"I told you so," Echo purred, coiling like smoke in her thoughts.
"Shut up," Rosalind snapped, tail lashing. "I'm thinking."
Her boots pounded through the chamber, bulkhead after bulkhead blurring past. The view outside warped with each step, reflections growing sharper, the silver coat peeling as Voidium licked the metal. The rails groaned. The wheeze of overclogged fans clawed at her breath.
"I told you," Echo repeated; the ghost swirled around like a vapour, her lips, her grin forming to Rosa's mind's eye.
The Fragment didn't dare form her whole body, but any sight of it boiled Rosa's tail. So, Rosa surged her Solelite reserve towards her finger in a flick. The hot rush of white flooded her veins, and Voiduim and Echo scattered to the corners, her sight clearing.
Echo hissed, "I'm just saying."
"Well, don't; I wouldn't be in this mess if you kept quiet."
Rosa swirled her pace towards the bridge just ahead, and the old Voltite flickered in and out, her shadow buzzing, the reflective walls.
The blasted Systems Engineers refused to obey her orders. She could practically see the Voidium density climbing by the second. And any further, they would endanger everyone on board.
"Those Eight-legged rats." She cursed.
Of all the times. She had just suppressed Marshal's power; it had to be now.
Then—her foot caught. The air thickened.
Voidium latched onto her skin, twisting, shifting—her limbs stretching like warped reflections in shattered glass.
She unleashed Solelite, the wave of searing glass scorching her throat. The fog recoiled, writhing like a wounded beast, tendrils lashing at her heels.
She hated using Solelite so much. The gemstone in her gut was like a crumbled rock in her belly. It was a dangerous balance. Too much Solelite and Echo would disappear completely, leaving her as defenceless as Marshal. Too little, and the Voidium would eat through her in seconds. Small bursts. Just enough to keep the fingers at bay without shutting herself down. It wasn't perfect; hell, nothing was at the moment.
They were too deep now, and her reserves were running low. But she would deal with side effects later.
Her tail tightened as she glanced at the syringe on her hip—a last resort. The only thing standing between her and losing her mind. The Voidium didn't care who; it just wanted to consume, and Bartolo and Dario were already slipping away, their black eyes distant and unfocused. And it was only a matter of time before 'it' took over.
She'd pushed them too far. Their immune systems fried—an open door to the shadows no one could ever understand.
She bit her lip, fangs slicing deep. Pain sharpened her focus. "Not yet," she muttered. "I have to stop this ship."
"Kill them," Echo persisted. "Why risk it?"
Rosa considered the idea, but then her thoughts switched tracks, and a clatter of boots rattled ahead. And like Voidium's tricks, The clatter of boots echoed through the corridors, growing louder, more rhythmic. The fog thinned, warping to reveal the gleam of crystalline rifles and the silhouette of their leader, his exoskeleton catching the faint light like polished bone.
Instinctively, she scrutinised their ranks for something Voidium couldn't fake. Like a living being, the fog wrapped the Knights, its tendrils drawn to surging cores or weapons. It seemed real enough.
She gestured for Bartolo or Dario to stop—The act was useless, as her Neurite controlled them.
"Rosalind Sylvain," said a deep voice. His irritating tone dared her to scoop his eyes out.
Out of the mist stood a Durg demon. His shoddy organic skeleton was short and stocky, nothing a hammer couldn't crack— it was nothing like her prized diamond skeletons, robust, resistant and near immortal. It had been her best invention.
"It's General Sylvain," she spat. They gave her the title so they could at least use it. "Pull your men back, boy. I don't have time for this."
Undeterred, he pulled out a glass tablet and read the carving. "Rosalind Sylvain, General of the Abyss, is hereby charged with subversion of demon law and instilling rebellion of the empire, in addition to the procession of classified and forbidden materials in the creation of-" the man looked to Bartolo or Dario, Dario snorting at the stare, "non-regulated inquisitors."
The knights organised, their guns prewarming in anticipation. Rosa smiled; did they think this was enough?
"All this for little old me." She asked, her palm stroking her soft cheek.
The man held his glare, a hint of frustration lacing his mandibles.
"I would consider this too little, considering your wartime reputation."
"And you be right." She said. "Now, if you understand that, I suggest you fuck off already."
She stepped.
Then—CRACK.
Bartolo's head snapped back. A burst of gemstone mist sprayed the walls. His massive frame swayed, slow, almost unwilling—
Then he fell.
Metal crunched beneath his weight.
A second shot.
Dario staggered forward, fingers twitching—reaching—
Then collapsed.
Their bodies lay still. The gemstone fluid pooled, shimmering.
She froze.
No. Impossible.
They were Inquisitors. Immortal.
They were her greatest creations. Her greatest weapons. Men she had raised herself.
And now—just corpses.
