They hid inside a Kharroc stable. The beasts had all been butchered. Their blood had stained the ground purple.
The village had gone silent. The ground was black, drinking in the blood as if it hadn't tasted life in years. The air was thick with iron. Every breath scraped against his ribs, each inhale shifting fractured bones beneath his skin in his hand.
The pain was constant. But he was getting used to it. The throbbing was still there, but now it was smudging into the background.
Yuviel tried to distract himself, tapping Tasha's shoulder. She turned toward him. Her long, beautiful hair was matted with dust, and her tunic—once pale blue—was stained red from his bleeding hand.
He spoke, trying to bury the guilt.
"What do you see?"
Tasha whispered, clutching his hand tighter.
"There's... b-blood, Yuv. And s-some people are guarding." She peeked again. Her eyes widened, and she gulped down."Th-they are n-not people.."
Her voice quivered, and her eyes brimmed with a hopelessness that mirrored his own.
She suddenly stood.
"I'm going to Papa."
"Tasha!" Yuviel grunted, pain surging through his chest as he pushed off the wall. "We should stay together."
"You don't understand!" she said, nearly in tears. "What if he's… I have to see him."
The thought hit him, too.
What if his own parents had suffered the same fate?
A metallic thud, then another. A clink echoed across the ruined village. They froze. Their banter had invited an uninvited guest.
The creature stepped into view—plated in armor, it reeked of rottness, bronze flesh peeked out from the gaps of its armor, eyes black as oil.
It saw her.
It charged.
Yuviel acted before thinking.
"Tasha!"
He yanked her aside as the monster's green-glowing baton came crashing down. It grazed her shoulder, shattered the wall adjacent to them. She screamed.
He dragged her, and they sprinted, ducking into blood-soaked hay. The metal beast followed, scanning the area, its head jerking left and right like a machine out of sync.
Not so smart? Yuviel thought. Yuviel didn't believe he could have saved Tasha; the attack was poorly aimed. If it had been a normal person, he could have aimed for her head.
With another series of metallic thuds, the creature walked out, the sound of its footsteps dying.
Yuviel got up on his knees and looked toward Tasha. Her tunic had torn at the shoulder, and she was shaking, a swollen red patch rising where the baton had struck.
That wasn't a normal weapon...
"We have to move again. It'll come back."
She gave a faint nod. He led the way, limping toward the city hall ruins.
---
While in the center of Caspuyl, in the town hall, Bremos had already captured most of the women and children, he sought after. He was breaking the resistance in the batch by beating discipline into them.
"Sir, we found this woman. Closest DNA match yet."
Bremos nodded.
The woman was on her knees, bound and bloodied. Her face was bruised, but her eyes—blue, unwavering—still burned with defiance. Her features were symmetrical, noble even. Without the lieutenant's word, Bremos could have guessed. She had the blood that Dome wanted.
He scoffed to himself.
Ten thousand years ago, she'd have been a graceful noble in the Dominion. And I, I would've been her servant.
But things had changed. I wouldn't tolerate those eyes; she must remain at her place, under my shoes.
His augmented mind noticed the tiniest twitch on her face—something no human would catch. She was hiding worry. Not fear for herself. For someone else.
He licked his lips.
"Woman," he said, voice oily-smooth. "Do you have a child? A mate? A brother, perhaps?"
There. The flicker. Her eyes moved—just slightly—at the mention of her son. A very, very minute jump in her heart rate. All agreed to the administrator's intuition.
"Mmm," he smiled.
"Where is your son?"
"ANSWER ME!"
"I-I have no son," she whispered through torn lips.
"Louder"
"I have no son!" she barked.
Bremos growled. He grabbed her hair and yanked.
"Liar! Don't you dare lie to me, human woman. I can smell the fear in your sweat. I can hear your heart betray you."
He stopped. Something… a sound.
He glanced at the hall entrance. His foggy eyes squinted, his grip loosened on her hair.
"Thar. Search the surrounding area. I felt something."
Tharmenes nodded and departed. Bremos turned back to the woman, still trembling.
He slapped her hard. Her face was rocking to one side, blood dripping on the ground. A red print of his hand fading on her face.
If only, if only she weren't destined for the Arbiter, he thought. She could've been my personal toy. Alas! I have to make it up with another one.
He dragged another prisoner forward—this one a man, tied in wire, face a pulped ruin.
"Is this your mate?"
Her tears answered before her lips could.
Yuvan Myrrin.
---
Back in the Shadows, Yuviel kept watching, trying to conceal himself, not making a sound.
Yuviel clenched his fists. His mother's cry when that gold-faced man pulled her hair had nearly broken him. But part of him felt relief.
They're alive...
Papa and Mom... they're still alive.
A younger, stockier gold-skinned soldier stalked the room like a predator. His movements were too precise. Yuviel realized, they know. Somehow, they knew someone else was nearby.
Did I make a sound?
These weren't like the metal soldiers. They were worse—aware.
His arm throbbed, pain and loss of blood were making his thoughts muddier, and his thought processes were slowing down.
But something else had awoken inside him. A clarity. He could taste his own sweat. He could feel the shift in the air when danger moved. Awareness. Heightened. Alien.
Tasha lay beside him, eyes half-closed, lips pale. Her shoulder had swollen even more.
No… Yuviel thought.
This isn't just an injury. It's like a Slither's bite. She's been poisoned. Those batons contained something similar. These people had brought something worse from the sky.
He shook her gently.
"We have to move. They're coming."
No response. Only slow paintings.
He shook her again.
A slow nod. Barely conscious.
Yuviel peeked around the table.
Clear.
He turned back to her, whispering with a smile, "For now, we're sa—"
CRACK.
Something struck his gut like a cannonball. His body flew across the room, smashing into the wall. He crumpled to the ground, gasping. Blood filled his mouth.
He blinked through the blur. Saw the golden figure standing tall. Smirking.
In his hand, he held Tasha by the head.
"I found the pups, sir."