*crrrk! *BANG!
The skies roared as it wept fire—the screams of fear and chaos—emanating from each corner of the city of Leran.
The skies were blue, yet it rained with fire as multiple ships fell from the skies.
Multiple soldiers armed with mechanized armor and energy rifles were seen everywhere—desperately trying to evacuate as many citizens as they could, along with massive cargo ships stationed nearby, ready to board citizens for evacuation.
"Move! Keep moving everyone! Get to the ships!" a soldier shouted in urgency as he waved his arms and beckoned the citizens towards the cargo ships.
A mother clutching to what seemed to be her baby, eyes of fear present in her face, approached the soldier "Please sir, I can't seem to find my husband!"
"We don't have time to help you ma'am! If we don't get these citizens out of here, all of us will die—or worse, be enslaved by the Zera—!"
*BANG!!!
The soldier's words were interrupted—a thunderous explosion erupted from the skies, sending shockwaves to the ground and rattling the nearby buildings.
A colossal ship ornate with gold and crimson pierced through the clouds and appeared above the city.
It's looming shadow almost covered everything that was beneath like a looming herald of despair and terror.
"T-They're here!" screamed a civilian pointing towards the sky—arms shaking.
Panic ensued as citizens started rushing towards the cargo ships—the screams of panic and terror filled the surroundings to the point that it was deafening.
It was like a sea of chaos, it's waves crashing against each other—a torrent of doom and desperation.
Amidst this chaos, a group of orphaned children stood at the center of it all, led by a boy named Jinn.
With no guardian, these children were at the middle of this chaos-driven torrent as the desperate citizens pushed, trampled, and ran towards the ships.
"Everyone! Stay together and do not let go of each other's arms!" shouted Jinn as seven other children nodded in response and followed his order.
They continued to walk towards a nearby cargo ship, their arms interlinked while the crowd of desperate citizens pressed around them.
As the crowd surged more intensely, their small bodies were pushed and shoved around as they try to reach the cargo ships—
*zzzVOOOM!
before another thunderous and deafening roar came from the Zeraf's colossal ship.
Jinn looked up, his heart started to pound, and saw the massive ship glowing menacingly red.
He then sees multiple hatches at the side of the ship opening slowly before it made a terrifying sound that sent chills down his spine.
*zzzVOOOM!*zzzVOOOM!*zzzVOOOM!
A panic inducing sound—terrifying, like a horn as it released multiple drop ships from the open hatches—like a swarm, these dropships descended, almost covering the skies.
"Shit… this isn't good," muttered Jinn, his voice drowned by the sound of chaos as concern was evident in his voice.
One of the soldiers—terrified—ran inside one of the cargo ship where Jinn and the his friends were going to.
"C-Close the ship! We must now escape! The Zeraf are upon us—multiple dropships are making landfall!" The soldier's voice stammering as he fumbled while talking on his radio.
With a slow and steady whirring, the massive door of the Cargo ship where Jinn and his group were trying to enter, started to close.
*crrrrrrrrreaaaaakk!!!
"W-Wait! There are still a lot of us outside!" screamed a desperate citizen as they tried to enter the cargo ship before it completely sealed them all off.
"N-No! What are they doing!?"
"Help us!!"
One by one, the doors of every cargo ship present in the area started to completely close off, the ramps of the ship raising as it made a slow and loud creaking sound.
It was decided.
No more refugees from here on out.
They must escape or they will all die.
Despite this, people still tried to enter the cargo ships—belongings be damned—they pushed and climbed over those who had stumbled just to get inside one of the cargo ships that were not fully closed, panic and fear evident on their faces.
Meanwhile, the engines of drop ships that came from the looming ship in orbit roared as they made landfall upon the cities.
Soldiers with artillery tried to mount a defense but were swiftly dispatched as the soldiers of the Zeraf at the side of the dropships dropped down and swiftly eliminated the soldiers with brutal efficiency.
Their blades shimmered with a hue of blue as the blood of the Rinari soldiers dripped down their blades, staining the ground.
"T-They're here!" exclaimed a citizen.
"EVERYONE, RUN!"
Civilians scattered and ran for their lives as the cargo ships containing the refugees left one by one.
*Bang! *Bang! *Bang! *BANG!
Thunderous sounds of cannons being shot by the Zeraf soldiers caught some of the cargo ships mid-flight causing them to crash into a fiery demise.
Jinn and his other friends that was with him wasted no time and fled the scene to hide inside a nearby ruined building.
"W-What do we do now Jinn!?" asked Kain, fear evident in his voice.
"One thing's for sure… this city is a lost cause," whispered Jinn as he inspected the nearby surroundings by peering unto a broken window.
He saw it, a scene of despair and terror as several Rinari soldiers were slaughtered one by one by the soldiers of the Zeraf.
It was a one sided slaughter.
Jinn ducked down against the wall before any Zeraf could lay eyes on him, just in case.
The youngest of the group, Ophelia brought up an idea, placing her hand on Jinn's shoulder.
