Never Surrender

Grave witnessed the apparition's approach and was grateful for the distraction. He flowed through the shadows during the diversionary tactic. So long as the men were preoccupied, they wouldn't reach the home. He couldn't be sure as to how long the ritual would take or how strong these angels were. It was best to stall for the time being. That was the case, until the ghost revealed her inability to fight. It was then he darted out and beheaded the closest foe. The other three turned to watch their ally fall to the dirt. The farthest enemy fell in the same fashion, headless.

"Allow me to fight in your stead." The soul demon back-stepped into the street. The remaining soldiers were prepared for his approach. Another surprise attack wouldn't work. No matter; their attention was now taken from advancing. He made sure to stand behind them. "Turn your backs and perish if you wish." Grave extended his sword toward the remaining soldiers.

"As you wish Soul Demon" she chuckled and vanished. The other ghosts watched cuasing a lot fo unease and stress amoungst the angels. They go more and more hesitant to attack when they saw each comrade fall. The ritual did not take as long as most would've though one of them sneakily looking around her old house. Deadly clearly having something to ssay about that ripped the angels head off and ate the remains elavingthe soul for her companoin who would appear soon enough.

With a swift blow, Grave dashed forth and knocked the first angel off balance. The other attempted to aid his companion by chanting a spell. A spike made of pure shadow shot out from Grave's side to pierce the angel's throat. He drew blood from the first target and stabbed through the angel's heart in two slashes. The angels fell dead. Grave quickly absorbed their souls and ran to the house. He'd sensed one had managed to sneak by, but could no longer feel their presence. In their stead, he saw Deadly finishing off the soul's remains. "That appears to be their limit." Grave swiped the blood from his sword and sheathed it. He could no longer feel angelic presences in the area.

"Appears so, we might have to wait a bit, I think the procedure is very difficult and hard on the body for a few days, but it has to be done" she said. Seclusion's sister soon walked in and stood before them "Thank you very much Grave, you much be who my sister talked about on her last visist here, she really wasn't kidding when she said you were very skilled and that you liked her singing too." she smiled "As you can tell I'm her twin sister, my name is Rose" she said smiling at him softly. "Thank you very much as well, they come here from time to time wanting to destroy the city" she spooke in a much softer voice and was almost the oposite of her twin.

"Deadly I must say he is rather cute for a soul demon to" she giggled. Hearing a familiar voice appear, she spoke "No flirting around Rose" her sister pouted "Aww, come on Calla" she said and Seclusion snapped ehr teeth feircely, "Eh, you didn't tell him real name" Seclusion sighed "There was no need to" she muttered, she was tired but did not say anything she wanted to keep moving and the beating ehart now throbbed in ehr chest struggling to get used to the work it had to do.

Grave was completely lost as to how to respond. An unfamiliar emotion flickered on his face for an instant; embarrassment. He cleared his throat and quickly regained composure. "I was more than willing to be of assistance. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Rose. If it is dangerous here, as you say, it would be unwise to remain exposed whilst your sister recovers." He regarded Seclusion as she approached.

"I would suggest either hiding in this city for a short period or relocating. The choice is yours." At the very least, he would stand guard until her recovery. Grave decided not to press the 'name' issue at the moment; she was obviously uncomfortable with the situation. He felt on unfair ground to know hers without revealing his own. Perhaps do so in the near future.

Seclusion looked to him for a breif moment when that emotion flickered onto his face, she listened to what was said and Rose nodded, "We can't relocate the city but we can certaintly hide it, especailly in this location it should be fairly easy, problem was it wasn't the right time and if we hid it while she needed it... well you know the rest since you brought her here" she said.
Sighing she flexed out her wings stretching them out a little as if preparing for flight. "Shall we get going then?" she asked "I'm sure there is better shelter nearby" she muttered a glare was still aimed at her sister who giggled a little.

"Very well, let us depart." The soul demon spread his wings and nodded to Rose in farewell before taking flight. He located a small house tucked away from the roads of travel. His senses told him the building was vacant. Grave flew down for a closer inspection. It had been deserted for quite some time; there was no evidence of any visitation for quite some time. There was no path to the home and trees obscured its visibility from afar.

"This will do. We are far less likely to encounter adversaries here..." He said, taking a seat as he usually did. "Now that your heart is unified, have you merged with your sister?"

