The Black Stars of Melanin

Cogs of Fate

(Back at Kane's house)

A hailstorm of bombshells continue to rain down upon the city of Abyad! 'Shoom' Jinto's flames reinforced Juri's barrier however the structural integrity of the house was beyond compromised. The house was a ticking time bomb waiting to implode. The pair looked up to a horrific sight. War planes dominated the skies! Gunfire infiltrated their ears. Soldiers occupied the land. Indeed Abyad was being painted red with blood...

"What's happening!?" Jinto bellowed. "I don't know but those soldiers, they're from... the Kingdom of Casia.." uttered the princess with regret in her tone. A dark shadow grew over Jinto's eyes... "Tahseen, Kane! We need to protect them." Jinto shouted as he did his best to bottle up his ever growing disdain and hatred for Casians. However as the two darted towards Tahseen, their eyes were met with a shining green Jewel. "She really is the Jewel of Tahseen huh." Jinto said, while Juri placed the Jewel into the chest area of her tattered dress. "She must've reverted back to her Jewel form for safety or something?" Juri stated. "Right, now that we know she's safe we need to get to..." but before Jinto could say Kane's name, yet another bomb shell collided into the house. "JINTO!!!" Juri screamed, caught off guard by the explosion, unable to get her barrier up in time to shield them from the blast and the now, collapsing house.

'Kkkkcrackoom!' Instantly, the house came crashing down upon them! Juri slowly opened her eyes to the sight of her beloved, kneeling on all fours over her, shielding her with his own body from the impact of the collapsing house and bomb blast. Still in that position, the Melanin man let forth a strong pulse of heat from himself, blowing away the rubble they were buried under. The Casian princess stared in awe and conflicting confusion. "One minute he's a man who'll use his own body to protect me, the next he's taken over by who knows what!? And bringing all of my mother's premonitions to fruition. Which is the real him!? My heart is telling me one thing, yet my head tells me the opposite. Oh.. how I feel so guilty for always judging him, fearing him, after all he has done for me." Juri thought to herself.

"Hey, Juri.... Juuuuurrriiiiiii, hello!? You alive!?" Jinto nagged playfully with a familiar, innocent grin that a 'devil' is incapable of having. Juri just stared up at his towering body, a symbol of his protection and love for her. Her cerulean eyes began to well up with tears. "Hey, JURI!? Why are you crying?" Jinto asked concernedly as he slowly moved his face closer to hers. Gone was the vengeful speech, gone was the violent aura from the man. He seemed like himself once more.

"Oh Jinto..... I didn't even defend him when that mob of Casians were berating him, racially abusing him. I was too concerned about him killing. Too fearful that once he starts killing Casians he would never stop due to what my mother showed me. I didn't try to truly understand you. I didn't try to listen! You didn't abandon me, knowing Bulqise has been inside my head yet there I was on the cusp of turning against you. We come from different worlds, but I believe a man like you can break down barriers the same way you did with me... and Sigma, you can with the whole world, Jinto! We can use the Jewel of Tahseen somehow and free you of this malevolent influence! And...." Juri's thoughts stopped in their tracks.

She was about to conclude that she would free herself from Bulqise, but.... "Wouldn't we have to sacrifice two lives for two wishes from Tahseen?" the tearful princess brooded. But this was but a secondary reason contributing towards her hesitations. The truth was, she was elated to have her beloved mother back in her life. The one whom she looked up to most, the woman who was her everything in life. They were once inseparable, like a pair of chain links, until that chain link was violently ripped away from her when Bulqise was mercilessly executed by the king of Casia.