End of prologue:- Chapter 5: Sacrifice

Vena

I could barely move while I stared at the hand gripping the building, cracking the wall as it peeked its head from the corner. Tethus, Luth, Seytham and the surviving soldiers were deathly quiet, as was I. Standing in full armor and taller than any Man, Sark or Sikos transformation I'd ever seen, Arik, the king called it. It stepped forth from the corner, it's full form becoming visible as it stared us down through the diagonal purple slits I assumed were it's eyes. The rough armor it wore shining clearly a deep silver, reflecting the moon's light almost blindingly. The creases that dotted his chest piece were sharp enough to impale someone on it, with hands that looked more like armored claws and a twisted metal face piece that's top jutted out like horns. But the worst of it all was the silence it gave off. I couldn't hear any breathing, any sound at all from it, as if it weren't alive. It continued stepping forward, slowly making its way towards us. My blood ran cold with fear as i begged myself to move away, my legs seemingly stuck in place while it inched towards us. 

Tethus was the first to react, taking in a sharp breath of air and turning to it with a steely glare. He yelled and directed the scream to the row of buildings Infront of it, dust arising from the impact and causing them all to collapse and block the road. He turned to the 3 of us, hastily saying, "That'll buy us minutes at most, we need to make a dash to the gates, now!" Before starting to sprint back towards the marketplace. The soldiers that remained from the original group sent to apprehend us didn't attempt chase, seemingly not caring about our escape now that the king sent his loyal dog to get us. I ran without thinking as Tethus lead us all through the empty nighttime market. Seytham, still in his Sikos transformation, carried Luth on his back while he ran on all fours behind me. The silhouette of the city gates became clear as we made it halfway through the market. "For Helsam's sake… the gates are already closed. We'll have to break them ope-" Tethus was interrupted by a golden beam that cut a line in the ground ahead of him, destroying the row of stalls that were infront of us and stopping us all in our tracks. 

"Hey hey hey, what's the rush all about?" A voice directly above us said in a lazy tone. We all looked upwards to see a pale and lean man with wavy light brown hair, wearing a heavy closed trench coat. He leisurely chewed an apple in hand as he sat atop a blinding yellow circle in the air. "I'd heard Talisia was a rowdy place but I didn't think it'd be this loud." He said as the platform he was standing on moments ago changed into golden stairs that allowed him to descend to the ground. He walked down it's steps, hands in his pockets, with a non-chalant grin plastered on his face as if he was standing in front of children instead of four criminals. "Only been here two weeks and you guys are the third group that's stirred up trouble. I'm starting to see why that king of yours always leaves his work to that guy in the armor." I saw Tethus in the corner of my eye scowling and tightening the grip on his sword, Seytham and Luth both eyeing the newcomer with caution. Meanwhile, I focused on those golden constructs and his accent. My mind went back to the cottage earlier, of Seytham's words about foreign mercenaries with Sikos that the king hired, deducing that the man infront of us must be one of those mercenaries. "Hey there, name's Malik, pleasure to make your acquaintance." He gave a halfhearted bow as he introduced himself to us. "Now I'm sure you people are sensible and wouldn't wanna cross the big guy you left back there, so why don't you just surrender now huh? I've seen him get mad and I'd rather not wipe the blood off my clothes today." He said as he pointed one finger towards us, the tip of it shining brightly yellow. 

 I quickly pulled out my whip and tried striking him before it was shot out of my hand by the same yellow beam from before, making me drop it to the ground. Seytham wasted no time and leapt straight at the mercenary, intending to bite him in half. Malik whistled lightly before Seytham was sent flying backwards by a familiar large silhouette, slamming him into multiple stalls. After the dust from the impact cleared up we saw Seytham being held up by the throat by the king's right hand, before being slammed down into the ground. The impact of the slam destroyed the entire left side of the market and caused the ground to erupt upwards. Four golden walls formed around Luth, Tethus and i trapping us in place and blocking the debris from hitting us. "No tricks from you, your screaming Sikos can be quite a handful from what I've seen."the mercenary commented. 

