Emperor's Reckoning

"Ah!"

"W-What is that?!"

Clouds of dark smoke were climbing the bright sky from the city. Screams of terrors roamed about as the people stood frozen with their eyes widened and lips gaping. Their lungs were taketh from them by the sight of a hovering beast with pair of scally heads. Its leathery wings unfurled wide open as its lungs breathed fire. The hide was darker than indigo and the roar was deafening. The shadow almost occupied the entire town, and it saw the mortals below under its pearly eyes with grins of fangs that could shred mountain rocks. Its gills vibrated before it perched on the enormous mansion in town. The nostrils let out a bit of fiery smoke then one of the two heads leaned down and flamed away the roads and the gloomy despair of the mortals.

A pair of small shadows were seen running on the walls with a twilight glow of the fire. The voice of a little girl panting was heard throughout as the shadows advanced. She was held by the wrist with the one leading not stopping for anything.

"Ah!" The little girl screamed as she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She halted for a moment before she noticed that her cute dress was pierced by a protruding wire. "Wait, Selena!"

"Hm," the other little girl pulled her out and ripped a part of her dress in the process.

"Ah! What are you, doing!!" the little girl didn't have time to even regain her balance as she wobbly followed Selena's footsteps. "Hey....!!"

A column of fire immediately passed them by as soon as they arrived at a junction. The screaming wail of the men and women was heard and it overcome the little girl's fright.

"H-How cruel..." the little girl muttered before she was dragged by the wrist once again.

The little girl looked at the one she called Selena before muttering under the rubble of despair. "Hey, why did this happen?! Why does it happen on our birthday!?"

Selena was stoic and gave no answer to her sister. She kept running toward the exit that was now in view.

( How are you so composed... ) thought Zelena as she gulped inwardly with her tears drying up from the nearby heat.

The Great Hydra vomited out another column of fire. The flame immediately scorched those that were on its way.

"Tch!" Selena clicked her tongue as she felt her back warming up. She saw the next alleyway and immediately jumped to the side. The burning flame passed them by as they narrowly dodged it.

"Ah!!" Zelena screamed.

"What's wrong? Oh..." Selena frowned as she saw her sister's ankle scorched. "Can you stand?"

"Of course not!" Zelena said with a glare. "B-But I can try."

The moment her feet touched the ground she felt a jolt against her nerves before she screamed at the top of her lung. She lost her balance before Selena caught her from falling.

Another set column of fire passed them by before another set of wails were shut down.

"A-Are we going to survive this?" asked Zelena. "You know what, you should go Selena."

Selena frowned before she swung her wrist and slapped her face. "Are you stupid or something?"

"Ah! That hurts!" shouted Zelena.

"If you have the energy to shout like that, you have the energy to survive!" said Selena before she turned her back to her. "Hurry up!"

"Tch!" Zelena gritted her teeth before she got on her sister's back.

Selena jerked up before she started running with double the weight.

"Selena, how are you so strong?" Zelena wept to her back. "Papa, mama, they're dead... right on our birthday!!"

Selena kept running without hissing a word. She found the exit in her glance before she changed direction.

"Selena! Watch out!" Zelena exclaimed as she looked at the hovering beast. One of its heads was looking their way.

Selena frowned as she leered over her shoulder before she turned her trajectory.

"W-What are you doing?! We are going away from the exit!"

"It's useless!" said Selena. "Once one of its heads is looking at us, we are its target! They are not stupid."

"T-Then what are you planning?"

"We have no choice!"

"W-Wait! Why are we going back to the mansion?"

"We are going to the other side of the town!" shouted Selena as she accelerated her feet.

"But there is nothing there! Nothing but a cliff and a deadly river... Are you crazy!"

Selena smirked. "I know one man that's more insane than me."

"W-What?! Selena! This is not the time to tell me you have a crush! We have dead parents and a soon-to-be scorched pile of meat!"

