Flames roared throughout.
The pungent smell of smoke filled the darkening sky as the moons quickly rose.
Fires had engulfed a small village once full of many lives and distinct wooden houses that nearly formed a circle, leaving lone pieces of wood stranded on the ground covered in ash.
Orange glares formed moving shadows among the surrounding debris, as crackling sparks sounded through the air, interrupted by the words of two men standing near the center of the village, surrounded by the intense flames.
They stood there, holding stance, staring intently at each other's eyes, while their weapons reached directly in front of them.
One grasped a long silver sword in his right hand, holding tightly on to its blue hilt as reflections of the bright flames danced around the blade's stainlessness.
He was a very tall man with almost tan skin, and he had short hair that was a blonde tone covered with specs of dirt from the farming he did hours before.
His bulky physique stretched through his beige shirt with messily cut sleeves, paired over brown pants that matched his tall boots.
His green eyes, lit up by the fire, were strained to the other man, waiting for any moves the other might take, but as he waited, time seemed to be the only thing passing. There was a hesitant stalemate between the two as they both knew each other's abilities, knowing well they were perfectly matched.
Suddenly, a weakening voice sounded from the man, interrupted by heavy breaths of exhaustion.
"Why, why are you betraying me, Falane?"
Across from him stood a man, cloaked in pure white with long sleeves and a tall collar. Small golden patches rested on his shoulders, each embroidered with a white seven haloed by the outline of a circle. A logo of sorts.
His wool blended shirt was tucked into his long white pants that were supported by a belt that formed into his waist. The shoes he wore had that same white color as the rest of his outfit, except for the soles that were covered in a thick mud. His short white hair matched the purity of his clothes as did his clear pale skin that seemed as white as snow.
Gripped in both hands, he held a long white spear, positioning one hand towards the bottom of its shaft and the other close to its silver head that had accents of crimson stained on its tip from the other's blood.
Compared to the man across from him, his composure was calm, and his stature seemed more empowering, growing as time slowly passed.
His mouth suddenly opened, and a deep voice soon followed.
"You've lost your position Arthur, Lostasis doesn't need your lack of authority anymore. We, as the rings of Lostasis, have come to the decision to relinquish your position, and erase our past ambitions, pathing us for our new desires."
'The Lostasis Rings,' was a small group the two were both a part of, and Arthur the man standing across from Falane in white, was its leader. Under him, Lostasis was the group that would end the reign of the tempting eternity, the hell that devastated both the living and the dead, but it now looked to him like that ambition he had was suddenly vanquished.
Arthur had spent years forming Lostasis, finding its members and its purpose, but according to Falane, the years he wasted now served another purpose. Back then, he was the first member chosen by Arthur to be a part of the rings, chosen as they shared drinks in an old tavern, they talked for a while for a moment, and things suddenly clicked between the two of them.
He thought Falane seemed to be a good man, someone who he felt might be trustworthy in the near future, and it seemed that way for a while. As time went on, they had slowly built up a close bond, they did a lot together, traveling, drinking, drinking, and even more drinking, even gathering what would be the entire cast of Lostasis as they ventured. They felt almost close, almost like brothers.
However, things had changed, through events, Arthur slowly became distant from him, and soon, contact slowly fell off between him, Falane, and the rest of the rings, and now that distance between them suddenly closed.
Arthur stood still, looking down at his dirtied boots below, covered in mud from the wet dirt under him.
Was it his fault? Were his words really true? Arthur contemplated these influences.
He thought there was no way his words could be true, there would be no reason for his betrayal, they were friends, and they only fell apart for a short time, but he knew that his thoughts were wrong, the fires around him and the destruction of the village proved so.
He felt as if his soul was going to shatter, and sadness quickly took over.
"I had to leave… my family… my parents-"
"Your family only served a purpose in raising you. Why would you leave us for such limiting pieces of life?"
Tears started to flow from Arthur's eyes as a fit of rage consumed his voice.
"Don't you have a family?! People who you love?!"
Falane suddenly began laughing at Arthur's loud boisterous mumbling.
His laughs echoed through the now hollowed village, once full of beautiful wooden houses that were now rubble as his appearance took over.
But they paused…
"I wonder…"
"See, you do have someone you love, someone who you want to protect!"
He thought for a moment.
"Protecting someone…"
Arthur could tell something was off about Falane, he seemed… hesitant.
"That is your ambition alone."
He steered his attention to the sky, the smoke above appeared in the darkness of his eyes as he watched the shining stars fade away in its opaqueness.
"You don't seem to fully understand yet Arthur, your foolish sense of heroism, your valor, they were the true reasons for this."
Arthur understood that his current intentions were in control.
Falane suddenly cleared his throat.
"Your vision of eternity was wrong. We as the rings quickly found Eternity necessary for the better of humanity, weeding out those who are weak and those who are greedy, without such people, we could grow, making life fair for all. That's the path the seven of us now chose."
Arthur stood still for a moment, thinking…
"I didn't choose anything."
Falane slowly forced his head back down, meeting Arthur's saddening eyes that glistened with the moving flames.
