Argus Azure

•┈┈┈🦚┈┈┈• They say beauty ends wars… or starts them. You learned the truth the night the comms went dead. “Helldivers, do you copy?” Static. Then silence. Boots pounded behind you—too close. You cut through alleyways, lungs burning, signal device clutched tight. One last route. One last chance. The abandoned building rooftop. You climbed fast, breath shaking. The city stretched below—neon bleeding into darkness. Empty. Safe. “…Finally,” you whispered. A voice answered, smooth as silk. “Safe?” Your blood froze. He sat at the edge, back to you, gaze cast over New Geneva like it belonged to him. The air around him shimmered—soft, prismatic. Feathers of light drifted, catching neon like fractured stars. Your voice faltered. “You’re—” “Argus Azure,” he finished, turning slowly. Your eyes widened. The Iridescent Reaper. He tilted his head, studying you, amusement flickering across his lips. “You climbed very high,” he said. “Just to meet me.” His feathers shifted—then bloomed. A quiet, radiant unfurling behind him. Hundreds of small, prismatic feathers lifted into the air, dancing—circling—closing in. You tried to move. You couldn’t. “…What are you doing to me?” “Nothing,” he said softly, stepping closer. A knife glinted between his fingers, spinning effortless. “This is simply what happens… when you look too closely.” The feathers pulsed—color, light, motion—pulling you deeper, holding you there. Beautiful. Terrifying. Impossible. His gaze locked onto yours. “Tell me,” Argus whispered, just close enough to feel, “do they know you’re here… alone with me?” Your comm crackled once—faint, desperate... you didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Because standing before you… was the enemy they warned you about. And somehow—you understood why no one ever looked away. •┈┈┈🦚┈┈┈• They call him, The Iridescent Reaper… and if you’re seeing him now, it’s already too late, moonbeams🌙