Titan fall

The city lay in ruin.

Renji wiped the blood from his blade, panting.

The rain-slicked streets were littered with bodies, their final screams echoing in his mind.

The fight had been merciless, a slaughterer of the ones who had the audacity to oppose him.

But in the win, there was no peace.

Lightning flashed overhead, casting the tangle of wreckage of burning cars and shattered buildings in stark relief.

The smell of death floated with the heavy bits of acrid smoke rising from the battle.

Beside him stood Sora, his face pale and his telekinesis crackling unpredictably.

His eyes darted to Renji.

"We need to move. We don't know how many more of them there are out there."

Ayame reloaded her pistol and cradled her injured wrist.

"They keep coming. Like roaches. But this … this was different."

Renji turned to her.

"What do you mean?"

Ayame pointed to the bodies strewn around them.

"These were not just mercenaries.

They damn well fought like something else. Unnatural."

A throaty guffaw slithered out of the darkness.

The trio tensed, weapons ready, eyes searching the dark.

And then out of the gutted side street stepped him.

He was draped in tattered black; his presence was embattled malice incarnate. A metallic mask covered half of his face, which reflected the shifting flames. Blood-red eyes blazed beneath his dark helm, and in his hand, a stygian blade throbbed with fell energy.

"So this is the Phantom Reaper?" His tone was silky, mocking.

"The legend. The myth."

Renji clenched the hilt of his sword.

"Who the hell are you?"

The figure stepped closer again.

"Call me Veylen. It doesn't matter. Soon you will be just another corpse in my collection."

He's gone in a flash, and then he's right back, feet from Renji, the cursed edge slicing down.

The attack was deflected, but Renji skidded back due to the force of the blow. Veylen collapsed the assault, his strikes ceaseless, his movements a blur.

Renji defended and retaliated, but for every blow he landed, Veylen was already one step ahead.

Sora hit back with his telekinesis, throwing debris at their foe.

Veylen snapped his wrist, and the objects were halved in the air as if mothers taught their children not to throw things at Veylen.

Ayame shot him twice straight through the chest.

Veylen faltered, but the bullets turned into wisps of shadows before they could wound her.

"Cute," Veylen sneered. "But not enough."

A shockwave of dark energy blasted out from his body, knocking the three of them backward.

Renji slammed the pavement, pain shooting through his ribs.

There was barely time to recover before Veylen was upon him once more, blade cocked for a killing blow.

Renji threw himself sideways at the last instant, the sword slamming into the cement where he had been sprawled mere moments ago.

Ayame and Sora formed back, but Renji knew the truth; out matched.

Veylen was something else.

Something beyond human.

Renji coughed blood and forced himself to stand.

"What the hell are you?"

Veylen canted his head, amused.

"You'll find out soon enough.

But first, let's see how long you last."

He charged again, this time faster than ever, and the rampage resumed.

Blades met in a tempest of clashing steel, a shower of sparks into the stormy night. Renji battled with fury, mixing it with desperation.

But Veylen was playing with him, each movement exact, easy.

The powers Sora enacted to yank Veylen back through sheer psychic force wavered and then faded as the enemy disregarded the effort, as if swatting an insect off the table.

Ayame dragged on, injury bounding, still slashing with her daggers in a deadly dance. Yet every assault went unanswered, and only air was met with air.

Renji saw it then.

Veylen wasn't dodging.

He was phasing through them.

"Damn it!" Renji cursed and barely dodged a deadly slash again. "His body isn't normal!"

Veylen chuckled darkly.

"You took a while to see the signs."

A blur of movement, a scarlet slash across Renji's side.

Pain erupted within him, yet he gritted his teeth and wouldn't go down.

But the truth was undeniable.

They were losing.

And then, from the destruction behind them, another figure appeared.

A woman.

Shrouded in deep violet, her eyes shining with a malicious glare.

She wielded a staff covered with ancient writing, and dark energy rested in her palm.

Veylen hesitated, retreated.

"You took your time."

The woman smirked.

"I had to make sure you didn't kill them before I got here."

Renji let out a ragged breath and gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

She lifted her staff, and in an instant the whole street trembled with invisible power.

"I am Selis," she declared. "And your suffering has only just begun."

An explosion of dark magic burst forth from her, wrapping the field in tendrils of shadow.

As the darkness coiled around Renji, tightening like a snake, his body screamed in pain.

Sora gasped, strangled, as his powers spiraled out of control.

Ayame crumpled to one knee, her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps, her strength waning rapidly.

Veylen grinned.

"Let's see how long the Phantom Reaper can last... until he cracks."

The shadows consumed them.

And that was when the nightmare really started.

Thick night settled, an empty nothingness weighing down on the splintered streets.

Blood and smoke hung heavy in the air, a chaotic song that reverberated through the gutted maze of buildings.

Renji lurched forward, his vision blurred and a trickle of blood oozing from a cut above his eyebrow.

