Failure

The self-proclaimed King solemnly tread through the desolate streets outside the city walls. The inhabitants of these houses had long since fled as instructed by the guards, at least for the most part. Leaving the man to walk in his lonesome, in his streets, the dark knight embracing him alone.

Occasionally, littering the streets, there were deceased. At first, their lifeless figures did not move him. He had expected at least a few. After all, a single glance at the creature would invoke certain death. The citizens should have been well aware of that. Even its towering silhouette alone could result in an abrupt demise for anyone mundane who caught even a glance. But that was not all. 

'Why'

Brief glances were all he needed to discern that not all bodies revealed the same story. Elderly, ones who had been unwilling or perhaps slow to flee to the inner walls, were common. After all, this was an area home to tens of thousands. A few stubborn elderly were not that surprising. But that was the problem. It wasn't just a few, and it wasn't just the elderly. 

There were others who were too weak, thin, old, or young. Many of the corpses showed signs of trampling. But, why be moved by that? 

Humans were fickle, frail, and feeble. He had been raised on these assertions, and they were at the absolute forefront of his mind. Nothing about the unnecessary deaths of these people, not reason or cause, concerned him. 

"No, I'm wrong, these people, I failed them. Even now, in charge, in control, I wasn't there to fight. I just don't understand how. How can we be so very different?"

Raising his head wistfully, the self-pity, the hatred, the shame. All of it dissipated at the spectacle before him as bright green light flooded the world asunder. 

There she was. Lighting the world with unfathomable green radiance. It was everything he had ever hoped to avoid. The outcome that terrified him so dearly... it had arrived. Yet the fear, the desperation he expected, was nowhere to be found as he was left with a lone thought.

'How can it be so beautiful.'

Enamoured by that sight, he was surprised to hear the quiet clang of footsteps approach from behind. He didn't turn, though, as there was no need.

"I'll help too."

Machia smiled wrily as he continued to reward himself with the sight before him. Feeling a tad sentimental, he asked.

"Teacher. Why is it she always succeeds?

His abstract remark clearly frustrated the stout knight. The trembling of her body and the cloth wrapped around the visor of her helmet, he could see it all clearly without even needing to look. Before she could utter a retort, Machia chuckled softly. 

"Finally reunited with your husband and son, yet you're choosing to throw it all away? By the way, the fabric on your head, it won't protect you from its gaze.

His callous remarks failed to intercept her stance, one full of will and spirit to fight.

"Nasty brat. Even now, you're really still trying to manipulate. Bringing my family into this, you know why it is I'm here, even if I can't see, if I don't fight... then."

Machia pondered her words considerately. However, he couldn't bring himself to look away from the sight before him for even a second. Slowly, he shook his head as a soft yet stern tone commanded her.

"No, not anymore, teacher. No longer. Go back to Lugh and keep the citizens in order... that's an order from your King."

Just like that, he was gone. Completely shocked, she stood and waited; his presence had just vanished in an instant. Without her sight, there was no way for her to tell where it was he had gone. He'd never demonstrated an ability like it. She didn't know what to make of it.

Standing alone, beginning to feel a little silly. She reluctantly swallowed her pride and turned back towards the gate tensely. Even from behind the covered helmet, she could have sworn the brightness shrouding the sky had grown a little darker.

############

The sensation was strange. For the very first time, he had used it. In simply a moment, his being, the matter that marked his creation, crumbled and dispelled into shadows. But then he was there. As if he always had been by her side, he was now somewhere else.

An exhausted face marked with utter shock stared back at his single-armed figure. She had just batted away an enormous twisted limb. Her hair and face were wet with sweat, and her pale skin was cruelly lacerated all over. Her green hair was scattered wildly, and her eyes scanned his figure fervently. 

"The head."

"What?"

Machia's indifferent expression held strong, but a gnawing frustration clearly ate away at him from behind his patient mantle.

"You've been hitting its body over and over all this time. Its head, the statue, is the weakness... obviously.

A disapproving frown prepared to retort the shrew man's words. But before she could, he was gone once again. 

As the agitation grew on her face, her eyes darted to her left in surprise as an enormous shape swung towards her. She dug her feet into the ground in an instant as a fierce growl escaped her. Its enormous shadow scoured across the plains as it swung towards her in all its unrelenting mass. 

Defiantly raising her arms, she caught the monstrous limb as she was violently dragged across the ground. The limb was littered with dark spikes that had already punctured her entire body many times over. This time was no different, as her hands were assaulted with blistering wounds. The blood pooled on her wrists and dripped down as she resisted the ensuing mass of the limb before her. 

It was tens, no hundreds of times the size of her, yet its overwhelming mass was not omnipotent. And its momentum did slow. An incredible tunnel of dirt formed as the human figure responsible forced the limb to stop. 

Without wasting a moment, she battered the incredible mass before her into the ground. Her bare hands then threw the mass backwards, even if only slightly. It forced the overwhelming, daunting silhouette above to sway. By the time its balance had recovered, she was already moving, rushing towards its body.

"Without your sword, you can't kill it."

Running alongside her as if he had been present the whole time Machia had appeared. A trickle of blood on his cheek suggested he had tried an attack of his own. Of course, she hadn't noticed at all. Her sword had withered away a long time ago, and she had been brawling the incredible monstrosity barehanded. She was disoriented by their long clash, and so she had missed a lot, which included the creature's blatant weakness. 

