I probably won't get any holiday artwork up in the next two days >< Dammit...
Merry Christmas!!

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Sacrifice
Chapter 21

Ryo and Leo stood motionless before the plaza that held the Cathedral of Fire. They both had their weapons drawn, as they stared out over the vast and grand plaza. Leo held several daggers between his fingers while Ryo gripped the handle of his sword tightly.
It was empty.
The plaza was wide, but there was nothing in their way. No Camarians. No Users. No soldiers. The only people in the plaza were Ryo and Leo, standing side by side. Leo was the first to take weary steps into the empty space. Ryo followed slowly after, gazing around suspiciously.
"It's empty..." Ryo said quietly. His voice seemed to echo by itself in the empty space. They had both been prepared for the worst when they got close to the Gate, expecting a massive army summoned by Kain himself. And here they were, unopposed before the Cathedral of Fire.
"Where's the army?" Leo asked the nothingness. "Where's Kain? Why is there no one here? Were they bluffing when they said this Gate would be guarded, to make us reluctant to come here? It doesn't make sense..."
"Maybe they all went into the Cathedral...?" Ryo asked, but he couldn't imagine it.
"The whole army?" Leo sounded skeptical.
"He just said soldiers, didn't he? Maybe there's only a select few who are like, badass or something..."
"That must be it..."
The Cathedral of Fire was made from some unknown red stone that resembled Fire in itself. The stone was a deep, bright red color, with streaks of orange and some yellow. It looked hot to the touch, with jagged towers that reached to the sky, resembling flames themselves. On the center jagged tower there was a great stained-glass window that depicted a firey Angel engulfed in the wrath and elegance of Fire.
There were no doors to the Cathedral, just an archway. Leo approached the arch slowly, being careful to see that there was no hidden ambush. He found none, and examined the archway more closely. Burnt into the red stone were depictions of people in prayer, about to be engulfed in flames and explosions. None of them were running. Leo took one last look at the stain glass of the Angel of Fire. He then saw another image burnt into the stone. The Angel of Fire's first born son, Kain.
Leo walked deeper into the entrance. It was completely dark inside, and he couldn't see. He subcontiously summoned fire to his hands to create light. When he did, the stone surrounding him went alight, blazing red and orange from the walls, and making the glyphs on the walls more noticable. He had expected the inside of the Cathedral to be like the Cathedral of Ice, a big room with an altar. But the Cathedral of Fire held no big room. Just inside the entrance was a short hallway that then led down stairs to the underground.
Leo looked back for Ryo, who was still standing outside looking at the outside of the Cathedral.
"Are you coming?" Leo called back. Ryo looked after Leo and didn't answer. He waited several more seconds before slowly entering the Cathedral with his twin.
They slowly made their way down the stairs with their weapons still drawn. At the beginning of the downward hallway were more pictures burnt into the walls. These ones showed images of dead bodies and people being swallowed up by flames and destruction. They showed desolite wastelands, scorched by fire and ruin. Leo found them depressing.
As they went deeper underground the pictures went backwards in time, showing the land before the Great War. The burn marks on the wall showed people together, happy. The fire in these pictures was small, and almost dead, except over the hearts of the people themselves.
The light coming from the walls flashed and flickered in the manner that fire did as Ryo and Leo slowly descended the stairs. The farthur they went down, the hotter the air became, and more thick. Breathing the air was nothing for both of them After a time, Ryo finally saw floor beneath them, and an end to the stairs. From what he saw, the room was slightly dimmer than the hallway they were walking down.
"I guess there's really no one here..." Ryo said quietly. Leo stopped walking a few feet from the bootom of the stairs. Ryo stopped and looked back at him.
"No...there's someone here..." Leo whispered barely loud enough for Ryo to hear. Ryo looked into the room the best he could from his position on the stairs. All he could see was part of the floor, but nothing more of the room. He didn't see anyone.
