Krystal the fox demi

Scythe heard the crack of thunder roar over the desert. She heard your scream alongside it. "Darli- Lualight?!," She exclaimed before doubling over. She had been struck with an excruciating amount of energy. It felt like her own soul and bones were being ground to dust while being alive. The energy tore through her horns and made sparks fly off her body. She clutched the pendant that you gave her as the power felt like it was tearing her apart. The air around her got dark as a storm formed over the ruins. The clouds were rapidly spreading over the lost Temple desert. The winds picked up as rain began to pour. She saw other vultures vacating the area. Her own mount was having trouble flying through the sudden storm. She flew back to the temple and landed her bird before going to find you.

The other members of the church tried to stop her before noticing the lack of your presence. The sudden hurricane strength storm started to drop sharpened shards of crystals that burst on impact. There was no doubt that you were the cause of the monsoon now. Scythe, alone, walked through the storm and to the ruins of her former home. She used her gear to slice through oncoming crystals and struggled against the winds, being blown down multiple times. She had to get you. Her baby. You were suffering, she felt your sorrow in the crystal on her chest and heard your cries on the winds. The gale forces were making her use all her strength just to walk closer and closer to the epicenter of the storm. Around her, each strike of Lua charged lightning bolt caused crystals to form on the sands. She held her hat on her head as it protected her face from the shards of razor sharp crystals that fell from the skies. The clouds kept spreading.

The storm clouds were rapidly expanding over the desert and began to reach into the other regions. Your tantrum was beyond what you could control now that it was charged by Lua. Your cries of sorrow reached even the outermost shadow of the storm, being carried on the winds. The first region it hit was the crossroads. The winds whipped into a frenzy as the inhabitants were immediately buffered by the gales. The water on the lower levels began to rage in waves that crashed onto the stones and bridges. Then the shards fell... Crystals fell like sharpened hail, Impalining those who were not able to get inside fast enough. An emergency broadcast had to be issued by the beloved idol duo, Flipside. The brothers tried to keep a brave face as the winds and crystals battered the windows as they began the broadcast. "Attention, residents of Crossroads and adjacent regions.," Valk started, "An anomalous storm has appeared and we urge all to shelter in place." Dom added on, "We urge anyone who finds others without shelter to help them until the storm passes."

Thunder roared outside the window as a flash of lightning cracked outside their tower. The sound itself made Valk jump. "Please be safe, everyone!," Valk said with a smile to reassure everyone watching. His smile was quickly replaced with a scowl and a howl of pain as his horns sparked. A painful mix of emotions and power flooded through him. Crystals grew over his little wings and prickled his hands. Dom was about to check his brother when the same sensation struck him. Crystals growing from his own body shredded his suit, he clawed at the growths, desperately trying to remove them as his horns sparked with an ancient power that was overwhelming his senses. The broadcast was cut off abruptly. Dom and Valk fell from their seats at the desk and doubled over onto the floor. Tears poured from their eyes, both from the emotions and the pain they felt. The production crew and the makeup artist started to frantically call whatever healers were in the area.

Slingshot and his siblings watched the storm batter the windows of the cafe. The customers inside were scared and worried after the broadcast cut off of their favorite idols doubled over in pain. Vinestaff gripped her crystal pendant. Her eyes went back to the windows after hearing what sounded like rocks hit the glass. She saw as dark crystals hit the glass. She looked down at her own, the crystal was slowly turning an inky color before sparking. The same sparks that were on the horns of the idols. The pink horned inphernal's eyes widened before being hit by what felt like a tidal wave. Sorrow deeper than what she ever felt hit her first, then the cold dispair, finally the rage and pain hit her. The flash of energy behind it made her scream as she doubled over. Crystals began to grow in a few of the crevices in her wooden arm. Shuriken was about to help her when it happened to him as well. Slingshot tried to stand it but could not and fell from the pain as well. Their horns sparked as they felt like they heard a scream coming from the crystals on their necks. The customers panicked or tried to help their beloved cafe workers.

The crystalline hail kept battering the windows, threatening to break the glass and tear the customers. The strikes of lightning outside left sheets of glass like crystals that began to sprout growths of even more sparking structures. Inphernals that were caught outside were dragged into nearby shops and businesses to keep them safe. Some used their gears to protect themselves and others as they hid in the shops. Traffic summoned his gear and sliced through a large crystal that threatened to a newspawn and their caretaker. He dragged the two into the library where Ghosdeeri was checking everyone for injuries. The pumpkin headed Librarian was writing down the storm and what it was doing before stopping. She gripped at the heart like organ inside her chest. Traffic could tell she was in pain. "Deeri, wa's goin' on?," He asked. Crystals were forming on the antler like roots that adorned Ghosdeeri's head. The sparking made the other inphernals back away. "Suffering.," Ghosdeeri answering in her chiming voice, "The Hornless suffers."

