Andromeda awoke to an odd feeling, she was laying on her back, and her head was laying on something soft and warm. She tried to sit up, but a hand rested on her forehead.
“Shhhh”, a woman’s voice said. “Rest now, you only need to rest.”
“Where am I?” Andromeda asked. She could see above a vast blue sky without a cloud in sight. She gazed farther up to see the face of a woman that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. She had a warm smile, but there was sadness in her eyes.
“At rest, dear girl, you are at rest.” The woman continued.
“No, really, where am I? I was in the middle of a fight.” Andromeda said, but the woman closed her eyes and gently brushed Andromeda’s hair with her free hand.
“You were, my dear, but now that is not the case. It is time to rest.” The woman continued to say.
Andromeda rolled her eyes and grabbed the hand holding her down. She didn’t want to hurt the woman, but she did want to be let up. When shee was about to move, the woman lifted her hand and let Andromeda sit up. Now upright and looking straight on, Andromeda knew that something was amiss.
The woman had an appearance that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar. Like someone you see often but don’t know personally. Her hair was was an inky black, like the night sky lacking stars. She looked remorseful, but kind, like a patient mother. “You should rest, my dear, there is no hurry. You must save your energy for the long road ahead.” The woman said. Andromeda shook her head and looked off into the distance around. They were on a hill of some kind, covered in green grass in all directions. When she turned back, the woman now sat under a massive tree at the center of the hill. The shade falling directly down around her, while the sun above shined brightly.
“I can’t just sit here, I need to get back, where am I?” Andromeda asked again. Where ever this was, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky for miles, and no mountains in the distance, Betel was cloudy and threatened to stormy at any minute. She was no where near there.
The woman closed her eyes and turned away. “Were you rest…” She said, more sadly. Andromeda just looked at her confused, but then the pieces fell into place.
“I’m not… No, I can’t be…” Andromeda said, she felt her heart sink. “No… I was going to…”
“I am so sorry, my dear, I truly am.” The woman said, A tear fell down her cheek.
“There has to be some way, I can’t stay here, that monster will use my body like a puppet, I can’t let her do that. She’ll kill everyone, and-”
“Yes, this is the case.” Another voice said, a man’s voice. She turned to see a man a head taller then herself. He was superficially older. With grey hair and a lined face. But his rigid jaw and stern eyes belayed a strength that made him feel younger then he was. He had the feeling of a tough grandfather, one who fought in many battles and told many stories, but withholding stories he would never tell.
“Then put me back.” Andromeda said.
The man shook his head, “No, that is not possible.”
Andromeda stood up and stepped toward the man, “I don’t care, if I’m dead, and you’re here telling me that, then you have at least some control over that.” She said.
“I think before we get into troublesome talk, we should at least introduce ourselves. I already know who you are, but I’ll introduce us. I am Father First, and this is Mother Last. I am what your people would call a “God”, but I dislike the term, I find it-” He started to say, but Andromeda dramatically turned away.
“I don’t care who you are, and I don’t care what you dislike. I have somewhere to be, arguing with you just wastes time.” Andromeda said.
Mother Last stood and without her noticing and put her arms around Andromeda. “Please, my dear, don’t be upset. We aren’t here to punish you.” She said, but Andromeda shook her off and stepped away from both of them.
“Don’t touch me!” Andromeda said. Saying that hurt Mother Last and she turned away, falling into Father First’s arms and weeping softly.
Father First glared at her with contempt. “You will not take your aggression out on us, it was your own actions that brought you here. You must accept that fate.” Father First said.
“I don’t have to accept anything, if I didn’t have a choice we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Andromeda said.
“Normally, you would be right. But your situation is not normal.” He said.
“How?” Andromeda asked.
Father Last gently embraced Mother Last and lead her to sit down under the tree once more, then turned his attention back to Andromeda with an unfriendly stare.
“As you are aware, you are not from this world. You are the result of mortals playing with forces they did not understand, and forced your material form over to this world without so much as a care for how it might affect your soul. As such, you are not one of my creations. Your soul is incompatible with our capabilies. Because of this, Mother Last cannot properly guide you to the next. ” Father First said.
“So what? Am I just going to be stuck in limbo forever?” Andromeda said.
“No, there are several options, but all of them are a difficult choice. Hence both my own and Mother Last’s presence. In any other situation, you would have no opinion on the matter. But considering that you never had a choice to begin with, we will give you one now.” Father first said.
