Talia Leonhart
I awoke rapidly opening my eyes and jumping from my laying down position to upright with my feet firmly planted on the ground. Cocking my head to the left slightly taking note of the ridiculous number of knights before me all wearing Ludwig’s symbol. They stood motionless with their weapons ready, this was most definitely real whilst also not being real like Rias’s blank city dream. Unlike her dream, mine was a vast sand landscape. This vast sand field was largely empty aside from the army of skull knights, their commander and the four towers shaped like hourglasses.
“Ah fuck me.” I groaned pulling off my jacket. Still needing more movement in my arms, I tore off my shirt’s sleeves also taking down a few buttons to have more room to move my neck. Ludwig’s knights readied their weapons towards me waiting for instruction to charge, the commander or lieutenant in charge of them reached out his hand and spoke monotone. Slow.
“Well then it means you're alive master… do you remember me? I was Swan’s friend. Now a lieutenant of Ludwig with the power of our overlord. Army of finality! Final order- kill Hera Dymira!” the lieutenant shouted. The skull knights began to move. Their movement was awkward, their hands would make little twitches with their bodies following suit afterward. The lieutenant could control this army of finality like puppets not freed from their strings. Swan’s lover a man who once went by the name Menorah, now stood before explaining his role to Ludwig, Swan and their overlord.
“My role that was ordered by the overlord, the supreme being. I’m to be ‘your death’ I'll bring your head to her. No doubt Swan will be happy… well Ludwig won't care he just wants mordid and the three princes to make you birth our weapon.” Menorah smiled drawing a large, curved sword from the western reaches of Neo-abyss our home realm. Rubbing my belly, I could feel the homunculus inside me stir, no mana came off from them but ‘nother force did. Menorah noted this but said nothing.
Once the army was several feet away from me, I clenched my left hand. Wraith light penetrated the first five layers of the troops. To Menorah’s absolute shock once I opened my hand five more layers died in an instant. From his pained gasp with his eyes opening wide, I guessed he had either forgotten or wasn’t told by swan or their supreme being how capable I was at using the wraith light even with my limited knowledge. Wraith light was magic, but it also wasn’t magic like the typical cliche stuff, it wasn’t even mana it was more akin to sorcery. Yes, you could use your intent like with mana but in the same sense, the intent had to come from more than just the head.
Mana and magic both just used the wavelengths of the brain whereas sorcery used emotion from the heart, the wavelengths produced by the brain’s thoughts and the neglect of touching mana. The whole reason sorcery was despised whilst being called a dark art of practice, people who used sorcery though were a lot more powerful than lets say a mage who became a court mage or a great mage who constructed a grand school in his name or even a kingdom.
Mages and sorcerers hated each other over simple things such as this, mages being given grand prizes, and being recognized for their works like they were the epitaph of success on the other hand in the background sorcerers were bullied. Prosecuted. Put to death over things we couldn’t control, was it racism or some sick pride even after thousands of years no one has an answer. ‘No point to dwell on it right now.’ I thought, catching a knight’s blade with wraith light before making a large explosion kill around ten or twenty puppets.
Menorah stood still watching as his puppet troops dropped dead like raining flies in the blood-red Nile. His face changed from shock to anger watching his troops just fall and fall over again until he couldn’t contain it any longer, yet he didn’t move from his spot perch above like a vulture. The knights on the other hand were never-ending, unless I used lightning mana infused with wraith light they wouldn’t stay down for long. Cracking my right wrist, I shot an indirect pulse of wraith light induced with lightning mana with no direction in mind. Being surrounded by knights did wonders to make them fall, the ten layers closest to me stayed down. Burnt.
After those ten though not much did anything to me other than a noteworthy kink in the armour or ripping of flesh under a nail. Grumbling, I gave it another shot sending the pulse out even further killing even more but the skull puppet knights certainly didn’t stop, their marching pace was slow, but they all attacked at once not giving me time to breathe to get my stamina up. Menorah spoke up raising his hand which rose the dead.
“These are my puppet knights given to me by Ludwig, I can also resurrect them. neat right?”
“I guess…” I rolled my eyes summoning a blade of pure aethereal wraith light, swinging the blade through the necks of the skull knights did something to them, the strings attaching them to Menorah became severed. Whether it was because this was no doubt in a place where my physical body couldn’t be harmed, or it was ‘nother reason entirely. Menorah became distracted watching his skull puppet knights drop, dying completely with their strings no longer attached to him.
