The Burning Flowers

Chapter XIII

His body flying through the air faster than he had ever moved, Nigreos knew instinctively that if he didn’t protect himself at that exact moment then the force of gravity would crush him into a bloody stain on the road. His magic came to his defense almost on its own as the darkness of the night swirled around him like a warm, protective cocoon. He could sense the shadows weakening as he smashed through something before hitting the ground with such force that he could feel the road beneath him cave in and shatter. He was alive, but the magic protecting him would not be able to hold should she attempt to break them, so knowing that the only way he could possibly rush to his sister’s aid was to defeat the Princess of Ijiria, Nigreos allowed the spell to disperse as the darkness removed itself from his body and began flying around him in sharpened tendrils. Nigreos Noctis rose to his feet, his eyes already aimed upwards and towards the beam of light ripping towards where he stood. Her control of light magic was dangerous, but not as dangerous as that of the Luz, so the dark mage knew to be far more wary of another flame attack.

He processed his surroundings unconsciously, noting the still burning buildings surrounding the empty street, cracks originating from the concave hole beneath him that spread out in a weblike pattern towards the sidewalks. The heat from the fire was uncomfortable against his skin, and he was painfully aware of how each and every flame in his vicinity could be turned on him by the Princess. Just as the environment of midnight was his ally, the burning Ring would be hers. Nevertheless, peace between himself and the Princess was not an option anymore, for she was not going to let him reach Lunara.

Then again, I suppose it doesn't really matter. They’re going to execute me anyway, so killing her is hardly going to make a difference. Don’t think, Nigreos. Just do.

The beam of light that was his opponent reached him, her swords bathed in the same glowing energy as her body. Since he knew avoiding them would be nearly impossible the second the spell was activated, he tried to predict their trajectory and acted from there. No words were shared between them, for there was nothing more to say. He would not relent until Lunara and Neah were safe, and he could see in her wild blue eyes that she had no patience left for him.

The right-hand sword swung downwards in a diagonal strike aimed for his neck, a wave of white energy left in its wake, but just like when she tried to kill him back up on the Observatory, his magic reacted to save him without the need for incantation. Fusing with the shadows, he flowed backwards and away from the attack in a defensive maneuver that took place simultaneously with an attack of his own. Feeling darkness bending to his will, Nigreos swung his hand down and ordered the night itself to explode from the alleys and beneath the rubble to come crashing down on the Princess. It truly appeared as if the sky had fallen with shadows completely engulfing her form. If the attack was successful, they would enter her body through her mouth and rip her open from inside, but if an Iiji was that easy to kill, their rule would not have lasted for over a millennia.

There was a flash of light inside that mass of black that ripped them all apart, and before they were even gone, he found himself staring at the Princess a mere few feet away from where he was merged, her glowing swords tearing through the shadows he was a part of. Nigreos fled, gliding through the darkness and rushing towards the top of a nearby, four-story building to get a height advantage on her, but the second his feet touched the rooftop, the ground beneath him exploded upwards in a pillar of fire that shattered the entire building and sent him falling into the crumbling structure.

Just like before, Nigreos’s magic protected him, but since he sensed the Princess’s follow-up attack already on its way, he suspected shadows alone would not be enough. He knew just enough of the wind affinity to send castings of Nex into the cocoon, increasing the protective power just enough to directly take her swing and survive it. The light in her sword destroyed his dark magic, but the shield of wind held up just enough to send him flying through the back wall and into the next street over, his eyes turning spotty from the blinding flash. She was already upon him before he’d hit the ground, and a wind-powered roundhouse kick sent him straight into the bottom floor of an inn. The shield protected him as he smashed through tables and the bar, only for it to finally shatter when he hit the back-wall. Bottles of alcohol came down on his body, one of them just barely missing his skull while another broke on the center of his back. The implications of just how dangerous that was dawned on him as a flash of blue appeared in the corner of his eyes, just on the other side of the hole he’d created on his way in.

Blue fire leveled the building and almost certainly took out a few behind him as Nigreos protoed through the ceiling, using shadows to rip through the floors of the levels above. Horrifically intense heat pursued his flying body even as he broke through the roof and returned to the safety of night. The moment he had darkness at his disposal, he abandoned his physical form yet again and became one with shadow. He moved up as high as he could and only turned back once he was sure the Princess could not reach him, only for a chill to run up his spine upon witnessing the destruction below. As he had predicted, her flames had torn through three blocks, and for a second, he wondered why she would use such destructive power in the middle of civilian districts, only to realize there wasn’t a living soul in sight. She had sent him towards a part of the Ring that had already been evacuated, and given the fact that this area was already burning down, she must have decided a little more destruction wouldn’t make a difference.

