Chapter 1 - The Twilight

  
“And that’s the story Sam” I said reliving everything I had just recently gone through
“Ya don’t say…?” Sam said and gave me a crazy look.
“Don’t worry…your not the only one who doesn’t believe in the beginning,” I said standing up. The boat rocked but then kept a steady course before Captain Sam spoke again.
“Aye Leon its not that I don’t believe ya cause that’s hardly the case what I don’t so much get is why your traveling this far to go save this girl of yours…I mean ya said you only just knew her” Sam said scratching his head.
“Yeah…but theirs something really important about her Sam…I can’t explain it cause I hardly understand it myself” I said.
“Err…. I believe its called love..?” Sam said questioningly,” If ya love the lass lad all ya had to do was say so”
“…Its not that…like I said I hardly know her…its something else and I'm not going to let her be killed until I can find out” I said.
But then again maybe I was doing this for more than just that I thought.
“To each his own lad I need to get back to the crew” Sam said lifting up and begins to holler orders at his crewmen. After fleeing the Twin cities I caught a ride with Sam who knew the Southern Seas well. I showed him the general direction Lenneth had given me before and Sam was easily able to tell what he had been talking about. It was an island continent called Albina. The area itself was easy to find but once we got there I was on my own to find where the princess was being held. I sat there in deep thought in the scorching sun above. The cool summer winds gave me shelter to the blistering sun’s rays. I took a deep breath. I felt like I had escape some type of prison except the sanction was a whole new prison of its own. I was restricted to the castle so much I had almost never in my life had to listen to so many order of someone who was supposedly above me and strength and stature. I run my life my way I thought always have…always will.
“I’m warning you now Leon” Sam said from the top of the ship.” Albina is no push over…. The terrain could easily kill a man before anything that lies deep in those sands…from what you told me what your searching for could very well be in those sands I speak of”
“ Yeah yeah” I answered back to him. I laid my head down on the warm wood of Sam’s vessel. It had changed a good amount since I saw it last. A new interior and a lot of the outer parts had been repainted and redone over. With time I had already traveled with him and Sam’s coming speed we should be there by midday tomorrow, and then another thought crossed my mind. For some reason I thought of Ariel. I still didn’t even know if she made it off that ship safely. I had faith from before but it was a lot more reassuring to have heard or seen her. Another problem that just came to me would be how I’d even find where the princess was. With the money I had with me I could safely cross the desert but if I couldn’t find her just by passing I would probably die out their searching since I can only hold enough supplies for a one-way trip. None of this I really thought much of when I was with the Sanction. That night I drifted asleep and the dream that woke me up late in the night wasn’t something I wanted to have again. I was terrified… more then I’d have been in my entire life. The Consequences of me failing…. dieing… I’d lose everything in this world should that happen. I sighed and took a deep breath and tried to get some sleep, but the escape that we called rest didn’t come to me and until dawn I was tortured in my wake of what was in the balance of my own life. Sam had sailed all the way through the night with out much of rest and in returns by dawn we where in Albina. Neither the crew nor Sam stayed long here. They got off unloaded, rested for a few minutes, and then where back off. Sam loaned me a map of what he recollected the deserts to look like. The map was rough at best. Huge portions of it where gone and their wasn’t much detail at all. If I got lost or one of the villages on this map ceased to exist at the time I needed them I would surely perish in the harsh desert. The thought alone kept me from leaving when I first arrived. All the supplies…water…food…anything I thought I’d need I doubled on. It seemed like the first time in my life I valued my life so much. I always thought if I died at least others would live on but with the world as it is now…. if I die…everyone dies.
“Leon!” A voice called from behind me.
I was startled for a second but when I looked back I was pretty relived.
“Damien” I laughed,” long time”.
“I hoped I’d catch up to you before you left” Damien said. He was dressed in dark robes that covered over his face like a veil and the rest of his body.
“…Aren’t you gonna be a little hot in that” I inquired.
“Don’t worry about me…I’ve been all through out these deserts,” Damien said handing me a map. The map was twice the size that Sam had given me. Nothing was blank and the entire desert was filled in from the smallest rest stops to oases’ placed around the large parts of the desert. Damien took a look at my bag.
“Sure is a lot Leon,” He said to me inspecting it thoroughly
“Yeah…. I got to thinking pretty hard about the Twilight now…if I die…everyone else goes with me,” I said to him.
