“The nature of humans is twisted with the potential of love, but the aptitude for violence”

They dash now to the next village, now panting and growing tired of the long run. Yet they would persevere and arrive to the town in peace, not in flames. To their relief they had made it with time to spare, but they hurried to the town center to warn the people there.

They wasted no time to find a good spot to warn the people of the Legion’s transgressions. Nova followed the Goddess as she prepared to make the announcement, and hid in the crowd. Around were many stalls and shops among the square. There were many buildings around mainly for shopping or commercial purposes. Along the buildings, mounted high on their walls, were many big screens displaying various advertisements and the sorts. Pyrium reached the center and spoke in the booming voice of a God, “People of Kykry!” She burst into flames, conjuring her true form, “Heed my warning! Those who lead your nation seek to destroy you, the Legion of Haelion has already burned the town of Briedon and slaughtered its people and I fear Illustria has already fallen victim to the scourge.”

The towns’ people looked among themselves in confusion. “For your own good you must flee from here to where it will be safe!”

Among the crowd shouts of people cried out, “Lies, the news already showed us the truth!”

Another said, “It was you who burned those people!”

The Goddess looked in confusion, “I am Pyrium, Goddess of Flame and Honor! I would never slay the lives of the innocent and good!”

More the people cried lies, until the big screens on the buildings sides all changed. They changed to the news station where footage was shown of the burning towns of Briedon and Illustria. Then showing the Goddess casting her fire at legionnaires. Those of the people who were reluctant were now furious or scared. The Goddess tried explaining, but the voices and uproar of the people grew louder, almost drowning out the Goddess entirely. Then gun shots directed at the Goddess were fired, and the crowd became violent. Everyone feared for their lives with the Goddess in their presence, or they were angered by the forged news that they believe in. Now everyone shifted their attention from listening, to attacking the Goddess.

Nova witnessed this and pushed through the crowd yelling out to Pyrium, “Run!”

In her flames she flew away from the crowd and rejoined Nova as they both ran. They ran down a street of the square, but then found themselves blocked. Suddenly out of the buildings legionnaires ran out shooting at the Goddess. Nova and the Goddess backed away due to the heavy fire coming from the direction and ran down an alley. As they ran the Goddess stopped and Nova looked back. “I shall fight them.”

Nova looked at her in confusion, “What? No, we have to keep moving.”

“I will not run any longer. I am Pyrium Goddess of Flame and Honor, I should fight the Legion and restore my name!”

Nova burst out in frustration, “Then what? We would fight the entire Empire after and be hunted by the people themselves, innocent people who don’t know the truth, the one people we can’t go around killing!”

“And what of the Legion, should they not answer for their crimes?”

“Then what would you say when innocent people get caught in between?!”

The Goddess fell silent and after a moment they began running again after hearing the closing roars of the mislead people.

They kept running through the labyrinth of alleyways and dashed though the streets in hopes of evading the mob, but hope of doing just that seem fading. Nova panted for air, but the adrenaline of the situation kept her going. Every opening and pathway she saw, she thought about the possibility of hiding, but never given a chance. The Goddess seemed more frustrated than tired, continuing to contemplate whether Nova is right to not stand and fight. Times the Goddess has lagged behind, trying to find an excuse to stand and fight, but still contemplating if Nova is right.

They ran down an alley and saw that there was an open door. With quick thinking Nova and the Goddess ran into the room and shut the door. Nova looked around and it seemed to be a store room leading into an office complex. Nova scouted the rooms and it appeared to be empty, but even still the Goddess and Nova quietly snuck upstairs and found a room to hide in. They sat and Nova took a breath while the Goddess seemed visibly upset. They sat there for a moment until Nova looked and noticed the Goddess gleaming with a faint orange glow and realized how furious she seemed. “I understand that you think it’s best to stand and fight.” Nova sighed, “But this is our only option for now.”

Hearing that the Goddess seemed to glow brighter. They sat in silence for a moment until Nova blurted out, “Are you going to just stand there?!”