The storm raged and struck throughout the crossroads. Sword ran inside Zuka's training warehouse after the rain started. He looked outside as a lightning struck the yard, leaving a sheet of crystalline substance. The shards of crystals that fell from the skies impaled the training equipment he had previously been working with. He felt his horns begin to spark. He heard a weak sobbing. It was your voice. That was all he could register before the pain hit him. It was freezing, boiling and felt like he was hit with electricity all at once. He could hardly keep himself from throwing up bile from the pain and collapsing on the floor. Rocket hurried over to his howling friend, seeing his pain and the sparking energy from his horns. Rocket felt his metal arm get heavy and looked to it. From inside the joints, dark crystals were growing. His leg refused to work, causing him to fall over on the writhing sword. "Sword!," He gasped out as a crystal burst by the doorway. They did not know where the storm came from, or why it was so dangerous. The weather had never been this bad before. Rocket struggled to pull himself and his friend away from the windows and doors. The two young inphernals were trapped, watching the storm outside. They saw the form of a massive bird flying through the gales. Sword reached out to the shape weakly, "Venom..."

The two did not have to wait long. Zuka came to the warehouse in his truck. He drove inside the warehouse to retrieve the young inphernals. "Get in.," The former soldier said, "Venom told me to get you two." The soldier helped both to get into the truck before driving back to Da Shop. Zuka helped to carry Sword inside as Rocket dragged himself inside. Sword was laid out on the couch to let rest. A small ridge of crystals had formed over the scar on his cheek. Zuka did all he could to get both his son and Sword comfortable to ride out the storm. The former soldier saw Sword holding a crystal that had the same inky shade as the ones falling from the sky. However, this one was sparking and had some colors swirling in it. He recognized it as one that you gave sword. A crystal that you wanted to give everyone that you met and felt a connection to. He stopped as he looked back out to the hailing crystals. Zuka knew this storm had to be your doing. But how could something as small as you hold such a devastating power, and why did it emerge like this? He would have to call Medkit to fix Rocket's prosthetics after the storm blew over.

Medkit was not doing well. As soon as he felt the wave of your power crash into his body, He doubled over in pain. His horns felt like someone was trying to tear them apart from the inside out. Every nerve in his body was firing, even the ones in his missing eye. He could not stop writhing in pain. He knew this was your doing. The storm, the pain, the crystals that were now invading and covering his apartment and body. The stitched closed eyelid was forced open as a crystal pushed its way through. Blood seeped from the wound, covering the apartment carpet below him. Tears, blood and bile from throwing up from pain. The sheer suffering was something he would not wish upon anyone. Not even his old enemy. His screaming tore at his own throat, burning it more with his stomach acid. Even at this moment, he could not help but to wonder what caused you to released this storm? Why did your power go haywire. What made you so upset? The doctor tried to keep himself as safe as possible to ride out the storm and the pain that he was being afflicted with. He curled himself on the floor, wanting this suffering to end for both you and he.

The storm reached playground. Crater city was hit, but not as hard as the Splintered Skies. Windforce's followers gathered as many citizens as they could and hid them in the deeper temples. The soldiers did what they could to protect who they could, even opening their own barracks to the injured. Windforce herself flew through the skies, using her sheer power to knock away as many crystals as possible to protect her territory. "Damn kid.," She hissed, "What set you off so badly?" She sliced through a massive crystal that was about to impale some of her people, not seeing the second one. The second crystal hail slammed into her, burrowing through her armor and onto her shoulder. The wave of pain and suffering that was tearing into her mind and body was something she was fighting against letting consume her. She spat a little bile out along with glittering golden ichor, her blood. Her helmet as knocked off by the impact on some more hailing crystals. These burst as soon as they hit her, the shrapnel tore into her exposed flesh as another large crystal slammed into her. She was knocked out of the skies and impaled through her shoulder.

Another crystal was about to impale her when a hammer was swung and made. The crystal burst. Windforce was helped up by another massive inphernal. Banhammer had arrived. His horns were covered in sparking crystals and he was covered in cuts and his own blood. "Good work, Ban.," she grinned at him before pulling the crystal out of her shoulder, "Gonna need a damn healer after this." "I'll call mine from the Banlands.," Banhammer suggested and swung his hammer again. Windforce saw her son was fighting the pain like she was. They both had to keep the territory safe from this terrible storm. She could not help but wonder if her other siblings were suffering as much as she and her son were.

In the far north, a fortress was being buffeted by the hail crystals, yet nobody was effected. However, the lightning and energy was tearing through the electrical systems. Labs and materials were shut down. Steel guards that had once stood strong were now laying in the ground lifelessly, only crystals jutting from their false eyes and from their chests. The joints were also eroded with these sparking, bursting crystals. Anything in the fortress that had a crystal in or on it was affected. That included the head scientist. A rotten, raspberry pink living corpse of an inphernal. His howls of pain could be heard by all nearby. His horns were sparking with painful energy as the crystal suspended between them turned an inky color and began to grow uncontrollably. He fell from his chair and onto the floor. His rotten affliction paled in comparison to the sheer power that felt like it was tearing him apart from the inside out. He threw up the rotten contents of his stomach, a raspberry pink slurry mixed with some of his own blood and more microscopic crystals.