“Don’t think of yourself alone Leon” Damien said taking out some of the extra supplies I had packed,” The Sanction fights with you at the front line in any affairs you have”
“Hey! What the heck are you doing?” I yelled as he began purring out the some of the food I just bought,
“Water is more important then food Leon,” He said putting a more containers of water in my bag.
“ You can die of dehydration in a matter of days but you only die of starvation in weeks besides there is plenty for us to hunt in the desert I assure you. You won’t go hungry” Damien said giving the bag back to me,” That right now is the least of our problems”.
“ The least?” I asked.
“Walk and talk Leon, we need to hurry if we are going to get to the princess in time” He said.
We left the small town and we started trekking across the desert. The Sands felt like embers under my feet. It took a few minutes to get use to the heat each step seemed to cost me.
“ Luther and Gabriel looked through the book you found in the Twin cities and where able to make out all of it” Damien said,” I take it in your hurry you didn’t actually read all of it did you”.
“No…I’m kinda mad I left it “ I said with a grim face,” If Luther couldn’t have taken my words on this when the time called for it then he’s no help to us” I said.
“Luther may have not listened to you but you should understand the costs of the Sanction moving from the Twin cities at any given time” Damien said,” Its an important regardless of how you see it now but enough on that. The princess is in more danger then you probably know right now Leon”.
“I know she’s in danger cause she has something to do with the Twilight and on top of that….” My words trailed off.
“Hm?” Damien said with a questioningly face,” Is their something between you in the princess?” he asked.
“No…. its nothing she’s just really important to the Twilight is all” I said.
Damien had known me for a long time so seeing through an obvious lie wasn’t that hard for him, but for being my friend so long bringing up things like that over and over again wouldn’t help the situation. He knew when the time was right that I would tell him everything.
“Anyway…this is just a theory we won’t know for certain but we believe the princess has Twilight power as well” Damien said.
“What!?” I exclaimed and stopped walking.
“Come on I’ll explain we have to keep moving” Damien said.
I kept walking but he kept a fast pace. I was starting to wonder how he was keeping cool and brisk while I was wearing lighter cloths and I was already tired.
“ What we know for certain is that the book you found is the Dairy of a man Named Balphados”
“Who?”
“That’s what I said” Damien said and laughed,” Apparently he fought in the war along with Immorick, but when they checked the library for any reference to him their wasn’t any its almost like he was erased from history, but after you hear this you will probably have guessed why. Before Immorick went to his final battle and his grave he gave a piece of his power to his best friend at the time, which is Balphados. According to the Dairy to keep that secret safe to only the ones who needed to know it, all records of him and his family where supposedly erased but actually the records weren’t erased.”
“Then what happened? “ I asked.
“Turns out Balphados married and had a son and the power of the Twilight was transferred through his blood. His son married the Queen of Lecklonis castle before it was renamed the Twin cities combining the Castle and the port. Balphados’ son changed his last name to match his wife’s which is why we couldn’t find any records of his son until we read it.”
“What’s it all mean” I said still kind of confused with all of this.
“ I’ll put it the way Lenneth simplified it for me…Balphados’ son is King Alexander’s descendent”
“Are you shootting me!?” I exclaimed in surprise.
“Nope… If you look at it now…it means that Kayla now has the power Immorick gave to Balphados and she is right now in enemy hands with no idea what power she has”.
“This changes everything,” I said.
“Yeah… Balphados did not tell anyone about his power not even his son so none of that family was supposed to know unless need be… we don’t know how her power will work either or even how yours does. According to Luther you haven’t tapped into your Twilight power even once yet”.
“Say what?” I said,” I used the Twilight power when I fought Luther for the first time did he forget already?”
“No…what you used on him was your Trinity power. Trinity’s’ are the holy ability that everyone in the Sanction must have and it is our way to defend the lives of our world and help you destroy hell. It’s a coincidence that you have Trinity and Twilight powers but then again they have been helping you get this far so it’s not a bad thing “ Damien said.
“ So wait…if I can use my Trinity power…how can I use the Twilight?” I asked.
“ The Twilight like the Trinity is something you have to recognize yourself even though Luther trained all of us. Using the Trinity and mastering it was something we all had to learn on our own. I just hope that when the time comes and we need the power the most that you will have learned to use the Twilight”.