Having a better leg to stand on with the Cross-guard longsword made it a lot easier for me than just randomly expending my mana to keep the skull puppet knights down. The more I killed though, menorah grew agitated looking from his hand to his knights then back down wrestling with the strings that weren’t connected. Twisting his hand, he reached out to his puppets, faint wires dangled from his fingers down several inches. Feeling wire pinch into my skin I swung one burst of wraith light killing the knights. The wires that clung to me burnt with no normal heat.
Running out of breath I watched Menorah slowly close his grip, which raised the knights I had just killed.
“FOR FUCKS SAKE!” I screamed plunging my blade down into the sands, killing around one hundred layers of skull puppet knights, separating them from Menorah who was not chuffed at all. Soon after my blade dissolved into nothingness from the intense amount of wraith light I had just used. The sorcery needed a longer cooldown than my mana did, my heart though would need even longer beating a lot faster than any humanoids should. Clutching my chest tight I felt the withdrawal worsen.
Hearing the clunk of the towers, I turned my head to see Menorah face me with his puppet strings firmly attached to his fingers. Menorah connected them to my limbs aside from my right arm which he didn’t seem to notice, as he pulled me up to look at me. I gripped a new blade’s handle firmly.
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“Let me take a good look at you before you become my puppet.” Menorah spoke placing his index and thumb of his left hand around my jaw and chin. I looked away from him turning towards the sands of this endless dune, just beyond the horizon I saw the faint outline of a sandstorm. Menorah still moving his index along my jaw started salivating when I took one look at me, trying my best to move my jaw I spoke in the original tongue of the wraith. The language that the modern wraiths called the war tongue.
“Look at me with one eye, not both.” I grinned cheekily wrestling away from his strings. Kicking out his knees sent him down a peg now noticing my blade glide from his waist through his chest, eventually tearing through his left windpipe and right eye. Menorah fell onto his back, gripping both his chest and neck. None of his skull puppet knights helped him as they stood motionless. With a dead look in my eyes, I watched him bleed out slowly. Painfully.
Five arching spells of earth mana shot down at my feet. Luckily dodging each I kept my eyes on Menorah still bleeding out on the ground. Ironically, he reached out his right hand towards me. Though he would no longer be able to speak through, his eyes I could tell what he wanted to say. ‘Save me.’ I didn’t move just continuing to watch him. Hearing rapid footsteps run in the sands towards him, on came a man and a woman. A male wraith I didn’t recognize who wore Ludwig’s symbol, nothing noteworthy of his appearance apart from his battle-worn clothes.
The female on the other hand I remembered well, the aide I once had. The traitor who accelerated my death nearly causing our race to fall to destruction after artura’s anger resurfaced. Swan looked at me in horror.
“Why?! You should be dead!” she screamed, her worries for Menorah’s life filtered into every word. As she cradled him in her arms, I looked towards the knight whose face matched one who would be jealous.
“Why? A cursed reincarnation doesn’t stay dead forever.” I replied simply looking at all three in turn. Swan still holding Menorah in her arms, her perfect pale blue hair becoming drenched in the dark violet blood of her lover. She still cradled him in her arms not having a care in the world for the fact her porcelain skin was being covered in violet sticky residue which was Menorah’s blood. I watched as she helplessly tried to heal him with her mana, trying her best I took my eyes off them turning my gaze to another. The knight that came with her. Battle ready, his hands firmly on his sword.
For a moment I had forgotten my own grip was on a blade. Letting go of the blade made the wraith light blade dissipate. The third person looked at me now following my eyes, he tried to speak but couldn’t for some unknown reason, and that’s when I noticed Menorah’s puppet strings had sewn their lips shut. ‘What strong loyalty?’ I thought, wanting to know his thoughts unbeknownst to Swan I removed the strings sewing her knight’s mouth shut. Moving his jaw, he looked towards his master who didn’t even notice his presence, then back to me.
“Can we leave unharmed?” He questioned; his firm grip started to falter whilst looking at me. Feeling the effects of the wraith light withdrawal worsen, I spoke but to answer his question and Swan’s own question.
“That depends. Swan look at me…” at my words Swan changed her tone from sad anger projected upon me to worrying about Menorah even more like I was going to do more damage. It should’ve been common knowledge that living beings cannot be killed inside, a mind palace or the like. “I’m alive because of who I am. People like me don’t die easily rather we don’t stay dead and to answer your question of why. I’d rather not be his slave nor yours not even the three princes… for a matter of fact I can’t because I think Menorah has noticed, have you?” my words were faint not full of emotion due to me not expressing the anger I was feeling still from her betrayal.
“Your- No that can’t be how? How do you have a child… the supreme being's plan is ruined the princes are useless now!” she shrilled staring at my abdominal region. Swan was a healer so no doubt she felt two beings, myself and my child whereas Menorah probably just felt the wraith light and the absence of mana. From what I could actively tell about my child they can’t use mana nor take it in but there was something else inside them aside from any divinity. A frame arcana, these types of power weren’t classed as mana nor were they classed as sorcery.
