The mob spilled out of the temple gates like a flood of righteous fury, their chants of "Heretic!" echoing through the streets of Blacksand. Pitchforks, makeshift clubs, and even a few glowing artifacts from the temple's arsenal waved in the air, all aimed at me. Lily, the Cancer Rider, my first date, stood at the very front, her trident humming with that ominous red energy. Her armor, once pristine white, was marred with scorch marks from our earlier clash, but she moved like a storm about to break.
The street crowd murmured, backing away from the glowing Rider in green armor me, and the battered warrior in white. Some whispered "Ophiuchus?" like it was a myth come to life, others just stared, phones out, capturing what the city's memory fog might erase later. But Lily? Her eyes narrowed, that disbelief hardening into raw anger, her knuckles whitening on the trident.
"You think that suit makes you worthy?" she snarled, her voice raw and unfiltered, echoing off the temple walls. The trident flared brighter, crimson energy crackling from her grip. "Those swords belong to Cancer! You stole her sacred artifacts, Rei, you're nothing but a thief!"
I froze inside the helmet. Sacred artifacts? Ophy had said they were his, Ophiuchus's lost blades. But to Lily, they must've been temple relics, guarded for her goddess. My gut twisted harder; she is, hurt and pissed because I looked like the villain in her eyes. Can I talk her out of her anger to see I just tried to survive this stupid tournament, and how it's Sagittarius that blew up her temple?
"Lily, wait, they're not Cancer's!" I yelled, voice booming through the suit. "Ophy made them! I didn't know, "
She laughed,her laugh was bitter, cutting me off. "Ophy? That exiled snake? You're deluded if you think I'd believe that over her holiness!" She charged, trident thrusting with precision born from her rage, her movements sharp and and aim to kill, fueled by betrayal, come on girl can you listen for two minutes?
The swords hummed, Deimos chuckling. "Enough talk, kid. Dominant foot, dodge!" Phobos added, "Form! Wide strike!"
I planted my right foot and swung wide and met Lily's attack head on, the impact created a shockwave and Lily jumped back.
The mob spilled out, maybe trying to surround me, pitchforks waving. I shifted, the suit's digital overlays highlighting threats: red outlines on the acolytes, a steady aura around Lily showing her power from faith alone.
Lily strikes again, this time a stream of water bursts out of her trident. I sidestepped her thrust, swinging Deimos low. The blade clashed against her trident, sparks flying as a ripple pushed back a few mob members. She spun, sweeping at my legs, I leaped, countering with Phobos in a slash that chipped her shoulder armor.
"Ha! Chip off the old block!" Deimos said half-laughing.
"Focus," Phobos snapped. "Rei, feed us your frustration!"
Frustration? Yeah, I had that lot now. At the mix-up, at Ophy for not warning me of his stupid teleporter need charging, at myself for screwing up my date and for the Sagittarius bastard. I let it pour in, all my pent up anger up until now, the swords glowed brighter, edges humming with emerald fire. The numbness from the fear lingered, but this is my power up.
"REI!! I trusted you." Roared Lily, she then stabbed her trident to the ground with all her power. Watery tendrils burst out from the street, pulling some debris and throwed it at me.
"Duck!!" Phobos yelled and I did so, a big chuck flew towards me and I slashed through it. I continued to slashed through with my blades, not wanting to be flatten by the girl that gave me butterflies earlier.
"You broke into our temple, caused chaos, and took what wasn't yours!" she shouted, circling. "For what? Some forgotten god's game?"
The crowd chanted, "Thief! Heretic!" Their energy seemed to fuel her, scratches mending on her armor as she drew strength from their cheers.
"Ophy, time?" I muttered via pendant.
"Twenty seconds, Sagittarius inbound. Hold!"
Survive a pissed-off date for a bit longer and an angry crowd that wants my head on a stake, easy. I pressed forward, blades whirling under the swords' guidance. "High feint, low strike!" Phobos commanded. I faked with Deimos, swept with Phobos, Lily blocked, but the force cracked the pavement, staggering her.
Deimos laughed. "She's good, Now, channel it, big serpent strike!!"
"What?" Exclaimed never heard that attack before.
"Cross us Rei, unleash all your anger through us." Phobos explained, "honestly I still don't understand."
