“WAKE UP ANASTASIA, WAKE UP”

Anastasia opened her eyes, expecting to see something horrible, only to be met with

the dark void of her room.

She looked at her clock on the bedside table.

“5:30 am” it read

“Time to get up, I guess,” she said sadly.

She got up, showered, and got ready for school.

She walked down the hall and felt uneasy. As she continued, this feeling only grew

larger. She walked down the stairs expecting to see some signs of life, either her family

or her cat. Anything, but there was nothing to greet her this morning, same as the days

before.

Her mother had left for work already since she works long shifts as a nurse and her

father…

Well, her father hadn’t been around lately. He was stressed about paying the bills, so he

also opted in to work extra shifts. Even though he has a family that needs him, he

spends most nights at random bars in the city, drinking away the hours of work he had

just put in.

“You guys could at least pretend to be functional.” Anastasia thought.

“Besides, why do I have to be the one always alone?”

She grabbed her bag containing her school things and set out for school. She started

down the street when she felt someone watching her. Someone sinister, but not enough

to cause harm.

“Today might not be the day to go to School… Yalet.” The mysterious person said.

“Who’s there?” Anastasia asked as she whipped herself around to face where the voice

came from. Only to a cloaked figure.

“I said, today might not be the day to go to school, or at least walk to school… Yalet.”

The figure said.

“Why not, and who is this Yalet you keep bringing up?” Anastasia asked.

“Well, if you're not going to listen, then I'll stop talking.” The figure said as he turned

around to walk the other way.

“Wait!” Anastasia pleaded, but it was too late. By the time she had finished the

sentence, the figure had vanished.

“Hello!” she cried out.

No reply.

“Where did you go?” She asked.

“People don't just vanish…”

She was confused. One second he was here, then he was gone. People don't just

disappear, so where did he go?

“Guess we keep walking.” She thought to herself, as she turned around to head down

the road.

She continued down the street, paranoid about seeing the cloaked figure. She looked

behind herself frequently, nervously checking to see if he was following. He was never

behind her, but she kept looking just to be sure.

“Why is the street empty? It's never empty,” she thought.

The street was empty and bare now that she thought about it. Not typical for a city of

this size, or a road of this size. It was usually a busy street, with cars and pedestrians

lining it. But today, today was different. It made Anastasia uncomfortable and uneasy. All

the shops were closed, and no lights were on. For a typical Thursday morning, this was

odd.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE RUN!” a pedestrian shouted as he ran past Anastasia,

hitting her shoulder and knocking her onto the pavement.

Anastasia then heard the most blood-curdling scream, a scream of true pain. Then she

saw what had caused this terrifying scream. A tall dark-haired man in a floor-length

leather jacket, as black as the night. He was holding a long sword that glistened in the

early morning sunlight.

“YALET!” the tall man yelled.

“Who is Yalet? Why does everyone think in Yalet?” she thought.

“Don’t play dumb. I know who you are… Yalet. I've been looking for you. You must pay

for what you have done.” The man said.

“I Haven’t done anything, I’m not Yalet either. Please don’t hurt me.” She pleaded.

“Oh, I’m not going to hurt you… I’m going to KILL YOU!” the man shouted

The man started running towards Anastasia with incredible speed. Anastasia got up and

ran. The man chased her down the street. Anastasia ran as fast as she could down the

street, with the man chasing closely.

“YAAAAAALLLLLEEET!!!” the man yelled.

Anastasia turned into a nearby alleyway and the man followed right behind her. She

tripped on a bottle that was on the ground, sending her tumbling to the ground.

The man stood over her, sword pointing directly at her face.

“Any last words, Yalet, you must pay for your crimes to the Ornaguard.” The man said.

“I’m not Yalet, and I haven’t done any crimes against the Ornaguard. I don’t even know

what the Ornaguard is!” Anastasia begged.

“Don’t play dumb with me, TIME TO DIE YALET!” He screamed

He brought his sword up and began to bring its weight down when Anastasia heard the

voice she had heard when she had left the house. She heard its sinister undertones but

lazy motive. The cloaked figure had appeared just as fast as he had disappeared when

they had first met outside her house.

He removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his face. His pale white face has a single

scar spanning from his chin to his hairline, crossing his nose and right eye. He had pale

gray hair, the gray hair of an elder. The hair did not match the youth of his face. His face

looked no older than sixteen.

He pulled out a scroll from his pocket and read the contents.

“Contingency, Flow of Time, ever creeping, absence of sleep… COMA

INTERVAL-STASIS!!!” He yelled.

All of a sudden, everything began to move slower. The man with the sword was bringing

the sword down slower, barely moving at all. Anastasia looked at everything in awe.