“I don’t care how hard it is, I want out of here.” Andromeda said.
“Then I’ll be brief. First, you may choose to be properly reborn in this world. You soul will be passed into that of a child awaiting their birth. The downside of this is that you will lose your memories for the majority of your life, and they will slowly return to you with time.” Father First said.
“Absolutely not, my friends need me now.” Andromeda said.
Father First frowned but continued. “Another choice would be to simply pass on to one of several realms. It seems your soul is of interest to many forces in the world. Of course, the downside is that you would not-”
“No, if it doesn’t involve me going back, I don’t want to hear it.” Andromeda rudely interjected. Father First scowled at her tone, but aggressively sighed and gripped the bridge of his nose.
“I won’t lie, there is simply the option of placing your back in your dying body, but if we do that. There is the concern of your mind and soul being destroyed by that accursed relic. If I were to put you back there, it would be assured that you would just finish dying and then your soul would be gone. Then you wouldn’t even have the option to pass to the next.”
Andromeda did not even pause to breath.
“Send me back.” She said, which surprised Father First and Mother Last.
“I don’t think you heard me, if I send you back, your soul will be destroyed. Not even our power can bring you back if that happens.” Father First said.
“I don’t care, it means I go back. That’s all I want.” Andromeda said.
“I understand how much you want to go and help. But I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation. The death of the body is one thing, but the death of the soul is another one all together. You are obliterated from reality, you lose any chance of seeing the next, or reincarnation, or anything. Its not just darkness forever, you cease to exist in the truest sense of the word.”
Andromeda shook her head and stepped toward Father First, at first he thought she would resort to violence, but he could sense that something changed in her at that moment. They both could sense it.
She looked up at them, and with no anger in her eyes, just stared. “I understand very well what I am asking you to do. But when I say I don’t care. It’s not that I don’t care what happens to me, its that I don’t care what it takes. There are people down there that I care about, and if I have a sliver of a chance to keep them safe, I’ll take it.”
“Even if you say that, its not an easy task. I would be sending you to your death.” Father First said.
Andromeda calmly shook her head, “No, you wouldn’t. I was never your responsibility to begin with, just like you said. Whatever happens to me is my own fault. What I’m asking you do is give me the chance to save the lives of those people you do have to care for. Because if you don’t let me go back, more people will die. ” Andromeda said.
“What makes you think you can keep yourself from death? That is a power that very few of your kind possess.” Father First asked. At first, Andromeda didn’t answer, but she paused and looked back up.
“Because I want to live.” She said.
Father First and Mother Last had heard countless mortals say this, great kings and lowly beasts. Every single one that had come before always said it as a plea. Begging to be let back and go on. In some rare cases they allowed this, but for Andromeda’s case. It was not a plea. She was not asking to go back, she was not asking for a second chance. She was making a statement.
It wasn’t a matter of wanting to go back, she was determined to go back. There was no doubt in her mind that she would, it was a matter of how hard, and how long that would take. They knew, from this small fact, that she would in fact be alright. Only the dead ask to live, she was not asking, she was demanding.
Without a single word, he raised his hand, and snapped his fingers.
In an instant Andromeda vanished from the hill. They remained there for a moment, then Mother Last giggled.
“What is so funny?” Father First asked.
Mother Last giggled again, “Who would have thought that all three of them would say the exact same thing in the end?” She said. Father First smiled and held her close.
“Mortals can be unfathomable creatures sometimes, possessing such will like that with no desire to misuse it.” Father First said.
----------------------------------------
The Arbiter watched on as the last of Andromeda’s life faded from her eyes. She had watched this happen so many times before, countless thousands of lives faded before her. But never before did she witness such a bright glow like this fade. There was a scream, The Arbiter turned to see that the blonde one, Alice, had realized what had happened. She fell to her knees and covered her mouth, but even through that she screamed.
It was then that The Arbiter noticed what was happening in the sky, hundreds, no, thousands of Magisters were in the sky, all hovering hundreds of feet away. But she knew it was too late, they wouldn’t be able to stop her. With a fresh host, she could perform at so much greater a level. It would be a bloodbath of unimaginable proportions, but it wouldn’t be the first she carved her way out of.
But…
Something was wrong…
Gram used the spear. His hands were even still on the shaft, just as they were when he plunged it down. But he did not agonize, or scream. Even with his mind utterly devastated as she had made it, his basic human function would force immense pain into every fiber of his being. But he remained still. She was dead as could be, but Gram suffered none of the negative effects.