Ryo took a silent breath and descended the last few stairs alone. He saw the entire room for himself. The room was enourmous, with the ceilng being a hundred feet above them. To the far left side of the room was a stream of lava flowing silently by, glowing a bright orange. To the right there was nothing but a blank wall of the same red stone that made it's own light.
On the far side of the enourmous room was a flat wall, and several steps up, was an Altar that held floating torches. Standing on either side of the Altar were two people. One was a woman with long brown hair. She wore a white dress that ended above her ankles and red rope around her waist. Her eyes were a red amber color. The other was a man with black and white spiked hair, wearing all white clothes with red cuffs and boots. His eyes were light red, and he had a sword strapped to his waist.
Ryo heard Leo descend the stair behind him, and they stared at May and Nayota at the opposite side of the hall. May and Nayota took notice f their younger brothers. They first gave Ryo wicked looks, then turned to Leo with kind smiles.
"Lion, you finally came..." May said. Her voice sounded sweet.
"Kain..." Ryo said quietly to Leo. "He knew we were shutting down the Cathedrals...and he sent them to this Gate because he knew you'd have to get past them to close it...and we'd never kill them."
"Lion." Nayota's voice was loud, and it reached their ears like a song.
"Lion, we've been waiting for you...we were worried for awhile...and you brought him." Nayota tilted his head towards Ryo when he said 'him'.
"What are you doing here...?" Leo said. His voice was quiet, but it echoed enough in the room for May and Nayota to hear.
"Us?" May laughed. "You said you were coming here to make your prayers, and redeem yourself, and here, we find you and your allies have been closing the Gates to the Heavens! What were you thinking, Brother..."
Ryo took an uncontious step backward. Kain was just playing dirty now. He always knew Leo would pick him over May and Nayota after what they did, but he still felt the worry that Leo might actually turn against him, and go through with his prayers.
"I'm not making prayers..." Leo spoke just as the thought passed through Ryo's head. Ryo looked at Leo, feeling some slight admiration.
"Lion, don't do this..." Nayota said, rubbing his eyes. "You've been living in Hollow for too long...if you just make your prayers, you'll be enlightened, and you'll see the error of your ways--"
"Kain sent you here to say that?!" Ryo yelled across the hall. May and Nayota instantly shot Ryo glares of hatred and darkness. Ryo couldn't help but feel a small stab from them.
"You have no room to talk, Demon," Nayota said, his voice was vemon. Ryo could have sworn he'd seen Leo's fists clench his daggers tighter at the mention of Ryo's birthname.
"Lion..." May took small steps scross the floor toward Leo and Ryo. Her voice was sweet and kind again. "Please, think about what we've been through. Don't close this Gate! We miss you! Come home! All you have to do is make your prayers at this altar, and you'll become enlightened. The Gods will grant you the true knowledge of the universe! Brother, please, make your prayers, and then you'll see the true Demon standing beside you."
Ryo was about to open his mouth to yell, but Leo stopped him. Flames suddenly burst from Leo's clenged fists, surprising everyone in the room.
"SHUT UP!" Leo's sudden yell echoed violently in the hallowed hall of Fire. It's ominous nature surprised Ryo into silence.
"Stop calling him Demon!" Leo yelled across the room. "His name is Ryo! He's our brother, yet you talk about him like he's not even here! Listen to yourselves! You believe this Cathedral's gonna make me one of you?! Another one of Kain's mindless followers?! Do you really think I'll just turn on the only family I have left?!"
"He's not your family, Lion!" Nayota yelled back, and he pointed an ominous finger at Ryo. "You were born into this family as an Angel! You were born to become the next Head of the Razada House! Kain's going to give you everything! And you insist on hanging around a Demon! Can't you see he's warped your mind into believing what he wants to to believe?!"
