“How long has it been? A few weeks no… a few months see we saw eye to eye?” a voice spoke out in the darkness. I looked around to see the origin of the voice at first, I couldn’t see them then a person appeared with a flash of a golden light. An appearance I had seen before it was Marin, my past self. She stepped towards me hiding her face under that white veil, I felt the urge to remove it, but I held back just looking her over. She didn’t say much neither did I in return, but she did make me hold out my hand.
“Unlike the rest of your past selves, I won’t hide the truth from you. I’m not your first life what you experience in my life is nothing compared to another… so I do this for you I hope you wake up soon. It’s time to wake up fearless angel of divinity.” As quick as Marin appeared she was gone.
“Wait I have so many questions!” I shouted in the darkness watching Marin disappear with her index finger over her rose-coloured lips. When Marin fully disappeared, memories forced themselves into my head, all the ones I had forgotten not all were good either. Screams of agony from children all the way to the elderly. An uncountable number of lives unjustly taken. Lives I should have stopped but I was naïve and served Talos like my brother castil as his dog. I gripped my head tightly in a cradle-like position, I could feel all of it at once the pain I had committed onto others and unto me. There were some good memories like the family I had formed after leaving Talos and then forming the sororitias.
“WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!” I screamed trying to push everything away from my mind yet whenever I did it would come back even worse.
“Don’t push away your sins and memories you want to forget. If you want to move on you have to realise every part that you were at fault. We made mistakes in that body but now we can right those wrongs… even if it’s too late.” Marin appeared once again. Helping me to my knees, she brought me into a hug like my mother always would. “Stay together Rias. Your battle is far from over… maybe you don’t want to fight but let’s not fret over that for now mhm?” I didn’t respond as tears formed in my eyes. Marin didn’t speak any further keeping quiet she placed her left hand on the back of my head.
“I CAN’T! I CAN’T!” I finally responded through my tears. Marin slightly pushed me away, so I faced her looking into her eyes. She shook her head removing her veil she spoke up. “As you have all our memories you can use all our magic, correct?” she paused taking a breath when I nodded. “I know it's hard but with my memories, we can beat this and not succumb to madness. Hopefully.” Marin didn’t seem hopeful at all as she spoke, I didn’t flinch as she pulled me to my feet.
Gaining my balance quickly, rendering me steady I looked towards Marin for my next steps as right now I was unable to willingly leave this place without a third party involved. Marin looked at me with a faint sorrow-filled smile, wanting to pique my curiosity slightly I asked Marin a few questions.
“I have a few questions,” I said feeling the sudden heat of the world begin to surround me.
“You don’t have much time but go ahead,” Marin spoke cocking her head to the right. Her blonde and black faded straight locks flowed unnaturally as she took a step closer.
“Can you tell me about a life before yours?… erm the other two questions. Who am I meant to be? What should I do?” I asked Marin, she looked at me for a second thinking probably for a plausible answer to my questions. These were questions I wanted to know the answers to as they plagued my mind like an infestation. Through her mumbling and grumbling, It was clear she was trying hard not to give much away.
“First question. Once I told you… you had a life before me, but you had two or more. one you'll have to discover yourself like the rest, but I can give you a clue on one of them a name. In one of those lives, they called you ‘the nameless butterfly’ you know what I'll tell you another name ‘Raven’. The second question… that’s for you to decide. Be a queen like fate wants or create something more than queenship. Third question. What should you do? good question recover the fragments of Malfera you have one no two already so six to go.” Marin pointed towards my chest.
“The eclipse core, was it? The actual name for it is… Numen’s Aeyna. It’s one of eight fragments scattered across realms to seal the foremother’s power. I'll tell you more in time but the third fragment you need is called the ‘the spider lily’ and is actually a part of my crown in the Archstone. Now I've answered your questions for now at least. Time for you to return to the real world.” She paused placing her index and middle fingers on my forehead forcing my appearance to alter again slightly. Two distinct black lines flowed down from either eye to just below my collar bone forming a diamond-like shape on my chest.
In her hand, Marin held two elven swords and a blindfold to go with a more casual outfit. Reaching out with my outstretched mechanical fingers, I gripped the black blindfold of thin ribbon that you could just see the hue of my eyes through. Holding the decorative black ribbon blindfold in my hand, I felt the weight and the texture. I didn’t waste time, placing it on over my eyes. Still being able to see perfectly I grabbed hold of the two elven blades that Marin who still held them. The two elven blades resonated once they were in my grip. swinging each in turn I listened to the sound of the resonating and the sound of the mana inside said blades.
