Chapter 163 | August 25th | All These Demons, All These Dreams🍆

                                    

                                          
Timeline | August 25th | Next Day
"The time has come," Isis proclaimed, her voice reverberating through the crumbling halls of the ancient palace on the moon. The long-deserted stronghold, once a beacon of power, now served as the grim heart of her monstrous legions. In response to her arrival, grotesque figures shifted and stirred, rising to attention.
"Bring them their deaths!" she commanded, her voice slicing through the gathered throng, sharp and relentless. "Destroy everything in sight. Their soldiers are weakened by the virus that has ravaged their ranks. Strike them where they stand, tear down everything in your path. Hit them with the devastation they deserve. I want those warriors at our feet; I want them to have no choice but to come to us!"
With a sharp wave of her hand, Isis unleashed a torrent of dark energy, a swirling force that surged through the creatures before her. Their eyes glowed with fierce malice as they rallied, thirsting for violence.
Cid appeared at the palace's shattered garden gate, his expression twisted into a grin as he surveyed the stirred creatures. "Raze every city, leave nothing untouched!" he bellowed, his voice dripping with cruelty.
The creatures answered with a bloodthirsty roar, brandishing their weapons with chaotic fervor. The air hummed with their frenzy, the promise of destruction looming thick.
Together, Isis and Cid watched the monstrous horde prepare. With a sweeping gesture, Isis cast a dark mist, enveloping the legion in its arcane energy, transporting them in a flash from the moon to the scarred lands of Isadora.
In this bleak, broken world, they would set their trap, drawing the warriors to a final confrontation that would decide everything.
Isis's lips curled into a pleased smirk. "They will fight back fiercely, especially him. You know what that means, Cid. The boy must be eliminated."
For a fleeting moment, hesitation flickered across Cid's face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. He nodded slowly, his voice colder than before. "He is mine to deal with. As for the others," he added, a shadow of ruthlessness darkening his tone, "do with them as you wish."
In the silence that followed, the final battle loomed like a dark promise on the horizon, the fate of all hanging in the balance.
***** ******
The air hung heavy with the remnants of destruction, the kind that seeped into your lungs and clung to your skin. Jesse walked alongside Eko, her boots crunching over debris and brittle patches of charred earth. A lifeless body lay sprawled in her path, and she stepped over it carefully, her gaze distant, thoughtful.
"Anyway," Jesse murmured, breaking the silence, though her voice carried a weight of its own. "I don't like this." She paused, her brow furrowed as she glanced at the horizon. The sunrise struggled to pierce through the thick fog that blanketed the ravaged lands of the mages.
"There's a lot I don't like about this," Eko muttered, her hands clutching her mug as if the warmth alone could steady her. The bitter chill of the morning crept through her jacket, matching the unease that had been building in her chest since they arrived.
Jesse stopped, sweeping her gaze over the wreckage. The acrid stench of smoke still lingering in the air. "Yeah," she said softly, her voice laced with frustration and concern. "I don't like any of it—the timing, Isis, everything. And what they did to the mages..." Her words faltered, swallowed by the enormity of the dead bodies surrounding them.
Eko didn't reply, her attention slipping away, tugged back to the early morning when the sun had barely begun its climb. She, Jesse, Richie, Mya, and Jasmine had set off to escort Vause and Teshia through the scouring ruins, combing through devastation for any sign of survivors.