"I'm not the one being warped!" The Fire in Leo's hands had spread to up his arms to his shoulders, and it was glowing brighter. "Ryo is not the Demon Kain claims he is! You were once nice to him! You took care of him, and treated us the same! Ryo's the best person I know! Kain's usung you to his own advantage, and you don't even know it! There's no force on this earth that'll ever make me turn on Ryo! I swore to her I'd always look out for him! He's the only real family I have left, and I'm not betraying that! Kain's so convinced he's a Demon, but the only Demon I see in this family is Kain! Any ally of his is our enemy!"
Ryo stared at Leo in silent awe. He had never heard Leo this angry, especially at May and Nayota. He saw something change in May and Nayota's eyes, as they continued to stare at Leo in silence.
"Lion...." May said.
"I'm not Lion anymore!" Leo's Fire had grown around his entire body, blazing in it's fury. "My name is Leo!"
"You're demented..." Nayota said in a low voice. "You don't know what you're doing anymore Lion...you're going to have to trust us..."
"I don't believe anything anyone from your family says anymore," Leo said. His firey red eyes were lowered. "Now get away from my Altar..."
"You're going to close it?" May said. The sweetness was gone from he voice. "We can't allow that Lion...if you didn't comply, we were ordered to use force and stop the both of you..."
"Leo..." Ryo said quietly. Leo gave him a look of sadness.
"I'm sorry Ryo..."
"What?! No!" Ryo actually laughed. "You're awesome..."
Leo looked back at May and Nayota. "They're not our brother and sister anymore..." he said softly to Ryo.
"No...they're not. The May and Nayota we knew are gone..."
Leo drew his daggers up, and pointed them at Nayota. Ryo had never in his life seen Leo be the one who started the fight. Ryo held Eliazar's sword tighter, and pointed it as well. Nayota looked down, obviously disappointed.
"We both know how May won't fight..." Leo said quietly to Ryo. "Just watch out for Nayota..."
"I know...." Ryo said. They both knew Nayota could easily match them, but he also had another special ability they didn't inherit. That was something Ryo and leo both knew would be the only thing to give them trouble.
Nayota was a shape-shifter. He drew his sword elegantly, and sparks flew when he did. It was a blade forged from a red metal. The sword's name was Razada.
May took a step back onto the Altar. She placed on hand over her heart, and watched Leo with disappointment. Her amber eyes sought out Ryo, and she glared a curse upon him.
Ryo closed his eyes, and when he opened them they were a deeper more vibrant shade of green. When he looked at Nayota, he saw something he never saw before. There was a small light, barely visible on his chest. Past him, Leo saw the same small, dying light over her chest. He turned to look at Leo's.
Leo's was still small, hard to see, but it was brighter than both May and Nayota's. Ryo looked at his own, but saw that he had no light.
Nayota made the first move. He sprinted at Leo, moving almost faster than his eyes could follow. Leo threw a Flare Dagger at Nayota, leaping out of the way. The Dagger flew close to Nayota, then exploded. Ryo held up Eliazar's sword defensivly, then summoned a small breeze to blow away the smoke. Leo stood still, waiting while May remained at the Altar, protecting it with her being there.
The smoke cleared, and Nayota stood, holding the sword's hilt over his head, with the blade's blunt pressed against his cheek, protecting his face from the blast. His shoulder and lower arm had small burns and scratches from the small explosion.
But Nayota's body wasn't his own. He had taken the form of Davis, standing before them. Davis looked up at his father.
"Stop fighting me and make your prayers Lion!" He even held Davis' voice.
That's not Davis, Leo... Ryo thought to himself. Leo also knew it. He was prepared for anything Nayota might try and pull off.
Nayota ran again at Leo, in Davis' body. Leo quickly crossed the daggers in his hands to shield his knuckles. He caught Nayota's sword down his daggers, and held it there. With his free hand, Leo summoned Fire, then pressed it against Davis' abdomen. The flames burst forward, throwing Nayota back, transforming into his normal body.
Nayota caught one hand on the ground, and regained balance. Leo threw three daggers, all of them missing. The three daggers struck the ground around Nayota, creating a triangle. Upon striking the groud, each dagger emmitted flames that connected to the other daggers, circling Nayota in flames.
