✧*̥˚ {𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫 ℑ𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔒𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰 & ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔰} *̥˚✧

𝕬 𝕯𝖊𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕯𝖊𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑

𝕴𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖇𝖑𝖊. 𝕴𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖒𝖔𝖘𝖙 𝖆 𝖈𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖞. 𝕭𝖚𝖙 𝖓𝖔 𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜 𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖔𝖗 𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖓...

⁜※⁜

The young man stared at the ensuing chaos in fury, whipping out his melee weapons as he discarded his bow to the side. Enough games! How dare they attack the Nation of the Tsaritsa?!

He winced as he began to call on the power of his Delusion. Who cared if he was already injured? Who cared if he was still drained from the last time he had transformed? This was his home!

The mask sliding over his face, the young man prepared to leap forward as he saw another wave of uncontrolled slaughter heading towards him. All who stood in his way would regret—

"Brother!"

He paused and an unsteady breath escaped in the form of an exhale. "Tonia..."

"Brother! Wait!"

He turned, tearing off his mask so their eyes could meet—so she could see the fear on his face as his beloved sister neared the battlefield. "Tonia! Turn back! Run to the shelter!"

"Brother!" she screamed again. "It's Teucer! He went back home for Mr Cyclops!"

The young man's breath hitched as he shook his head in denial. He suddenly stilled as he felt movement from behind. Tonia didn't have time to so much as blink as he lunged, scooping her up into his arms and shielding her from danger. He looked down at her, her face frozen in fear as the enemy died behind him. "Are you alright?"

His beloved sister could only muster a pained cry before crumbling to dust in his arms, her pieces scattering in the wind. The young man's eyes widened as he saw there to be nothing left of her—and the anger he felt instantly turned to abject despair.

He screamed out her name to the wind, but the girl could not hear him—could not return to him. As if she was never there to begin with.

The young man's gaze snapped to another approaching figure and his eyes filled with tears. "Mother..." Did she know? Would he have to be the one to break the news to her? As the enemy closed in around them, it took him little time to realise he could not tell her about his sister if she was killed before he reached her.

He winced as his Delusion starved him of energy, offering great power in return. But how could one use such power if they were dead?

Brushing aside those thoughts he raced towards his mother, killing anything and anyone that dared come too close. His attacks became more ferocious, more aggressive as he heard his mother shout the news: "All are dead!"

All were dead? Impossible... Did she mean to say they were the only two left? What happened to the shelter? To Teucer?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another wave of the enemy surrounding them and raced towards his mother, his hand outstretched as he reached for her before she could be snatched away from the land of the living. Death would not take her. No no no—

"Ajax!" she screamed as the shadowed hands of Death's Avatar claimed her in its tight grip.

He lunged for her dissipating form as if to hug her—to hold her one last time before she joined Tonia and the rest. But he was too late. As he made to grab her, she disappeared, crumbling like sand.

He almost began to cry out again but a throbbing pain in his head stopped him and he realised one fatal truth: he could no longer attack. His Delusion had failed him—or rather, his body had failed the Delusion, ever the power-hungry monstrosity.