The Meadows — One Year Ago
Metal struck metal in rapid succession, the sharp clangs ringing across the meadow. Blood stained the grass beneath them.
The air rushed past as a pair of purple wings shot by.
Ignatia unsheathed her whip and swung it across a group of moths.
"Ahhh!"
They screamed in pain as they plummeted toward the ground.
Ignatia breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling as she stared at the swarm.
"Where are all of them coming from?" she asked. "At this rate, we won't be able to hold them off."
More projectiles shot down from above.
Ignatia's thorny whip cracked through the air.
Clang!
Crack!
Snap!
She flapped her wings and twisted through the barrage, the projectiles whistling past her.
I have no choice…
Ignatia pulled her wings in and shot upwardin the sky above the swarm.
She drew in a deep breath.
Her crimson eyes brightened.
"Velvet Rush."
Crimson light erupted across her purple exoskeleton.
The glow intensified.
Then, she vanished.
A second later, she was flying beside them.
The moths froze.
"No way… How did she?"
"What?!" one of them blurted.
Ignatia moved.
She swung her thorny whip.
A sharp snap cut through the air.
The nearest moth jerked backward.
Its flesh split.
Its wings tore apart as it dropped from the sky.
Then another.
The second moth fell.
Then multiple.
Ignatia breathed heavily.
What could they possibly be after? Why launch a full assault on us out of nowhere?
Suddenly, the world around Ignatia went completely dark.
The moon vanished from the sky.
Her eyes widened.
What is this…?
She turned, searching the darkness.
A quill whistled through the air.
It struck her in the chest.
Ignatia winced.
Blood dripped from the wound.
Another barrage came.
She swung her whip, knocking the incoming quills away one after another.
She clicked her tongue.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Her voice rang through the darkness.
"In this sightless void, where the beacon is lost and the end draws near…"
A voice echoed through the darkness.
Ignatia froze.
"Wait…"
Is that Sister…?
Her mouth opened slightly.
"I call upon the Sun's wrath."
Her sister's white wings snapped open.
"Solar Flare!"
White light burst from her body, pouring through the seams of her exoskeleton.
The night sky brightened.
The moths screamed as they clawed at their eyes.
Shink!
Ignatia heard several heavy thuds.
A faint glow appeared through the darkness as it slowly began to fade.
Shapes returned to view.
First, the ground beneath her.
Then, the moonlight.
Ignatia blinked several times as her vision cleared.
"Are you alright, Ignatia?" a voice asked.
"Luminara."
Ignatia looked up. She stood before her, her white exoskeleton glowing.
"You're as reckless as usual, sister."
Another voice came from behind her.
Before Ignatia could turn, Seraphina grabbed the quill lodged in her chest and yanked it out.
"Arghh!"
Ignatia doubled over, clutching her chest.
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
"That hurt, Seraphina!"
"Oh, spare me those eyes. I'm only trying to help you, no matter how useless you are."
She stepped closer and placed a hand over Ignatia's wound, pressing down firmly before starting to lick it.
"Hey!"
Ignatia's face turned slightly red as she tried to push Seraphina away.
"Hold still," Seraphina said. "There's no need to be embarrassed."
"I'm not embarrassed!"
Steam rose from Ignatia's body.
The wound slowly began to close beneath Seraphina's hand. The bleeding stopped, and the torn flesh sealed itself.
Seraphina pulled her hand away.
"There. Good as new."
Ignatia looked away.
"Thanks."
"What's the situation? Those moths suddenly attacked us out of nowhere. What could they possibly want?" Ignatia asked.
"They haven't attacked us in the last five years," Luminara said. "But I fear it's because High Monarch Solenne is no longer with us."
"At a time like this, we need to regroup with the other guardians before this gets out of hand."
Luminara spread her wings wide and began to fly off.
Then she glanced back.
"Oh, and be careful. Don't fall for the darkness. It's an illusion caused by the hallucinatory dust from their wings."
"Right," Ignatia said.
Luminara turned away.
WHOOSH!
A pair of mandibles came crashing down in a vicious arc.
Ignatia's eyes widened.
"Luminara!"
The blades tore across Luminara's back.
Her body jerked forward.
For a moment, she remained suspended in the air.
Then cracks spread across her exoskeleton and face.
Chunks of her body began breaking apart.
Her arm crumbled, disintegrating into pale fragments that scattered through the air.
Piece by piece, Luminara's body decayed, breaking down into dust.
