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This dark shadowy city is filled with broken hearts, full of nothingness, full of loneliness. How can a heart survive here when there’s no way out? No way up? Only down… down into the darkness. Then, there’s nothing. No movements, no sounds, only silence remains from before it shattered. Hearts are not made to be diamonds, they can’t survive the pressures of this dark and forgotten city. Here, they are created merely to be fragmentary and shatter so they can continue to fill the nothingness. Loneliness… The kind of utter loneliness where any goodness and light are ripped away. True loneliness, like a knife through shattered hearts and dreams. When a heart shatters, all dreams become hollow forms and float into the distance. Dreams are even more fragile than glass, they can shatter with one word or one action. Even a heart, however fragile its crystalline surface, is stronger than a hollow dream, even in this city of darkness, where it can only shatter. Death… That is the fate of those within the city of darkness.

Renee put her hand to her head as a few tears streamed down her cheeks. Merely fragmentary… She wiped them from her cheeks slowly.

“Your Eminence, is… something wrong?”

She turned to Lance, but averted her gaze as shook her head slowly. “No….” If I tell him about that vision, he would know more about the future, but… Walking into the unknown in the face of death is scary, but how can I tell him that death is imminent? Knowing there is only death ahead would be far worse. How can we walk forward when we know that only death is waiting for us? It’s impossible… This city of darkness is a terrible place to be. She placed her hands over her heart. Crystalline or not, it’s still intact. I have to make sure that Lance’s heart is too.

Lance inhaled quickly and put his hand on her shoulder.

She glanced at him again. “Lance?”

“Another door…” His hand trembled slightly as he pointed ahead of them.

She followed his gaze toward the gated door. It was similar to the one with rotted plants, though it had a few rust colored stains splattered across it.

Lance swallowed and stepped forward.

“Lance!” She grabbed his shoulder and tried to pull him back quickly.

He gripped her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. I will prove to you that I can fight valiantly.”

“You don’t need to prove anything to me. I already know… Let’s just…”

“Walk away without fighting?”

Renee clenched her eyes shut quickly and pulled her hand away. “You knew…”

He turned back to face her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Your Eminence, demons exist to fight for their priestess. What we are, what we always have been, is soldiers blessed by God with the powers of the heavens.” He frowned as he glanced down at the sword nestled between his tunic and the ribbon around his waist. “That being said…” He gripped the hilt and drew the sword with a flash of his claws. He placed one hand under the flat face and let the hilt rest on his palm, then held the sword out to Renee. “Keep this.”

“But… Justin said…”

“Ignore the General’s wishes, Your Eminence. His powers are not my powers. Using a sword denies my right to be a cardinal demon. My powers are my greatest gift.”

Renee grasped the hilt tightly, but it shook with her trembling hands. “But… If your powers…”

Lance smoothed his finger against her cheek. “My powers are infallible.” He gave her a brief smile. “Don’t be discouraged, but please stay safe.”

“Ki user!” Christopher pushed forward next to Renee.

Lance turned to the other demons quickly. “This is our calling, to fight alone to prove our worth before the battle that has surmounted since our births. For all those that died so that we could live, that’s what we battle for!” His eyes narrowed as he focused on Christopher and snarled. “But how could you possibly understand that?”

“Your sword…” Justin turned away from the door and placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“I will fight my way.” Lance scoffed. “A sword makes me weak.” He turned quickly as he clenched his fists and walked toward the gate. It creaked as it slowly rose from the ground. This ancient and sealed battleground only reopened by the hand of God. Death awaited them at each turn. It was the only certain reality.

“Lance!” Renee shrieked, reaching out her hand and running toward him.

He glanced back at her, then shut his eyes and walked through the ascending gate.

The light that emanated from the arched doorway behind him silhouetted him in the darkness. As his feet hit the ground, they illuminated the silence. He stopped in the center of the darkened room and scanned the surrounding blackness.

The other four demons and the priestess entered into the shadows, momentarily blind as their eyes adjusted to the perpetual black of the room.

Lance inhaled and began glowing with a bright green light as he unfurled his wings. His eyes glowed emerald as his fangs sprouted from beneath his lips. The emerald light pressed against the unyielding darkness, brightening the bleak world they had marched into. Life and death, light and darkness, so many conflicting entities existed within this world, and this castle encompassed them all. Lance put his hand to his heart as a figure emerged from the darkness, illuminated in his emerald glow.

