Awakening
Couldn't these soldiers have listened to her words and suddenly touched the blood-red crystal, taking power for themselves?
No, Dawn was sure they wouldn't.
They didn't have the courage or willpower.
They believed that even if they touched the crystal, they would most likely fail to solve their dream and die before actually becoming a Lunite.
So, they would allow her to take their place.
Dawn would become their symbol of rebellion against the Star Emperor, who had used and betrayed them.
Even if they died, as long as she lived and continued fighting, they would be happy.
At least, that's what Dawn thought.
Perhaps she was just being too presumptuous.
Closing her mouth, her vocal cords in shambles and practically aching from pain, Dawn stepped past the kneeling soldier.
"..."
No soldier moved.
They simply gazed at her as if she were some museum exhibit.
*BANG*
At that moment, the ground suddenly rumbled, and a bright light flashed from the sky, blinding everyone in the area.
Placing a hand above her eyes, Daze gazed upward, and there in the sky...was a massive crack that stretched for miles.
The crack slowly began widening and widening...until a figure suddenly came into sight.
Like a bullet, the figure surged downward, aiming to crash right inside the ring of fire.
A Lunite had returned.
Not wasting a second more, Dawn sprinted forward, closing in on the crystal, and surged her free left hand forward.
Not a single soldier interfered as her palm brushed against the smooth glass surface of the crystal.
No expressions of happiness or perhaps sadness were visible...just grimness and a tinge of despair.
After all, what is the point of feeling before your death?
Before it...everything seems so insignificant.
A yellow streak, resembling a beam of sparkling electricity, surged downward from a crack in the sky as Dawn's body vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Then, in the next moment, as the yellow beam rapidly approached the sand from the sky, a sudden sound echoed.
*CRACK*
A small crack appeared on the blood-red crystal.
*CRACK*
*CRACK*
The crack multiplied and multiplied, creating an interconnected web on the crystal's surface, until finally, the inevitable happened.
*BANG*
With a resounding gunshot, the crystal simply...fell apart, dozens of red shards flying everywhere while some fell to the ground.
*BANG*
*BANG*
A massive red shard from the crystal's right surface suddenly shot forward, instantly impaling the kneeling soldier's back.
With a crystal sticking out of his back like a pair of wings, the soldier collapsed to the ground, floods of blood spilling out of his mouth like an endless ocean.
Lying lifelessly under the shine of the blood-red moon, his pupils came to a halt, and his breaths slowed until finally, he was dead.
His now circular pupils forever froze.
The other flying shards narrowly avoided the nine remaining soldiers and flew straight through the ring of fire, disappearing from sight.
Watching their comrade die before them, some soldiers lifelessly fell to the ground, but most remained standing.
For they knew this was just the start.
*BANG*
In the next moment, the yellow light beam crashed into the sand, sending dust flying everywhere and creating a crater in the ground.
Within the cloud of smoke around the crater, the nine soldiers could see a shadowy figure slowly stand up.
Most notably, a shining yellow star appeared on the cloak of the figure.
Stepping out of the smoke, Lunite Zekrom appeared much different than the last time the soldiers had seen him.
A bloody red line appeared on his cheek, and his iron chest had somehow been ripped to shreds, revealing countless scars on his pale-white skin.
The royal Lunite had clearly encountered some trouble within the Origin Realm.
Looking at the pile of red shards on the ground, remnants of the end crystal, Lunite Zekrom silently gazed at his subordinates.
Each star-shaped pupil within his eye had five tips or vertices, and each one gazed at one of the ten soldiers simultaneously.
No words were spoken.
The soldiers simply stood still, ignoring the Lunite and scanning their comrade's dead body, the crystal still sticking out from his back.
Suddenly, Lunite Zekrom took a step forward.
But something was now in his hands.
A yellow spear, surging with electricity and sparks like an unstable wire, appeared in his right hand, lighting up the area easily.
If anyone else touched the spear, they'd instantly be electrocuted and faint from shock.
Lunite Zekrom emotionally opened his mouth before horizontally raising his spear to the sky, so that its single tip was facing the soldiers.
"Your families will face the consequences."
"..."
There was a slight pause after the Lunite's words.
Perhaps, he expected some sort of reaction from the soldiers? Some incessant begging or screams for help?
All nine of them remained perfectly still, though.
The Lunite paused and took another step forward, electric sparks flying onto the sand from his spear.
"Do you understand?"
Again, the soldiers ignored their former general, emotionlessly gazing at the ground like zombies.
Each of their pupils had shifted from a star, transforming into a circle.
Letting out a sigh, Lunite Zekrom surged his right hand forward and released his spear, aiming at the middle of all the soldiers.
There was no point in interviewing them...he already had a decent guess on who had claimed the crystal.
*BANG*
As the tip of the spear flew through the sky and embedded itself in the sand, surrounded by the soldiers, a yellow dome, the size of an anthill, suddenly appeared by the spear before rapidly expanding.
The dome grew to encapsulate all nine soldiers, who didn't even move or attempt to run, before finally halting.
A rain of electric sparks began dropping from the roof of the dome, hitting each soldier and cooking them like a piece of steak.
Compared to this, what Free had gone to was a piece of cake.
The soldiers lifelessly dropped to the ground, every part of their skin burned a leathery brown and their mouths dripping with blood.
*BZZZZZ-ZZT*
At that moment, Zekrom Lunite's right pocket suddenly vibrated, and a blue screen subsequently appeared before his face with a message.
"A crystal has been located; escort the prince."