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[https://i.imgur.com/LoYByv0.png]
The sound of Renault’s distorted laughter faded away with his projection.
“You guys know the drill,” I addressed my guard knights, “If they’re targeting me and something unexpected happens, just follow Julius’ orders. Flik, you’ve got a communirune now so if I get caught up I’ll call on you immediately. Let’s keep the channel open.”
“By your command, Your Eminence.”
Hailey was sticking to my group, but Julius had rallied everyone else and began issuing orders.
The four Renaultians were now within distance to see clearly.
“Ah, damn,” I swore, “I really don’t wanna fight Hikita. I kinda like her.”
I recognized all but one of them. Both the twin girls from the runestone incident, Bianca and Victoria, accompanied Hikita and another woman.
There was something seemed off about all four of them.
When the white-haired Bianca began reciting in creepy verse, I knew there was definitely more going on.
“The folly of Revan greed drew the hopeful deep within the earth. When they sought power, they found weakness. Where they glimpsed gold, they were blinded.”
There was a ripple of blackness and a battleaxe dropped into her hands.
She stopped, resting its head on the stone pavers.
TARGET
STATISTICS
VALUES
BIANCA
The White Rose
HEALTH
STAMINA
MAGICKA
675 / 675
300 / 300
50 / 50
» TARGET SUFFERS FROM A NEGATIVE EFFECT:
» CURSE OF T̴̘̉̚H̴E̷̳̕ ̴̞͑̇CON̶Q̸UE̷̅̕Ṛ̴̏O̶R̴̗̘̀
I took the moment to inspect her and saw she was inflicted with a curse. The words in the readout seemed twitchy and corrupted.
I don’t like the way that looks. It feels… creepy.
“When Revan had finally lost hope,” she continued in a deadpan voice, “they came from beyond the dark. Those with sharpened spears and shadows of malice. The Great Ones decreed with elder tongue, ‘Come and see. Behold the truth.’ And Revan came to know the truth of this world.”
Bianca conjured a sigil in the shape of the Renaultian fleur.
The fourth girl was the next to approach. She looked similar to Bianca and Victoria, but had red hair and odd accessories all over her clothing. Golden clasps and gemstones adorned her in a tacky way.
That same ripple of dark void appeared, and a large curved sword fell from the tear in space.
She spoke in the same eerie way Bianca did, “And so it was that the men of Revan would battle the Ixi and elves of Ixi would slay those of Revan.”
TARGET
STATISTICS
VALUES
ARISSA
The Red Rose
HEALTH
STAMINA
MAGICKA
250 / 250
450 / 450
450 / 450
» TARGET SUFFERS FROM A NEGATIVE EFFECT:
» CURSE OF T̶̀H̶́̓E ̶̖̤͂D̶̓IV̵̼̽̓IDE̸R̵̎
Arissa stopped next to Bianca and conjured her own sigil—in the shape of a sword.
Victoria, with daggers already in hand, was heading to the other side of Bianca. She stared through me with clouded eyes.
“Cruelty was unleashed by those of Shadow. The men of Revan were routed as the indignation of the Void knows no limit.”
TARGET
STATISTICS
VALUES
VICTORIA
The Black Rose
HEALTH
STAMINA
MAGICKA
300 / 300
615 / 615
250 / 250
» TARGET SUFFERS FROM A NEGATIVE EFFECT:
» CURSE OF T̴͕̺̐̓Ḩ̶̼̾E̵̛ ̷̻͑̆O̷̗͝PP̷̦̰͑̍Ṙ̵̭E̶Ś̶̘S̸Ȏ̴̼R̶̉ͅ
Victoria stopped next to her twin.
She conjured another sigil. A pair of balancing scales.
This peculiar choreograph finally looked like it would come to an end when Hikita jerked suddenly and pulled out her two blackened-steel blades.
“They feared not death of one’s own body, but us of Shadow, who wield powers godly.”
Thick mist and fog descended upon us. Hikita’s blue eyes bore through the Aethermist, piercing into me.
“What a terror it is to see your soul, be ripped apart—devoured whole.”
TARGET
STATISTICS
VALUES
HIKITA
The Azure Rose
HEALTH
STAMINA
MAGICKA
165 / 165
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220 / 220
800 / 800
» TARGET SUFFERS FROM NEGATIVE EFFECTS:
» CURSE OF TH̵̳͛E F̴AL̴̨̃LE̵N̶̊
» CURSE OF T̵̘̜̋HE R̴E̷FÓ̷̡̦R̴̞̄M̵̐È̶͚R̵̋
When Hikita came to stand behind the three other Roses, I expected her to make a fourth sigil and complete whatever ritual they’d started. Instead, the three just applied them to their weapons.
I reached out to Julius over the communirune, “Julius, call your targets. What’s the plan?”
He responded right away, “White and black can teleport you away, so we’ll focus on keeping them away. The red one is unknown, yeah? We play that one by ear.”
