Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

28 Glow (Part 2)

Reo glanced down at his hands. He had already discarded his useless, broken relic. There was nothing to aid his ascension.

Perfect, he thought bitterly. Of all times.

Meera bit her lip, wide eyes perceiving the approaching Wobeck ship. "The shield will hold...right?" she squeaked.

"We spent hours giving it an energy boost," Reo assured her. "It should be fine."

The beam nearest to them began to flicker. An explosion erupted further up the street. All three of them watched as Iron Prophet automechs leaped out of the way, their target having been true. The tower that emitted the beam began to tilt, and it fell against its neighboring building. With the tower shattering into pieces, its beam dissipated.

Soldiers - celestial and non-celestial alike - scrambled to escape the collapsing wreckage.

"Unless that happens," Reo mumbled, horrified.

With one of its beams gone, the city's shield stretched itself farther to close the hole.

Gritting his teeth, Reo made a mad dash toward the next flickering beam. "We have to protect the shield's towers!" he yelled over his shoulder at Oren and Meera.

They sprinted down the street, chasing after the enemy automechs who were making their way toward their next target.

Clover and Sera encountered them along the way, their twisters of flames bringing down two of the enemy machines. But by the time they all reached the next tower, bombs fractured a section of its foundation. It slanted, its beam failing.

However, the tower remained standing. Its beam reactivated, sealing the hole above it.

But it no longer mattered. The Wobeck ship had already made its rapid entry. The shield closed overhead.

Reo swore again.

The ship's size was far too large to fit in between the city's buildings. As the ship cast its rays of light over the street, its rough edges skidded across the city structures.

The sky rained glass. Celestials tossed their own energy shields into the air, protecting their allies. Reo and the others scurried for cover, taking shelter underneath a steel awning.

The alien ship slowed to a halt.

"What's it doing now?" Oren moaned.

Like the first ship from last night, smaller aircrafts dispersed from the Wobeck ship. But before they could descend to the ground, more planes poured into the city.

As they sped by, Reo's eyes caught the rising symbol of the sun on their sides.

Beran.

Someone nearby gave an elated shout as Beran aircrafts fired upon the Wobeck.

"Take cover!" Reo shouted above the noise.

He attempted to gather those nearest to him. It was a long while before he finally felt Meera's fingers stabbing into his arm, trying to gain his attention.

"Reo!" she screamed. Her face was ghostly pale. She pointed down the street, and he followed her gesture.

An army of tall shadows marched toward them. The plasma of their rifles gleamed purple in their hands.

He squinted. Had the Iron Prophet designed some kind of new armor?

He watched as a few celestials charged forward to oppose the approaching threat. But they all faltered, their feet stumbling. Reo's eyes widened as he compared the height of the humans to their new enemy, their bodies looming over the celestials.

Reo's jaw fell slack.

Wobeck.

Beside him, Clover released a harsh laugh. "It's about damn time!"

He ran forward, flaming sword raised in hand.

He did not get far. The Wobeck ship fired a short burst of plasma at the ground in front of him. The wave of the impact tossed him into the air. He landed just feet from Reo.

"Clover!" Meera cried.

He rose to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth. He threw a spiteful fist in the air at the ship. "To hell with you, too!"

As if in response, a red light glimmered underneath the ship. A tremor of fear traveled down Reo's body.

It was the same light as the one he had stopped the night before. Only this time, he did not have a sun ring or his god form.

"Move, move!" he ordered.

But the light had already hypnotized many of those around him. Both those with powers and those without stood frozen, paralyzed from shock. Among them, Reo spotted a lone Iron Prophet member who fell to his knees, his hands raised high in welcome.

With heart in throat, Reo did not know what to do.

"Heavens."

The word fell from Meera's lips. Her eyes grew distant, their irises swirling. A visible blue glow coated her skin. Reo stared, astonished.

Slowly, her vibrant blue eyes met his, and he felt the celestial energy that coursed outward from her body.

Where had her new energy come from?

Outcries sounded above the chaos. Reo's head spun, just in time to see a beam of white light that surged from an unseen corner in the city. It pierced into the Wobeck ship, and a second later, out from the other side.

The red light vanished, and the ship detonated from the inside. It slammed into the side of a building, flames seizing it in a terrifying embrace.

Reo watched as a group of smaller Wobeck aircrafts circled around into formation. While they aimed for the source of the light, the Wobeck on the street opened fire.

Reo was able to construct a small shield. Meera, newly invigorated, generated one that was far more massive.

A sliver of white light emerged at the far end of the street, glinting like a blade underneath the full moon. The moment it appeared, it bounded high into the sky and arched its way back down to the ground.

When it landed, it caved in a section of the concrete street, causing a quake. The force sent the Wobeck flying into the air.

Bodies immobile, the Wobeck hovered above the ground, temporarily fixated in space. The light became a blur, flashing in between each armored alien with breakneck speed.

And when the light came to a startling stop, time continued its natural flow. Reo gawked as the creatures plunged to the ground. Several of their heads rolled away from their bodies, decapitated.

Moments later, the bright light began to fade. In the wake of the diminishing glow, Reo discerned the individual dressed in blinding, silver armor.  White hair billowed in soft waves, a result from the energy that made everything in a five-foot radius float in the air. A power so strong, it created a visible, pearly smoke.

If Reo hadn't known better, he would have thought the moon itself had fallen from the sky.

The horned creature turned her head, glancing at him over her shoulder. Her silver eyes pierced his soul.

Maeyune.