“Let’s begin the ritual! ”

Just as the monsters have felt the shockwave coming from her, Kennedy has realized that they just lost their pre-emptive strike opportunity. All three of the monsters have become aware of their presences and were now heading toward the Oracle.

“What is she doing???” shouted Jora in confusion.

“…That’s why Alastor wanted us to protect her. Whatever she is doing, it will leave her vulnerable to attacks while making her known to the enemies.” Kennedy analysed. “We have no choice. Be ready, Jora!”

“Of course, teacher!” addressed the white haired woman.

The first enemies they encountered were the two scouts. In just a few seconds, the two eye balls have closed the gap by diving blindly toward the Oracle woman. It seemed that whatever she was doing, they too could feel the danger it posed and therefore she must be taken care of as quickly as possible. But the two Greymen would not let them pass so easily. Compared to the large Monochrome, these were simply vanguards, the weakest unit of the Monochrome. With their years of experience, defeating the Augur, the eye ball monsters as referred by the Goddess Luna, was a simple task.

Nodding in acknowledgment, each of the duo took on an Augur. The first one shot a purple laser beam, trailing from its position to the praying Oracle. Using her Telekinesis, Jora stood in front of her and formed a kinetic barrier, stopping the laser with her hands. Next, she made a fist and performed an uppercut at her position, causing a stone block to surge from below the Augur, blasting it on air. But that would not be the end. Manipulating the metal poles bars standing in the streets, Jora fired three of them right toward the flying eye ball and pierced it right through its pupil, sticking it on a building.

As for Kennedy, the man held other weapons aside from his Teleportation power. Taking out a long sniper he has been carrying on his back, he was able to use such a heavy weapon without the need of any installation like normal snipers would do. Even the bullet was made by the veteran himself, which would cause an explosion when it was inside the target, more than enough to deal with the low level monsters. But how would he able to fire something from that gun while the Augur was observing his every move?

The moment he fired, the monster would simply dodge to the side with its quick reflex. But Kennedy had a plan. Casually taking a few steps forward, he crouched down and picked up a small pebble on the ground. What could a pebble possibly do in such situation? Something good!

Without warning, Kennedy threw the pebble in the direction of the eye ball. However, he deliberately put too much force into it, making it passing over the Augur. At first, the monster was surprised when he saw something was being thrown at him. But when it realized it was just a pebble and it would only pass right over him, it decided not to move but to keep its sight on Kennedy. That pebble was probably just a distraction anyway to give the man the opportunity to make his shot. And he did.

In just under two seconds, Kennedy fired two shots: one at the monster and a second one to its left side. Did he think that shooting in two directions would do anything? The monster only needed to evade to the right and it would dodge both the shots.

Through the Augur’s eye, everything was in slow motion. But as it was moving to the right, something happened: the bullet that was fired at him disappeared in mid-air and instead, a small pebble took its place, falling to the ground. What happened? Where was the bullet? And why would there be a pebble here? But before it could understand what that meant, something has penetrated its body, something small. It was too late.

“Bam!” Kennedy grinned.

A fiery detonation erupted from inside the Augur, blasting its inside out in every direction. In the end, it died without even understanding what killed it.

This was one of the skills Kennedy developed using his Teleportation talent, . Using the first two bullets as a distraction, Kennedy has forced the monster to dodge in the only safe position it knew: its right side. It did exactly as he has planned. However, what it didn’t take in account was the pebble. By the time the first bullet aiming at the Augur was in half its way toward it, the pebble would be right behind. At that moment, Kennedy has switched the position of the bullet and the pebble, making it an unseen attack. The interesting fact was that if Kennedy teleported a moving object, that object would keep its acceleration force and movement. When it reappeared at the destination, Kennedy could place it in a way so that the bullet would hit the monster on its back. And everything took place in just matter of a few seconds. What was amazing was just not the ability itself but the calculations he had to make to execute it so perfectly in that short amount of time. Either he was a genius in combat warfare or has spent countless time to perfect this skill.

With the two Augurs out of the equation, all that was left was the biggest and most threatening target, the Harvester. Each Harvester had their own basic abilities but if they managed to devour someone powerful, it would grant them that person’s power, making them even more dangerous than they already were. Furthermore, they were almost immune to most common weapons.

In addition to the Greymen, the military had also mobilized their force to eliminate the threat. From a corner of the street, an armoured vehicle with a long cannon sticking out at the front was rolling out and aimed at the humanoid Monochrome. From above, two flying vehicles with rotating fans which seemed to be the mechanism keeping them afloat, have arrived. Yet they made no sound, allowing them for a surprise attack. With these reassuring weapons by their side, Kennedy and Jora would have an easier time to keep the monster distracted. But what was the Oracle doing at that moment?

