The clouds rumbled loudly as they shifted in the sky, casting a dark shadow upon the land. After a few moments, it began raining. Sun sat at the base of a tree, gasping for air. His staff was on the ground. He took a sharp breath and lowered his head. Missio was unconscious on his feet, showing no signs of movement. In Sun's hand was a strange box with a joker coming out from it.
'Jack-in-the-box came in clutch…It should keep him down for a while.'
He groaned and gripped the trunk. He pushed himself up, throwing the box away. A portal opened and jack-in-the-box fell in and closed right after. He grabbed his staff and glanced at Missio again.
"C-cocky bastard…" He said with much difficulty after Missio had jabbed his throat.
He leaned on his staff and moved forward in the rain. The droplets pelted him and cold overtook him. He shrugged it off and eventually recovered enough to stand on his legs. He took a deep breath and took a step forward but…just then, he heard the leaves behind him rustle. A chill ran down his spine. Instinctively, he jogged forward trying to avoid danger.
'What the hell? What was that?'
With great effort, he turned around and his pupils instantly dilated. There in the rain, Missio was standing like nothing had happened to him. Sun gritted his teeth.
'Damn, how is he up again? That guy's punches hurt!'
Missio's blows had…something else behind them, something Sun couldn't explain but even with that his avatar physiology was doing the bare minimum to keep his body from breaking.
'I should just run…he can't catch up to me. He's way too hurt!'
Sun smirked and tried to turn around but couldn't. His instinct screamed at him to run but his body refused. Was it because he had taken too much damage? He clenched his jaw and pushed his body but again it didn't listen. His face paled at he turned towards Missio. He took a close look at his opponent and saw something strange – the rain was curving around him as if it was refusing to land…just like that music box.
'Forget this…I'll get treated when I'm in custody anyways. Then, I break free.'
Sun tried to relax but couldn't. Goosebumps ran throughout his body and as he was about the curse, a single word was spoken by Missio that brought indescribable fear to Sun's heart.
"Die."
"Die."
"Die. Die. Die. Die."
Missio fell onto his knees, clutching his head as if he wanted to crush his skull. His overflowing tears were covered by the rain, but Sun could still hear the primal cries coming from him. It felt like his soul was being ripped out. Just then, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Run."
'Huh?'
"I said run. Run while you can."
Realizing who was talking, he tried to move.
'Damn you! Even if I wanted to…my body's not listening to me.'
"It's because of fear."
'What? Me? Fear? No way, bastard.'
"No…I'm using all my power to send a message…just try to survive…He shouldn't be here. It's all because of the second sun's des-"
The god's voice cut off before he could finish. Right at that moment, his back deformed into a disgusting mass of flesh. Then, two pairs of white wings ripped out and stretched. They stretched beyond the horizon and were more beautiful than anything Sun had seen. Missio's eyes began to glow, the power shattering his contact lens. His scarlet eyes seemed to be forged from a star as his screams cut through the air.
The air began to vibrate, gravity softened for a moment, and the rain stopped hitting the ground. Sun was unable to withstand it anymore and collapsed from over exhaustion. As Missio's screams were destroying the surroundings, a shadow appeared behind Sun.
"Perfect."
The shadow picked up the avatar and glanced at Missio.
"So, this is what you've become…Missio Augustus."
Then, the shadow disappeared with him as if they had never been there in the first place.
***
In the cellar of the national prison, Dick was calmly reading a book with glasses. An earthquake rattled the walls, but no one reacted—the prison had been built to shrug off disasters. Dick glanced up and for a second, he felt the air vibrate. He froze and then the next second, reality flickered. He grinned, pushing his glasses up with one finger.
"Finally, right on schedule."
He strolled over to the dusty prison telephone and swiped his card. It beeped like a dying microwave. He dialed a number he absolutely was not supposed to know.
After a few rings, someone answered in a hushed, dramatic voice:
"Father Dick… It's happening, isn't it?"
"Oh yes, my child," Dick said cheerfully. "The traumatized toddler bit off more than he could chew."
"Splendid. I'll inform the archbishop."
"Tell him to bring the big hat," Dick added. "Last time he forgot it and everyone looked stupid."
"Yes, Father. Blessings of anarchy upon you."
"And upon your questionable life choices. Good night."
Dick hung up, stretched like a man clocking out of his shift, and walked back to his bed. He flopped down, pulled the blanket over himself, and smiled as the earthquake intensified, and prisoners started panicking upstairs.
'Finally… I can sleep well.'
He was out cold in seconds.
***
Krishna, Henry, Eira and Mary approached Missio who was raging out of control. The sound of his scream was snapping the branches. They tried to shout but their voice was covered by the immense noise. Eventually, they just huddled together and waited for Missio to stop. While waiting they heard him cry and shout like he was desperately trying to stop something. The ground began to be flattened into perfect circles as time passed. The feathers of his wings fell but disappeared before touching the ground.
Eventually, Missio did stop. He let go of his head; blood coming from his eyes and fell. His wings also disappeared. The team let go of their ears and approached their captain. The lieutenant general was lying in the middle of a perfectly circular crater. They slid down one by one. Krishna knelt beside Missio, hearing soft whimpers and bit his lip.
'Damn it…What did that bastard do?'
He picked Missio up with the shoulder. His body was limp and cold. Henry picked him up by the other shoulder and they both began climbing the steep hill. The two of them said nothing, just continuing to lead their captain out of danger. Eira and Mary glanced at the stop he was in and then followed Krishna and Henry.
Suddenly, the sky started to churn, the air vibrate and ground shake. Sparks of electricity struck from the air, growing bigger with passing time. As soon as the group reached the top, they turned around and their faces went pale. One massive bolt struck and then - reality split. A void appeared in the crater and large grey-skinned, crimson eyed beasts started to flood out.