Serena was thrown back, smashing through the wall into the building beyond. Despite being wrapped in yellow-aura the shock caused her to bite through her tongue. She spat blood, raising an arm to protect herself as the ceiling collapsed on her. She hurried the Word to form, layering the aether upon itself, folding it into the required structure for communion with Narean.
Surprisingly, she found it formed with surprising obedience. Speaking Narean always included a brief battle of will, a demonstration that the Speaker still possessed the power and determination to demand the abilities of the demonic sword god. This time, Narean seemed almost eager to assist. Was this because she was so much stronger after crossing the boundary into blue-aura? Or did Amelia’s ward help in some way?
Despite the aether going wild outside, and the wood and stone forming into sharp points that tried to piece her through, Serena was resolute. She wouldn’t allow the skills of Salinas, the Earthlord, to cut her so easily.
“Narean.”
Her vision darkened for a moment and she felt like she had just been turned upside down as the power of the sword god flowed into her. Her stored aether was expelled forcefully - blowing away the rubble and the incoming attacks - and was replaced by the clean and pure aether from the divine realm. She slipped easily - almost too easily - into the fourth-level, her body glowing softly with green light. Hellfire ignited on her horns and the familiar tail formed from the base of her spine, a fifth limb she would make full use of.
She leapt back into the ruined cafe, swinging the marbled sword that she had never let go of. A testament to her training and instincts. The man with the scarred face formed shells of stone and earth that he flung at her at speeds that would blow apart any lesser warrior. She cut through one, two then deflected another before being intercepted by the female demon who swung her shield, throwing Serena towards the wall.
Serena didn’t smash through, pulsing the aether strongly enough to produce enough of an anti-gravity effect to slow down. She cast a wary eye at the environment, taking in as much information as her accelerated mind could. The man stayed at the back, using his long-hafted mace as a staff, forming earth attacks that floated in a semi-circle above his head. The masked woman stood between them, her shield and short sword glowing green.
“An earthlord and a paladin,” she said, maintaining awareness of her surroundings. Where was Amelia? Lord Yulan? “What secret lies in Highguard that you’ll Speak to protect?”
They didn’t respond and the man mumbled something under his breath. The wind picked up and a sandstorm engulfed the cafe, blinding her vision. No matter, Serena didn’t need vision to fight. She closed her eyes and relied on her aether senses to identify attacks.
The woman unleashed a flurry of attacks on her, forcing Serena to adjust her stance to avoid being pushed back. She swung her katana in response, parrying and striking where she could. She couldn’t afford to allow the paladin to get inside her range, for they were experts in close-quarter combat.
Her senses detected the movement of aether in the rubble near her, and blades of stone and wood struck out, seeking to strike through her blind spots. Serena deflected or dodged these attacks, her senses giving her just enough warning. She put her tail of hellfire to work, striking out in opportune moments or defending against an attack that slipped through her defence.
“Stubborn,” the woman said through gritted teeth. The paladin jumped back and raised her sword. “Turana’s Zeal!” she yelled, and the rest of the building's upper floors were blasted away as a bolt of red lightning struck the shortsword, wrapping it in crackling energy. Even though her eyes were closed, the lightning could be seen through her eyelids. In her senses, the aether was flowing around the sword like a storm.
Her instincts warned her of the new danger and she pushed her aether further, trying to breach the boundary into the next level. It wasn’t easy, and the insurmountable wall that she had crossed only once before held firm. Undeterred, she threw her aether against it, chipping away at the metaphysical boundary as she sought new power. Surprisingly, Narean didn’t appear to add any resistance like he usually would.
The pair attacked again. The man had changed tactics and instead of large shells of earth was favouring dozens upon dozens of smaller bullets. Too many for her to dodge. Each one could maim or kill a first-level warrior but as a hint of blue appeared within Serena’s aura they only bruised her.
The woman’s empowered short sword was the real problem, and it chipped Serena’s marbled katana with every swing. Thankfully the speed hadn’t increased, only the power. With each collision, lightning struck out from the point of impact, hitting the surroundings randomly.
“Hurry up,” growled the man. “He’ll arrive soon. Kill her!”
