LIGHT DEVOURING SCREAM.

1777, APRIL 03rd, SUNDAY 10:40pm.

The black knight drifted to the floor, her feet causing white flames to erupt the moment they touched the metal. She stood there like a dark lord freshly awoken from her slumber. The Grave brothers stared, despite the situation, she didn't seem any different. In fact, they couldn't sense her at all. As if nothing was there.

Noche vanished and stood inches away from them. It happened so fast that neither one saw her move. The shark teeth on the helmet parted, revealing a gaping maw containing the dark between stars. White mist leaked between her jagged fangs and the twins were paralyzed.

Within her mouth were their deepest fears – a world where create was shackled with restrictions and eventually forgotten. They were motionless as the jaw opened wider and wider, almost unhinging before she screamed in their faces.

It was a violent and unholy screech; it almost sounded like glass shattering in reverse. Then all sound stopped as her wailing unleashed a shockwave – it scattered the clouds, destroyed all the waves on the ocean, and pushed the Grave brothers back towards the edge of the tower.

However, that was only the beginning, for as the shockwave grew and grew all it touched went silent and light died in its wake. First was the asylum, all the electronics and lanterns winked out. The neon green illumination of Shaylin's cybernetic arms, Dreg's military-grade glowstick as he carried Medusa, and the high-powered fluorescent lamps in the white room. Every source of light, gone.

The asylum became as pitch black as the bottom of the ocean during a starless night. That all happened in a fraction of a second, the scream spread further and further, making it to the Create continent. From there Cross soldiers fell into confusion as everything went dark and quiet. For the first time in history, MoveCity went silent as black fell over them.

This light-devouring scream didn't stop there – it grew larger and larger until it encompassed the whole world. Every person, of every city, of every country, of every continent on the planet was blinded and deafened. All manner of vehicles crashed, lifesaving surgeries were interrupted, and people who needed help couldn't reach out to get it.

A curtain of darkness raced across the globe at alarming speed. Then the planet became too small for this growing void. Like the heart of a newborn black hole, the dark spread and encompassed the moon. It became bigger and bigger, swallowing planet after planet as it sucked in the entire solar system.

It reached the sun and like a candle in a strong breeze, it was snuffed out. That wasn't enough, its speed increased exponentially; it continued to grow. Stars vanished a dozen at a time, then hundreds, then thousands. The darkness expanded large enough to consume the Milky Way, then Andromeda, followed by the local group.

The void swallowed parsecs, megaparsecs, gigaparsecs. It spread like oil in a nebulous kiddie pool – eating the cosmos and leaving impenetrable black in its wake. In a matter of seconds, the unthinkable happened; it reached the edge of the universe.

Everything was plunged into a realm of darkness. A maddening void of sensory deprivation. There was no sight. There was no sound. There was only nothingness.

Except, for one spot. At the moment, just outside the asylum, was the only source of light and sound in the entire universe. It was the weak, crackling fire of a tiny flame held in Vida's trembling palm. Yet all she could do was frown. For it was dying.

The Grave brothers stood at arm's length from each other, yet they could neither see nor hear their twin. There was an overwhelming odor of rotting meat in the air which made it difficult to detect anything else. Even the salt of the ocean breeze was stifled by the rancid smell. Plus, the world had gone so cold that it was beginning to numb.

It was as if all their senses were being restricted.

Then the rotting meat grew closer and in it, the stench of blood grew stronger. Red's instincts allowed him to dodge and air brushed past his face. Whatever had happened was fast – fast enough to be equal to Raptorman. The entire tower shook from the impact and he almost fell to the floor.

This was no longer a game; the situation had become dire. Killing intent leaked out of the Grave brothers and oozed all the way down the asylum. The residents of the asylum shuddered as the twins got serious. The aura of a cold blade being pressed against one's throat permeated the air.

Relying on memory, Blue rushed to where the switch was. His fingers wrapped around the handle and he pulled down. He paused as the siren failed to come on. There was no sound – the hydra wouldn't come if it couldn't hear the alarm.

Blue tapped his foot against the floor with enough force for it to carry across the entire room. The whole while Red was on the defensive. He relied on his gut instincts and superhuman senses to avoid some attacks. However, he faltered as he interrupted Blue's morse code.

"Lever on. No sound."

Red stayed alert as he attempted to respond.

"Flee. Ocean. Force regen dri—"

Red was interrupted by an incoming attack. The force was staggering even to someone of his augment. He spun with the move and jumped off the top of the tower. As he escaped the asylum and began his free fall past the clouds he began to forcefully regenerated drive.

As the sweet sensation of energy entered his body, he used some in the exact same way Vida did. He made a bubble of drive surround his body and it allowed him to see via radar. Regaining some pseudo-sight, he was much more prepared for a fight. It was perfect timing for the black knight was falling after him.

Fortunately, Blue seemed to be above her. Red grinned, if they could both use create they could turn this fight around. Granted they would suffer some internal injury, but with their augment, they could withstand a lot of punishment.

Acting on what could only be described as the supernatural twinstinct, Blue dove towards his brother. They clasped hands and swung around in their free fall before stabilizing. As they fell through the storm clouds invisible lightning struck them a few times – but they were quick enough to create an energy shield in time.

Lightning also struck the black knight, but the electricity was destroyed the moment it made contact. In the radar, it was almost as if corruption flames ate away at anything that touched the black metal. Red's drive energy, the clouds, and even the air were erased from exposure to the armor. In fact, Noche left behind a trail of corruption as if she was a falling comet.

