Beyond Alive

< Loyalty
## Dream Eaters

Atticus swung his shield to deflect the pieces of the die, and they reformed in the air in front of Yaakov.

The Dream Eater held out his hand and the die was pulled back into his cloak. Silently, he approached Atticus at a calm pace.

"What do you want?" Atticus asked, stepping back. "Look, I know this doesn't look good, but I can explain. Serapis jumped me and I had to fight him off."

"Is that why you have one of his swords and a chunk of orichalcum?" Yaakov said, placing his hand on Atticus' shoulder.

*I need to figure out how to defeat this guy...and fast. He seems to be invincible, and I don't think he's going to fall for my playing dumb act for much longer, especially not after I already attacked him.*

"I don't really know what to say here," Atticus answered, quickly fading away and teleporting to the cliff standing above Statnodim. There's no point in fighting him, I have to abandon my plan and get out of here.

A shadow passed over Atticus, and he turned around to see Yaakov once again. He kicked into Atticus' stomach, sending him flying against the stone monolith that faced the towers. Atticus began to fade from consciousness.

He opened his eyes to a desert vista. Dunes of crystalline sand stretched across the horizon. In the distance, he saw Yaakov. Then, two Yaakovs. Four. Six. He readied his shield.

The figures surrounded him, each capturing a different shade of the iridescent landscape in their glass tesla coils. They each places their hands in a triangular formation, and began to bring forth a sphere of energy around Atticus.

With his wits returning to him, Atticus felt a sense of panic and scurried to lift himself off the ground. Surprised that he wasn't in any pain, he stood and took in a view of the attackers.

Beams of light began to pierce the sphere, and the Yaakov doppelgangers began to reform into one body. Yaakov returned his hands to his robe.

"No need to fight this. Who set you after us?"

"With the scope of your abilities, I thought you would know the answer to that already," Atticus answered, surprised at what he was saying. Without thinking, words continued to come out of his mouth. "After all, you set this into motion."

Closing his eyes, Atticus focused and the background around them changed from a desert to a small campfire in the dead of night. Atticus and Samuel were shown sitting close together, the visible shapes of their companions laying on the ground. The two were speaking in hushed tones, shooting glances towards the others every now and then.

"Doctor Brownlee. " Yaakov said, satisfied. "You aren't here to kill Xanvi, you're just a puppet on a string. Even Serapis' killing wasn't entirely your own doing." The sphere surrounding Atticus closed tighter. "My own mercy with Samuel led to this. How pathetic."

"I'm not a puppet," Atticus answered. "My mind is clear, much clearer than when you were messing with it."

"Don't make me laugh." responded Yaakov. "We all saw how you've been doing in your training."

"My training, hm?" Atticus asked as the landscape changed once again. This time they were outside of Statodnim, and the vision played was one of Atticus during his training. As his mentor watched, Atticus fumbled and failed to teleport properly. He kept missing his mark.

After a moment, the scene changed again - this time it showed Atticus by himself and managing to complete his tasks well.

"Looks like you might be worth my time after all. That's a clever trick. It would have eliminated you as a suspect for Serapis' murder if I hadn't been tasked with keeping watch over this place." Yaakov conjured the die back into his hand. "Now I'm interested. I want you to try and fight me off. Break my hold on your mind."

Materializing one of Serapis' curved blades in his left hand, Atticus charged Yaakov and swung towards his neck. The Dream Eater lifted his hand and blocked the blow, laughing as he pushed against Atticus and knocked him backwards.

Regaining his footing and standing firm, Atticus threw the blade towards Yaakov's forehead. As it flew through the air, the blade warped and changed form, becoming a bullet.

Yaakov held up his finger and the bullet un-sectioned, splitting into numerous bits of shrapnel and harmlessly peppering his mask. "Quick thinking. Clever." He held his hand up and formed a glass disc, hovering in the air. Swinging his hand down, the disc began to spin and launch towards Atticus.

