Lucid Nightmares - Fated Flowers Saga

Ch 40: End Has Arrived

I run forward before dropping onto one knee and take aim at the swarm. My eyes narrow with concentration as I draw an arrow back. The night vision goggles Orferio gave me works wonders. It's as if it were daytime. I let the arrow fly between my fingers as if I've done it a hundred times. It soars up into the sky before shooting straight through a hovering Shadow.

I stand up and turn to Orferio as the arrow explodes into a cloud of fire. The Shadows wail as they fall to the ground in burnt husks. A proud grin spreads across my face when I meet his eyes.

Orferio couldn't be happier.

He spins a knife in his hand and flings it effortlessly at a Shadow. It flies straight through its cloaked head before it collapses into a heap of its brethren. He strides to me and brushes his hand under my chin and turns my head to look at the swelling Shadow hoard who is ready to lunge for us. He smiles flirtatiously and slips a knife between my fingers. He leans close and circles behind me, holding me close. His cheek brushes over mine; I can feel him smiling.

He pulls my hand back and helps me aim the knife at the hoard.

"Steady, love, aim for the one in the front," he whispers. "It'll fall and trip the others."

"Kind of like Mean Girls," I gasp for breath and smile back at him.

He only smirks.

I throw the knife smoothly and watch it spin in midair before hitting its mark. The Shadow cries out in pain, grasping at the knife, and begins to fall. The others stumble over him and tumble to the ground in a wave. Orferio steps in front of me and unleashes a massive beam of energy and burns the clumsy Shadows to bits. I raise my hands and unleash a whorl of fire which helps speed up the process.

Once we clear our area, we look around for Max and Maya. They separated from us but managed to stay in our range, just in case.

I find Max and am once again shocked by his excellent fighting skills. Despite his appearance of being a strategist, he fights like a seasoned warrior alongside his soldiers and protects them with transparent energy shields. He spins around and runs a traitor CB through with his heavy sword.

Maya steals the life from the Shadows in stride. Her eyes darken to the color of black as she takes their life force. Occasionally, she throws out a knife or two before returning to her amazing power. It's eerie to watch the Shadows drop dead in front of her.

On the state of our armies, they are faring well against the Shadows. The Warbelt allies provided the perfect sky coverage, but we are still waiting for their promised reinforcements. The Flower artilleries in the south continue to rain fire on the well of Shadows in the back of the field. Allies from various places came to help the Flowers soon after fighting began and arrived with armies of their own.

It could have been the final scenes of Endgame with portals opening up and thousands of soldiers pouring through.

"I didn't realize so many would come," Orferio comments, stretching his sore hands.

I smile up at the spaceships, "I'm glad they did."

Orferio whirls around, sensing something before I do, and blasts a Shadow who was trying to sneak up on us. I jump in surprise but quickly calm myself. I'm safe with Orferio at my side.

"I can't believe you ended the war," I admit, breathing hard. I notch another arrow and release it on a Shadow trying to attack a group of faeries.

All the training I did during my first visit here has begun to come back. Hours of exercise and days of perfecting my technique out of desperation to match the other warriors have paid off.