Ignatia's breath slowed.
Her whip slipped from her fingers.
"...Luminara?"
"So that's your true ability, Monarch of Light."
A black exoskeleton hand pushed through the darkness.
The shadows parted.
Large wings slowly unfolded from within them.
A moth stepped forward.
Dark hair framed his face, and his golden eyes settled on Ignatia.
He calmly raised a hand and touched the open wound across his face. He looked at it for a moment before lowering his hand.
"Interesting. So this is your doing." Magnus said. "To think a power like that is in the hands of a Monarch."
"Even though I used Clairvoyance, you were still able to change your fate by dodging my whip at the last second," Luminara said.
Ignatia slowly looked up at her.
"How is she...?"
Her gaze shifted toward the spot where Luminara's body had disappeared.
Magnus remained still, his eyes fixed on Luminara.
"So the version of you I crumbled..."
He paused.
"It was merely the future you saw of your own death."
"Why do you look so surprised? Get it together, Ignatia. Now is not the time to space out," Seraphina said.
"Right," Ignatia said.
I saw her die... but she's standing right there as if nothing ever happened.
Ignatia shook her head.
"Who are you, and why are you attacking our Kaleidoscope?" Ignatia asked.
"He is Magnus, the leader of the moth faction," Luminara said.
"So you know my name. I suppose I have your mother to thank for that."
"Now then. High Monarch Solenne left something with you before her passing, to be kept safe."
Magnus extended his hand toward Luminara.
"I'm here to claim what rightfully belongs to me."
Luminara tightened her grip around her whip.
"I see. So that's what you're after."
"It's just as Mother told you many years ago. The Moonveil Blossom belongs to the Kaleidoscope, and its power will never be placed in the wrong hands."
Magnus slowly lowered his hand.
"It doesn't matter whether you're willing to give up the Moonveil Blossom or not."
"In the end, I will claim it before the full moon next year."
He paused.
"The only thing standing in my way is you and your ability."
Shadows spread outward from Magnus, racing across the ground and climbing into the sky.
The meadow disappeared beneath a layer of darkness.
"Solar Flare."
White light burst from Luminara's body.
The shadows recoiled across the ground. Darkness peeled away from the meadow until the battlefield was visible again.
Magnus's eyes widened.
Luminara slowly lowered her wings.
"As long as I'm here, your darkness is useless."
Luminara's grey eyes remained fixed on him.
"Now you'll witness the true extent of my Clairvoyance."
Luminara burst forward, swinging her whip.
Magnus raised one of his mandibles and blocked it.
Ding!
He immediately closed the distance, swinging his blade across her chest.
Luminara's body crumbled.
Magnus's eyes shifted.
A cut appeared across his chest.
Luminara had already repositioned herself behind him.
She swung her whip again.
Magnus turned and blocked the attack with both mandibles.
Seraphina suddenly appeared behind him.
Her whip lashed across his back.
Magnus's body jerked forward.
He spun through the air, completing a full 360-degree turn.
The force of his movement sent both Luminara and Seraphina flying backward through the air.
Seraphina steadied herself with her wings before turning toward Magnus.
"Well, aren't you full of surprises," she said with a smile.
Seraphina glanced back.
"Are you going to help, or are you just going to stand there, Ignatia?"
Ignatia flinched.
She flew downward and snatched her whip from the ground.
Ahead of them, Luminara's wings trembled.
Her vision blurred.
Magnus's silhouette doubled in front of her, then a third image appeared beside it.
A thin line of blood slid from the corner of her eye.
No... not yet.
She clenched her jaw and forced herself to take a breath.
"I see, I wondered how long you could keep this up."
His gaze shifted to the blood running down her cheek.
"Not much longer, it seems."
Luminara dashed forward through the air and lashed her whip at him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Magnus blocked each strike with his mandibles, barely moving his wings as he held his position in the air.
Seraphina swept in from the side.
Magnus twisted away from her whip while using his other mandible to knock Luminara's whip aside.
Then he beat his wings and shot upward.
Dozens of quills burst from his wings.
They rained down toward the two sisters.
"Velvet Rush!"
Crimson light flared around Ignatia.
She blurred through the sky, grabbed both of her sisters, and hauled them out of the barrage.
The quills whistled past them and disappeared into the darkness below.
Magnus wheeled around and fired another volley.
One of the quills grazed Ignatia and lodged in her leg.
She gritted her teeth.