As it struck him in the chest and shattered, Atticus fell to his knees and began to gasp for breath. After gaining his second wind, he stood back up and flung his right fist towards Yaakov's face, successfully making contact.

Yaakov recoiled at the punch, and to Atticus that seemed like a victory, no matter how small. "You're resilient." Yaakov raised his hand and grabbed Atticus' fist. He pulled the boy's pinkie finger back, breaking it. "Crafty, too. It's a shame there aren't many like you on Euclid." The pain pulsated through Atticus' hand.

## Silivia

Uriel surmised a rough picture of Silivia through his binoculars. He felt a tinge of remorse for the humans: the general was used to a fair fight, not an attack on a civilian settlement. They would have no time to prepare. Yet, he reminded himself, they had been warned. The Svatovid had repelled the earlier invasion. That would not happen again.

The order was for the city to be destroyed. What remained was to be commandeered for Sabaoth use. Uriel would not disobey an order, especially one given by Ezekiel himself.

Chris threw off some roofing that had fallen on top of him, looking through the rubble. This couldn't be the end for the place he had called home for three months, and it couldn't be the end for his friends either. "Blossom?" He called. "Marshall?"

With no one answering his call, Chris looked in distraught at the scene around him. The mansion had been completely destroyed — all the walls were either collapsed or burning away in a heated heap.

In the distance, Chris could only see pillars of smoke and ignited flames. Every now and then, he felt the ground rock, implying that the attackers weren't finished. His eyes scanned the piles of rubble, looking for any sign of life.

*I can't be the only left. I have to start clearing this rubble now!*

Dashing forward, he began grabbing any piece he could, using his android strength to chuck it away from him. He continued digging and throwing until he noticed a hand sticking outwards. Jumping over a smaller pile, he grabbed a larger piece of a wall and threw it aside, revealing a bloodied Lisa. After feeling her pulse and confirming that she was still alive — although unconscious — he pulled her upwards and carried away from the rubble. After placing her on the ground, he turned to face the giant mess again.

"Chris?"

The voice came from behind him. Glancing back, he noticed Lisa staring at him, still laying on the ground. "What happened? Where is everyone?"

"The building was attacked by unknown forces and it exploded. And from what I can see around town, this was just the starting point. It's the end of the world," Chris answered.

"But where are the others?" Lisa coughed out, attempting to sit up. Placing her hand against her head, she looked at Chris again. "You didn't answer that."

“I wish I could tell you,” Chris said. “But my best bet is they’re under these piles of rubble. I doubt anyone could have escaped.”

Li sprung over large spalls, where piles of fragmented beams laid. He left his cane lodged in the floor tiles. While the old man sprinted down the burning ochre corridors of the mansion, he caught a glimpse of a person filing into a room — Blossom. Li managed to catch the hem of her sleeve, stopping her.

"Mister Li!"

"Get to the Laboratory of the Unexplainable — Site B. It'll keep you mostly safe. The game's afoot, Blossom. Go!"

After sorting his way through debris, he arrived outside. Li knew this was no time for morality so he did what anyone *could* do. He stole a nearby station wagon and drove it to his home at *Plant Empire*.

Li threw a brown coat on over his suit, donning a wide fedora, too. He quickly shoved some various prized plants and other valuables into a few boxes. The world outside the shop was an ashy, apricot glow. He would miss it. Li carried the boxes to his truck out back where Da awaited.

In the Alchemilian tunnels below Silivia — which were usually inaccessible to civilians — a scientist and his assistant pulled a wagon of various parts to their destination: Site B. The tunnels were white and clinical, much like Alchemilia Corporation itself, and they were lit by fluorescent white paneling.

"I hope they're alright," Beth worried.

"The roads aren't safe. Reports show that these aren't any ordinary attack. They appear to be highly organized; the angels are targeting key Silivian locations: the hospital, the police station, the barracks, and—" Richard zoomed in on his tablet. "Oh dear. They've bombed the governor's mansion. May the Powers help us all."

