Life or Death?

A cold tremor ran through me, causing my blood to run like ice. Unable to even watch Jinx slowly unmask herself, a vortex of darkness swallowed me whole, transporting me beside my Knight, with her arm plunged through the chest of Yu Jing.

"NO!" Cleo howled, cleaving her sword towards Freya.

"You foolish thing," I muttered, blinking away as a powerful barrier repled Cleo away, blasting her out of the dungeon cell. Shadowstepping past her body that would have crashed into me, my eyes rested upon Yu Jing, watching her eyes snap open and slowly lose the light within its depths.

"Mas—"

I lifted my hand, stopping the words of Freya from reaching my ears, 'Take your arm out of her chest cavity." I said, amazed by my calm. Bending down while Freya followed my direction, blood began to bubble from her mouth as she struggled to breathe. "So this is the end, isn't it," I said to Yu Jing, watching the red bubbles pop from her lips.

"Zantar, he—" She tried to explain.

"I said stop talking," I softly interjected, taking Yu Jing into my arms. Her slender body trembled as blood pooled from her chest, staining my fingers.

"Big Sis," Ty tearfully muttered, placing her hands upon the young chosen, who shuttered. Her mouth opened, but words simply failed to sound. "Big Sis, don't die. Ty doesn't want you to go!"

Tears filled Yu Jing's eyes, slipping down her blood-stained cheeks. "Ah-Ah-Ah"

I glanced at Ezra and then at Yu Jing, whose body was slowly turning cold. She was a God, one with a powerful body. Her life force was terrifyingly strong, but she was missing both her legs and a single arm. And with Freya's foolish action, a heart.

Touching her in between her breast where Freya's arm once was, the darkness swelled into action as I created an artificial heart to help run and maintain some of her organ functions.

"I'll get help. I hope we can salvage this situation."

"MASTER, ZANTAR HAS HER!" Freya screamed, bellowing at me. "She is nothing more than a pawn! We can have Ren—"

"Freya, do not speak again." I softly commanded, trying with my all to tame the flame. The burning, agonizing flame, thrashing against my heart, searing my insides as I wished for nothing more than to—

I took a deep breath, allowing a vortex of darkness to swallow me whole, taking Yu Jing and Ty with me. I appeared once more beside Jinx, "Get me, Avar! Now! And all your best doctors!"

Snapping into action at a moment's notice, Jynx flashed like a lightning bolt. Whipping outside of the atrium, she vanished from my gaze. I lowered my eyes to the skin that felt like shards against my flesh.

I could not just change someone from the original seven and decide who gets in or not. I needed those of the Bed of Chaos, who was literally perfect in almost every way. Ren is powerful, rivaling the Chosen, if not even more powerful, but…he lacks a powerful body. He is a fully-formed human in every regard. Ren's bloodline comes from the power he molded; there is nothing special about him aside from my sister choosing him.

If I could change anyone, I would have simply used one of the random fools of Shadowfell. That would make everything simple. That foolish thing was blind. How could Freya—

My fingers clenched, tightening around Yu Jing, whose cold body slowly began to tremble. Looking her dead in the eyes, I saw a look of genuine fear for the first time—a look I had seen only in those about to die. Death was a concept everyone feared. Even those brave enough to charge into death's embrace, I wouldn't say they did not feel fear. They merely push through it.

There was only one race that didn't fear death. And that were demons or devils, the Fiends of Hell. They do not fear death but the torment that would never end.

But even the Angels feared the primordial concept of death.

Seconds passed as our gaze remained locked, and in a single moment, I felt the air fluctuate, and I knew Avar had arrived.

"Aunty A, please save Big Sis!" Ty cried, her palms stained with the blood of Jing.

"I need your help. Can your cybernetics do anything?" I grimly asked, thinking of the Order of Chaos that could be screwed just from one simple misunderstanding.

Standing by her side, I noted a well-dressed soldier standing at attention. He was taller than Avar, but I saw a strange tattoo around his collar, almost like flames stretching up towards his cheek.

He had a buzzed top and a tight jaw that carried weight upon his solemn expression, flicking between interest and disregard, "She has lost too much blood, and with her missing limbs and artificial heart, the chances of—"

"She has a demonic bloodline in her. It should be able to remedy the issue of blood loss. I just need to know you can handle her. If you are not interested, then I can say for sure she has a strange type of energy within her that will turn your world upside down." I quickly interjected if they could not help. Arkanos was my last hope. She had all the knowledge of the Abyss at her disposal, but she was far too young and had too close of a relationship with Yu Jing. Out of all the Chosen, Yu Jing was the only one to care for her the most, with a mother's love.

I could not say that Arkanos had it in her to be objective. Based on Ty right now, filled with tears, I can say Arkanos would be in the same boat.

Shit! Damn that woman!

"I will help, but Arsene, the chances of her living is less than five percent, and that's just based on the strange energy I felt Arkanos use. If we add in other factors, the odds drop quite significantly." Avar said, walking towards me; she opened her arms for me to hand Yu Jing over.

Sucking in a deep breath, I nodded, " Just do what you can. I will see what I can do from here." I responded, thinking of the Hells. I hadn't made a contract in a while, but it was my only hope, that or Asmodeus or Levi, wherever the Hell she is.

I handed Yu Jing over.