Descent Into Carnage

Knowing that everyone around you has already died once doesn't make it easier to watch them die again. Tiam learned this as they watched flames fall upon the bronze rank shopping district like dark judgement. Many of the people escaped the blast, as expected of colosseum competitors, but many more fell in cries marred only by the sounds of buildings crashing to the ground. In just a few seconds, the Dragon levelled an entire district with a blaze that never diminished.

'Leo! I know you're in there!' Tiam aimed their blade at the throat of the monster. It scarcely seemed bothered by the gesture, and turned its eyes upon the burning land. Was it enjoying the carnage? 'I heard you call out to me. This beast isn't fully in control, so say something!' Tiam dodged a random bullet of flame, then charged the Dragon in hopes of taking its attention away from its handiwork. They blitzed over it with masterful speed, then cut into a wing. A satisfying ripping sound confirmed the blow, and Tiam moved away before it could react. It should have faltered or fell altogether, but it didn't even take its eyes from the destruction.

A large plank of timber splintered against the beast. 'Get back here, coward!' Jun loaded another large piece of wood onto his shoulder and beckoned for the creature to come. It grunted in response, then sent a single tiny flame down so fast that it struck Jun in the chest and knocked him onto his back in less than a second.

'Leo, what did they do to you?' Tiam shook their head. 'How did I let this happen? I should have stayed by your side.' The monster didn't respond, once again. It was much too preoccupied with the destruction and people that burned below. A new type of pain hit Tiam. Smallness. Tiam didn't matter to this thing and–as a result–Leo.

'Look at me!' Tiam cried. 'I'm your friend! Tiam! I've been here all along. Don't you see me?' They already knew all the answers, but refused to let that be their end. Something warm spilled down Tiam's cheek. Their vision blurred. 'I thought we were friends. I thought we were the best of friends. I really like you, Leo. You're the most driven person I've ever met, and I'll be damned to Hell if I don't see you through to your goal.' Tiam clutched their face and furiously wiped the stream of tears on their face.

'I just… I think Hazel is really lucky to have you looking for her, and I would love to meet the woman that drives you to go through all sorts of torture just to see her.' Tiam puffed their chest out and focused on the eyes of the Dragon. 'Honestly, my goal isn't power anymore, but to see you and Raphael achieve your goals.' Speaking of the archangel, he really needed to show up about now. 'I think the afterlife will be so much better if the two of you achieve what you want. So please, look at me.' Tiam raised their blade slowly. After all of that, the Dragon didn't even lift its head. Somehow, Jun worried it far more than Tiam could. That would need to change.

'Then farewell.' Tiam let a surge of power bend through their chest and out into their limbs. Shining white cuffs wrapped around their wrists and ankles, burning with a harmless white flame that ran up their arms and legs. The energy wrapped around them, like a translucent set of armour. They bent the flames across their sword, turning it into a single white torch. This wasn't a power granted by a sponsor, but instead manifested from Tiam's combined abilities. Finally, the Dragon turned its head. 'Too late.' Tiam launched themself through the air, blade arcing across the back of the beast and splitting it clean in two. Everything but a single entity inside the beast was cut, a human body. Leo.

Tiam landed on a rubble pile with the clatter of a few broken roof boards. They managed to stand so they could watch the Dragon fall. The gigantic beast's body drifted apart, its cries swallowed by the sky and crackling destruction. Finally, the fight was over, and Tiam had never felt prouder of their strength. They waited for the body of the beast to dissipate so they could find Leo, but it took longer than expected.

'Tiam,' the beast said. Its split halves turned to face Tiam, both laced together by black strings and dark flame. 'Die.' The beast released a rain of flames that tore across the ground and blitzed through the rubble. First the blaze encircled Tiam. Then one great fireball launched from between the Dragon's horns, black as ink.

Tiam wanted to fight back, to defend themself, but there wasn't time for that. The battle was about to be over in a fiery death. This wasn't fair, not one bit. They merely lowered their stance and waited for the impact. Bracing for the horrible popping and burning, Tiam wasn't aware of what moved past them, but something put out the flames around them. The fireball split into two with a spray of brilliant multicoloured gemstones that broke into sparkling powder along with the dark flames.

'I don't believe this. What happened to him?' A long and gentle hand took Tiam's, lifting them to their feet. Dressed in his usual white cap and baggy clothing, Raphael brandished a gentle smile that overtook any terror that had won over Tiam.

'Raphael.' Tiam nearly cried again. 'It's a long story, but we were right about his friend.'

Raphael slowly nodded, with a soft, doe-like sadness in his eyes. 'I'm glad we came when we did, at least.' The mention of another drew Tiam's attention to a figure that zipped around the Dragon with bursts of multicoloured crystals that propelled them. A woman dressed in a white tank top and trousers leapt over the Dragon, driving it to roar in frustration. Her dark hair was tied up into a topknot and brilliant green eyes refracted light every time she turned to face them.

'Who…' Tiam trailed off as the woman punched straight through a bolt of black flame without even flinching.

'That's a good friend of mine,' Raphael said with electric wings sprouting from his back and lightning racing down his fingertips. 'She's one of the archangels, like me–Selaphiel.'