“Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.”

The Ankou recited above Mae as Deiman and the Impuritas Gustus clashed in the chamber of chains.

“I believe I made myself clear when I said that all three of them needed to return alive. But on behalf of Mori and his namesake, it would be a disgrace to turn my head away from that anomaly.”

“Deiman! Did you hear that?! You don’t… have to worry about me – Gaaah!”

“The message of the Brightest Star did not specify how we will return you, only that you return alive. A Maestro with no Heart to latch onto is bound to become a lost little lamb.”

A sharp pain spread across her back and prevented Mae from crying out any further. The Ankou sank his bony fingers into her flesh, pushing aside muscle fibers as he compressed her ribs like an accordion.

“I, for one, once knew what pain was like. How it holds us. Freezes us like the promised abyss at the bottom of the inferno. Pain is a cold thing, is it not, Maestro? Only the living can be played like instruments by your kind. They fear death and pain the license of submission. But it is through pain that one is forced to cherish the sands of their fleeting hourglass.”

Mae’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as he plucked on tendons and nerves like strings.

“Hypocrites do not deserve a place beside us in the heavens”

“You’re not afraid… that you could be next on the chopping block…? All of you… Ankous… are just as heartless as we Maestros are…”

“The reality is that many of us higher up do indeed have hearts of our own. Otherwise, we would not have lost a spectacular candidate Star. Hypnos was so close to gaining an Apple.”

The Ankou watched Deiman intently as he fought with Autumn in his arms. He could only utilize his staff to meet with Gustus’ devastating swings, and use magic encased in light to control the battlefield.

“You aspired for an Apple too.” He twisted his hand within her body.

“I… Didn’t…”

“You wanted to become complete like us.”

“Nothing… like you… We Maestros… wanted to be acknowledged by the world…”

“Is that not any different than becoming a Star? To become complete? I’m curious about that one. Deiman, was it? It’s beautiful. A Corrupted that still retains cognitive reasoning. Rationality born from the depths of insanity. To be not only true to yourself, but to remain sane is achievable after all.”

Suddenly, he robbed Mae of a rib, leaving her screaming as he held it up like he was brandishing a dagger.

“But we are deemed ‘impurities’. We cannot become Corrupted. We were robbed of that ability to become our true selves. The Apples and the Piece of the Fallen Star are our only avenues. Once they realize that regular people can achieve such forms, all of the Derma Layer will call for war.”

The Ankou was certain of this. It was unfair to them that they were barred from Corruption, which they saw as the ultimate exaltation of their gnosis; their self; and everything they believed in.

Deiman and Gustavus were evenly matched. Were it not for Autumn, Mae and the Ankou, then Deiman would have easily slain him. The odds were too stacked against him, and his heart was too brittle to allow Mae to suffer any further.

Additionally, Autumn’s life continued to slip between his fingers. The longer the battle was drawn out, the closer to death she’d become. There was no guarantee that they’d let Autumn live.

Aside from her eyes, she was just an ordinary human.

Magic augmented with light cleaved through boulders. At first, all that Deiman could summon were the lances from his spear. The few that weren’t slashed out of the air were stuck into his body like giant arrows, but they did not seem to slow him down.

Rather, the more injuries Gustus accumulated, the stronger he became. The colossal chains were the only object that could shrug off their attacks as scars formed along the cave, creating new channels.

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Lances that pierced the walls caused water to gush through like the blood of a beast.

Mae knew that Deiman could not win in these circumstances.

And she had a feeling that the Ankou were interested in resurrecting whichever of them fell, including Autumn. She knew how they manipulated their victims, usually through the use of puppeted lovers or kin.

It was in their interest to either control Deiman or to experiment on him.

Mae needed to find a way to fight her own battle.

“… You’re… delusional… You’ve been… smoking too much of that hypnotic shit…”

Mae bit back with a snarl.

“… if they knew… that… people can become like this… without the Brightest Star’s help… then yeah, it’ll be a cry for war alright. That fucked up, white-haired… blue eyed… Star… is not doing this for us! Fuck... the fact that we can’t Corrupt! Has he ever… done anything for us!? He pitted us against the Amalgam! The Amalgam! You’re only able to say this because you haven’t met what kind of a monster they are! And we have to pay the price! AANGH!”

Another rib was taken from her back.