Everything was slowed... except the cloaked man and her.

“What did you just do?” Anastasia asked.

“I used a magic scroll spell. This is my Vigor. Now you must remember your power,

blessed upon you by the goddess Yalet. The Vigor of Manifestation, the most powerful

Vigor of all!” He explained.

“Vigor… Manifest? What does he mean? Do I have powers or something?” Anastasia

thought to herself.

“You don’t have much time left! The spell is almost over!” The cloaked man said.

He was right. The tall man’s sword was almost touching Anastasia’s head. She didn’t

have much time left. She panicked. She didn’t know what to do. She hadn’t been in a

situation like this before, although situations like this are rare. She took a deep breath,

closed her eyes, and thought.

“Remember my training.”

When she opened her eyes, then shimmered purple with Stag Horn symbols as her

pupils, her eyes glowed brighter than the early morning sun. She felt stronger,

invigorated even. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had a purpose, and that

she was important.

“I don’t know who this Yalet person is, but if you got a problem with them, THEN YOU

HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME!” Anastasia yelled.

Out of nowhere, a giant shield appeared in front of Anastasia, a giant steel shield with

deer antler adornments, in the center there was a gold cap with an engraving of a doe,

and all around the cap were ruby gems the size of baseballs, shimmering in the sunrise.

Along the edge of the Shield, there was deer fur. This wasn’t just a shield… This was

the Shield or Yalet.

“VIGOR MANIFEST… YALET’S DEFENSE!!!” Anastasia screamed.

As soon as she had finished her sentence, the man’s sword hit the shield, deflecting the

attack.

“What? How…” the tall man said, surprised.

“It’s simple really. I used the power blessed upon me by Yalet,” Anastasia replied.

“LET'S SEE HOW YOU FIGHT AGAINST MY VIGOR YALET!!!”

The tall man brought his sword up from the ground and prepared for another attack. He

jumped high into the sky, so high that he jumped completely out of the alley over the

buildings. He began falling back to the ground towards the alley when Anastasia

readied herself and cast an offensive spell.

“VIGOR MANIFEST, YALET’S BROADSWORD!!!”

A beautiful big sword appeared in her hands. The hilt was made of deer antler, the grip

had a leather wrap and the pommel was in the shape of an Ace of Spades. She held the

sword in her hands and readied for the tall man's attack.

“HERE I COME!!!” the tall man screamed.

He was just above Anastasia when they both swung their swords. When the swords

met, there was a huge release of purple and green colored energy. The energy was so

strong that it shattered the windows of the buildings in the alley and cracked the

pavement they fought on.

The tall man remained suspended in the air because of the sheer amount of energy

being released, while Anastasia was being pushed into the pavement, breaking and

cracking the surrounding area as a crater was being created.

“AHHHHH,” the tall man screamed as he pushed his sword harder into Anastasia’s.

This caused her knees to grow weary, and her legs began to shake. She began to lose

confidence in herself.

“REMEMBER WHO WE FIGHT FOR YALET!!!” the cloaked figure called out to her.

“Who do we fight for? I don’t have anyone to fight for. I have a dysfunctional family that’s

never around, haven’t had a decent friend in years… so who do we fight for.?”

Anastasia said to the cloaked figure.

“We fight for those who are too weak to defend themselves, Yalet, for those who are lost

like you. We fight to give purpose to those without one.”

“Fight to guide… Yalet, fight for the countless people who have no hope. Be that hope

Yalet!” The cloaked figure called back.

“Fight for those without a purpose, to guide and to defend those too weak to defend

themselves…” Anastasia thought to herself.

She closed her eyes once more, and when she opened them, they shone even brighter

than before.

“AAAAAA-!!!” Anastasia screamed as she pushed her sword into the tall man’s sword.

“AAAAAAAAA-!!!” she screamed, pushing even harder into his sword, causing it to start

to crack.

“WHHHAAAAAATTTTT!!!! HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS???!!!” the tall man yelled at

Anastasia

“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Anastasia screamed, giving one final push of her sword,

causing the tall man’s sword to snap in half. Immediately after she broke his sword, her

sword plunged deep into the tall man’s body.

Her sword cut the tall man from his shoulder to his waist, leaving a gaping gash across

his chest.

“GEEAAAAHHH!!!” He screamed in agony.

He fell from his midair position onto the ground, then to his knees. He hung his head low

as blood poured from his wound. He slowly raised his head to utter his last words.

“You shall pay for what you have done to the Ornaguard… Yalet. If I don’t kill you,

someone will!” He spat at Anastasia.

