The horse that carried Rainoric and Sakura galloped through the now blazing heat of the desert. In a race against time to save Aksyar and their friends they continued  to run through the desert. As the more miles the covered in record breaking speeds, the sand has suddenly began to wind up and act erratic. Sakura could feel her lungs contract at the sand invading her respiratory systems. Then the sun began to darken in the reddish yellow glow of sand. It was a sandstorm! It nearly blocked the path of the road but just as they were about to start running blind the horse suddenly stopped.

"Whoa! Whoa! Sakura! We are in a Foreign Legion base. Get out."Rainoric shouted. But his voice sounded more like to her regular tone of talking as the sandstorm disrupted all forms of sound.

Sakura covered coughing off the sand in her as the two scrambled to the gate that they blindly know is there. They both knocked wildly at the door begging for someone to open.

After a tense moment the door opened and Sakura instinctively jumped in.

"By Godan, your Rainoric Eadwulf of Gimael. I am your most humble servant and its an honor to have you in our fortress."the Gatekeepr said. By the look of his eyes Sakura could see he is a Gimaelic.

"Take me inside to your commander, we got Cultists at the horizon."Rainoric told the legionnaire.

"Heretics? Follow me."The Gimaelic legionnaire said.

He led them indoors and to an office where the base commander resides.

"Prince of the Gimaelics! We have been looking for you and the girl for the past week. Tell me where were you?"the commander said.

"No time for that but Aksyar is in grave danger! We got a Cultist horde of the tens of thousands marching there right now! I just went to the camp and your gonna love this, they got the Guardian of Earth on their side and he looks like he wants some revenge."Rainoric said.

"Bollocks! I'm calling everyone out."the commander said.

The whole base, once doing the standard procedure of fortifying themselves for a gloomy sandstorm has erupted to life as soldiers scrambling to arm themselves and alarm bells to signal an attack of Cultist raiders to other outposts. The guards rallied to the courtyard where there commander and Rainoric stood infront.

"Everyone your objective is to hold the hordes of Heretics from Aksyar for as long as possible."The commander said.

"And this woman here is the only woman capable of stopping Gios."Rainoric pulled Sakura's hand infront of the legionnaires.

Sakura saw all of the eyes fixed on her. Men with anxious looked to see her wear the White Bishop robes and all felt nervous and hopeful when they saw her.

"Uhm, hello I will do my best and.....we need to all do our best today. We need to protect Aksyar!"Sakura said and to her relief the legionnaires saluted her.

The soldiers boarded trucks and horses and all of them rushed out of the gates of the outpost to defend Aksyar.

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"Evacuation is in effect! Please stay in your homes and grab on to something hard and hold on."The Akyar guards yelled on a megaphone.

"Stay? Evacuation? That doesn't make sense."Miyuki said who was caressing her bulging pregnant stomach.

"Well you have never seen Aksyar evacuate before.Just stay safe with Paru and if the worse happens, take this."Belisarius said while giving a pistol to Miyuki.

Takamina, Vlado, Wulfgar, Osgar, Ulrich, Gizzur and Churi went up to Belisarius with their weapons ready.

"Go out of the city and get in the trenches. The Cultist most not pierce that defensive line of ours."Belisarius ordered he unsheathed his sword and walked out. Everyone followed him.

"Where is Rena? We could use her and Samhane right now." Vlado asked.

"I can't seemed to get in her room. She must have locked herself in with the key. I have been hearing screaming and from there all night last night."Takamina said.

"To hell with it. Get out of there now!"Gizzur said while running with his Bejewelled Headhunters.

------------------------------------------

"There it is! Look at the size of him!"a legionnaire said. The marveling size of the Guardian.

The guardian was leading the front of the Cultist horde. It was breaking the rocks on his body and began to set them alight with Dust in order to weaponise them to a devestating effect and threw it. The rocks exploded which wrecked havoc at Aksyar's defensive lines. The city doesn't have much time if the Guardian persists on its assault. Rainoric and Sakura galloped ahead of the legionnaires to get as close to the Guardian's walking feet as possible, using the sandstorm to cover there advance, they were able to get near it without anyone noticing.

"Sakura, we need to Jump!"Rainoric said. At the count of three the pair jumped at the craggy feet of the guardian leaving the horse behind. Sakura held on for dear life as she have never rocked climbed before.

"Grab on to this Gaston."Rainoric kicked his feet a cracked like opening that gapped two rocks seperately.

