Tyrant of the Ruined Sun

Leonid and the masked man felt as if a grenade had suddenly detonated in their skulls, as they struggled to process what they heard, especially Leonid who's world seemed to come crashing down for the second time in his life!

But before anything else could occur, the main door of the brothel opened and a woman wearing a large grey cloak, and a plain white mask that covered her entire face, except her greyish blue eyes emerged from within and began to run in the direction that Leonid and the masked man came from.

Instantly realizing who she was, all four men sped towards her in breakneck speed, before quickly carrying her to a nearby building the Shade Corps used as a safe house.

Anastasia's mouth gaped at the instant change of scenery that occurred from her point of view, before quickly realizing what happened when she saw the masked man, as she asked "What are you doing here?"

"You were late, so we worried you were in danger." Answered the masked man with an awkward smile beneath his angry gold mask.

Anastasia nodded, as she said "My apologizes, but a few unexpected complications occurred that I had to deal with."

"Complications such as General Heinrich?" The masked man asked crudely, as he now feared that she might have been compromised, and some information might have been leaked, which could not only greatly jeopardize the mission, but also the lives of all those present here today.

Anastasia frowned under her mask as she replied "I had no other option.

Besides that has nothing to do with our deal." She finished as she removed a small pouch from her hip and tossed it towards the masked man and continued "This is your payment, now it's time for you to fulfill your side of the agreement and get me out of this damned city."

The masked man grabbed the coin pouch she gave him, and remembered the promise he made to her, so that she would agree to this meeting, and at the same time protect the secrecy of the mission till the last possible minute, but now that everything went in such an unpredictable route he didn't even know how he was going to tell her that her last surviving family member, her brother, is the one who was going to take her from this city, and back to the Eclipse Empire!

Luckily he didn't have to, as Leonid, who's kept his head lowered this entire time for reasons he himself couldn't even comprehend, asked with a voice weighed down with unspeakable emotions "Did he hurt you?"

Anastasia for the first time since she arrived in this room, turned her attention to the cloaked man, but for some unknown reason she felt compelled to answer him, instead of simply shrugging off his question, like she did to the masked man, and before she could fully understand why, her mouth seemed to move on it's own and say "No, he didn't even touch me."

"What?!" Leonid finally raised his head to look at her, as he asked incredulously, while a budding seed of hope and joy began to bloom in his barren heart, and desolate eyes.

Anastasia felt a weird familiarity as she gazed into the eyes of this supposed stranger, as she decided to answer his question due to the sheer amount of raw emotions he showcased in his voice, as she answered "General Heinrich usually visits the brothel once or twice a week, he would then choose two or three ladies for the evening before leaving, but ever since last week he's been coming over every single day to drown away his sorrows in alcohol, since he keeps hearing the names of the people who killed his brother, but he always made sure to use his aura to stay relatively sober to maintain his dignity as a general of the empire.

But he didn't do this last night and drank till he was completely inebriated, and began to call the name of his brother, the fallen general Luthor Vanar. Seeing his miserable state, I felt like he was a kindred spirit and I took pity on him, as I knew all too well the pain of losing ones family.

So I took him to my room to preserve any of his still standing image in front of the people of the empire, and allowed him to vent and rave all he wanted as I listened, but due to his drunken stupor he didn't stop until the sun rose, when he fell asleep."

Hearing her explanation Leonid felt a massive weight on his heart disappear, and for the first time in years, a large pure smile graced his features, as the depressing aura previously surrounding him vanished like darkness before the radiance of the sun.

Anastasia's eyes narrowed as an old, vague memory resurfaced in her mind upon seeing that smile, and asked "Have me met before?"

Suddenly realizing that he still hasn't revealed his identity to his sister, he took off his hood fully revealing his snow white hair, and heterochromatic eyes before saying with a large grin plastered on his face "It's me Ani."

Anastasia stood rooted in her place as her eyes tried to deny reality, while her mind attempted to deceive itself, and as her heart strived to suppress the rising tide of emotions she thought she had long since lost the ability to feel!

Yet it seemed impossible as Leonid seemed to materialize before her and wrapped her in his tight embrace that displayed years of loneliness, sadness, longing, despondency and unimaginable exhilaration and euphoria at their long awaited reunion.

Although his face is more mature and rugged, and his once majestic voice is now deformed and perverted beyond recognition, the kind look of endearment in his eyes was still the same as she remembered in her distant memory that seemed to have been multiple life times ago.