If there was anything that stood out from this fiery chaotic scenery of the clash between the monster and the military, it was this lonely woman who sat in the middle of the street, crossing her legs, her hands in a praying manner. Even when debris came lunging itself at her way, she didn’t even try to move away. If not for Jora and Kennedy who took care of the incoming projectiles, she would be dead by now. After a long waiting, which was only a few minutes in battle, she began to wave her hand around, trying to catch something and pulling it back to her. Yet no one could see what she was holding on to.

Slowly swaying her hand forward and backward in a circular motion, the Oracle appeared to be spinning something with her arms. The way she did so gently, mingled with the disparity in betwixt of her bloodless skin and her dusky garb, could only add to her gracefulness and elegance. An erratic prospect it was, considering how she remained unfazed in the middle of this pandemonium around her: the fiery explosions in the background, the crumbling architectures, the deaths and blood splattered on the streets. Sitting in this starless night, it was as if she was enclosed in her own bubble, without a care for the rest of the world.

As she stopped moving, the Oracle began to mutter in a low tone to which only she could hear what she was saying. Then she raised both her hands to the sky and chanted. “The concealed threads of life, show yourself to me! ”

From this dark murky firmament above, fine red strings began to drop down. It was not just one or a few but hundreds, thousands of them or even more, enough to cover the whole sky as it spread to every corner. Each string attached itself to a person in the city behind their necks, almost like a marionette. No one would be able to retain their calm if they could see this outlandish spectacle. Yet, none could see these strings, none but the Oracles. In front of her, the Oracle could see two threads hanging from the two persons who have been protecting her, Kennedy and Jora. The soldiers, each also had their own and they all looked the same. But she wasn’t interested in any of those. No, she was looking for one in particular, the one that belonged to the monster they were fighting. And she saw it, hanging from behind the monster up to the heavens.

Raising her hand toward it as if she was commanding it, the string began to prolong itself and moved toward the woman. When it finally dragged itself to her, the Oracle caught it and extended it widely in her hands as she gazed intensively at it.

“Reveal your secrets to me! Show me your life! ”

The red string started to emit a dim crimson luminescence as memories of the creature were being transferred to the Oracle, reflecting countless images in a quick succession in her eyes in matter of seconds.

“Pitiful creature…live only to satisfy your endless hunger. A miserable existence, you are. But a life nonetheless. You need not suffer any longer. Let me free you from this insatiable craving! ” she spoke softly.

An oversized pair of black scissors manifested itself in her hand. Made out of an unknown obsidian material, the object was emanating an ominous aura, one that would send shivers to those who dared lay their eyes on it. It was as if death itself was in physical form disguised as such a simple item. Holding one end of the string with her left hand while drawing the tongue of the scissors closer and closer with the wire, the Oracle spoke the final verse.

“When one soul is cursed, two graves are dug. As wretched as you may be, let me accompany you to the end of this journey, to be your guide, to help you cross the boundless river of souls!” the Oracle offered her prayer. The frail string was now right between the sharp blades of her scissors. One small movement, the release of the blades, that was all it would take. Was death ever this simple? A life, a string, such was the frailty of the living. “And so…it ends. *SNIP*”

All of the sudden, the Monochrome, which was in the middle of its rampage, became frozen in place. Just a moment before, it has grabbed one of the armoured vehicles with one of its hands and was just about to throw them toward Kennedy and the rest. But now it has stopped. Its grip started to soften, releasing the tank and letting it crushing down to the ground as its gigantic body fell against a building behind it. Perhaps thanks to the study structure it was built on, the building stood still, although not without some damages in the front where the monster was leaning on. As for the monster, it just laid there, motionless.

“What happened? How come it is not moving anymore?” asked Kennedy. He decided to come closer to verify the situation.

“Teacher, what are you doing?” shouted Jora.

“Stay back!” Kennedy shouted back firmly. If it was any other case, he would never do what he was currently doing: approaching an unknown target without any confirmation of its status. What if the Monochrome was only pretending, waiting for someone unsuspected to come by and would snatch him and eat him? He has seen it happened before. Yet, something was telling him that this time, it wasn’t the case. Despite all his screaming instincts to stay back, Kennedy still moved forward, slowly, step by step.

As he drew closer to the monster, he tried to fire a few shots at it to test the water. Still nothing. He tried to poke it with his long gun but it didn’t react. Even when turning his back on it, the creature didn’t do anything.

“It’s really dead…” he said to himself. Deciding that it was safe to do so, he raised his arm to signal the troops that the danger has passed. The creature was dead.

Seeing his signal, the soldiers began to shout in celebration, raising their arms simultaneously. It seemed that their heavy artillery did the trick after all. How else would you explain this? One by one, they came out of their tanks, hugging each other in tears. It was their efforts that helped them achieve the impossible thing.

But not Kennedy and Jora. They refused to believe for one second that what they did was enough to kill such a monstrosity. But then what killed it? At that moment, the two remembered about the Oracle whom they have been protecting. Perhaps it was her, using some kind of extremely powerful spell that none of them were able to stop it. That could be the only possible explanation.

