| Fan Fiction |
by Aelk
“Please be fine… please…”
And yet, the scene he is about to see was ---
A group of men in a palace warrior’s getup were seizing Helke and Hanna by their arms, rendering them immobile and in pain.
Their faces were bitter, as tears continued to pour from their hearts which seemed to be bleeding. Ignoring the fiends, Shamash took a frightened glimpse at the earth beneath where the two children’s captors stood.
“Ea… Tia… Jhero…”
They were no longer lively and cheerful as just an hour before.
“Rhea….”
The brunette boy, like the others near him, was lying lifelessly on the soft grass. The moonlight could not dull the vision of a skilled thief like Shamash, and this was one of the times he had wished the darkness could.
There were holes all over their small bodies, apparently impaled by multiple projectiles. Even so, the objects in question were nowhere to be seen. Patches of dark liquid were staining the children, and continued to pour from their open wounds.
Shamash knelt down, and picked up the nearby Jhero from his position. It was still warm, as if the child was just asleep, but the lack of blush on his usually radiant cheeks spoke otherwise.
“Phantom thief, whom was loyal to me.”
A distant voice spoke to him, as if ruining his train of thoughts on purpose, and he knew whom the voice belonged to.
“Marduk… let Helke and Hanna go…”
Shamash plead, but he was not ready to beg yet, not towards a murderer such as him.
“Big brother…”
“Bro! Don’t care about us!! He was just using us so that he could kill you and Anzu!!”
The remaining two children were struggling hard to free themselves from their captors, yet their efforts were in vain.
“These children were right,”
Marduk emerged from behind his subordinates and bent his torso so that he could catch a glimpse of the thief’s expression. He was not at all afraid of his own safety despite being so close to him, for he has had the power of the god, and the most reliable hostages in the world.
“So tell me, Shamash, are you one blessed by the deity Anu? One with a power such as mine?”
Shamash could remain silent no longer. As he laid Jhero’s body gently onto the land, he stood up once more. Though there was no sound at all except for the bristling cold winds, the killing intent of Shamash was clear and enormous.
“Let the two children go. You want my life, right? You can have it, but allow no others to be involved.”
“You’re not answering me, as usual,” Marduk asked as he drew his sword tied to his waist at the side, “Sorry but I can’t let them go just yet… Now… where’s the priestess?”
The same dark aura surrounded him like a natural shield. Shamash knew it was his Mu, though the feeling it gave was nothing similar to Anzu’s. Without a weapon and the power, he knew his odds of winning are zero.
“Big brother, don’t fight this monster!!!!”
Yet despite Hanna’s pleas, Shamash focused on devising a plan which only he can pull off; something of his expertise.
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“Goddess Ishtar… help us… please!”
In spite of her earlier words on choosing Shamash over the deities, Anzu was desperate for help, and Ishtar was the only power she could turn to now. She knelt against the soft grass and prayed hard towards the moon which represents the deity.
There was no answer from the heavens.
Could the goddess have really given up on her messenger on Mesopia? Anzu’s hands were shivering greatly. She could not think about what would happen to Shamash and the children as she prayed now.
Hiding cowardly seemed to be as difficult as facing the enemy.
“I don’t want to lose the person whom I stole, her and her heart.”
That was what Shamash said before they parted. But he did not realise that her feelings were the same as his.
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Helke and Hanna were in the hands of two separate palace warriors, with their spearheads tight on their throats.
The only thing he has with him now was a grapple hook used to hook onto balconies for infiltrating.
There is only one chance.
“Tell me, where is she? Actually it doesn’t matter, I could just kill all of you here… though I don’t see any fun in that.”
As Marduk asked on the whereabouts of Anzu, Shamash parted his lips with a staged line.
“I won’t tell it to the likes of ……… ANZU!! Don’t come here!!!”
A quick glance at the rear of the false king of the humans, and a lie, Shamash has created a short moment of distraction for the children’s captors as well as the king himself.
Marduk’s attention was diverted to the little shack at the back, and within that second, the phantom thief has already sprung into action.
Hanna was the more defenseless child, and thus he threw his grapple onto her captor’s weapon to disarm him with a pull. Helke grabbed the moment on time as he got his cue, and bit the arm restraining him.
“Oh-ouch!”
“What?!”