She nodded a little and landed looking inside the old house and Deadly jumped off of her back as she folded her wings. "No, I was simply missing half of my heart, it's keeping me alive since I wasn't actually born with one but the city shows mercy and gave me it's own... I don't know why though" she muttered and ruffled her wings before she settled herself down and sighed. "Is there anything we need to do or discuss during the next few days?" she asked

"Nothing of particular importance. Gain the rest you require." He glanced out of a nearby window. A low breeze flowed through the trees. Though it was not close, something was was setting Grave on edge. He knew there were no soul demons nearby. A terrible feeling was creeping down his spine. It was the calm before the storm. "Though I am curious as to what you meant. Is it truly possible to be born without a heart? Is this common among your people?"

She looked to him thinking of how to word it, "Well I wasn't born without a heart, but basically I was born with an illness to which my heart would not beat, so it's the same as being born without one... because of that I can't eat solid food either. It is very rare such a thing happens at all, I was the second recorded to have that illness in every member of my race apart from they died the day after..." she said "So for somereason the city gave me it's heart, as for why, I really have no idea"

Grave listened to her words carefully. The Utopian had become quite formidable despite her condition at birth. He'd noticed her disregard for eating, but assumed this behavior was akin to his own. Soul Demons could eat, but had no need. Apparently, it was impossible for her to do so. What's more, she spoke as if the city possessed a physical heart; a life of its own. Was such a thing possible? "Perhaps you were acknowledged for your birthright. As the last of your--" Grave cut himself off. That would be far too careless to say. He chastised mentally himself.

"Forgive me, I misspoke. Whatever your city's reason, your health is no longer in danger." Grave set his sword down next to his chair. "Rest for now. I will secure the premises should the need arise." He contemplated something. A short silence passed as he waited for her to find a place to settle in.

"Your sister called you by name. I will not dwell on the issue, nor will I address you in a manner you do not wish... I am called Malech. Consider us on equal ground." The soul demon confessed. It was only a name; one that had not been spoken in nearly two centuries.

"I think it jsut couldn't bare to let another die, we were thin on numbers from the very begining... as you know we weren't the msot... welcomed race" she chuckled "and it doesn't matter as for what my sister called me for us we hide our 'names' because if someone knows it then they can control us..." she said to him. She soon settled herself down in the spot she usually would "You have ot rest as well Grave" she said softly and soon enough she had drifted into sleep. Her wings moved over her and Deadly emerged yawning and looked to Grave, "That was a very close call I must say, Thank you for your help, Grave" she said, speaking with a tone of respect. "It'll only take a day or two and this place is safe enough..."

"It was a pleasure to help; if she lives then all is well. It is fortunate she was granted a heart. I suppose this danger cannot recur in the future. In which case, thank you for your assistance as well." Grave staved off a yawn of his own. The previous nights' events were beginning to take their toll on the Soul Demon; fatigue was setting in. "This place will suffice. I will keep watch during the day and sense at night. That way, we all may rest." He was in a meditative sleep before long.

The next few days passed without incident... for the most part. There were no signs of intruders or assailants. Grave, however, was constantly unnerved by something. An indescribable feeling invaded his senses constantly. During the day he seemed to be distracted. At night, he awoke from his sleep. It felt as if something was coming. Not someone, something. He kept silent about his premonition, so as to keep Ashes and Deadly placated during her recovery.

It wasn't until the third night that a problem arose. It was the middle of the night, the three inhabitants of the abandoned home were sound asleep. Grave's eyes flew open as a horrid pain gripped his chest. He stood and made his way outside. The moon's waning image floated high above the trees. Grave fell to a knee. The pain had spread throughout his body. A black wisp began to seep out from his entire body. The soul energy he had amassed to that point was slowly being drained from him. "D... damn..." He struggled to fight the onset he knew was coming. He needed to keep his instincts in check.

After a few moments, he managed to stabilize his heartbeat. Grave stood and wiped the sweat from his brow.

She was soon asleep herself, over the next few days she was soon mostly recovered, problem was she hated to rest and much prefered to keep herself occupied. That night she awakened and hissed lightly not likeing the strange prescence. By this time however, Grave was already outside. She got up picking Deadly up feeling a strong pull on all the souls she had eaten, "Grave are you ok?" she asked kneeling beside him seeing the black wisp escaping from his body and looked shocked quickly figuring our what it was. "What's happening?" she asked she had been fighting the energy that was trying to steal hers.