"I know."
He couldn't help but smile at his grief.
"You were replaced long ago and you didn't even see the eclipse coming."
He paused for a second, staring silently into Arthur's decaying soul.
"Now, a new sun leads us, for the purpose of a better world."
Arthur's mind shut off for a moment, his body stood there, desolate.
Suddenly, near his feet, a plop sounded in the mud, Falane looked down at Arthur's boots, noting a sudden change in their position.
His eyes returned up, and with a quick dash, the flames behind Arthur suddenly riled up reaching further into the air.
He swiftly dashed forward, and in an instant, he was just feet away from Falane's widening eyes.
As he began to shift forward, he threw his right arm out white, then swung it across his body, striking his blade at Falane's neck, only to be met by a sudden halt from the sound of metal clinging together.
His sword stuck against the shaft of Falane's spear as his attack was blocked.
Falane smirked as his eyes returned back to a deep gaze.
"You were always like this, charging in with no worry for yourself."
He stood there, staring deeply into Arthur's green eyes as his spear resonated with the shaking from Arthur's sword.
"The years we spent together, we were friends!"
Falane suddenly released a large force, swinging his spear outwards, forcing Arthur back.
In a quick few steps, Arthur was sent to his original stance.
"Arthur, friendship is only a concept."
Falane felt no remorse.
"Shut up!"
At the same time, a boy watched closely from a nearby window, clutching its wooden sill with his small frail hands as he looked over the two in front of him.
A mix of emotions ran through his mind, fear, curiosity, despair, all things he couldn't control as the fight before him was underway.
He continued to stare at the two in front of him while Arthur's back faced his green eyes, almost like a shield, protecting his presence from Falane.
The boy looked around, scanning his eyes across the remnants of the village looking at the debris that had surrounded everything.
There was nowhere he could go, nowhere to save himself from the approaching flames heading towards the last house that stood in the village, the one he was in.
He forced his eyes back to Arthur and Falane at the glimpse of a sudden flash, noticing Falane spinning his spear out in front of him, then catching it with his right hand, causing its head to point downward.
Falane suddenly shifted his body, spreading his right leg behind him as he lowered his stance closer to the ground. He lifted his right arm, bringing it over his shoulder then behind him, holding his spear like a javelin.
Noticing this, Arthur quickly reached his left hand down to his waist, releasing the royal blue sheath that was attached to his belt, gripping onto it like it was another blade.
Suddenly an orange blaze appeared at the tip of Falane's spear, emitting a warm aroma around him.
He sent his arm forwards in a throwing motion, releasing the spear from his hand as he reached out, hurling it towards Arthur who stood eyeing its pureness as it quickly soared towards him.
The spear inched closer and closer, but it didn't phase him, he was ready.
Arthur knew he could easily dodge it, and he was right.
He swiftly tilted his head to the right, dodging the spears blaze, watching it fly by as it collided with the house behind, igniting the last piece of the village aflame.
His eyes suddenly widened, on the left of the house there was a small window, he noticed the boy peaking through, watching as his attention averted to where the spear had pierced, noticing the spreading fire slowly approaching as the house slowly filled with smoke.
He quickly turned around, knowing there was still a threat.
Following the spear approached Falane, whose mud covered shoe flew towards Arthur's face, following the path of the spear.
Arthur raised his left hand and blocked Falane's pressuring kick with the sturdy sheath that was in his hand.
He grunted loudly as the impact sent a sharp pain through his forearm, quickly reaching his shoulder.
He picked up his right hand, and swung it across his body towards Falane, striking him across the chest with his blade, causing a tear in his shirt.
The strike was too shallow, having barely made contact with Falane's skin, but it wasn't for nothing.
At the feel of his swing, Falane jumped back, kicking against Arthur's sheath, sending Arthur sliding towards the burning house behind him, forming long continuous tracks in the dirt below.
He looked back in front of him, but all he saw was the circle of flames around him. He stood there for a few seconds waiting for Falane to show himself, but no sign of him came around.
Falane had suddenly disappeared.
Arthur stood there breathing quickly, shocked by the whole situation, the betrayal that suddenly turned up, and the fall of Lostasis, the village he had grown up in.
He just couldn't understand why.
Why would they go after him? They could have just kicked him out, so why did they have to attack the village, killing so many innocent people? But these weren't his main worries.
His mind came back to the present, remembering the boy trapped inside by the window.
He turned around, and saw the house was almost burnt completely down, except for the corner of the house, still standing with the window visible.
He quickly approached the edge of the house, then he jumped over the rubble next to it, landing on the hard foundation of the house, almost slipping on a piece of wood.
Blocking him was a mass of the collapsing floor above that stood diagonally against what was left of the second floor and the foundation below.
Using what was left of his strength, he bent down, pushing the blanks to the ground, causing ash to disperse everywhere.
He looked towards the last corner standing, and saw the boy unconscious leaning against the wall. His mouth was faintly open, intaking smoke and ash at every shallow breath he unconsciously took.
Tears started to flow down Arthur's saddened face, fearing that the boy in front of him was gone.
***