“Hmm” I said thinking. I still have a long way to go I thought, but if the Twilight hasn’t actually been used before then maybe I will have enough strength to be able to save everyone after all.
“ So do you know where the princess is?” I asked.
“Yea…” Damien said pulling the map out again,” where a little into Albina but the princess is deep in the middle where we believe according to your father’s research a crack of hell is also located. I have no idea how they found out she had the Twilight power but what I do know is that they cannot kill her and will not for the time being”.
“Why?” I asked.
“ Though she is the carrier for the Twilight at the moment. The Twilight activates for her according the Balphados, so for it to activate without her doing it willingly she must be at the Crossroads of life and death. That is one way he wrote the Twilight can be activated but at a cost of the Twilight holders life. If she dies in that state though the Twilight can protect her to a certain extent. The Twilight will return to its original holder should she die in this state, but…the Twilight has its limits as well…should the Twilight fade and she is killed…. the Twilight will disappear from our world forever” Damien said.
I was really taken back by this. The Twilight seemed a lot simpler before but now I wasn’t even sure. If we don’t rescue her in enough time then she will die on top of destroying the Twilight power that she holds. If she dies while the Twilight is protecting her however then it would return back to me but both of those scenarios revolve around her dieing and I don’t want that. I want to save as many lives as possible but especially she is more then just a life right now….
“ So…if the Demons from hell attack her the Twilight in her will activate on its own…if the Twilight will use the life inside of the princess if she is attacked again and her power will return back to me…but if she is killed after the Twilight doesn’t have enough power to protect her…then she will die…and the Twilight she has inside of her will disappear forever…” I repeated.
“ Yeah…you have it right…so as you can see our mission is very important I have no idea how long the Twilight can hold out. If worse comes to worst if she does die then at least it comes back to you”
“ I won’t let that happen, “ I said to him.
“ Then we should start making better time” Damien said and started to briskly jog.” Catch” he threw a small fruit at me.
“ That fruit is from up north. If you put it in your mouth it will keep the heat away so we can move faster”
I quickly put it in my mouth and I was finally able to keep up with Damien. It made it feel as though a cool breeze was blowing through my body and I didn’t get tired even close to as often.
Every second we waste here I thought…is another chance that our last hope is being destroyed.
We traveled through the desert all day and before we could get even a little rest Damien told me to travel through the night. He said we should sleep during the hottest part of the day and move during the cooler parts to save energy. The night as predicted was a lot faster but the desert nights where polar opposites to the days. It was a lot chillier then I was use to and eventually I had to spit the fruit out to keep from freezing. As the sun started peeking up over the golden dunes of the desert our pace began to lessen. We had started going through a large canyon the following the night and since we hadn’t made it all the way through it. It made an easier rest spot.
“Don’t drink to much” Damien said.
“Why?” I said pouring some water in my mouth and then over my head.
“You’ll sleep harder and we need to start moving when the sun starts to set so I can’t use you if you’re out the entire night” Damien said.
“Fine” I said taking another sip and putting the back beside me. The canyon had large crevices that provided shade from the sun but not much from the heat. It took me awhile to fall asleep. Damien was out like a light but I was worrying about the princess…more about the dream I had had. I didn’t notice it before I got to the Twin cities that she was the one who was actually in my dream. It had to mean something if I dreamed about her before I even met her. Something had to have happened that I don’t remember but if it where this important I don’t see how on earth I forgot. Eventually torturing myself with the thought got me to sleep. As promised Damien woke me up late in the afternoon. I felt like a rock. I was stiff all over and I felt even more tired then I was before I went to sleep. It took me a moment after he woke me up for me to actually even move.
“ Come on Leon we need to make better time if where going to get their” Damien said picking up his bag.
“On estimate” I said picking up my bag and whipping my eyes.
“ How long do you think it would take us to actually get there?”
“ If where fast and make use of all of our time on the afternoon of the day after this we should make it…I don’t think they will have done much to her by then but even if they have the Twilight should hold”.
“We can only hope,” I said running the catch up with Damien’s small lead over me. He threw me another fruit and we started all over again. It only took a few hours before the sun went down. The twilight period between the extreme high of the desert and the extreme low was nice. I held onto the fruit this time. I couldn’t get rid of it because I don’t know how many of these can really be spared especially since it’s a longer trip out of the desert then it is to it.
