Chapter Text
The massive plateau was a small, grassy knoll that had somehow escaped the creeping corruption of the Hollow. It was one of the last safe places to look upon the Old City of Eridu, a sprawling metropolis now converted in a massive bubble of unreality, a floating black marble with a void in the middle, shimmering purple on its edges.
Two children, only eleven years old, sat side-by-side on the damp earth. Their uniforms had been discarded for more practical if ill-fitting jumpsuits to avoid the white, black and gold of the Academy that have become the focus of hatred by the surviving citizens. Their once bright and cheerful faces lined with grief, tiredness and sorrow. They stared at the massive vortex of energy, their eyes tracing the ghost of a skyline they had once known. The academy, their home, was somewhere in that cancerous growth. Their teacher, Carole Arna, the woman who had been their surrogate mother, was lost to it taken by an incomprehensible force.
The silence was broken by a whisper, cold and domineering, slithering directly into Wise's ear.
You know that you are helpless now.
Wise’s body went rigid, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his knuckles
No. Not now. Not again.
Pyrois's voice was a dry chuckle, a sound like crumbling embers. *If you want to survive and to clear your teacher’s name and the honor of your home, you will need power. The power you so foolishly reject.
Wise's composure shattered. He snarled, his voice a low, guttural growl that made Belle flinch beside him as his knuckles tightened
No! I lost control of you! I killed Serpico because of you! I won't let you control me!
Belle's head snapped towards her brother, her eyes wide with concern. She had seen this before, the sudden, chilling shift in his demeanor. “Wise! What is wrong!? Are you okay!?”
Pyrois's chuckle echoed again, a sound that only Wise could hear. You cannot deny me forever, child. My power dwells within you. It is a part of you. I am the gift of your beloved academy, of your dearest mother. I am a part of you whether you like it or not.
Wise whimpered, a pathetic sound that seemed to drain the last of his strength. “It – It’s that thing” he breathed, “It wants me to use it again. To accept it. To turn me into that monster again”
Belle gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Her empty green eyes glistened with tears that never seem to stop flowing, “No! Don’t! You nearly got killed last time! Please! I already lost our home and our friends and teacher! Not you too!”
Wise turned to her, his eyes glassy with unshed tears and a month of deep weariness, “I know... but look around us, Belle. We're all alone now. We have nothing. No home, no teacher, no one. We will need it. We will need its power to survive.”, he then looked down on the ground. “I- I don’t want us to end up like Aster and Stella, dying like that. Broken”
They found Aster and Stella in a shed on the outskirts of the camp.
The door was half-open, hanging on a single rusted hinge. Wise had pushed it open, his hand trembling, his heart pounding in his chest. And then he had seen them.
Aster and Stelle. Their bright, cheerful seniors. The ones who had always had a kind word, a warm smile, a pat on the back when things got tough. The ones who had treated Wise and Belle like younger siblings, who had taught them how to navigate the Academy's politics, who had made them feel like they belonged.
They were barely recognizable.
Their bodies were broken, beaten beyond recognition. Their clothes were torn, stained with blood and filth. Their faces—once full of life and laughter—were swollen, bruised, their eyes glassy and vacant. The mob had done more than kill them. They had violated them, stripped them of their dignity, their humanity. They had taken everything.
Belle had screamed. Wise had wanted to, but no sound came out. He had just stood there, frozen, his mind refusing to process what he was seeing.
They had been bright. They had been kind. They had been the sisters Wise and Belle had never had. And now they were gone. Destroyed by a mob that didn't care about justice, only about revenge. And they gave them care, knowing that they were fading they could only give them what little love and care they can scrounge and held them until they died. They could not even bury them.
Belle gulped, her own fear a cold knot in her stomach and the regrets and fears flooded. She looked from her brother's desperate face to the sprawling, dead city below. He was right. They had nothing. Taking a shaky breath, she nodded and reached out, placing a trembling hand on his arm. She wouldn't let him face this alone.
The world dissolved around them.
They were no longer on the edge of the Hollow that was once Eridu. The only light came from a figure that stood before them.
It was Pyrois, manifest. Its head was an elongated, alien skull, sweeping back into sharp, jagged crests. Its eyes were narrow, angled slits, glowing with a cold, bright yellow light. A vertical beam of pure energy ran up the center of its forehead. Its body was lean, athletic, and covered in a seamless, matte dark grey material. At the center of its chest pulsed a radiant, cross-shaped starburst of the same searing energy. Its arms were slender and dark, but its forearms were engulfed in jagged, crackling yellow light that extended to form sharp, deadly claws. Its legs tapered down to pointed, hoof-like feet. A large, jagged wing-like structure, dark and edged with glowing cracks, extended from its right back.
Pyrois slowly raised a hand, the claws crackling with embers. Good, reason has won over your fears. You know what to do, Wise. Accept me. Accept my fire. It is the only way.
Before Wise could speak, Belle stepped forward, putting herself beside her brother and holding his hand. He knows what to do... but he won't do it alone.
Pyrois's gaze shifted from Wise to Belle and lolled its head to the right. It stared at her, its slit-like eyes unblinking trying to comprehend such an action and determination. Then, it threw its head back and began to laugh. It was a sound that was not happiness like humans had, but ancient and triumphant and amused at once.
Oh? Both of you, huh? Very well.
With a speed that was almost too fast to perceive, Pyrois was in front of them. It reached out with both hands, its clawed fingers gently cupping their faces. The claws were cold. Its hands covered their features, leaving only Wise's left eye and Belle's right eye uncovered.
You will have my power. Burn those that dare stand in your way.
From its hands, spiderwebbed light began to flow, searing and bright, pouring into them through their eyes and skin. Wise and Belle gasped, their bodies arching as the alien energy flooded their systems. They were no longer two separate, grieving children. They were a conduit. A pact had been sealed, and the power of the entity now resided within them both.
A/N: Hi everyone! Its been months since I last posted anything on the website and sadly my creative juices have been toast. But I started playing some games in my free time and I have found myself in the hole that is Zenless Zone Zero. So After playing Season 3.0 first for that sweet, sweet free agent. I am playing backwards now and just halfway on season 2 and my creative juices got flowing to this silly and balls to the walls game. Anyway, F2P for the win (too broke to be anything else)
Also fair warning while I will try to keep the silliness of ZZZ as much as I can. Our Sol Invicta will be a somewhat more serious and solemn story, not grimdark or anything. Just situations treated with more gravitas than canon.