Twin Crown's Game

With a thunderous crack, the air appeared to shatter away in translucent shards like glass. Above the mountain top, a scar of glowing turquoise opened in the sky dropping a silver figure. It braced its mechanical legs as it made an impact on the ground. It was not a high mountain, concluded the humanoid machine as it looked around. Above it the shards receded, closing the blue sky as it took inventory. The mountain was part of a range stretching along a wooded valley. A crystal stream ran down it's left and into the forest below with a soothing gurgle. Even the machine admitted to the natural beauty of this place as a light wind tickled its sensors. It noted the afternoon sun and adjusted its internal time to match.A sharp ding pulled it's attention back and it gazed at the screen fixed into its wrist with its trio of luminous violet eyes. All three protruded from a triangular silver head. A line of text read in white, Keeper Unit: 0420 Objective: End Morning Star anomaly, p

"Here." Kuro, the taller of the two, handed Lillian and Sledge two pairs of worn, yet not gunk-covered shoes, while Thomas, the shorter, was tapping on the thin glass of his phone. Considering the entire device was no more than a millimeter thick with no visible battery it was likely of the advanced technology the rest of the world had achieved while Arentas has sat stagnant in another time. And Kinuon powered wonders were viewed as almost myth in this city. They had never been seen by any of the unfortunate residents who viewed the rest of the world in envy.They were in a small grey clothing store on the outskirts of the city that smelled of dust and old fabric. It was managed by an elderly little man who more than showed his age. Making them feel a tad uncomfortable was the large scuffed rifle in the old man's arms. "We left bikes just over there," explained Thomas as he pointed out at a sand dune only a short jaunt out of the city which was visible through the cracked gla

Denison was a small lakeside town within Kiyene borders. It only had a population of a little over four thousand and its cottage-like buildings appeared to be from another time, but it was homely. Alina had moved here from the city after her mother had remarried into the Kiyene family. Just like Alina, her mother and stepfather were candidates. When Kysor declared war nine years prior they had both been sent east to aid the Kiyene and Aquis efforts, leaving Alina to care for her little stepbrother Tep.He was a small boy for his age of ten with skinny limbs and pale hair. Alina's build was sort of the opposite, training for the Kiyene family since she was eleven meant she had become notably fit. Her hair was grey-silver not too much like an old lady and it matched the color of her eyes. Mostly, anyway, her right eye was slightly lighter than her left and not for no reason. The power of her candidate mark manifested in a fashion that gave her a glimpse of the immediate future

Emilia had barely managed conciseness. Her whole body felt like it had been set ablaze and not ever her toes could move. As she opened her eyes she was blinded by the shine of white light shaped like a ring that hung from the similarly colored ceiling. Slowly her eyes adjusted and she found she had been strapped down to a cold medical bed in a small room. Her eldest brother Krem sat in a silver chair to her right in a black suit. His face was infinitely stern and his hair was greased back. Noticing she was awake his attention turned away from his phone. "That took a frightfully long time," he said in place of a greeting."What the hell happened," Emilia managed in a raspy voice. Her throat was sandpaper and her tongue was so dry she could barely move it."You and Trem fucked up, or at least that's what Scarlette told me," he informed. "Seriously though, I'm impressed you're not dead, but I'm more impressed that you managed to shatter every possible bone in your body."

With a sound like shattering glass the crackling and luminous gate opened to the hilltop. Kuro stepped out, taking in a breath of the pine air as his boots hit the grass. The sky was clear save a few puffs of cloud. The wind was still and the air nearly too warm for his trenchcoat. His usual grin tugged slightly at the corners of his mouth as he gazed over the hill’s dropoff. At the bottom, three purple eyes stared back in calculated anticipation.They were fixed in the pyramid-like head of a silver entity whose body seemed to be made up of various triangular prisms warped to resemble a human shape. It was seated with a robin perched on the peak of its head. “Greetings,” Kuro called as he carefully made his way down with his hands tucked in his pockets.“Morning Star located,” it whirred. “Something is off, power not quite equivalent to seventh Akuma.” Kuro sighed and shook his head yet retained his grin still.“Yo