That was when he realized just how willing she was to kill him.

Then I need to go to where the people are congregated. She wouldn’t dare use such power if there’s a chance innocents could become casualties. If I can rob her of her ability to use fire magic, then I’m the one with the advantage again!

The problem facing him was that he could no longer see her within the mixture of red, orange, and blue fires burning below. He knew she had been at the base of that inn, but either she distorted herself or she had found somewhere she could hide.

But she’s not going to hide for long. If she’s chosen to conceal herself, then it’s to make a surprise attack. Very well, Princess. If that’s how you’re going to play, then I’ll make my move now!

Nigreos turned around and glided through the night as he sought out the nearest civilian. His eyes frantically scanned the burning buildings as his mana reached out to sense for both the Princess and any other signatures. At the very least, if he could figure out where Album took Lunara, he would know where to go once the Princess was dead.

A smugness swept through him as he flew west and immediately began sensing at least over a hundred mana signatures in the direction of Castle Saientia, close to the nearest gondolas—the evacuation point for survivors of the combustions.

Perfect. I’ll just head there and—

He sensed the oncoming attack behind him too late to move, but just in time to re-erect the wind/shadow shield before over a dozen flaming bolts exploded against it. He once again found himself rocketing out of the sky, his body spinning uncontrollably, albeit slower than the last time. Stabilizing himself with wind magic, Nigreos barely managed to turn his feet towards the ground and land safely in an upscale gated community, though not without severe pain rushing from his feet and up his legs from the impact. He could feel his bones cracking, and while he could tell something had broken, he couldn't quite identify which part given that the agony was overwhelming his lower half.

She was keeping him on the defensive, knowing that her knowledge of all the affinities gave her more to work with despite him being a Noctis in the dark. Nevertheless, he succeeded in keeping himself from falling prone again, and he could see the young woman soaring over the rooftops, making her way towards him with both swords bathed in blue.

I saw her use that on an opponent earlier, so there’s no way she has more mana than I do. You’re waging war in my territory, so there’s only so much you can do, Princess, before you give me an opening that ends this in my favor.

“Devare!”

For the first time, he was able to make an effective offensive strike as dozens upon dozens of sharpened tendrils rushed through the air and towards the woman. Her features didn’t so much as show a flicker of fear as she swung her swords so rapidly that all he could see from his position below were arcs of blue flames as she cut down anything that came remotely close to her. The Princess landed safely, but Nigreos was not going to relent as he continued tapping into the nearly infinite shadows at his disposal.

For a mere few seconds, the two combatants were at a standstill with Nigreos keeping her in place while the Princess used her weapons with inhuman speed and precision, as if she’d entered some sort of trance and was hardly thinking about what she was doing. Arcs of orange and blue tore through black, and suddenly, one of the arcs of blue was rapidly approaching his face. There was time to do nothing but fade as Nigreos merged only his legs with the night, removing their physical nature and allowing him to abruptly duck as the sword passed harmlessly over his head.

He caught a momentary glimpse of what she did as he erected a shield of wind to deflect yet another surprisingly close blade. The problem was that this blade, too, was bathed in blue. The shield protected his life and nothing else as he was blasted backwards and severely burned by the flames that just managed to lick at his skin before he crashed through the front wall of a large home behind him. His movement was mediated by shadows that protected him from the brunt of the attack, but when Nigreos destroyed a few walls only to finally come to a stop when his head collided with the large dining table somewhere in the back of the house, he could only flop down onto the carpet and cough violently from both the smoke blanketing the neighborhood and from the fires that seared into his mouth and throat. His entire body was burning, and he had no clue whether he was actually on fire or if it just felt like it.

He couldn’t move.

All he could do was stare up at the ceiling as he screamed out with pain, thrashing around in an effort to put out any fires that were on him.

No… Not now! I won’t die!

Naturally, the Princess wasn’t going to stop just because he didn’t get back up. The ceiling erupted as a massive wave of fire destroyed everything above him. Nigreos screamed out with a mixture of anger and frustration, tapping into anything he could as his dark cocoon wrapped around him and wind magic was cast to strengthen it. He could feel that wave of fire impact on him, but Nigreos put every ounce of his mana into keeping his shield reinforced. His hands were held out in front of him, his palms pressed against the dome of darkness and wind as he directly sent more and more mana into them. His affinity enabled him to see in the dark, so despite his protective blanket, the charred and blackened skin on his palms and arms were perfectly visible. He couldn’t feel much of his lower half, and what he could feel gave him only pain.