"Talk about the calm before the storm" she muttered and sighed rustling her hair a little as she did thinking to herself "You ok?" she asked one wing ahving fallen protectively over him, instictively from her but was soon folded backonto her back "We hsould be moving I'm recovered enough to move anyway"

"I am fine. Although unsettling, I am unable to discern what exactly transpired just now or from whence this effect originated..." There was a slight pull at his soul even now. The effect seemed to ebb under the pale moonlight. The pull would also affect Ashes, not quite enough to extract any soul energy. Grave rubbed his head and took a few steps forward. "Yes, we should continue if you are well. There... is somewhere I need to visit. The city that lies north of here." A familiar feeling replaced the screaming unfamiliar sensation. A Soul Demon was nearby.

Grave took flight shortly after. His movements felt a little stressed. He'd lost a little more energy than anticipated. After a short while his flight path straightened out. They had not traveled a few miles before a horrendous explosion shook the countryside. Grave ceased his forward momentum in shock as he witnessed a city in the distance become enveloped in a large, black destructive blast. The outward force of the explosion was powerful enough to blow back the two flyers. Grave up-righted himself and took off toward the blast's origin, cursing under his breath. It was the city he intended to search.

By the time they reached the city, it was already decimated. The smell of blood and dust permeated the air. Remnants of skeletons, buildings, armors and any other somewhat resilient material littered the streets. So many lives had been snuffed out in an instant. What a terrible display of destructive force. Grave walked through the wreckage to locate the other Soul Demon he knew to be there. The city's epicenter held a deep crater. At its basin lie the demon Grave sought. He looked up to see Grave's approach. A familiar voice rasped from his throat.

"Hey, buddy. Long time no see..." Hachi weakly pushed himself from the ground to a sitting position. Blood dripped heavily from the various spell and sword wounds, some of the blades were still lodged in his torso. "If I'd known you were stopping by... I would have cleaned up a bit..." He struggled to intake air. Hachi was not long for this world.

When Grave took suit to the air she followed after resting Deadly on her back before hand and followed,she heard him cursing under his breath adn turend her attention the chaotic city below engulfed by darkness. She looked aroudn teh fallen city when they landed picking up the pugnent scent of blood and could sniff out a few remaining souls, Deadly soon went searching to gether them for the pair to make up for the lost energy.

Her thoughts had drifted before she heard a cracking voice, She noticing the sword and spell wounds remaining silent, "What happened here" she finally asked "or rather what was here, I smell a lingering scent" she said her head raising to the sky slightly to watch out for darkness that would come again, although having her own destructive force thanks to that heart of hers she doubt it would make an appearence. "He's not much time , speak to him now Grave if you wish" she said to him seeing the flickering soul fading ever so slightly within the soul demon.

"Ah, all this? This is my bad." The words wretched from his throat slowly. "The effects of the curse hit me... early on. Pretty bad, too." Grave didn't like the sound of that. "You can imagine the reaction of the townsfolk when my soul started leaking. Haha..." Hachi groaned as more blood gushed from his wounds.

Grave stepped toward him. "How far is this cruse's reach? Do you know of its caster?"

Hachi waved his hand dismissively. "Not that educated. What I do know is its working, and it does so at night. That, and I can't eat any souls." He glanced over at Ashes. "You've felt it too, right? I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. Ran into a necromancer that also felt the pull, but hadn't lost energy from it. Why it's stronger on us, I can't say." Grave was becoming more disconcerted by the moment.

"...You were forced into a state of near death."

Hachi was having trouble keeping his eyes open. "You got it... If you don't mind... I'd love to get some shut eye. Long day, you know?" Hachi eased himself back down while closing his eyes. Grave stepped closer and drew his sword. Hachi smiled after hearing the blade unsheathe. "Tucking me in?"

Grave stood over him with a somber look. "To ease the pain."

Hachi's smile faded. "A bit late... but... thanks..." With a swift slash, Grave severed the soul demon's life. He walked out of the crater. With an outstretched hand, Grave attempted to absorb a wayward soul. It continued to float on, unaffected by his will. Seclusion and Deadly could feast, a factor he was grateful for. If he couldn't do so himself soon, a serious problem would arise. He called to the Utopian.

"There are a few Soul Demons that exist yet. With this development... I must locate them." This was to be a difficult excursion indeed. Possibly his last.

