Lux Locus: Fractured Family
Unwanted Companion

"Zenith," a regimentary spoke. "The sanctified one is here."

The prosecutor tensed his hands in his seat, nearly breaking the arm rests. With a loud huff, he pushed himself out of his chair and to the exit of the ship. The corridors seemed to tighten around him the further down he went, but he did not relent. With a loud hiss, the door slid open, and there stood the afol anda.

She was, much like any pillar, of exceptional height, but her armor was a pure white color with a few golden and crimson trimmings around her shoulders, fingers, and boots. Her skin was extremely pale, almost as if she had been drained of blood, and her head was completely bald...or so one would think. While her forehead and a bit of the top were devoid of various, a few sheets of red cloth had been surgically implanted into her skull, giving off the impression of her having hair. Every movement she made with her head caused the implants to bob and shimmer in the sunlight, showing the hidden runes crafted into them.

Her face was unflinching and uncaring. Afol Anda were known to demonstrate no emotions, leading some to believe that they had none at all, let alone the souls they were meant to protect. This super human showed it. She stared down at Zenith with wide, open eyes, and a stoic expression accusing him of wrongdoings he had not performed. Her right arm was crossed over her chest while her left remained at her side, and both were holding weapons: The right had a massive warhammer with a head the size of Zenith's torso, and the other was a toothed mace.

Zenith had never seen anything like it. The sides of the mace were outfitted with five undulating waves, and on the outer surface of the waves were several sharp pins sticking out. The head of the weapon was just as terrifying as it had several more of these 'teeth' pointing outwards, ready to devour whatever they hit.

"I am here to escort you, Zenith 'Night Spirit' Canka," she declared in a monotonous tone. "I have been assigned to you on a temporary basis until you leave the planet. If you wish for me to remain with you, you must--"

"I know what I need to do," Zenith snapped at her.

"I am known as CQ."

"CQ? I take it those were the initials of your name." CQ nodded in response. "So you're one of the afol anda who forego their original names." He paused for a moment. "Fair enough. I'll be going to the central site of the Magus Imperators now."

"Then follow me," CQ said.

Walking through the ever-crowded streets brought no sense of joy to Zenith. Every single person walking around could be a follower of Blumarak or Mumbass. Mumbass wasn't known for his discretion, however, and it seemed strange to the prosecutor that he would have seen nothing regarding the god of greed, avarice, want, and joy.

The immense cathedral serving as the headquarters of the prosecutors on this planet grew and grew the closer the two came to it. Its walls were littered with stained glass depicting several different perceptions of 'Mana Magis' and the strength of humans. Some of the depicted humans were making sculptures, while others showed groups standing above cogs and gears. It was more to incite ideas than show scenes in their entirety. Seeing the shining walls almost made this world seem clean and pure, devoid of any malicious deities and their followers.

Zenith sighed. "What point is there in our organization if we can't even keep the 'gods of influence' out of one of our own planets?"

"To hunt and destroy the five."

Zenith clenched a fist. "That's impossible."

"Then I will fight until I die and rejoin the streams of Mana Magis."

The prosecutor facepalmed and shook his head. "Your lack of emotions prevents you from seeing the most basic of things and reacting accordingly to them."

CQ did not react to the statement and resumed her escort job.

"Why? Why did they force this...thing upon me?" Zenith lamented.

Despite his clear frustration and the people avoiding him, the density of people on the streets almost blinded him to every detail around. Everyone seemingly melded together in a see of colors and blurs, but one thing caught his attention. One thing of a blinding blue. Zenith's gaze jolted to the source, but without a higher vantage point, he couldn't determine what it was.

"It couldn't be. This early? At the same time?" he stuttered.

CQ, despite having her back turned to Zenith, noticed it as well and barged through the crowds of people just trying to reach their destination. Unfortunately, he couldn't see whoever it was that caught his attention until a resounding 'crunch' came from under his foot. CQ's eyes shot open when she heard the noise and rushed towards Zenith, but it was too late. The prosecutor was already enthralled by whatever foul spell had been cast on him.

He found himself at an old house with a large, cobblestone base built precariously close to a cliff edge. Behind the house was a massive city, something atypical for humans to make nowadays. The light of the sun was dim from its setting upon the horizon, but it still had the strength to emit a crisp, golden hue upon everything it could still look upon.

"What is it now?" Zenith said.

"Do you remember these times?" a tired and despondent voice asked.

The prosecutor's eyes narrowed as he scanned his surroundings. There was no presence he could see, not even upon the floorboards of the house.