Sakura placed her hands on the sidepull and began to get the hang of it or perhaps adrenaline pushed her body to a new limit hidden within her. The two slowly climbed up the Earth Guardian to the top. Rainoric would instruct Sakura where to place her hands so she can climb with him. The prince had a deep knowledge of rock climbing since his father would take him to Gimael's tallest mountain Mount. Nadoranaia where he would teach him how to climb its steep slopes.

Just as they were about to reach the top, Gios, ignorant of the two heroes climbing behind him, grabbed the rock Rainori climbed on.

Not wanting to get crushed, Rainoric jumped away but he would have fallen to the ground if Sakura didn't grabbed his reaching hand.

"Gotcha!"Sakura said.

"Pull me up!"Rainoric said.

With all of her might, Sakura slingshotted Rainoric with her left hand back up ahead of her.

"Thanks for the save."Rainoric gave a thumbs up to Sakura. A gesture that he learned from her.

The two finally climbed up to the top of the Guardian on the peak of his head to find that the same Cultist Priest who killed Anna from earlier at the helm alone.

"Do you ever truly die Broken Lord? Then I shall make you truly die!"The pries turned around and revealed that his stave was made from the kryptonite of all Broken Lords Nonorite.

"You will pay for killing my friend!"Sakura angrily said.

"Oh, that girl. Let me help you join her White One."The priest charged with the sharp and pointy end of his stave at Sakura. She sidestepped the Priest but not Rainoric who was just about to climb on top. The stave pierced his chest causing him to lose his gripping and fall down.

"No!" Sakura yelled she tried to grab Rainoric but he already fallen behind. The sunddenly the priest, using the pole part of his stave, rested it on Sakura's throat to strangle her. She grabbed the pole and tried to push it away but the priest was very strong.

Meanwhile, Rainoric sucessfully grabbed a knot on Gios' back. He wasn't going to fall down that easily.

"Rain help me!"Sakura shouted that Rainoric heard from below. He looked up to barely see that she was slowly being strangled by the priest. His head was exposed as it was beside Sakuras and he could see Sakura is already losing breath and strength from him. The Nonorite blade has taken a significant toll on both of them, waning their strength and Dust Powers. Rainoric tried to climb up but the Nonorite wound made caused him to be near paralyzed. Every time her tried to lift himself a sharp unimaginable pain that he never experienced before stung him. He then decided to just shoot  the Priest in the head.

When he pulled out his pistol, he couldn't get a clear angle as the rocks blocked his vision. He couldn't climb up or around to get a better angle and he could see Sakura slowly dying. Thinking hard or hardly crazily. Rainoric pushed himself away from Gios back where now he has a split second of unobstructed view of the Priest strangling Sakura.

"Godan, guide my shot and let it be true!"Rainoric prayed before firing the plasma shot. The projectile flied across him and his target and just as he prayed the plasma struck its target dead between the eyes.

The Priest fell down with Sakura only grasping for air as she realised that Rainoric just saved her again in a stunt that was straight from an action movie. Now alone on top, Sakura has to continue on with the mission.

"No matter what happens, focus on your mission. The end will justify the means." Sakura remembered a quote from Rainoric. Sakura had to focus now and stop this beast from attacking. After disposing the Nonorite stave which would have severely limit her powers. Sakura began to focus all of her energy to stop Gios.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Rainoric crashed down to the sandy floor like a rock thrown at a pond. He created a large splash of sand when his armore carapace impacted the ground. Being a Broken Lord, the equivalent of breaking your bones was losing one of your armor parts that make up the physical aspect of your body. Fortunately, his body didn't suffer any incidental seperation from his body. But he knows that what is slowly approaching is an entire horde of ten thousand strong bloodthirsty Cultists.

Rainoric grabbed his Plasma Pistol and readied his Seax. If he is gonna die here today, he will die with the honor of killing a thousand of these scum with him. He was about to rise up when dark red figure threw a sword at the crater he lay on. It was his sword 'Ulfberth'.

"Arm yourself as if you are to enter the gates of Hell itself son of Gimael."the figure spoke.

Rainoric unsheathed his Seax and picked up his old sword which was thankfully still well sharpened.

"Who are----Rena? Is that you? Love the new look."Rainoric stood up to see Rena was the dark red figure. She was sporting a new robe colored red and black. She also sported a sheathe that Sakura told him was a Katanna's sheathe. It was always up to his imagination what the curved blade looked like and how bloody the cuts are when in use.

"I go by many names, Jurina, Grimaldu, Rena and Samhane. But now I have finally returned to my old form.."Rena and Jurina's voice spoke.