"You're wrong, he is not my crush," Selena smirked.

One of the Great Hydra's heads vibrated its gill before letting out a heated smoke from its giant nostrils.

"Ah! That thing is about to burst!" shouted Zelena who kept a tab on the Great Hydra.

"Tch! If he were here, that thing would die with a hundred chopped heads!" Selena gritted her teeth. "Fine then! Fine then!"

"H-Huh?! Selena, you better not be crazy now!"

The Great Hydra threw a column of fire that was trailing behind the two of them. All carts were scorched away as walls were flaming with fire. The coiling fire was chasing the twins and spared no effort in destroying the obstacle in front of it.

"It's coming!"

Selena's eyes turned sharp as soon as she could see the precipe of the cliff. She was close but so was the ball of fire trailing behind her. Her heels felt the soil getting warmer as she sprinted toward it.

"TcH!" She clicked her tongue before she leaped and turned around.

"Ah! Selena what are you doing?!" Zelena had her goosebumps rose the moment she saw her sister using her body to take the column of fire head-on in midair.

"Lyon!" she furrowed her brows before she picked something up from her pocket.

Zelena had her eyes widened as she saw a platinum ring on her sister's ring finger.

"Ngh!" Selena bit her own tongue, "Ptui!"

Her blood smacked against the platinum ring before she let out a grin. A dark-slit aura immediately shot out from the ring before engulfing Selena's entire body and propelling Zelena away from her.

The cold gust of wind fluttered Zelena's hair as she saw her sister turn into a giant black sphere. Her hand was reaching out to her but she could only go farther away from her. Then the said sphere was engulfed in the fiery column of fire before she fell into the river with an inaudible scream of her sister's name.

Then at night in a silent forest and running river.

"Gah!" Zelena pulled herself together out of the calm river. Her knees trembled and immediately buried against the ground before the rest of her body followed. She could only heaves as she looked at the empty forest. She could only hear teh cuckoo of the hunting owl. Her lips tasted nothing but defeat. She was utterly powerless. Unable to save her sister nor her parents.

She struggled to get up with her drenched and unruly look. Her face was half painted with dirt before she screamed at the top of her lung, "Selena!!"

"What?"

"Ah!"

She turned around before she looked at her sister already sitting by the tree with her eyes barely opened.

"S-Selena?!" Zelena tried to get up but her knees immediately gave up.

"Stay there..."

Zelena crawled instead before she immediately touched her cheeks.

"What, what are you doing?" asked Selena as she could only darted her pupils.

"Oh my god it's really you!" Zelena immediately hugged her sister.

"You're drenched," said Selena as her smile fell from exhaustion.

"B-But! How?"

"Tomorrow, I need to rest," said Selena before she closed her eyes and tilted over to her shoulder.

Zelena nodded after a gulp before she caught two of her hands open. The platinum ring was there on her ring finger.

"Lyon..." Zelena muttered. "He can't be... your husband, can it?"

She gulped. She saw how her sister spits her own blood toward the ring and how she was engulfed in that dark sphere. However, her consciousness soon fleet away as well. The moon shone brightly as it graces the twins with the warmth that it could share. Then, many suns and moons passed by.

....

"I see, hehe," Lyon smirked. "That's quite a story."

"You don't believe me?" asked Zelena.

Lyon crossed his arms before overlooking the bustling town. "Oh I believe you, and I also believe that she has hunted down that Great Hydra on her own."

"You knew?!" Zelena asked. "How did you...."

"I spent a lifetime with her, I know at least that much," Lyon shrugged. "And it's not surprising, she is really vengeful."

"Oof, you don't want to mess with her," Kesya opened her hands and shook her head in defeat as she invited the laughter of Cecile, chuckles of Assid, and smile of Graham.

' His name is Lyon Torga, that's right, he is my husband. '

Selena's words echoed in her mind as she saw him looking in the direction where the Twin Towers stood.