The sound the blades made when I swung them was something akin to an ethereal swoosh or haunting echoing scream. The lightweight feel was probably the reason for this and not the fact that these two blades were once a raven steel longsword. My once raven steel longsword as a queen’s guard was now reforged well remade into two elven blades with intricate embossing along the handle or grip as some called it. The intricate embossed patterns consisted of floral wisps mixed with barbed flower stems that conjoined on the guard and tang shoulder.
These embossed patterns formed three spider lilies that continue to the very end of the forte down the middle of the first blade. All this on one blade whereas the other had slightly different designs more akin to gothic. The second elven blade had a golden black flaked flower-shaped pommel that followed a similar style of the embossed thorned branches that even continued further down to the forte over the guard. When the thorns reached the forte, they amalgamated into one singular tree with runes carved into its bark down to the middle section of the blade.
The blade with the golden black flaked flower pommel followed the same colour scheme which was opposed by the other elven blade painted and polished with a pristine Roman silver and cerulean blue. Each blade also came with a matching leather sheath. The sheaths were even embossed with the same designs as the blade inside. A sudden gush of exasperated heat washed over me letting me know I was able to return to the real world.
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Marin with a faint happy smile waved me goodbye as my soul body started to disappear and my mind started to return.
“AH! My fucking head!” I screamed gripping it tightly. Raising my eyes slightly I saw Syvil and sophra look abhorred that I was alive, and my wounds were healed. Getting to my feet as quickly as possible I watched Sophra's face turn from abhorrence to shock to disbelieve. Which made this better than I was letting on, then again seeing Syvil practically shitting himself was not a sight to behold.
“HOW?!” she screamed exasperated. I just shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly replying.
“Magic?” my reply definitely didn’t go down well as she somehow summoned an entirely different weapon being, a cursed blade of unremarkable design similar to a bastard sword. My quick-witted response didn’t seem to have any gravity, yet my personality shift did. It wasn’t a full change but at least it was noticeable. In the back of my mind, I could sort of tell where the personality change was coming from exactly. ‘The nameless butterfly’ my thoughts aligned to this single entity one of my previous selves that Marin had stated was stripped from the annuls of time.
The personality change was coming from that, the title alone awakened a sense inside. Myself, sophra and Syvil didn’t express pleasantries just stared at each other in silence as the blistering cold wind began to pick up. Shifting my focus from Sophra I placed my gaze upon Syvil whilst also reaching for my odachi. Falling short, my hand twitched like it was stopping itself from gripping the blade. Unlike Red Death which I couldn’t use its full power as I wasn’t fully worthy of wielding it, the odachi on the other hand took on the role of my crown and became my powers limiter or Marksricht.
Pulling my hand away from the odachi I gripped my two elven blades hanging from a leather belt that was sewn to the sheaths on my right thigh. Gripping the two blades, I took a rather long deep breath, staring Syvil down calmly sliding my left foot across the plain tulip field. I began to rift-step imbuing it with lightning. Even though I had gained control of the mana aspect of lightning I still didn’t fully understand its capabilities then again, the more I used it, I seemed to unknowingly master it like I had always known how to use it. ‘So, mastery works over lifetimes kinda.’ Though something felt off I began to understand why it was vital to remember my lives in full.
If Marin’s words were anything to go off this meant that the life when I was ‘Raven’ was something incredibly important from the way she looked when saying the name. The only Raven I could think of was a legend well myth with not much to go off other than she was called a ‘primordial slayer’ or ‘deus ex machina.’ Many even called the apostle of dead brides.
“Bitch!” Syvil cried as my black embossed elven sword sank deep into the top of his shoulder, shattering bone and severing muscle like it was a hot knife through soft ice. Severing the tendon in his shoulder. Now with the inability to use his right arm meant he either had to focus his sword or just magic. He knew it was too late by the time he reached me, my second blade was plunged deep into his left lung. Blood splattered everywhere covering both of me and sophra in the elf’s thin light green blood. Syvil didn’t scream like humans but howled feeling the oxygen leave his lungs in droves.
A painful death.
Sophra was visibly shaken watching Syvil try his best to cling onto life. sheathing my blades, I turned to her and just gazed upon her. She didn’t speak. Her eyes grew large from shock, diluted from the sight no one should witness not even your worst enemy well if they weren’t the three princes of Riel. She tried to take a step back in her exasperated shocked state and ultimately tripped falling onto the ground and onto her backside. Syvil was still squirming beneath my foot that was firmly planted on his chest slowly crushing his ribs down to his heart with his mana core starting to leak from the cracks that had formed.