“Fucking trying,” the woman spat between strikes. “Bitch’s aura is tough.” The woman tried to bash Serena again, but just as her foot stepped forward to shift the weight into the attack, Serena struck out with her hellfire tail knocking the woman momentarily off balance.
She swung as hard as she could, ignoring the flurry of bullets striking her. She missed the woman's neck but was able to cut through the skin of the shoulder, giving her a light wound. Damn paladins! This was the first time she’d fought one properly, and she found it true what she had been told; they could fight at a level above their aura. They were a tough nut to crack.
“Ah!” The woman backed away, recovering her stance. “Stop fucking about with magic and get in here,” she commanded the man, who swore and with a spoken spell covered his body in earthen armour. Stone flowed up his long-hafted mace and formed menacing spikes at the end. He approached cautiously as Serena tightened her grip and planted her feet.
How many seconds had passed since she Spoke? The heightened senses meant time slowed down for Speakers. They could fight, speak and comprehend faster than normal. Ten seconds? A dozen?
Something was coming, pushing its way through the rubble. A familiar aether signature.
Amelia.
Serena deflected a swung mace aiming to take her head off, while the woman’s short sword cut her side. Serena kicked out, striking with her tail and twisting her katana to cut the man’s armour. The frantic assault was beyond her current capabilities but as the wounds built up she felt that internal wall break down and her aura took on more and more blue.
“Bitch going blue,” grumbled the woman as the paladin’s aether flared and she unleashed a series of strikes that Serena couldn’t fully defend against. The sword cut her and the woman flared her aether again and a bolt of lightning caused Serena’s body to tense momentarily. Before she could recover, the mace slammed into her side, throwing her across the room.
She spat blood as she sensed a familiar aether signature standing over her.
“Is Narean behaving?” Amelia asked, head tilted. Warmth erupted throughout her body as Amelia healed her. Then her body glowed in hues of silver and gold as some kind of ward wrapped itself around her. Serena opened her eyes to find the sandstorm had died down. The cafe looked like a desert, and Amelia was looking at her with a concerned expression. The human looked no different than a minute ago.
“Amelia! Speak! They’re a paladin and an earthlord! Get-” The earthlord appeared behind Amelia, swinging his massive mace with two hands against her head. The woman struck at Amelia’s neck, the red lightning crackling with power. Serena leapt up, feeling her aether blast through the barrier as she stepped into the world of blue. She swung towards the woman in desperation, but the huge mace slammed into Amelia’s head and at the same time the woman's shortsword reached the delicate neck and-
Nothing.
“Oh?” Amelia said softly as the heavy weapon shattered against her head, ruffling her golden hair. “What’s this?” She mumbled, the shortsword was held in her grip, its red lightning cracking uselessly. “Turana’s Zeal, is it? How nostalgic…” The woman tried to pull the sword free but Amelia’s hand didn’t budge an inch. Then - almost too fast for Serena to see - the human grabbed the wrists of both of the enemies.
“Amelia!” Serena exclaimed, “How…?”
“I’ve already Spoken,” she said plainly. “Took a few seconds as I wanted to do it quietly. No point blasting away half the street.” She turned a head towards Serena, ignoring the armoured first slamming into her head again and again. “Lord Yulan’s fine, by the way. Made sure to get him safe. As for these two…” Amelia's eyes darkened, and Serena saw behind those eyes that glowed golden; there was a background of crimson.
It was terrifyingly beautiful.
“It’s Salinas and Turana, then?” Amelia asked, her voice lacking its usual clumsy cheerfulness. The two demons cried out in pain as an audible snap came from their wrists. Amelia had broken them. “Did you fools not hear my warning?”
“Gah! Bitch! I don’t even know you!” gasped the woman, as she tried to free herself.
“Not you,” snapped Amelia. “I’ll ask again… did you not hear my warning?” Serena involuntarily gulped. Amelia used some kind of spell when she asked that question. Something rippled in the aetherfield, and for the first time, she became aware of something else, another layer that formed underneath the aether. Whatever it was, it reacted strongly to Amelia’s words.
The woman suddenly spewed blood from her mouth. She screamed in agony as her skin cracked and poured blood and aether. “Turana! Why!” she cried. The woman’s aura violently shifted from green to yellow, then it dimmed to orange and finally red before vanishing entirely. The woman was unconscious and entirely defenceless.
