I stared longingly at the spitting image of me sitting on the lowly steps of the pyramid. Taking a breath to ease my racing heart I walked through the memory and up the pyramid’s steps. Still gripping red death, I could feel it resonate even more with whatever was at the top. I began to feel everything, around me past and present stopping for a second, I turned to face the biosphere behind me. It continued as if I wasn’t present all protected by one singular force that has been waiting.
Turning to walk again I ascended the black slate steps towards the glinting light I had seen before when entering this place, the further I walked up with red death the more I felt the resonating force. Still climbing I could feel my grip on red death begin to slip as it slowly faded from my grip, yet when it did fade the feeling of it being held was still there but above me at the top of the pyramid. I began to question things that I already knew about myself and the weapons I held in my hands. Red Death seemed to be a part of whatever was at the top of the pyramid. Something divine sat atop this large slate pyramid.
With every step, my clothing shifted against my will. My average clothes that I wore when in Numena from the knee-high boots, the tight-fitting clothes even the corset seemed to change form to the more traditional garb of this place then to my armour with some added changes of the fabric over my left shoulder and the helm upon my head. The heavy helm forged anew with a spiked thorned crown upon it with a golden plume overhead flowing down past the shoulders.
Then it faded back to the clothing I wore when I entered this biosphere. The closer I got to the top of the pyramid the more of me that changed in appearance, from just clothing to even the colour of my hair shifted. Not letting it draw my focus I kept moving. The memories of the youngest flooded into my head, they weren’t my own like I thought before but similar to a life I must’ve had once upon a time.
Well, not that it mattered much as I continued forward so close to the top of the pyramid. Every time I did take a step the resonating force caved into my head making me have a second-long headache. More and More memories tore their way into my mind making me remember things in a fashion that weren’t exactly right but close enough to the truth it didn’t seem off. Shaking my head to cast these thoughts away coming to reach the final step atop the pyramid, the memories began to slow when I laid my eyes upon a glaive. Its golden and silver blade glinted the radiance of divinity, the magic had been preserving the blade for aeons long past before epochs and primordials even thought of.
The glaive was nothing like anything I had seen before. The ebony wooden shaft was etched with words from a language that malphent used. Ascensionism. The words were surrounded by two bands of a yellowy metallic material and what seemed like red moon rock. The ornamental grip matched with the pommel. The pommel end of the glaive had a red moonrock, from what I could see the moonrock was shaped like a blood eclipse. A blood eclipse or blood moon is an event that occurs near the end of an epoch, or when I reincarnate.
This moonrock from how old the magic preserved it in a stationary state, I could tell this moonrock came from the first blood moon which. ‘How do I know that?’ shaking my head to push the thought away so I could take a ‘nother look at the blade. Its golden silver blade still radiating divinity called out to me, the crude design could do with some reworking. Steeling myself again I reached out with my mechanical hand the blade began to resonate further but I stopped halfway.
Reaching out with my human hand gripping the glaive tight. The world around me changed once again, with more clarity I could see more than before. Taking a deep breath with a long release, slowly and effortlessly pulling the glaive from its position feeling the world around me change more still, turning towards the entrance. The bioluminescent biosphere reacted to the glaive being pulled from atop the pyramid that only now it had occurred to me. This pyramid and this biosphere were a temple. All of it was a representation of an entire lifetime of a being with a task to claim their birthright yet they never got there. Resulting in them passing the torch through this weapon.
This was the answer Rold hinted at in his notebook. This place wasn’t meant to give you an answer to every question it was in fact a place where you could seek the answer yourself without depending on others to find it for you. The question I had been asking in this life like my other ones was who I was meant to be, and what was I to people. This glaive along with the memories showed me what I could be to people. A saviour or a shepherd. An answer I didn't think was right at first stared me in the face. To some I was a queen, their empress yes but to others I was a saviour, a Shepard to lead them into the next epoch. I accepted that.
With my acceptance of the answer, divinity began to wash over me. Becoming in control of it to some degree. Yes, it would take a while for me to master it however when I can fully control its basic form, in this moment I believe it will be worthwhile. Before I descended back down the pyramid, I swung the glaive a few times feeling for its weight. It didn’t look as heavy as it felt that might have been because the moonrock and ebony raven steel made up the blade or something else. Unfortunately, at this stage, there was no way to imbue my mana into the weapon not that it bothered me seeing as divinity was a unique power in itself.
After stopping my swinging movements and staring out at the biosphere it wasn’t hard to imagine what this place would be like in a thousand years or more time. The semi-translucent dragon I had seen before when I entered had now changed into a large golden snake-like dragon befitting of an elder dragon on the verge of becoming one of the many great dragons like Reclaimer or Aethna. This being came close to me showing that it meant me no harm whilst it glanced down at the glaive, I reached out my free hand close enough to touch. This time the being didn’t seem to change form. When I took my hand away the dragon bowed turning into a humanoid, someone I knew of in the past.