"Where are you?"

A figure stepped out from the thin columns holding up one of the house's many roofs, and it stood calmly, almost solemnly, as it looked at the prosecutor.

"Tzinma? But I saw red, not purple and blue!" Zenth pointed accusingly at the figure. "How DARE you show up upon this sacred world!"

The figure walked down the stone steps obstructed by the cobblestone and heaved a heavy sigh. His body was quite thin, but it was completely by an armor that depicted signs of life. The metal breathed in various areas, and the yellow lights it emitted were glowing at specific areas, like a simulacrum of pupils. The armor itself was colored a pale, gray-blue, and it was most visible on the top legs, the stomach, and along the right arm. Small specs were still visible through the large and stretched plates of metallic purple. The metal plates were almost alive. They were comparable to dough that had been stretched, pulled, and twisted around in every way possible. It was mostly noticeable around the torso, neck, and left leg of the person as the plates looked like they were blooming outwards like enraged plants or choking vines. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Tzinma also wore a helmet that meshed so well at the neck joints with the rest of the armor, that any inexperienced person would be fooled into believing that this was his true head. It took the appearance of a vulture, the beak being twisted downwards and with a sharp, knife-like tip. Its eyes glowed yellow, much like the various sized dots with equally varied shapes around the rest of the body.

"This is unbecoming of you to be so surprised," Tzinma lamented. "I recall you being brighter than that."

"I've been occupied," Zenith snapped. He looked at the waist of the thin human and raised an eyebrow. "You aren't armed?"

"No. There's no need." He walked towards the sunset and heaved another sigh. "I miss these days. So innocent. So carefree." He turned to face the prosecutor. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"No."

Tzinma tilted his head to the side and let it swoop back towards the sunset.

"Why use Blumarak's colors? Why even use his bones?"

"Because he is the loudest one, so I was certain that by using something obvious, I would still be able to bring your attention."

Zenith crossed his arms. "And why should I remain here and not just break up of your spell?"

"Because I would have word with you."

Zenith rolled his eyes. "You want me to join you or tell you where she is, I surmise?"

"That wasn't my intention, but would you?" Tzinma asked with a hopeful tone.

"We've been at this for five hundred years, and every time my answer is--"

"NO!" the two said at the same time.

"Yes. I know," Tzinma huffed. "No. Rather, I want you to let me turn this planet into a greed anchor."

Zenith's eyes widened. "What?"

"If we can turn this into a greed anchor for Mumbass, then we can bring them back eventually."

"Are the lives of five THAT important to you? It's over! They're dead, and they've been that way for hundreds of years! It's not by following that filth that they will be brought back."

Tzinma walked towards Zenith, pleading. "But f we can defeat Blumarak, then I can recover his soul!"

"This interests me naught! It's not because you've extended your life that you can search for this impossible task forever!"

Tzinma was taken aback. "You're one to talk!" He grabbed the prosecutor's shoulder aggressively then pushed it away. "You're more man than machine, and you need to use vials to filter whatever vile by-product is created by your body. Why should I care about you or your whereabouts?"

"Because I'm part of your 'plan' you've been so adamant about all these years."

The armored human scratched his 'beak' a few times then turned to face the sunset again.

"It doesn't matter in the end."

"You're right. This game will continue so long as you insist on killing billions just for the sake of five."

Tzinma's voice started to crackle, as though he were crying. "But they were..."

"They were alive. Now they're dead, and this is your fault, fool. IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"YOU LIE!"

"I SPEAK THE TRUTH!" Zenith spread his arms to emphasize everything around him. "YOU CLING TO THE PAST LIKE IT'S A DREAM RUINED BY OTHERS, BUT YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF ITS DESTRUCTION." Zenith turned his back to the armored man. "You're the cause of all the distress, and you're the cause of your own pain. Cling to the false belief that someone else is responsible if you must, but the truth is the one would that you'll never come back from."

There was a long silence before Tzinma resumed his talk.

"Then what purpose do you have? Year after year I try."

"And year after year I refuse."

"Then I won't let you gHH!"

Tzinma had been punched in the face with such strength and fervor that the spell shattered like glass, leaving Zenith to return to the real world. He was about to fall to his knees, but CQ caught him beforehand.

"A bone charm. You were called by Blumarak," she noted casually in the gathering crowd.

"Not Blumarak. Another," Zenith struggled. "They are becoming bolder. If I can't finish this meeting as fast as possible, then there's no telling what will happen to this world."

"Then let us away to the meeting, prosecutor."

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