What in the seven hells had just happened? Serena’s mind raced at the scene before her. Did Amelia just… expel a Word from someone? She swallowed nervously. Amelia had said she had Spoken, but to do this… had she Spoken only one word? Spoken only the First Word?
“Amelia-” she began, interrupted by the sudden cry from the man.
“Salinas! I give you my soul! Bestow upon me the means to escape!” The scarred man roared.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
For a moment, nothing happened.
“What an ambitious demon god you are…” Amelia mumbled as power and aether erupted from the man who ripped his arm away, leaving a bloodied hand behind.
The earth bent and buckled underneath their feet and then opened. The surrounding buildings above collapsed upon them, accelerated by some gravity spell. It slammed into the group, and they were flung down into the darkness. Serena spun this way and that before something reached out and pulled her close.
“Hold on!” Amelia yelled, pulling her into an embrace. Aether flowed about them as some kind of defensive spell was cast, and they slammed into the ground. As the building fell upon them, her ears were bombarded with a violent array of noise and sound, but Amelia’s magic formed an invulnerable pocket.
And then, as quickly as it happened, it all stopped.
Silence.
Serena could hear her rapid heartbeat in her ears, she could hear her fast breath. Amelia lay in her embrace, her face nested in Serena's chest. Slow, delicate breaths came from the human. For a few moments, all Serena listened to were the sounds of their breathing. Slowly, the awkwardness of the situation grew on her as the continued intimacy threatened to make her blush.
“G-get off me, idiot!”
“Mmm… so comfy,” Amelia mumbled, rubbing her head a bit, before thankfully pulling away with a familiar smug grin. “You alright?” she asked, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“I think so…” Serena looked at Amelia, who was sitting there looking nonchalant. The glow from her body gave her enough light to make out their cramped surroundings. “So… you can hide the aether release? I didn’t sense you Speaking.”
“Well,” Amelia looked down at her thumbs, playing with them nervously. “I only recently remembered how to do it… it’s not that big of a deal, right?”
“It’s rare, but not impossibly so,” Serena said. “The grandmaster at the academy I learned the sword could do it. I think some Highlords and most Greatlords can Speak silently.” She sat up and examined the human, noting the previously golden eyes with a hint of crimson had returned to their normal shining blue.
That was interesting. All Speakers underwent some physical change when Speaking the First Word. Serena embraced hellfire when she Spoke Narean but she had known another Speaker who Spoke the same Word but would instead be covered with a chilling frost.
As for Amelia, those golden crimson eyes had looked a little like demon eyes. It seemed the human's disposition towards demonkind had a knock-on effect on her appearance.
All the more reason to get her citizenship as soon as possible and protect her under Cascadia’s watch. If the human nations found out that the physical traits of demons had corrupted Aseco’s gold, armies would march and navies would sail.
“Can I ask you something else?” She asked Amelia.
“I suppose so…” Amelia muttered, “... but I can’t promise I’ll answer.”
“What did you do to that Turana Speaker?” She ran the scene in her mind again. It was something she had never seen before. It wasn’t something she could just let go either. Answers were needed.
“I…” Amelia opened her mouth and then closed it. She tried again to no avail. A few seconds later and Serena could see her mouth start to quiver and then…
“Are you… crying?” She asked, unsure of what to do.
“I can’t keep pretending! I never asked to be like this!” Amelia cried out, blubbering the words through a sudden torrent of tears. “I never asked to be Speaker! I didn’t-” Amelia sniffed and wiped her eyes as best she could. “I didn’t think it was real!” She sobbed into her hands.
Serena didn’t understand what Amelia was saying, but seeing her friend cry so intensely caused a pang of sympathy. She wasn’t sure exactly what was troubling Amelia, so she shuffled closer and put an arm around her. Amelia responded, tilting her body and head to rest against her chest as she cried.
“What do you mean?” She asked, “What didn’t you think was real?”
Amelia was quiet before the answer came, almost whispered. “Speaking…”
“Speaking?”
“It was just a game where I came from! Magic wasn’t real! Aether wasn’t real! We… we…” Amelia’s hands gestured aimlessly, “We just pretended. For entertainment!”
Serena frowned at that. A game? Entertainment?