She listened to him not really responding until she heard his comment "Actaully I might not have lost any but others of my race would've especailly the young... let's just say it's very complicated" she said before going to help Deadly collect some souls, grabbing some for Grave since she had noticed something seemed to have weakened in him in a sense but also about hsi condition msotly because she ahd been in the same situation a lot of times.

Once all was done she went overand handed him one "here, don't think I don't notice such things, eat up you need it more than I do, one soul can last me a onth usually if I'm careful." she said to him not really speaking much at all but had heard his conversation having not wondered off too far. "Want me to join you on finding them, might be an idea... plus you know I'll come reguardless" she smiled thinking for a bit, she wasn't sure how soul demons felt when they lost another one of their kind, so she wasn't sure whether to try and cheer him up or act normal really. Deadly chuckled noticing her concentration in what she was tring to figure out.

Grave swiped the blood from his sword before sheathing it. "My thanks." He accepted the soul and held it in his hand. He concentrated on it. Very slowly, he began to absorb the soul's energy. Simply doing so was quite tiring. Worse still, that energy began to flow from his body in a small black wisp. At this rate he had three or four days of energy left. Currently, his only hope lay with outlasting the curse.

The soul demon chuckled a little when Seclusion stated her resolve. A faint smile appeared on his face. He felt a bit better already. "I expected such words from you. I am appreciative, but I ask that you proceed with caution." He spread his wings. "And should I begin to lose myself, I insist you leave with haste... or end me." With a burst of force, Grave leaped into the air and concentrated on his senses. Two other soul demons remained. A mere three lives teetering on the brink of extinction.

Grave glided westward, the wind at their backs. "The first is nearby. We should reach the city by daybreak."

She watched as he ate it noticing it began to leave him already, upeon hearing his request she nodded "As you wish" she said to him "I'llbesure to end you quickly if the worst does happen" she said to him. She soon followed behind in silence thinking to herself trying to figure out what she could do really, thinking a little she blinked a couple of times before looking straight to his soul to figure out his condition within seconds, a frown formed on ehr face, she didnt like the look of it but she could not do do anything just yet. Daybreak was quick to come and quickly they reached their goal, landing she looked around searching for something simliar to her travelling freind beside her.

Grave touched down and spread his senses throughout the city. There was definitely a soul demon nearby. It was strange, searching during the day. Their excursions most commonly played out under the night's protective dark. Unfortunately, they lacked the luxury of time. A threat lay somewhere in this city. Their search was not a hard one, they came across a residential home soon enough. Though he could not be certain, the home gave a significant aura to him. Grave approached the house and was surprised to find the door unlatched. Inside, a man sat alone at a wooden table. There were no weapons in the room to speak of. In fact, there was very little furniture, what little there was sat covered in dust. This home was abandoned. The man looked toward the door slowly. There was no surprise or anger in his gaze. It was as if he were expecting them.

"Come on in. Have a seat, if you like." The man's voice was tired, like he hadn't slept in days. His soul was flickering weakly. The man's hair was grayed, his features resembled that of an old man. Grave would have been suspicious if it weren't for the man's condition. He was, without a doubt, the soul demon they sought. He entered and took a seat at the table. This was a curious situation. "Hell of a curse, isn't it?" The soul demon procured a flask from his coat and drank some of its contents. He offered it to Grave, who turned it down. The man offered Ashes a drink as well. "You don't seem like our kind, Miss. Hope you weren't hit by the effect, too. If so, I hope not too hard."

Landing after Graves she watched him carefully, worried about how he was and moved ehr gaze to Deadly on her back. Heading inside she sat down in silence not really talking until the old man asked her something making her raise her gaze to him, seeing the weak flickering of his soul made her frown a little "Yeah, not as badly though, I think it was amde to target your race specfically and my own was very simliar to yours apart from we could usually eat solid food" she said. After turning down a drinkf rom the flask.

She sighed letting the two of them talk and let ehr gaze wonder picking up what the actualy effects were on Graves and the old man. Deadly had turned into a wolf and lay at her feet while the pair talked, but soon enough it was time they had to leave knowing they had others to find. Once they were outside she stopped in her tracks "Grave are you ok?" she asked him

"Good on you. A pox upon the head that cast such a horrid spell..." The man pocketed the flask and ran his fingers through his hair. "I could take a few guesses as to why you're here. Judging by the look on your face, I'd say you're gonna answer my prayers, huh?"

