---
Snow layered the ground in a smoldering city wrought in warfare. Various white cloaks stood over a corpse leaning onto a pile of steel beams. Every breath drawn from the people there produced a thin cloud of smoke; the cloud of smoke would disperse into a pile of ash as it descended onto the ground. The Reunion sigil stood out on their leader's coat. She was a winter rabbit kneeling besides the corpse they just found.
"He smells downright putrid; a pain for the eye to see," She said. "Poor, poor Kaiser Rye struck down by a bolt. I wonder how he'll feel when he wakes up. I only wish for the best for him. Reunion cannot hold onto this city for too long. We don't have too many soldiers left."
"Frostnova!" Her comrade called. "A Reunion squad has attacked a sector of Lungmen's inner city. Countless civilians are fleeing through the slums. One of our Yetis found a bunch of them trying to escape through the city sewers, but they were attacked by a force of unknown soldiers in heavy black coats with large hats."
Frostnova put a hand over the corpse in front of her. Kaiser Rye's body was consumed by a thin layer of ice. A shade of white grasped at the tips of his hair. A line of red trailed from his chest from a once closed wound to his abdomen. It ended in a frozen spiral shaped like a candle.
"Escort them out of this city and open up a pathway to Chernobog," She ordered. "Patriot's forces will be on the other side as per Talulah's orders. Rest assured, he will not harm them."
Much of the Yetis stood beside Frostnova and watched her examine Kaiser Rye's body. The words: "He couldn't heal all of his wounds", slipped out of her mouth. Everyone heard her, but they couldn't recognize the person she spoke about.
"Frostnova!" One of Yetis called. "We have Rhodes Island forces reaching our position. What should we do?"
"Tell everyone to evacuate this area. We help any civilians we find on our way. Leave behind the bodies here unless they are our own." She rose from the ground and casted her Arts over Kaiser Rye's body, enveloping him in a sheet of snow. "Sorry, Kaiser Rye. I still wonder what went wrong..." Her comrades didn't hear those last words.
Only moments later did someone else call Kaiser Rye's name...
Only moments later did they see a ray of light strike beside him...
---
"Captain Faust! We have successfully rendezvoused with Mephisto's team. But we are currently engaging Lungmen forces here! One of their Special Inspectors is on us right now and— Ahhh!"
"We lost them, Faust! We have about forty troops left! We are suppressing them the best we can! We have used up almost all of our ammunition! We need to retreat and resupply!"
A bolt stuck itself in the neck of a Lungmen guard. Faust showed himself, deactivated his Arts, and fired three bolts in quick succession; each one digging into the heads of his victims. He swiped an arm around him and his Arts took shape, concealing him from the warfare around him.
"Let's move in the shadows and flank them from the side," He ordered. "This will give us an opportunity to strike down their leader. Quick."
In the midst of combat, Lungmen Senior Inspector Ch'en defended herself from countless Reunion troops. Bolts flew at her from all directions. Not one has struck her. She dashed beneath the swing of a machete and subdued an enemy in a second. She slashed a Reunion soldier in two and moved onto the next.
"Grrr. Show yourself!" She roared.
The Lungmen Guards had to regroup and rearm themselves in order to push back the Reunion offensive. Despite their numerous casualties, Lungmen was winning. The Reunion started moving farther back from the slums, slowing forced back to the gates of Chernobog. Blood has accumulated into a river of red. The flames fanned above couldn't evaporate the blood flowing, so it became a sight for everyone to see; down the roads, the drains, the sewers.
Little did Ch'en know, Faust and his Phantoms have traversed the battlefield. A quiet but audible "Fire" was all that was needed to initiate a rain of terror. The Lungmen Guards quickly finished off their current targets and went to block the incoming fire. Ch'en duck behind two of her subordinates.
"We can't hold out any longer!" One of the guards yelled.
"Hold the line!" Ch'en ordered.
Faust and his Phantoms each loaded an explosive bolt into their crossbows. They aimed their sights at any area where the guards' shields couldn't defend against. Then, when a dark sky approached, when a storm above them brewed, they fired.
---
"Where are you?"
A vast expanse of light rose to the sky...
"Where?"
---
KABOOM!*
Only, the explosion wasn't theirs. A ray of white tore through the city. Everyone was knocked astray, sent flying by the impact. It was
---
Standing besides Kaiser Rye's corpse was a hand. It was formless in every sense. Not a speck of hair or skin; or a glimpse of eyes or smiles. It was gone in an instant.
"Please, come back... come back to me..."
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(A/N): Happy New Year everyone!
- I couldn't finish this in time for a New Years Special, but I feel that this is enough to create some suspense for the year to come!
- On to a new life!