Leo held his stance momentarily, still holding two daggers in his left hand. From inside the flames, burst new ones, not as bright as Leo's, but elegant. Nayota emerged from the Fire, unscratched, holding his sword up. Fire against Fire was almost worthless. His body morphed, then took the shape of Steel with two flesh arms.
Leo laughed softly, and drew more daggers. Steel bolted toward Leo, cocking his sword back. Leo raised one hand near his head, and braced his left downward, towards the oncoming Steel. He met nayota with a flash of blades, sending one of his daggers deep into Steel's right shoulder. Steel staggered backwards, slowly pulling out the dagger. His right arm transformed into Steel's current metal arm.
Ryo felt an urge to help Leo, but he also felt a stong urge to let Leo go on by himself.
Steel tossed the dagger idly away, then ran at Leo another time. Leo looked mildly surprised Nayota would repeat the same strategy when Leo could easily dodge and turn around his advances.
Leo's eyes grew wide in the seconds before Nayota reached him. The Dagger.
The dagger Steel has tossed landed near Leo's feet, set to explode. It exploded at Leo's feet, spraying him with dibris and shattered pieces of rock. An instant later, Steel caught Leo's face with his metal arm. Steel slided to his knees, draggon Leo with him, pressing his head against the ground as he slid. Leo jammed one of his daggers into Steel's metal loops that made his arm, and twisted violently.
The arm clicked, and twisted out of shape, pulling the flesh off at his shoulder. Nayota screamed in agony, and reverted back to his normal body, releasing Leo. Leo kicked off Nayota, turning around to get back on his feet. In the shuffle, he had left three daggers behind laying around Nayota. All exploded, cutting Nayota with their shattered remains.
Leo stood up straight, and ran at Nayota for his turn. Ryo felt sorry for Nayota, but he knew he shouldn't. He wasn't Nayota. And May wasn't May anymore either.
Nayota looked up weakly at Leo. He smiled and morphed his body again. Leo stopped his attack several feet from Nayota. His bdy had shifted it's shape into someone who looked exactly like Leo, only with green eyes. Nayota smiled in Ryo's form, satisfied he found a body that made Leo stop his attacks, even if it was momentarily.
Leo came out of his sudden surprise and shock to block Nayota's sword. He caught it with his crossed daggers. Nayota swung repeatedly at Leo, searching for an opening in his defense. Leo blocked the best he could using his daggers. He knew it wasn't really Ryo, but just his face was enough to stop him...
Leo caught the sword's blades with both hands using his daggers. He held it in place, while Nayota pushed hard on the sword, forcing Leo to buckle under the pressure. Leo pressed back, then, began twisting his daggers, trapping the sword, and turning Nayota's force onto his own sword. The sword snapped in two places, severed by Leo's daggers. Two pieces of the sword fell to the ground, leaving the handle in Nayota's hand.
Leo flew around Nayota in Ryo's body quickly, and put his last three daggers into Nayota's back. Two on each shoulder, shattering his shoulderblades and the third, at the base of his neck, paralyzing his body. Nayota reverted back to normal, and slumped to his knees.
Leo slowly stood up straight. He raised his left hand, summoning his remaining daggers to his hand. Ryo stood by, silent. Leo looked down at Nayota in slight pity.
Ryo suddenly felt another presence, and he turned to look behind him. Steel was standing at the foot of the stairs, with a machine gun strapped to his arm. He had been there the whole time, watching his sons fight without interruption. Ryo's eyes saw Steel had no light over his heart either.
"Good job Lion...." Steel said. He sounded sencere. Leo looked at Steel, then away.
"I'm not Lion..." he said softly.
"Lion or Leo, you're still my son..." Steel said arrogantly. He walked into the hall, passing Ryo without a glance. "As for him...he's worthless now..."