Finally, taking the chance to eye the looming entity, it was obvious to her now where they had to target to defeat it. The looming grey statue reared its twisted grey neck, and its dark, hollow eyes seared the minds of any who looked upon it. She was no exception.

"Tall."

Machia gritted his teeth and nodded agreeably while surprisingly keeping pace with her, even at these incredible speeds. That was, after all, their only advantage. The limbs that the creature used to drag itself were powerful. Enough so, it had managed to drag its wretched body across the land. But it was slow outside of its home territory. As long as they kept this pace, they could avoid it, and more importantly, they could strategise. 

"I suppose I forgot what a fool you can be."

What came out of his mouth was not the soppy dialogue of their previous meeting. It was not even a command or instruction, just a seething, bitter remark. To her surprise, his arduous tone was honest. He even shared a complacent smile with her. 

"So let me guess, you came back because Perses asked you to? Stupid. It's ridiculous. You finally reunite with your brother, the one I so carefully hid from you, then come rushing back."

Amelia shared no sarcastic comments or wry smiles. Her green eyes darkened as she held back the urge to slug him. Her first companion was as twisted and cruel as ever. But to fulfil Perse's request, she probably needed his help, even if she hated it.

"You're so greedy, Amelia. You can't save teacher, me, Perses, the kingdom and that seer girl from the army."

Ameila's eyes widened a little in surprise. Asteria had kept her abilities hidden. It was her utmost secret, one she kept from everyone as far as she was aware, yet Machia had known this whole time? Before she could ponder further, he vanished again. Above, an enormous tendril of sorts blocked out the sky and descended towards her. She dove forward into a swift, flawless roll as she narrowly avoided it. 

Again, an impressed Machia arose from the shadows beside her, sharing in the veil of green light. His presence was not exactly welcome, but his mind would surely be of some use to her.

"I only wanted to protect you because I love you, by the way. The plan was to sneak away with Perses, but you turned up, then this thing too. And I'm only saying all this because, honestly, this is your last chance to escape."

She gave him a strange look, not shocked, mostly dismissive. As again, she sighed, his presence, his words were burdensome and filled her with disbelief. Yet it made sense. 

"You say that, but it doesn't explain much, does it? But whatever. So what now? You expect me to flee because you told me I could or because you said you love me. Hah, yeah right."

Amelia scoffed, but Machia was not perturbed in the slightest, choosing to simply listen. The creature was not expressive, but by now, it must have grown relatively impatient. They were expending energy sure, but the creature really had no way of hitting them, at least as far as she was aware. 

"You can explain all this afterwards. If you can just disappear and appear wherever you feel like, then why not just appear on its neck and kill it already?

She snorted, eagerly awaiting his excuse with a derisive smirk. Still bothered by his remark, her words were laced with pettiness. But Machia was unfazed. 

"Of course, I can do that. I'm just waiting for my opportunity."

Amelia was taken aback and also a little relieved. Though she could compete physically against the creature just fine, to be honest. She had no real method of killing it. However, the opposite was true for Machia. But what he said next took her by surprise. 

"Problem is, someone will probably die. And it's probably you... Are you okay with that?

Amelia was completely taken aback. A soft, amused smile even appeared. So much so that she almost slowed down as a giant, distorted, jagged black limb flung itself towards her. But she simply darted to the side and outran it as the creature failed to swat her once more.

"Huh, so let me get this straight? Just a moment ago, you said you love me. As in, you always have, like since we were kids, but now you ask if I'm okay with dying? What, you don't want to save me?" 

Machia flinched. A very rare instance. Her humoured words affected him more than she had expected as he ignored her gaze, casting his eyes downwards. His breathing had grown a little heavy, and talking whilst running full speed was taking a slight toll on him, though compared to her, his condition was immaculate.

"Of course, I'm not okay with it. But I've changed. I did a lot of twisted things because you were all I had, but I have a kingdom now, too, by the way. I hope you refuse, but what will it be?

She watched him with amazement. His stoic, placid features even seemed a little embarrassed as he grit his teeth under her amused gaze. Her lively smile caused him to turn to her with a frown. A knowing silence persisted between them as Machia receded once again. Concern warped his features. 

"It's getting impatient. It will use an attack from the statue's mouth, avoid it no matter what. Only then will I be able to kill it. But..."

Machia was clearly torn and having a hard time explaining as he noticed another limb throw itself towards them. Before he vanished from sight, he caught her gaze. Her unflinching emerald gaze was followed with a simple, lighthearted nod. A look of aching defeat flooded his features as he vanished once more. 

Turning her attention back towards it, she noticed how close they had come towards its body. Here, its levers were shorter, and it was harder for them to reach the pair of them. This is where she had spent most of her energy fruitlessly battering against its indomitable body, the scars of which still persisted. But they had never cut through the hard emerald scales beneath. 

Leaping over one last attack with relative ease, she came to a sudden stop. Something was changing. 

Looking straight up, she finally made contact with it. It stared at her with hapless, hollow, sombre eyes. Something akin to mourning and guilt resided within those empty sockets. Slowly, something bright emerged from within. Its entire body leaked trickles of an unseen radiance inside it as slowly its frown twisted into a malevolent smile. 

Amelia was frightened. It was no ordinary beast like she was used to. Those empty sockets were expressive within themselves. And, as if demeaning the poor girl, it turned its face away from her.

Its glowing, depraved grin slowly turned towards the kingdom.