He stood up with the help of his sword and brought his sword up with both hands, arms

shaking and trembling at the weight of the sword. He had just raised it to his head when

Anastasia delivered the final blow.

She raised her sword to her chest and stabbed the tall man in the stomach, splattering

his blood all over her sword and the ground.

“GWWWWAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

He fell back to the ground on all fours, coughing up blood in large amounts.

“Damn you Yalet, DAMN YOU!!!. The Ornaguard will be coming for you Yalet mark my

words, YOU WILL REGRET THIS DAY!” He rasped.

Those were his final words.

After he uttered those words, he fell from all fours to flat on the ground. A pool of blood

quickly formed under his body, and he was defeated.

The cloaked figure came from his hiding place where he watched the battle and

examined the body. The cloaked figure rolled the tall man over and placed his ear on

the tall man’s heart, or what remained, to check for a pulse.

“No pulse, he’s gone. You did it Yalet, congratulations. The cloaked figure said without

emotion.

“Did I really beat him with this power?” Anastasia asked as she gestured to the shield

and sword she had summoned.

“Yes, you did, but you were full of openings and your defense was sloppy. That's beside

the point, you did it.” He responded.

“Can you blame me for not putting on a good show when I don’t know how to fight, or

how to even really use this power yet?” Anastasia asked.

“Well… I guess I’ll have to train you then.” The cloaked figure said with a smile.

“I guess you will, and you’ll have to tell me who Yalet is, and this ‘Ornaguard’.” She

pressed.

“I'll tell you everything once we get to Septaguard.” He said as he pulled out a device

with buttons and a screen.

He pressed some of the buttons on the device as if he was inputting coordinates or

sending a text message. He pushed a big green button on the device and a big great

door appeared. This door was a wondrous oaken door, with gold trim and a deer antler

handle.

He walked to the door, grabbed the antler handle, and opened the door. Great bright

white light shone through the door frame, and the cloaked figure looked back and said,

“Aren’t you coming?”

YALET EPISODE 1: COMPLETED

“Well, what's your decision?" He asked.

Anastasia wondered, why should she go. She wasn’t even sure what side she was fighting for. It didn’t help that this mysterious boy had shown up with no warning. So why should she go?

“Why should I go?” She asked.

“Why should you go? Nobody’s forcing you, but do we need your help to fight against the Ornaguard.” He answered.

“I don’t even know what I’m up against, and you want me to fight?” She asked.

“Well, you’ll need training… but without your vigor, Septaguard will fall and the evil will spread to the other realms. That includes this realm. If you don’t fight with us… you’ll have to do it all on your own when the time comes, with no knowledge of your power. When the time comes, you alone will have to face the Ornaguard Legion.”

“So if I stay, I'll have to face an entire army by myself?” She asked.

“The entire Legion will be on your doorsteps, and you alone will have to deal with it. Septaguard does not meddle in human affairs… since we are not human, we have no business.” He answered

“An entire legion… all by myself.” She thought.

“Can I do it, when the time comes? Can I fend for myself, and others? Will I be able to fight off an entire army when the time comes…”

“No, you won’t be able to. It’s simply not possible for someone to defend themselves from an entire legion. You need us, we are the only people who can help.” He interjected.

“Did you just read my thoughts?” She asked, horrified.

“Don’t worry about it, it's beside the point. If you care about your life or this realm at all, you will come with me to Septaguard.” He rebutted.

“I have no choice, if I don’t go, then I have to face a whole army by myself.” She thought

“I have one last thing to say to try to change your mind. Do you have anything holding you here to prevent you from leaving? Family, friends… maybe a potted plant that needs watering?” He asked.

“...I don’t have anything holding here, my family is never around, I’ve never really had friends… So why am I so unwilling to leave a place where I’m not wanted? Why should I stay in this place that is cruel, and unforgiving? Why stay here and be nothing…when I can leave and have a purpose, where I can mean something to someone…” She wondered.

She looked at the aftermath of the battle with the tall mysterious man, and the sun that was still steadily rising. She looked at the city skyline, its beauty in its buildings. The beautiful veneer over a cruel world.

“There is nothing here for me…no opportunity, no purpose…I have no reason to stay.” She called to him.

“Nothing, no family, friends…anything?” He responded.

“Nothing.”

The cloaked figure looked at her and smiled. He held out his hand, beckoning for Anastasia. As his hand had ceased its movement, The Oaken Door glowed a dull purple.

“Hold my hand while we go through the door, humans can’t pass unless one of my kind accompanies them.” The cloaked figure instructed.