Lunara… Neah…

Thoughts of his sisters returned to him, and he knew that in that very moment, they were at the mercy of Album, who he couldn’t rely on to not kill them. He was certain she wasn’t in a rational state of mind given the deaths of Acostav and Eko, and if she chose revenge, then she would kill Luna and Neah.

That was unacceptable.

When he turned against Abigail and The Angel back in that library, he steeled himself to sacrifice everything to protect them.

But this godforsaken Princess had to get in my way! Where the hell did she come from?! Why did she have to go to the Observatory?! Damn you, Princess! I am not going to die! I swear it on my name, you will not kill me! I don’t care who you are! If you’re going to get in my way, then I’ll remove you!

Come on, Nigreos! Get up! Just get up! GET UP NOW!

Nigreos screamed so loudly that he could feel the burns in his throat reacting in punishment, but his power was beginning to push the wave of fire back. He knew he wouldn’t be able to extinguish them, but at the very least, if he could get them high enough to provide him an opening, he would take it.

His legs were broken so he used dark magic to reinforce them.

His body was covered in burns, but they were only surface-level, so he used that agony as motivation.

He had been raised as the heir of Viiro Noctis to become the Master of Darkness. His control over this monstrous affinity was better than almost anybody, so he knew that if he could simply reach further inside of himself, he would overcome this. Even if he didn’t make it out of Stellareid, so long as Lunara and Neah did, it wouldn’t matter what happened to him.

Power flowed through his body as he tapped into a strength he never even knew he had, and he could feel his mind fading away, as if becoming one with the twisted magic. There was no need for strategy or thought—just raw strength.

Destroy everything standing between him and his goal.

Rip through his enemies.

Just fight.

***

Ilirianna Iiji exhaled sharply as the house she’d been barraging with fire suddenly exploded not in bright orange or blue, but in pitch black. Canceling her spell, she gripped her swords and protoed up to the top of a roof across the street from where her opponent should have been pinned, only to watch as a swirling ball of shadows broke out of the rubble and stopped just above, a tornado of those sharpened tendrils acting as an added layer of defense. She clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes as she just barely made out the humanoid silhouette of the traitor within that orb. Scoffing, having hoped the fight was about to end, Ilirianna straightened her back and resummoned the blue flames to her emerald swords.

She could sense that this gated community was either evacuated already or had no survivors of the combustions. Either way, there wasn’t a singular mana signature, so she was free to fight with everything she had. At that point, the Princess of Ijiria no longer gave a damn about political consequences or what her reputation may look like at the end of the battle. All she cared about was accomplishing something—even if that something was executing a member of her royal team.

How many more embarrassments was she to experience that night?

Keskivaara was their enemy, as she had been warned.

Despite her power as an Iiji, she couldn’t eliminate either the People’s Mind or Rotana Vesh.

Eko Luz was certainly dead, and she learned that one of her team members had betrayed them when he attempted to kill her half a second after she arrived at the Observatory.

When this ended, she would hobble back to Lord Cartigan and King Markreas in shame, so what did it really matter what she did to apprehend the traitor? What difference did it make that she destroyed the Grand Observatory? Why would anyone care that she quickened the inevitable destruction of the already flaming buildings? Nothing mattered anymore, so why not do everything she could to fight? Why not take out her frustration on a man that was apparently not her friend? How often did an Iiji get to go all out?

A wild smile twisted Ilirianna’s face as she gazed up at that orb of darkness, anticipating what it would feel like to claw the traitor out from within and cut him open. She hoped she wouldn’t have to wait much longer, and it seemed he felt the same, for the darkness of the night was turned on her almost instantly as attacks rampaged towards her from every single direction. Even so, she was not afraid of this overwhelming strength, for she was far stronger than him.

“Phoenixio,” she cast with a soft laugh as blue fires erupted from her body, encompassing her in their scalding embrace as her feet rose from the roof. Normally, the fires would take only a wild and uncontrolled form, but this time, they began to resemble the eternal bird of myth as wings spread out to either side of her and a beaked head stretched above her own. It was a power that should have made the traitor hesitate, but the shadows continued towards her unimpeded, so she met them head-on with a blast of blue fire from the phoenix’s maw, the ground and debris turning molten as it exploded beneath the attack.

Meanwhile, even though she had a feeling the traitor figured out her trick before, Ilirianna opted to use it again anyway as she cast Condite to form ropes around the handles of her swords and connected them to her wrists. This enabled her to throw her swords the way she had against Keskivaara before, but with them connected to her arms, they became more controlled. The flames of her phoenix tore through the traitor’s shadows, and anything that broke through was sliced apart as Ilirianna threw her swords and flicked her wrists to swing the fiery blades in an arc around her, their heat and illumination besting his darkness.

