Terra Kelvin 1's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Terra Kelvin crouched on the dome of the Golden Spire Mosque, and the twelve elemental mosques of Soahc all burned with the same sick light. He wore a brown bodysuit and a charcoal cowl that hid everything but his eyes. He had come to prove the shadow syndicate had corrupted all twelve mosques. But he had no proof. If he shouted the truth now, the people would hear only a masked stranger's lies. Through a vent, he watched the prayer hall below. A hulking shape moved between the pillars. Its blue skin crawled with red lightning, and its grin split wide over sharp teeth. A crimson rage brute. It poured dark energy into the great wheel emblem set in the floor, two stacked color rings joined by a bright diamond. Each wedge dimmed as the brute fed it. Terra understood. The syndicate was draining the mosque's power through that wheel. He needed the wheel. The emblem itself would show the corruption. No tongue could call it a lie. Terra dropped through the vent. He landed soft behind a pillar. The brute did not turn. He crept toward the glowing wheel and pressed his gloved hand to its surface. It was loose. He worked the edges free. A shadow fell across him. "You move like a thief," a voice said. Terra spun. A ninja in white tactical gear stood five feet off, a bow already drawn. Blood flecked his wrappings. Terra knew him by reputation only. This was the archer who had tracked the syndicate across three mosques before vanishing. People called him Storm Shadow. His arrow pointed at Terra's throat. "But thieves don't come to burning temples. What do you want here?" "Proof," Terra said. "The wheel. It carries their corruption. I take it, the city sees the truth." Storm Shadow's eyes moved to the brute, then back. He lowered the bow an inch. "Then take it fast." The brute roared. It had heard them. It charged, fists trailing red fire, and the floor cracked under its weight. Terra ripped the wheel emblem loose and rolled clear. Storm Shadow loosed three arrows into the brute's eyes. The beast swung wild, blind, and smashed a pillar to dust. Terra ran for the vent with the wheel clutched to his chest. Storm Shadow covered him, backing away, firing. They burst onto the dome under open sky. Terra held the emblem high. Its warm and cool wedges still pulsed with the syndicate's stolen power, dark veins crawling through the colors. Real. Undeniable. "You have your proof," Storm Shadow said. He glanced back at the shattered hall. "Now they know your face wants it. And they will hunt the man who carries it." Below, the brute dragged itself upright. Its red eyes found the dome. More shapes gathered in the dark behind it. Terra held the one thing that could unmask the syndicate, and the syndicate now knew exactly what he carried.