He called for his caretaker robot, yet it never came. The robot was filled with horrible crystals that were tearing its body. The scientist crawled to this intercom button to call his higher-ups, he leaked his horrible rot all the way. His rotten face coughed up more pink bike, staining the once clean lab with the putrid stench of his affliction. Nobody answered his calls. They were all busy with their own problems being caused by the storm. On the screens and notifications of the lab told him where the storm had come from. Lost Temple. And that the storm was laden with the ancient power of Lua.

High above the landmass, Venomshank and Sisyphus were fighting the winds and crystalline hail to reach the center of the storm. The origin of the sorrow and pain. Venomshank fought not only the crystal shards, but also the horrid power trying to push him away. Sisyphus beat his wings while dodging the large hail crystals that threatened to slam into him and tear his wings. "Lualight!," Venomshank called out. He hoped his words would reach you. He wanted to reach you to pull you out of whatever caused this tantrum of yours. They flew through the familiar desert of the Lost Temple. They got close to the old flaming ruins. The fires were uninhibited by the winds and rains. In fact, some were swirling around the Central column of the storm, protecting the core. Inside the storm, a central core column ringed by the shape of spawn symbols rotated around the cause. He saw you there. Crying in sorrow and rage, covered in crystals. Below, he saw another inphernal braving the storm. It was the one you called your mother.

Scythe was pushing through the winds and crystalline hail to get to you. Even as she was being pelted, even though her mechanical arm and gear failed to work the closer she got to you, Even as her body was getting heavier from the crystals growing and overtaking her. She had to get to you. Her baby needed her, you needed her. You were in pain and were so sad. Scythe wanted nothing more than to hold you once more. To tell you that you are okay. She kept pushing through. Scythe saw the shape of a massive bird overhead. She saw it was much bigger than any vulture. The green eyes and aura around it told her exactly who it was. One of the damned seven. Venomshank was trying to get to her baby.

She saw crystals were growing on his horns and that his gold ichor was pouring from under his mask. The bird he was on held steady, allowing Venomshank to make a precise slash to reach you. The slash broke the wind column, but it reformed quickly. Both of them could hear your sobbing clearly. You were suspended in the air by your Lua, floating with crystals swirling around you like a shield. The rains were torrential. Scythe was having more and more trouble getting closer. She started to panic. She would lose you once again if the god was able to get ahold of you. She could not let that happen. "Lualight, Mama's here!," She called out to you, "It's safe." You could not hear her.

Within your mind, all you could hear was your own crying. You would never see your parents again. They were dead. Dusty bones in the sand below you. Your mother, she would never be able to tuck you in, make you dinner, sing to you. Your father could never carry you, give you an afternoon snack, tell you stories. Your parents could never again tell you that they love you. You would never see their faces or hear their voices again. Those vacations you took. The times they drove you to school. The dinners and discussions you had. The good times you played together. The bad times you pulled through. All gone. Never to happen again. You would never go home again. Your Father would not be able to walk you down the isle at your potential wedding. You'd never be able to have a normal life anymore.

All because someone killed your parents. All because all of you were kidnapped to this place. All because you happen to be able to use this power. Your sobbing was louder than ever as you screamed again. The storm clouds answered with their thunder roar. They answered with the formation of bigger and bigger hail. You didn't know nor care about how much damage you were doing, or how much power you were using. You just knew you were hurting and didn't want to hurt. You wanted your Mommy and Daddy. You felt a tight and warm embrace grip you as you were pulled out of the sky. You and the other one fell onto the sands below. Golden blood dripped onto you, along with green saliva out of the broken mask. You heard huffing and a heartbeat. Clawed hands gripped you firmly, but did not dig into your skin. The impact was lessoned by the body below you. Venomshank had tears dripping into your little head as both blood and drool dripped from his mouth. His body was covered in wounds from the crystals that tore into him.

He could not move much. He could not stop Scythe from taking you from his arms. She would have killed him herself if her Gear still worked. She looked at the god laying at her feet. He had risked his own safety to get you. Even now, he was trying to reach for you. His own bird strenuously crawled over and covered his master. Scythe herself panted and limped over to where you lay, still crying. You were weakened. Some of the toxic saliva had seeped into your skin. Your mama used her only good arm to pick you up and hold you. Out of instinct, you hugged onto her. Scythe heard a weak but animalistic growl come from Venomshank. She only kicked his hand away as it reached out. The teal horned outlaw started limping back to the church as the storm began to lift. She was found by one of the scouts who was looking for her as the storm lifted. She was helped onto the vulture before being flown back to the church.