Nayota strained himself to look up at his father. Steel knelt down and picked up the remains of Razada, then walked toward the Altar.
"Come on Lion..." he commanded. Leo gave one last look at Nayota, then looked at Ryo. His eyes were still their vibrant green color. Ryo slowly began walking after Steel, then leo followed.
May had fallen to her knees watching Nayota fall. Steel grabbed her by her arm and roughly dragged her away from the Altar. Leo slowly took his place on the Altar. He closed his eyes and focused on his Fire. Flames roared up around his body, then spread to the edge of the Altar. Steel watched on, smiling wickedly. He had been wrong to think Leo was the worthless one of his sons.
Leo's flames burnt new marks into the floor, words Ryo would not read, and he didn't feel like asking Steel to read for him. Leo's flames slowly died out, and then died. Leo turned back around, looking tired.
"It's done..." he said to Steel. Steel's smile only grew. He still gripped May's arm in his metal arm. She had one hand over her head, and she looked terrified.
"Very well done...when you leave, this temple, it will collapse. Now let's leave."
Steel released May's arm, and switched out his metal hand for his gun. He pressed it against May's temple, and a shot rang out. May's lifeless form fell to the floor.
"Steel!" Leo yelled. He took a step toward May's body, then stopped. Ryo didn't move. His deep green eyes looked down at May with coldness.
"May..." Steel heard Nayota choke his last word. Before anything else could be done, Steel turned with grace, firing his gun once more into Nayota.
"Let's go," Steel said, walking to the entrance without shame or regret. Leo stared blankly into nothing. Ryo's eyes went to their normal shade, and he slowly went to Leo.
"I'm sorry..." Ryo said gently. He took Leo's arm and put it around his shoulders, helping him walk.
"No..." Leo said as they left. "That wasn't my brother..."
"I'm sorry I didn't help..."
"You didn't need to...I'm glad you didn't..."
"You didn't need to say all of that stuff about me either..."
"And what? Let them keep talking about you like that? I couldn't..."
"Thanks..." Ryo said quietly. Leo laughed weakly.
"I love you, man...you're the only one I have left."
Ryo laughed. He actually felt happy. He couldn't figure out why exactly Leo always did things like that for him. He figured he'd never know either. He no longer could see light over anyone's heart.
"You're so accidently cool, Leo..." he said.

"Shit! They're everywhere!" Taj screamed. He was standing in front of Kaira, who was struggling to hold onto her small Dragon. Ryo the Dragon wriggled and growled in Kaira's arms, trying to escape.
Kyo had his sapphire sword drawn, cutting down Camarians left and right. Kaira watched on, feeling helpless. She wanted to help Kyo, but she couldn't let Ryo the Dragon escape either.
Taj made a face, watching as Kyo handled the real work of killing off Camarians. He summoned a small tide of Water, and washed it across the ground, collecting Camarian Users. But the tide of Water came too close to Kyo, making him jump back from his position to dodge.
"Watch what the hell you're doing!" Kyo yelled angrily at Taj. Taj made a face back, letting his tide fade away, leaving half-drowned Users.
"Come on!" Kyo yelled. Kaira quickly ran to Kyo, followed by Taj. He led them down a narrow street, hoping there would be less enemies that way. It led them into an open market street that was empty. Kyo stopped, breathing slightly harder. Kaira still struggled to keep her hands on her small dragon.
"Are we anywhere near the Cathedral...?" Kaira asked slowly.
"Look over there..." Kyo said, pointing. Just over the rooftops Kaira saw tall, thin tower spikes that were pitch black against the dark blue sky. They appeared to be extremely high up, impaling the stars and moon themselves. She counted four in sight.
"That's the Seventh Gate? Then the Cathedral's close..." Taj said, staring with Kaira. "It's probably just a few more blocks down!"
"Yeah..." Kyo said quietly to himself.
"Well let's go!" Kaira said. She began running, but stopped when Kyo didn't follow. "Kyo...?"
