| Fan Fiction |
by Aelk
“Nine men weren’t enough?”
He walked towards the machina cube which Shamash was supposed to trade with him for a large sum of money. By placing his fingers on the surface and tapping with them erratically, the strange object glowed in a color of bloodlust.
Similar to the scenario which happened in the palace, the steel exterior of the cube disintegrated to reveal a tiny being within.
”What?!”
Panting heavily with little energy left to fend for himself, he is now face to face with a new enemy whom he has been ordered to steal from the palace just to make Marduk’s staged play work.
The humanoid figure charged towards him on Marduk’s command, and the both of them exchanged several blows from their close-ranged weapons.
It was obvious that Shamash will be killed soon.
“Shamash!!!!!”
“Bro!!!”
Anzu and the others called out for him from afar, attracting the attention from the group of ‘law enforcers’ on the verge of landing their finishing blow at their target.
Making use of this one and only opportunity, Shamash used his last bit of energy to leap quickly out of the besiegement and grabbed his friends to escape.
The enemies meant to give a chase, which they will definitely be able to catch up due to the trail of blood left behind by the prey. But Marduk held up his hand to cue for a stop. Instead, he bent down to the machina and typed another string of commands to it.
“This should do.”
Upon receiving the orders, the humanoid figure darted along its kill’s path.
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“What are you doing?!”
Anzu was horrified as she witnessed how Shamash was intentionally leaving alternative trails of blood from his bleeding arms.
“Confuse them…Take the children and run…”
His sentences were fragmented and his lungs were fighting for air as his numerous wounds bled copiously.
“Even…” Anzu thought unbelievably, “Even in this predicament…”
As she aided him by supporting his arms, her mind was searching for a way out at the same time. Shamash has suffered a mortal injury across his back. Judging from the way his tunic was cut, so perfectly that the torn ends fit each other seamlessly; the priestess knew it was the work of the Machina.
What must she do to save him?
“Helke, take the others out of this place…”
Shamash requested all of a sudden as he felt that he could not run any longer. The pain from all over his body has finally numbed his senses. The only option left is probably to leave him behind to hold the pursuers back.
A wet and stinging sensation hurt Anzu’s eyes badly. She seldom cries in her life as a priestess, and yet her tears are falling now. She knew the wound on him is fatal, yet she could not do anything.
[Anu’s… blessing.]
The goddess’ words rang in her head once more. The scene of Anu’s blood falling on her, and on how they disappeared…
[Mu…of Healing]
A second voice spoke, and it was the spirit of Lilith inside of her. Memories from the future revealed on how Lilith was able to close any wounds perfectly. Many voices concussed her mind all of a sudden.
It was loud and yet very clear.
She does not play a flute, but she knew the song of prayer. Shamash was on his knees, with Helke and the other children tugging his sleeves helplessly to beg him to get well.
“O Lost sparrow from the flock…”
The hymn of the gods came as a mellow tune. A warm feeling quickly rose within her, and she knew the feeling in an instant.
“Return to where you belong…”
A translucent white light engulfed the injured thief softly, and in a split second, all his bleeding stopped.
“?!”
There was no longer breathlessness, and his wounds were nowhere to be seen. Surprised and amazed, but at the same time, Shamash saw the abominable machina figure approaching him fast.
“Thanks, Anzu, though I don’t know why. I will give you a proper thanks later.”
His gratitude sent Anzu into a short moment of confusion. Was he thanking her for the interruption of his business, or for the healing?
Probably it was both. The priestess was then pushed behind by the thief so that he could protect her from the approaching machina.
“With your song, I am invincible.”
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“Hey Mard…”
A subject calling out to him was suddenly faced with a murderous glare from his superior, who was now the king. It was then he realized that they were no longer friends like before, but a sovereign and his subject.
“I trust that you understand our status now, Ruf.”
“Y-your Majesty,” Ruf changed his addressing for the fear of being killed, “the machina sent after the Shadow has not been back.”
Upon receiving the news, Marduk’s expression cringed in anger. There should not be a problem in the energy supply of the Machina, since it was powered with the lives of more than a dozen strong Juhnas. Hence, it could only mean one thing:
They defeated the killer machina.
“How was that possible?” Marduk thought furiously.
”Could there have been a fault in the machina…?”Ruf asked without thinking through. Unknowingly to him, he has called for his own downfall.
“SILENCE!!”
Marduk’s roar resonated within the hall which was empty except for the two of them.
There can not be a mistake in the design, as it was flawless, or that was what the inventor of the machina strongly believed in. As rage gathered within him due to the doubts from Ruf, a faint glow of a dark aura began to surround him like an ominous drape.
“Your majesty… what’s happening…?”
Upon the sight of the strange power, Ruf could not help but shiver. The eerie aura then began to gather at the palms of the king, who seemed to be in a trance.
“You majesty… no, Marduk!!”
The once friend of the false-king was worried, but little did he know that he was the one who was in danger.
“Do not… doubt… my creation…”
A malicious-looking Marduk who seemed like an alter ego of the original said with a low growl like a beast. The aura around him was soon concentrated into a small torrent of energy.
Ruf sensed the threat, and brought himself to a run despite him shivering badly from the frightening sight. As he approached the double doors leading to the exit, it was suddenly locked by an unseen force.
Without any more exits to escape from, Ruf closed his eyes for the last time as the man who was once his best friend took his life with his Mu.
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A/N
Updates will be slow,
but i will try my best to keep them coming
(even if nobody reads this anymore XD)
thus this chapter tells of the origins of Mu.
*still racking my brains for the short stories collection*