Rushing to her side, back where she was sitting in the middle of the road, Kennedy spoke.

“Are you the one who killed it?” he asked the woman who was in an odd position. Facing her arms up to the sky laying on the ground, the Oracle was in a kneeling gesture with her head bending down at a low angle, making it difficult to see her face. Perhaps the spell has exhausted her too much, he thought.

“That was amazing. Just how did you do it?” clamoured Jora in excitement.

But there was no answer. The Oracle simply lied there, motionless…just like the monster she killed. A frightening thought crossed his mind as Kennedy lifted her against his shoulder and put his fingers on her neck, a technic to check her pulse. There was none.

“She….she is dead.”

“What??? How?” Jora uttered in disbelief.

For the entire time, the two have made sure that nothing ever reached the Oracle, not even a single debris. Yet now she lied dead, just like the monster. What happened to her?

“When one soul is cursed, two graves are dug.” Those were the words of the Oracle. To take a life, you must be prepared to lose yours. A life for a life, it was as simple as that and that was exactly what the woman did: sacrificing her own to sniff out the life of another. These women, the Oracles, were clones created by Alastor as an inspiration from the witch Beatrix. An expert in curse she was, for she was the one who devised this unique skill. Such a frightening ability, to kill anyone at any time without a care for any protection, as long as you were prepared to sacrifice your own life. Just how many could do that even if they had this ability? What amount of hatred would it need for someone to be prepared to kill themselves in exchange for the death of their nemesis? It made no wonder that even the arrogant Xenes had to admit that her skill was omnipotent, a god-like ability. Still, the Oracles were simply doing an imitation of the original spell; a lesser version that was much weaker than it was intended to be with a long casting time and a limit where foes above a certain threshold would be immune to this curse. And perhaps it was for the best that only Beatrix would be capable to cast this spell. For the original version of it would be able to kill anything or anyone, no matter who you were, even a God.

* * *

Among all the destructions that were happening in Europia, district Z was the worst of them all. For it was there that a battle between a God and a super powerful Monochrome was taking place. Sky high buildings and towers were being sliced into two like butter, craters popped out everywhere as a result of their exchange of skills, columns of black smoke and fire spread across the entire neighbourhood. On the ground, panic and chaos filled the streets as the people were trying to get away from the fight. Children who were too slow were being carried by their parents or even bystanders who could not just watch and let them die like bugs.

Unlike the other districts, it seemed that the government has abandoned the people of this place, seeing how it was impossible to save them from these two super powers. They would not have enough force to cover the entire city anyway, not in that short amount of time. Instead, they would rather save those they could. A logical choice, but a heartless one.

As for the Goddess of the Moon, she apparently couldn’t care less for the unknown people of the other world. Right now she had more things on her hands already. Her sister has been devoured by the beast right in front of her. Even worse, her body has now become part of the monster, sticking out from its chest as it used her own power and body against her sister. But even if she knew that Solana was already gone, Luna could not ignore the painful expression her sister was making. A part of her twin was still alive in there, being tortured both physically and mentally. A mixture of grief, of pain, of anger has taken over the Goddess as she relentlessly attacked the Harvester in a series of furious blows, further adding to the devastation of the surroundings.

And finally the third and final actor has shown himself: the demon lord has come.

“Hello there!” Alastor said casually from on top of a roof behind Luna.

“Not now, Alastor! I would greatly appreciate if you can sit out of this for a minute. I need to take care of this thing first.” Luna coldly replied. In her heart, she was preparing for a two fronts assault. Alastor had no reason to not do so after all. She knew he despised the Gods for attacking him. But if he did it so, that would leave her in quite a predicament.

“You do realize that she is beyond saving right?” said Alastor.

“I know. That’s why I must do it. I cannot tolerate it defiling my sister like this anymore. So please….” Luna pled.

“Ok then.” He said. The way he said it made Luna wonder if he really meant it. But it was what he did next that surprised her even more. Floating in mid-air between the monster and Luna, Alastor was preparing for combat, not against her but against the Monochrome. “I also have a score to settle with this thing. Besides, I still owned you for what you did back at Malatas so how about a temporary truce?”

“What? Why would you do such a thing?” Luna asked in confusion.

“For many reasons. First, I hate being in debts of others, especially from my enemies so this way I can at least feel at bit better when we fight after this.

Secondly, this is my personal belief but no one should have to kill their own family. The world is already a shitty place. We don’t need to further add more tragedies into it.

You may be God, Elemyr, but you can’t control everything the way you want it to be, nor do I hold you responsible for all the miseries I had to endure. As much as I hate to say it, it made me who I am right now. So let me help you, Luna! Still, after this, I expect some answers.”

“You are…strange.” Luna uttered.” But I will take up any help I can get….Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me yet! If I find out that you have anything to do with my parents’ murder…well, let’s just hope that we won’t come to that!”

“….Alright…I…I will tell you everything once we kill the beast.”