They were surrounded. Countless shadows thickened the night so much the silver of the moon was obscured. There were too many crimson crosses this night that even though the ringed eyes were skilled they were still outnumbered. Virgo would have purified, for most of their enemies were only corrupted beings and not Null through and through but they had no time. This race was vicious, for although their bodies were frail and they bled and wounded so easily, they were quick and agile and they were great in numbers.

Atalantea gave a cry and expended energy, causing all those around her to be submerged in her invisible waters. She watched as they writhed in one last deadly dance before moving on to deal more damage to others.

They have been called, once again to restore the balance to this world and they would not fail. They could not. It is not their lives that were in danger should they fail but this world’s races. It is but fortune frowning on them at this time that the enemy happened on them even before they have settled.

She felt the presence of the eleven Zodiacs. She felt their strength flow through her body, feeding on her energy at the same time it fed hers. They were connected by the skies not to each other but to their cause and if anyone should waver, everyone else would sense it. It was this perception that had save them the last time. Libra had turned towards the Null and once they have felt it, they immediately killed him. That meant there was a new Libra now, the one unfamiliar thread in their chord. Atalantea looked around for Libra.

In her search Atalantea happened on the gasping Diwata. She was sure that she had healed the woman, why was she still in pain? Atalantea glided towards the form and it was only then that she noticed what the woman was saying.

“Leave! This is a seal set up by the—”

The silver of the moon burst through the darkness and illuminated the forest floor and the markings that had been earlier invisible. It joined the blood of the corrupted race, encircling them in a wide but tight circle. The ground did not shake, nor did the wind blow but for all of them who were inside that circle, Earth had almost ended.

Atalantea gave a cry as she felt herself being weighed down and pulled towards the soaked forest floor. She struggled but she seemed to be bound, chained to the grounds, her arms, her legs, her mouth, her wings... The heaviness pressed on her whole being as pain, as she had never tasted, enveloped her. It had been painful to have her wings ripped from her but that pain was nothing compared to this. It was cold. It felt as if thousands of needles were spearing through her body and then there was a severe burning feeling, as if a cruel pair of hands had pushed her into a river of glowing soil and then... even that had gone.

She lay there unmoving, unsure of her existence for the pain was gone but she was extraordinarily drained. She blinked and willed herself upright but found that even the gifts of her race were gone. They could not be gone, perhaps she was just too weak?

She saw boots come to a stop before her, she was laying on her side and did not have the strength to look at the person’s face. Instead, in the dimming light she had caught sight of the new Libra. So young... she thought even as blade passed through her middle and pinned her to the ground. Her blood stained the defiled soil and coated the soles of that pair of boots. They walked off towards Libra’s direction, dragging beside it, like an unmoving tail, another sword.

Not Libra! She cried even as she saw the sword glide down on him. Not Libra... she prayed once more but there were another pair of familiar eyes staring back at her now. She whispered his name even as the gold and silver rings in her eyes met and eventually faded into the color of the treacherous silver moon.

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...some people are only alive because it is illegal to kill them...