• The enemy was dead, but so were her father and his family. The entire male race of Valentines was wiped out and it was wholly her fault. All that remained was the strong stench of blood and tissue. It scorched her nose, embedding itself forever in her memory. Bodies of the departed were strewn about her, she resting in the middle with her knees to her chest. The grotesqueness of the positions that the bodies were in were enough to cause the bile form in the back of her parched throat; her cheeks were stained with her tears along with the dirt and blood from battle; her clothes were torn and shredded, and what was left was barely recognizable under the grime.

    Failure. Failure to protect. Failure.

    Head thrown back she howled in anguish and slammed her fists into the ground, hearing the knuckles in one completely shatter from the impact. She didn’t feel it though. Her entire body had grown numb, her mind locking itself up to cleave to whatever bit of sanity she had left.

    Gentle caress.

    Her head snapped to the side and a guttural growl came from within her throat. Nothing. Nothing was there. Yet she was sure she had felt something or someone caress her cheek. Comfort. She longed for it. She longed to crawl into her papa’s lap and be rocked back and forth as he soothed her frayed nerves. She yearned for the warmth of her brother and love.

    Sin.

    Was this punishment? No. This was much worse than any punishments her soul had received so far. She had already died countless times. She was sure that her last death would have been the end. The Finale.

    Sacrifice.

    Her crimson hues shook as they bore into the blood soaked ground. Sacrifice. Prophecy. Her cranium snapped up and her pupils dilated as the answer struck her mind like an anvil.

    She ascended to her feet and stumbled over to the nearest body to her. She gazed down upon the angel with black hair streaked with red. Van. Her half-brother. Her mate. They knew their love was a sin. But their love had been written in the stars.

    Kneeling down she adjusted his stiff body into a more proper looking position. Her hands shook and her eyes stung as tears of blood ran down her cheeks. She had diminished her supply of tears, so all that was left was her blood. She wouldn’t need it after this…

    She moved from body to body, adjusting the stiff positions of the bodies into more normal ones. She whimpered and choked on her emotions as she worked on the body of the black haired wolf demon she had grown to love as her father. Even covered in blood, she could see the handsomeness that her mother had fallen in love with.

    Hands stilling, she looked into the distance at the thought of her mother. None of the women in the group knew nor did any of the men who were not of Valentine blood of the sight she was genuflected upon. It was for the better though. If they knew, they would try everything in their might to stop her. Sure, they could come up with possible ways for raising the dead, but she knew none of them would last.

    This was the only way. Sacrifice. Prophecy.

    With a shaky breath she finished her rounds and stood to gaze upon the sight of the fallen men before her. She had brought the ones that her half-brother Caidence killed back to life…and yet here they all were, along with the others, lying in this desolate meadow. Lifeless.

    She would never see them breath air again, or feel the warmth of their firepowers as they protected each other and their own. She would never hear their laughter or the way their voices would rumble as they bombarded each other with brusque, snide remarks. She would never see the laughter reach their eyes, or the emotion flit across their handsome faces for the briefest of moments. She would never be able to kiss her uncle Zelos on the cheek after opening a present that contained one of his famous knitted sweaters.

    She would never be able to feel the security she felt sitting in the middle of a room with these men, even if there was hostility in the air as her father and Ronald went at it again. She would never be amazed at the unique, yet deadly firepowers each of them had. She would never hear the snapping of Roy’s fingers and watch the explosion as it blew Phillip through the same wall at Saeren’s mansion.

    She would never hear Buddy call everyone ‘Bunny’ or enjoy the way uncle Vito’s Italian accent came out. She would never be able to laugh at Chase’s strange antics, or watch him be swallowed by a huge fish. She would never be there to attempt to comfort Johnathan as he shook back and forth in his straight jacket, muttering ‘Never leave home again’ over and over again.

    Nostalgic.

    She closed her eyes and let out a whimper before opening her eyes again and said each and every one of their names, just to taste the way it rolled off her tongue. For the last time.

    Ace, Alex, Buddy, Chad, Charles, Chase, Devon, Havoc, Ian, Jacob, James, John, Josh, Keno, Lance, Leon, Lucas, Marshall, Markus, Matt, Michael, Mickello, Miles, Parker, Phillip, Raven, Raziel, Ronald, Roy, Russell, Ryan, Sachio, Sasuke, Vito, Xaviar, Youko, Zack, Zelos, Skye, Caidence, Spike….Van.