“Okay, so we’ll take Arissa and Hikita then.”
“What are the chances she’ll have a change of heart, like before?” he asked.
“Not good,” I sighed, “Something’s up with their statuses. A void-related something. I think Renault must have messed with them—the two twins included. They both have curses that weren’t there the last time we fought.”
At first, all four of the Roses started off towards me.
The knights under Julius headed off the two little girls and pulled their attention away with Tatsuko and Mei’s support.
Arissa swung her battleaxe wildly, charging right at me. Flik and Aeko intercepted the attack—pushing her back.
Viktor squared up to Hikita with Pearson on his tail.
A series of lights and shimmering barriers enveloped us all as Hailey and Akari cast support spells over the party.
Hikita’s blades sang through the air, weaving around Viktor’s tight defenses—he struggled to anticipate her dance-like movement, barely managing to fend her off with Pearson’s help.
I drew Dáinsleif and charged in to assist Viktor and Pearson.
Hikita’s quick footwork and twin blades were pushing the two of them back.
As Pearson made a lunging attack, I activated a BLADE SLASH from the side, hoping to catch her in a possible blind spot.
My attack almost caught her, but she shifted slightly at the last moment.
“Hey, Hikita.” I grunted, “Been a while since we talked last. Any chance we can get you to surrender?”
We traded blows, and I looked for any hint that her non-aggressive personality was surfacing. Her expression remained, well, expressionless.
Viktor blocked a strike with his shield, sending one of her arms flailing back. Pearson and I capitalized, striking at her undefended flank.
“If you can tell me how to remove those curses of yours, I’ll help as best I can.”
She jumped back and a flurry of violet orbs were sent flying at the three of us.
Viktor and I disengaged, but Pearson dodged the attack and ran forward.
In an instant, Hikita’s swords were covered in an inky darkness. Dark purple tendrils grasped at the sunlight and consumed it.
My DANGER SENSE was pinging my mind in rapid-fire.
“Get back!” I yelled.
She struck at Pearson—who desperately tried to block the attack while Viktor and I rushed to her.
Pearson knocked the blades away at first, but under the relentless whirling of steel, one of Hikita’s strikes found purchase in a weakened area.
Hikita grazed her arm just above the elbow.
Expecting Pearson to jump back, I was startled when she instead crumpled to the ground.
I gasp escaped my throat as her status bars dropped to zero. Adrenaline flooded through me and I sprinted the remaining distance.
“Viktor, keep her back—don’t let her touch you! Akari, I need a barrier, kiddo!”
At my command, a fiery sphere encased Pearson and me. The noise of the battle outside dulled.
“Shit, Pearson. What in the Aether did she hit you with?” I questioned, my voice panicky, “Soldier who has yet to complete their journey, I bid you to seek me beyond the veil and return, revival!”
» RESURRECTION FAILS [NULLIFIED], SOUL IRRETRIEVABLE.
“No! No…”
My eyes darted between the notification reading in the corner of my vision, Pearson’s body, and Hikita—who was pushing Viktor back with every strike.
This happened before with the waystrider on the roof… Something about her magick—about the Void—negates the resurrection spell.
Think, Airis, think!
My mind spiraled in what-ifs. Nothing I could think of was of any help. I needed to ask the ones responsible for the magick itself.
Vita may have taught the spell to me, but Virgo was the one who orchestrated this ordeal with me to begin with.
I untied my bag of holding from my waist and reached in, focusing on pulling out the marble shard she left for me to call on her.
As I channeled magicka through the Shard of Ascendance, I felt a tug at the other end. Half expecting Vita or Mors to appear in her stead, I was relieved to see a white-feathered raven appear through a portal.
Virgo’s gem-like eyes looked me over.
“I see you’ve made another massive leap towards your purpose.”
Her melodic voice sang in my mind, with a heavy hint of satisfaction.
“Yes, but delving further into my apparent godhood can wait. I need answers. Pearson is dead and I can’t revive her. Why?”
Her eyes narrowed.
Virgo fluttered over to Pearson and a dozen spell sigils appeared all around her.
“Hmm. Who did this?”
I pointed to where Hikita was currently overpowering Viktor, “The girl in black. And if I don’t get answers about what happened, she could do this to my other knights, or me, at any point.”
“This kind of ability isn’t something that can be rapidly cast, and you’re immune to sudden death effects now that you’ve gained an ounce of divinity.”
“So, you know what happened?” I asked.
“It’s void magick. Soul Tear. A one-way ticket straight to Aver’teria. The very same magick used on Theodin.”
“The Renaultians have instant-murder magick!?” I raised my voice, “Why in the Aether hasn’t that come up in conversation before now?”
“I cannot be aware of every action that occurs on the mortal plane. Theodin’s death was suspect, but I had no way to know who had done it and how.”
“What does that even mean? How can the Gods not know what’s going on down here!?”
“There is much I cannot say.”
“You can’t say, or you don’t want to say?” I seethed.