Her wings faltered for a moment before she steadied herself in the air.
Seraphina pressed her hand against Ignatia's injured leg and began licking the wound as they flew.
Magnus tore through the sky and slashed at Luminara.
She raised her whip to block.
His blade cut through her arm.
Luminara's body slowly crumbled into dust.
Magnus's eyes narrowed.
Another Luminara appeared beside him and immediately swung her whip.
He caught it with his bare hand.
He smirked.
Darkness spread outward in an instant, swallowing the entire sky.
Luminara's whip began to glow.
"Solar Slash!"
She swung.
A blade of light tore through the darkness, splitting the shadows apart.
Through the opening, Luminara spotted Magnus flying straight toward Ignatia and Seraphina.
Her eyes widened as she burst forward.
"Ignatia, look out!"
She accelerated through the air and reached out her hand.
Magnus swerved toward her.
Then he tucked his wings and flipped over her in a tight arc, his body passing just above her head.
He landed in the air behind her, his wings snapping open to catch himself.
Luminara felt the wind rush across the back of her head.
She spun around.
Shink.
Her hand flew to her face.
She screamed and clutched at the wound.
"Luminara!" Ignatia shouted.
"Now die."
Magnus raised his blade and brought it down.
Seraphina shoved Luminara out of the way.
The tip of his blade grazed her neck.
She winced. Both sisters lost control of their flight and fell from the sky.
"I've got you!"
Ignatia dove after them.
She caught both sisters just before they hit the ground.
The three of them crashed into the grass and tumbled across the ground before finally coming to a stop near a tree stump.
Ignatia groaned.
Her injured leg trembled as she pushed herself up.
She dragged herself across the grass, pulling herself forward one arm at a time.
"...Sister."
Her voice cracked.
She reached Luminara and gently turned her over.
Ignatia's breath caught.
Where Luminara's eyes had been, there was nothing.
Only hollow sockets remained, their edges cracking and flaking away as pale dust drifted from them.
"No…"
Luminara screamed.
Ignatia flinched. Her hands hovered over her sister's face, trembling as she stared at the empty sockets.
Behind her, the grass rustled.
Seraphina dragged herself forward. She stuck out her tongue, and saliva gathered at the tip before she pressed it against Luminara's face.
Steam rose into the air.
For a moment, the cracking slowed.
The damaged flesh began to knit back together.
Then it stopped.
The decay crept forward again.
Seraphina's hand tightened against the grass.
"It's as I feared," she said quietly. "I can't undo his decay. All I can do is slow it down."
Seraphina reached her hand behind her own neck and wiped saliva across where the skin had already begun to crack and flake.
Ignatia's eyes dropped to it.
"Seraphina… your neck."
"It's nothing."
A trembling hand closed around Ignatia's wrist.
"Ignatia…"
Luminara's voice was hoarse and shaking.
"Take Seraphina… and go."
"Please. Fly as far as you can."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Please. Just listen to me. I can't protect you anymore."
"Just… go."
Her fingers loosened around Ignatia's wrist.
Her head rolled to the side.
"Idiot," Seraphina snapped. "We're all leaving. We have to find a way out of here so I can properly tre—"
"Kahk!"
A quill struck Seraphina in the side.
Ignatia's head snapped up.
Another moth dropped to the ground ahead of them.
Seraphina slowly turned.
"…Mirage."
He raised his wings and fired a fresh volley of quills at her.
Two quills tore into Seraphina before Ignatia lunged in front of her and whipped the remaining quills out of the air.
Behind her, Seraphina's breath hitched.
Her eyes slowly slid shut, and her body tipped sideways into the grass.
Ignatia glanced back at her.
Her grip tightened around her whip.
"You'll pay for that."
"Why don't you just accept your fate?" Mirage asked. "Once you've been touched by his decay, you become nothing but dust, sooner or later."
Mirage glanced up.
The sun was slowly climbing over the horizon.
High above, Magnus looked down at them with his golden eyes. Shadows gathered around him, coiling around his wings and body until he vanished into the darkness.
"Looks like you'll live to see another day," he said. "Though I wonder how long the two of them will last."
He spread his wings and took off into the sky.
Ignatia knelt down and slid one arm beneath Luminara and the other beneath Seraphina.
She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up.
Her wounded leg buckled.
Ignatia caught herself.
The sun climbed higher, and her shadow stretched long across the meadow, carrying the two figures in her arms.
I won't let any of you die.