The Goddess looked surprised and glared, “You dare talk to a God like that? I would stand and die fighting, the only reason I am not doing so right now is because Annaliese agrees with you. Telling me that if there were an innocent to be caught in the cross fire then I would regret it. You see it better to run, but running is something you have always done. Your entire life you ran instead of fighting when you can!”

Nova was shocked, as if she had been hit with a hard blow. The Goddess realized that she was blazing hot, glowing red. She took a breath, “I’m sorry, I’ve over stepped my bounds.”

There was tension in the air and Nova finally spoke after long moments, “What do you mean by that? How would you know me? You don’t know me!”

The Goddess calmed down and ceased her glow. “Listen…” the Goddess said, “you are… you never were…”

Before she could finish, something big shot through the window and hit the wall behind them, creating a small impact crater where it hit. They both paused in question, but then quickly hit the floor when a volley of fire came through the windows, mixed with flying bullets and cannon shots. The shots whizzed over their heads and hitting the back wall and various office equipment. The shots were endless and Pyrium called out to Nova to get behind her. As she did the Goddess warned her, “Cover your ears!”

As she did, the Goddess raised her hand towards the gunfire and a short beam of light emerged from her palm. Then a large explosion devastated the side of the building creating an opening and smoke to cover their escape. Without hesitating they ran through the smoke and down to the ground as the shooting had shortly stopped. They ran out on the streets to cross to another alley, but soon found themselves surrounded by a mix of soldiers and civilians. They stood there thinking for a second, but then there was shooting from among the crowd. Pyrium circled themselves in a blaze of fire, causing them to be pushed back by the heat. “What do we do now?” Nova cried as the crackling roar of the flames tried to drown her out.

Pyrium thought for a second and looked at Nova, “We go back the way we came, down the alley. I’ll create a wall of fire to block them off, but keep it open long enough for you to go. I’ll cover you and keep them busy.”

“But what about the civilians in the crowd? You can’t just kill them!”

“I know…”

From that, Nova processed what she meant and protested back, “No, we leave together!”

“NOVA!”

Nova stopped and fell silent, “I’ll be fine… just… don’t look back…” The Goddess rose and gathered her breath. Nova got up as well, looking down almost looking like she was going to cry, but instead she bites her tongue and looks up, “Ready.” She says.

Pyrium puts her hand on Nova’s shoulder, “Be ready for whatever comes next and don’t stop moving forward.” She turns towards the direction of the crowd and Nova gets ready to run. After a short moment, the Goddess screams out, “Now!”

The flames encircling them drops and Nova starts dashing towards the alleyway. She can see the wall of fire rising up, but a narrow opening remained for her. In that instant everything seemed to move in slow motion. Bullets flied towards her missing and cannon shots launched some debris in her way. Suddenly the volley of bullets stopped and as Nova neared the wall she decided to look back. She could see the Goddess fighting off incoming legionaries and pushing back people attacking her as best she could. More bullets and cannon shots flew at Nova, but the Goddess jumped in their way, shielding Nova. Nova almost stopped to turn back, but kept moving. She could still see the Goddess blocking the shots as the bullets turned to sparks while the cannon shots teared into her flesh. A shot into her leg as she kept fighting, bringing her to her knees, another in her side and shoulder, each leaving a crater mark in her body. Soldiers before her were slain as she continued to fight. Pyrium looked back at Nova, who is now past the wall of fire. Nova looked in distress while Pyrium looked at her smiling while blood dripped off her burning face and blood spilled from her wounds. A final cannon shot in her back put her down and the wall of fire closed the way for what will be a short while. Nova clenched her teeth and fists, in anger for a moment, then continued to run.

She dashed down the streets which seemed empty, to her surprise, and the outraged cries of the misinformed people slowly faded and were drowned out by the crackling of fires and the sound of Nova’s footsteps. At first she was tired, only thinking about when she could stop and take a break, but after the sight she saw this day, her mind was only filled with the image of the Goddess’s face in her last moments. Her face burning with the light of fires, strong and violent, but the last look of Pyruim before she fell was not pain nor anguish. Instead in those last moments, there was an encouraging smile on her face. With her eyes closed and mouth in a sweet grin, blood stretched across her face and raven black hair, it was all as if nothing was wrong. Nova must have thought of this over and over as she continued to run mindlessly. She must have been fueled purely by anger and adrenaline, because when she finally realized how far she ran, she came to realization that she didn’t know where she was or what she should do now. She looked around in confusion and then heard that the cries of the angry mob and how close they seemed already. Fear struck her heart again and so her first instinct was to continue to run.

