A thick black mist seeped out of Solar's body, repairing his broken body instantly. He rubbed his wrist where his hand had been severed. "You'll regret this," he warned.
Ann disappeared, and the sword she held flew through the air, sheathing itself on Kirian's back. At the same time, Solar's sword flew to him. He caught it and turned his back on the village.
"Where will you go?" Kirian asked, his voice shaking.
"Ignis!" Solar answered. "They are the cause of my misery, so they will pay with their misery."
"It seems our time together will continue, but it appears you want to wage a war by yourself."
"Did you forget? You told me to stand against the world even if I was by myself."
"But now you have me... and an army."
"Hmm? You and what army?" Solar asked, momentarily tilting his head.
" Hold your hand to the ground."
Solar did as Stern commanded. A thick black mist seeped from his skin, into the ground, and raced through the dirt and into the bodies of every soldier that had died in Ren's earlier onslaught.
Fwoooooosh...
Their injuries were instantly repaired. Every soldier that had died stood back up, their eyes soulless and empty. Gran the Grand rose, and the boy he had killed rose from his sister's very grasp, pushing her away as if he didn't know her.
Even the two soldiers Kirian had killed rose.
Solar saw this and started laughing. He turned to Kirian. "You could still end this. You can kill the calamity before it even begins by killing me."
Kirian just stood frozen like a statue, facedown.
Hahahahahahahaha! Solar's evil laughter cracked and echoed through the fields as he turned away. An army of soulless soldiers walked behind him, trailing his steps. His mad laughter grew louder the farther he went.
Nox and Soren were now on the same level as the rest of the villagers, sitting down, their expressions showing fear and shock.
Ren took a deep breath and walked toward Kirian. He gave Kirian the black bracelet back. "You know this is going to be a massive problem to deal with, right?"
Kirian nodded like a child, found guilty of doing wrong.
Ren placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, on the positive side, we don't have to bury a whole army anymore."
"That would have been a massive pain to deal with". Kirian replied as he broke into laughter and tears at the same time. Ren drew him into a warm embrace, like a father hugging his son.
"You act tough, but you're really just an overgrown baby, hehehe," Ren chuckled.
Everyone else just looked on, as if their souls were in suspension.
Ren whistled and walked toward the mounted horseman. As he arrived in front of him, his voice dropped, low and menacingly violent.
"So, Riven... are you ever going to get down from that horse, or do I have to drag you down?"
The horseman immediately dismounted and bowed on his knees with head on the dirt. At this point, the villagers, Nox, and Soren had no idea what was going on. But it was clear the most deadly threat had passed, only to be replaced by a massive mystery.