Shadow Slave

Pretty soon, the distant horizon turned hazy with a myriad of flying horrors. The scene was eerily familiar — the only difference from their last attempt to destroy the Devouring Cloud was that, today, the landscape was illuminated by pale moonlight.

And that there were a few less Irregulars standing watch on the wall.

Sunny silently observed Winter, who was preparing to unleash hell. Once again, she was surrounded by several mysterious Memories, and once again, a cohort of Awakened used their Aspects to augment her powers.

He stood several distance away in the company of Master Jet and Dale. None of the three were going to participate in the ranged barrage, conserving their potency for the sortie to hunt down and kill the Tyrant. The atmosphere was tense, but not as oppressive as the first battle against the harrowing swarm.

On the alloy battlement in front of them, a man in leather armor was sitting with his eyes closed, meditating. The falling snowflakes swirled in strange ways around him, as if following invisible paths.

He was one of Dale's Awakened, and someone of whom Sunny knew — the man possessed the Ability to open stable spatial rifts, and had been one of the candidates he had considered when assembling the cohort. Since no one knew where the Tyrant was going to fall after having its wings cut by Roan, the strike team would need to get around the perimeter of the wall fast.

…If Roan succeeded.

"Gods…"

Hearing Dale's quiet whisper, Sunny observed south and saw arcs of thunderbolt dancing deep within the distant swarm. His face paled a little.

"They're... inside it?"

It seemed that Roan and the Awakened of the White Feather clan were leading the Devouring Cloud to the city with the smell of their own blood.

Suddenly, the task of slaying the Tyrant of the swarm seemed even heavier than before.

'So what? Nothing changed…'

Sunny had some contingencies, at least. Saint and Nightmare were currently guarding one of the breaches in the wall. Should the three Masters prove inadequate, his Shadows would help them reach and kill the broodmother of the swarm… or was it a father?

'Who cares?'

Sunny clenched his fists and watched as the horde of flying horrors swiftly drew closer to Falcon Scott. Soon, the city defense systems opened fire once again, and so did Winter.

The mass of brood beasts obscured the sky, drowning out the light of the moon. In front of the swarm, a horde of Nightmare Creatures moved, seemingly as desperate to escape from it as humans would be. Caught between the Devouring Cloud and the wall of Falcon Scott, they launched themselves at the alloy barrier, dying in scores under the barrage of bullets and arrows.

Somehow, today's battle felt more frenzied, more dire. Shrieks and howls of abominations fused with human shouts, all disappearing into the rustle of countless leathery wings.

A dark expression appeared on Soul Reaper's face. Gripping her glaive, she said:

"Hold. Wait for the signal."

At the moment, everything depended on Roan and his Awakened. They had to lure the Tyrant forward and bring it to the ground, so that the three elite Ascended of the Irregular Company could sortie out, find it, and finish the creature off once and for all before it escaped.

Seconds passed, then minutes, but the promised indication was not coming.

Sunny felt his nerves reaching a breaking point when a swift shadow suddenly fell from the sky. It was not a brood beast, however — instead, it was a young Awakened woman wearing the white colors of her clan, her armor decorated with beautiful etchings of hawk feathers… and marred with blood.

Sunny remembered seeing her several times in the Sanctuary, back when Sky Tide had still ruled over the Chained Isles.

The young woman landed gracelessly on the battlement and staggered, barely keeping her balance. Then, she observed around, took a step toward Master Jet, and stumbled. Dale caught and supported her, his face grim.

Soul Reaper frowned.

"What happened to sending us a signal? Where's the Tyrant?"

The young woman gritted her teeth, and then said hoarsely, her voice full of ire:

"Two. There's two of them…"

It took a few seconds for her words to register. Sunny cursed and observed at the dark mass of the swarm that obscured the sky.

'Two Tyrants? How does it make any sense?!'

Jet's face twitched. She stared at the young woman for a moment, then asked evenly:

"So where are they?"

The Legacy leaned on Dale and turned slightly to face the Devouring Cloud.

"The… signal…"

As if answering her words, two radiant spheres of light suddenly appeared in the distance, tearing through the darkness. One deep within the swarm, across the killing field. The other, unexpectedly, was even further away, but in a different direction — to the west of the city, near the ocean. The Devouring Cloud had barely reached there.

Her job done, the young woman from the White Feather let out a sign and slumped, losing consciousness. Dale barked something, and one of his men — most likely the healer — took her off his hands.

The three Masters briefly glanced at each other.

Master Jet uttered a swear that would have made Sunny blush if the situation was slightly less dire, and then smiled darkly.

"I guess we are going to have to split up."

She observed between the distant spheres of light, then sighed and moved her shoulders, as if to loosen the muscles.

"I'll take the southern one. Sunny, Knight… you two go west and deal with the second Tyrant. Get it done."

Sunny blinked a couple of times, then took a step forward.

"But…"

She raised a hand, stopping him.

"That's an order. No time to waste."

With that, Jet began summoning a Memory. Before the whirlwind of white sparks even manifested into reality, Soul Reaper was already moving, leaping over the parapet of the battlement to disappear into the haze of falling snow below.

Sunny gritted his teeth.

When he turned around, there was a shimmering portal in the air in front of him, leading to the point on the western wall not too distant from where the sphere of light still burned in the air. Dale was already heading toward it, his helmet weaving itself from light.

Sunny followed.

Before stepping into the spatial rift, however, he sent a mental command to Saint.

Not a few seconds after Soul Reaper landed on the ravaged ground beyond of the killing field, a dark rider leaped through the breach in the wall, and followed.