"Hey is that the voice of Juri---"

"Silence first, Killing now!"Hantei/Jurina/Rena said. She unsheathed her Katanna and the very blade itself looked like it was infused with Black and Red Dust, a feat Rainoric thought was physically impossible due to there contrasting quantities.

The Cultist Horde rushed in guns and blades burning and gleaming as the two charged to meet them. They collided with them in battle and a great fight ensued.

-------------------------------------------------

Hayato was coughing with the amount of Dust that got into his young lungs. The Sandstorm impaired his vision and breathing and he could only see his fellow Hussars adjacent to him. Belisarius and Leoferic are tasked with taking out the enemy cavalry but the Cultists who live in this desert were expert Sandstorm navigators and they fear they might get flanked by the Cultist light cavalry.

"They are running behind us!"One of the Hussars said.

The enemy cavalry was  indeed flanking them under the cover of the storm. This caused the Gimaelic-Vanoran cavalry to become scattered into pockets and become defensively disorganized. Hayato nearly lost his balance  when he panicked. He galloped to the nearest group of Hussars or any friendly he encountered. Thankfully he met up with a distraught Leoferic with severl of his Hussars and some of Belisarius' Tagmata.

"I can't fight under these conditions!"Leoferic angrily threw away his lance which was too long to be used in close quarters hand to hand combat. He unsheathed his Sablia and raised it to the air.

"Rally to my me lads. Baldwin, where is Belisarius? I can't find him in this blasted storm!" Leoferic asked.

"I don't know sir. We need to find him."Hayato said.

"We need to rally the men and push them back before the Cultists fall back in the storm and try to wipe us again with their Dune Lancers."Leoferic ordered. Everyone around his affirmed his orders and followed his lead on the counter-attack.

(Meanwhile somewhere else in the middle of the Cavalry Melee)

"Warrior of the Endless! I challenge you to a fight to the death!" The leader of the Cultist cavalry challenged Belisarius, he pointed his sword at the Vanoran Magister Equites.

"I accept. Hiya!"Belisarius accepted his challenged he galloped his horse straight towards the commander and their blades collide.

The two commanders desperately tried to find a weakness in their adversary's defenses as they hacked their armor into dents and scratches.

"Aha! I sense your fear! I see that the Belisarius bloodline has continued on to another babe. Yet it sleeps still. When I kill you, I will find your beloved and rip the baby from her uterus!"The commander mocked.

"You will not lay a finger nor lay your eyes on her or my child!"Belisarius angrily shouted. He could not bear to stand seeing the heretic mock Miyuki and his incoming child. His slashed became more erratic and physicall expendfull as he tried to muscle away the defense of the Cultist leader. But the leader was only trying to make use of his emotions and pushed Belisarius off of his horse.

Belisarius dropped down to the ground and narrowly dodged the horse's hooves of his enemy by tumbling sidewards. He got back on his feet and quickly hewed the enemy horse with his sword. The mount's body tumbled down to the ground with the Heretic's leader locked in between his horse's body and the ground. Still angry over the insults he received from him. Belisarius walked up to the Cultist and impaled his blade to the leader's heart killing him on the spot.

"No!"A Cultist rider yelled. He was rushing into the thick of the duel to help his leader but it was too late as he fell in battle. The Heretic, wanting to avenge his leader's death, grappled his lance with both of his hands for added momentum.

"Die scum!"The rider said before imapling a meter deep of his lance on Belisarius' chest. The lance broke in half due to the sheer impact of the two colliding bodies and an impaled Belisarius fell down to the ground.

His life began to flash before his eyes as he knew he was now done for. He shedded a tear as he awaited for death.

"Belisarius!"Hayato shouted. He came rushing to Belisarius' side after quickly dismounting his horse. The Japanse Hussar grabbed his blood covered hand and pleaded to him to not die.

"My final orders, give me a pen and paper now!"Belisarius yelled still in agony over the broken lance that impaled his body.

"Your not dying on----"

"Go give me a pen now!"

Hayato went up to his horse and he conveniently had a pen and a pieces of bond paper with him. He ran up to Belisarius whose arms were raised to receive them. He began to write a letter. His hands were shaking and some of his blood was already staining the paper. He began to cough blood from out of his throat as he finished.

"Pass....this to her......Tell Miyuki.....I died a soldier.....and thinking....of ....her....."Belisarius spoke his last words. He gave his helmet to Hayato which is symbolically meaning a Vanoran is retiring and passing over his legacy to his heir but instead of placing it on Hayato's head he just gave it to him by hand meaning that it was meant for his child. Belisarius coughed the last of his blood before succumbing to his wounds and dropping his body limp on the blood stained and sandy floor.