"Listen..." Kyo said, being serious. "We don't know how many of them there will be...if I tell you to run, I want you to run, Kaira. Do you understand?"
Kaira stared at Kyo, surprised and almost frightened.
"What are you talking about! We're going to be fine Kyo! Don't talk like that..."
Taj stared at Kyo sideways, confused.
"Come on..." Kyo said. Kaira gave him concerned looks but followed at his side with Taj on her other side. She began thinking again of where everyone else was right now, and how they were all doing. It had been a long time since the intercom announcements had given them any updates. She didn't know whether or not to consider that good or bad news.
They made a short walk through the streets in silence, Kyo cautiously leading them. He held his sword drawn as they proceeded.
"The plaza surrounding the Cathedral should be just down there..." Kyo said, pointing to a crossroads of alleys and streets a ways ahead of them. Kaira nodded. Ryo the Dragon attempted nibbling at her fingers for freedom. She smiled weakly, thankful he didn't have teeth or fangs yet.
Kyo, Taj, and Kaira all stopped, seeing Camarians coming from the crossroads, as well as from other streets surrounding them. Kyo held his sword ready, putting Kaira behind him, while Taj was on Kaira's other side. Kaira held her dragon closer, looking around slowly at the Camarians.
"Shit..." Kyo cursed under his breath. His sword went glowed with the energy of Light. He swung the sword horizontally, sending wavelengths of Light at the Camarian Users. All struck by the Light fell to the ground, paralyzed and dead. Kyo felt small satisfactory, until he saw them being replaced by more Users, coming out of the streets.
Taj sent walls of Water at the Camarians on his side. None of his attacks did much damage, but it kept them away from them enough to feel scarcely safe.
"Start moving that way!" Kyo yelled to Taj, pointing towards the way they had come from, away from the Cathedral. Taj nodded with no objections, and took Kaira's arm, leading her away with Kyo following, still fighting off Camarians. Taj led her to the side of a building. She pressed her back up against the building, watching Taj and Kyo go on fighting.
Kyo slashed his blade, making more Camarians fall. He looked around at the Camarians still coming. He glanced back at Kaira, who looked scared. Kyo closed his green eyes for a moment, thinking.
"Taj!" Kyo yelled to the Water User. Taj looked, questioning.
"What?!"
"Do you love her?!" Taj's eyes widened. He looked away, not answering.
"Do you love her?!" Kyo yelled again, louder with more force.
"I...I don't know!" Taj stammered back.
"Just answer me!" Taj squeezed his eyes shut. He knew Kaira couldn't hear them over the commotion, even though she was just a few feet behind them.
"Yes!" Taj yelled.
"Then go! Get her out of here!" Kyo yelled, fending off several more Camarians.
"What?! No! I can't do that!"
"Just go!" Kyo yelled. He found a break in the fighting. He spun around, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to Taj's face. He flew backwards, hitting the wall next to Kaira. Kaira quickly knelt down, trying to help Taj stand. Kyo gave Kaira on last look before running away down the street towards the plaza surrounding the Seventh Gate.
"Come on Taj! Kyo's leaving us!" Kaira cried, pulling Taj up by his arm. Taj rubbed his cheek, gritting his teeth.
"No! We need to get away from here! He's gonna hold them off while we escape!"
"What?" Kaira looked away after Kyo. "But we--"
"Just come on! He can take care of himself!" Taj got up and took Kaira's hand. He began running away from the street Kyo had left them in, taking Kaira with him.
Kyo dashed through the streets until he came upon the plaza of the Seventh Cathedral to the Heavens. He cut his way through lines of Camarians, running swiftly as he went. His sapphire sword flashed in and out of bodies, severing them all. His trench coat flew behind him gracefully; he fought without it ever getting in his way. In the moon light of the early morning his studded belt and cross around his neck glowed, as well as the silver streaks in his hair.
Kyo spun swiftly around, his sword cut into Camarian bodies, making them fall to the ground, forming pools of blood in the surrounding plaza.
