You will never be warm once you die, but you will never be cold or hot either. However, is this really a give-and-take? Or do you lose it all, the privilege to feel pain?
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…Heaven was not how Blodelshein thought it would be. It was not a place of clouds and warmth, but a winter forest, a running creek melody nearby.
By the serene lullaby of the mountain, she began to fall asleep once more. It was cold, but that did not bother her much, for she was used to it.
Zzz…—
— It was only when she noticed a massive ball of snow, tumbling toward her from a mountain at an incredible speed that she decided to hurriedly stand up. Thankfully, a boulder destroyed the ball with a CRASH, and it split into nonlethal chunks. However, she was unfortunately still smashed into the freezing water.
It seemed that she was still bound to this plane of suffering…
“Ouch…”
From the pile of snow rose a man — a foreign man. Probably a dark forest elf from the shade of his skin. He was equipped in light gear, topless except for hoisters and elementary armour, in a distinctly Avangardian style. What was he doing inside the colossal snowball? Blodelshein’s eyes began to glow a feint purple as she activated her talent to learn more about his mind, and there she learned that he too, was a hero, and so inquired.
However, only a strange response returned. Inferring from their current situation, the position of mountains and the season… They must’ve all been reincarnated far into the future or past from different points in time. While she spoke in an evolved variation of Alsdionn, the man spoke Amstanvan, the same language as Kyriekaos. Thankfully, her talent ⌈First Person Theatre⌋ allowed her to peer into the realm of the Psyche, which stored all infromation regarding one’s thoughts, perception, motor control and dreams. This meant that she could read the minds of others, and make small changes onto the libraries of mind when needed.
During the usage of this skill the time in the physical realm was slowed to a snail’s pace, and all she had to do was to was to find the passage that kept all knowledge on his language, and copy it for her own use.
After only seconds, they were able to have comprehensible conversations.
“...You’re a hero too?” asked the man.
“Y-yeah…”
“That’s great! Here, let me help you a bit.”
The elf lit a fire above his fingertip, and while Blodelshein expected him to simply use the flame to try to warm them, he instead lit himself on fire.
“Wait! Wait! What are you doing?!” said Blodelshein as she began splashing the freezing water in his direction.
“Woah! It’s fine! See?” replied the hero, blocking the attack.
Blodelshein soon realized that the self-immolation must’ve been some kind of strange spell, but she saw that ths light wounds from his fall began to heal themselves.
“No need to worry about my talent.”
“...Anyways, what were you doing in that snowball?”
“Hm… Well, I think I was just resurrected atop a mountain, but I was feeling a bit drowsy so I fell asleep, and now I’m here!”
“Huh…”
It was truly impressive how he slept through the… entire forest.
“I’m Sacrosanct by the way, what’s your name?”
“...Blodelshein.”
“Great! But what now…”
The two returned away from the water, and began to dry themselves with Sacrosanct’s talent. Strangely, the flames did not hurt to touch, and instead felt like the embrace of the summer sun, and it even healed injuries — though only Sacrosanct’s. It was no ordinary fire, perhaps a new state of matter of a new element.
“Incredible…”
“Pretty cool, huh? I call this talent simply ⌈PASSION⌋!”
“Hm.”
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“Huh? Don’t you want to learn more about my talent?”
“...I’m fine.”
Blodelshein did not need to hear any more. She had already read his mind, and learned all about his talent. However, she was unable to access any deeper memories, such as his origin and life before resurrection.
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
Soon, a loud noise of blades being sharpened began ringing throughout the forest. It was truly a strange sound, as if inviting any opponents to challenge.
“...Well, shall we check it out?”
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In the hidden retreats of the forest, lay a massive tree named Golgono, protected by its neighbouring disguises and hostile creatures. It was an area specifically barriered by a chainlink fence, something neither heroes had seen before.
After climbing over the fence, assisted by Sacrosanct, the two continued to approach the grinding sound.
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
During their travel, they noticed various changes in the environment — new species of mushrooms and flowers, as well as unseen critters. It was a strange new world, but it was still clear that they were within the nation of the Goddess. However, this new world reminded Blodelshein that Wundergartenn, the nation she had established, must’ve been long gone.