The house beneath her was completely destroyed, but just before it crumbled to rubble, Ilirianna cast Proto and blasted through the shadows, her phoenix protecting her as she plunged into the void. She could sense her opponent’s location, and with so much defense, she did not fear delving into the heart of his magic. Once again, her powers destroyed his, and soon enough, she had reached the roiling mass of blackness where he was concealed.

With so much magic in her vicinity, Ilirianna could hardly see what was happening to the street, but the sounds of destruction as fire and shadow clashed told her that there would be very little of it left once their battle ended.

But who cares? Nobody’s here… Nobody’s gonna die but him, so why should I care?! I’ve never been able to fight like this! This is fucking exhilarating!

She realized then that she was laughing, her arms moving purely on instinct as she swiped away anything that got close to breaching the flaming shield. Unfortunately, the traitor must have realized he was about to be overwhelmed because the orb protecting him suddenly blasted outwards in a repulsion that could not harm her, but managed to push her back towards the road below. Ilirianna landed on her feet, momentarily wondering why he would release his defense, but in the midst of all that mana, she just barely made out his personal signature moving away from the ruins of that neighborhood.

Shit! He’s heading towards the survivors again!

The Proto she cast in pursuit of the traitor utterly destroyed the ground beneath her as she was launched into the sky faster than almost anybody could move. The second she emerged from the fires and shadows down below, she caught sight of a smaller mass of black gliding through air, and as she suspected, he was making for the mana-dense section near the base of Castle Saientia.

If he reaches the people, I won’t be able to go all out, and there’s no telling whether he would hold back or not! He’s already helped kill the civilians of this Ring, so what reason would he have to spare the rest?!

“Ilumine!” she roared, increasing her speed further as her body turned into light.

Ilirianna streaked across the sky, closing the distance between her and the traitor within seconds. Having lost her phoenix when she departed the neighborhood, Ilirianna pulled her swords back to her hands and canceled Condite just as she reached her opponent. She suspected he would sense her approach, so she was unsurprised that the shadows exploded outwards to meet her midair. She could feel her mana weakening, and she had a bad hunch that conjuring more blue fire would finish her, so given his dark affinity, she turned her focus towards light magic.

The Iijis’ Cansi heritage gives us control over dark and light magic, but Mother has always urged me to focus more on the base-five affinities, so I don’t have a ton of practice with it. That being said, it’s all I have in my arsenal right now, and I think it’ll be more effective than mere orange fire.

Sending light into her blades, she cut down more tendrils and intended to send a thrust into the orb protecting the traitor, aiming for where she hoped his heart to be. She didn’t want him to have any time to react, and since she could sense the survivors close by, she knew that this was an attack that would decide victory. Sending more light magic into her arm than she ever had, she made her gamble, her arm flashing forward to pierce the blackness, only for the skin and muscle on her right arm to explode in a spray of blood, her bones cracking and contorting while her sword tumbled from her grasp, never even reaching the shadows.

She didn’t even get a chance to process the pain as her eyes flickered towards her shattered limb, providing the opening the traitor sought. Her body was instantly engulfed in darkness as she was sent hurtling down towards the city. She could feel them stabbing her arms, her legs, and her torso, and through the pain, she just barely managed to magically defend her vitals as the rest of her was shredded by the traitor moments before she slammed into the road and lost consciousness.

***

Got her! Nigreos shrieked within his mind, glee and relief overwhelming him as he watched the Princess plummet into the Fifth Ring. That’s what you get for standing in my way! Iiji or not, I was not going to lose!

The dark mage glided in the direction his opponent had fallen, knowing he would be foolish to assume a mage like her had died on impact. He couldn’t afford to turn his back on her impatiently, so he brought his feet to the road and turned to gaze at where he knew she had landed, a wild grin twisting his features in anticipation of victory. It was then that he realized just how close he had been to the survivors, his head snapping to his left upon sensing a presence not far from him, only for the cloud of madness that had taken him over to dissipate the instant he and Abigail Reiner made eye contact. The nature mage was around twenty yards away, standing beside Iris Mackia and surrounded by stunned survivors of the combustions. In fact, there were survivors all around the block, some being healed by Iris and the Saientia nature mages while others were helping the city and castle guards. He was surrounded by eyes gazing upon both him and the unmoving, bloody Princess that had preceded his arrival, but despite the dozens of people, he could not avert his gaze from Abigail's horrified expression—like she was gazing at the most vile and despicable person she had ever met.