Black shoes, white pants, white armor, and a golden ribbon tied around his waist. The armor that was supposed to be pure white, resembling silk or the pale strands of a maiden’s hair, was stained with blood in scattered scratches and drops.

“Such a powerful burst of ki! I almost felt my breath returning.” As he opened his eyes, a sightless topaz glow spilled from them.

Lance clenched his fists tightly and a brief emerald glow surrounded them. “In death, you remain calm… How is that possible?”

“Death is inevitable… In this world, everyone is born to die.”

Renee gasped quietly. The city of darkness… The demons do know about it!

The topaz demon turned to her. “Woman… No, A priestess… A sleeping traitor.”

“Traitor…” Renee flinched and stepped backward

“The priestesses were to awaken at one moment. How is it fair that two continued to sleep while the others were thrust into a battle they could not win?” His sightless eyes narrowed, seeming to flicker and burn. “A selfish act…” He reached toward his back and removed a crossbow from a holster. “Which one?” He aimed the bow at Renee.

“Your Eminence!” Lance whipped his head back toward her.

Renee walked backward until she backed against the wall.

“Which one?” His hands held the bow tightly, his claws penetrating the wooded frame. “The priestess of the sapphires has a higher calling, to die at the hands of God. Because of her merciless demons, the sinister priestess of the emeralds is to die instantly.”

“Why…” Renee growled. “Why is she the one to die at the hands of God?!”

“I see, so it is instant death for the emerald priestess.” The topaz demon inhaled and shot the arrow from the crossbow with a snap.

Lance turned back to the topaz demon and his hands filled with an emerald orb. “Release the priestess from a fight amongst demons!” He released the orb into a stream of light and shattered the arrow before it reached Renee.

The topaz demon growled. “Devoted emerald demon…”

“I thought that was my purpose in life, to be devoted.”

The topaz demon lowered his crossbow, staring directly into Lance’s emerald tinted blue eyes. His sightless topaz eyes were hauntingly hypnotic. His face was contorted, half way between sympathy, wonder, and a knowing smirk. “I commend your devotion, even standing in the face of death. But...” He raised his bow once more. “What I fail to understand is how you stand before that priestess.” He shot a sparking arrow toward Lance and it pierced through his tunic and into his chest.

Lance grasped the arrow weakly, attempting to pull it out. “Emerald or not… A demon must always stand before his priestess. It is our reason for living.”

The topaz demon placed another arrow into the crossbow. “Your reason for living is a poor one. Honorable demons do not stand in front of traitorous humans.”

Lance grunted as his hand vibrated around the arrow and his emerald glow flickered. He glanced back at Renee.

Renee threw Lance’s sword to the ground and reached out to him. “LANCE!”

A small smile crossed Lance’s face.

“Do you smile at death?” The topaz demon smirked. “Allow me to send you there.”

“LANCE!” Renee started running toward him. It’s most important that Lance survives this!

Lance tightened his grip on the arrow. “Don’t worry… I’ll… be okay…”

The topaz demon let another sparking arrow loose from his crossbow.

“LANCE!”

Lance clenched his eyes shut quickly and lowered his head to his chest.

“Stop this!” Joseph growled.

Lance looked up and gaped at Joseph, who stood in front of him with the second arrow clenched in his hand. “Joseph…” He choked. “When did you--”

Joseph crushed the arrow, then held his hand out to Lance. “Later. First, let’s deal with this demon.” His hand began to glow emerald.

Lance pulled the arrow from his chest and the hole filled with an emerald glow. He grabbed his chest as he stood up weakly. “I can fight him myself! Our priestess… Our priestess is depending on my lone strength!”

“You’re wounded! Besides… I learned a long time ago that sometimes it’s easier to accomplish things with help from others! A good companion taught me that.” Joseph smiled, then shut his eyes as an emerald glow began surrounding his body.

“Companion?” Lance choked on the word, then inhaled deeply as the emerald glow surrounded his body again.

When Joseph opened his eyes, they emitted an emerald glow. His wings unfurled as he patted Lance’s shoulder. “Exactly. Good companions help each other.”

“We’re companions?” Lance gripped Joseph’s hand as his eyes glowed again.

“Aren’t we? We’re fighting for a common goal, the victory of our priestess!” He scanned the room, then glanced toward the ceiling with a grim expression. “And no other demon or human being will get in our way!” He rose his fingers to his face and began chanting an inaudible spell.

“Joseph…”

Renee caught Lance’s shoulders. He’s wounded! How could he be wounded? I need Lance to...

