Solflare: The Painter's Secret

A blinding, concussive wave of black and blue energy sprawled through the Baek castle. It crumpled the structure into piles of ash.

Countless sharp edges of roofs scattered in the hitched air like birds. They cut through anything they came into contact with.

Sweat dripped down the black-robed Leon’s forehead to his chin. He swung his Hi-no-Kami upward and blocked Lucas’s relentless strikes.

Sparks lingered at their sides. The ground beneath them burned with the screeching friction of their boots.

"Die, Leon Storm!" Maledictions splashed out of Lucas’s mouth and sprayed onto Leon’s chest. Lucas pivoted his entire frame.

The hilt of his dual moon-like sword reeled in his palms. He rolled his wrists and continued slashing at Leon with murderous intent.

A bone and metal crunching impact tore through the chamber. Lucas slammed his boots on Leon’s neck and caused his head to bend to the left at a sickening angle.

Collapsed stone and ash dust plowed upward. Leon slammed his left palm onto the floor and pushed both himself and Lucas’s legs into the air.

A blood-veined line crawled up in Lucas’s blazing blue eyes. Leon straightened himself and struck his fist into Lucas’s knees. He shattered the bones completely. "FUCK!"

A metal crashing impact rattled the ruins. Lucas’s dual moon-like swords slipped from his numb fingers and bounced twice on the broken ground.

He gripped his right thigh and crawled his way backward. He screamed in wordless, jagged cries. "No, no, no!"

The blades of the Hi-no-Kami screamed under the rays of the early morning sun. Leon reached down and picked them up.

A shattered reflection lingered on Lucas’s face. Leon moved a step forward and slapped the edge of the sword’s blade against the empty, hitched air.

"I can’t end like this." Lucas gritted his teeth and planted his palms on the ground. Thick veins throbbed around his wrists. He pushed himself up and stood on one knee. "Come on, Rat!"

Slapping flesh noises filled the area as he struck his palms together. He bounced the hot ashes off his skin while he hopped unsteadily.

With a single leap, Lucas rolled in the air. He coiled himself around Leon’s neck like a starving snake. "You Die!"

He wrapped his strong leg around Leon’s waist. He gripped Leon’s neck with his trembling, bloodied palms.

Leon closed his eyes. Lucas increased his pressure on his neck. This caused a hot flow and outflow of air from his mouth and nose.

The moment he cracked his eyes open, the reddened skin of his neck burned with black, blazing essence. More blackened flames gushed out of his pores.

Wet, plopping sensations erupted from Lucas’s skin. The hellish flame caught up with him. Yet he refused to loosen his suffocating grip.

The skin of his fingers plopped and sizzled. The blazing, blackened flames from Leon crawled up to his shoulder.

"No matter what, I am going down with you!" Lucas gritted his teeth. He forced the bones in his arms to harden against the heat.

The blazing black fury in Leon began to falter. His neck began to crack under the strain. A flicker of gold flames seeped out of Leon’s eyes. It mixed with the black when his heart rate dropped into a rhythmic thrum.

A loud, crunching impact rippled through the ruins. Leon went straight onto his knees with widened, unseeing eyes. The Hi-no-Kami slipped down from Leon’s fingers and bounced once on the ground. Leon moved his hand upward.

Blood beaded on Lucas’s face. Leon crawled his fingers toward Lucas’s cheeks. A sharp, growling rasp erupted from both of them. Leon’s fingers found Lucas’s eyes and plunged into them without a single moment of pause.

A hasty wind flashed on the trees outside the Baek estate. A wordless scream shot up from the collapsed castle and filled the eastern part of Thule.

Birds flying toward the eastern direction all paused in the sky. They bounced heavy air on the clouds while staring at the smoke erupting from the Baek courtyard. Then they turned toward a different direction to flee the horror.

Black and white crows dashed up from tall branches of leaves. They scattered in the sky above the Baeks when the wordless scream finally faded.

Black feathers rained on the two collapsed humans. Countless frantic crow cries filled the devastated area.

Leon’s chest heaved against the chilled, hot, ash-filled floor. His dual heart pounded slowly against his ribcage.

The blazing glow in the Hi-no-Kami’s blade began to dim. It hurled burning rays on the black cloth wrapped around Leon’s cracked neck.

Behind Leon, beads of blood dripped on the ground like rain. Lucas turned his head and lay still on his left arm.

"Uncle." Sharp air plummeted out of his lungs. He forcefully laid on his back and placed his palms on his chest, panting. "I have taken revenge."

His body vibrated on the collapsed floor. A cunning, broken laughter shot out of him. Bloodied tears dripped out of his fractured eyes and snaked down the corner of his face when he sighed.

Memories of his lively childhood days reeled into his chest. He heard a ragged cough echo around him.

Just as a metal screeching vibration cut through the air and mixed with the cough, Lucas’s lively memories vanished into the gray smoke.

He pushed himself onto his knees. He turned his fractured, blackened gaze toward the direction the movements were coming from. "DO IT, LEON STORM!"

Heated air flashed at Lucas’s side. Leon pushed himself up. A deafening wail shot out from him when the black glow around him began merging his broken bones back together.

A concussive wave of black energy wiped all the ash and the burnt bars around him away. It cleared the ruinous area he and Lucas were occupying.

The rose flower outline on his right wrist lit up. A golden light plunged out of his chest. The golden glow crawled up and spread on Leon’s blackened war suit like an insect wanting to take charge. It began merging itself with the hardened plate of the war suit.

Blood dripped out of Lucas’s mouth. He inhaled and lowered his head once. "What are you waiting for, Rat?"

Dust pushed up and flashed on his face. He slammed his clenched fist on the ground. "Finish it before I go after your family also!"

A grim grin flashed on his face. He remembered how badly Leon reacts whenever a taunt is hurled toward his family. "I’m coming, mother."

Lucas opened his arms wide and exhaled once. He felt the rush of a blade slicing through the air coming straight toward him.

"You did...." Lucas’s head came off clean without a struggle and bounced on the ground at his side.

White fluid seeped out of the clean remains of his neck. The head rolled toward his own moon-like sword, lying on the floor in an X-pattern.

...

The early morning sun’s rays splashed on Leon’s golden war suit. He walked out of the Baek estate entrance.

The Hi-no-Kami remained tucked at his back. He lifted a calm gaze toward the leaf-filled street. "Wait for me, Lily."