Shine of the Archangel

Chapter 2 - Regroup

Anyone here ever read "This is Where it Ends" by Marieke Nijkamp? One of the things I loved about the book was the alternating perspectives, going between four people. I decided to do something similar to that with this fanfic (ignoring that one Miitopia fanfic I tried to write with the perspectives, that was honestly trash).

Our alternating perspectives are gonna be Amelia and Lushen; the latter of whom you're now gonna meet! Anyway, Chapter 2 is now up and running, baby! Who's ready for another chapter of one of the most depressing fanfiction I've written in a while? After this, I'm gonna take some more time to get the plot figured out even further, so don't expect a new update in, like, a week or so. This might take another month or so to get another chapter out.

I spent a lot of effort writing these two chapters (I actually wrote these two chapters before even publishing either of them) and I'd REALLY appreciate if you could vote and comment on the chapters you liked! Thank you so much ahead of time!

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Chapter 2

Regroup

Amelia

I couldn't believe it, I just couldn't. After all these years, Elsharion was alive! But I was hopeful, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to find him alone. I needed our old friends back. It was at that very moment, where I kneeled in the tall grass before the stars, that I knew what my mission was – after 20 years, I finally had a purpose in life.

I would stitch our group back together, and then we would save Elsharion.

Lushen would be the easiest to find. After we broke apart, he ventured out to the world humans once lived in – now inhabited by monsters – and did the one thing he was best at: gambling. He called himself a Card Master when he first became part of the group; claiming he had never once lost. We thought he had been bluffing at first.

As it turned out, he truly was that good at the art of cards; though no one really knew if his claim of never losing was true. Nowadays, he had a reputation for being the best of the best. They do call him the Card Master for a reason.

Some thought he was cheating, and others still decided to cheat against him. I have to admit, Lushen was really good at picking out the monsters who tried to cheat. I saw him once, and the cheating was so subtle, no one else seemed to notice. Lushen sometimes had his losses, but more often than not he could win.

I advanced on into a more populated area; a human city. Lushen would frequent this particular city, to the point where everyone knew him by name. My wings spread, and I took flight, though I did not fly more than a few feet above the ground. The field turned into a forest, the forest into one singular tree, with letters carved into it. I reached out and touched the carvings; to view the memories inside of this tree.

Crying. A young woman was crying as she buried her friends. Her eyes open, and the parts that should be white were an inky black; the irises a bright red. Her blonde hair was let down, though she clutched a hairpin in her hands. She buried her face in her hands and sunk to her knees in front of their graves; mourning their loss.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, she opened her wings, made of a strange material that looked like red, orange and yellow crystal shards, and she took to the sky. Once a year, the woman returned to the tree to pay her respects to her fallen friends. She was alone every time.

With a soft gasp, I realized the woman was Olivia; the tree where Randy and Copper had been buried.

I whispered a prayer under my breath for them, and continued on my journey into a city. Surprisingly, the city was relatively well-kept. The buildings were still standing and clean; monsters streaming back and forth through them. Snippets of conversation floated around me.