The Sky is Crying

Kaito burst through the doorway, leaving Epsilon to contend with the formidable Valerius. He rapidly descended a short, winding stairway, his boots echoing faintly on the stone. The descent brought him to a quiet, eerily still prison corridor. His gaze swept the cells, and his heart leaped. There she was.

Maria

She sat in a cell near the end, her long blonde hair a pale cascade around her. Kaito immediately noticed the shimmering distortion around her, a visible field that made her movements agonizingly slow. She seemed to exist in extreme slow motion, but she was alive, and her eyes, though weary, still held a defiant spark.

Unsure of how to proceed, Kaito brought Durandal to bear on the cell's magically reinforced bars. At first, the divine blade merely bounced off with a clang, sparks flying. Gritting his teeth, Kaito channeled more power, pouring his conviction into the strike. With a furious roar, he brought Durandal down again, and this time, the bars sliced cleanly apart, crumbling to the floor.

A visible bubble of magic surrounded Maria, encompassing the entire cell. Kaito cautiously reached his hand into the shimmering barrier. His arm moved with agonizing slowness, as if pushing through thick molasses, while the rest of his body outside remained at normal speed. Thinking fast, he channeled an enhancement spell, infusing his limbs with a burst of speed, focusing extra energy to counteract the effect. It still felt like moving through treacle, but with immense effort, he managed to grasp Maria's hand.

Slowly, painstakingly, he began to pull her out. As Maria's body cleared the magical bubble, the distorting effect vanished, and she returned to normal speed. Surprise, then relief, then deep worry flashed through her eyes as she looked at Kaito. She tried to speak, but neither her lips moved, or sound emerged. Kaito noticed immediately. He squeezed her hand, channeling his magical energy through their contact, the sealing spell broke.

"Are you alright, Maria?" Kaito asked, his voice filled with urgency. "I'm here to rescue you."

Maria remained silent for a moment, her gaze searching his face. Then, barely a whisper, she muttered, "Why..."

Kaito's repeated. "Why?"

This time, Maria's voice rose, tinged with raw disbelief and a tremor she couldn't quite suppress. "Why, Kaito? We're practically strangers. We've shared barely a handful of words. So why...? Why go this far? Why risk everything… just to come here?"

Kaito met her tired, searching eyes, the flicker of torchlight dancing between them. "Why, huh?" he echoed softly, giving her hand a steady squeeze. "Honestly… I still ask myself that. I hesitated. I doubted. And yet... here I'm."

He drew in a slow breath, the damp, cold air of the dungeon clinging to his lungs. "I failed to save someone once. It tore me apart. I ran away, hoping to distract myself, maybe even forget. Maybe it's selfish… but I don't want to live with that kind of regret again. Not now. Not when I'm no longer completely powerless. No matter the odds—this time, I'll try.

His answer resonated with a quiet, unyielding conviction, the same unshakeable resolve he had discovered within himself that fateful afternoon.

Maria shed tears, her expression bewildered as she noticed the droplets tracing paths down her cheeks. "I'm crying," she whispered, her voice rough from disuse and emotion. "Why?"

She had been trained since childhood, molded to be an elite agent. Maria had experienced countless cruelties, loneliness, fear, and other things no child her age should ever endure. She had steeled her heart, for that was what she had been trained to be. Yet, here, now, she was crying. Why?

A loud shake rocked the dungeon, dust showering from the ceiling. The sounds of Epsilon and Valerius's ongoing battle intensified, even from a distance.

"Let's go!" Kaito urged, pulling her hand. Maria, still processing the bewildering sensation of tears, followed without resistance.

Kaito re-emerged into the chamber where the wizard and Epsilon had been fighting. The room was a wreck: walls and floor were blasted beyond recognition, jagged holes marred the brickwork, and water slowly began to trickle in, starting to flood the shattered space. Epsilon's gun arm was missing, a ragged stump where it once had been. Only her blade arm remained, and she was locked in another desperate clash with Valerius, who looked worn out, his robes tattered, clearly not in much better condition.

Noticing Kaito and Maria, Epsilon's remaining eye glowed. "Evacuation plan initiated." With a sharp, mechanical click, her chest compartment opened, revealing a small, pulsating red gem at her core. A powerful pulse of energy shocked the room. Valerius's eyes widened, recognizing the imminent danger, and he immediately fled the immediate area, teleporting away with uncharacteristic haste.

Then, a concentrated beam of energy blasted upward from Epsilon's core, carving a massive, smoking hole in the ceiling, revealing a sliver of the gloomy London sky above. Epsilon's chest closed, her blade arm retracted, and with remarkable speed, she grabbed Kaito. Kaito, in turn, pulled Maria close. With a mighty leap, Epsilon launched them both upward, soaring through the newly created aperture.

They landed on the grimy surface, amidst the shocked screams of a group of nearby pedestrians. Some immediately pulled out their phones, ready to record the bizarre sight. Epsilon paid them no mind. She dragged Kaito and Maria away from the scene at an astonishing speed, moving like a dark blur through the startled crowds.

They put significant distance between themselves and the collapsing sewer entrance before Epsilon abruptly collapsed, kneeling and hunched over. "Overheat!" she vocalized repeatedly, her voice distorted and strained. "Rebooting in Process! Overheat! Rebooting in Process!"

Above them, Valerius, incredibly maddened and annoyed, ascended into the sky. "Enough games," he roared, his voice amplified by magic. "I'll end you once and for all." A vast magic circle carved itself into the very fabric of the sky, directly overhead, as the clouds began to twist and churn, turning a sickening crimson.

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At the church, Father Gideon stood by a stained-glass window, gazing out at the distant, ominous red cloud. His usual serene expression hardened into a deep frown. "That spell," he murmured, his voice laced with concern. "Are those heretics truly insane?"

He immediately pulled out multiple vials of holy water and a simple cross. Sprinkling the water in a circular pattern onto the ground, he held up the cross, his eyes closing in concentration. "Magnus Sanctuarium," he intoned in Latin, muttering constantly under his breath. Across the city, invisible to everyone, an unknown energy, using the vast underground water network as a catalyst, began to envelop London, forming a temporary holy ground, a protective aura unknown to the populace.

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Back on the street, a curious pedestrian held out a hand, gazing upward. A single droplet of the red rain touched his skin. Immediately, he began screaming in agonizing pain. Similarly, all across the city, those who came into contact with the crimson downpour began to scream, their veins bulging, their skin reddening as if burned from within. They writhed on the pavement, some even trying to knock themselves unconscious with blunt trauma, but the pain, regardless, did not end.

In fear, those who witnessed the horrifying scene shut their doors, frantically calling emergency lines, desperate for relief for their affected relatives and friends. Occasionally, some individuals who were affected suddenly stopped screaming, regaining a brief moment of sanity, managing to scramble to shelter. For those more unfortunate, the short relief was only temporary before other waves of agonizing pain surged through them, forcing them to continue thrashing in the rain.

High above, silhouetted against the crimson sky, Valerius spoke, his voice booming over the cries of agony below. "Le Ciel Pleure"