The two children ran towards their big brother with ease due to their uncanny speed trained from various pilfering experiences. And within a fraction of a second, the tables were turned--- at least there were only Marduk’s godly powers left to worry about.
“I must praise you… Shamash… you are indeed worthy of your notorious alias, Stealth Shadow…”
A vein became visible on his temple, and though unseen, sharp gales of unnatural origins gathered around the king like a materialization of his murderous aura. Like how Anzu’s trigger for her powers was a song, Marduk’s was probably anger.
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No matter how Anzu prayed, the deity never answered her. She has betrayed the goddess, and this is probably her punishment.
Rather than wasting her time lamenting and keep hoping for an answer which was now considered a miracle, the once-priestess decided that she could wait no longer.
Even if Shamash would reproach her after everything for ignoring his intentions to keep her safe…
Anzu got up from her kneeling position, and began to run.
…
[Her time; and his time… are fast ticking away…]
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The aura surround Marduk quickly materialized into sharps which could penetrate any matter at will. Hovering in the air as if manipulated by invisible strings of a puppeteer, the dart-like projectiles aimed their edge at the target.
“So long, Shadow.”
Upon Marduk’s words, Shamash instinctively turned around and hugged the two children tightly. He knew that he and the kids could never run from the mysterious power which infested the world, but he wanted to try his best to shield the young ones with his mere mortal body.
At least, he thought, at least let him be the last to go…
Helke and Hanna trembled with tremendous fear in their adoptive brother’s arms, their tears began to fall uncontrollably from their eyes which were about to witness everything.
Shamash clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
“I’m sorry, Anzu.”
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It was not a loud sound, but crisp and clear enough to hear it distinctively from the sounds of the night.
It was like a silent roar, gentle and yet it pierces through the airstream.
Then, it was followed by the strident moaning from the children.
An ill-omened feeling rushed up to her unwantedly, as she took a last dart towards her destination.
The cries grew louder, and as cold winds penetrated her, the sight she saw tore her heart apart forever.
“No…..”
Helke and Hanna, amidst the other children lying motionlessly on the grass, were drenched in crimson just like how she was a month ago.
Kneeling onto the earth and embracing the two rigidly was him, the one whom she loved more than anything in the world. His blood of fresh red flowed from all over, and from his forehead, life drips from his ear ring onto the traumatized children.
“What… is this? This should not be happening… no…”
She thought disbelievingly to herself, ignoring all evidences of truth, and darted to where Shamash was.
She tried to search for signs of life, but she could not find any except for his body warm.
“Return… return…”
While allowing him to rest on her laps, her white Mu gathered around him like a blanket once more, and closed all the wounds drilled by Marduk’s powers one by one.
The latter watched at a side amusedly.
“So it was you who had the power. It was no wonder he could beat the machina. With this Mu, he is invincible.”
Marduk mocked at the priestess with an aloof tone while his minions agreed with their king.
Anzu could no longer hear what Marduk derided about, and focused on closing the wounds. She knew her own power’s limits instinctively, but she forced herself to go on. Her Mu could close all wounds, but could not bring a person back to life.
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The king watched on interestingly as the relationship between the thief and the priestess is now crystal clear.
“Return… return here, to where you belong… Shamash!”
His warmth was slowly dissipating from his body even though he now looked as though he was only asleep.
A surge of dizziness caused her over-used powers to disappear, leaving her in despair once more.
Just when they were ready to be together…
Shamash is gone.
Like a kite with a broken string, he could no return to her anymore.
“You have not told me your feelings in words…”
Her weeps obscured her sight, as if masking her from the truth she has already knew.
“I want you to steal me again… steal me away from this place…”
She ran her fingers through his azure hair, and reached for the ring she gave.
“… Why must you be so cruel…?”
Anzu lifted his head up and held him tight in her arms. So heartbreakingly strong is the reality that separated them apart.
Unwitting to her, the murderer has still had the appetite for another blood feast.
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A/N
As the chapter's title implies,
i'd reckon everything will end in chapter 60 T^T
i'm at chapter 59 now... so, grabbing this rare
weekend whereby i'm free, i'll speed up!
(expect the next chapter very soon =))
So yeah, he died.
wasn't going to make it like this,
but my creative juices are really hitting an
all time low -_-