Tethus glared at the man, and judging by the look he gave him, was probably thinking on the best ways to chop off his head. I gripped my bleeding fingers and stared daggers at Malik through the golden wall, a frown now on his face. "Come on, don't make this more difficult than it needs to be. I ain't really fond of killing." He confessed. He turned to Tethus, raising an eyebrow at the elderly man, "damn baldy, if looks could kill I'd be dead right now. Listen it's nothing personal alright? Everyone needs a job man. Your's is whatever this is, mine's doing whatever I'm paid to do."Tethus kept his hand upon his sheath before responding, "people like you make me want to vomit." 

The mercenary raised an eyebrow at his statement, seemingly intrigued as he retorted"says the criminal.""you know of what that bastard is, what he's done, and yet you still choose to work for him. For money of all things, and you speak as if you have morals? Dignity?" Tethus spat on the floor on his last words, letting them hang in the air before going on "a long time ago, I heard a story about Mikra, the continent. Mikra's famous for it's wildlife, I'm sure you've heard, but one particular one caught my interest. The Calun. Apparently the mothers of their species care for their young until they die, and if they're in any danger, it's said they'd go so far as to kill itself to protect them. That story always baffled me, how the mother would willingly throw away her life just for the chance, not even the guarantee, that her children survive." Me, Luth and the mercenary were all watching Tethus. "I wouldn't expect one like you to understand the meaning of that. To fight for something and chase after it for the betterment of others. My home, my friends, everything I ever knew was lost to me because of that excuse of a man that you work for. Tamos lost his mother and his life, Marla lost her home and her childhood and how many other innocent people all suffered cause of that man and his blind cruelty. So don't you dare speak as if it isn't personal!" His declaration made Malik step back, unsettling him even through the walls of our makeshift cage. This guy, no wonder Marla told us to come get him. I could see now how and why he started the movement against the royalty. That anger he showed, it felt nothing less than genuine.

Behind us, a far larger unit of soldiers from the one sent prior entered into the half-destroyed market. Their eyes glued upon the armored brute holding Seytham's unconscious form into the ground as they raised their weapons towards us. I saw Luth glance between Seytham and the dozens of armed guards before slumping down onto the ground seemingly giving up. I was tempted to follow his example, I didn't see anyway we'd leave this situation alive. I glanced towards Tethus, hoping he had a plan. However, the look of pure conviction within his eyes startled me. "Luth. Vena. Seytham. I haven't thanked you all yet." All of us except the king's right hand and Seytham looked at Tethus, Malik and the soldiers gawking through the yellow walls. "Before today i had lost my way. I thought I'd die without purpose, without being able to ever topple that stain of a man. Today, you all helped me see how far I fell, how much I'd forgotten my resolve. That's why I can't let any of you die here." 

I watched as Tethus dropped his blade onto the ground, looking up at the glistening and starry night sky. He took a somber deep breath, "It's a beautiful night tonight. Vena. Please. Tell Marla… tell her to never stop. To remember us. To remember why." He finished as he looked at me. My eyes widened at his words, not being able to piece what he meant. "Arrionis! Hear my plea! Take my comrades home, ensure their safety. For that, I offer onto you, my life!" He yelled to the evening sky. The soldiers quickly realized what he was doing and pointed their weapons towards our direction"Mercenary, put down the barrier, now!" The voice of a soldier cried out to Malik as the group of them prepared to rush us with their spears. Malik stayed still, pursing his mouth while staring at Tethus. The golden walls around us stayed up, serving as protection from the weapons of the soldiers.  

Suddenly, a voice as deep as the oceans rung throughout the entire capital city. It's sound almost made me crawl up into a ball as it uttered four words "I ACCEPT YOUR SACRIFICE." Before a blue and white light started enveloping my body. In the corner of my eye I saw the light cover Luth's body as well as Seytham's body under the massive palm of the king's right hand. Tethus' looked at me and Luth, a solemn smile upon his face as his body started cracking and breaking away like stone. The last thing I saw was his form crumble into dust and blow away before my vision went white.