Grave stared at the man. "You do not intend to fight?"

"Sonny, I wished for this. I don't live in this city; don't know anyone here. I holed up in this shack to avoid doing something I'd regret in death. And yes, I mean 'death.' I don't see a way around this curse since I nearly lost enough energy to croak out last night..." The man sighed in self-derision. "For a minute, I did lose it... I almost choked my own wife." His voice hitched. The amount of self-loathing in his voice was apparent. "I already said my goodbyes. I couldn't stay and endanger them. I thought simply ending it would be easy. When I try, I find myself thinking of my wife. I get to thinking that maybe I can out last this damned curse." He rested his face in the palms of his hands. "I won't last another night. If I try, I'll only kill a town of innocents before perishing myself."

"With family comes the fear of death." Grave observed. The man waved his hand.

"No need to console me, sonny. I'm a coward who couldn't take the coward's way out..."

Grave stood from his seat and moved around the table. The man's hands started shaking slightly. "When the soul is severed from the body, there is no pain."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Personal experience." The man's hands stopped shaking. Grave drew his sword. The obsidian blade sparked something familiar in the man's eye.

"That sword... You're Thamus' kid." He chuckled to himself. "Now even his son's pullin' my ass out of the fire. Tell him Krios will be waitin' for him."

"You shall see him sooner than you believe." The man smiled and sat back. All of his tension and fear had dissipated. Grave drove his blade forward to pierce Krios' heart. The old man slumped in his chair after drawing his last breath.

Outside, Grave took a deep breath and closed the door behind them. His facial expression remained unchanged, but his eyes burned with a deep sorrow. He answered Seclusion with a low "I am fine." The first and only lie he'd ever told her. Grave was unsure on how else to answer. He was killing his own kind, innocent or not, to save them from themselves. What could he say?

"There is only one more. They are far, but bear a strong presence. If we depart now, we should arrive on the morrow's night." Grave spread his wings and flew up from the street, continuing onward.

She listened jerked when she head the name Thamus, Something triggered inside her mind. Litening to the whole things made her thoughts rush back to her sister. "History will reapeat it's self huh?" she muttered softly. But the name, Thamus... to her it sounded so very familiar but for some reason she found something blocking her thoughts. She was silent to the very end before looking to Grave.
That was when she went over "Don't lie to me Grave, you should know I see right through you" she said to him before he took off.

She followed after him and Deadly began speaking to her, the old wolf remembering the name as well, she sighed coming up with nothing but just let her mind drift following him, that time passed so very quickly and soon enough they were close to the next one and this one appeared more resistant than the last. "The chaos is about to start Grave" she said her voice becoming laced with sadness as each words passed her lips.

The flight of simple exertion on Grave's body. Over the next night, more soul energy had been taken from him, but he persevered to see the next sunrise. As they neared the city and the sun set once again, the stench of blood gripped the air. The city was barely in view; this was sign of an all out battle. "It would seem the chaos has begun without us." He observed as they closed in on their destination. He noticed the change in her voice and added a few words. "Do not concern yourself. This, we must complete first." He swooped down toward the city for a landing.

Upon their arrival, the bodies of countless demons and angels could be seen strewn about the streets. All of them had deep gash wounds, some were missing limbs or looked as if they had been torn apart. Civilians and soldiers alike lay dead in the decimated city streets. Strangely, it did not appear that the angels and demons had been fighting one another. Their wounds were similar, suggesting they fought one common enemy. The clashing of metal could be heard further within the city. Grave rushed forward. He came across an open street; the buildings were crumbled from impacts and spell damage. An angel was flung back into a building, smashing the structure to pieces. Grave looked to where the angel was flung from, and his face went pale. There, on a mound of bodies and rubble, stood a large man carrying a slab of a sword.



"Father...!" The shocked words were drawn from him in a near whisper. This was impossible! He stumbled into the street and toward the man. Some of Grave's senses returned to him. He could not feel the energy of a Soul Demon. Something much more foul resided in the body that was once his father's. Grave drew his sword in a fury. That was his father's body, but most certainly not his soul. "How... DARE YOU?! Leave that vessel at once!!" In a flash, the man was in front of Grave. His speed was godly. Grave backstepped just in time to dodge the demon's vertical swing. The giant sword tore into the ground, resulting in a thunderous crash that threw stone in every direction. Insane strength. Grave gripped his blade and stood his ground.