“I don’t understand, how can you Speak without aether?”
“We didn’t Speak! The idea of Speaking was just an abstract concept!” Amelia sniffed, calming down slightly. “Imagine… umm… are there any military games you teach the trainees to prepare them for… battle?”
“There is… Captain’s Chess. It’s used to teach the basics of fleet command,” Serena said, thinking of the popular academy game. Variations of it were dominant in civilian life, and there were even grand competitions hosted every year.
“Right! I don’t know how it's played, but imagine each player picks a character that they have as their captain, right? Some would give bonuses to fleet movement, some would give more damage from shellfire?”
“I can imagine that…” Serena said. What Amelia had described wasn’t all the different from the real thing.
“Alright, so imagine as you win games, you win points that you can spend to upgrade your fleet and captain permanently, which would carry over into all the games you played?”
“That would be most unfair, it-”
“Just imagine!” Amelia exclaimed, lifting her head and looking at Serena with glistening blue eyes, dirt and tears covering her cheeks.
“I… understand the concept.”
“Okay, so there’s this game, but you’re not actually a captain, and you don’t actually have a real fleet; the game and its rules just represent it, right?”
“Right.”
“Now imagine the last thing you remember is you’re playing a game, with your fleet and captain that you’ve spent thousands of games spending points making really strong. Imagine you’re doing that, and the next thing you know, you’re somehow thrown into a different world, a different realm where suddenly you’ve become that captain, and you have all the abilities and strength of your captain character you upgraded!”
Serena opened her mouth and then closed it. She looked at Amelia with a questioning gaze. “Is that… what happened to you?” She asked softly. Amelia nodded, the movement prompting another tear to roll down her cheek.
“Yes… only my game wasn’t about captains and ships. It was about Speaking! Spending points so that my character which I designed,” Amelia gestured to her body, “To look like this, to learn all kinds of Words. I don’t know how it happened but somehow I’m in the body of my character and I’m pretty sure I have all the abilities I gave her!” Amelia sniffed, “And I’m so scared! I have all this power and I’m afraid to use it! I could hurt so many people without meaning to!” Amelia started crying again, so Serena pulled her into a desperate hug.
It didn’t make complete sense, but suddenly a significant part of the puzzle had fallen into place. An impossible human with impossible healing powers. It shouldn’t have been possible, but it was. A game that had trained her through entertainment rather than the years and decades of determination and suffering it took most others.
“This… isn’t a game,” Serena said softly, running a hand through Amelia’s golden hair. “I’m not a character you played with… right?”
“No,” Amelia awkwardly shook her head, which was pressed into her chest. “Only the Speaking thing and the names of the gods are familiar. Everything else... flying ships, the Empire, floating islands, and moon crystals are completely new…”
“I see…” They sat in silence for a moment as Serena ran the conversation they just had through her head several times. She didn’t want to bombard Amelia with questions but…
“How many Words did your character learn?” She asked quietly.
“I don't know… most of them, I suppose.”
Most of them! Serena felt her eyes go wide and took a deep breath. “You know… most of the human Words?”
“No…”
“No?”
“My character didn’t always look like this,” Amelia said, pulling away and holding out her blond hair. “Before I used to play with a character that was a demonic mage. In the years I spent in the hospital, I must have put in thousands upon thousands of hours training her up! She knew… basically all of the demon Words…” Amelia fiddled with her hair, “For a joke I made my character look like this, and then I became her but… I feel that I can still Speak all the demon words… if I wanted to.”
Serena quietly absorbed this information. She thought back to a conversation between her and Anathor. A blessing from the gods couldn't make someone a Speaker, but what if Amelia had received a blessing from an entity greater than the gods? There were myths, talked about only half-seriously, that spoke of things living in the mists, and other realms of unimaginable power.
Amelia kept her eyes low, seemingly afraid to meet Serena’s. “You don’t… hate me, do you?” she whispered.
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because I kept this from you… kept it hidden. Speaking is such a big deal here and look at how everyone reacts when they find out I can speak just one Word. I’m sorry…” Amelia trailed, “I didn’t want to scare you off! I really like being around you, and I don’t want that to change…”
Serena sighed, and pulled Amelia closer. “I don’t hate you, idiot.” Serena rested her head against the top of Amelia’s. “I’m glad we have somewhat of an explanation. It doesn’t answer everything, but I don’t think you’re lying. Besides, I like you being around as well…”
“Really?” Came a small voice.