“When we get the princess out then what,” I asked.
“Well…I know for sure there is a crack at where she is. So you will have to open it before we leave. If we try and come back this way it will be swarming with new stronger demons and with this terrain and weather there is no way we can handle them. So even though it is a longer trip we will continue going west across the entire desert until we hit water. The Nearest port is only about 4 or 5 days away from the where were going anyway. Even with the princess we should be able to make good time”.
“Ok sounds good” I said jogging beside him.
The day following was basically the same. I couldn’t sleep again and when Damien woke me up again I felt a lot less strength than even the previous day.
“Leon…did you even get any sleep” Damien asked.
“Yeah…but it keeps keeping me up” I answered just trying to barley keep up with him.
“ Tell me about her Leon” Damien said,” What ever is going on you need to get it off your chest because you are going to need every ounce of strength for where were going”.
“I’ve been dreaming Damien…even before I knew her she was in the dream before I was attacked at the Twin cities. It’s almost like she’s haunting me. On top of that when I got to the Twin cities Alexander said I’ve known her for 3 years now. I’ve never met her in my life but It seems like I really have, but I can’t remember a thing. That entire part of my life I can’t remember Damien” I said,” That’s why I had to go after her even before I knew about the Twilight that had some connection to her…she knows something about my life that I have no memory of and it has haunted me ever since I met her”.
“ I see” Damien said,’ don’t let it bother you until we have rescued her Leon. If you keep like this then you won’t have any strength when the time comes”.
“Yeah your right…I can’t get it out my head though…I keep seeing her face and every odd object in this desert brings her picture back up and starts this all over again! I have constant headaches that get so bad at night that I'm rolling in pain and it feels like my head would implode!”
Damien sighs,” this is probably the one time I can’t help with… just know I’m by your side on all of this Leon.
“…Good to know” I said with a smirk.
We kept walking for a while and finally some strength began to return to me. We picked the pace up to jogging and where able to make much better time. I had only had a day and at those moments I didn’t have a clue what to expect going dead into a crack of hell. I knew demons could be by the hundreds and I would have to fend them off with only Damien at my side and it did worry me, but…. then again I would rather it Damien at this moment then anyone else. Internally Damien was always stronger then I was and most of the time externally as well. I knew he suppressed his emotions about Clair for the longest time and sometimes I’d almost think he’d forgotten about her but on the off times he’s really quite or just seems to be lost in thought…. I can tell he’s thinking of her just like I am. The distance we covered that day seemed a lot more then we had covered on the previous but it was still a sigh of relief when the sun was setting. The Fruits after several days of them being in my mouth where starting to get annoying. That night Damien made me take a short break. We sat and talked…its been awhile since we talked how we did. I knew he wanted me to get my mind off what needed to be done but at the same time he was getting himself off the subject as if he was suffering just like I was or was just being friend enough to come suffer through my eyes. I always had respect on how Damien thought. I never had to tell him much but a lot was just assumed between us. We said more in our actions then our words could ever express, and that above all…I was most grateful for. 
“Well…” Damien said picking up his bag,” We better get going at this pace by mourning we won’t need to walk very far to reach the crack. “
“Sounds good,” I said following behind him.
For a lot most of the trip we had taken a lot of shelter in the Canyons that made up the desert. They provided shade but where sometimes hazardous with all of its surroundings. We where lucky their wasn’t much animal activity in such a place. With all that had happened something to injure us more then we soon would be wouldn’t help us much. By mourning we left the Canyon and where out in the open desert again. The heat was a lot more now and without the occasional blockades of sun light from the canyon our pace slowed dramatically. The fruit had run dry and we only had a few left. I figured that after all this was through. The princess would need these a lot more then we did. The desert was more like an inferno and by midday I was barley on my feet.
“Leon…your trailing” Damien said breathing hard.
“Look at yourself” I said trying to laugh but my throat was so dry nothing came out except a harsh whisper,” Your not going anywhere near the pace we had before”.
He smirks,” Where almost their”
“Hm?” I said and looked at him.
“Look” He said pointing up a large sand dune. I was barley on my feet when I reached the top but I was stunned at what I say.
