The setting sun had always been such a peaceful sight. It marked the end of a long day of troubles, and the silent promise of a tomorrow.

There was no such promise now as the last drops of light dripped away from the edge of the earth. With this new darkness, the only promise whispered was that of spilled blood.

In hindsight, they should’ve known what horrors they would eventually face, now that the demon king and his horde had been invited back to the living world. They should have prepared more, slept more, done something more than what they did do.

Amalie knew better.

There was nothing more they could’ve done.

Now, they must pay the price of escaping one war by facing another.

The ugly beast, writhing with shadows and tar, the product of an unholy and otherworldly realm, was not what they wished it to be. An army was easier to fight. A whole land full of living monstrous creatures was something they could face.

This was different.

This wasn’t supposed to be something that any soul should have to challenge.

It reared its huge bony head back and shrieked, piercing the air and instilling an ancient fear into the hearts of all that heard its call. Its towering legs stabbed into the soil, and in that moment, the world stood still. But only for that moment.

Within the next, battle cries roared up from those who promised to protect this universe. They charged the beast on wing and foot and wheel, doing their best to look brave. Their appearance was all they could control now. The rest was truly up to fate.

Yet, it was clear that fate never favored the brave.

Only an hour after, half of their forces were reduced to ash. Blood stained the torn ground, fire rose from the buildings of the city behind them, and those who survived were either pushing so hard through the pain that they looked crazy or were crying. Crying out for the losses of their lovers, their siblings, their friends. Crying for the loss of their cause. And screaming because none of it could ever return.

The beast, unaffected by the feeble attempts to harm it from such determined mortal souls, continued to wreak havoc. It did not belong. No part of it was natural, and that is why they had died. It’s breath alone was suffocating, it’s roar was terrifying, and it’s touch was toxic.

The girl that had promised these people that she knew what she was doing was cut to her very core.

She had lied.

The smoke billowed and screams rang out and the stench of death filled her lungs. Her wounds throbbed and her power only served to drain her. Her clothes were in tatters, her sword lay in pieces on the ground, and her allies had been all but lost. She would not fulfill the grand fate she had found, and even if she did, it would be all for naught.

She knew that this was the price to pay for her arrogance.

And it was then that the rain fell.

As the sky was weeping with her.