Blodelshein glimpsed a familiar vision — a vision of her past.
During her era, there were no forests or lakes. No grass, no clouds. This was not due to industrialization, but due to a terrible war against Ssalgram, which became Sonosis afterwards. It was a war that shook both nations to their core, and the war was long and excruciating, lasting five generation of heroes — over a hundred years. Blodelshein was the one to finally bring an end to the conflict, yet the scars left were unreversable. It came to be known as the “End of Eden War” as the Goddess was sealed away to preserve humanity.
Blodelshein continued to face forward as it seemed that her journey was not yet over. As long as she lived, the suffering would continue and so be it. To live to live, to die to die. That was one of the natural laws.
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
The root of the tree was now visible from their location, and at its base sat a lone figure, sharpening their blade.
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
The noise was still resonating loudly in the air, almost acting as soft wind.
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
The girl noticed the two, and now Blodelshein could take a good look. She had snow-white hair and golden eyes — beautiful as the stars. It was a sharp beauty, the charm of a tiger and it reflected her fierce past alongside the two scars, one crossing her nose down to her jaw diagonally, and another perpendicular to the first, lower on the face, told of an epic tale. Even the scars seemed to add to the beauty, as alongside the muscular figure and a warrior’s funeral garment of Blodelshein’s time — to be worn at death — combined to illustrate a tantalizing imagery of a fatal beauty.
However, she did not stop sharpening her blade.
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
Upon further inspection, the blades seemed to be a work of Murasama, a renowned bladesmith of the Shiryu nation of the far east. The girl must’ve been from a similar time as Blodelshein, perhaps later as she did not recognize the blade, but it seemed better than anything else he had previously crafter — a masterpiece. It was not his conventional, oriental blade, but combine the western elements with the eastern, a double-bladed long sword, but with the light weight and swiftness of a normal katana.
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
“He-lloooo? Anybody in there?” asked Sacrosanct while Blodelshein was budy inspecting the blade.
As she expected that the girl would not understand Sacrosanct’s language, the hero attempted to read her mind. However, everything in her mind seemed to be a mess, a jumbled collection of various memories and information. Blodelshein knew many like her, though they mostly kept to themselves in asylums. This had the possibility of becoming a dangerous situation. At least from the memories, it seemed that the stranger spoke Blodelshein’s language — Wundionn.
“...”
Shkkkkk
Shkkkkk
It was beginning to become frustrating to stand here, listening to this unpleasant noise. However, it was clear that she had something in mind — a plan for something greater. This was a bait, and it seemed that it had caught two more than expected.
The girl swiftly dropped from the base of the tree onto the soft grass, and in that instant, the massive tree suddenly vanished into a bottomless tunnel generated beneath it.
All around them, the ground began to fall and the sky trembled, as a giant figure seemingly emerged from the backdrop of nature. And with a roar, the colossal beast eventually manifested itself, a mountain-sized demonic creature which resembled a woman, but with fangs, wings and tentacles. four eyes on the left and three on the right decorated the World Beast’s face as well as wings on each side covering her face. Large horns resembling dark blades protruded from her forehead, a warning for all warriors daring to challenge her. She had four wings on her back to dominate the skies, and twelve tentacles extending from just below to dominate the seas. She was the deification of Sol-Aegis, a creation of the demon God and the 15th demon lord of Sonosis. She was:
“Tiamat,” said the white-haired warrior in the language Blodelshein spoke, “so we meet again.”
However, no response returned, but the delirious grief-anger manifested as a tantrum. The World Beast almost looked sick — as if it was possessed by disease. Even Sacrosanct could tell that she was not of the right mind. The girl prepared her katana, as well as another blade — this time fully western. Though it was visually unremarkable, it had the oppressive aura of a divine artifact.
Sacrosanct prepared himself against, lighting himself once more with the flames of passion. However, in his confused state, it was difficult to burn brightly.
Blodelshein only hoped that this would be their final demon lord encounter, but probably not. This was the fate of a hero after all.
And so, the battle between nature incarnate, and humanity enraged once more.