INSIGNIAS: THE REGALIS

Suspended in the air were countless large and hard pieces of earth, looming and blocking any light offered by the sky from reaching the people below it. They covered a large area, making countless of people hostage. Grains of sands circled the boulders as if their gravity attracted them. The ground had collapsed earlier. The surface now had deep gapping holes where the sands continued to pour into. People scattered on the ground, some stood unmoving on narrow flat surfaces between the holes, some fell with the sands into their death, some held onto their lives as they climb to reach the surface from being buried underground.

The blocks of earth suddenly fell. A chorus of scream erupted. Everyone unleased their elementals and powers to stop the collision. The hits chipped a few of the blocks but they weren't enough to destroy and stop them. The blocks hit the ground with loud explosions, rocking the ground and throwing sands, rocks and earth everywhere. The fall continued for minutes and the loud explosions drowned the screams of the people. The dusts and sands concealed the chaos and horror. But only until the dusts cleared.

"Monsters." A lone Rosein crawled from under the rubble. Blood gushed from her wounded head. She was panting heavily.

"You're a monster," she croaked, staring angrily at the origin of the devastation.

Clyne Sherburne regarded her cooly. He titled his head. The sands below the Rosein started to stir. The Rosein screamed and trashed as the sands pulled her under. In the last attempt to save herself, she looked at Clyne with a mix of hatred, sadness and desperation. Her head disappeared below, eaten by the dessert. Like the Roseins who died because of the falling blocks of earth, she too became the dessert's victim. But she was not Clyne's victim. He believed that she needed to die when she decided to be a Rosein.

Clyne looked around, searching and listening for enemies to kill. His head was empty except for the mission to destroy anyone coming after him. Kill the Roseins. He felt a strong pull, his chest tightened. Looking up, he noticed different colors of light swirling in the dark sky. The power pulling him urged him to move. He set out to find the origin of the lights.

It didn't take him long. A group of four teenagers stood watching each other beside a collapsed grey building. One turned to him with an expressionless face.

"Took you long enough," Lasiandra Arkingrave commented. Clyne Sherburne chuckled

without humour. Her red irises watched him closely.

"You're not the last one," Lei Amethyst Thornneridge said, her bright emerald eyes stared at the sky.

"How was it?" Althea Savanna Forksleigh asked cooly. Her deep ocean blue orbs sparkled when soft rain began to pour.

"Killed them all." Clyne took a seat on a round rock.

"They're not the last of them." Nathan Moltentroyd raised his eyebrow at him. His golden brown eyes met Clyne's deep hazel ones.

"I know." The colors of their eyes changed and became brighter and sharper than before.

The Regalis didn't questioned it. The change felt normal, inevitable. It felt like it was in their bodies all along, just waiting to be free. Their powers felt light and easy and everything else - emotions, feelings and memories - seemed to fade, covered by thick fogs.

The last two of the Seven arrived after five minutes. Unlike the five who first arrived, they seemed concerned and tense. Clyne took notice of this but brush it off.

"Let's go finish this." He stood up.

"Wait." Skhy Elmore Wolfhart stepped in front of him. He was frowning. His clear blue orbs

regarded Clyne with concern and fear. "Pull yourself together first."

"What?" Nate asked, unchalant. Skhy glanced at everyone, worry evident on his tanned face. His chestnut hair was disheveled, ending near his eyes.

"We cannot fight like this."

"Like what?" Aria asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Like..." he trailed.

"Monsters," Fazhiar Nighttower finished. Deep black eyes stared at Tessa with longing. Their darkness knew no bounds. The others shifted tensely behind Clyne who pinned Faz with a hard stare.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tessa stepped away from Faz who had been trying to touch her.

"We have go to..." Lei didn't get to finish her statement because the Seven jumped before any arrow hit them. Dozens of arrows zipped through the air, hitting the sands within seconds. The Seven recovered quickly and formed a circle, facing outside. Figures appeared from behind the dunes, trapping the Seven in the middle. When the red enemies advanced, the Seven rushed forward. They moved swiftly and surely. Their movements were a blur to their enemies who were swiped easily and who were too weak for the Seven.

Once Clyne found his spot, his feet didn't move. He only flicked his fingers and the ground shook. The enemies who sought him died within a few minutes of facing him, some fell into the cracks, the others swallowed by the sands. He turned to Skhy, the Regali nearest to him. Skhy seemed to be struggling. It confused Clyne. He sensed strong power and energy within Skhy but he refused to pull it to the surface. Why? Skhy regained his balance and won against five enemies, the others getting ready to strike at him. Clyne had enough of watching so he intervened. Skhy's remaining enemies sinked into the sands as they screamed and begged. Clyne marched toward Skhy.

"What are you doing?" he asked flatly. Skhy's brow furrowed.

"Trying to control it."

"The power is yours." Clyne demonstrated by waving his right hand. The sands near the hills rose like a 20-feet ocean wave and gobbled the enemies standing atop the dunes. Skhy's jaw clenched.

"It doesn't appear like it." Skhy sighed. "We are being control by this power." He stared directly at Clyne's eyes. The fogs at the back of Clyne's mind thinned in a small corner. A point of light twinkled which made him narrow his eyes in confusion. But as quickly as it appeared, the fogs thickened, covering his entire mind.

"Just give in. It's part of us."

Another wave of figures appeared above the hills. This time, however, they were in blue and black clothings. Clyne sensed their rigid stance, fearful anticipation, and tense atmosphere. Strong energies crowded the front. He noticed that most of them were gripping their weapons. By this time, the other Regalis had long finished their fights, gathering near each other.

"They want to stop us," Aria said matter-a-factly. Why? Clyne believed that the Seven had to kill all the Rosein Army, to let them feel unfathomable fear and pain. Anyone standing in their way was to be considered a Rosein Army's ally and deserved the same fate as them.

"They're standing in our way." Nate's gaze scanned the enemies around them.

"Stop." Skhy rushed in front and faced the Regalis, with weary but firm stare. "We won't fight them."

"Why?" Tessa asked.

"Because our enemies are the Roseins," Faz explained, his tone hard but his gaze soft, "Not them."

"We already did enough." Skhy tried to catch Clyne, Aria, Nate, Tessa, and Lei's eyes, but their attention had already drifted. Clyne sought the Rosein Army through the sands and earth. They were scattered, still fighting beyond the tall hills. The remaining was fewer than he expected.

When Nate started walking forward, the rest followed, unbothered by the number and intensity of powers of the Concordians and Mortemians around them. Skhy and Faz continued trying to reason with them.

"We are bound to this fate," Clyne said.

"But we're hurting everyone else," Skhy shouted. The brightness in his blue eyes started to dim as if he remembered something that haunted him. Clyne didn't care what it was.

A loud voice reached them from the dunes.

"Regalis. This is enough." It will never be enough until everyone who must fall had fallen.