Even when she got back and was taken back to her room she shared with you, she did not let you down. She kept holding onto you, refusing to let you go. All Scythe wanted to do was to hold you, her one and only baby. She collapsed onto her mattress with you on her arms. She ran her good arm over your head, feeling your breathing. She stopped. You were breathing, but not like you usually were. This was different. "Lua? Darlin'?," she asked and tried to rouse you. You didn't wake up. Not to her calling your name, tapping your face, or pinching your cheeks. She held you close, feeling your weakened pulse. It felt like you were barely holding on. It had to be from the toxic saliva. Scythe held you closer to her, feeling your breathing and pulse. She will call Medkit to see you. But, she just wanted to be there with you now. You had been calling for your mother during your outburst after all. Other church members peered in to check in on you and Scythe. Some came in with permission to clean you two, removing the dirt and toxin from your skin.

Scythe tried to move her mechanical arm while holding you. It refused to move. Yet, the inky crystals that were growing from the joints faded into a clearer color. Scythe could not help but to wonder just how much of your power you used to make that storm. She wondered how far it reached and how much damage you caused with it. Scythe leaned her face against your head. "Mama's here, darlin'. Don't worry.," Scythe whispered to you, "I ain't going anywhere." She knew that Father Overseer would want to ask some questions later. But that can come later, now was just for you and her.

Venomshank lay on the dirt with Sisyphus over him. He was still lightly growling while clawing at the sands. Dark colored boots walked up to him before the all too familiar figure of his brother crouched beside him. "Wow, we haven't seen you like this in years.," Darkheart teased. The dark skinned god held out his clawed hand to his brother and pulled him up from the dirt. The wizard hat wearing sword let Venom lean against him as he made his way to a usable door. Not before stopping in front of the bones of the hornless he knew. "What a shame. Those two were nice.," Darkheart said while his smile turned into a frown for a bit while looking at the bones. Venomshank looked at the bones as well, so that is what happened. He let another tear fall from his eye. He still felt the aftershocks of your emotional outburst. Your sorrow for your parents. Darkheart helped Venomshank back to the house he lived in.

"Sword. Is Sword safe?," Venomshank asked his brother. Darkheart's ever present smile didn't falter, "He is still with Zuka. He is safe." Venomshank sighed in relief. He was glad that Zuka was taking care of Sword and Rocket. He knew that both he and Sword needed healing. And so did the rest of the inhabitants of Crossroads. Not since his creator had he seen such power. Not since Telamon left had there been someone capable of such creation and destruction. Sisyphus sat on Venomshank's chest while he rested. "I failed.," He said. "Perhaps. Perhaps not." Darkheart replied, "You were able to stop the storm, you saved many by doing that." "I failed to save her.," Venomshank retorted, "Lualight is still in Lost Temple."

Darkheart shrugged. "Would you be able to go get her?," Venomshank asked the wizard hat wearing being. The dark skinned god grinned mischievously. "We can only find her if she opens the door for us.," he replied, "That's the rules."

"All she needs to do is call us."

Grappling Hook looked at the doll in their hands, the doll that looked like their Ex wife. The child they found with the doll, the cause of the storm. They wondered where she came from. How could their ex have such an offspring? Was it a curse? Did Scythe spawn her in and get hit with the consequences of a single parent spawning? They remembered your cute round face and the large colorful eyes you had. The lack of horns and the softness of your skin. If only they had been faster, they could have stopped you from getting hurt and upset enough to cause the storm.

Another feeling rose to the surface inside of them. Just seeing you made them want to care for you like you were their own child. Their own spawn. Hook placed the doll on their bed before standing and walking out of their tent. They still had work to do. And by the swords they were going to do it.

A cloaked figure kneeled by the skeletons and gently touched the skulls. "What an unfortunate fate for you two.," came the voice from the figure, "Far from where you are supposed to be and killed by these demons." He looked out over the sands. "What a mess.," the figure said with a smile, "I will have to fix you two before I can find your child." The figure snapped his fingers and made the skeletons disappear. Back to the world they came from. Their lost souls that were hovering nearby also returned to their original world with restored bodies.

It was beginning to get late after you translated the manuscripts left for you. You were getting hungry and tired. You picked up the doll that Dollmaker made for you and went to eat before bed. You were greeted as usual by the family. Other newspawn held dolls of their favorite church members or themselves. You sat away from the other members to eat in peace while watching the others. As ordered to do by the Father. He did not want anyone to accidentally hurt you. You felt lonely. You wanted to talk to the other newspawn in the church and play with them. Being a newborn god was lonely. You missed playing with Rocket and Sword already. You missed your old friends from the world you came from. After you finished eating, you went to your room to retire for the night. You held the doll that was given to you, feeling comfort of having it with you. yet, you wanted your mama as well. You had heard that she was sent out to hunt down some heretics. You did not really know what it meant other than the heretics did not follow the church and The Father anymore. You heard of one. An inphernal named Katana. He left the church. When you asked for more information on him, you were denied. You were told it was too dangerous to know too much about that particular heretic.

