Cinder Akane
The red mist surrounding us blocked my sight. The Crimson Moon Hunters' most iconic move: weaken their prey before wiping them out.
"Hunters?"
Cyran asked, surprise in his voice. I turned to the boy and nodded.
"Yes. They've never left a hunt unfinished."
Cyran nodded and clenched his teeth. The golden-eyed kid tightened his fists and muttered something under his breath. I turned my attention back to the hunters. It was strange for the Crimson Moon Hunters to strike at this hour. As their name suggests, they only hunt under the bright, crimson glow of the moon.
"Don't you worry, old man. We'll finish the kid and leave. So act your age and keep still."
A mocking, threatening voice came out of the red fog.
"Get through me first, you idiots!"
I roared into the mist. At the same time, Cyran took a step back and glanced around in a hurry and a man burst from the haze right then. The instant the hunter touched the ground, huge crimson thorns speared up from the soil under him. My guess had been right, the man who flew out of that fog was none other than Gien Husk, the sadistic leader of the Crimson Moon Hunters.
"Greetings to you both, gentlemen."
Gien Husk bent forward.
"I'm Gien Husk, the Crimson Leader of the Crimson Moon Hunters."
He introduced himself, then straightened. An unsettling smile spread across his face. The red mist drifted between us and, as it passed, seven men appeared, four to his right, three to his left.
"Damn it!"
I cursed through clenched teeth. Husk spread his arms and his smile widened.
"Hand over Fates Masterpiece, and we'll leave without spilling blood."
I spat in their direction, but the saliva hit the ground halfway.
"You think I'd hand over a child?"
The disturbing smile slipped from Gien Husk's face; the hunter grew serious.
"I wasn't asking a question, old man."
His long red hair streamed back on the wind. Husk turned to the right, to a massive, broad-shouldered hunter with a colossal sword and blood-red eyes that saw nothing but death. With a nod, Husk told him to go. The sword-bearer stepped forward once, then twice. The man before me was Ei, though he wasn't known by that name. The Stormfolk had another for him: the Crimson Sword of Death.
"I was getting tired of waiting. Finally, some fun."
Ei said with joy.
"Uh, Cinder…?"
Cyran looked at me with worried eyes. His blond hair fell over the right side of his face. I turned to him, smiled, and raised a fist. Cyran mirrored me, made a fist, and we bumped knuckles.
"I want you to trust me okay?"
I said with a warm voice.
"I trust you , uncle."
Cyran said.
My smile grew, but the moment shattered under Ei's battle-cry . I whipped back to him. He pointed at me.
"You're my opponent."
He said it, and launched from the ground with impossible speed. I had no time to defend. Ei's whole body slammed into me. I found myself hurled backward. My vision blurred; the only thing I could hear was Cyran shouting "Cinder!" But I didn't tumble long. Ei flashed above me mid-air, grabbed my right arm, whipped me, and slammed me into the ground. Unbearable pain flooded my body. The impact gouged a crater in the earth, and Ei stood on its rim looking down at me with disappointment.
"I expected better."
His eyes narrowed.
"But you're just an empty old man. I'll finish you quickly and get back to Fates Masterpiece."
"Fates Masterpiece..."
I could feel my heart hammering. My head spun. I was afraid.
"I will never let you take the boy. Never." Ei grinned and brought his colossal sword to a battle stance with both hands holding the hilt.
"Then kill me!"
He roared and dropped into the crater. I had to use the chance. Win, or be nothing. I drew every aetheric particle I could find toward me. Ei watched as gray motes rushed in. Their strength hauled me to my feet at the same instant Ei hit the ground. Smoke washed past, but I swept it away with aether. His stance hadn't faltered; if anything, it looked even more formidable.
"Don't disappoint me this time, old man!"
Ei let out another battle-cry and charged. But this time I was ready. I closed my eyes and linked to the aether. When I opened them, time had slowed. Ei was still coming, but now he crawled. I smirked, took a single step, and slipped past his line. Time snapped back. Ei shot across to the far lip of the crater. The Crimson Sword of Death rammed his blade into the ground to stop himself and gripped the hilt with both hands. An honorable smile touched his mouth.
"Now you're getting me excited, old man."
He ripped the sword free and leveled that massive edge at me.
"But I promise you, that won't happen again."
I smiled at that and brought my hands together before me. I linked with the aether again, and this time, I activated my myth. My vision sharpened and widened. I could see every aetheric particle around me. My whole body trembled. Ei's smile broadened.
"I didn't know you had a myth. A perfect link between aether and mind isn't a feat just anyone achieves."
I narrowed my eyes and prepared a phase shift.
"You're right. But I'm just a man who wants to protect what he cares about."
Ei rolled his eyes.
"You're throwing yourself away for a kid you don't even know. Is it really worth it?"
I shook my head.
"Taking a life is never child's play!"
I shot forward; this time I was the one to attack. Ei mirrored me and leapt to meet me.
In midair, our aetheric wills clashed. His deep crimson aura and my gray aura collided for victory. He swang at me, but before the blade could reach, I was already behind him. Realizing I stood at his back, his eyes widened and he tried to pull away, but it was too late. I channeled aetheric force into my hands and released it. At point-blank range, the blast hurled Ei backward. I tried to fire again without losing a heartbeat, but he recovered faster than I expected. The instant the second blast went off, Ei cut into it, once, twice, with his crimson sword, and the explosion unraveled. Slinging the sword up onto his shoulder, he gave me a mocking look.