“Both are accurate, I suppose. We are sworn to a higher power. Not all Gods are created equal. If you just took a look at yourself, you’d know that.”
“Fuck. Fuck!” I screamed, “What can I do?”
I motioned to Pearson’s lifeless body.
“Capture or kill the one who holds the power to rend souls, then enshrine your champion in a gilded tomb and honor their sacrifice for you. I’m partial to hallowed ground and forest groves.”
I wasn’t in the mood for Virgo’s detached and tone-deaf sentiments. I was about to lash out at her when her form began shimmering.
“That is all the time I have. I stayed too long the last time. For what it’s worth, I do understand the pain of lose. Until next time, Harbinger.”
The goddess blipped away through an unstable-looking portal and I was left alone.
I sighed.
Haaaah, shit. Now what?
USE IT.
Use what—Virgo?
NO. USE IT.
A shadowy figure shifted around inside the barrier. Neither my MAGICKA SENSE nor DANGER SENSE had detected anything.
“Who’s there?” I said, hesitantly.
I’M YOU. YOU’RE ME. NOW, USE IT. THE POWER. OUR DIVINE POWER.
The shadow was person shaped. My height and shape. It moved around and seemed as if it was looking at me.
Great. I’m going crazy…
Divine power. I don’t even know how destructive it is or if it discerns friend from foe. What if it has the same intoxicating feeling chaos magick has…? I don’t want to start craving destruction.
OUR CHAOS MAGICK MAKES YOU CRAVE DESTRUCTION? HAH. ISN’T LAYING THE BLAME ON THAT POWER JUST AN ACT OF COWARDICE?
Cowardice…?
YOU’RE FIGHTING AGAINST OUR OWN NATURE, DESPERATELY CLINGING ON TO SILLY THOUGHTS THAT WE AREN’T A MONSTER, ALL BECAUSE SOME FOOLISH HUMANS CAUSED US TO DOUBT OURSELVES. WE AREN’T MONSTERS, WE’RE SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
The shadow had now almost fully taken form, a near perfect mirror of me. It reached a hand towards my head and I flinched back. It grabbed my chin, drawing my face towards its own.
YOU FEAR USING OUR POWER WILL CAUSE OUR SENSE OF SELF TO SLIP BECAUSE WE’RE AFRAID OF LOSING EVERYTHING.
CONSIDER THIS. DIVINE POWER HAS BEEN THE ONLY THING THAT’S SAVED EVERYTHING WE HOLD DEAR TO BEGIN WITH.
YOU THINK JULIUS CAN MANIFEST HOLY POWERS BECAUSE OF SOME DWARF-CRAFTED SHIELD?
A PHOENIX CAN BE REBORN WITH A SIMPLE WISH AND A FANCY ROCK?
Shadow-me squeezed my chin roughly, then let go.
WE ONLY HAVE TWO PATHS TO CHOOSE. EITHER WE WATCH HELPLESSLY AS THE VOID DESTROYS EVERYTHING, OR WE ACCEPT THE GAMBLE AND USE THIS POWER.
Tendrils of black squirmed around within the barrier. They covered every inch of ground, wrapping around my arms and legs.
“Enough!” I shouted, tearing free from the darkened bonds, “Fine! But I’ll be a Goddess of Light, a shining star amidst a dark sea of chaos. Not one of destruction.”
The shadow seemed to smirk and faded away.
“Nothing will stand in my way!” I gripped my hand tight around Dáinsleif and held the burning blade aloft. The dark crimson flames ceased, and the sword reignited in opalescent fire.
“Gloria Van’Ixia! ᚨᛟ—ᛏᚾ’ᚴᛋᚪ!”
A single ray of golden light beamed down from the heavens. It pierced through Akari’s barrier, shattering it.
The few clouds in the sky parted and the thick Aethermist was dispersed instantaneously. Magickal spells from both sides fizzled out as the connection to the Aether was severed.
The golden energy wreathed itself around me, churning like a wild storm. It coalesced as an iridescent sphere, glistening in the sunlight.
“The Void has no home in Terae.” I proclaimed.
My voice sounded off—loud and intoned. It rang out through the whole city without the aid of a projection tool.
“The way shall be opened and those under the Void’s influence shall be freed.”
My command echoed through the streets as a wave of luminous color washed over the city.
The magick barrier around the gatehouse was obliterated along with everything within the void-addled magick circle etched into the stone. The entire area was reduced to nothing. Only bleached-white stone remained.
I felt a massive discharge of magicka deep within the Renaultian district as the Void pushed back against my divine powers.
There was a cracking noise, followed by an ear-deafening shattering, as whatever further barriers Renault had employed were destroyed. A shock wave raced through the city, knocking us all back.
Already weakened, I faltered.
I felt a pair of hands try to steady me, but I was already fading fast.
Oh, how strange. I can’t hear anything anymore. I thought I heard someone calling my name, but I must’ve been… mistaken…