Seo-han. Kneeling before me, Seo-han now became free to do as she pleased no longer guarding a weapon from those who might use it for anything but its purpose. Then again, she didn’t seem to care about leaving this place as it had been her home for so long as its guardian even before she became an eastern dragon I assume. The air became heavy with a dense atmospheric cloud that seemed to cover me completely blinding my vision. ‘Well fuck me sideways.’ I rolled my eyes at the sudden loss of vision that plagued me.
My body began to groan as every single bone twisted, churned and warped. Surprisingly the pain I was feeling from the bone reconstruction was bearable to some degree anyway. The dense shadowy fog that was clouding my vision began to envelop my body which made it take on the appearance of a cloak, not that mattered as my body began to grow. Knowing I would likely destroy the biosphere if I let this aura change me, using rift-step gave the space to get to a clear space.
Staving off the transformation would work if I had actual control over it. Nevertheless, trying my best to limit the pain, I travelled further and further from the biosphere’s main area. When I knew I was truly clear I allowed the transformation to take hold, it was quick and less painful as it continued. Instead of an unshakeable draconic roar, a violent hectic scream left my eagle-like throat. Trying my best to look at my large form I came to notice that currently, my body took on the shape of a burning eagle covered in a black shadow. My scream could be described as a reverberated, low bellowing loon’s call.
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In my shadow phoenix form, I flew through the biosphere towards the sky like I had done nearly two years ago now. Feeling at home in the air flying as far as I could, just as I reached the clouds taking in a breath, piercing the heavens as it were. I bellowed a blood-shrieking scream bellowed that was followed by high thunder and red lightning scattering across the pale grey clouds. For a second hearing the sound of the thunder I closed my eyes to the flashing red, unintentionally I remembered various dark memories.
Allowing myself to free fall.
In this free-fall, I remembered all the dark memories of my life as artura and Marin. The days I lived alone in huts and inns trying to survive away from my tyrannical father who I eventually became similar to. Remembering the days when I hunted wild sea boar as Marin on the coast of Eventide an old port city, that sat on the narrow edge of the realm between the calliope gap. Both lives with similar beginnings even endings, dying on the battlefield fighting for something bigger than myself once Talos then the effigy kings.
Even in those dark memories, I soon came to understand that there were times I was at my strongest, in those lives I had been given names which earned me a reputation even becoming feared. Names such as the light blade or virtue’s end. In my life as artura in the civil war of black radiance, I had earned the cold fearful names of Valkyrie’s bane and death’s dream. Even though I had taken on those names in that life yet in this one I hadn’t been given such cold names apart from Ash Fire and more recently saint of War.
Seeing my dark shadow in the clouds I hadn’t realised how much more giant this form was compared to the black phoenix form of two years ago. ‘Just let go… we can keep going.’ Turning one eighty through the air, I faced the ground my back towards the sky, as the ground neared closer the mountains became visible so did the two large towers that sat on either side of the mountainous range of rock. Digging my talons into the tower and mountain range, my size became apparent as my head was just a few inches from the clouds. My height would vary depending on the distance away but I was positive I was at least two thousand metres in height disregarding wingspan of course.
‘Rias! Is that yo-holy fuck your huge!’ Luna exclaimed seeing my form all the way from the capital city which I had finally decided on a name for. Eventide. The city under the sun. Not being able to keep up the shadow form any longer, slowly my body returned to normalcy, differences were evident by the clanking of metal. The black armour I was accustomed to wearing, no longer felt worn or old. This armour gave off a brand-new feeling of comfort and protection. Maybe it was the helm upon my head that gave the most comfort, that itself was a new feeling not being fully used to wearing such protection.
As my old armour had a hood sewn into the fur collar I hadn’t paid much attention to my helm choices, mostly used to wearing a face covering to limit the dust that I would breathe in. This new armour however had one advantage over many, having a helmet made of raven steel. Removing the crowned helm, I took note of how much of my armour I could see from the belts that were buckled over my thighs to the fabric down from my waist. The black steel was forged with the technique of Damascus making the raven steel even stronger.
Holding the helm before me I stared into it examining the shape even what it was made to look like. A skull with a golden jaw and two lines painted white proceeded down from the eyes even up towards the plume. The bonus of the entire skull-shaped designed helm was the large, exquisite medallion yellow dyed horsehair. Various runes painted porcelain white on my thighs even my upper arms had such runes. All drawn in the language known as Ascensionism. The last spot I could see was the rune for light painted onto my right hand’s gauntlet.
“Master. As you have collected the weapon of light, I must return to my place in Nynwon.” Seo-han delicately spoke drawing my attention towards her.
