Set On Her Death

The dome around everybody tightened as much as possible, with the strands shaking from being pulled so hard.

I got up out of cover, worrying about what would happen next. I need to go get Sky now.

I pushed myself off the upturned rocks and crawled out of a small space to close the distance, but just as I suspected, the dome blocked me.

It was starting to solidify in front of me as I watched it tighten even more, beyond what it was capable of, and closed off my vision from Sky and the others.

I sat, with my weird flickering eye, and watched the strands move within the dome. Luckily, it wasn't soundproof, so I was able to hear some things go on within it.

Sky was talking with his mom right now... I guess it didn't really affect me as much as it did him, but he was sobbing now. He was asking her some questions, I could tell by the expression in his voice as his sentences ended.

"I was lost in hatred. Promise me, Sky... Promise me you won't end up like me. Promise me you won't let that Wrath control your life..." I heard from Ali.

I turned my body around and slid down the side of the dome while looking at my White Stone. This doesn't feel like a moment I should eavesdrop on.

I didn't have the heart to tell Ali that the same Wrath she dreaded had been controlling Sky this entire time...

Thinking about all we've been through, it was inevitable... that would be the easy way out, to say it like that.

We're stupid kids, but they were stupid adults as well. The only way to fight aggressive stupid is to kill the stupidity. It's all we know. Kill... kill... kill... get rid of our problems by killing them... there has never been peace in our lives... of course, we would be consumed by that Wrath. It's impossible not to be.

Or... is it...?

I turned my head, watching Ali's heartbeat come to a close while tucking my head into my knees.

"There you are, Dani. Did... did Dad win?" Faith snuck up on me after leaving Providia and scared me senseless.

"Jeez... yes, Sky won. But... he doesn't seem to be happy..." I told Faith while looking back into the dome.

"I have to get in there before he tries to kill Mom." Faith said, looking all around the dome for a way in...

Oh? Wait, Faith doesn't want Sky to kill Illya...? Sky wants to kill Illya?

Did he regain his memories?!

"Hey, Faith. Does Sky have his memories back? Why would he want to kill Illya?" I quickly asked her before she walked off.

"Well, yes, he does. He wants to kill Illya because of everything she's done here. She's caused a lot of pain for his friends... but that doesn't matter! Mom is a good person... this is just a tough situation..." Faith muttered.

My eye began to twitch.

"Just... a tough situation... you say? Hey, how old are you, Faith?" I looked at the browned-haired girl with anger behind my eyes.

"I'm eleven... why?" Faith asked me in return with a curious stare.

"Then, you're too young for me to beat your ass for saying that. This isn't just a tough situation, Illya robbed Sky of his memories and put him through this suffering, she's already dead in my book." I explained, getting up on my feet and looking at her.

"This suffering? Being what, that he got a life with his friends? A life where he knew his parents and grew up smiling and growing strong? Is that the suffering you're referring to? How much do you know about his life in The First Trial, Dani?" Faith asked me.

Son of a bitch...

I've just been parroting everybody's ideas this entire time... but, I do have one reason for all of this if nothing else.

"I'm here to save somebody, and I can't do it if Illya has her hands on them. She's playing offense right now and would kill me if I talked to her, so I may not know anything about Sky's life or what he's been through here... but I do know that an enemy is standing in my way that will not remain. Since you're her daughter, maybe you understand her best. What are her weaknesses? Is one of them you?" I asked her.

And I stopped myself, realizing what I just asked.

I wiped the corner of my mouth and my eyes grew wide.

Shit, am I falling into Corruption already?

"I don't think you're ready for that answer. I'm quite expendable compared to Sky. To shift him into his Deity Form, my death was already planned." Faith told me.

My eye twitched again.

Dammit... the more I hear about this plan, the more it makes me mad.

I sat in silence, looking at the ground when chills shot up my spine. I could see Faith's body react in the same way as mine as we both looked inside the dome.

An ear-splitting shriek started to pierce the wall of the domes.

The shriek wasn't pain... it was anguish. Irritation... all that pent-up rage... it belonged to Sky.

The scream ripped against his throat and came out so loudly that I almost felt the need to cover my ears... but I also couldn't help but notice that as I was wincing, the flickering eye caught a slim opening in the dome.

I pushed my fingertips through the dome itself and started to pull against it. It was tough, like trying to push a house over... but I kept it open. I reinforced my arms and stared into the dome to get a clearer picture of what was going on.

Shike was... decapitated...

Ali was... dead...

Buusu was... injured, along with everybody else...

Something triggered in me as my eye turned to Illya.

To see her smiling.

My eye twitched again and a demonic voice rose out of my throat, seeping with a soaked distortion that poured out of the corners of my mouth.

"Illya..." My head started to shake. I could feel myself slipping... like this would be the fight... I need to control myself...

"I will..." I looked around, trying desperately to grab ahold of my emotions, but nothing would stay in my hands. My eyes lit up in an unmistakable rage that reeked of Corruption and I screamed out in even more distortion.

"KILL YOU!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Faith slipped in the small crack I had been keeping open with my hands and before I knew it, the dome closed on me and I was left outside, with rage pouring out of my bones. I fell on my back while staring at the sky...