She began to walk towards the door. While she walked, she took in the city one last time, this was the last time she was going to see it…at least for the time being. A dull feeling of sadness swept over her. It was temporary as she quickly remembered that she had no purpose in this realm. She remembered that she was needed elsewhere.

She put her hand in his and looked at the realm she was about to leave one last time.

“Are you ready…Anastasia?”

“Let's go.”

As they stepped inside the door, The Oaken Door closed slowly behind them, and finally closed with a resounding thud, and shook in its frame gently. The realm they had left fell silent, and the door disappeared just like how it appeared in the first place. Just like that, they were gone.

“Damn, just missed them.” A mysterious person said.

“Don’t you worry Seraphinite, we have something that the Septaguard doesn’t know about” Another mysterious figure said, while flashing the same device the cloaked figure had. The device that opens The Oaken Door.

The device that opens the only way into the Septaguard.

YALET EPISODE 2: COMPLETED

“Remember the coordinates Tourmaline?” Seraphinite asked.

“Yea yea quit yappin.’ “ Tourmaline responded.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Are you scared of Feldspar?” Seraphinite pressed.

“SHUT UP! We don’t talk about that.” Tourmaline yelled.

“Hurry up, I wanna kick some *** today.” She said enthusiastically.

“Alright alright give me a second.” He said as he pressed the buttons just like the cloaked boy had.

“Aaaaaaaand… done!” He said as he finished typing in the coordinates.

Without much delay, The Oaken Door appeared. The same door that had been closed by Anastasia and the cloaked boy had closed minutes before.

“READY TOURMALINE!!!???” Seraphinite yelled enthusiastically.

“AS READY AS I’LL EVER BE!” He responded.

“Feldspar…WE’LL GET YOU THIS TIME!” They said as they dashed towards the door.

When they neared the door, it flew open with a mighty crash as the doorknob hit the wall of the unknown interior of The Oaken Door. They went through the door one after another at great speed, so fast all you could see were blurry silhouettes with humanoid shapes. Once they had both passed the threshold of the door, it slammed closed with the same mighty crash heard before.

And just like that, they infiltrated the Septaguard.

“Anastasia?”

“Yes…”

“Thank you for coming with me to Septaguard, with your help we now have a line of defense against the Ornaguard's eventual attack.” The cloaked boy said.

“Well if I hadn’t come, then I’d have to do it all by myself.” She responded.

“Still, not many people would sacrifice everything they had at a moment's notice.” He said.

“It’s easy when you don’t have anything to sacrifice.” She said solemnly.

“Well in return, I'll answer any question you have.” The cloaked boy said with a smile.

“Alright…” She thought for a second.

“What's your name?”

“I am Feldspar, the 7th Gem of Septaguard.”

“7th Gem? Is that like a ranking system?” She asked

“Yes, it’s the ranking system for our realm,” Feldspar answered.

“How does it work?”

“It’s based on our total strength, ranks can change just like strength levels.” He answered again.

“So it's a ranking class. How many…Gems are there?

“In this realm, there are a total of seven Gems, but in other realms, there can be more or less.”

“Ok, one more question… where are we?”

Feldspar looked at Anastasia and smiled.

“This is the Hall of the Fallen Gems. All the people in these paintings you see here-” He paused “-have fallen in battle.”

Anastasia looked around the hall. She saw a long red carpet with gold trimmings running across a long marble floor. She kept looking and saw tall wooden walls, adorned with paintings. The paintings were in beautifully crafted gold frames. Each frame had a different gemstone with a number inscribed on it.

“So these are the paintings you were talking about Feldspar. They’re beautiful, do you know who paints them?” She asked.

“Let's keep walking and I'll tell you more about Septaguard,” Feldspar replied.

They started walking down the ornate hall and continued conversing about the Septaguard realm.

“This realm is one of eight total realms, each aptly named after its assigned number. Each realm has several Gems. Make sense so far?” Feldspar asked

“Yes, I understand,” Anastasia replied.

“The number of Gems depends on the realms assigned number. For example, Octaguard has eight Gems. Does this make sense?” He asked.

“So each realm has the same number of Gems as the assigned realm number. Does that mean the realms with fewer Gems have stronger members?” She questioned.

“Basically… yes, but those realms don’t exist anymore…” Feldspar trailed off for a moment.

“...When we reach the Septaguard, we will have an audience with Halbanite.” He finished.

“Who is Halbanite?” Anastasia asked.

“The first Gem of the Septaguard, also… The strongest. He will be training you and will awaken your true vigor.”

“My true vigor? You mean I haven’t awakened yet?”

Feldspar laughed jubilantly.

“Of course, you haven’t awakened yet. Halbanite will take care of that for you. After all, he is the leader of the Septaguard.” Feldspar said with a crooked playful smile.