"Jinn… I think we should head towards one of the gates so we can escape to the forest of Vezina, what do you think?"
"F-Forest of Vezina? Are you serious? That's literally a death sentence!" replied Kain.
"Or we could all die here, that's great too," Verhedyn shrugging sarcastically.
Vox adjusted his glasses—despite being already broken—before speaking.
"The question is…what gate?" he paused for a brief moment before continuing,
"The north gate is where most of our city's soldiers are, the south …is where th—"
"Little Rats!"
Vox was unable to complete what he was trying to say before a soldier of Zeraf caught them and stormed through the ruined building,
*Crash!
the brittle wooden door crashing down the ground with noise.
"Shit!" exclaimed Jinn, "Run!"
The group ran almost instantaneously as soon as they heard Jinn, yet one member got caught by the soldier.
Nevi was caught, the soldier yanking her back before she could take a step forward.
"Nevi!!" exclaimed Kain as he looked back while he was running
"Go! We'll catch up afterwards!" Exclaimed Jinn as he rushed back to retrieve Nevi, no hesitation nor fear.
He sprinted with great speed, grabbing a metal pipe that was hidden behind a pile of rubble along the way.
"L-Let me go!" screamed Nevi as she repeatedly hits the soldier's armor with all her strength—desperation evident on her face.
*thud! *thud! *thud!
"Why even bother…" the soldier sighed before raising his energy pistol and aiming it directly towards Nevi's head, "The battlemaster won't notice a little squirt like you disappearing"
Nevi—still hitting the soldier, screamed in desperation,
"HELP ME!!!"
"Duck!" shouted Jinn, which made Nevi to duck just in time before a metal pipe flew with great speed that whipped just above her head—hitting the hand to which the soldier held the gun.
*Clang!
A direct hit.
Yet the metal pipe wasn't enough to disarm the soldier.
Still, it had served its purpose, just as Jinn had intended.
It served as a distraction to which allowed Jinn to burst with great speed, flexing his leg muscles as he closed in the gap between him and the soldier.
"Damned brat!" exclaimed the soldier as he snapped his gun and aimed it towards Jinn, his finger already on the trigger.
Yet unbeknownst to the soldier, his grip on Nevi had loosened, allowing her to shove the arm holding the gun as she fell to the ground.
The soldier's arm was pushed to the side as he pulled the trigger, completely misaligning his aim towards Jinn—completely missing his shot.
The opportunity had arise.
And in that split second, Jinn took it.
With swiftness, Jinn snapped his arms forward and snatched one of the soldier's pocket knives that was attached on the soldier's legs—
*Shkk!!!
pulling it upwards as its blade gleamed with sharpness.
"Take this, bastard!"
Jinn shouted as he snapped both of his arms forward while he held the blade, plunging it deep into the soldier's thighs.
*crrk!
Yet before Jinn could react, a fast strike came and hit him at the side of his face—
*Thwack! *Bang!
a back fist that came from the soldier, who barely reacted at all to Jinn's strike.
Jinn was sent flying into a nearby rubble, his body colliding with solid stone as blood spurted from his mouth.
"You are a fool to think that attacks like this would work on soldiers of the Zeraf!" the soldier spoke.
Yet Jinn stood up, a smirk curling at corner of his mouth as he stared at the soldier with a piercing gaze.
"Idiot, did you forget someone?" Jinn spoke as his eyes shifted from the soldier towards Nevi, who was seemingly holding something within her hands.
The soldier's eyes widened before finally looking behind his shoulder.
And there it was—Nevi—who seemed to have fused a bomb that she threw towards the soldier before ducking and rolling towards Jinn.
*click... *click...
The bomb's mechanical clicks echoed subtly—
*Click!
before suddenly stopping to release a loud and instantaneous bang, blanketing the area with mists.
"Shit!" exclaimed the soldier as he fired his energy pistol blindly into the smoke—
*Bang! *Bang! *Bang
to which all missed, allowing Nevi and Jinn to escape the area through the very same pathway where his other friends left.
"Nice one Nevi!" remarked Jinn as he raises his arm and beckoned Nevi to ran away from the area
"Thanks Jinn! I thought I was dead for sure!" Nevi grinned, flashing a thumbs-up as they both ran and head towards the direction where they the rest of their friends would be surely waiting.
*thud! *thud! *thud!
They continued to run until Jinn noticed something estranged.
The air felt strange—too quiet.
No shouting, no screaming, and no chaos which were rampant earlier.
The suffocating and ominous silence crawled creepily on Jinn's senses—still, they moved on.
They finally reached the location where they should meet up with the others.
But instead of finding their comrades, a grim scene unfolded before them.
Citizens were rounded up in a circle-like formation with multiple soldiers surrounding them.
"S-Shit…!" muttered Jinn as the sight shocked him to his core as among the citizens were his friends—his family—trapped and left to the faith of the soldiers.
Jinn's face sank.
He turned to Nevi, his voice tightened "Nevi, we sh—"
But before he could finish his words, he faltered as the sight unfolded upon his very eyes.
