It was only then did a blinding flash appear from above...
It took him only a moment to understand what he was seeing; 'A glaive...'
He gritted his teeth, pushing off against the nose of the Terror with what courage he could muster. His arm, still pierced by the creatures upper jaw, forced itself loose — Nyx wincing at the pain, though too prioritized to dwell on it. Kicking off from the beasts snout, he leaped away just as the glistening weapon cut through the air before him.
Only moments later did the Terror's head slam against the ground, dust and rock being hurled into the air as the disheartening crunch of its shattering bones echoed through his ears.
Nyx slid on his side, the ground beginning to scuff against his arm as he uncontrollably tumbled across its surface. His head shook, only mildly protected by his hands taking most of the blunt trauma, though still could feel the tug of pain batter against his frame.
Only when his body finally started to settle did he manage to see the aftermath, almost in complete awe once his vision was set on the now bloodied corpse of the Terror. Sitting above the beast was a boy all-too familiar to him — another Epsilon cadet, though one Nyx hadn't paid much mind to, despite their year of training together.
Even his name managed to escape him for a brief while, though he eventually remembered Acher as the boy who was first to volunteer for almost everything during their training.
Blood nearly completely covered his body as his silver glaive perched itself within the Terror's head. He kept himself high; back mostly turned towards Nyx, though his head slightly tilted just enough to meet his gaze. His golden hair was slightly illuminated by the glint of his weapon against moonlight, and through the dust that kicked up, his subtle panting could be visible as his hand swiftly moved to his heart.
He watched in awe as the streaks of blood on Acher's body began to burn away into smoke. It was only soon after that Nyx started to notice the same was occurring with himself — the front of his body similarly doused in a thick coat of pure red which began to steam and dissipate, feeling as though he were lit aflame.
He gave a slight wince, slowly standing as he reached for his spear; still currently lodged into the fractured mouth of the beast. Naturally, his eyes paced up towards Acher, appearing like some form of heroic figure from a children's tale.
"Your arm-!" Acher exclaimed, hurriedly rushing to his side as he lifted the battered limb.
"It's fine, I'm okay," Nyx murmured. Or, at least, he thought he was until he actually saw the wound.
The skin was nearly completely torn off — flesh blatantly exposed as it filled with small bits of dirt and rock. Several sizable punctures, the wounds made by the Terror's teeth, still lined the length of his arm as small puddles of blood dripped and oozed.
The adrenaline had almost completely masked the pain. Now, it finally resounded, coming back to punish him for his blatant ignorance.
Acher gave a slight shake of his head. "You got injured because of me. I should have waited a moment longer before I attacked."
"No- that's not it. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead." Nyx could spot a glisten in his eye, causing himself to give a slight tick. "-You saved me..." he spat out under his breath, shooting his eyes away as he stroked the side of his own face; only now realizing the existence of a wound there.
The warm, slick feeling of running blood seeped onto the tip of his fingers, now feeling the deep gash that struck his cheek.
Even still, his entire body felt numb. To Nyx, it felt as though he didn't even have a body, and that feeling was only growing worse. Before further action could be taken, Acher returned with one final question: "Are you sure you're okay?"
Nyx nodded. Then he stopped for a moment. Then he shook his head. "No...."
Acher nodded, briskly pointing towards a small ledge just behind where Nyx currently stood. "Sit down for a moment. Over there."
Nyx, despite feeling his own pride slip away from him and a misplaced anger beginning to swell in his chest, he couldn't deny the obvious. He was just saved. He had made an oath to protect his comrades, yet he failed, and was the one who was protected instead.
Perhaps this was when it happened... when Nyx felt at his lowest. His weakest. He hated that feeling.
Still, he obliged. Slowly, feeling parts of his bones creak and ache from within his body as blood seeped from his wounds, he tiredly limped to the small ledge Acher had pointed out, coming to an agonizing rest — somehow both painful and relaxing.
He walked over, a similar pouch Nyx wrapped around the waist in his hands as he swiftly pulled out a rather sizable cloth compress. "This should help with the bleeding, though I'd advise you don't use this arm for a while."
For whatever reason, Acher's words brought out an immediate sense of guilt. His mind flashed with the images of that girls arm, only to be followed by her evisceration soon after.
'I wonder if they're fine...' He thought to himself, 'Thane and the remaining cadets...'
Once Acher actually started to tighten the thing around his wounds, Nyx fought for dear life to resist a squeal of agony from slipping out. To distract himself, he found his gaze begin to wander to the environment they now found themselves in.
The Terror, with an almost generational bloodlust towards Nyx, had dragged him off into a part of the city completely unknown to him. It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the ground having shifted and collapsed. While the western front sank, the east became a flurry of cliffs and unsensible heights, the two cadets somewhere positioned between the two worlds;
The west was a slope downward of collapsed buildings and scattered roads, severed and split between small outcrops that inevitably merged with the ground below. The west, on the other hand, was nearly unnavigable. From where they sat, conveniently in a decently-sized plaza, it was nothing but fractured walls, risen cliffs, and closed roadways that no longer came with any form of sense.
Or, in other words, impassable.
It was only with that realization did a sudden question appear in his mind, far too shaken before to have thought of it; "Acher, how did you find me?"
A simple question, though to any discerning eye, was layered with multiple meanings. Acher, fortunately enough, managed to pick up nearly all of them. "Sheer luck, I guess. I was with the northern group. I ran, after..."
"After the quake?" Nyx murmured.
"...After they died. Judging by how I found you, I suppose your group didn't fare much better."