Over the dune in a large clearing was a large Valley. The valley was a blood shot color and when I looked closer I could see why. Demons feeled the valley entirely and some even began moving through out the desert. The Demons where a dark blood red and with so many in so many numbers together the valley took on the same color.
“Damien…You got to be joking.” I said in disbelief.
“Don’t tell me the first one to take up saving her is the first to give up,” Damien said taking his four-sided blade out.
“ I know I said I would save her but this many…we need a fracken army!” I yelled.
“ Or just a few special individuals” Damien said peering over the side of the dune.” Fighting them now would get us killed and fighting tonight is suicide as well so for the good of this attempt. We should do it tomorrow”.
“ Why not tonight?” I asked.
“…You’ve never seen what demons are like in the heat of the night time and now is not a time to test them. They live and breathe inside the darkness of night and feed on blood. We would be fighting where we are most vulnerable and there are at the pinnacle of their own individual strength. This is not a time for a rash action like that now is it?”
I stared at him and then sunk into a covered spot on the dune.
“ It’s looking like suicide just trying no matter when we fight,” I said putting my hand over my head to shield it from the blinding noon rays from the sun.
“ The way I see it is this” Damien said taking a seat beside me,” The Twilight hasn’t opened because you really haven’t needed it. Well…for us to go in there and actually win the Twilight is our only option. With the Twilight getting in their isn’t just a possible its almost guaranteed but if you can’t summon its power during a battle with odds like this how will you be able to use it in a battle that truly matters later. When a few more cracks are opened later…the odds will be damn near 1 in our chance of success. We will fight against an army of immortals that are hundreds of times stronger then the ones now and will come by the million and will refuse to stop. This is no battle you will ever experience again. In some wars you can depend on your enemy only having a certain amount of soldier at their disposal…but what do you do about an army that comes one hundred times larger then yours and at a rate that never ends.”
I laugh a little,” …What kind of shoot did I get myself into”
“ Drink some water and keep alert. We will have to get as much rest as possible if we want to stand against them tomorrow. But we must be alert for they will not hesitate to attack if they can find us earlier”.
“ Their going to be expecting us…but why don’t they just attack us now” I asked.
“ You mean send demons after you like before?” Damien asked not taking his eyes of the Demons movements.
“Yeah…they tried pretty hard to kill me before but I still was able to come out alive”
“You are not a full strength with your power but your Trinity is still something to be reckoned with. Even now Hell will have a horrible time killing you if your Twilight where to Resurrect here, but if they can kill the Princess without you getting all the power from her. Then they have won this war. They’re beginning to fear your power… and they should, but with that fear they have thought their actions out more. Instead of splitting all their forces through out the desert. They will guard this place with all of their forces. If they can kill us or even divert us from saving the princess in time then they win”.
“ Never thought this was gonna be easy…” I said laying my head back on the warm sand.
It was already afternoon and Damien was still keeping watch.
“Are you going to go to sleep…your going to need your strength just like I will” I said.
“ In this situation I am the disposable dummy and above all else I have to get you and the princess out alive. I’ll die here and now for that.”
“You serious!?” I said
“All of the Sanction is taught to serve only one other person other then their God…and that would be the person closest to him” Damien said.
“…Damien…if you ever say something that depressing again I’m gonna kill you.” I said.
He laughs.
“I don’t want you or anyone for that matter to die for me. I wish that would work the other way around but you have Clair to live for and I’d never forgive you if you died and left her alone again like I did” I said.
 Damien expression turns back serious,” Understood…then don’t die on me either when we go”.
The Desert night was especially cold on this night and every few seconds a chilly breeze would go by me and keep me up even longer. Eventually I gave up on sleep. If this actually were the place I would fall then no matter how much sleep I tried to fit in it wouldn’t help me. I peeked over the dune we had been hiding at. The Demons around had grown since I had last checked. It was true what they said about Hell’s numbers… they where enormous and growing still. I didn’t know what Damien saw in him and me and if he actually believes this to be possible. The Twilight has to be something if it could kill everything that I could see over the dune. I sat back down again. After thinking so much about rescuing the princess I figured out what probably had made me feel so bad about what had happened. I already believed what she said about me true. I should have memory of her but I don’t and if I talk to her maybe it will come back to me but I can’t even remember her name. Even if I couldn’t remember her from a few years ago I at least thought I’d remember her name. Before I knew what had happened I had dozed off and woke up late in the mourning.
