---
A Few Hours Before:
---
Faust was attacked by Ch'en's squadron of Lungmen Guards. Faust's Phantom Crossbowmen fired as many bolts as they can, aiming for weak spots in their enemies' armor and openings in their shields. Their bolts pelted against shields and the city's terrain. The sound of bolts clanging against armor rang in their ears. Faust activated his Arts, concealing him from Ch'en's sight, and moved to flank her. But Ch'en's intuition helped her defend against his bolts. One normal bolt was fired; one purple bolt was fired.
There was a temporary ceasefire in the middle of the battle. Weapons were lowered, but eyes scoured the battlefield for an opening. But after a swift exchange of words, Faust stated that he killed Kaiser Rye. He struck him down and pierced his heart. A question slipped out of Ch'en's lips, but Faust's answer was not thrilling.
"Don't know. After he was struck by my bolt, he healed his wounds and disappeared. He didn't want the fighting to continue. He wanted to end this as soon as he can, but he could never. No one can stop him now. He will stop this war, even if one of us dies."
Suddenly, both leaders initiated an attack. Faust fired a bolt through an opening of a fallen beam; Ch'en gripped her sword, Chi Xiao, and unleashed her Arts. A cloud of red slashed the Reunion leader's face. Ch'en's Arts blasted Faust's right eye out of its socket; her Arts scaled up and down his body, burning him, leaving scars in its wake. The Reunion leader was launched into a nearby building; rubble came crashing down on impact.
"Captain Faust!" His Phantoms cried. They ceased their combat and rushed to his side, attempting to dig him out from the stone slabs burying him.
But Ch'en did not leave unscathed; Faust's bolt tore into her left shoulder, shattering her bones and knocking her swords out of her hand. She clenched her teeth to resist the pain, but blood spilled out of her wound. The Lungmen Guards rushed to aid her, and for a moment, both sides dropped their weapons.
"Faust? Faust?!"
"Inspector Ch'en! Inspector Ch'en, Wake Up!"
It was quiet for all of them, except for their cries. Two leaders are on the brink of death surrounded by their subordinates. Faust was eventually dogged up by his Phantoms and laid on the ground; they hurriedly applied first aid to him, though blood gushed from his eyes. Ch'en was luckier than him; she could still move her body, except her left arm. Both the Phantoms and the Lungmen Guards stared at each other with pleading faces full of rage; they were all confused.
"You! I'll kill you! No one attacks our Captain like that!" One Phantom roared, raising his weapon.
"You scum should not have entered our city! Guards attack!" One Lungmen Guard growled.
A pillar of light came crashing down from the sky. A warm light swirled around everyone with snowflakes and dust. The soot on the ground began to rise, only to disintegrate in the air. The warm smell of spring was infused in the air around them, and they all lowered their weapon. Every one of them marveled at the sight of a pillar of light coming from the sky, like some higher being descending upon them. But the light faded as fast as it came.
Then it started raining. A cold soothing rain drizzled. Every raindrop created a white mist when it hit the ground. When the Phantoms and the Lungmen Guards were pelted by the droplets, they felt rejuvenated. Wounds disappeared; cuts vanished. Fear subsided and hope bloomed. Loud grunting could be heard from behind the Phantoms.
"Agh! Aghhhh!" It was Faust, missing one eye, body covered in burn scars, standing on his own two feet.
"Captain Faust!" His Phantoms called.
Faust collapsed onto the ground. His flesh was exposed to the elements. His right eye was gone. Scars covered the side of his face and his chest. And the opposite of him was Ch'en with a somewhat healed wound.
A voice could be heard echo through the city.
"Saaasaaaa~ Eeeeeenoooooo~? Come back!"
Young, female, childlike. Faust recognized the voice.
"Marzanna?" He croaked, though his words never reach anyone. He lurched forward until he fell to his knees.
"Sasa! Come back! Dadee is going to see Mamee~! Everyone will be together again!"
It's as if the wind danced with the words. Marzanna spoke to the black-haired boy and urged him to go. Soft cries and coos and laughter rang in his ears. Then he told his Phantoms:
"Retreat."
One Phantom fired an explosive round at the Lungmen Guards, sending debris into the air. Another followed and fired two explosive rounds to push back the Lungmen Guards from advancing. With the smoke and dust in the air, the Phantoms carried Faust off the ground and escaped.
---
The Present:
---
"Captain Faust! Don't move! We'll be in Chernobog soon! But can we trust this Kaiser Rye?"
Faust tried to move, but he couldn't. He was being carried by a larger companion. His Phantoms started a trek through the barren wastelands to reach Chernobog to find Kaiser Rye, the only one who can heal his injuries and put an end to this conflict. He had doubts in his mind, lots of doubts; doubts on whether or not Kaiser Rye is a fool for entering Chernobog with only the clothes on his back; doubts about his probability of success. It was a ludicrous idea that seemed impossible.
"Yes," Faust answered, his voice parched and raspy. "Kaiser Rye... is my friend... he's like a brother... to me."