Anastasia looked around at the walls, and the floor, and wondered “Am I about to be trained by the leader of the Septaguard? Am I that important? Is the Septaguard that desperate for a defense?... Am I ready?”

“Anastasia… Please stop.”

“Stop what?” She replied.

“Your thoughts are too loud, please stop overthinking.”

“How can you hear my thoughts? Can you read minds?” Anastasia asked.

“It’s hard to not hear something when it’s screaming in your face,” Feldspar responded.

“Well maybe if you weren-”

“FELDSPAR!!!!”

Feldspar spun around and saw something, and his face changed to a face of pure horror. Tourmaline and Seraphinite, ex-Septaguard Gems Five and Six. They are now… MEMBERS OF THE ORNAGUARD LEGION.

“We’ve found them, and more importantly… we found YALET!” Tourmaline screamed enthusiastically.

“Anastasia… ready yourself. This is your first battle against the Ornaguard's offense.” Feldspar said nervously.

“I DIB YALET” Seraphinite screeched.

“Don’t get yourself killed, you saw what she did to Peridot,” Tourmaline said cautiously.

“I doubt she can do that twice in such a short amount of time Toury,” Seraphinite responded.

“I thought I told you to not call me that!” Tourmaline shouted.

“TOURY TOURY TOURY!!” Seraphinite jested.

“Oi, if this is how you launch an offensive I'd hate to see your defense.” Feldspar joked.

“Shut up Feldspar, don’t you remember how close I was to killing you last time?” Tourmaline responded.

“I still stand, so does it matter how close you think you were?” Feldspar said confidently.

“Well this time, YOU WILL FALL!” Tourmaline shouted at Feldspar as he reached into his pocket for something.

“Well then Anastasia, it appears we have no choice but to fight-” He paused to look at the oncoming battle.

“-Are you ready…Yalet?”

“Do I have a choice?” Anastasia said as she readied herself.

“READY TOURMALINE?”

“READY SERAPHINITE!”

“FOR ORNAGUARD!!” They both said as they charged toward Feldspar and Anastasia.

YALET EPISODE 3: COMPLETED

Tourmaline and Seraphinite quickly charged towards Feldspar, with Anastasia behind him. As Tourmaline and Seraphinite neared them, Feldspar turned to say something to Anastasia.

“Ready your Vigor, remember what we fight for.”

“ARE YOU READY FELDSPAR!!!” Tourmaline screamed.

“Let's settle this once and for all…TOURMALINE!!!” Feldspar screamed as he charged toward him.

“VIGOR MANIFEST, FIEROS LANCE!!!” Tourmaline yelled as he summoned his Vigor.

A long red lance came bursting through a cloud of flames as bright as the sun. This lance had a cup hilt and a red dragon pommel ornament.

He went to take a stab at Feldspar when he responded by summoning his Vigor.

“VIGOR MANIFEST, COMA INTERVAL-STASIS” Feldspar responded.

Just as last time, everything had slowed, and came to a near standstill. Tourmaline now moved slower than a snail would. The tip of his lance moving so slow that Feldspar caught it, and stopped Tourmaline dead in his tracks.

“I have him where I want him!.” Tourmaline thought to himself.

“You haven’t even learned how to counter my Coma Interval-Stasis yet? After all these years, I thought you would have gotten stronger. Pathetic Tourmaline, it's a wonder how you ranked so high in the Septaguard.” Feldspar said arrogantly.

“Your arrogance is still quite the problem isn’t it Feldspar?” Tourmaline said in a cocky tone.

“Weaklings have no right to speak in my world,” Feldspar responded.

“I guess I just have to put you in your place then…” Tourmaline paused.

“Vigor Manifest… FIERO’S RAPIER!!!” He screamed as his lance burst into flames and disappeared. A new cloud of flames appeared and burned a bright red. Tourmaline raised his arm to reveal a flaming rapier, the rapier of Fiero.

His rapier had a silver swept-hilt designed to look like a dragon and a slender red blade. The blade had red gemstones all along the spine of the blade. The edge of the blade was a darker shade of red than the rest of the blade and glowed slightly as if it were hot.

“What?” Feldspar said in utter fear and confusion.

“Arrogance will be your downfall Feldspar,” Tourmaline responded with a cocky smile.

“How do YOU have multiple manifests?” Feldspar trembled.

“Hard work-” He paused.

“It's like you said, I ranked pretty high in the Septaguard. It's funnier how you think I wasn’t training all these years. It’s been what… twenty years since the fall of the Unaguard and about fifteen since the Septaguard rebellion, and you think I stopped training because I left this oppressive regime? I’ve been training non-stop to do anything I can to lessen the Guard's hold on the realms.” Tourmaline rambled.