"Damnation! It looks like I am taking over. You have my permission to get to her now. I will lead the men. Go!"Leoferic ordered now taking over Belisarius' authority.

Hayato left the Vanoran's  corpse and mounted his horse and rushed out of the exit, with the letter in hand.

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The fighting was intense at the trenches, Churi could feel the pressure mounted on her as she dodged gunfire and missles as she made her way to her trench while fetching some mortar shells from another  trench.

"They can only give me four." Churi carefully gave the shells to the mortar crew.

"Akane! Keep your head down! Gios is here!"Ybor shouted.

The Earth titan has already made its way with a clear line of sight at the city and virtually all of the civilians are still inside.

"I thought the city was evacuating?!? Yet Yuki and Miyuki are still inside."Takamina cried. Sweat fell on her head and she was already down to her last rounds of ammo of her pistol.

"It should wake up right now!" Ybor said.

"Wake what-----"Churi was about to question when the ground she stood shook her. A fissure was shaking the battlefield causing everyone to fall down and lose balance.

"Its....LOUD!!!!"Ulrich yelled.

Churi held on to the wall and she peeked over the trench to see where the earthquake was happening. To her surprise she saw the very city of Aksyar rising up from the sandy ground. Then four great leg shaped monoliths appeared from the ground. The city was infact resting ontop of a large turtle-like being on its back. The Atlas of a creature began to walk away from the battlefield to safety.

"What the hell? The city---"Churi was at a lost of words of what she saw.

"The Roving Clans built there cities on top of that so if they needed to move they can just wake it up and drive it to wherever they want it to go."Wulfgar explained.

"Well better late than never. We still got a damn Guardian trying to rock us to death. Now keep your head down Churi!"Osgar shouted. He pulled back Churi's head under the cover of the trench.

--------------------------------------------

Sakura is struggling to breakthrough the inner sanctums of the Guardian. Not only she has to sit with Gios' resitance involving erratic flailing and crumbling rocks, but she still has to remain stationary in her place while it all happens. And the task is easier said than done.

"I tell you to Pacify!" Sakura yelled. Her White Dust powers were now at breaking point. If she expends too much, she will literally have her brain explode. But the lives of thousands hung behind her and she needed to take the risk of a mental meltdown to save them..

Taking one last deep breath, Sakura went beyond the limit of what her human brain could capacitate to take control of the beast.

"RAAAGGHHH GET OUT!" The voice of Gios spoke in her. She went through! But she only had a small window of time to act before either she loses the connection between her and the Guardian or complete mental meltdown. Taking control of its body, Sakura guided the beast to crash its body at the ground between the Cultists and the defending soldiers. After a great large crash on the desert sands, Sakura with the last bit of her strength, used her powers to permanently kill the Guardian my sapping out its Dust.

"NNNOOO!!!!" Gios spoke its last words telepathically at Sakura before the Guardian's body disintegrated into lifeless stones.

Sakura fell down safely on the ground with a massive headache. She checked her body to see that blood was now dripping from her eyes and nose after the sheer exhaustion of her feat.

"Sakuratan!" She heard the voice of Takamina shouting at her before she lay down on the floor in a deep comatose sleep.

-----------------------------------------

Rainoric blasted the head off of a charging Cultist that was trying to slash him. His very clothes were stained with blood as if he threw himself into a vat of Red Wine.

"Come and kill the Future King of the Gimaelics!"Rainoric challenged the Cultists around him. He swung his blade

Meanwhile Rena or at least her physical body, was effortlessly slicing away the Cultists with her ever adjustable in length Katanna. It could grow up to 20 feet long maximum while still retaining its uniform of clean and calculated cuts. Rena was drenched in blood like if she just swam in a vat of Red Wine.

"Jumper!"Rainoric shouted. He shout a jumping Cultist who was about to slam a large hammer on Rena. But with quick reflexes, Rainoric shot the Heretic causing to fall away from his course leaving Rena unharmed.

"More....to...Consume.....Obsacles......Overcome.....Overwhelm...."Rena spoke in a darkened tone. The combined Red and Black Dust working in unity with each other created has turned the avatar into a slayer capable of killing deities.

"Nyam Nyam!"The sound of the Edanzi warcry yelled. It was Dreadnought cladded Mayuyu and her friends.

"Sorry if I am late. Its just my legs aren't for running anymore. Now eat this!"Mayuyu said. Her hand unleashed a fury of flames that roasted any Cultists that came across its stream.