“Wait Seo. Please look out for my sister… being a rebel and primordial dragon can be quite taxing so give her a hand from time to time.” I replied passing Seo-han an amulet that I made for sifta when I was younger but never got the chance to show her the final thing. It was nothing grandiose just a green stained-glass butterfly on a chain of small silver metal links. “Protect your master seo-han.” as she disappeared warping to Nynwon I gave her a solid piece of advice that we will all need. Sifta may be a primordial dragon like reclaimer but unlike her, the dragons still see sifta as a traitor which I know from reading Rold’s notebook is just straight-up bullshit.
Sifta never betrayed her mother Vritra she bargained her own dragonhood to save her niece and sister from the malformed insane malphent who returned from the turmoil. Sifta knew what would happen to her if this went through with it Nevertheless she accepted that fact, as a result, she messed with her head and the dragons, so it seemed like she betrayed them. It was to protect them from the disciple’s influence. The only ones who know the truth of what she did are Vritra and Quinn who are both dead to my knowledge the only other people were Rayenfur and Rold.
I couldn’t say much on the matter of the disciples as frankly, I know fuck all as pretty much all I know are from ancient texts, Rold’s notebook and Riva who to my knowledge is or was a disciple. Though I knew Riva was a disciple I knew of other disciples just their names, unfortunately. Avira, Crowna, Saria and Angrboda. Avira and Saria apparently sided with malphent in the civil war whereas Crowna with Angrboda fought against them. Crowna is known as ‘The god of torment’ and Angrboda is named the first succubus with unfathomable lust.
‘My thoughts have begun to drift away from the main… ah forget it same shit different day. at least I got the answer to one of my many questions.’ I laughed it off now looking down at my mechanical hand that was more clawed in its design just like my armour. The fingers were all shaped in a way that made it easy for me to rip through something or cut into someone, the rest of the arm followed suit. Unlike the sleek design I had when it took on the shape of a human arm, right now it took on the shape of a shadow’s arm. Scales receded up the arm about three-quarters past the elbow from the dorsal of my hand.
From the elbow area towards the shoulder, the scales were four pieces of steel that were welded through magic. These pieces of steel had small slits through them, through those slits glowed a very faint light of golden azure. The mechanical hand works just like the real one aside from the noise of the working parts just like it had before. Using it was a bit awkward in this form as the arm was heavier, even so, now I can use my arm as an actual weapon. Gripping my glaive whilst I placed my thorn-crowned helm back on my head I imagined what I would look like in the eyes of my enemies.
‘There ain’t no devil where I go until they speak stories of me.’ Reciting the words I spoke to my knights as artura, I had finally thought of several things like the name of the capital city whilst my mind also wandered to the answer to the questions that the biosphere didn’t answer. Black mountains covered in snow crunched and crackled under each of my footfalls. A king cleric beast noticed the sound of my footfall together with my mana pouring into the weapon in my hand, his gaze was furious wanting me as his target. His food. Keeping my steady pace towards the scrawny twenty-foot goat beast, his black fur bellowed in the wind as fire covered my glaive burning the very oxygen. His brown crooked horns began to burn. With the oxygen slowly burning, a whistle cried out from between the ridges of its horns.
“Unto death my golden heart, bound in blackened chains. I name you Evangelion.” The cleric beast pounced up the steep slope towards me not taking his own defence into account. Breathing out slowly, with a wide arch I swung evangelion right through the abdomen of the beast before me. The wound burned in a sizzling heat, sealing the wound almost instantly. The king cleric somehow still alive swung his oversized arms in my general direction yet it was futile seeming as if his stamina was depleting fast with every dying breath. Having some sympathy for the crazed beast, with no hesitation I ended its life was ended with me burying evangelion deep in its head.
“You didn’t give up even on your dying breath. I respect that beast.” Placing my hands on the beast, I tore my weapon from his head along with turning his corpse to ashes, so it wouldn't rot in the snow attracting even bigger predators.
…
The sea seemed a lot calmer than usual. Might have been the fact that the shadow phoenix had awakened inside me, funnily enough, it had taken long for Nynwon to hear about it. The red lightning I created along with the phoenix passed into Nynwon right as the noble side of races gathered to discuss something. According to seo-han, it involved my sister who demanded that the god races do something about Ludwig. The arrogant bastards who weren’t reclaimer herself or the leviathan king decided not to help. The nemean lion king and the rest laughed her off saying no one could challenge their decision of not doing anything, well that was until they heard my scream. From third-party accounts all the leaders became scared their faces turned pale, this may have been because the last time a shadow phoenix appeared disciples began to drop like flies.
“Let’s have fun… shall we? Luna let’s find some more grand commanders then I'll begin to crush Lyron and his pathetic group of allies.”