The Astral Key

Chapter 4

The Second Flames began their attack. They latched onto the metal vessels, which easily gave way to their strength. Stars speckled in their battleground backdrop, in hues of blues, whites, and also stained red with Astrasl Bahamut's blood. Sukoalie led the swiftrunners around the battle, towards the planet of dying source. The Strange Ones weren't able to breathe in the Astral Sea, but every Astral dragon could take in the energy littering the whole known realm of Astral Bahamut.

"What do we do if we sense Strange Ones with magic?" Vielrir asked behind zer.

"We focus on the source key," Sukoalie said. "Any Strange Ones with magic is left to the choices of the cloaked ones. We simply reactivate the planet's key."

"Oh." Vielrir pulled back his muzzle in what resembled boredom.

Zer scales caught the heat of the descent into the planet's embrace. Magic flecked off zer scales, scattering starlight off zer body. Feathers stretched out to catch the new air, from the Astral Sea to the grip of a world. With the Second-Flames preoccupied with the strange metal vessels, it opened up an opportunity.

On the horizon dotted the first epicenter of unnatural energy. Sukoalie stretched zer senses, but could barely feel the source key's power. If it drifted away, the planet would crumble from within its core, taking everything, including the strange ones with their parasitic behaviour down into a fiery explosion.

Without hope of rebirth.

"Remember what I said," zhe told Vielrir. "You watch our backsides, and release the signal if you sense anything strange." Sukoalie took the front of the pack with the biggest swiftrunner. "We're almost there. Try and find a way to the source key. It is imperative that we find it and bring it back to life, before the parasites can drain it further."

Their shadows filled the ground below them, their wings stretching father than the massive swaths of land the strange ones hoped to fill. Sukoalie opened zer mouth, and took the first shot. Although a part of zer resented the parasites, even parasites breathed.

Pain entered zer mind, and she latched onto one of the strange one's tall, metal trees. Vielrir hung back, coiling around a large structure. One of the swiftrunners breathed black and blue flames into one of the buildings supports, bringing it down back to the planet. It crushed against another tall one, while shards of glass fell to the smooth paths below. Sukoalie dug zer claws into the weak glass of the metal tree, a hiss of mist escaping zer maw.

Sukoalie craned their neck downward at the little specks of people, whom the Strange Ones must've abandoned. Their own broodkin. More disgust filled zer heart, but the job was clear. The source key would save everything about the planet. It would give life back to the part of the Astral Sea. Smog filled the rest of zer senses with a murky, rusty taste. Slithering out zer tongue to try and rid zerself of the awful stench, zhe caught the faintest whiff of magic.

It has to be the source key, we are so close.

Their metal trees couldn't withstand the onslaught. Sukoalie tried to battle with the smog, to release zer inner power. Much of the bigger warriors took the largest ones, with the small, inexperienced ones acting as watchers with Vielrir. Everything was going smoothly. Astral Bahamut had to have been watching them from above. Zhe lowered her neck to view the streets, where the abandoned Strange ones fought for any shelter.

Skittering parasites.

One of the swift runners blasted blue flames on the supports of the metal trees, and its weird branches tipped and fell. Sukoalie launched themselves off the building, a rolling call escaping zer from the ice building up in zer soul. Feathers stretching out to intake the untainted parts of the planet, mist escaped from zer jaw.