“You think you can stop the Guards?” Feldspar asked.

“WE KNOW WE CAN FELDSPAR-” Seraphinite paused for a moment.

She had been suspended in the aether by the remote Tourmaline had hidden in his pocket before the battle. Seraphinite had been waiting until Tourmaline had pressed the button to open the portal behind Feldspar for a surprise attack.

“VIGOR MANIFEST, ASMODEUS’S FIRE LANCE!!!” She shouted as she readied herself to fire off an energy blast.

“DAAAAAAAAMMIT!!!” Feldspar shouted in frustration.

“LEVEL…FIRE!” Seraphintie shouted as she pulled the lever of her fire lance.

A loud bang reverberated off the walls of the hall. The round projectile that had come out of Seraphinites fire lance seemed to be unaffected by Feldspars Vigor. The projectile was now speeding towards Feldspar when he fell into deep thought.

“Tourmaline used his multiple manifests as a distraction? Seraphinite isn’t even affected by my Vigor. Shit, what am I supposed to do? Is there anything I can do?” He hopelessly thought.

The projectile had nearly reached Feldspar, it was so close he could touch it. Feldspar closed his eyes and accepted defeat.

“Don’t you know who you are?” An internal voice said to him.

“Do you want the Ornaguard to have the world in its hands?” The voice said again.

“No… I don't “ He answered.

“Then never give up, not even when you're about to die. You don’t have that right anymore, you have people to protect, and all of the Realms counting on you…My son.”

“Father?”

“Remember my gauntlets, son? Carry my legacy with pride and honor, and they shall serve you as they served me in my battles.” The voice said.

“VIGOR MANIFEST, CHRONO GAUNTLETS!!” Feldspar shouted as he summoned his father's gauntlets.

He raised his hand and slowed the projectile with his father's gauntlets. The projectile had reached a full stop. It sat midair at a perfect standstill. He grabbed the projectile from its suspended place and threw it back at Seraphinite. He threw it with great speed, it flew so fast that Seraphinite stood no chance of dodging Feldspar's counterattack.

The projectile hit Seraphinite and went straight through her abdomen, leaving a baseball-sized hole. She had felt no pain from the wound as the projectile went through, that's how fast it had been thrown.

“Whaaa?” Seraphinite said, shocked.

“SERAPHINITE!!!!” Tourmaline shrieked.

She looked down at her wound as blood soon started to pour from it. Blood poured quickly and steadily as her face changed from shock to horror.

“Toury… I think this is goodbye…” She said as she fell to her knees.

Her head slumped down and her hands fell to her lap. Blood began to pool around her as she closed her eyes. She drew her last few breaths and uttered her last words.

“I wish I could see the world you get to build Toury.”

She was no more.

“SERAAAAAAPHINITE!!!” Tourmaline shrieked in agony.

Tourmaline looked at the ground as his whole body started to tremble with an emotional rage.

“You… will… PAY!!!!” He screamed.

Tourmaline charged at Feldspar at full speed, now unaffected by Feldspar’s original manifest. He jumped high in the air, raising his rapier, and began his rapid descent.

Feldspar raised his gauntlet and slowed Tourmaline to a stop just as he was about to bring his rapier down onto Feldspar’s head.

“You know a rapier is for stabbing and thrusting right? Not whatever you're doing.” Feldspar said slyly.

“Shut up *****!!” Tourmaline said through his gritted teeth.

Tourmaline kicked away from Feldspar to adjust his attack plan. He now charged at Feldspar in a serpentine pattern to avoid Feldspar gauntlets. Feldspar attempted to follow but Tourmaline was too fast for him. Tourmaline was almost close enough to ****** his rapier into Feldspar's chest when Feldspar suddenly dodged. Tourmaline adjusted quickly and slashed Feldspar’s back instead.

“You barely broke the skin.” Feldspar joked.

“You forget I've been training, but not just my body, but my mind and soul,” Tourmaline said as he suddenly appeared right behind Feldspar.

Tourmaline gripped his rapier and readied himself for his next attack.

“How did you do th-” Feldspar was interrupted by Tourmaline's blade being ****** into his chest.

Tourmaline twisted his sword in Feldspar’s chest, then removed it just as fast as he had ****** it in.

“I-” Feldspar choked as he fell to his knees.

“This day shall be your last Feldspar,” Tourmaline said as he raised his rapier pommel first to land his final stabbing blow… into Feldspar's heart.

“GET READY!” Tourmaline shrieked as he began to ****** down his rapier.