"Well, that solves one problem," Echo shrugged, "saves you doing it yourself."
Rosa laughed her maddening cackle, "Do you have any idea what you have done," she flared her arm towards the fallen man. "Bartolo finish them!" But when nothing happened, she frowned, "Bartolo! Dario!" she snapped. "Get up!" But nothing.
No. That wasn't possible.
She surged Neurite, searching—nothing. Just static.
Her gaze snapped to the ground—white Solelite-encrusted casings littered the floor.
Anti-Archdemon Rounds.
Her stomach dropped.
Not suppression. Not restraint.
Permanent severance.
Bartolo and Dario had been immortal—until they weren't.
"Like I said," he drawled, "we had to account for your reputation, General Sylvain." The man said his casualness as he regarded her, lighting up her core. She would cook that beetle for tea—a crimson soup.
But franticly scanning the tight archway, the arch of glass surrounding them engulfed in Voidium, she flicked her tail— Too risky.
Growling, she shot the dumb Drug a look.
"You think I'm the problem?" Rosa snapped, her voice cutting through the mist. "Haven't you villainised my family enough? I built inquisitors; they are mine: My creation. My rules. My right. Everything I've done is for this realm for its people." She took a breath, chattering her fangs as she contained herself, "And while you're wasting time arresting me, the Voidium is spreading. Every second you waste brings us closer to annihilation. But, sure, let's pretend you're not more than a puppet without ears."
Then, as rifles aimed at her, the Gravium in her gut flinched. Her mind flared gravitational lines, the crosshair of barrels aimed at her core, the triggers one click from instant kill. The puddle of Bartolo soaking her boots—She couldn't deflect that many.
"Come in quietly or full of holes." Said the officer.
Rosa bared her fangs, the knight's guns arming in spark. The fog thickened, her ears popping as the ship dropped further. It looks like they still feared her, so let's use that.
She hid a grin, hiding her tail, "Fine, you got me," she said. "No point butchering your little followers."
She stared a knight down, the woman's chameleon scales changing colour, her breath catching as she tried to hold aim.
The Knight officer stepped forward, Solelite cuffs in hand, his mandibles twitching with satisfaction. "At least you're smarter than the Prince."
Rosa shot him a stare.
The man smiles. "Didn't you know they stormed his manor? I thought you knew."
She growled, "If you've harmed him, I'll—"
Rosa's voice trailed off as the officer drew closer. Of course, she knew of that raid beforehand. She'd planned her kidnapping to overlap. Hopefully, he would forgive her for that; she did it for his sake.
Meanwhile, watching those power-stopping cuffs, she knew she would never reach her jail cell. Rosa's neurons raced. If he thought she would go quietly, he had another thing coming. She let a slow grin spread across her face, preparing, edging. Yes, my little lamb, more. More. She swished her tail, begging for another step. Just a little closer…
"Believe me, Lady Sylvain, I didn't want to do this." The officer's mandibles twitched into a grin. "How does it feel to be the rat in a cage? A Succubus who ran out of tricks."
Rosa flinched at the slur, "No," she said, her resolve clicking into place. "but I can show you."
When the cuff neared her wrist, she surged Voltite, her body erupting in a fountain of sparks that exploded and flashed the fog like lightning. And like a bolt, she snatched the officer, electricity locking his muscles as he thrashed in her grip. Bullets ricocheted off his exoskeleton, but her shield didn't last long. Flesh tore, splattering the fog with blood as molten glass ripped him apart.
"What a shame," Echo giggled. "Suggest you get a better shield."
"Friendly- friendly Fire!" the officer gurgled.
"Keep shooting! Keep fucking shooting!" one of the Knights shouted, but their chime of empty clips was all she needed—Solelite ammo was a bitch to load.
And harnessing her entire Voltite reserve, she kicked the officer's body in a blast of sparks, his corpse like an electric bomb blowing out all lights, guns and any gemstone devices.
Knights cried, the sound of metallic weapons drawing out of their holsters, "light! Aim for the light," one ordered.
But one step ahead, she snuffed her surge, becoming one with the fog, the darkness. She could finish them but scrambling past, her body like a snake slithering through their blind eyes. She pounced her body, flaming a bright purple as she flared Gravium.
"Get her!" a knight called out.
She flared the Gravium.
Invisible strings snapped taut, wrenching her toward the ship's anchors. Agony tore through her—white-hot, relentless. Her muscles seized, bones screaming under the impossible force—
But she held. Pulled.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, evaporating before they fell, gravity ripping her loose.
Like a cruiser screaming in orbit, she spun—
And the force slingshotted her into the void.
She didn't stop. Couldn't.
If Marshal opened the door. If the Daemons got loose.
This ship. This realm.
She set her sights forward.
And flared the Gravium again.
"I'll will… fix this."