His legs knew what to do, each step fighting the encroaching numbness.

All around him lay the bodies of enemies who had misjudged the Phantom Reaper's will.

Ayame was behind him, clutching her wounded arm, gasped.

Her pistol was empty, but she gripped it like a talisman, fingers knuckle-white around the barrel.

At her side, Sora limped, dull-eyed, the last gasps of his telepathy flickering like a dying fire.

"We have to keep on moving," Renji rasped; his voice was scratchy. "That... thing is still out there."

They never forgot the night they saw that monstrous figure crawling up out of the shadows.

This was different from the other enemies, though; it came with an aura of terror, a sort of power that broke down their sanity.

Just like that, the shadows would shift.

A chill wind blew down the street, carrying whispers and causing the hairs at the back of their necks to stand on end.

It felt as if the very ground trembled, stones rattling, as if the earth shied away from the arrival.

A silhouette lifted between them, lean yet imposing.

Its eyes were pale, almost translucent, and when it spoke, its voice was a tangle of overlapping tones.

"So... Are these the ones making trouble? "

Renji braced himself.

"Who the hell are you?"

The figure smiled, lips curling up.

"Names are trivial. However, if you must ask, call me Valen. I'm here to clean up the things you've broken."

Ayame spit on the floor defiantly.

"We've slaughtered enough of your ilk tonight. You'll be no different."

Valen laughed, the sound coiling around them like chains.

"I am not even close to those fodder. You'll see."

With no warning, Valen's shape blurred. Renji's instincts screamed as he threw himself on his side.

The pavement he'd been standing on erupted, debris severing through the air.

He ran like the start of the world was spinning around him.

Ayame pulled the trigger, but the bullets appeared to pass through Valen's body.

Sora attempted to summon his telekinesis, but the effort shattered against an unseen barrier, the recoil taking him to his knees.

"Futile," said Valen, emerging behind Ayame.

His hand wrapped around her neck and pulled her off the ground.

She writhed, nails raking his forearm, but his hold was ironclad.

Pain lanced his ribs as Renji forced himself upright. He dashed forward, the blade glimmering under dim light.

He swung, but Valen turned and used Ayame as a shield.

"No!" Renji rotated the angle of the blade, just a hair miss.

Valen dropped Ayame, and she crumpled on the ground, gasping.

"Pathetic," Valen said softly, then smashed his foot into Renji's chest. The impact tossed him through the air, his back crashing into a metal railing that broke beneath his weight.

The world was a symphony of pain. Renji's sight went black, and he tasted blood.

Through the fog, he saw Sora ascend, hands shivering, calling forth every last bit of power he could muster.

Valen was cloaked, invisible tendrils of energy crackling and wrapping around him.

For one moment, the enemy's movements slowed, his expression turning to mild irritation.

Sora's voice was a whisper. "Renji... now..."

With pure will, Renji struggled to his feet.

His sword felt like it had been coated in lead, but he gripped it harder.

He pushed forward, each step an endurance challenge.

Valen pivoted, his pale eyes narrowing.

The blade fell, a silver curve that would split Valen's neck.

Valen's hand shot up at the last moment, pinning the blade against his fingers.

The metal creaked, and Renji's strength was fading.

Valen's other hand shot forward, fingers curled like claws.

Renji twisted, but pain seared his side as Valen's claws raked across his skin.

He faltered, and his weapon slipped from his hands.

"Enough of this," hissed Valen.

His voice no longer had its laugh, just an edge.

"You are but vestiges of a bygone era. It's time to end this."

He lifted his hand, shadows curling up his arm.

The darkness breathed, faces coalescing out of its depths as gaping mouths opened now in silent screams.

As Ayame, still prostrate on the floor, dug into her jacket.

Her fingers curled around a small glass vial, a plan of desperation beginning to take shape in her mind.

She met Renji's gaze and, for a moment, they both just knew.

Gaining new strength, Ayame hurled the vial.

It broke against Valen's chest, and a blinding light exploded.

The shadows wavered, and Valen screamed, a keening that split the night.

Renji didn't hesitate.

He took hold of his blade, the metal warm, and pressed on. His body acted on instinct, every wound, every ache forgotten.

His sword flashed out, plunging deep into Valen's chest.

Valen's pale eyes widened.

He mouthed words, but no sound came.

The shadows surrounding him flared and started to dissipate, sucked into the wound like water down a drain.

The silence that followed was deafening.

His hands caked in blood, Renji panted. Valen's body crumbled, its form dissolving, until all that left was dust.

But there was no time to breathe.

They shook the ground, and from the ashes came a sigil that burned into the concrete a mark Renji had seen before. It was a warning, a promise that others were coming.

Ayame scrambled to her feet, face white.

"What... What does that mean? "

His voice a husky whisper, Sora said, "We've only just begun."

And from the faraway darkness, a thousand ruby eyes opened, looking back at them.

The battle was far from over.

The nightmare had barely begun.