You got ready for bed. You changed into your sleeping clothes and brushed out your hair. You brushed your teeth and finally said prayers before climbing into your bed. The Scythe doll was in your arms. You held the crystal pendant you wore for comfort as well. It was like you felt your mama's heartbeat through it. Not just hers, you felt like you could hear Venomshank's and Sword's. In the darkness and silence, your mind wandered. Wandered back to a faded time. A time where you had not been in the inpherno, instead in a world with others like you. Visions of people you knew floated through your mind. Hornless like you. Parents. Mother and Father. Your memories of them were fuzzy, but you could see a little of them still. You wondered if they were still alive out there, or if they are dead like you fear. You wanted to see your real parents again. To hug your mom and dad. To be read to before you sleep. To actually be a child again. Your new mama was a good mama, but she was not like your mom. You hugged the plush you were given for more comfort. "Goodnight.," You said to nobody but yourself.

Sword struck the training dummy with his gear, slicing through it. His first instinct was to want to show you before he remembered that you were not there anymore. He could have sworn he heard your voice say 'goodnight' from his crystal. Sword held it in his hand, feeling the warmth that came from it. At least he had the feeling that you were safe because of it. He did miss you. It was nice to have someone besides Venomshank and Sisyphus in the house. Plus, you were so small and cute! Sword jumped as Sisyphus landed on his shoulder. He relaxed after seeing the small crow. "Do you miss Lua, Too?," Sword asked the bird and rubbed the little head. Sisyphus of course did not answer. The red horned swordsman had noticed just how much Sisyphus liked to perch on you. The bird was with you if he or Venom was not. He wiped some sweat from his head and saw it was time to take a break after looking at the clock Venomshank left on the training area. Sword walked to the kitchen to get some water when he saw Venomshank reading a letter.

"What's that Venom?," Sword asked as he filled his glass with water. The mask wearing god looked to his ward before looking back at the letter. "Some correspondence from a family member.," Venomshank replied as sword choked on his water from hearing that, "I was honestly surprised myself. We usually don't contact each other." Sword wiped his mouth and put the glass down, "So? What is it about? What do they want?" Venom looked at the letter again, silently reading over it. "Asking about Lualight. They saw her in Crossroads while she was running errands for me.," The god replied and folded the letter, "They were just curious after seeing her and Sisyphus." Venom's tone was a mix of happy and amused. The one who wrote the letter must be someone that Venomshank could get along with more, Sword thought. It would not be Windforce or Darkheart, so it had to be someone else who was more unaware of Lualight.

"Is that it?," the red horned inphernal asked and took his glass to drink again. Venomshook his head, "They also wanted permission to meet her. I fear that I have to tell them no now." Sword could hear the disappointment in his guardian's voice. If you were still with them, Venom may have let you go visit. But you were not there. Who knows where you were. Sword finished drinking his water and washed the cup. His cheek was nudged by Sisyphus, the crow was urging him to bed. "Goodnight, Venom.," Sword said to his Gaurdian. "Goodnight, Sword.," Venom replied as he watched the younger inphernal climb the stairs to his room. The toxic green horned god touched the crystal hanging from his horn. He felt your power through it. He had heard your voice from it earlier. Venomshank clutched it gently in his clawed fingers. "Goodnight, Lualight. Sleep well."

You woke early in the morning from a scary dream. It seemed like others were still asleep. The night guards were still out and keeping watch. You slipped from your room and wandered to the archives to read more. You were still holding the doll of your mama. You set the pretty doll on the desk before looking through the untranslated books to find something new to read. You found a small notebook that was unlabeled. You flipped it open and found that it had notes about the Swords inside of it. Mentions of what each was supposed to do, but the pen was smudged from years of wear. You could not read all of it. You did note that there was one mention of Darkheart in it.

'Opposite to his twin, Illumina, in both terms of personality and appearance. I gave him the ability to travel anywhere in the inpherno through the backdoors, so he may watch over the inhabitants when I am not there.'

You wondered how the backdoors worked. It would be nice to travel around like Darkheart did. You kept flipping through the notebook and trying to read what was left of the messy scrawlings. The final message in the notebook was smudged, as if written in a hurry. 'I have to leave the inpherno. I put its care into the hands of my Swords. Many will believe I have died, but that is okay. I pray that no other human comes here but if one does they must-' The page was burned at the bottom. You could not read any more. You decided to keep the notebook with you, hopefully you could read more of it later. You carefully put the notebook in your personal bag and picked up another book to read.

A tap on the door to the archives made you jump, you looked up and saw Crowbar looking in. "Can't sleep?," He asked while holding a small light. "Slept enough.," You replied and looked back down to the pages. Crowbar looked back to the halls before walking in and sitting across from you, he placed the light on the table to give you an easier time of reading. He eyed the doll before picking up one of the untranslated manuscripts. "I heard these are written in the language of the creator and that you can read them.," He said while flipping through the books, "Is that true?" You nodded, "It is. I have been learning a lot from just reading them." The much larger inphernal put the book he was holding down. He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair he was in. You wondered why he decided to sit here with you instead of continuing his rounds.