The Edanzi routed the rest of the Cultist while following Mayu's lead. Before long, all of the Cultist has lay dead on the floor, blood flowed in a pool like space where mounds of the dead lay. Rena felt just at home being surrounded by corpses that she indian sit on the ground and meditated. Relieved after the battle Rainoric sat next to her.

"The hell happened to you? " He asked.

"Explaining it to you, would most likely bore you to death or confuse yoythird son of Gimael."Rena speaking in a low accent spoke.

"I can take it. Why?"

"Grimaldus and Samhane. They are all the same or were untill now. Life and Death, they can't exist without the other."

"I don't understand..."

"You aren't supposed to understand. But I can tell you this there is a storm coming lord. A storm you will be at the helm off. I see the northern hells rising to eat this world again and I saw you consuming all the souls of this world. And when you were done consuming this world. The universe shall run red with blood."

"What are you saying? That I will start some sort of apocalyspe?"

"Yes you are, and the person destiny assigns to stop you will be not who you would think..."

Rena then stand up and faced Rainoric, a smile was shown as her body began to fade.

"Sakura, keep her close.....I know why....and I need to tell her......"Rena said before her physical form faded away. Leaving Rainoric, bloodied and battered scratching his helmet/head in confusion.

----------------------------------------------

Miyuki cried on Churi's shoulder. She held her beloved's helmet that was given to her by Hayato. Her usually smily exterior gave way to the contrasts of her grief.

"I can't believe this....what about the baby?"Miyuki said while carefully touching her bulged belly.

"You haven't read the letter yet. We need to know, for all I know it could be Belisarius' Will."Lucillius said.

Miyuki reluctantly opened the letter and read it silently for a moment before giving it to Takamina. She was to deep in her sadness to read the last of what her late beloved's words had to say.

Takamina opened the letter and began to read it outloud:

"My Beloved Miyuki, I have failed to comeback to you and I am sorry that I still tried to dabble in my old vices. I now deeply regretted my actions and I want to say that I beg for your forgiveness. Next, as my will, I declare you and my unborn child, whether female or male to inherit my Villa and the Belisarius name. Miyuki, you were there for me when I thought I couldnt't stand up, you corrected when I thought I was right,  you were the woman that showed me the value of compassion and I want to tell you right here, before I draw my last breath. Give the child the choices I never had and give him the life that I wish I could have got and make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes I have made.... From your beloved and would have been bethrothed....Belisa------"

Miyuki hugged Belisarius' helmet tightly as she slept with her unborn child. Miyuki promised herself to heed Belisarius' final words to her. Takamina crawled up to Miyuki and rubbed her hair as she went to sleep after being tired over all of her crying.

Rainoric then came up to the room where all of his friends were. He heard what happened to Sakura and they had to rush her unconcious body to the nearest doctor. He removed his helmet/head to show respect to Belisarius who he also just heard the grim news.

"I am....sor.....sor....sorry.....tell that to Miyuki."Rainoric said genuinely. He often struggles with those words.

"Much thanks, how's Sakura? Will she be okay? I saw her bleeding her nose and eyes out."Takamina said.

"I honestly don't know as much as the doctors. Last I check before going back here in the embassy is that Sakura has been bleeding different colors of blood. White, gold, red and black."Rainoric replied.

"Will she be okay?" Yuki asked.

"I really don't know at this time....I am....so....sorry....again."

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Sakura felt like she was floating in a watery limbo..... her body felt no pain and she couldn't perceive anymore where is up, down and ground level, all she felt was complete weightlessness.

"Alas.....you have reached....perfect harmony..... You....have come so far......" A God-like voice spoke.

"Who is ther?"Sakura asked.

Suddenly she felt the weightlessness stop and she fell down to sturdy ground. After standing up from her crash she saw a familiar person walk up to her.

"Rena? What are you....what are we doing here?"

"We are the Hivemind of Life and Death....a being of creation still alive after the Endless had fallen. We have been observing, judging you behind the scenes while we have tried to reunite ourselves while doing so. And your body and mind, like all other White Dusts belong to us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Eversince you slew and made contact with one of the Guardian's your mind has trancended to what all beings that impossible. Only few people has ever pushed that feat. I have come to warn you of a truth that you will find hard to swallow."

Sakura's reality blinked again and now she sat down next to her very own grandmother.

"Obasan?"

"Your memories give voice to my words. I have studied your mind in a quadrillionth of a second. That is why I now speak to you in your tongue."

"So what are you going to show me?"

"A mistake that....Sophia made that all of the Gimaelics and all of the Aurigans are being forced to pay....."
 

Sakura's grandmother touched her forehead and the current plane of reality she was in blanketed in white.......