She began breaking in a full sprint down the alley and looked back over her shoulder, in the direction of the mob. She tried to determine where it was coming from until, suddenly, she found herself on the ground. She looked up and saw a boy standing there and realized that she had bumped into him. Looking at him he had brown, short hair in a side swept style and hazel eyes. He was somewhat slim, He was wearing grey pants, brown shirt with a black vest, although his clothes seemed to be worn down a little, but still looked presentable. He looked at Nova in curiosity, “What’s the hurry?” He said. Then they both noticed the mob sounding much closer. Nova got on her feet to run, but the stranger told her to follow. He ran ahead and in a moment Nova hesitated then proceeded to run with. They ran through the mazes of alleys and streets. This boy seemed to know the area well as they navigated without delay. On the way they opened doors to pass through buildings, and jumped over some fences. Soon they arrived at a fire ladder and climbed up to the top of the building. At the top they then crossed over some rooftops to a hidden hatch, they quickly opened and went inside. Nova leaned on the wall catching her breath, while the boy peeked out the hatch, slightly, to ensure they weren’t followed. He deemed the coast was clear and attended to Nova. He examined her and could already tell that whatever she did to cause a mob, she would need a lot of help out of the town.

“So, I guess it’s not every day you start an angry mob of crazed townsfolk huh?”

Nova looked at him but then decided to be silent, “Not the talkative type I see,” He said, “Well small talk isn’t going to work then. Umm…. Well my Name is Finis, Finis Vitae.”

He approached to shake Nova’s hand, but she reacted in the wrong way. Quickly she twisted his arm and preformed a take down. With her free hand she took out her dagger and placed the tip at his throat. Finis eyes were wide open and he gulped, “My friends call me Finn though.” He ushered, “And your name?”

Nova realized what she just did and backed off, releasing him and putting away her knife. “Nova…” she said. “Well then.” Finn said while rubbing his throat, “Welcome to my home I guess.” He gets back on his feet and dusts himself off, “Please, make yourself at home.”

Upon saying that, Nova looked around the room. It was small and dimly lit by only candles and a few solar powered lamps followed by three windows on the far end of the room. There were a few support beams scattered across the room, and most of the furniture looked old and worn. However, looking at some other things such as some of the appliances looked fairly new.

“Sorry about some of the mess!” Finn said, “Never thought I’d bring a girl home to be honest.”

Nova continued to remain silent, “Well I guess I’ll watch TV.” He turned on the TV and began flipping through some channels while Nova went to the windows to eye the streets. As Finn changed channels he stopped on the local news, “For those of you just tuning in, I repeat that, Pyrium, the Goddess of Fire, has been slain this morning in a town what seems to be Kykry. Legion reports on the instance says that following the burning of the towns Illustria and Briedon just yesterday, it is confirmed by eyewitnesses that the Goddess appeared in the shopping square of the town and began attacking yet again. However, thankfully to the Legion and the town’s makeshift militia the Goddess was subdued.”

Nova heard this and was hit with both shock and outrage. She replayed that bit of dialogue over in her head slowly, ‘thankfully to the Legion and the town’s makeshift militia the Goddess was subdued.’ She played it in her mind over and over, remembering the events of the day so far. How it was going to be a day where she and the Goddess would save the town from its coming oppressors. How it would be that she would be saving the lives of the innocent instead of running away from it. Instead she found herself hunted down by those she sought to save and the very ally she had was now gone by the hands of the Legion. Yet despite all the anger she felt right now, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right, she felt as if they had lived this day before. She feels as if this day should not have been going the way it is, that instead the warning should have worked and revolution against the Legion’s transgressions would be at hand now. However, no matter how many times she tried to explain to herself why this day feels so wrong, the more she confused herself and so she decided to dismiss the thought all together.