“Do not try to test my patience.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! IS IT GETTING THROUGH TO YOU YET!? IS THERE A BRAIN STILL IN THERE OR DID YOU LET THAT ROT AWAY TOO!?” Mae screamed. “Your faction was not supposed to get dragged into this – GGGGHHK!”

And another.

“AND THAT SAME MONSTER IS THE REASON WHY THE NEXUS IS THE STRONGEST IT’S EVER BEEN! Who… benefits from all of this in the end? Think about it… if you say you have a heart of your own… if you’re really afraid of death, then what the fuck are you still doing fighting against the Amalgam!?”

This time, an entire arm was ripped clean off her torso.

“We can replicate. The Amalgam and those of the Nexus cannot. Death is their ultimate weakness. The Ateliers are who we must fear, now more than ever with the return of the Iron Stars and Black Moons. The Amalgam is not our problem. Going on the offensive against the Amalgam was what catalyzed their response against us. As long as we work away from the light of the Nexus, then we can achieve what we wish.”

“… And you think… they’ll just let that happen…? After how much… we tried to screw with them…? All because of that prophecy…?”

Her other arm was taken as well, leaving her to bleed out.

“Realize this, Maestro, that I am being exceptionally patient with you.”

The prick of a needle invigorated her with newfound life. The Ankou possessed a blue Healing Serum, which had been stolen from the Wandering Healer. Her bleeding stopped, but her arms didn’t return.

Mae’s face paled as her legs went limp.

Her toes struggled to touch the ground.

“We have not formally crossed paths with the Amalgam as of yet thanks to our caution. I believe we can come to a mutual understanding. They want to be left alone, and we simply want to forsake this cold shell. Immortality comes at the price of depriving oneself of one’s intimate senses. The Amalgam is empathetic for their own kind as I’ve heard, but I cannot see them caring about a nation like this if they were willing to burn down countless in the Nex Megalopolis.”

“… Is that why… the Amalgam… took the Painters under their wing… and brought our instruments out of the Derma Layer…? Don’t you think… that we… partnered with the wrong person…?”

“There are many people like the Brightest Star seeking for something as abstract as our one collective wish. The Broken Thorn consists of the delusional who are not even impurities like us. The enigmatic Authors, Unblessed beasts close to the Rivers of our continents, sightings of horrors beyond our shores, people who came before us. We’re merely the only ones who are in the spotlight of, as our accursed enemies of Act X would say, this grand theatrical. Now watch. The human is dying.”

“… Then stop this already…! You have a healing Serum! Use it…!”

“That would be a waste. I was told to bring them back alive, but that Corruption has far more value than a girl with red eyes.”

“You – DEIMAN RUN! AUTUMN IS GOING TO TURN INTO A CORPSE PUPPET! SHE’S – AAAAAAAH!”

He tore out a handful of ribs, rendering her incapable of speaking any further.

“Do not interrupt this Danse Macabre.”

Autumn was quickly drawing her last breaths. She weakly squirmed in Deiman’s arms as explosions of stone grazed her skin. She looked up at Deiman through bloodied eyes and whimpered:

“I… don’t want to die…”

“Then embrace the immortality that the Gods have offered us!”

“I would rather… lose everything I have… than to become… like them… like you.”

“Ahahaha! You disappoint me, Autumn! Just like that hag! You are both mages! Can you even comprehend what you can achieve when years no longer tick down on our lives!? We can remain human forever! We can outlast every disease!”

He slashed at Deiman, barely missing his face as they engaged in close quarters combat. Deiman had to keep flinging himself backwards as his floating staff clashed with enough force to create sparks between their weapons.

“Every calamity!”

Each heavy clang caused the ground to destabilize. At the worst possible moment, Deiman’s lost his footing. His staff blocked a downwards swing as the two became locked in a long clash. Gustus’ adamantium blade loomed over them, slowly inching its way down.

“And every piece of filth that swarms our lands! It will all start with you, Demi-Human!”

“No… It won’t… I will not keep bowing and nodding my head along to every human that blames me for things I never did!” Deiman finally spat back, his conviction enamoring a dying Autumn.

Slowly, he pushed back against the blade.

“… Deiman…” Autumn whispered. “… I’m… going to tell you something… risky… It’s a technique… I learned from my Teacher’s master… But it’s too strong for… me… Funny, how we both… had teachers… In another world… maybe we both could’ve… attended a magical academy…”

“Stay with me Autumn! We’ll get out of this! I will… I…!”

“… You’re a genius… so I think… you might know this one…”

Autumn | HP: 10 | 450