Ea and Yiran were surrounded by the soldiers and guards that had followed them. They had long since engaged in battle by the time Tah Min had finally arrived at the top of the tower. The sound of metal clashing and the wail of soldiers as they took their last breath flooded the room as the dark stench of death lifted into the air. Tah Min knew she had to get to the Phoenix statue. She began pushing through the bodies that piled around the ends of the room, trying to use them as somewhat of a shield as she ducked low and shuffled towards the statue.
Ea and Yiran had been desperately fighting away at the ever-encroaching mob that wasted no time in taking down their forces. Ea wielded his blade expertly, years of hard training very evident with each stroke. It was covered in blood and yet it shone brightly as it cut through the air like it was moving through water, quick and precise. Yiran was right behind him as he battled.
Unfortunately, neither Tah Min or Ea expected to see Gabriel at the scene. Tah Min spotted Gabriel slowly creeping up to Ea and wanted so badly to call out to him. She raised a hand to her mouth and choked out a sob. She couldn't. He wouldn't hear her even if she could talk and she didn't even have time to think of another way to get his attention as Gabriel leaped at Ea, spinning him around and slashing at his eyes with his dagger.
Ea stumbled back as the stinging sensation ripped through his face. His composure shattered for a moment and he cursed loudly in pain. "FUCK!"
Gabriel glanced at Vaera's junior, who saw what had happened. Unbeknownst to anyone, Gabriel had rushed to the tower, the second he left Tah Min's chambers. He lay there in wait for quite some time. It seemed like he wasn't done with Tah Min as yet. Having heard the exchange between Ea and Vaera's junior, he signaled to the man as if you say, "look! Here's your chance!" And the young man took it, believing Gabriel was on their side. Gabriel looked over at Tah Min, who had run out in an attempt to stop Gabriel, she was staring at him in complete shock as the realization that she had been too slow and now Ea was hurt, dawned on her.
Junior began charging at Ea and Tah Min shook herself back to the task at hand and glanced at the statue. Gabriel seemed to pick up on what she was thinking. If she could just make it to the statue, she could activate the runes and then the statue would start emitting magical energy that would push anyone the activator thought of as a threat, to the walls of fire to be burned. She started sprinting to the statue as best she could, diving through corpses and blazing past them in one final push. When she started running, so did Gabriel. She extended her hand, stretching as far as she could in order to reach the statue. Just as her fingertips grazed its smooth surface, they were ripped away.
Suddenly, what was once so close in front of her, was now getting further and further away. The overwhelming relief she felt as she made contact with the statue was replaced by growing panic, but before she could process that panic, a cold, numbing sensation took over. She looked down to see a clear blade, deeply embedded in her chest. Once the initial shock had passed, she felt it. She felt the way her lungs pressed against the blade inside of her as she gasped for air, she felt the unbelievable pain as it tore through her. More than that though, she felt something break inside of her when she saw who the blade belonged to.
In front of her, hands gripping the sword's hilt tight, breathing heavily and covered in blood, was Ea. She felt something pressing behind her and realized that Ea had thought that he was attacking Junior as evident by the laboured gurgles from behind her. Gabriel had thrown her in front of his blade, just as he swung. Ea might have been blinded but he was not entirely oblivious to his surroundings, as a result, he heard junior approaching and readied himself but he not only pierced her but went straight out her back and right into junior's chest. Once he heard junior's gasps, he pulled his sword out.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Ea thought it felt strange. He knew he hit his target, but something was very off. He was made aware of this further by the silence that followed his kill. Ea felt an awful sense of unease fill him as he listened to not one, but two bodies hitting the floor.
"Ea..." Yiran's voice quivered. Half because of exhaustion and half because of panic.
"It's done...the Priestess has been killed. Begin making preparations for the Linci ritual." Vaera's voice was calm as he spoke.
Ea felt his heart stop. "What...what do you mean...Yiran! Where...what happened? Where is she?"
Yiran wanted to be angry. He wanted so badly to run Ea through for what he did, but he knew he couldn't blame him and that made him even angrier.
"Right in front of you..."
Ea felt faint. He immediately knelt down and reached out. Tah Min, instinctively grabbed his hand to let him know she was there. He felt so much in that one moment that he wasn't quite sure how to react. He couldn't see her and she couldn't speak to him. All he could do was cling to her.
"Tah Min? Tah Min I'm so sorry...oh gods...please no...no no no..."
Tah Min felt as if she were floating above herself, watching the horror as if it were happening to some other woman. Yet still, she felt when his hands wrapped around her. He was warm, very warm. She couldn't help but think that perhaps these few moments of warmth may help her forget about the chill that began to creep through her.
The whispers that filled the room were unbearable to Ea. It stung more than if they had just kept silent. He felt when a figure came to stand in front of them. It was Yiran. He still had his sword raised, ready to cut down anyone who tried to take Tah Min away to complete the ritual. Tah Min tugged on Ea and he looked down instinctively. She began crawling, ushering the both of them towards the statue.
Gabriel, having gotten what he came for, began sprinting towards the exit. No one knew why he was running, but the sight of him dashing away so madly was enough to send everyone back into a frenzy. Unfortunately, by the time he had crossed the threshold of the room and stepped back onto the stairs, the walls bursted into flames. Yiran glanced back to see Tah Min and Ea at the statue's feet. She had activated the runes and not a second sooner, the statue began blasting people towards the flaming walls. The screams of their enemies enveloped the tower like a deep mist.
That is how what would come to be known as the Scarlet Night, came to an end, but it wasn't the only thing that came to an end that night. Unable to hold herself up, Tah Min was held like a puppet, she used her free hand to cling to Ea, who muttered incoherent apologies. Tah Min struggled ceaselessly from the pain, hair tangled, chest heaving as she struggled to form words to let him know that she didn't blame him, that she loved him too and that perhaps, with her death, no more innocent lives would have to be sacrificed to pay for the sins of her family. Tah Min was suddenly pulled back into herself and the indescribable chill finally consumed her. She couldn't tell if it was herself that was freezing or a passing sensation...or why the dark seemed so dazzling. Even though her eyes were wide open, all she was black.
"Tah Min, I'm so sorry. Oh my gods. Please don't take her! It was an accident! Tah Min, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I...last night, I shouldn't have left you! I shouldn't have acted like a child and avoided you just because I couldn't have what I wanted! I have stayed, I should have told you that I..."
A whimper of a last breath left Tah Min's throat as Ea uttered the words "I love you, " for the first and last time to her.
When not even a grunt was given in response, and he felt Tah Min's grasp on him go limp, everyone, even amid the screams, heard a sob that was abnormally clear and brutal. Something deep within Ea had broken and he had no way to put it back together, so he cried into the dawn. Night faded into day, the screams ceased and the flames eventually died along with Ea's heart and the High Priestess of the Summer Isle.
Illusion One~History104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuq3FmAK5MH
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