Nyx's eyes lit up just as Acher finished dressing his wounds. "No... but there could be survivors. Still alive, all the way at the bottom of the canyon."
Acher froze — only for a moment, though enough time to fully process his words. Hastily, he stood, squeezing the glaive in his hands as he spoke, "You're sure?"
"Yes," Nyx nodded, "Phantom Ryland went down to assist those who fell. They should still be there."
"Then we need to help them," Acher stated, twisting the glaive in his hands as he began to rush down towards them. The only thing which got him to slower his pace was his own realization that Nyx was too injured to move fast or to defend himself.
They had to stick together.
Nyx winced as he shifted his weight — the pain from his wounds pulsating, forcing him to grit his teeth so as not to make a sound.
Acher halted in his judgement. "Perhaps... you're too injured. We don't need to go if-"
"-No," Nyx spewed, a slight limp in his step as he approached. "I need to help them. I must."
Acher didn't respond, only giving a slight nod of approval before the pair started their descent.
The canyon proved to be far too steep to descend directly. Walking through the desolate streets, they finally managed to find a slim path downwards, not far from where they once rested — one steep and broken enough to prevent return. They took it.
During the walk, Nyx couldn't help but murmur out toward Acher. "What's your plan? I mean... when we get down there?"
Acher's eyes clenched as he peered back towards him, "We save them."
Nyx let out a quick sigh, "We can't just run in without a plan."
"There isn't much we can do about it, unfortunately. What can we do?"
Nyx nearly rolled his eyes at his subborn pessimism. The two of them locked eyes for an uncomforting amount of time until Acher begrudgingly turned back to continue walking. "-What do you have in mind?" He muttered.
Nyx gave a slight frown. "The first thing we need to do is regroup. While Thane, Ryland and what other Phantoms remain are holding off the wolves, we group the cadets back together."
"-Then we notify the Phantoms to help." Acher chipped in, stopping just before a small divot in their path.
"We won't need to," Nyx muttered in response.
Acher dropped down, peering back up toward Nyx as he did the same. By now, they had already descended a quarter of the way down, though the rough path only got more severe with every step they took. Now, only a series of fractured roads, gaping holes in nearby houses, and bits of the canyon wall that stuck out managed to be traversable. Sometimes, not even that, having to result to minor cliffs, threatening to further Nyx's injuries if he wasn't careful.
Acher would be first to leap down, then to turn and carefully grip against Nyx's lower body to prevent him from falling.
It wasn't fast by any means... almost excruciatingly slow.
Still, after a while, they made it nonetheless. Not quite to the bottom, though easily halfway there. It'd already been thirty or so minutes of descent, which relatively speaking was rather decent considering the terrain and injuries bruising Nyx's body.
Now, they walked a rather convenient stretch of stone that jutted out from the main cliff face, so sizable it almost seemed like it wrapped the whole way around.
And it was only then did a sound begin to resonate through the air.
It was rather unclear at first as to what it actually was, though after a while it was painfully apparent that it was the sounds of combat. Mixed in with the clamoring of the weapons, they could note the subtle appearance of voices and the snarls of what could only be assumed to be another wolf, located somewhere within the valley.
And quite surprisingly, the sound wasn't coming from the canyon floor. Rather, it seemed to be directly in front of them, down the same path they were walking on.
"Let's move. Towards the sound," Nyx's gaze shifted straight towards the ground below, trying to gain any information he could before their inevitable arrival at the bottom.
There was very little to note — the city itself proved to get in the way, appearing like a jungle of wood and stone. Paired with the dust, darkness and debris, it would be near impossible to see anything remotely noteworthy.
Nyx passed a glance towards Acher, steadily nodding his head as they began to creep their way down the fractured roads.
Acher stood in the front — carefully gripping his glaive so as to not bash it against any of the surrounding rocks. Even though they had already fought one of these creatures, Nyx couldn't help but be afraid. After all, he was almost killed.
Despite everything, however, he still gripped his tattered spear firmly within his hands, eyes slowly sweeping across the canyon in somber expectation.
He could feel his own senses heighten — taking in every slight sound he heard. His mind raced faster than he even knew possible.
At long last, they had finally reached the source of the sound. Just to their right, within a small divot of the canyon wall, was the intense clamoring of weapons. Nyx, careful to not make too much noise, peeked his head out from behind a small rock.
Then the sound emerged; that of paws creeping closer.
One step. Two steps. Three, four, five- by the time Nyx jumped out, he feared it would've been too late.
And yet, for once, he managed to outpace the wolf.
He leaped his body forward and thrusted the iron head through the darkness. With the sudden squelch and pressure from the impact, along with the fear-inducing yelp from the Terror, Nyx used what strength he had to ingress the head further in.
It violently began to ravage and shake, and with a sudden tug, rolled Nyx straight to the ground — his chin bashing against the soil making his teeth click together.
Acher rushed forward, pulling back the glaive before hurling it forward, once again a sickening sound being produced. Following his glaive, it was clear to see it pierced straight through into the beast's eye, whilst Nyx's remains of a spear perforated into its lower chest.
Hastily did Nyx rise from the ground, peering towards the beast and getting ready to strike.
At that moment, he failed to notice what Acher already had. "Nyx- stop!" He shouted, ripping Nyx away from the beast, leaving the spear locked into it.
Nyx clenched his eyes, "What are you doing-!"
By the time he finished speaking, he could already see. From under the beast, and masked by the adrenaline of fighting, he had failed to notice the obvious.
Dual silver blades sticking out of the Terror's lobe, and a cadet glaring from above. A cadet so recognizable, it was almost a sin he didn't realize sooner...
It was Rei.