Joseph’s voice rippled. “Priestess, don’t interfere. Your life is most important.” Several self-copies emerged from Joseph and began running in a circular motion around the topaz demon.

Renee gaped as she stepped backward. One… Two… Three… I can’t keep counting! There’s too many copies of him! Is Joseph a mimic?

The topaz demon growled as he spoke. “Emerald demon…”

“Joseph…” Lance stepped toward Joseph and reached his hand out.

Both were met with silence. Joseph’s demeanor was an ice cold wind. His only answer was the continued movement of himself and his copies.

Lance lowered his head and glanced at Renee. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “This has to be a diversion. I will accept his hand because we are companions.” He laced his fingers together and raised his hands to his face, then closed his eyes and began chanting another inaudible spell.

The topaz demon stood in the center of Joseph’s copies. He closed his eyes and began pointing the crossbow in various places around the room, then quickly turned to face the wall behind him. As he raised the crossbow, his eyes flashed open and he shot a third sparking arrow toward the stream of forms. An emerald burst of light formed into a focused blast, resembling a sword in shape, and disintegrated the arrow as it rushed toward him. He lowered his bow and gaped at it. The aura sword hit him through the chest and he began collapsing to the ground.

Meanwhile, Lance coughed and began falling to the ground. Joseph’s illusionary copies disappeared, revealing that his true form stood beside Lance. He reached his arms out quickly and pulled him into his arms before he fell.

“LANCE!” Renee grabbed his arm as tears fell down her cheeks.

The topaz demon coughed up blood that flowed down the creases of his lips. “Can you not fight alone?” He coughed once more. “How weak… emerald demons are…”

“You’re wrong.” Joseph growled.

“Wrong?”

“Camaraderie is not weakness. It is a strength to recognize your own weakness and allow someone to help you.”

“Your strength is feeble…” His topaz glow began fading from his form and his eyes. His body burst in yellow sparks as stone encased it.

Joseph gazed down upon him. “Perhaps, but it was our feeble strength that was victorious.”

“LANCE!” Renee tightened her grip on his arm as she sank to the ground.

“He’s still alive, Priestess. Otherwise he would be turning to stone as well.” As his emerald glow subsided, his wings rested against his back. He pulled Renee up from the ground and patted her back. “I promise.”

Justin smirked. “If he had done as I commanded and used the sword, he would not even be wounded.”

“Justin…” Renee let go of Lance and clenched her fists. Her shoulders shook as she raised her head.

“Lady Renee…”

She stood, then whirled to face him. Her pulse raced as her chest constricted. “How can you be so heartless?!”

Justin’s smirk grew. “It was merely a suggestion, Lady Renee.”

Hot tears began forming in the corners of her eyes once more as she snarled.

Joseph knelt, setting Lance on the ground for a moment, then scooped him back into his arms as he stood back up.

“Joseph?” Renee put a shaking hand to her chest, then ran her hand through Lance’s hair.

“He will recover soon, I can assure you of that. Meanwhile, we must continue forward. There must still be demons to fight before we reach the box.”

Behind him, a second gate began to rise and rattled the ground beneath them. Just beyond the gate, the ledge disappeared into darkness.

“Let’s walk forward, Priestess.” He smiled warmly.

Justin brushed past them. “Move.”

“Do you have no heart, Justin?”

Justin stopped at the gate and turned to face her with a maniacal grin. “Lady Renee, isn’t my heart ruthless?” He turned back to the opening beyond the gate. “Our route forward is ending. It seems we can only continue down.”

He began his descent down the stairs and the other demons followed him.

Joseph turned to face Renee as he reached the gate. “Priestess… Are you coming?”

Renee stared at the ground. My heart is full of shock and rage. Justin… Heartless… Lance… Gone… How can I continue? The journey is nearing an end… Does that mean that Minako is waiting at the bottom of these stairs?

“Priestess?”

“Minako…” She clenched her fists tightly, then released them as she gave Joseph a cold and hard stare. “Yes, I’m coming.” She walked toward him with slow, methodical steps. I have to walk forward without Lance supporting me, somehow. I’ll do my best, Lance.

She and Joseph descended the steps together.

Down into the darkness... With each passing moment, they neared the sapphire demons and Minako. Is she still waiting deep in the depths of the darkness? Or has she succumbed to the castle after it shattered her heart? Aren’t we still in the same shadowed fragmentary darkness where hearts are meant only to break? No, that was the city of darkness. Is it different from this castle? But if I’m a broken shell and illusion of who I used to be, surely Minako must be feeling the same way. We’re both in this darkness together… It has to be impossible for one of us to break and the other one to stay whole.