After everything he had just been through, his mind could not catch up with the present as his lips turned to mutter, “Abi—?”

A fist collided with the side of his head so ferociously that stars erupted in his vision, his already battered and weak body crumbling the ground as his strength gave. He didn’t know who had struck him at first since Abi hadn’t moved, and it was only when he received another punch to his head, accompanied by screaming, that he learned who and attacked him.

“What the fuck have you done?!” Ryokumo Caeli snarled, the wind mage practically throwing himself on top of Nigreos as he repeatedly smashed his fist into his skull. “You fucking traitor! You piece of shit! What the goddamn hell were you thinking?!” A punch snapped Nigreos’s nose, only to be followed by one that took out a handful of teeth. Blood was pooling up in his mouth as he tried to cast a spell, but he was gagging on the liquid. And even if he hadn't been, Ryokumo was attacking him so fast that he wouldn’t have had time to breathe. “Die, you fucking traitor! You’re supposed to be our friend! We’re supposed to be teammates! What have you done?! Die, die ,die, die, DIE!”

“Caeli, stop!” came a cry from somewhere distant. “Get off him! Come on!”

“No, I’m gonna fucking kill him! He needs to die! Let me go, Glaus!”

“Damn it all, Caeli!”

Somehow, despite his blind rage, Ryokumo was pulled off of Nigreos, who knew that this was his chance to fight back and get away. But for some reason, perhaps because he had overexerted himself, he could not get his magic to work nor could he speak any incantations, and before he knew it, he’d been aggressively turned onto his stomach, his arms yanked behind him as handcuffs were strapped around his wrists. He realized too late that they were mana-suppressing cuffs. With no means of struggling, he could do nothing but lay there, choking on his own blood and teeth, as he was cut off from his dark magic.

“Mackia, help her! Please!” Ryokumo was shouting desperately. “Save her! Save Liri!”

Shit… The Princess isn’t dead… No… I need…to get…to Luna… Let me go! Let me go, damn it! Fuck you all! I need…to go…!

***

Ryokumo Caeli watched with bated breath as Iris crouched over Ilirianna’s ruined form, pumping as much nature magic into her body as she could. The Princess’s right arm was barely still connected, and there were parts of her where he could see the bone. Her legs and left arm were stained bright red, and her face was so scratched apart that he feared even nature magic wouldn’t be able to eliminate the scarring. Luckily, her torso was mostly together, indicating that she’d been able to protect her vitals at the last minute, but she was barely breathing. She was on the verge of death, and at Nigreos’s hand of all people. Beside him, Rennigan had a hand on his shoulder as he, too, watched with a pale expression as Iris tended to Ilirianna. He would never have thought Rennigan’s presence could be as comforting as it was, but he was more than grateful for him being there.

“I think…she’ll live,” Iris murmured after a moment. “But I don’t know how much I can do for her. We need to get her to Saintia’s head healer. Where is he?”

Rennigan shook his head. “By the gates with Lord Cartigan, I think. Shall I fetch him?”

“Please,” the Kotonorish answered. “Thank you, Glaus.”

Giving Ryokumo a quick nod, Rennigan took off around the corner, towards Castle Saientia. The wind mage watched him go, wondering why he stopped him from killing Nigreos. The man was a traitor and had played a vital role in Faye’s death, as well as the death of everybody else who were taken by the combustions. And now, he may very well become Ilirianna’s murderer, too. He made a note to ask him when they got a chance before sparing a brief look at Nigreos’s still form a few yards away, laying silently on the road, his hands having been cuffed by a trio of city guards.

I could still do it… he thought as the intrusive thoughts crawled back into his mind. I could go over there, take my sword, and plunge it into his neck before those guards even know what happened. I just don’t get it… All these years we’ve spent together, and he threw it away for the Kosah-Rei. He and Lunara both… Ryokumo shook his head. Perhaps killing him is too much of a mercy. Maybe I should let him suffer for a while… He scoffed. You were one of my best friends, Nigreos. I would have died for you. I really thought you felt the same, but I see now that I was fooling myself.

“Her breathing is stabilizing,” Iris said suddenly. “I’m running out of mana, though, but if Glaus can get here quickly, she should be okay.”

Ryokumo nodded. “Right… Thank you.”

It was then that he realized Abigail wasn’t around, so he glanced off to his right where he knew she had been when Nigreos descended, only to find her missing. He frowned, scanning his surroundings completely, but there was no sign of his close friend. A nasty feeling crept into his chest, and though he didn’t want to entertain such a depressing thought, he knew he’d be a fool if he didn’t. Before he could think better of it, he whispered,

“Mackia… Where’s Abi?”