Chapter IV: Death's Orders

The sound of a blade slicing effortlessly through still air would not be pleasant to many, but to the short-haired female, it was the greatest melody she could have ever asked for.

Blood arced in a dramatic parabola, and she watched in passive satisfaction as the man in front of her crumpled to the ground, the crimson liquid forming a sickly trail down the human's throat and leaving marks of horrid death on the tarmac floor.

"You'll..." Even when he was dying, the knight was still speaking, words muted and forced out in between violent chokes. "You'll get caught."

She scrunched up her nose, wondering what he was talking about—then, her eyes landed on the stain of red, hydrous fluid marring the ground, sticky and glimmering under the wan light of the crescent moon. Of course. It left evidence.

"I don't think so," she replied in an even tone, hand swiping upwards and bringing the thin line of blood with it. As if now under her mastery, the aqueous solution jumping back into its former semicircle path and disappearing into the air, erased by some unknown force. "Problem solved."

When she received no reply, she looked down, barely taking notice of the still form at her feet. Narrowing her eyes, she used a gloved hand to roll the body over, expressing little remorse at the blank look in her victim's eyes and checking for any signs of breathing or heartbeat.

Thankfully, there hadn't been any interruptions—the man was well and truly dead, and no forms of illusions or tricks could change that.

"Tch." She stood up once again, pausing to admire her handiwork—six corpses lay scattered in an abstract fashion against the cold floor, all having been struck with a deadly precise slit to the throat. "That's the last of them."

Cold blue eyes ran over the remains once again, watching as the last of the magenta seal fade away from their necks. This was, without a doubt, Cresselia's doing—one of those insignificant Legendaries that was on Xerneas' side many years ago.

She'd probably been asked by her friend to go against her, and she'd sent these possessed men in response—no wonder her sniper didn't—couldn't—work. Only a sword forged by Death itself would be able to break the Legendary's magic.

With a practiced hand, she gave the blade of her weapon a firm wiping, then tossing the blood-soaked cloth in her bag and sheathing the sword so that it was now disguised by an innocuous-looking case of worn brown leather.

Normally, she would do something more clever—maybe using what she had to disguise the sword as a walking stick, but the route she was taking hadn't been treaded upon for many years—she was certain that no one would chance upon her.

"So much for being a Guardian, Cresselia," she muttered to herself. "You've only managed to kill innocent humans."

The sword grew cold and heavy as it rested on her shoulder, as if chiding the assassin for saying such words, but she pushed the ironic thought aside—she killed for a reason; killed people who deserved to be killed. All Cresselia had done was cause meaningless death—something she hated.

She ignored the blade and continued on.

⚔ ∰ ⚔

Footsteps echoed lightly upon the damp pavement, both the ground and the boy soaked from a sudden downpour that he hadn't been prepared for.

The redhead sniffed, glad for the jacket that he had brought along—even though the drenched garment didn't help much, it did provide some semblance of warmth and comfort. However, early symptoms of a cold were starting to show, and he had to hurry if he wanted to get to anywhere warm soon.

Unamused, he glanced up at the tall figure in front of him, the Legendary's ethereal body wispy and still cloaked in that same harsh body of cobalt light.

Finally, Akoni decided to speak up, his tone curious and muffled from sickness. "Where are you leading me to, Xerneas?"

Despite all that the cervine Pokemon had done to reassure him, she was still an entity—and he had to treat such creatures with the utmost respect. "And...why can't others see you?"

The boy spoke the truth—he was genuinely confused about this topic; the way most people didn't even spare a glance at the creature.

"I am only here in spirit," she merely replied vaguely, dodging the question almost entirely. "This is not a physical body. As to your other question...I do not know how to answer that."

Confused, the artist opened his mouth, wanting to ask another question, but the both of them were rudely interrupted—the teenager was nearly blinded by a sudden flash of red that burned at his irises, the brightness of the ruby light rivalling that of Xerneas' contour.

The radiance, as if possessing a will of its own, moulded itself into a humanoid form, taking the familiar shape of a willowy, short-haired girl, the individual details of her figure masked by the glowing substance that she seemed to be made out of—the only clear feature he could make out was the cold, unnaturally bright cerulean of her eyes.

"Sa—Sachi?" Akoni took a step back, eying the teenage girl with a bewildered expression. "What happened to you—why are you here? Didn't you say that you would be going on a mission?"

The luminescent figure blinked those owlish optics of hers, tilting her head and walking forward to close the distance between them once more. Her voice had been distorted to a low, strictly androgynous tone, and it rang in his mind as if she was using a sort of telepathy.

She bowed, a mechanical action that was performed without the usual grace she portrayed. "I apologise for confusing you," she started, then straightening up and looking him straight in the eye. "I am not the Sachi you talk of—I merely assumed that taking this form would make you feel more at ease."

Rocking back and forth on his heels, the redhead was about to speak again—but Xerneas interrupted him, performing a wild rear and bringing her hooves down on the tarmac surface. The ground shook, pulsating with a violent ring of cobalt energy, and as the boy jumped back, the Legendary put herself in between the two humans.