YALET EPISODE 4: COMPLETED

“Is this how It ends? Is this how I die?” Feldspar thought to himself.

He felt the heat of the rapier slowly approaching him, but he didn’t move. Even if he did move he didn’t have enough time to dodge Tourmaline's attack.

“Have I fought valiantly? How am I supposed to face my ancestors in the After Realm if I die like this?” Feldspar thought to himself.

“How can I face my father?”

As he stared at the ground lost in his thoughts, he began to hear footsteps. He looked up in the direction of the footsteps and to his pleasant surprise, he saw Anastasia.

“What do I do?” She thought to herself.

“Remember what we fight for…” She whispered to herself

“Fight for those too weak to defend themselves…”

“Fight to protect those close to us.” She finished.

“Vigor Manifest…” She said quietly.

“YALETS BROADSWORD!!!”

In a flash, she had summoned her sword.

“HEY!” She yelled to Tourmaline.

He stopped his attack, shocked at what his eyes had seen.

“Where have you been? Have you been cowering in a corner?” Tourmaline said rudely.

“It looked like Feldspar had it handled in my opinion.” She responded.

“Well if he had it handled we wouldn’t be here would we?” He said.

“True…” She paused.

“If he couldn’t handle it…I think I’ll give it a try.” She said as she readied her sword.

“You… fight me?” He chortled.

“Prepare yourself… Tourmaline.” She said as she pointed her sword at him.

“You're quite stubborn. Are you that hell-bent on fighting me?” He responded.

“Well I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” she said confidently.

“Why do you even want to fight me, especially now? You could have been fighting all along but instead, you chose to hide in the shadows. This isn’t even your fight and yet you're so adamant about fighting strangers. Why?” He asked

“Because…” She paused.

“I fight so nobody has to feel weak or inferior…I fight to protect.” She finished.

“You… fight to protect, weren’t you introduced to this problem not even a few hours ago?” He asked.

“I may not be of much use now…” She paused.

“But the world still needs my help!”

Tourmaline looked down at Feldspar, then at his rapier.

“If I were to kill Feldspar right now, what would you do?” He said as he pressed the tip of his rapier lightly against Feldspar’s back, just above his heart.

“If you hurt him…THEN YOU’LL FIND OUT!!!” She said as she began to dash towards Tourmaline.

“People never learn do they?” He asked himself.

Tourmaline raised his rapier and began his advance. He moved quickly and swiftly towards Anastasia, with a look of wild rage in his eyes. As they neared, Feldspar sat up to watch the oncoming battle.

Once they were within striking distance, the real battle began.

Anastasia landed the first blow striking her blade against Tourmaline's rapier, causing him to stagger backward. She used this to her advantage and struck another blow, although this one was slightly weaker.

Tourmaline dug his heels into the ground, allowing himself to shift his weight and switch to an offensive stance. With his new stance, he jabbed at Anastasia with his rapier, only to be blocked by her sword. He quickly withdrew his sword from its jabbing stance and went for a slash attack. The slash was quicker than Anastasia could manage, allowing Tourmaline to land the slash just below the collarbone.

Anastasia took notice and quickly took an offensive stance, and slashed with her sword. Tourmaline quickly raised his rapier to block the attack but was only somewhat successful. Anastasia slashed the right side of his face, but not deep enough to be fatal.

“You're not as weak as I thought you were,” Tourmaline said while holding his face.

“You should learn to not jump to conclusions, it might save your life,” Anastasia responded.

“As if you can kill me, even if you have the strength… YOU SURE AS HELL DON’T HAVE THE WILL!!!” Tourmaline screamed as he went to jab Anastasia with his rapier.

Anastasia quickly blocked the attack by slashing at his rapier. She then used the momentum from her defensive maneuver to attack. With her sword above her head, she brought it down with great speed and strength. Tourmaline went to block the attack but he was too slow. Anastasia's attack had successfully landed on Tourmaline's left shoulder, leaving a gash weeping with blood.

Tourmaline didn’t even flinch.

“You're not the brightest are you?” He asked Anastasia.

“What do you mean?” She responded.

“See how your blade is lodged in my shoulder, try and pull it out.” He instructed.

She did as she was told, and struggled severely.

“You see how you're stuck, this is the perfect opportunity.” He said slyly.

Anastasia panicked, she knew he would attack if she couldn’t get unstuck. She frantically tugged and pulled her sword, desperately trying to get loose. As she tried to get unstuck, blood from the gash she had made began to spurt out in wild streams. All while she was pulling and blood was flowing out of the gash, Tourmaline hadn’t flinched or cried out in pain once.