She couldn't refuse the obvious truth before her anymore, and promptly the many barriers, shields and defenses she'd fortified her heart with for so many years, suddenly came crumbling down, like a house of cards before the slightest gust of wind, as she desperately clung onto him, fearing that she would soon wake up from this beautiful dream!

Realizing their unwanted presence in this touching reunion, the members of the Shade Corps expertly left the room in absolute silence, allowing the two siblings to take as much time as they needed.

Slowly the early dawn turned into noon, and the siblings still hadn't come out, but the Shade Corps still didn't disrupt them, fully knowing their need for privacy right now.

Thankfully the two Koschei siblings didn't dally much longer, as they finally emerged before the men just as the sun and moon were about to change shifts in the sky.

As soon as the masked man saw them he could sense a great change in them both, a change that he could not describe. He could see it in their eyes, and hear it in their steps, yet still he couldn't tell what it is, all he did know for sure is that it existed.

"We are ready to go now." The masked man was awoken from his trance by Leonid's gruff voice, which only increased the masked man's confusion, since it also sounded slightly deferent to him, but couldn't understand why!

The masked man took a few seconds to recollect himself, before respectfully answering "Very well sir Leonid. Your horses are awaiting you near the southern gate."

Nodding to his words, Leonid gently carried his sister on his back, since she wasn't a martial artist, and dashed out of the building, and within a couple of the minutes they had already reached another building near the southern gate, where the Shade Corps members quickly handed the two siblings new clothes to change into, as well as give them a whole makeover, including wigs and paddings to change the color of their hair, and the look of their bodies to make it more difficult for the guards or anyone else to easily identify them.

Immediately after all that, the masked man, who didn't remove his mask but simply wore more presentable clothes, along with Leonid, who now looked like a balding middle aged man and Anastasia, who lost her previously sinful body, as she now looked like a portly woman, while also still wearing her mask since no amount of makeup could change the sight of her disfigured face, rode their horses and headed toward the gate, and easily passed through it after the masked man silently handed the guards a generous 'tip'.

As soon as they were out of the city, Anastasia deeply breathed in before releasing a long content sigh, as she reveled in the intoxicating feeling of freedom, which brought a small happy smile to Leonid's face, painting an eternal picture of serenity around them.

Sadly this hypnotizing moment was shortly broken by the masked man, as he said "I have completed my mission. The makeup will last only for a few hours before it needs to be washed off, so I suggest you create as much distance between you and this city.

Farewell sir Leonid and lady Anastasia, may the Gods smile upon you forevermore." The masked man finished by doing a slight bow, before turning his horse back in the direction they came from.

Leonid frowned upon hearing this as he asked "You're not coming with us?"

The masked man turned around and asked confusedly "Huh? Why would I?"

"I thought your employer would make sure to tightly safeguard his investment.

Isn't he afraid of losing in this expenditure?" Leonid coldly replied, which caused Anastasia's eyes to narrow as she understood what her brother was implying, as she had already been informed by him about how he found her, and what that entailed, which greatly worried her since as a woman working in a brothel, she has heard all sorts of rumors regarding this new draconic sovereign of the south, that has recently gained world wide infamy as the Bloody Emperor.

But the masked man's reaction was far more visceral, as Leonid felt his entire demeanor instantly change from a mellow mannered man to a sharp cold aura, that resembled a drawn blade, as he emotionlessly replied "His imperial majesty already safeguarded his investment with the rigidity of your word, and the strength of your character.

But if his grace did indeed lose out in this endeavor, then that would mean that you were never worthy of his majesty's consideration in the first place." The masked man finished before turning around and leaving them behind.

Anastasia worried that her brother would do something rash due to his rage and quickly attempted to calm him down, but contrary to her thoughts, Leonid wasn't in the least bit angry, if anything he seemed to be weirdly relieved as he looked back at her, and said "Let's go Ani." Before guiding his stallion to begin galloping south.

Anastasia was momentarily stunned by this, before quickly joining her brother, which quickly turned into a childish race between the two as they barreled down the road towards the next chapter of their lives, that would later be immortalized in the annals of history.

But little did they know that as they were quickly heading to the next stage of their lives, a certain one armed man who had just awoken from his drunken slumber was also entering the next step of his life, as an unhealthy seed of obsession planted itself deep in his solitary heart!