A sight that sent chills down his spine and froze the blood which coursed through him.
Nevi—his childhood friend—laid in the middle of the street, her small body drenched as the pool of her blood continued to drown her.
The sight shattered Jinn.
Despair, Anger, and Sadness coursed through his body, threatening to consume him.
He stumbles backwards
"H-How…?" Jinn muttered confusedly while gazing upon the body of Nevi.
Before he could process as to how it happened, the soldier which him and Nevi faced earlier on arrived with a rifle in hand, no doubt searching for him.
Jinn's instincts kicked in quickly, he hid under a pile of dead bodies of the soldiers of Rinari,
*squelch!
their bloodied flesh created a disgusting sound as Jinn dug deeper to hide himself—his eyes still in shock as he continued to process what was happening before him.
As he continued to hide from the soldier, he watched the scene happening in front of his eyes.
The citizens of Leran being rounded up like cattle, and his friends among them—their fate rests upon the decision of a mysterious figure seemingly being hailed by the soldiers.
A woman emanating an aura of authority appeared in front of these citizens, her voice was powerful and commanded authority.
"Citizens of Leran, I Battlemaster Venedix of House Sorellia stand before you," Her voice powerful,
"As of this moment, you are no longer free."
Murmurs mixed with cries began to ensue, yet Battlemaster Venedix continued.
"Your lives now belong to the dominion of House Sorellia—of the Empire of Zerafhon. You will serve. You will obey. Those who comply will be used and those who don't will be discarded," Her piercing gaze swept over the citizens.
"You may resist, you may struggle or you may fight," She unsheathes one of her swords and pierces it to the ground, "But know this, you're death will be swift"
One of the citizens screamed, "We'd rather die than become one of your slaves!" as he throws a rock towards Venedix—which she easily dodged by tilting her head to the side.
"We all know what the Zerafhon do to slaves!" screamed another citizen, "We'd rather die than to be treated as toys and tools!" the citizen's expression mixed with fear and anger.
"Not everyone wants to die, you know! What an idiot!" muttered Verhedyn to himself, fear and anxiousness evident on his face.
Majority of the citizens seemed to be vocal on the choice of rather dying than to serve as slaves to the Zerafhon.
"Very well," Venedix sighed as she raised her hands—prompting the Zeraf soldiers to aim their rifles on the citizens.
*click! *whirrr...
The mechanical sounds of the rifles hissed, primed to shoot.
"A-Are you serious!?" Ophelia exclaimed.
"Fire at Wi—"
Yet before Venedix could give out the command, a sudden movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention.
Jinn—with fury in his eyes—ran towards her with an energy sword in hand which he grabbed from the dead Rinari soldiers he hid on.
"YAAARGH!!" Jinn let out a battle cry, as he wielded an energy sword too heavy for him—
*scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk!!!
dragging it and scraping it upon the ground whilst charging at Venedix with reckless abandon.
"J-Jinn!" Ophelia gasped as she watched Jinn in fear as he charged towards Vendix.
She stepped forward, visibly shaking with tears upon her eyes, "N-No!"
"How Peculiar…" murmured Venedix as her eyes narrowed with a cold gaze.
With a fluid and practiced motion, she unsheathed her two swords.
Jinn's grip on the sword tightened as he grew closer to Venedix.
Each step was heavy as he dragged the heavy sword until he reached striking range.
*Thud! *Thud! *Thud!
"Hup!" catching his breath, Jinn swung the heavy sword towards Venedix with all the might he could muster.
*Whoosh!
The force and momentum of his swing made him off-balance, causing him to stumble to the side.
Yet Venedix was fast as she turned her body slightly and without effort—completely dodging Jinn's incredibly slow strike.
"Mhm," with ruthless swiftness, Venedix turned her body and swiftly kicking Jinn, her boot plunging towards Jinn's stomach.
The force was so great that it made Jinn puke blood as he was sent flying.
"ARGH!"
*CRASH!
With a loud thud, Jinn crashed towards the frightened citizens, his body tumbling across the ground.
"J-Jinn!" a collective gasp echoed, both from nearby civilians and his friends that ran towards him, before helping him up.
Kain—with tears running down his eyes—held Jinn's shoulders, "J-Jinn, are you okay!?"
Jinn coughed and struggled to breathe momentarily before he caught his breath and stood up.
His voice was rough as he wiped the blood off from his mouth,
"What do you think?"
"Kid, what are you doing!?" shouted a citizen, fear and confusion evident on their voice.
Jinn faced the citizen with a piercing gaze, "Saving my friends."
"Save…you say?" Venedix cross her arms, Her tone mixed with curiosity "And how would you do that exactly?"
Multiple soldiers laughed at the idea of Jinn even trying to save a single soul—unbeknownst to them, Jinn had an Idea.
He looked at his friends briefly before standing up to walk towards the Battlemaster—his small frame standing between the citizens behind him and Venedix.
"For Nevi…" Jinn muttered as he closed his eyes momentarily—He then steeled himself before shouting.
"I request a duel!"