High Magister Ferdinand landed nearby, his face already aghast at the sight. Seeing this poor girl slumped over, driven through with a cursed spear. The expression he wore was priceless in The Arbiter’s eyes.
“What… have you done…” Ferdinand said. His voice was hoarse and dry, wracked with pain.
The Arbiter pushed Gram aside and grabbed hold of the spear, she rent it from Andromeda’s chest and watched as she felt over, cold and limp. Even as she did this, something was not right. The spear has an effect on the body, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. But in her countless uses of it she knew what to look for. The process of the mind and soul being destroyed would cause the body to convulse, as the spear destroyed it on a base level. But Andromeda’s body remained still, absolutely dead in every sense of the term, but not what it should have been.
“Doing what I promised what I would, for all the trouble you gave me, it didn’t matter in the end.” The Arbiter said. She planted the spear down in the ground and raised her hand, and light bent around it. Andromeda’s slumped over body rose from the ground and was maneuvered through the air like a doll. A black mist came from her free hand, and started to envelop Andromeda’s body.
Ferdinand fought back tears, he had grown too hopeful. In his urgency to trust the word of his Arch Mage, he put too much faith in her. He thought that she would survive long enough for him to gather his army. So many Magisters and Mages that he could tear the fabric of reality apart. It had only been a few minutes, he had no idea it would devolve this quickly. Though he said that with the full knowledge that the side of the building they stood next to had been ripped off in its totality in the twenty minute span since he left.
He couldn’t even bring himself to feel anger, as the pain-racked screams of Alice echoed through the city. it shook his heart more then anything else had before. Behind him, he heard someone land, only to see that it was Rapture, she had bent down to help Alice to her feet. But even as Rapture spoke to calm her, she didn’t turn to face Andromeda.
“What you people have misunderstood is the idea that there was ever any other outcome, as I told our dear Arch Mage before. I have done this so many more times then years all of you have been alive, combined. Better then you have tried, and failed to kill me. All this, the mind control, the threats, the kidnapping, all of it. This was for my enjoyment. If I so chose, she would have been dead and done in hours over a month ago. All of you grasped at straws tried to draw it out as long as possible.” The Arbiter said. The dark mist further enveloped Andromeda’s body. Her skin started turning grey, and her hair lost its luster, turning to a more faded pinkish brown.
“I swear, on my life, that I will make you pay…” Ferdinand said, even though his voice faultered. The Arbiter sighed and shook her head.
“No, you won’t, how many times do I have to explain this today. Even if you kill me in this form. My mind will move to another, it might be yours, or hers, or his. But it will move on. I will assert myself over however long it takes. Hours, days, maybe even years, but it will happen. Then I will continue to exist, and you’ll be none the wiser. Kill me or don’t, but you will have done nothing but interrupt me. I am beyond your petty grudges.” The Arbiter said. When she looked Ferdinand in the eye, he knew that she wasn’t lying. “If it makes you feel any better, she was the closest anyone had ever come to even attempting to overcome me. She played me like a chump, and to the very end was pulling out new surprises. But know that if I truly wanted to, it would have been over at any moment. Just as it always has been.”
Andromeda’s body started to spasm and shake, as the dark mist pervaded her form. Andromeda sputtered, and shook, a barely visibly glow flashed for only a moment. At the same time, a small shadow-like vestige twitched, as though mimicking her movements with a small delay. But this was for only the briefest of moments, and not even those looking at her would have known.
Interrupting their conversation, a section of the wall Alice tore apart fell away, only to reveal Entai standing on the second floor, clutching his stomach. All turned to see an elderly man float through the air and to the ground, he held his stomach and the entire front of his robes were drenched in blood. Ferdinand did not know who this was, but from a look and a guess, he figured this was Entai Algoer.
“Oh wonderful, I couldn’t even trust Aixen to make sure that you would die in time.” The Arbiter asked. The Arbiter gripped with her open hand, and the mist grew stronger, invading Andromeda’s form ever more.
Entai approachd, standing a short distance away from Ferdinand. Even as the blood drained from his stomach, he had a strange and peaceful expression. Not exactly happy, likely on account of his attempted disembowelment, but relatively calm considering. “Do you remember what I told you?” He said.
“You’ll have to be more specific, you told me many things. Some of which I listened to.” The Arbiter mocked, though Entai seemed unphased.
