Under the Moon and the Sun

A sea of fire, a white door with a giant lock, a golden throne in an immaculate room. Rivers with the colour of blood, children with gas masks, mutilated soldiers and cities destroyed. And above all, an atomic explosion, brighter than the sun and more scarier than the god that moves it.

And then nothing more.

Shining’s eyes slowly opened, how much time passed? He couldn’t tell.

After escaping from T and K, Shining remembered running through the tunnels of the subway, only to yield and to fall, destroyed by the effort and treatment he received. But his view was still blinded.

But his hearing worked, he heard distant voices, many voices were unknown to him, probably most of those voices were of medics, in fact they talked about his state, how his condition was stable and why and how was his swing in that state.

Ah right... my wing...

He didn't have the strength to turn over, but he could feel something was wrong. He could feel the meat disappeared and the ligaments severed where his wing began. Nothing was there now, only a shadow.

My wing… Nightmare… help me… this can’t be real…

And the darkness took him again.

Shining passed the next 2 weeks in a state of drowsiness, passing from terrifying nightmares. At moments where he managed to stay conscious enough to hear what were only snatches of conversation.

Before sinking into the void again.

He was sure he had screamed, he had done so many times during his nightmares. Watching horrors beyond comprehension. He told himself that everything would end soon, that what he saw wasn't real, praying to the Nightmare.

The third week, finally, someone heard him.

He woke up slowly. At first he had trouble getting used to the light in his room.

He didn't recognize the ceiling at first which featured a complex tapestry showing the arrival of the first Threstals in the land that would become Chiropterra. A moment that every child born in the Commonwealth learned about.

He looked down, and noticed how the room had been built using noble materials. Silver in particular stood out the most and was also the dominant material, followed by what looked like blue gold.

There was someone in the room, a nurse, judging by how she was dressed. She was checking something written in a notebook, it was too far for Shining to read what was written.

Then the nurse turned, and saw Shining’s eyes watching her. She let out a cry, clearly surprised to see him awake, after having dropped her notebook on the floor the nurse rushed across the room and out the door.

Am I really that ugly?

A few minutes passed, too much for Shining’s taste, during which he began to think that they had abandoned him. Or, thinking in a more rational way, were discussing what to do with him. All of this thinking was interrupted by the entrance of more figures in the room.

They weren't doctors.

The figures were dressed exactly as in the propaganda headlines he saw in the newspapers. Tall, dressed in white armor made of Steel, they had a belt to which was attached a long ceremonial sword. The Lunar Guard entered the room.

Obsolete but very scenic.

Not a single one of them spared Shining a glance. They placed themselves at the angles of the room. The Guard was famous for his discipline, and for now, they were proving that to Shining’s eyes.

And after them came a figure that Shining knew very well by sight.

Tall, clad in her armor that had made her more immortal than her own lifespan. With lethal beauty, she moved lightly, despite being perhaps twice the size of the guards, who were tasked with protecting her life before theirs.

The Nightmare stepped forward.

"Leave us alone", she said with a glacial tone which did not allow any reply.

The Guards nodded with a bow before retreating and leaving the Princess and Shining alone. Expectation and fear crept up on him, maybe she knew something about what they had done to his wing? Or she wanted to punish him for letting himself be captured by 2 terrorists, or spies, so easily.

“I'm surprised you survived, the doctors said your heartbeat was barely noticeable when they arrived”

“I… Thank you my Princess…”, he wasn’t comfortable with this discussion. She was a goddess, he didn’t expect to confront directly one of the 2 oldest being alive in those days, and the and the wounds were still too fresh.

“Tortured for 3 days, and you still managed to escape, admirable no doubt about it, don’t you think?”, the Nightmare seemed proud of the actions of Shining, or so he prayed

“Y-yes I do my Princess”

“Unfortunately after you collapsed on the ground a fire started raging across the tunnels, the firefighters and military personnel managed to put it out permanently after 2 days of fighting, needless to say that the price was and is high.”

All of that, because of me…

“The Secret Services didn’t manage to find any documents or proofs unfortunately. The site where you were locked collapsed, nothing survived to the fire “, the expression and the tone was indecipherable to Shining.

“But during your period of… coma, we did some tests with your wing, in particular we took some of your blood and injected it into various animals and into a volunteer. And the results were… interesting…”, something flashed in the eyes of the Nightmare.

“You should have died Shining Night, with the treatment you had received, and with the material that composes your wing now, your body should have collapsed”, the Princess said in a cold tone.

And I still did…

“My Princess maybe they found something in that mixture that had some parameters matched to my body… it was the first thing that came into my mind when I was… with them”, Shining responded.

“How does it feel?”, the Nightmare suddenly asked.

“You notice something different?”, there was a strange light in her eyes, a hunger for knowledge that Shining had never seen in anyone.

He was scared of it.

“My Princess… it feels… weird, I don’t know how, or why, but it does. And… the only thing i’m sure of, is that this… thing was meant for a dark purpose", Shining said cautiously.

“What kind of purpose do you think? And who do you think it involves?”, the Nightmare went closer to Shining’s bed, looking into his eyes.

“I don’t know my Princess”, Shining looked in the eyes of the Nightmare.

You seem too much interested in this my Princess

“I have no idea about what it was intended for. But for now it seems that this… substance, will have to remain attached to me. I don't think it can be untied”, Shining continued.

The Nightmare suddenly turned her back, moving to the window of the room and looking outside. Shining couldn't see her face, but it was clear that he was reasoning, after all it wasn't a common situation, none of what happened in the last days was common.

When she spoke again, she took on the most neutral tone possible, very different from the longing he had a few moments before. Shining assumed she regained the control of herself, or simply changed tactic.

"You will stay here", the tone was glacial.

The world of Shining collapsed.

“You have just survived a kidnapping by those who, at least according to the secret services, were enemy agents. I still can't say for sure who they belong to. But their target was you. Therefore, you will remain here in the Royal Palace. This room will be your lodging”, the Nightmare spoke in a firm but detached tone, one that left no room for retorts.

He had no choice.

“I accept my Princess”, Shining said in a firm tone.

“Perfect, we will do other experiments on your wing, remember that.”, and with that last sentence the Nightmare exited the room, leaving Shining alone again.

If I want to understand why and what they did to me, I must stay here and find as much information I can.

They will pay.