The Grave brothers fell thousands of feet and had about half a minute of free-falling remaining before they would reach the ocean. The entire time the twins focused on forcefully regenerating as much drive as possible. With their reservoirs, it would take more than a few minutes to get it to full.

Then the black knight raised her left arm – a swirling orb of corruption started gathering. Red's blind eyes widened as a memory of her doing this in the Cross entrance exam came back to him. Blue seemed to understand the situation; they both created a dozen stone tombstone barriers that were over six hundred feet tall.

Both brothers spat out a glob of blood as they made a giant wall of dominos above their free fall. Noche fired her dead light cannon, and it shredded through the barriers like they were made of tissue paper. However, the Grave brothers created telekinesis and launched themselves away the moment the barriers were created. The DLC exploded and they just barely avoided it.

They both crashed into the ocean sending a pillar of water to rise a few stories into the air. A moment later a wooden galleon erupted from the depths. It jumped into the sky before crashing back down onto black waves. The Grave brothers stood on the deck of their creation as the flames of corruption danced all around them on the surface of the ocean.

The black knight stood in the sky like a ghost. She walked on the air as if it was solid ground and each step caused a plume of corruption. Red created fire in the hopes of being able to see, but while a flame did manifest, it produced no light. There was no thunder from the lightning, no rushing cacophony of the hurricane winds, and not even the sound of crashing ocean waves.

If it wasn't for their drive being used as a radar they would be completely oblivious to their surroundings. Whatever had happened, it had crippled them. He grimaced and nodded at his brother, who returned the gesture. Both twins used create at the black knight.

A rain of giant swords came crashing down towards Noche. The moment they made contact with her armor they were erased from existence – destroyed by corruption fire. Then they tried a telekinetic cage, but the energy-containing her was eliminated on touch. Lava was made next, and she was engulfed in an orb of it. However, like all attempts beforehand, the molten rock was annihilated the moment it clashed against her metal.

They used create like masters, throwing all sorts of weapons, energy, and attacks. However, everything that touches the armor was instantly destroyed in a burst of corruption fire. The destruction was so instantaneous and absolute that no kinetic energy was transferred to her. She moved completely unhindered despite whatever stood in her way.

Metal barriers, walls of force, and giant bolts of plasma all affected her like a light breeze. Everything that touched the armor was reduced to oblivion. It was the ultimate shield.

In a blur of speed, the black knight approached Red – he couldn't block whatever she was going to throw at him. Her fist was made of corruption, his only choice was to dodge. He did so, but just barely, for if he was even a fraction of an inch closer his chin would have been affected.

The black knight moved with ferocious speed. Her punches hit harder than what some of the Generals could accomplish. She treated Red like a child as he ducked and weaved, staying on the defensive. He coughed up blood as he avoided a roundhouse kick – the backlash of using create immediately after forcefully regenerating drive was started to affect him.

All it would take was one hit. If she landed one hit on him, he would be affected by corruption. Blue tried to interrupt, he threw lightning at his brother's attacker, but the armor destroyed all that touched it. The black knight was unhindered by Blue's every attempt.

Then she jumped back and raised her right hand into the air; a weapon appeared in a puff of black mist. It was long and slender, shaped almost like a harpoon. Red's eyes widened the moment he recognized it as the planet lance.

She pointed the tip towards the sky before the lance came down with the violence of a guillotine. A line of corruption shot out from the weapon like a laser beam. Red and Blue dodged in opposite directions as the ship was cut in half.

Below them were two massive waterfalls that roared in the wake of Noche's attack. Above lightning stitched together the gap in the clouds like it was a seam of ripped fabric. Both sea and sky parted as if this was an act of divine intervention.

The Grave brothers jumped off the ship and used create to fly in the air. Even a General was helpless against a weapon and armor that destroyed everything it made contact with. Things were getting desperate, Red prepared to flee, when the black knight held the lance like a harpoon.

She aimed it straight at him and he prepared to dodge when at the last moment her head cocked almost imperceptibly to the side. His eyes widened, the lance left her hand at light speed, he pushed Blue out of the way. Everything stopped when the lance pierced his stomach.

The flames of corruption erupted around his torso and crept along the wound. There was no pain, no sensation at all, yet he was being erased. Darkness faded as the twinkle of light came back into reality. First, the white fire became visible, then the stars twinkled back into view, followed by the lights from the asylum.

Sound was next to return as the crashing of the wave and the thunder of the storms overtook everything. Red's own ragged breathing filled his ears – he wasn't aware of how exhausted he was. He raised his head to the black knight floating at arm's length from him.

There was a flash of gold surrounded by black mist and the lance was gone. In another flash of gold, it reappeared in Noche's hand at the same instance. White flames surrounded a large gaping hole in his stomach – one big enough to fit his entire fist into.

"What sort of monster are you?" Red asked.

"The kind that is destruction given form," the black knight responded. "I am that which will come after your death."

Noche raised her left hand and removed her helmet. Golden locks fell to the side as she revealed her face. It had returned to what it was before her transformation and her single glowing eye stared down at him. The killing intent no lesser than what Red had emitted earlier.

"Nothingness."

Her left hand snapped forward and her claws dug into his face. White fire exploded from her grip and his entire head was encased in corruption. She held him, his skull alit, until his arms stopped flailing. When she let go, his headless corpse fell to the ocean like a dropped weight; a sinister smile crept onto Noche's face as white flames ate away at the body.