    The crescent moons, adjoined by their backs, the mark of the Valentines, glowed brightly on her forehead. Around her she felt the eeriness of the air. Even in death they were around her. She saw the faint pulsing of their auras from their spirits as they surrounded her. She felt their uneasiness and couldn’t help but smile to herself.

    “Do not fret,” she murmured softly, running her hands through her bloodstained hair. They didn’t know what she was about to do, and for that she was glad. She didn’t want to feel the air around her grow with the anxiety of their fear as they realized what she was doing.

    Closing her eyes, she stepped back a couple of steps and began chanting under her breath. Her body began to buzz with a silver radiance and she felt her feet lift off the ground as an invisible force levitated her into the sky. Opening her eyes, which just a moment ago were a crimson filled with anguish, they glowed to match the silver aura that radiated off of her. Her chanting grew louder as she gazed at the astral sphere that lit the night with it breadth.

    “From Heaven to Hell
    Do I bid

    Upon my sacrifice
    Thy shall breathe

    Thy blood shall flow
    Thy heart shall beat

    Thy is delivered
    My salvation do I give”

    As she breathed the last word, her body erupted in a blinding light that engulfed the entire clearing. Blood spiraled in the air, cherry blossoms decorated the ground like pink silk. Orbs of all the same size yet different shades of red soon appeared to hover above the ground before scuttling about and permeating into the bodies of the fallen Valentines.

    As the immense luminosity faded away, so did she. Below on the ground red hues of different shades fluttered open among the men, each sitting up slowly as if they had just suffered a bout of motion sickness.

    They gazed at each other in astonishment; seeing that each and every one of them was unscathed from the wounds and blood that once covered their bodies. Murmurs of confusion filled the night before the stench of death and blood reached their noses.

    Two of them shot up to their feet, their eyes widening in fear and recognition. One was the male with the wolf ears, and the other his youngest son – Spike and Van. Together, at amazing speed, they dashed up the hill to the right of them and stopped abruptly at the top.

    A snarl of sorrow echoed through the night as Spike fell to his knees, his brothers and other two sons making their way up the hill to see what was the matter. They all had a feeling of dread that turned to grief as their fears were confirmed from the site just at the bottom of the hill on the other side.

    There, laying in their blood and her own, was the young woman whom had just been in the clearing only a few moments ago. Her body lay gracefully in the grass, her lips parted slightly open in result of her final smile. Despite the blood that covered her entire body, she seemed like a celestial being. Cherry blossom petals decorated her hair like a crown, while some rested in her open hand that rested above her head.

    Some of them looked away, unable to take in anymore of the site in front of them. Painful sobs racked the shoulders of others, while a few just gazed with emotionless eyes at the beauty that lied like a tribute to the Gods.

    Van crawled down the hill and pulled her into his lap. He shook her body in a vain attempt to awaken her, calling her name and begging her to open her eyes. His voice trembled with desperation.

    Roy, whose eyes were shadowed by his hair, laid a hand on Spike’s shoulder. No one spoke. No words could lift the mourning that filled the air.

    Thunder rumbled and lightning struck all around them. None of them moved nor flinched. They simply remained were they were atop of the hill, getting drenched.

    In a clearing sat a group. None of them spoke, but it was clear that they all knew. One of the individuals, a female with long black hair, lighter colored fox ears and tail, and green irises looked down at her hands as tears streamed silently down her cheeks, causing the blue fin-like markings on her face to run.

    In the Reikai Koenma sat at his desk, head in his hands. Sitting on his desk was a dark skinned female with green hues and long white hair. She gazed at the wall with a saddened expression.

    Not too far from them all, upon another hill, sat a nine-tailed black fox. Tears streamed down the fox’s visage as her azure eyes gazed up at the crimson-eyed black dragon that looked down at the fox with tears that crystallized into crimson jewels and scattered on the ground…

    Prophecy. Sacrifice. Many lives were renewed that night, but two souls were cast to the depths of Hell.

    Fin