"Your injuries, are they okay?," You asked. Crowbar rolled his shoulders, "Perfectly fine now. Those Wranglers were a bit of trouble, but Your mama 'nd I took care of it." You didn't want to pry anymore into what he meant. You felt like something bad happened to those 'wranglers'. You continued to read, looking for more information on your power, Lua. "What are you looking for in those old things anyway?," Crowbar asked, "The Father keeps having you translate them." You shrugged, "I guess I am curious. I want to learn about this power I have been given and I am the only one who can read these." You kept reading as Crowbar kept sitting across from you. He poked at your doll, amused at how cute his boss looked as a doll. A small mention about Lua appeared in the book you were reading, but it only said that hornless were capable of weilding it. Something you already knew. You sighed and placed the book down. Looking at the stack of books, you noticed that there were some books that repeated, like they were copies of the same book. Almost like they were small pamphlets for Hornless to read as they got in the inpherno. These books all had information that was well known in the inpherno and were not useful to you or the church.

You set your little head on the table, your hair falling over the polished wood. "You did not find anything useful, I gather?," Crowbar asked. "Not at all. Some of these books are copies.," You said, "Like Telamon had them given out to other hornless to introduce them to the inpherno." You pouted a little. "Would have been nice to get one of these when I first got here.," you complained, "Then my parents and I would not have suffered as much as we did before getting seperated!" You reached for your doll and hugged it, feeling the soft fabric against your face. It was much squishier than your mama, but you would rather have her holding you. Crowbar seemed to be barely listening to you. His expression was tired. "You don't have to be here, you can go back to your rounds.," You said to the inphernal. "Can't.," He answered, "Scythe and Father told us to watch you if we find you alone." You puffed your cheeks up a little. The Father had gotten more weird since you had gone to Crossroads. You wanted to go out again, but you had a feeling that the family would not let you out again after what happened. Yet, it was not your fault. You were ambushed! There was no way for you to know that was going to happen.

You felt your eyes getting heavy as sleep came back for you with a vengence. Crowbar seemed to have been waiting for that as he lifted you up carefully and carried you back to your room. He set you on your bed. You were covered by the sheets and were left alone after. Crowbar went back to doing his guard rounds afterwards. You tried to fight sleep more. You wanted to find more books. You wanted to read more, read about the history more. To read about Telamon and the Swords more. You tried to keep your eyes open, but you were pulled back into the realm of sleep. You hugged your doll as you slept. The door to your room was cracked for those doing their sentry duties to check in on you. Your small body was still as you laid on your bed, unaware of the surroundings, yet perfectly safe while sleeping. When you awoke again, you looked to the clock in your room. You had missed morning prayers. Oops. You got up and got dressed before wandering back into the archives to continue your work with translating. You were greeted by the archivists and you returned their greetings. The books were just the same as before. Information on the anatomy of hornless and some bedtime stories. Same as the others you found. You Sorted the books and found the repeating titles. No new material. You leaned back and sighed. You were done. You wondered where they even got these books and small pamphlets from. You waved to the archivist to get their attention.

"Do you have any information about where you got these?," You asked the inphernal. They shook their head, "The scouts found them in a ruined building marked with the hornless language. The building had this inscribed on it." They showed you a picture of the tiny ruined building, a sketch that was quickly made by the scouting team. You immediately saw the words on it. It was a bookstore and information stand. This had to be for the small group of Hornless that came in to help Telamon. You groaned a bit. "All of these have been translated already.," You said, "They are copies of what I already did." The archivist sighed before thanking you and took the books from you. They gave you some old tablets to translate for them. These had more information that was more useful to you. More information on Telamon himself. The tablets had been broken, so large portions of them were missing. But something stood out to you.

Telamon was depicted with seven swords floating beside him. You carefully wrote down the translation of the few words that were on the tablets. You were able to find that the ones you did have were able to be fit together to get a better mural and story. 'In the birth of the inpherno, the birth of the Inphinity, there was Telamon. The shaper of this world.' You wrote down all you could of what was available and set down your pen. You looked at the image of Telamon again. Cloaked with his face obscured, a halo of fire, seven glowing swords surrounding him and a single silver one in his hand. Swords. You saw the colors and designs of the swords. They looked so cool and pretty. The green one seemed to stand out to you. It was so big, alongside the red one. You didn't know you were staring at it for a long time until you had one of the archivists tapping your head to get your attention. "Are you okay? You have been staring at that tablet for half an hour.," They asked and corrected their glasses. "Oh. Yes, I guess this one interested me.," You said, "The image of the creator and his weapons is so beautiful."

This got a small chuckle from the archivist as they took the fragments from you after confirming that you translated everything. They went back to check and found that you had indeed translated their entire stock. "Huh. Guess we have to go find more for you.," They said and gave you an apologetic smile, "Well, since you are free now, you can go play." You got up from the chair you were in and walked out with your doll in your arms. Your small feet carried you through the church. You watched the other members go about their days. The church members greeted you when they saw you, you greeted them kindly in return. The sound of laughter caught your attention. You followed the sound to find the other Newspawn of the church playing. Some were practicing with their gears, Playing with some toys, or even playing with some little animals they had found. You wanted to join them. You took a few steps towards them before stopping. Father Overseer told you that it was not safe for you to play with the newspawns because of their unstable gears and temperaments. You saw the unstable gears from those practicing, they attacked each other with a playful manner, their gears making horrible cracking sounds.