“Do you remember what I said about fear?” He continued. The Arbiter paused for a moment, and then looked back to Entai with a vague expression.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Vaguely, though please feel free to enlighten me, I only care enough to see how long it takes you to bleed out like that.” The Arbiter contined to mock.
Entai gathered his strength to take a deep breath even as he bled. “Fear is not a feeling, or an emotion. It is a true understanding of life, and the world around you. This understanding is what I fear you lack.” Entai said, he coughed, and blood came up around his lips.
“And what understanding is that? Are you going to give me some poor excuse of a moralizing speech about the strength of the human spirit? I don’t want to hear it if you aren’t willing to deliver. None before you have.” The Arbiter said.
“I only wish to impress upon you the idea that you believe only one thing, that you hold all the cards, and the world around you is just the table by which you lay them. As if you play the game of life alone and that all else are barely worth standing under your heel. To you, there is no such thing as life, or living, only survival and control. To you, the very act of living is a wasted effort because it is not the path you take.” Entai said.
“Get on with it old man, I think you’re intestines are about ready to fall out. I’d rather be out of here before you start to smell.” The Arbiter laughed.
“What I mean to say is simple.” He said, A single, quiet noise could be heard. The Arbiter turned and looked so see that Andromeda’s body twitched, but it was not for anything she had done to it..
“The single, and most universal fact in this world is not that we are fools for trying.” Entai began. Andromeda’s body twitched again, this time more violently, and with it, a small burst of white light.
“In fact, it is not that we we desire to persist against the odds at all, we are not resisting the world as it is, or the natural order of things.” Entai continued. Andromeda’s body spasmed again, and even though the mist that was corrupting her body still surrounded it, her body seemed to reverse in its course and turn back to how it was before.
“The reality is more simple, its that we wish to experience the joys of the world, to live and thrive within it, and to know what bounties it beholds. This is the understanding you lack, the one fact that you failed to grasp was right in front of you the whole time.” Entai continued again. Another flash of white light engulfed Andromeda’s body, and in its wake, a shadow that crawled along the ground into the middle distance.
“That fact is this: You should fear those that want to live.” Entai said.
Her hair flashed white, then black, then red again. Her skin turned pale white, then grey, and back to its normal tone. Even closed, her eyes glowed with white, then black, then blue light. The Arbiter felt her grip on Andromeda weaken, in a way she knew could only happen if the weight increased dramatically.
The flashes of color happened in rapid succession, red, white, black, all in a sequence. Ferdinand and the others feared her body might explode with mana, but with barely any soul to speak of, they didn’t know how that could happen.
Another flash of light erupted, and into the sequence came silver.
Her hair was Red.
Her hair was White
Her hair was Black
Her hair was Silver.
Red, White, Black, Silver. Over and over, with each cycle, the dark mist surrounding and pervading her body was blasted away. The Arbiter used all her strength to hold Andromeda’s body off the ground, but with her arms shaking she couldn’t hold her body up anymore. Andromeda’s body fell, but rather then crumble into a pile on the floor, she landed on her hands and knees, shaking and twitching. The colors changed ever more, and blurred together. So much and so fast that it seemed them all at once.
The Arbiter stepped back, and grabbed the spear out of the ground. She motioned for Gram to follower as she stepped away, with the spear pressed to his back.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but if you don’t stop it now-”
Andromeda’s head flew back, her entire body engulfed in light, a beam of light rupturing from the hole in her chest, piercing the ground in front of her, while the other end flew off into the sky. Her eyes glowed pure white in their sockets, and her arms shakily grabbed the beam passing through her as though it were solid. Her entire body shook, while the bright light and the dark shadows dancing around her ripped and tore at the air.
After a moment of frenzied pulling, the beam of light seemed to crack where she gripped. With each crack, her hair would stop and remain red for only a moment longer than the rest. On one hand, an intense red light with a white glow around it formed, and on her other, a similar bright red light radiated from it, but it was ringed with shadow. Her hands pulled, and the beam of light strained. It felt as though the world itself held its breath as she pulled at the light piercing her being. Finally, A deafening explosion of sound, dwarfing even the heaviest of thunder of a storm reverberated through the air. In its wake, a radiance so dazzling that the sun itself seemed dim by comparison burst forth. The entire city and all around were bathed in a warmth that as soothing as it was bright. People as far as the mainland of the country would even see the light if they gazed over the horizon.