"Is that all?"
He taunted. I drew a little more aether and sharpened my gaze.
"No. Not even close!"
I let out a battle-cry of my own and thrust both hands skyward. Aether built in my palms, and my vision washed to gray. Color fell away; potency remained. I launched a colossal aetheric blast into the sky. It split clouds and scorched trees.
"In Tarn's horns' , what a stale attack."
Ei laughed, though I sensed a thread of fear in his voice.
"Every second you protect that boy, your betrayal of the Storm City deepens. Killing you will be an honor."
I grinned and bent the surge toward him. The blast was heavy, but once it touched him, that would be checkmate. Ei swung his blade twice and lunged ahead. I had to stop him. I didn't know why they wanted Cyran, or why they called him the "Fates Masterpiece." I was exhausted, but something in my heart screamed to protect him. I triggered another phase shift, just once more, and glanced upward. I had about a second before Ei's sword hit, enough. I fixed on a spirit mote hanging in the air, and let the phase shift do the rest. I took the mote's place, and the colorless aetheric blast streaked straight at Ei. He shot me a furious look just before impact, and then, pure darkness.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying at the bottom of the crater. A cloud of dust hung over everything; I could see nothing clearly. Pain burned in my hands; my back throbbed. I tried to push myself up, but my legs wouldn't hold. I lay flat on my back, motionless on the crater floor. My breathing came fast and ragged.
"Paying for the tobacco I've smoked… I guess Tarn's punishing me."
"Yeah, but that's not your punishment."
A weak voice drifted from the far side of the crater. I tried to place it, but in my state it was impossible. Slow, heavy footsteps scraped toward me from that direction.
"I'll admit, old man, I didn't expect a performance like that from you. Nice sprint, but every race has a finish line."
Ei stood over me, spent, but menacing. His face was smeared with blood; his colossal sword was dulled, glowing red. The hunger for battle in his eyes had been fed. He drove the blade into the soil and bent over me, resting his hands on his knees.
"You betrayed the Dream Realm, Cinder Akane. You know the penalty very well."
His voice was solemn.
I dragged my weak eyes up to him.
"Death…"
The word scraped out of me like a breath. Ei sighed and nodded.
"They don't call us the People of Death for nothing. But what I don't understand is why a warrior as skilled as you would throw himself away for a brat, a outsider. What makes this Fates Masterpiece so special to you?"
"Fates Masterpiece… Why?"
I asked as blood came from my mouth.
Ei rolled his eyes.
"To be honest, I don't know either. When the order came to hunt the brat, we were told to call him that."
My eyes fell.
"Who gave you that order, and why? Hunters almost never… take orders."
Cinder shook his head.
"I don't know the reason. I was just assign to kill. As for who gave it…"
Ei's eyes narrowed. "I think you can figure that out yourself."
My voice sank.
"No… I don't want to. Because if I do, everything I've fought for becomes meaningless."
Ei dipped his head in a small nod.
"You already have, when you protected the brat."
Ei said with wrath.
"Then I have to ask you, Awakened Cinder. Was it really worth it, for a kid you just met? His life for yours."
I laid my right arm across my left and squeezed, needing to know if this moment was real. The pain answered. I fixed my attention back on the Crimson Sword of Death.
"As a father, I've already lost two sons. I didn't want to lose another. It doesn't matter how well I know the boy. What matters is what he's given me. And he reminded me what it means to be a father."
Ei slowly began to clap his hands.
"That's why I never had children and never married. I was born to be a hunter, to kill every prey in my path. Children are just among those prey."
I shook my head. Everything he said was wrong.
"No. You're mistaken. Children are the pride and joy of us elders, and you don't need to have one to understand that."
My voice grew fainter, fading away.
"If you can't understand that, you can't understand your own humanity."
Rage flared in Ei's eyes. "You think you can judge me in your condition?"
"I… I'm only… stating… my thoughts…"
I said, and could say no more. The darkness pulled me down. Sounds vanished, and so did my memories. Cyran would suffer because of my weakness, and for that I hated myself.
Before I disappeared completely, I gathered what little strength I had left and spoke:
"You may have won this fight. But you haven't won the war."
I could no longer see or hear the hunter before me. Every limb screamed, but the pain didn't last. There was a sharp crack, and it was the last sound I heard, because when I opened my eyes again, I was in a garden. A garden of a thousand colors, stretching to infinity on every side, beneath a sky of deep violet. I rose easily, and saw two little boys running toward me. One with blond hair, one with gray. My eyes widen as I saw the two little boys. They both threw their arms around me, and I embraced them back.
"My beautiful boys."
Tears of joy spilled down my face as I hugged them tight. I didn't let go, I couldn't. They were my boys. The reason I was born: To protect them until death. I failed yeah, but now I can finally reunite with them, with my sons.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know I made mistakes, but bringing you into this world was never one of them. Never!"
I said, and both boys laughed and wiped my tears.
"Don't worry, Dad—Grey's not done yet,"
said the blond boy. The gray-haired one burst into a laugh.
"When big brother Grey ascends to the throne, even Fate will be afraid of him."