You hugged the doll shaped like your mama while watching the Newspawns in the courtyard. You hid behind one of the pillars while watching them. Their eyes and horns were still intact. They have not been inducted yet. The laughing and playing newspawn didn't notice you at all. The bitter twinge of envy gnawed at you. You wanted to play with someone. You wanted to play with other children. Godhood was lonely. Your thoughts were cut off when a ball some of the newspawn were playing with bounced over towards you. The laughing and playful shouts stopped when the group saw you. The church members all knew of you. Some were not able to get close enough to see you properly, like the Newspawn. You picked up their ball while holding your doll under one of your arms. You held the ball out for a newspawn to take back from you. "Here.," You said while holding it out. You heard small whispers and hushed conversation from the group of newspawn as one of the braver ones took the ball from you. That newspawn was taller than you, yet looked to be freshly spawned. "Thank you..," the newspawn seemed to be confused by you.

"Lualight!"

Both of you jumped when you heard your name be called. You looked back to see Crossbow hurriedly walking towards you. She picked you up to take you back inside. "You should be careful, they could have hurt you.," she fussed while carrying you. "They didn't.," You said while being carried. "But they could have.," Crossbow said while carrying you to the lounge that she and the other scouts liked to stay in after their missions. The scout caravan leader put you down on a soft cushion chair. She sat beside you on an adjacent cushion. You saw her clothes were dusty, as if she and Chainsaw had been on a supply or scouting run. Said twin was splayed out over his favorite sofa. He opened his good eye to look at you before closing it again.

You were finally able to see them again like you wanted to. It was a relief to see that the two did not have any scars or other injuries from the ambush. Your crystals did protect them like they were supposed to. "Are you two okay? I have not been able to talk to you since the ambush.," you asked the twins. Chainsaw got a small smile on his face, "We're fine thanks to your protection. Grappling Hook and the Wranglers couldn't keep us down because of it." 'Grappling Hook'. A name you were not familiar with. Was that the one who threw that hook at you and Chainsaw? "Was that the big inphernal who attacked us?," you asked. "Yep.," Chainsaw replied, "Bastard would've snatched you up with their crew of you didn't run." Crossbow leaned in to whisper to you, "I heard that Grappling Hook is also Scythe's Ex. She doesn't talk about 'em much."

This was the first time you heard that your mama had been married previously. You wondered why they separated. Was it a difference of opinion or from the scorch. "Don't like Chuck. Lil bastard.," Chainsaw growled. "I'm not a fan of Beehive myself.," Crossbow huffed. Another scout party member piped up, "Would be nice if Tara accepted my invitation." That member had pillows thrown at them both playfully and a way to shut them up. You got a soft cushion to the back of your head, knocking you over from the surprise of it. After the scouts saw you were okay, they started to laugh at your surprised little face. You threw the pillow back at the face of the one who first hit you. Chainsaw cackled at the member who got hit, getting a pillow to his face as well. He got up and started to playfully roughhouse with the other inphernal, getting the others to cheer and throw playful insults at them.

Crossbow picked you up and held you away from the group that was starting to get a little too rowdy. "Why are you not in the archives?," Crossbow asked you. You might as well tell her, "I finished translating everything." She tilted her head slightly back and forth, thinking about it before giving a smile. "That was fast.," She responded, "I thought it would take you years to do it." You shook your head, "The material repeated. It was the same thing over and over." "Then, what will you do now?," She asked. You didn't think about that. You had been tasked with translation and healing tasks that you kind of did not think about what else you wanted to do. You wanted to play, but you were restricted on what you could do or play with. You wanted to go out and explore, yet the father and the others did not want you to go. Everything fun you wanted to do was not allowed. "I wanted to explore the ruins again.," You answered honestly. "That's too dangerous.," Crossbow's tone was flat and cold. She caught her tone and made a friendlier tone to continue, "Why not let me show you some interesting things the gardeners have been doing in the courtyards?"

You could not really deny her as you were being held by her, so you nodded and let her carry you to the inside courtyard. It was a lovely mix of open air expanses and plants with water features. She placed you on the soft grass that was grown on a plot near a cool spring. "This section of the church was built on a spring, so we get clean water from it.," She explained, her smile and tilting head made her glass eye sparkle. You felt the breeze coming from outside, it was cooled by the stone walls and the water. It smelled like the fresh grass and faintly of smoke. The Ruins were in that direction. Crossbow crouched near you and ran her fingers through your hair, getting the knots out of your hair. She kept an eye on you as other inphernals of the church wandered through. She was keeping the rowdy newspawn from getting too close to you. You heard their whispers.