“Bout time” Damien said taking out his weapon,” Take everything you need to fight with…. leave everything else.
“What about the food?” I asked.
“It will only slow you down from here. Leave it!” Damien said.
I looked at the bag a second. When it came to me it would probably hinder us I dropped it and left everything except my sword. We began walk out towards where the crack was. It felt like we where walking into hell’s gates themselves…like walking to death’s door only to retrieve something it had taken from us. The Demons immediately realized us and without a moments hesitation sprang at us. Ever since I had to deal with the Twilight my mind was never at ease and it was filled with thoughts of failure or success, but for this battle. My mind finally cleared it self and gave me the chance to fight with no mind restraints. A Demon on four legs leaped in the air and it was almost as if time itself had stopped for me. I took deep breaths as if they where my last and then as if someone had whispered into my hear “move!” I sprung into action. The creature missed me and I followed up by impaling my sword through its insides. Its insides drained onto my hands but never the less I kicked it from me and began charging into battle. Damien’s chain lashed out at several creatures at a time slitting their throats and leaving them immobilized to fight. The strange light that had been a mystery to me for so long came upon me like a second sword, and with only a slash of my sword a wave of light ran through my path and sent demons and sand in the air with my movement. We where quick, we where relentless, and we broke through our enemies lines with no fear or doubt in our hearts. As if Damien and I where linked by mind waves we hurled ourselves into the pit of Demons. The light that had given me the strength to fight off the demons’ numbers many at a time had also risen for Damien. His Sword and four-sided weapon began glowing and lashed out killing the demons before they had much chance to react. The lines of Demons fell as we fought through with no words between each other and no means to stop. The demons claws and talons ripped hard through my arm and shoulder and their tortuous poison seeped through my blood and skin, but I fought on. Every scratch I gained was a step further I felt I was getting to her.
“Leon!” Damien yelled over the Demons screams.
As if I had been suddenly woken up out of a trance I was slow to react.
“…. Yeah!?” I finally made out.
“The Center of them…. Their keeping her their!” Damien said literally being tackled by the coming onslaught of demons. It was faint but I could see where the Demons where swarming from. As I expected the demons fell and ten or more could replace them. They gave us little room to fight with and even though my light repelled them from me it didn’t stop them from getting shots at my chest and legs.
“Leon Catch!” Damien said tossing his sword to me.
I locked the swords in an “X” formation and charged with all my strength through them. The Trinity had given me strength over what I had ever felt and though I felt each and everyone cut bruise and slash to my body I was able to keep fighting without break or pause. I continued to push them back and Damien got behind me and fended off all the Demons that had begun attacking me from both sides. I made it to a sharp ledge and pushed the Demon off of it. I had never seen what one of Hell’s cracks actually looked like. It wasn’t a good sight to see. The Demons climbed up from the depths and swarmed like hundreds of ants.
“Look” Damien said fending off the Demons fangs.
“Princess…” I said dumb struck. A small platform deep inside held her body. She was locked inside an orb of pure light but the orb wasn’t thick and time was running out. She was unconscious and Aretemis was watching her every move while hundreds of Demons fought at us.
“Dammit…. if we fight all of these she will be dead before we get close” I said.
“ Then stop worrying and lets get to her” Damien sliding down the steep walls. The demons met us as we slid down but they where knocked off as we came down and I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. The pain of the injuries was catching up to me and I could start to feel it as I fought towards her. The blows to my body began taking their effect and all the blood I had lost thus far made my vision blurry and hard to keep my footing against the onslaught of Demons. Damien had already begun to slow down as well and it was only a matter of time before he would give in. Just then I took a sharp stab through my stomach and it pierced all the way through to my back. The Trinity had kept the creatures attacks from piercing me but it was wearing down. I fell to my knees as blood seeped onto the ground where I stood.
“Leon!” Damien called before his side was slashed and it fell to his feet as well.
The blood dripped down my eyes as the demons pierced their teeth talons and anything else into me. I could see the orb that had protected the princess for so long finally fade. Aretmis stands up and his arm turns into a long blade and I expect the worst. I scream out in pain and try and reach for her but it didn’t work to any extent. I watched as the large blade came down and blood splashed up. I couldn’t see any part of her from where I was standing and a sharp blow to my head knocked me out. Everything went white and I couldn’t feel anything.