The squirming continued even as I took my eyes off sophra returning to stare at Syvil whose eyes had lost all life. A harrowing shriek left Syvil’s lips as the funking vibration of my boot crushed his ribs, puncturing his heart in several places down to his mana core that imploded with mana no longer being able to contain itself. His body slowly began to turn to ash being blown in the wind to never be discovered again. Body and mind were both gone from this world, the remains of his soul dissipated to be collected by the ferryman Charon on his way down the river Styx.
When it finally hit the surroundings, Sophra didn’t run for the hills. She teleported away. Covering her mouth with her thin pale cream left hand didn’t stop the gargling blood and vomit. Her hair began to turn white from its natural dirty blonde near auburn bronze. I found it odd someone so used to using people through manipulation and seduction was horrified at me crushing a man’s heart. ‘Maybe she did care for Syvil then.’ I thought watching her body blur from the teleportation that was occurring. As much as I wanted her dead by my own hands, I should-- no need to let her go so she can tell Lyron and his buddies what had happened especially the cowards who betrayed me.
It was necessary to the overall plan that I have formulated for the coming five to ten years. It wasn’t complete of course all plans need to be amended from time to time, and Sophra being alive was part of that plan. I didn’t want to use people but there was a chance id have to. It made me seem like a hypocrite, yet I had to use her so I could find and kill my brother Castil. When the ash of Syvil’s body was fully taken I moved away from the scene turning towards the citadel of the silver elves.
…
A few days later.
I knelt before Elinore who was still visibly shaken but was able to function enough to appear fine. Elinore looked at me her eyes bloodshot, her skin was a blank white filled with scarring, bruises and an unnatural amount of blotchy red skin in areas such as her fingertips and her neck. The entirety of her arms and legs plus the portion of her lower neck were bandaged in cream thin fabric. I tried my best to smile but my head just hung low finding it hard to form words or even look at her in such a sorry state.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? My old friend artura… my goddess Marin.” Elinore’s once perfect and motherly voice now sounded hoarse, rough and raw. Keeping my head bowed I didn’t reach out my arms, I just fell completely to my knees with my arms draped down my sides. A gasp involuntarily left my throat as two thin arms wrapped themselves around me, their frail thinness dug into my body like thorns around my heart, but I was calm. Sad. I was also happy.
Tears began to form across my eyeline, pulling me into her lap Elinore began to move her arms to my head where she placed her callused scarred hands on my cheeks. Their course surface graced my cheeks with every twitch of her fingers. When the tears started to flow I could feel them seep through the very small gap between Elinore’s fingers and my cheeks. Out of something akin to sadness, Elinore moved my head so I would look upon her with my own eyes. Still not having the guts to say anything I just stared at her feeling broken. Powerless. If only I had left sooner and known long before maybe I could have stopped all of this.
“I can recognize that face anywhere. No matter if you're blindfolded or have markings on it…” she paused motioning me to stand on my own two feet, I tried to resist the urge. I just couldn’t and after a long few seconds of hesitation. Standing before my old friend I once helped build this very city, I tried with all my might to smile. “The once proud artura pendragon and Marin, the heart of our kingdom standing before me. Welcome back.” She smiled through her own tears that flowed ever so gracefully down the unaffected porcelain white skin on her face.
Elinore with her weak strength tried to pull herself up from her wheelchair grabbing hold of the walking stick that stood two paces away from me still close enough to reach. Realising I still had the blindfold on I began to untie it from under the bundle of hair tied through it in a short ponytail. Quicker than I imagined, Elinore placed her hands over mine weaving her hands through my hair. she began to hold the blindfold’s bond. My golden eyes grew wide from under the thin fabric of embarrassment I tried to look away as Elinore came close enough, that she could kiss me.
Ever so delicately Elinore pulled the fabric’s twisted bond, and the fabric began to loosen from my eyes. When the fabric finally freed itself Elinore looked me properly in the eyes now being able to see my golden eyes. For the first time in this life, I spoke words I wanted to say in my former lives as well.
“Thank you. Elinore for not giving up.” I forced a smile feeling the fabric be tied around my mechanical hand which was on full display from how I wore my clothes. Elinore hiding the fact her face turned red, placed her head on my chest holding onto me, so she didn’t fall onto the ground. Elinore gripping the back of my open back shirt turned from left to right taking in a few breaths before speaking again.
“Thank you for coming to save me. Artura, I know this seems quick, but I want to help you rebuild your kingdom… your empire.”