"Not the time to admire it. Now, go save your brother!"

She stepped up to him and dragged the sword through his chest. But it seemed like the body moved from the sword, as though the hole was..

She didn't care. She continued to slice him, though it seemed like he was only a puff of dust.

"I am not as much of an idiot as you to be present here materially, Phoenix." He snarled at her and let out a laugh. "Today is the end of the waters. Today shall it be but mine!"

He headed towards Ayden but Phoenix blocked his path. "If you would dare to take one more step, I will do anything and everything in my power to kill you." She shouted at his face but he walked through her.

"Wait." He halted at her demanding voice and turned. "Take my life instead of his."

Equinox only smiled at her. "I already have."

"What?"