They made it to an access-locked metal door, in which Richard entered a code. The door whirred open revealing a secret lab where he worked on personal projects.

Jordan brushed some rubble off of himself. He thought he could see a pair of legs buried under slats of wood, and removed the wood, revealing Marshall. "Chris? Someone? Help!"

Marshall placed his hand on Jordan's forearm and pulled himself up. "Fucking hell..." He shook the dust off of his head, looking around at everyone else. "What are you all standing around for?! We don't have time to sit here like slack-jawed idiots!" In an instant, the boy took off towards what looked to be little more than a lump on the ground. "Governor!"

## Nuyö-Dyavol Coalition

*Savannah felt like she was floating. Images breezed past her, memories of her former lives. With each memory, she felt urgency, an urgency to fight. Voices blended together, each word becoming harder to distinguish than the next. Faces appeared before her, faces she recognized but couldn’t name. She knew there was something, something important, she just couldn’t remember what.*

Savannah woke up, gasping. It was still dark outside; she hadn’t slept for long. She got out of bed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep, not for a long time, the sense of urgency still lingering. She walked over to her desk, and scanned her room. It wasn’t very big and only had three pieces of furniture: a bed, a closet and a desk. It was a bit dull for her taste, but it was the only things necessary for her stay.

She thought about going to the training room to work on her sword-fighting techniques, but decided against it, as it would seem a bit odd to start training in the middle of the night. She looked at her desk and picked up a book she’d found lying around somewhere. She took a deep breath, standing up straight, memorizing the shape of the book well before closing her eyes. Her reality manipulation was getting better but not as good as she would like it to be. If she wanted to be able to control it, she needed to work harder. Her eyebrows knitted together, and she squeezed her eyes, imagining the book was made of clay, and she was shaping it, ripping it in two. The book shook, bending a bit and stilled. *Almost,* Savannah thought. *I just need more practice.* She sat at her desk and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes, before returning her attention to the book.

Savannah's focus was broken when she heard a knock at her room's door. She rushed to open it, finding Cicero on the other side. His right hand was hidden in his coat, though Savannah noticed thick bandaging up his forearm.

"Good morning," he said. "Are you well?"

“I’m fine,” Savannah said. “Just couldn’t sleep. What happened to your arm?”

"The two of us have been betrayed. Some of my higher ranking associates have attempted to launch a coup." Cicero began to pace around Savannah's room. "Because of you. They'd rather wage endless war for profit instead of focusing on real change. Improvement for demon lives." He put his hand on Savannah's shoulder. "But I know better. So do you."

“I guess so.” Savannah nodded.

She gently pushed back Cicero’s hand and walked over to her desk, picking up the book.

“I’d love to help you but... I can’t seem to get a grip on this whole reality manipulation thing. I’ve been training but I haven’t been able to make much progress.”

"Listen," Cicero said, "Look around you. Look at Euclid. Think of what you're capable of." He smiled at Savannah. "Your only limitation is time. Once we drive the angels out, even that won't be much of an issue."

"Even if I get control over my abilities, even if we can restore Xeren's soul, how are we supposed to defeat the Powers?" Savannah snapped. "A demigod, a demon army and maybe, *maybe* a single god against the largest collective of reality manipulators in the universe. Xeren could barely defeat Vritra in single combat: what chance do we have against all of them?"

Cicero closed his hand into a fist. "...How hard is it to have some faith?" He closed his eyes and breathed in. "Have you heard of what happened in Midgarde? It's another world, like Euclid or Eden. Dasim learned a story from my father. Seven or eight mortals deposed their own god. It just takes a little faith."

"That's still only one god, not all of them. Blind faith isn't going to do us any good." Savannah countered. "Maybe violent confrontation isn't the best option here?"

Cicero sighed. "I know how it sounds. Violence isn't always the answer." He continued. "But you can't reason with monsters. They need to face justice."

 S2: