Bunnies approved
It felt so wrong. Fallen soldiers, Brotherhood and Assembly that all slumped against shattered buildings and lay amongst the blood-soaked debris, sung to Shinsou a harrowing accompaniment as he slowly, almost reluctantly, walked towards the one he had loved. Wails of the dying on both sides followed the Telgradian’s every step, but despite the chill in every one of his tensed muscles, his arcanely-attuned senses that could have stretched for an eternity around him could still only focus one on person.

Philomel. She was the Faun that had been the center of his life, the woman he trusted most. The woman that he loved most. She, and her familiars and all of her cherished Gilded Lily had been looking for him on the field, he was sure. Or, was that sheer arrogance? Did he believe that he would still be the focus of everything she did here, just so he could retain some relevance, some importance in her eyes, whether friend or enemy? She probably knew they would meet, but the faun probably never wanted to see him again.

Shinsou found himself questioning his own thoughts, now, but it no longer mattered. They, the Faun and her Lily personal guard, had found him. Or, more accurately, destiny had brought them together, and now there was no more time to contemplate what was or what might be.

The first of Philomel’s number loomed from within the clinging smoke, a silhouette in front of a crimson backdrop of fire. Her emerald eyes burned from behind a mask of ashen black soot, framed by wild red hair. Tall and powerful, she loomed malevolently over her diminutive opponent, an iron blade beckoning the Telgradian towards his doom. He needed no second invitation. The force of his Hakai’s powers dragged him forward, granting him great speed. Carving the air before him, Enpera Shinkotei’s edge shimmered with marbled jet and purple power until suddenly it was arrested by the shearing impact of metal through metal. As her sword bifurcated through its shaft, the woman’s eyes flickered in panic.

You…

Shinsou suddenly recognized her as one of the higher ranking Lily girls; one who he himself had once helped in days gone by, but one whose name he could now not recall. Somewhere deep within him, a pang of emotion sparked to life; a remnant of familiarity. The cold urge to extinguish her life warmed, and instead of delivering the obvious killing blow the Telgradian extended his left palm to reveal a powerful green light. The severing void, as he called it, was meant for protection but was also a powerful stunning tool in close contact. With a thunderous crack, the light both exploded and disintegrated in an instant, and the Lily warrior’s legs folded underneath her. She was unconscious, but still very much alive, and as Shinsou gazed upon her he questioned himself again. He could have killed her. He should have done, but he didn’t. Why? Because of some false hope that it would make things better in Philomel’s eyes? Or was it because he himself had felt that his resolve to wage war against her, to see through the annihilation of everyone in the Brotherhood’s way, was perhaps not as resolute as first thought?

The spellsword turned, wary of the glares that converged on him from Philomel and her contingent up on the wall’s interior. They would not see what he had done as any sort of act of goodwill or kindness, but instead exactly the kind of thing he was getting a reputation for. They would hate him. Shinsou was used to being the object of ire for many people, but why did her hate hurt so much?

“She will live,” The Telgradian shouted over the cacophony in the background, “…and so will the other girls. No-one else has to be involved, here, Philomel, and I know I have no right to ask this, but please afford me one last selfish request. Come down from the wall and finish this with me, here and now. No-one else needs to die for us.”

Even his once firm tone had wavered into something slightly more submissive. The progressive grimness of the scenery had been matched only by the growing sense of hopelessness, and Shinsou’s senses were assaulted by a barrage of emotions as the Faun considered, with an expression somewhere between misery and rage, the request. As she did, a two hundred strong Lily contingent that now fortified beyond the gate considered their options with the Telgradian, before their princess stood and barked a command that lost itself in the wind. Almost immediately, they stood to attention obediently, forming a corridor through which she could descend to the street.

Finally, Philomel’s remaining quintet parted to allow their princess through, alone, and with a mighty leap she landed perfectly on her hooves with her trademark nameless at her side. As the remaining quint gathered around them in a circle, the oppressive veils of darkness enveloped Radasanth.

“This could have been so different, Shinsou. You’ve ruined everything; this country, your vision, and worst of all you ruined us.”

Philomel’s voice grated on every nerve ending in his body, abrasively silky, gratingly smooth. It seeped into his mind from every pore, every opening, every weakness; it lingered like a malignant tumour, feeding on the fear that festered there. Overwhelmingly sickened by the cloying, heady stench of death that hung in the atmosphere, Shinsou’s narrowly slit eyes peered at her sadly. He had no retort this time, other than to let go of it all. It felt like death to hear it. He knew their differences were now irreconcilable, because while he believed in his vision of a better world, and Storm Veritas, and even himself, Philomel had just confirmed his worst fear; that there could be no more belief in them.

Danzetsu.

Supernatural blacks smouldered with barely suppressed power as everything around Shinsou whipped into a furious twister of arcane energies. Once the fog of smoke and electricity rolled away, the Telgradian’s physical form stood for all to see. It defied mortal comprehension; impossibly beautiful musculature, eternally intimidating visage complete with black eyes and waist length hair. The four remaining Lily were arrayed in formation about him, their weapons held in silent salute, and Philomel’s armour whistling forlornly in the wind. But for all that, it was the Telgradian’s sheer force of will that dominated the scene.

“I love you. I’m sorry.”

Without waiting for his words to die, Shinsou struck. He danced over Radasanth’s broken cobbles like a puppet on strings, synchronizing his movements perfectly with Philomel’s despite the tight quarters created by the surrounding Lily Quint. Only when he was close enough to see the very pupils of his beloved was the Telgradian able to force his body into a swing with Enpera Shinkotei. Pure adrenaline overpowered the Faun’s overwhelming presence. She instinctively ducked the first cross-sweep from the left, evaded the downwards swing from the right by leaping backwards half a step, and pre-empted the third stroke by lashing out with nameless, the slender, beautiful blade clanging Enpera harmlessly away.

A scarred red glint now hung unnaturally large and heavy in the pitch-black sky, grey clouds scurrying away from it like frightened mice. Aghast all of the chaos and carnage below, little heed was paid to it.