Infinity| A Time After

|Wreckage|

"A scythe has found the sanctuary. Elijah knight, who you might know, is said scythe." My fists clenched at my sides. Sylvie's eyes widen in subtle shock before narrowing and darkening with unrelenting hatred.

"Nico." Was all she said as her body shook with the attempt to hold her lividness at bay.

"Sylvie, I need you to take the lead the attack. Alice, take Tessia and head deeper into the sanctuary with the other civilians. A soldier with escort you Curtis Glader will escort or both." Sylvie nodded as she quickly rushed past me.

Bright light encased her body as she shifted into her draconic form, which has only grown larger throughout the months.

"NICO!!!" She release an inhuman bellow of might that shook the ground and walls around us and she flew into the battle. The air shifted into a daunting atmosphere as her palpable bloodlust made everyone below freeze in their tracks as they move to avoid the pure mana coalescing in front of her horns.

Alice takes Tessia's hand and nods to me as we move out of the room. Once off the second level, Curtis calls out as he runs to us with his bond trailing quickly behind him, but before he could come any closer, a cluster of black spikes emerge rapidly from the ground all around us, cutting away any escape routs.

"Just where did you think you were going?" An ominous voice echoes around us. We flinch as Sylvie let out an unearthly howl and the ground shook as she collided with a far wall by the stream.

Suddenly, the spike in front of us descended into the ground as Elijah stood before us, his face stoic. A spike erupted from the ground in front of Alice, separating her from Tessia and a wall of black fire flares to life. Tessia was totally separated from us, and I felt my heart plummet as she slowly backed away from Elijah.

"Don't make this difficult princess." Elijah smiles lowly, as he inches forward. I called out desperately, although I couldn't reach through the fire. Alice pulls me back as tears well up in her eyes.

"Elijah, let me g—." Was all she could say before Elijah hit the pressure point on the side of her neck, and I watched helplessly as she fell forward into his embrace.

"Say goodbye Virion. This will be the last time you'll see the granddaughter you remember." He grinned as the wall of fire dispersed. Begins him was a tall black figure who placed a hand on his shoulder.

Desperation drove me to run after them as a portal encased them. My heart clenches and drops as they disappear from sight. My hands trembled as I shook. Tears welled in my eyes as I stare at where Tessia disappeared.

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| Arthur's POV |

I took a careful step through the shimmering portal with Caera clutching the sleeve of my shirt. She knew we had simulates, but she held onto me any way to ensure that we didn't get separated.

She let me go as I walked towards the middle of the room, taking in the environment. The room was a bit smaller than the sanctuary I first woke up in. Two shimmering portals shone on opposite walls. The portals distorted, looking as though I was gazing up at the surface through water.

'This was....anticlimactic...' Regis voiced from inside me, before he hopped out of my chest. He passes around me as I activated my dimension rune. Out from it, came a small, dead relic. It's white, smooth surface glimmers as aether emitting from it. It was cool against the palm of my hand, which contrasted the burning sensation that accompanied activating my dimensional rune on my forearm.