“You’re an annoying idiot, but you’re my annoying idiot,” Serena ruffled the golden hair. “I admit, I’m tired of playing the obedient daughter or the strict captain all the time. I can’t remember when I could last speak so comfortably to someone, but somehow I can do that with you.”
“So, can I stay with you? Is the contract still valid?”
“Of course, I swear on my horns.”
“Then… can I… get a raise?”
“Pfft!” They both laughed at that, a much-needed release. “Once we speak to my father, we can sort something out,” Serena explained. “So, would you be able to explain what you did to that Turana bitch? It felt like you used some power when you asked her a question, and then she lost all her abilities.”
“I um… last time when you fought Korvus and Narean took control, I kinda threatened them all…”
“Threatened who?”
“The demon gods… told them to behave themselves around you.”
“Please tell me you’re joking,” Serena said, “Because that’s insane.”
“Then I’m insane,” came the reply. “Although, I only yelled a bit at the lesser gods. They’re really not that tough, just arrogant children flailing about trying to get the higher gods' attention.”
A few seconds passed as Serena digested that information. “When you talked about the warning earlier, I felt something ripple, but it was weird. It was like there was something underpinning the aetherfield that reacted.”
“I think that’s the mistlands. I spoke to Turana directly, so I had to send my words through the mists to reach his realm. At least, that’s what I feel I did on an instinctive level. I don’t have that much comprehension of how it all works, you know? When a trainee moves their fleet to attack in a game of Captain’s Chess that wouldn’t give them much understanding of what it’s like to actually command a fleet, right?”
“Right…” So what she had felt was the mists themselves. Was it because she had finally reached blue-level aura again? Serena realised she was idly stroking Amelia’s hair. So soft. “You really spoke to Turana directly? A god?”
“Yeah, and did you see how he ran away from his vessel with his tail tucked behind his legs?”
“I did… speaking of! Where are they?!” She had forgotten entirely about her adversaries!
“They fled, I thought about stopping them but…” Amelia trailed off.
“But?”
“But I was so comfortable… being held by you.”
Serena felt heat rise in her cheeks. Well, if Amelia was spilling everything out it might as well be time to address the arcwhale in the room.
“Amelia… how do you feel… about me?” She asked cautiously, feeling her heartbeat speed up and Amelia reflexively tense. The human was quiet for a dozen seconds before she finally answered.
“... Isn’t it obvious?” she whispered.
“Amelia, I’m a demon. You’re a human… I think.”
“I told you when we first met, didn’t I? I like demons.”
So she had. Serena suddenly found herself smiling. Why was she suddenly so happy? Damn it, she knew why. She knew exactly why. She opened her mouth to say something. What should she say? What would the right thing be to do? Should she prioritise House Halen, or herself?
“I-” She began.
“It doesn’t matter what you say, my feelings aren’t going away. And besides…” Amelia raised her head and met her eyes. The human's cheeks were so red and hot Serena could probably fry an egg on them. “Besides, I saw you checking out my arse when I was doing my katas. So don’t pretend it’s not mutual… unless it really isn’t, alright?”
She had been caught! “I…” She struggled to meet Amelia’s eyes. Where had the human gotten this confidence!? “I suppose…” she began, her eyes flickering to Amelia’s pink lips. “I suppose it is… mutual,” she whispered, and Amelia broke out with the happiest expression Serena had ever seen on anyone ever.
“That’s the best thing you could have said! So…” Amelia’s eyes flickered awkwardly downwards, towards Serena’s lips. “Umm… should we…” Amelia suddenly looked bashful, struggling to meet Serena’s eyes. “You know…” she muttered, looking to the side.
Serena swallowed nervously, her heart pounding so loud in her ears that she could barely hear what Amelia was saying. She didn’t need to hear her, she could see her intention. Serena had told herself she needed to address her feelings and her attraction for this human.
And that was exactly what she was doing.
Serena reached out, wrapping a hand around the back of Amelia’s head. “Come here, idiot,” she whispered, pulling her close.
Until their lips met.