Deimos signed, "Just cross us and put all your anger through it, plus imagine a big snake while you at it."
All right, channel my anger and imagine a big snake, easy, even an idiot can do it. Lily seeing me just stand there charge again, trident trusted forward with a clearly want to kill me.
"Now kid!!" Deimos ordered.
I crossed the blades, unleashing a twisting green energy serpent. It slammed into her guard, not to harm, but to disrupt, knocking her back into the mob, scattering them. Her trident dimmed a touch as doubt crept in, a few acolytes hesitating.
Lily rose, panting, eyes fierce but conflicted. "Rei... why? Those swords were our guardian relics. You took them like they meant nothing."
Before I could explain, arrows streaked from the sky, Sagittarius, bow flaming. "Round two, snake boy?" he bellowed.
Perfect, a bastard of a rider that wanted to kill me and a girl who thought I stole precious artifacts from her God temple.
"Lily please listen, they are Ophiuchus weapons" I whispered. "Let me prove it, come with me."
Then the world blurred, Ophy pulling me out. Arrows whizzed past. Teleport done. We're back at the top of the building again and Ophy stands there with an apologetic look.
"Ophiuchus!!" Deimos exclaimed with excitement. "Master, we're back." Phobos added.
I let go of the swords, let it fall to the ground with a metallic thud. Deimos started to scream something about respect and Phobos called me. I don't care, I'm spent and walked towards the edge of the building and crashed to the wall.
Ophy picked them up and put them on their scabbard, which shut them up. The silence hit me, and emotions started to fill me again. All my fear and anger that I fed to the swords that I thought are gone are now crashing down on me.
"Rei, are you all right?"
Stupid question, but I don't think he cares about anything that happens to me, he just wants to make sure he doesn't lose his only avatar.
"Just tell me when we can go home," I replied, trying not to sound too annoyed.
Ophy was silent for a moment, and I could feel his gaze on me, calculating. He was a God, a stupid exiled God. He didn't understand the crushing weight of betrayal, the sick feeling of hurting someone, how Lily's hatred is killing me. I just want to have a fighting chance in this tournament that I can't quit anymore, I can't let those Gods get away with playing with human life anymore. I have to stop all of this once and for all.
Those swords are supposed to be powerful, my only fighting chance as a forbidden rider. To Lily, they were sacred relics, stolen from her goddess. My mind replayed her face, twisted with fury and hurt. "You're nothing but a thief!" Her words echoed in my head, and I felt the sting of their truth. And now, thanks to me, she was out there, alone and probably heartbroken, believing a misunderstanding.
"We need to get out of here," Ophy said, breaking the silence that I started to enjoy.
"And what about Lily?" I snapped, the built-up frustration finally bubbling over. "She thought I was a thief! She thought I stole from her temple! Do you even care about that?"
Ophy paused. "I understand her faith is important to her," he said carefully. "And that her perception of events is... Wrong. But she is not the mission. The mission is to gather the artifacts and for you to get stronger."
" Stronger?"
"Yes, I'm sorry if this is not what you expect but as you know the only way for you to get stronger is to use my weapon and to train."
Right, I forgot that I have an exiled God as my patron so I don't have the blessings the other rider has. Next time I join some cosmic battle royale I'll make sure I have a better fighting chance. Something that doesn't require me to do daily as training regimen and stole back my own patron weapon, something tad easier.
I picked up the swords, their cold weight a stark contrast to the burning rage inside me. They hummed, and I could hear Deimos chuckling. "Next time don't drop me like some hunk of metal kid."
"Rei, we're here to help you. You got to trust us." Phobos added with this motherly voice I haven't heard for a long time.
" Looks like I stuck with you idiots. Let's get stronger so we can smack some Gods in their faces."
Deimos just chuckled, this bastard must love the idea of smacking Gods. "That's a long shot but a shot worth taking." Phobos answered my cocky declaration, while Ophy just nodded. He must like it too.
I gripped the hilts tighter, the emerald glow from the blades spilling off the rooftop. I wasn't a god, or a Rider, or a hero. I was just Rei, a kid who had a date ruined and was now stuck in a ridiculous cosmic fight. Next time I'll pick an easier way to spend tuesday night.