 
 
 
Will you fight?………… is this the end of this struggle.
 
All was black but those words echoed inside of me.
 
Will you die here? ……Or will you fight with me… 
I felt so weak and I couldn’t answer.
 
Will you die here………will you protect them?………Will you protect her?
 
 
Strength came to me when I heard that.
I won’t die here I said,” I want to save her…and everyone…but I can’t fight anymore…I’m dead…It’s the end.
 
 
This is the beginning and yet you die here…you won’t save anything…………
 
I ask again………will you save my people…
 
I was silent and I felt cold. A chill went through my soul and I could feel it. It felt like I was falling into nothingness and an eternal pain, but the words that I had thought to say finally came to pass.
“ I will save her…. I’ll save them all”.
 
 
………Stand……You will be my voice……my heart in this world …and my judgment………You will destroy and bring order to what the Dark and evil have left in their wake……Now Stand!!!!!!
 
   As if I had been struck by lightening my body stood up and I regained consciousness. My body began to glow dimly and even the Demons around stood still. As if another person had exploded in me the light illuminated the entire place. Energy…Life…Strength in a single instant where given back to me. My body rose in the air.
“My god…” Damien chocked out between spits of blood. Armor made of light formed around my body. My sword in which had broke was revitalized and began glowing with light. A pair of wings formed from the same light on my back.
The Soul of another ran through my body. It was unlike anything I had ever experience in my life. I couldn’t feel a thing.
Raise your sword…The voice I had heard before echoed inside of me. I took a deep breath a raised my sword in the air as it commanded. The sword took a new form and I gained control of my body again. My wings flapped keeping me suspended in the air and I had no control over them. I saw the princess body their pierced through her chest covered in blood.
This is the Twilight…I must save her…I must save everyone…I can’t let them die…I can’t let myself fail. I gripped tighter to the sword and as if my mind had full control over my actions without willingly moving a piece of my body I flew over to Aretemis and impaled my sword into. The Demon screamed and hissed loudly and at that all the Demons began jumping my body slashing at me.
…. Kayla……. Kayla!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A light over through everything.           
 
 
I don’t know how long I was out but it couldn’t have been for too long. When my eyes finally cleared the Crack where hundreds of demons had fought against me was empty. Damien and the Princess where the only ones left. Damien was on the ground beside me. I checked his pulse…. he was still breathing, but then I looked back up. The platform where the princess was was still covered in blood. I stood up and looked at her for a second not saying a word. I had failed…I couldn’t save her. Then what I least expected happened. She coughed. She coughed up blood but she did come to and start breathing. A lot was still unclear about her and me but the Twilight had helped me remember something important. During the time it was taking effect she was the only thing going through my mind. I remembered a time few years ago when I was with her and I told her I loved her. I finally remembered her name.
“Kayla…are you ok?” I said dropping to my knees.
It was a happy moment for me when her eyes opened. I was afraid I wasn’t going to see her beautiful smile again. She smiled at me.
“Leon…You came” She says and hugs me.
I don’t know what I was really feeling. Maybe I was just so glad she had made it that I just held her and wouldn’t let go. After a minute Damien came to as well. He was a bit battered up but he was fine for the most part.
“We did it” Damien said standing up. He was a wobbly but he made it over to us.
  “Yeah…I was actually starting to doubt we would,” I said.
Damien laughs,” I was too…but you came through like you always do”.
 “I thought you really didn’t remember me…” Kayla said softly.
I sigh deeply,” to be honest…for the most part I still don’t. When the Twilight power came to me…a piece of my memory came with it. It’s not much…but it’s enough for me”.
She doesn’t say anything but doesn’t move.
“Well…we can talk about this later…right now Leon you need to open the Crack here and we need to get as far away as possible” Damien said.
“Crack? … Why do we need to get as far away as possible?” She asked.
“We’ll explain later this isn’t the time or place for this” Damien said getting up.
“Ok…Let’s go” I said standing up.
I knew she was confused and had questions for me…but at the same time I was just as confused and had just as many questions for her. Damien further down into the crack and it led us deeper underground.
“I heard their use to be a large underground city here back before the first war” Damien said walking in almost pitch-black darkness.
Damien then lit a small stick of wood he found laying on the ground and large Stone pillars and vast wall paintings where visible.