“You would love to know, wouldn’t you? Unluckily for us, I don’t think we have the time.” I pointed towards the giant sandstorm that had begun to pick up nearly right on top of us. Swan, her compatriot and Menorah along with myself were swept up into the sandstorm still holding our ground we kept our eyes on each other until we fully disappeared from each other’s sight, unfortunately, the sandstorm didn’t stop. Just before the sandstorm faded, I saw the lingering image of a formless eir. When the sandstorm finally ended I awoke back on the bed that I shared happily with Rias, ‘I’m back to reality.’
Propping myself up, I leaned to the left bumping right into Rias so was sleeping comfortably for what seemed like the first time in a while. Rias woke up quickly after I placed my head on her cold exposed shoulder which seemed to have been bandaged.
“I spared with artoria for a while and had forgotten how out of shape I felt. Now I’m pretty sore.” Trying to hide her soreness, Rias tried to stand up, but her back was having none of it. ‘Must have been a very long time for her to be that sore.’ I thought seeing Rias twist until she had me in her arms whilst lying down somehow getting me to lie back down as well.
…
When I could get back on my feet, I spent most of my time searching for the old members of the roundtable mainly Monarch and Jasmine. After being confident I knew where Seris was already I asked Artoria to ask if she’ll come to Numena. Other than searching for people I tried to heighten the amount of wraith light I could actively use without being burnt out, which wasn’t a whole lot since I was pregnant. At this moment however, I was more concerned about the homunculus child growing inside me.
“Tal you, okay?” Rias held my body from behind, looking over the city. I stared at the two giant towers to the north that loomed inside my head like an old dream.
“I think so. I'm still thinking on the sand place with its four towers, how I easily overpowered Menorah then somehow Swan with her knight appeared it felt strange.” I told Rias in detail everything that happened from me waking up in that place to me killing all those puppet knights and then finally bringing Menorah to the state of near death. If Swan hadn't appeared menorah would have likely died by my blade or some form of wraith light. The thing about me overpowering one of Ludwig’s lieutenants was beginning to bug me.
“Since remembering more of my life as Marin… I came to realize that places such as mind places and mindscapes are subjective to those who are linked through multiple means. Let’s say a god and human go into a mindscape but they enter somewhere that the human had been. The human would be stronger but on the same note that could be reversed with the god being stronger.” Rias paused remembering her own experience in mind palaces. “In every life, I have been in mind palaces. Died, killed its maker or overpowered it. One thing I've always had to remember mind places only work as long as fear isn’t induced.”
“Fear kills the mind… poisons it?”
“Not entirely. Fear will mess with the mind palace’s integrity, slowly destroying it like the sandstorm you encountered. I believe the wording for them is mind killers. Certain things will be brought to life outside the mind palace like the fact Menorah can no longer speak.” Even though she was using an example, she couldn’t help but let out a single chuckle about it. The news had begun to circulate that somehow Menorah no longer could speak or even move his tongue. The ability was gone altogether, people began to question who could’ve done it, no one had answers. No doubt some people knew what happened as Swan didn’t keep her mouth shut.
“Anyway, you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine Rias. Have you found anyone of the old table yet?”
“Trying. Artoria is looking for Seris. I'm trying to find Bedivere and Galahad which isn’t so easy when Bedivere is a travelling bard and Galahad well we know how good he is at hiding. Gawain has betrayed us… not really a shocker, Percival is coming here apparently. Lancelot is a lieutenant and Lionell is somewhere.” Rias seemed almost happy telling me where her former knights were and what they were doing partly.
“What about Morgana?” I asked turning to face Rias who pointed towards where the city Nyxus was. According to Rias, she contacted Morgana after a letter of her whereabouts was handed to her, there was one condition that Rias allowed. Morgana has since gone to Nyxus and began to help out with the less harsh conditions of labour work whilst polishing her witchcraft as her wandering self would like.
“Thinking about it now Galahad didn’t retain his mastery over earth mana nevertheless he has gained healing sorcery and wind mana. Alex wants to teach him how to use healing sorcery which is similar to her healing mana. I wonder how that will go?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d think of her as a daughter!” I laughed. In Galahad’s past life, he lived a normal life as a knight who had loyalty for his people but there was a girl he cared for the most, a nameless orphan. Eventually, he took her in, treating her like his own daughter after she grew up, she became a nurse which lasted until mordid paralyzed her. This didn’t go down well with anyone not even Mordid’s allies.