'Why does she not have horns' 'That face looks weird' 'She doesnt look natural'

You ignored their words. Newspawn did not know about hornless. They would learn about what you were soon enough. You looked away from the group and back out to the smoke plume in the distance. You could still faintly feel the memory of the warmth of the fires. How Darkheart used them to cook the fish for you and your parents when you first met him. You remember how he sounded when he spoke your language, a language that felt more and more foreign to you as time went on. Your father had let you climb onto the 'god' when he gained your family's trust. Your family. It had been almost a year and a half since you had seen them. You felt torn, your parents had to be alive, they were a lot stronger than you! But you also felt like with how much time had passed, they had to be dead. You felt a hand touching your cheek, pulling you from your thoughts.

Crossbow was wiping a tear you didn't know had fallen. "Are you remembering something?," She asked and got a nod from you. She was about to say something else when she was called. She got up to walk away but stopped. "Lua, I have to go.," Crossbow told you, "Your mama should be back a little later." "How long is later?," You asked. "About four hours?," she replied before leaving. You went back to watching the grass and water in the courtyard. It was a lot nicer to watch everything here than to just be stuck inside all day. You felt the breeze blowing your head that was not covered by the veil. It was peaceful. You could hear the other church members around you. However, your focus was on the distance. A shimmer. Like the power you have. You could have sworn you saw something in the distance. You didn't know what. You knew you needed to stay in the church courtyard, yet you wanted to go to the ruins. You had to go to the ruins. There were more things to explore in those old burning buildings. You wanted to go back and see the place where you and your parents had stayed. To find what you had left there. It shouldn't take too long...

You knew Scythe was going to be there soon. You could wait and ask her to take you. But… Something was urging you to go. Something in the back of your mind. It was not like the time Darkheart led you to Venomshank, this was your own instinct telling you to go back to the place you had been staying before being found by the church. You stood from your spot, little white robe dress blowing in the wind that flowed gently through the courtyard. You could tell there were not many if any inphernals left with you. It was quiet. Everyone was gone, you were alone. With your doll in your hands, You sprinted off into the sands outside. The power of Lua burst through you, allowing you to move faster than before. You were grateful to have this power. You could check out the ruins very quickly before going back to the church. You were getting closer to the ruins when you became aware of the shadows above you. Vultures. You had to be ready. You prepared your Lua to attack, just in case. Especially if there were Wranglers about. You sprinted to the nearest cover of plants to hide and watch the vultures. The patterns of flight were not like those of wild ones. These ones were being ridden. You could not see the saddles or markings from this distance, so you didn't know if they were your scout siblings or the wranglers. You kept hidden in the brambles and moving carefully. You heard a sharp clatter. Rocks were being thrown at your hiding spots. Whoever it was, they were trying to drive you out of your hiding place.

You moved to a shaded area far from your original hiding spot and bolted towards the flames in the distance. You knew this was wrangler territory. You had been told about it by the scouts. The riders shouted when they saw you bolting away from the hiding spot You heard the wings of the birds flap as they got closer. A hook shot out at you, just missing you. You kept running to avoid the ones chasing you. Until a rock that was thrown tripped you. You fell, rolling down a sand dune with your doll in your arms. You scrambled to get up when you heard one of the birds land and someone dismount the bird. Large hands picked you up when you tried to run once more. "Now then, How'd a New spawn get out here?," A voice asked as you were held. You struggled to get out of the hold of the large inphernal that was grasping you. Your body sparked with your Lua. They dropped you after being zapped. "That's the same newspawn from before, Hook!," you heard one of the other riders say. You tried to run again but were lassoed with a rope. You were pulled back. Your doll dropped to the ground and was picked up by one of the wranglers.

"Hook. You may want to see this.," the large inphernal said as she held your doll out to the leader. They took your doll and looked at it before looking at you. They held it out to you. "Do you know who this is?," the leader asked you. "My mama.," you said back, "And she's coming to get me." You heard whispers from the others as the leader looked a little sad. They untied you from the lasso, with some criticism from one of their friends. "Did she say anything about me?," They asked and got a shake of your head as a response. They looked more saddened. Their gloved hand was placed atop your head. You knew this had to be Grappling Hook, your Mama's ex. "Hook, if this is Her spawn, this is dangerous. Remember last time?," one of the members said, "She wiped one of our teams just for retaliation of us getting close to her spawn?"

You felt the calling from the flaming ruins again. You wanted to run, but didn't want to leave your doll. With a quick motion, you grabbed the doll and ran again. Going right to the flames. You were barely able to escape the grasp of your Mama's ex as you scampered into the flames. The fires didn't even singe you as you ran through. You ignored the shouts from Grappling Hook for you to come back. You kept running. The others mounted their vultures again while Grappling Hook was trying to coax you back. You kept running and looking back to make sure they didn't follow. This caused you to not see where a drop off was, making you fall again. Rolling through fires and into a small pit below a ridge. You make a sharp yelp as you landed on something that poked you. You thought you were being cut into by sharp rocks cast down in the ridge, so you looked down.

A corpse was below you. But it was not an inphernal or an animal. Bones. Sharp bones broken and scattered. Clothing torn and dirtied with old blood and filth. A woman and a man. Hornless skulls glared back at you with an eyeless and soulless gaze. A primal sense of disgust and fear filled your stomach. You felt like you were going to throw up.