“This is what’s left of a race that was completely obliterated in hell’s wrath hundreds of years ago…” Damien said looking around.
All I could do was silently watch. I finally had her so I could ask all the questions I had wanted answered but something held me back and I wasn’t able to look at her in the eye let alone talk to her. 
“It should be hear somewhere…I haven’t seen the seal of the Twilight” Damien said.
“Its here” I said without a moment’s hesitation. There was no visible marking on the stone pillar I had pointed out but I could feel it. With one touch of my hand the pillar around my hand faded reviling a stairway down. Their was a Seal of light around the door way.
“Wait here…I won’t be long,” I said.
 When I looked back up to Kayla she still wouldn’t look at me. It made me feel bad as I started my decent down the Stairway. When the stairs ended there was a large dark room. When I took a step forward an orb of light illuminated the entire room. The room was full of statues, but was dimly lit. I walked forward to the light in the center. When I got to it I stopped. It was suspended over a large hole but all I had to do was reach for it for it to come. The light flew into my chest and I felt a new king of pain for a moment. It kinda felt like I was out for a second but when I heard a scream I instantly snapped to it. I ran up the stairs quickly taking my sword out and met Damien guarding the princess at the top.
“What is it?” I said
“Demons…new ones…stronger ones and their everywhere” Damien said with his weapon out. He scanned around but nothing was visible only barley audible noise in the darkness.
“We have to run and get out of here…we can’t take this many in your current state and now that this crack is open an unlimited amount of these demons will come from here” Damien said.  
Damien held the fire up as far as he could without lowering his defenses. I started hearing footsteps coming closer. I thought it was a person but when it stepped out of the shadows I was mistaken. The Demon had pearly silver skin and its hands where made out of the same material and shaped like large needles. The Creatures face was contorted and when it roared at us it showed razor sharp teeth and the same blades in its back.
“You know I told you never to try fighting these demons in the dark…” Damien said calmly.
“Yeah…” I said as I heard the footsteps of others closing from all directions.
“This is why!” Damien said and threw 4-sided weapon at the visible Demon and took off running. The demon bit through the entire weapon and began chasing after them. The Crack had only just now been open but plenty of these creatures where coming at a time.  I tried to fight them off but in my current state they easily over powered me and slashed violently with their blade hands. It cut my arm but that was about it as we ran through. As I looked back at the ones that we left I could see the number of them quickly growing. As we kept running I noticed they where inching closer to us, and before I knew what was happening it was already to late to stop it. One of the creatures slits the princess’ leg and she falls behind.
“Kayla!” I yell and run back for her, but that one moment was enough for them to surround us.
“Leon!” She cried to me.
Her body then began to glow. Unlike me she didn’t transform into an Angelic being though. A light emitted from her came over to me and with it when I used the Twilight a second time my power seemed to have been even more.
When I raised my sword a heavenly light came down on everyone and released a great explosion. When the smoke cleared the Twilight power left me.
“Un…. be…lievable.” Damien said helping the princess to her feet.
“No time to talk about it this place is coming down,” I said picking the princess up and carrying her out of the underground passage we where in. We didn’t have time to think we just had to run the pillars where collapsing and all the support to the valley were crumbling. When we finally made it back to the part of the valley where I saved the princess a large piece of the ground above came down on us. The piece caught me off guard and I was barley able to keep the princess and myself out of harm.
“Damien!” I yelled looking through some of the debris.
“I’m alright” I heard his voice faintly.
“Where are you?” I called to him.
“The Ceiling has cut me off so I’ll have to get out some other way. Take the princess and head west without me I will catch up to you in the Twin cities.” He said.
“But!” I started but the ceiling of sand and hard rock above began pouring in even faster and I couldn’t help but pick up the princess and get out of there.  Around the time I made it out with her the entire valley collapsed inward and exploded. I knew I could fight more of the demons so I took Kayla and ran. I looked several times for sight of Damien but I didn’t see any. Damien was always true to his word but sometimes I really doubted if he could keep it. For the time being I would have to trust him and keep us both alive. I ran in the scorching desert heat with the princess in my arms until my body gave out. The Twilight, the trinity, and the battle was finally taking its toll and before I could take another step I fell to my knees and passed out with only her concerned voice to comfort me.                                                                          

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