"Do not be fooled by his deceptions," she warned. "That is enough, Yveltal—stop playing your little games. What are you doing here?"

Yveltal...? The teenager raised his head, and it suddenly clicked in his mind—no wonder the red-silhouetted teenager had resembled his partner so greatly. But why?

Sachi—rather, the Legendary of Death—smiled. It wasn't a pretty, sincere one that the girl had allowed herself to show from time to time, nor was it a twisted grin that spelled evil and chaos. It was, in all its simplicity, just a polite, meaningless curve to her lips.

"I do know the girl," he acknowledged. "Sachi—it is what she calls herself—is under me. She chose for herself to work as a servant of Death. As for the reason why...I am afraid I cannot tell you this. My client does not wish to tell you this as of now—even Arceus has prohibited me from spilling this secret yet.

Xerneas stepped forward, sapphire eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Sachi works for you? Well, it would not be too far off—she dabbles in this area a lot for her job. But why can you not tell us? You have made peace with the Legendary Armada. I am on your side.

"It is something prohibited for you to know!" Yveltal's voice cracked for a split-second, but soon regained his calm facade. "Besides, I come to deliver news from the Lord."

The deer-like Pokemon kept her stance low and tense, ready to attack at any moment. "News from Arceus?" she sneered. "I never knew that you made up with him of all Pokemon."

"It is not like that," the Legendary—still taking on Sachi's form—denied instantly. "We are merely allies who have the same goals. Anyway—" he looked at Akoni, determined not to have any more interruptions, "do you know why your employer became an assassin?"

The redhead stilled, his brain refusing to work for him—how and why was this even relevant? "No..." he started carefully, "but why does this matter? I am merely her disguise-maker."

Ignoring the boy's query momentarily, Yveltal continued on. "She was not forced into it because of unfortunate living conditions or having some twisted form of justice—that is the case of most assassins," he explained. "No, Sachi was forced by our Lord to take up this cruel job as practice."

Akoni's mouth went dry—forced? Into this business?

"I know what you think," he replied brusquely. "But the Creator is doing this for a good reason. The girl must practice for the actual assassination."

"Arceus wants her to kill someone?" The artist knew that it was impossible to defy the very lord of the earth itself, but this was just unreasonable. "And she's being forced to have blood on her hands? Does she even want to kill this person?"

Death simply shook his head. "She does not want to do this," he lamented sadly. "None of us do—even Arceus is reluctant. However, this is necessary to regain the world's balance, and all—excluding you, Xerneas, who has been left out of the loop—have agreed on this."

Before the male could speak any further, Sachi's figure wavered and dissipated right before his very eyes, reshaping itself into the more prominent figure of its original form—a large, birdlike creature with clawed, crimson wings that, when positioned just right, formed a Y along with his body.

"You and my sister are connected," he breathed. "That's how you were able to get into the Prison of Life in the first place—the area where you were sleeping before Sachi found you."

"That's all I can say now," he finished. "Both of you will find out the truth in time to come. For now, Arceus is calling for my prescence—I must heed his command. And Akoni?" He peered at the redhead once more. "Work hard on that mask of yours."

As soon as the last word was spoken, he was gone.

⚔ ∰ ⚔

"I wonder what that was about," Xerneas uttered. "Why am I not allowed to know these matters? I am a Legendary, after all."

She stopped speaking momentarily, having noticed the exhausted expression on her partner's face; the way his feet dragged on the cold cement ground for a second longer than necessary.

Bowing her head, she stopped. "I apologise for not noticing you tiring," she conceded. " After all, you did spend a long time asleep in the Prison of Life. We will have to stop somewhere soon to rest—there should be a place not too far here from here.

And, if I may ask...why did you bring your sketchbook with you?"

"Oh?" Akoni glanced down at his arms, only then realising that he was—had been—carrying the thick pad around with him. A sheepish grin crossed his face as he blinked up at the deer. "Out of habit, I guess. It's always been with me. Besides..."

He flipped the block of paper open, the page instantly landing on the template for the Xerneas mask that he'd made a few days ago. "I have a nagging feeling that I have to create this. And I don't know how I can, but this happened recently."

Stretching open his palm, he barely even needed to concentrate—a sphere of pale cobalt formed in his hand, shimmering with an ethereal glow that transfixed the both of them instantly. The globe of magic then dimmed down, revealing a piece of ghostly material with beauty to rival the moon itself.

"You...I don't know how you can do that..." The deer-like Pokemon beside him faltered for a second, her voice tainted by utter confusion—

—but deep inside, she knew that this bewilderment was faked. She did know—she just didn't want to accept it.

It—It can't already be so close to the deadline...

⚔ ∰ ⚔

Oh lol I actually wrote this. I was so tempted to write WIND instead but like the good author I am (note: sarcasm), I finished this chapter up.

Also, I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to enter this in the Watties after all :/ I mean, I don't have a lot of free time, so I don't know if I can even finish this...

Anyway, thank you guys so much for 545 reads and 81 votes! I really appreciate your support gais <3

Critiques are most certainly welcome, and don't forget to read, vote and give your thoughts in the comments! Please be 100% honest!

~ nyxia ☆