These stairs are endless… Are we walking into our own tomb? In the depths of this castle, the darkness is rushing toward us as though it will eat us alive. Are they nearing the endless catacombs we saw in the room with the hole? Was this darkness created for us? If this is a castle in which demons and priestesses die, we can’t escape alive. Death is imminent.

Justin stood at the foot of the steps. Water cascaded against his boots as he stared up at the others following behind him.

Renee met his glance, then looked at his feet. “Water?”

Justin smirked.

Joshua pushed past him and put his hand upon the limply hanging wooden door.

“So quick to rush into battle, Joshua?” Justin’s smirk grew.

“I will fight. Lance proved that your methods are useless when he fought with his own powers. So now I will prove my powers are worthwhile as well.” Joshua dropped the sword to the floor.

Justin crossed his arms. “Even at the risk of your death?”

“If I am to die protecting our priestess, then I will consider it to be fate.”

Justin responded with only silence and his continuing smirk.

Fate… Is it fate to face death without fear for someone you loved? Renee clenched her hands to her heart. “Joshua…”

Joshua turned from Justin and smiled as he stared up at her. “I hope you witness my glory, Pandora.” He turned away quickly and pushed the door open. The water lapped against his shoes as he was met with only darkness. As he trudged forward, the water’s depth increased.

Somewhere within the unending darkness, there had to be a new demon because this was the only place the stairs led.

“Have you come to greet me?” The voice rippled through the room.

Joshua froze.

“It’s been so long… No one ever reaches my corridors…”

No one had reached his corridors? Not even the sapphire demons? Had they all perished? Renee dropped to her knees in the watery darkness, causing drops to splash against her face.

Joshua turned back to her. “Pandora…”

“Come… Come and battle me, Emerald demon!” He unleashed a blood red glow upon the darkness as his eyes lit up the world.

Joshua stepped back and narrowed his eyes as he grabbed an arrow and his bow from his back. “Prepare yourself!” He unleashed his own emerald glow to combat the darkness. His wings unfurled and his eyes began to shimmer with emerald light . He shot an arrow at the ruby demon, but was stopped by a whirlwind of water. The emerald glow of his eyes subsided momentarily as he gaped at the water demon.

“Keep fighting! Don’t lose hope!” Joseph gripped Lance and started walking toward Joshua.

Joshua inhaled and the emerald glow returned to his eyes. He shot another arrow, only for it to collide with another whirlwind instead of parting it. He clenched his fist around a third arrow and growled as Christopher landed beside him.

“You?!” Joshua snarled.

Christopher spread his hands as his eyes glowed emerald. “In this castle we are comrades, so it looks like we may have to help each other!”

“This is my battle!”

Christopher’s wings unfurled as he shot a stream of ice from his hand and began freezing the whirlwind. “Hit it! Hurry!”

Joshua grumbled, but released an arrow toward the whirlwind, shattering it instantly. He pulled another arrow from his quiver and nodded at Christopher with determination.

Christopher nodded back and raised his hands again.

The world around them began to freeze: the whirlwinds, the ruby demon, even their feet. Christopher and Joshua leapt into the air. Joseph tightened his grip on Lance and jumped from the ground. Justin quickly grabbed Renee and took flight as well.

The ruby demon, however, was wielded to the ground. He raised his hands, but they also began to freeze. He growled.

“Now!” Christopher clenched his hands closed.

Joshua pulled back the fletching and pierced the ice covering the ruby demon’s heart, shattering its body into pieces that slowly turned to stone. His head, the only large piece of his fragmentary body that remained transformed last and the ruby glow disappeared from the room. The demons stood in darkness as another door opened at the opposite side of the room near the top of the wall. The demons flew through the opening and landed in another stairwell.

Justin gingerly set Renee on the ground.

“Down?” She ran her hand along the wall.

Justin nodded.

Joshua turned to Christopher and narrowed his eyes as he offered his hand to him. “Thank you.”

Christopher batted it away and scoffed. “I did it to live and for the Priestess, think nothing of it.”

Joshua scowled.

A shattering shriek pierced through their conversation.

Renee jumped and put her hand to her heart. “What was that?!”

The emerald demons began running down the steps, following the path of the sound they had heard only moments before.

Renee clenched her fist at her heart. Minako… She shook her head and ran down the stone stairs after the demons.