"But Captain! He has long abandoned the Reunion. You were there when you saw him fight Talulah to the death, right?" A Phantom proclaimed.
"Then trust me. I've seen him change as a man, as a father. Kah! Kah!" Faust began to cough, hacking away at his throat. His face stretched in pain from each cough, enough to tear his flesh open.
"Do not ask any more questions!" One Phantom scolded. "What we need to do is to heal our Captain."
"What about the Reunion's cause?"
"We will continue our fight soon. Lungmen is lost. We cannot win there. The Lungmen Guards have bested us. The small Rhodes Island has also chipped away at our forces. Even Mephisto is being held back by one of their operators."
Faust looked at his Phantoms with his remaining eye. He never stopped thinking about Kaiser Rye ever since he shot him to death. But he has neglected Mephisto, or Eno, and cried. His brother is still fighting for a cause that's not his own. He prayed that he'll be safe —and alive. Mephisto has an army of undead soldiers fighting for him; they are strong, but the resolve of the Lungmenites and the Rhode Islanders were stronger.
It was the start of his trek towards Chernobog. His Phantoms estimated that it would take a day and a half to reach the city if all things go well and if Faust survives. Lungmen was stationary, but Chernobog was moving closer and closer. Once the two cities collide, war will break out from every corner of the world. Leaders will use this opportunity to plunder the land, eradicate their enemies, and assert their power over their people.
"Hmm?"
There was something not far off in the distance; another city on the same collision course. A large tower touched the clouds. Large metal plates on top of arid soil. A white mist shrouded it in a veil of secrecy. It looked small from afar, but it seemed to grow larger as time went on. It had a large frame with rectangular pillars on its corners. Snow covered the roofs of its buildings; it's as if winter never left the place. A beacon of light shined from within the city into the sky forever; the beacon caused the clouds above to swirl around it as if the sky would rain at any moment.
"Kaiser Rye... what's going on here?"
Faust wondered if anything remained in that city. It was Marzanna's City, destroyed by the rage of the Infected and might of Ursus alike. His memory was foggy. Faust couldn't think straight; more and more questions sprang into his mind. Like how is Marzanna's City moving by itself? And whether or not Marzanna is still alive?
"Marzanna is dead... so how is her city moving?"
His consciousness faded with every question until he fell into a slumber...
---
The Lungmen slums were eerily quiet right now. Like Chernobog the city was on fire. Cries and wails echoed through streets engulfed in smoke and littered with shells. The stench of oil lingered on. Not a single soul stood on top of the battered asphalt. The sun didn't shine in the sky; only dark clouds lingered above. Embers flew in the air like leaves in the wind. Borne aloft by wind, those who succumbed to Oripathy released small black flakes into the air.
A freezing chill pressed the flakes down to the ground. A speck of snow sent chills through the city to all those who dare approach. Frostnova entered the slums, but she has begun her departure from the city; she was close to the edge of the city plates. The Cautus looked at the corpses lining the streets. She lamented the loss of her siblings, but she carried on.
Then black snow fell from the sky, grabbing her attention. She only saw this once, when an Emperor's Blade attacked Marzanna's City all of those years ago, and she feared another adversary was hiding in the shadows. But no one appeared. Rather, it felt like the world could not bear the weight of the war any longer. Frostnova looked up at the sky.
"Kaiser Rye is dead. Faust is nowhere to be found," She said. "Patriot is already at Chernobog. It is about time that I went to join them. But what is Talulah planning? The battle in Lungmen is already lost."
Frostnova didn't show her face to much of the Lungmen slums. She stayed hidden for the majority of the battles, providing support in necessary areas, though she never caught the attention of Rhodes Island nor the L.G.D. Various ice sculptures appeared in corridors and alleys, but most of them were found in open streets. Every one of the sculptures contained many horrified faces; all of them exposed at the brink of death.
---
In Chernobog, Talulah stood on top of a bridge with Haley in her final moments; the latter's wings and halo were dim. Talulah grabbed Haley by her collar and dropped her to the ground. Haley's face was burned; her cheek was black with searing heat. Her chest was painted red from the dried blood clinging to her skin. She looked helplessly at Talulah who was once her friend. Talulah merely smiled at her misfortune.
Haley coughed out black dust from her throat; the particles choked her. Her throat was seared to the point that she can't speak. She wanted to cry at the pain, but her body betrayed her. Her arms were limp and her legs were broken. Her brown hair was caked with dust; her green eyes slowly faded in color.
"Haley, it is about time that Kaiser Rye comes to save you," Talulah stated, chuckling at the prospect. "Perhaps he is already here to save you... Oh, look! Is that him?"
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(A/N): Thanks for reading this Chapter!
- Things will be reaching the end (As I've said for the umpteenth time)
- There will be some chapters in the future written by Energeia_Aiegrene and those chapters will be credited entirely to Energeia, so the praise goes to him
- I have a new story idea planned. It's a short one: 20 Total Chapters formatted like an Arknights Event Story like what we have right now: Near Light.
- Be on the lookout for that!
- Goodnight!