Stolen Sanctuary
Darkborne Arc Chapter 2 of 7
New scenes in Cosmic Interlude, a Sylus PoV Prequel Fic
I wander amidst chaos, a shadow within shadow. The Wanderers, spoiled for choice of easy prey, give me a wide berth. Though, when it’s time for me to replenish myself with their Protocores, they never see me coming. My sharp eyes gather treasures from those streets lined with screams and steaming with blood. There’s the chatter of gunfire—stockpiles of illegal weapons forced to reveal themselves by the unending onslaught of Wanderers. There’s that streak of light in the darkness who some call an angel. He’s human, technically, but there’s no mistaking the sharp, sterile scent of his too-old soul. Some way or another, his origin is Philos, just like me. Which Philos, though… And then there’s the cries of despair from the dying who would happily trade their soul for a quick and painless death. I feast.
~*~*~
Why send us out to fight for our lives, to slaughter the ones we slept next to last night? Why not. There is no right and wrong in a vast and unfeeling universe. There is only power and weakness. Control and submission. I don’t care about the deaths. Not when I see her knife deep in the chest of another, their hot blood on her face, her eyes—those beautiful, incomparable eyes—seething with fury and will and sheer desire. She never doubts herself, never falters. Out of all of us, she craves life the most fiercely. Alone, she and I are each formidable. When we move in sync, covering each other’s weaknesses and amplifying each other’s strengths? We’re unstoppable.
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