Kyo stopped suddenly, feeling a stinging pain in his lower back, that seeped into his stomach. He looked down to see the tip of a sword protruding from his side. Kyo gritted his teeth, shaking off the pain. He stabbed his sword backwards, killing the Camarian who had impaled his back. Kyo reached around painfully, and gripped the hilt of the sword with his free hand. He slowly pulled the sword out, and held it tightly, ignoring his wound.
Kyo ran forward to more Camarians, wielding his sapphire and Camarian swords. He wielded them both skillfully, despite his bleeding wound in his back. Bodies fell before him, as he summoned various Elements to his swords, increasing the power of his attacks.
Kyo let out a small yell, feeling another sword enter through his left side. He hurled both blades to his left, severing off the arms of the Camarian. He stood for a moment, and summoned Wind. He manipulated the Wind, and lifted the third sword out of his body. It hung in midair next to him, floating. Kyo sent the third flying blade at enemies, slicing them down.
He fought on, ignoring his bleeding, gaping wounds to his body. He felt more inflictions to his shoulders, his stomach, his chest and legs, and he ignored them too. He imagined Kaira, and found more strength in that.
Kyo stood, the swords in his hands hung at his side, the third blade in the air still glided next to him. He stared at the last twenty Camarian soldiers before him in the plaza. Each of them held their own sword, facing Kyo with fear. Kyo raised his swords wearily, then ran at them. He clashed against two Camarians as he passed, and they both fell. He whirled around, his blades cutting though the air.
His vision was blurring, and his breathing was labored. Kyo slashed forward, and the Camarian fell. Kyo slowly rose to his feet, wobbly. He turned to face the Cathedral. As he turned, one last sword sunk into his lower stomach, then protruded out of his back. Kyo let off a small yell, facing his last enemy. His eyes flashed a vibrant silver.
He dropped the Camarian sword in his left hand, and clamped the Camarian's face with his entire hand. He summoned all of his energy, and forced a dark power to his hand. The back of the Camarian's head blew up, sending bits of flesh flying back. Kyo released the body, letting it fall to the ground. As it fell, the flesh and blood from the body dissolved into nothing.
Kyo's sudden burst of Darkness left him, and he staggered backwards. He reached down, pulling the sword out of his stomach. He slowly sheathed his sword, and finally, looked around the plaza.
The entire plaza was enormous, much bigger than all of the others, with the stones on the ground made from jewels and glass. The entire plaza was littered with the bodies of Camarians he had slain. He looked up at the Cathedral. It was gigantic, and towered over the sizes of the other Cathedrals. It was black obsidian, with six great towers, all facing in the directions of the other Cathedrals. In the front above the doors was a big stained-glass window. It was round, and showed the image of a God, surrounded by six Angels, each of a different Element. There were steps leading up to the doors. Kyo looked across the plaza, holding his stomach, and slowly walked towards the Cathedral.
"No..." Kyo said weakly, still gripping his bleeding stomach. "I can't die...not yet..."
He reached the doors, staggering. He leaned his weight against the doors, and one slowly opened. The inside of the Cathedral was over double the size of the other Cathedrals. It was in a hexagon shape, with the towers all in a corner. On the far wall was an Altar, surrounded by lit candles. The arched ceiling and walls were all carved and glyphed with images of the world before the Great War, the land dying in the Great War, and Angels. Moonlight flowed in through the stained-glass over the entrance, into the center of the room, where a tree grew. It was a large tree, growing through the floor with branches hanging far out over the hall.
Kyo stared for a minute at the tree. He hadn't expected a tree to be in the Cathedral of the Elements. He slowly staggered towards the tree, until he was at its base. Kyo placed one hand against the trunk, and lowered his head. His breathing was labored and slow. He couldn't tell how much blood he had lost, or even how many stab wounds he had suffered. He slowly turned around, and fell backwards, against the tree trunk.
"Kaira...I'm sorry..."