When everyone regained their sight, instead of a bruised, bloody, and broken corpse on the ground, there stood Andromeda. But the woman who stood before them now did not seem to be the same that stood there before. Though she was there, red hair and fair skin, there was a white glow about her body. Her eyes glowed bright and blue, and yet still, they seemed darker, deeper. Peering into the soul..
Andromeda stepped forward, and instead of readying to attack, of glaring with hatred, she only held her hand out. “Give me the spear, and surrender.” Andromeda said, her voice barely above a whisper.
There was no hint of anger in her eyes, nothing to suggest that she was dead only a few moments ago. The Arbiter’s eyes were like saucers, she had watched as the life drained from Andromeda’s eyes, and knew beyond all reasonable doubt that the spear should have destroyed her mind and soul.
“You were dead. I watched you die.” She said, pressing the spear deeper into Gram’s back.
“You did, so please, do yourself a favor and let me help you.” Andromeda said. This answer only confused The Arbiter more.
“Help? I killed, you should be dead. How are you walking around? Is this a trick?” The Arbiter said, and despite being on opposing sides of the conflict, she managed to speak the question that everyone who heard it was thinking. Her mind raced with ideas, first and foremost that she would take advantage of the situation and kill her again. No one would expect her to take such a suicidal-
“You can try and kill me again, but I don’t think it will work.” Andromeda said. The Arbiter felt her blood run cold, it didn’t feel like Andromeda was responding to her words but her-
“Thoughts? You would be right, for now at least.” Andromeda said, which only made The Arbiter’s stomach drop into a pit as well.
“Are you… reading my mind?” The Arbiter asked, a question that confused everyone else as well.
“I am, in a way.” Andromeda said, she took another step forward, with her hand still outstretched. The Arbiter stepped back, pulling Gram with her.
“Stay away from me, you… you monster. You shouldn’t be alive.” The Arbiter said, every moment she spent looking Andromeda in the eye was like a thousand years of agony. Not because of any pain she felt, but because it was like the pure, distilled essence of disappointment. Like a parent looking down at their children for having been naughty. There was no anger, only patience and disappointment.
“I probably shouldn’t, but you could say the same. This is your only chance at living something close to a life. Just give me the spear.” Andromeda said.
For a moment, and only a moment, The Arbiter thought about what she was being offered. Andromeda’s expression implied no deception, in fact it seemed that she was being more genuine then any human had ever been to her since her creator gave her the spear. It almost won her over, but a prickle in her heart pushed that feeling down, and replaced that small moment of clarity with anger.
“Who are you to forgive me?” She said, spitting on the ground and staring daggers into Andromeda. “I have lived longer then your entire bloodline has existed. I won’t be looked down on my some uppity mage whose only had her job for a month! NO ONE WILL-”
Then, faster then the eye could see. There was a shadow leaning over her, looking her dead in the eye. Its face so close that the tips of their noses would touch if only she leaned forward. Its hand was already on the spear, and she couldn’t move it. More then that, she couldn’t even bring herself to move. There was an utter fear in her heart, one so deep that she knew it wasn’t natural, it wasn’t magical, it was something far beyond anything she had ever experienced. Andromeda looked at her, The Arbiter only saw sadness and regret, still no anger, or rage, or even annoyance. She slowly stepped forward until her she was practically whispering in The Arbiter’s ear.
“If you don’t accept my offer, I will ask you again, every day, for the rest of time.” She said. More now then before, she felt like a child being looked down on for acting out. The Arbiter couldn’t bring herself to speak. Andromeda reached up and took the spear that the shadow was holding still and took it. She took a step back and waited for a response.
Something deep inside The Arbiter screamed for her to run, and bury herself far and away from anything and everyone. It felt as though she was standing on the edge of a cliff, staring out into the ocean as it was raging in a storm.
It was all gone.
She could see out of the corner of her eye that Aixen was being carried away, broken and malformed, his arms twisted into ghastly shapes. The sky was littered with countless magisters, and while they were no trouble in her mind, the one who stood in front of her was. She could run, but Andromeda would chase, and from the look in her glowing eye The Arbiter knew she wasn’t lying. So many had died over so many years, and she was there for every single one. None had ever stood back up, especially when she used the spear. Her mind couldn’t even imagine what would come after this. The country at large knew of her existence, and anyone she could run to would be found in short order.
If she tried to weather the storm and attack, she didn’t know what that would entail. She always had the assurance then if she fought long and hard enough then all would fall before her. But in front of her was someone who wouldn’t die even if the light faded from their eyes.