“You don’t even have the strength to pull your sword out of me…” He paused.

“And yet you think you can defeat me?” He said with a cocky look on his face.

Anastasia stopped her efforts, she knew she couldn’t do anything anymore. She knew she was close to defeat… and even closer to death.

“I’ll make sure to hit a vital point so you die quick and painlessly, there's no point in making you feel pain since you're so weak,” Tourmaline said sympathetically.

“Shit…” She thought.

Tourmaline raised his rapier towards Anastasia and had a blank look on his face. He aimed his rapier at Anastasia’s heart and began the final attack.

“I can’t die… the world needs me, Feldspar said it himself.” She thought as she watched Tourmaline's rapier move towards her.

She looked at the rapier, and how far it had moved. It was close, almost touching the ****** pocket on her shirt. She looked at Tourmaline. His face had changed from a blank expression to a more enraged expression. She began to worry, after all, she was the last line of defense for all the realms.

“If I die… then everyone dies… I can’t be responsible for the end of all worlds, I couldn’t live with myself… I can’t give up, I haven’t even got started yet.”

“Remember what we fight for, we fight to protect!” A voice in her head said.

She looked at Tourmaline's rapier one more time and then closed her eyes. When she opened them, she summoned her Vigor.

“VIGOR MANIFEST…YALET’S SHIELD!!!”

The shield blocked Tourmaline's rapier at the last moment and summoned so fast that her shield had formed around his rapier.

They were standing on opposite sides of the shield. Tourmaline had a look of horror on his face, while Anastasia had a look of confidence.

“What the ****, I wasn’t even what… an inch away from stabbing her?” Tourmaline thought to himself.

“How the **** did you do that? You’ve completely stopped my attack, and set up a giant metal wall in a fraction of a second…What the **** are you?” Tourmaline said confused and horrified.

“If I tell you, I’d have to kill you.” She said jokingly.

“If I came that close to killing you... I CAN SURE AS HELL DO IT AGAIN!!!” He screamed.

“Vigor Manifest, FIEROS LANCE!!!” Tourmaline shouted as he summoned his Vigor.

He lept high in the air Anastasia and her shield. He pointed his lance toward Anastasia as he began to fall. He fell fast and was quickly approaching Anastasia. She knew she only had one chance to defeat Tourmaline. She had to strike him down before he had the chance to attack from above with his lance. When Tourmaline was just above her, she would summon her broadsword, and deal another mighty blow to Tourmaline’s left shoulder.

“What should I do, should I try and kill him in one strike or should I defend against this attack?” She thought to herself.

Tourmaline neared with his lance, his attack was coming. He was no higher than ten feet above Anastasia. She had no time to assemble a defense, she knew what she needed to do.

“I’ll have to hit his left shoulder again, if I hit it again this time I know I can get him.” She thought to herself.

“She hasn’t summoned her Vigor, she hasn’t even moved. What is she doing…has she given up?” Tourmaline thought to himself.

Anastasia readied herself, she knew that she had to get this right. She bent her knees, shifted her weight, and took on an offensive stance. She then looked up at Tourmaline, and at the right time, she launched the final attack.

“Vigor Manifest…YALET’S BROADSWORD!!!” she screamed as her sword appeared.

As soon as it appeared, she had brought it up swiftly above her head, waited for a second, and slashed Tourmaline's left shoulder. This attack was successful, and her sword ripped through Tourmaline's body, leaving two separate halves of him on the ground.

She looked at the two halves in shock.

“I…did it…” She paused.

She took a closer look at the halved body, not believing what she saw.

“...I really did it.” She finished.

“Dammit,” Tourmaline said.

As he spoke, a stream of blood flowed from his mouth.

He hadn’t even cried out, even while he lay on the ground he does not indicate being in pain. He just looked at Anastasia with a blank expression, no fear of death, no winces of pain, not even sadness that he had lost, there was nothing.

“I never thought I’d die like this…” He paused.

“...Well, at least I tried.” He finished.

He looked at the other half of his body, and how blood poured from it. He looked at his Lance, its vibrant color now dulled.

“Don’t have too much longer, I should probably head out. Thank you for letting me properly gauge your strength.” He said with an evil smile.

“Wait… what?” Anastasia said confused.

“You think the strongest member of the Ornaguard Legion would die to the likes of you?” He responded as he reached for the remote he had stashed in his pocket.

“It’s time I leave you…Yalet.” He said as he opened a portal with the remote.

He opened the portal on the ground beside him since he could not stand, and simply rolled himself into the portal. He had vanished into the portal, and it closed.

He had escaped.

YALET VOL.1 COMPLETED