The sky whips into a frenzy as Reios makes her way towards the shrine behind Raneko Village. The Great Eye coastline looks otherworldly, reflecting the purple, swirling madness above. Her breath doesn’t come easy, her wounds are many, but she pushes on towards the lone figure ahead. A wave of power almost knocks her off her feet. A red/black energy, like the blood of the land itself, explodes from the central stone as the figure plunges his sword into the shrine.
“Your cultists send their undying love!” she shouts against the swirling storm, “...or maybe undying is the wrong word”. The figure turns, his long hair billowing as the red energy whirls into his blade, slowly charging with power. “Another insect refusing to be squashed,” he leers. “I’ve underestimated your kind before. I won’t do it again.” He rushes her. She knows she has one shot. Spinning, the Old Wolf throws the shuriken dangling from her cloak at the figure, he nimbly dodges aside but it gives her enough time to execute her real gambit. She uses the momentum to continue her spin and launches her battlehammer just as the figure makes contact with her. She cries out as her ribs shatter. The hammer strikes true, not the figure, but the sword, and the dark energy sputters and swirls into a red and black portal. A hideous screech, as if something has been wounded, and then the portal expands revealing an island: brilliant crystals glistening in the sun; buildings of strange and foreign design.
The figure leaves her broken, and moves back to his sword. Lifting it from its stony mantle, he begins to laugh. Her gambit failed. His relief is palpable. “You are but a trifle. It is done. I finally have it. The key to bringing order to Eucos!”
Blood seeps from the Old Wolf’s mouth. Her vision – from her one good eye – begins to blur. This must be it. She reaches inward. Faith. “Auros, give me strength.”
Her blood begins to boil. The heat of a thousand forges pulls her to her feet. Reios – mercenary, leader, devotee – launches herself forwards with a primal fury. “THAERIEL!” she yells. Her voice no longer her own, but deep, resounding, divine. She moves impossibly fast, throwing her whole weight into the figure, and the momentum sends them both over the edge, straight into the portal.
A third and final explosion ripples through the air, and the portal disappears. The ocean calms, and the clouds break. Bird song returns, and the Great Eye has never looked more at peace.
