=====ENTRY #619298712=====
It’s quiet. Too quiet.
The world around them was deathly silent—so silent that it was unnerving.
After getting accustomed to the sounds of war that Strife had sown throughout the Holy City of Okhema, Leeseo never thought that the final moments before confronting the mad titan, Nikador, the embodiment of strife on this planet, and the sole progenitor of all of this chaos, would be filled with nothing but silence. It felt unusual. It felt unnatural. It felt like something was off.
Leeseo turned towards Liz, who lugged her Furiae greatsword with much difficulty by her side. Liz glanced to Yujin, whose own blade was held out shakily in front of her, the hilt jerking in her weak grasp. Yujin turned to Leeseo, whose posture was hunched forward, knees trembling like bridge joints on the verge of collapse.
The three looked at each other and found that none of them were breathing. None of them were speaking. None of them had dared to even move an inch forward or away from the teleportation device that they had just exited.
All there was was silence.
A single leaf curled in the air, twisting and turning, before blustering past. The atmosphere was so still that the crinkling of the leaf as it bent and curved could be audible by all three of them with ease.
Glancing down the path ahead, Leeseo traced the distance with her eyes alone. Rows of still trees rooted into large circular patches of potted dirt remained unmoving. The water that pooled to the sides of this walkway barely stirred—not even to the beat of their pace. The air was still. It was almost as if they were walking through an image frozen in time.
But the moment they reached the foot of the stairs leading to the entrance of the Marmoreal Palace, they were reminded that this wasn’t a figment of their imagination. That this wasn’t a dream—or perhaps, a nightmare. The pounding of their hearts against their tightening sternums made it abundantly clear that this was all real.
That this was all very much real.
Yujin’s dried lips scraped against each other as she parted them to speak in a raspy tone. “Deathly silence is the proud resonance of Nikador’s war drums. Behind that curtain of water is where he’s most likely waiting for a challenge. That’s our battle arena for today.”
The two Nameless stared at the waterfall pouring down from above, ending in a small canal that split off into smaller channels around the circumference of the building.
This is the Marmoreal Palace.
Settled atop a flattened mountain on one of the hills within the Great City’s territory, this remarkable structure was where Nikador awaited them. The palace itself engulfed the landform it rested upon with rows of arches supported by colonnades that were erected vertically, ending with a large dome. The arches themselves seemed open, allowing a view of the heavens above from within. The entrance they were staring at was a majestic round arch framed with doubled-column pillars decorated with tympanum—very elaborate, very elegant. Concentric arches were formed through the insets and decorations within it that emphasized the grand entryway into the opulent establishment.
How could such a refined structure such as this be the site of a gruesome battle? Leeseo couldn’t fathom the thought that they were bringing ruin to a place as treasured as this.
Before she could even fully plant her foot onto the first step, Liz raised, “So … we’re just going to go in there and fight Nikador?”
Leeseo paused, shifting to Yujin in hopes that she would have a plan. But even the blue-haired girl coughed up nothing. “Well … how do you plan against a god? Have you ever done that before?”
It was Liz’s turn to come up empty-handed. “Touché. Still, this isn’t a good idea—just going in blindly and all. We have to act swiftly and decisively. We cannot waste the opportunity we have right now to launch a surprise attack.”
The ground rumbled gently in response to her budding vigor.
Yujin rubbed her nape and sighed. “I hate to break it to you, but … I’m sure the mad titan already knows we’re here.”
“What?”
She lifted her hand and gestured all around them. “She’s arrogant. She’s hungry for glory. Why do you think not a single Furiae was stationed here? Whoever would come to meet her would be dueling her to the death. Because that’s how you overcome strife.”
“Alone.”
Leesep gripped the handle of her bat a bit tighter now. “So she won’t be expecting the three of us … right?” she continued, trying to come up with an idea herself. “From what your friends have been saying, it seems like she was only expecting you. If destiny is real and all that, and if Nikador knows of fate, then … then she’s just expecting you. The two of us can back you up while you lead the assault.”
Yujin nodded, lips puckered in thought. “I like that plan. Flank her and attack all at once?”
Liz seemed hesitant, but right now, they had no better options. “Fine. Do you know anything about Nikador? Anything that could come in handy at all?”
“He’s called the Lance of Fury,” Yujin explained in a bit of a teasing and mocking tone. “I’d avoid the lance if I were you.”
Moving up the stairs leading to the waterfall entrance acting like a door, Leeseo froze as she took one step with her right foot.
“Are you ok—HNGHHH!”
A migraine crashed onto the three of them in unison as the the three girls all clutched onto the central railing. Leeseo tried to steady herself, not allowing her sudden sensitivity to light and sound affect her, pushing down the nauseous feeling back into her gut. Just like when they were within Chaewon’s aura of death, the edges of her vision now began to thrum and throb, filling her eyesight with a border of hot orange.
The young girl pushed herself onwards, gripping the metallic rail to yank herself forwards and up the steps. But the closer she got to the curtain of water, the more intense her vision burned until it was outlined fully with a bright crimson hue.
“Who’s … NGHHH who’s screaming …?” she spat out, rubbing her opened palm against the side of her temple. “My head feels like it’s going to rip apart!”
Liz growled as she dug the greatsword between her legs, unable to fully latch onto it without dropping it. “This grating sound … it’s tearing through my mind!”
“Stay strong!” Yujin warned, grounding them both. With two hands on the railing now, holding herself as if she was belaying against the side of a mountain, she grunted. “Keep it together! Remember all that you live for and everything you value. If you can’t do that then … think of death. Maybe death might keep you alive.”
As soon as Yujin pointed that out, memories suddenly began flashing in Leeseo’s mind.
“Leeseo~ Come on, over here, silly! Let’s take a picture by that Clockie statue!”
“Leeseo … I told you to stop calling me that. But … I’ll let it slide since you bought me some snacks.”
“Oh my, Hyunseo. That blazer looks good on you. I guess you can now call yourself a Trail-blazer, right?”
“Leeseo … don’t do this. Don’t you dare do this, Leeseo.”
Shutting her eyes, Leeseo could still hear it like it was just yesterday. The memories were still fresh in her mind, echoing with the pounding of fist against glass.
“Don’t do this! You don’t know what you’re doing! This is not a game!”
She could still feel it. She could feel the rattling of the carriage from Yujin’s anger. She could sense the tension in her chest as she looked at her weary face. She could still fear the fright that shot up her spine as the carriage began to crash down into the planet.
And then, there was dread.
The screams of the people of Izphoreus as the Furiae attacked them. The breaking of bones, the wailing in pain, the rumbling of explosions, the spilling of blood—it all came back to her in an instant, swirling inside her gut, causing her nausea to bubble and gurgle deep within her.
When she opened her eyes again, she was sweating profusely, veins popping on either side of her face and neck. The others were no better as they seemed to endure the same difficulty, the same struggle.
The same strife.
The image of the headless citizen flashed into her mind once more. She pictured herself in their position: immobile, lifeless, dead. She imagined her companions ending up the same way. She would have been to late to save them. She would have proven herself too weak to protect them.
She would have failed them.
I won’t be like them.