Nightmares and Embers

The day the Rift opened, the world ended for Mia.

She, her brother, and their parents had barely made it out of their apartment before the monsters arrived. Screeches echoed across the city. Without a word, they sprinted toward the nearest bomb shelter.

"We're almost there, just a bit further!" their father said, glancing back, eyes sharp and desperate.

A huge monster that looked like a cross between a reptile and a gorilla came out from an alleyway, smacking the parents away. They landed roughly but were still alive.

"Mom! Dad!" Mia screamed, frozen in place.

Her parents stood up gingerly.

"We're fine!" her mother called back, shaky but standing.

"It's okay, honey!" her father added, blood trailing from his lip.

Just then, a falcon-like creature with wings as sharp as blades shrieked from above. It dove, slicing cleanly through both parents with a single sweep. Their heads dropped before their bodies did. It then snatched their remains with its hand-like talons and flew off.

The reptilian gorilla monster roared angrily and followed it.

Mia and her brother stood rooted in horror, tears streaming down their faces. Neither dared cry out—one noise might bring the monsters back.

"We should go..... That's what they'd want." Mia whispered, grabbing her brother's trembling hand.

They ran.

They met a family of five also heading for the shelter. The parents, seeing the fear and fire in Mia's eyes, took them in immediately.

But fate had other plans.

Just meters from the shelter, the group was ambushed by a swarm of creatures, each more horrifying than the last. The adults turned back to fight, wielding only metal rods and broken planks.

"Run and don't look back!" The father yelled.

The children ran. They didn't look back.

It took minutes for the monsters to kill and devour the parents. After finishing off the parents they went after the children.

One by one, the children were picked off. Their screams filled the air but the others dared not look back. It remained only Mia and her brother.

The shelter loomed ahead.

The monsters were hot on their tail.

People at the door screamed for them to hurry.

Mia made it.

Her brother didn't.

Just before he crossed the threshold, a thin, spider-like beast skewered him through the chest and yanked him back.

The heavy doors slammed shut.

Mia collapsed to the floor, screaming, broken, hollow.

Tears poured down her face like a flood. The screams, the blood, her family, the family who helped them, the weight of it crushed her.

And then she woke with a gasp.

Mia was disoriented, drenched in sweat. She sat up on her cot, hand braced on her knee, breath shallow, tears running down her cheeks which she had no idea of.

A nightmare. No, a memory.

She wiped her face with her palms and stood.

The sun hadn't risen yet.

She made her way to the firing range, silent and calm. The cold metal of the pistol in her hand felt comforting. Familiar.

Target one—headshot.

Target two—center mass.

At the third target, the image of that falcon creature flashed in her mind.

Her hands trembled.

She loaded a round of Rem-hers was ash-colored.

She fired.

The target exploded in a storm of black smoke and searing embers.

She exhaled sharply, heart pounding.

From the doorway, someone clapped slowly.

"You've grown a lot in the little time you've been here," Leon said, arms crossed.

Mia turned, snapping to attention. "Sir."

"At ease, soldier," he said with a faint smile. "You're the second-brightest recruit in my squadron. Even Ghilaine's talking about stealing you for the Valemirian Knights."

Mia smirked. "Your praise is too much, sir."

"But, "Leon continued." You carry something dark that has eaten deep inside you. If you don't control it, it will control you."

"The only thing I carry is hatred for those horrid creatures that roam about. Some of them are even leaking into the normal zones." Mia answered, eyes furrowed.

Leon paused.

"Go get ready for the training session."

"Yes, sir."

She saluted and walked off, the cold stillness of morning wrapping around her like armor.

It's been three months since the training began.

The training became harsher. Many dropped out and joined lighter squadrons.

Mia didn't.

There were only thirty people in the squadron, five having mage color Rem, five blue-colored Rem and the rest ash or black-colored Rem

Except for Allen.

They had moved to sparring with Rem. Ghilaine picked a pair of practice swords. She tossed one at Allen and beckoned on him to duel her.

"Come. Fight seriously. I want to see what you're truly capable of."

Both of them released their Rem and it was a clash. Ghilaine's was white, a mage class.

"Your Rem is stable and your control is manageable but your Rem color is one I don't even know of."

They clashed.

They lunged at each other and their swords clashed.

Ghilaine dodged and parried his strikes like it was nothing. She blocked and parried, waiting for him to do something different from the stoic form he had. She watched his movements closely. His form was textbook—too textbook.

Rigid. Predictable.

Covering her sword with Rem, she struck Allen. His sword went flying and Allen fell to the floor.

"Your basics are good but you are too stiff. You place too much importance on form and forget about flow. Your rigidity was why you lost today."

Meanwhile, in Valemire...

Captain Elena sat across from King Vladimir and Prince Caelum. She presented the AR-01. King Vladimir reached for the gun. He picked it up and poured a little Rem into it. The gun hummed to life.

"This is a magnificent weapon. It is different from the ones you brought before."

"It's a new development from the partnership of our scientists and your alchemists.". Elena said."But mass production of it is still hard."

"Why is that?" Caelum asked.

"We don't have the resources to. The machines broke down after producing just thirty thousand. Building another is going to take months."

"Then they should be with your people. Very few know how to use this 'gun' and my soldiers are already capable fighters." Vladimir said.

"But still, I'll leave a few," Elena said.

The meeting had ended.

Just as they stood to leave, a portal ripped open at a corner of the room.

The air became heavy.

Everyone in the room was forced to the ground by Rem-pressure. They released their rem, struggling to remain standing.

Out of the portal, a bone leg came, then the body, donning a flaming robe, then came the head.

Hellakrion stood before them.

Outside the kingdom gates, the Saintess with her army felt the evil energy that permeated the whole kingdom.

"They are here."

She charged in with her forces behind her. They burst through the gates and headed straight for the palace. The sentry sounded the alarm whilst the archers rained down arrows.

"Make a holy barrier!" She ordered. "We must get to the king no matter what."

The soldiers pooled together their holy Rem and conjured a giant dome above them that shielded them from the assault.

The Saintess turned to one of the Sanctums, Mitchell.

"Lead your brothers and sisters to the court. I'll be going ahead."

She vanished with [Blink], reappearing mid-air in the meeting room, lightning bolt in hand.

With every ounce of strength in her arm, she hurled the bolt at Hellakrion.