Even if she wanted to fight, there was something about the look in Andromeda’s eyes that made that thought unpleasant.
The old man’s words echoed in her mind.
Fear is not a feeling, or an emotion. It is a true understanding of life, and the world around you.
Is this what he meant? Because this didn’t feel like understanding, she was utterly lost in what she should do. The world was only more clouded and darker, she could see no way forward that wasn’t through the woman in front of her. Or was that the point? That she never had an idea of where she rested in the grand scheme of things.
It was over.
The Arbiter dropped to her knees, and her face dropped. To Andromeda, she looked tired, and her mind went blank. Andromeda had heard the development of emotions play through her mind through Whisper. This was only interrupted by one thing.
“I surrender…” She said. Andromeda bent a knee down, and put her hand on The Arbiter’s shoulder.
“That’s all I wanted, thank you.” Andromeda said. She stood up, and turned her back to The Arbiter. Pausing for only a moment, there was a feeling that she couldn’t shake even then, but the moment for something to happen came and went.
----------------------------------------
All watched as Andromeda slowly approached them, just like The Arbiter, they could tell that something had changed. Aside from the fact that she had been dead only moments before, something about her was altogether different.
Ferdinand looked at her and felt the same way he did when he entered her mental space. She seemed almost too real, each feature and definition of her form seemed clearer and more absolute. But more then that, it wasn’t as though he was staring at just her, but the two she called sisters as well. The glow was like that of White, and in her eyes through the blue glow her eyes seemed darker and more intense, not harsh, but like deep dark water.
Alice, as she was, didn’t see Andromeda, but through her sense of the flow, she could sense a being, more clear and refined then anything she had ever sensed in her life. In the sea of noise that was the flow, there was only one solid being that made everything seem like nothing. It wasn’t like before in the containment room when she exuded overly much flow and could barely be told apart from the rest, rather this time it was though she was, in and over herself, a self contain flowed in the shape of a person.
Rapture for her part wasn’t thinking much at all, and just happy to see that Andromeda, and by extension White, were fine. The fact that she kept her promise to live, even if it killed her, made Rapture’s heart feel warm for the first time in a long time.
When she broached the distance, they all gathered around her in shock and confusion. As happy as they were to see her up and about, the anxiety of the situation they hadn’t left them.
“Are you… okay?” Ferdinand asked. Andromeda touched the spot where the spear pierced her chest, which was now healed. Even the robes were repaired, but she couldn’t lie and say that she was perfectly fine.
“I’m tired… I feel like I want to sleep for a month.” Andromeda said faint smile. It was true, her body wasn’t tired, but she wanted to desperately to just sit and rest without any worries. But she knew that she wasn’t coming quick, because she caught Ferdinand eyeing The Arbiter from a distance. Alice took this time to covertly sneak herself into a side hug and held Andromeda close.
“What about her?” Ferdinand asked.
“I’m not sure, there is a long conversation we need to have about her and I don’t know if I’m ready to have it yet. But until I’m ready, I don’t want her hurt.” Andromeda said, this answer genuinely upset Ferdinand. Something she could see plainly as his eye twitched.
“She killed you, how can you say that?” Ferdinand questioned.
“How dead do I look right now?” Andromeda retorted, her body still immersed in a white glow matching the glow in her eyes. She was anything but dead.
“I know, but what she has done cannot be forgiven. I can tolerate forgiving Elias and Albert, but she is not one I can tolerate.” Ferdinand said.
“I don’t plan on forgiving her Ferdinand, that’s not the point. She’ll pay her due, but there is no point paying blood with more blood. Enough of mine is on the grass over there as is.” Andromeda said, further pointing to the very real pool of blood welled up in the grass.
Ferdinand looked away for a moment, deep in thought. Then it seemed his resistance failed him and he sighed. “So this is it then? All this grief, and its just over like that?” Ferdinand asked.
“That’s kind of the point isn’t it? The problem is taken care of, no one was seriously hurt.” Andromeda said. She said this, but then she caught a glimpse of Entai who at the moment was in the process of bleeding out despite help from several Magisters. “One moment.” Andromeda said. She, rather forcefully due to Alice’s iron grip, pulled Alice off of her side and walked over to Entai.
She waved the Magister’s away. “I’ve got this.” She said. The Magisters stepped back as they were instructed and watched as she raised her hands toward Entai. Knowing better then to argue with an Arch Mage, let alone one that just walked off being killed.
“I’m new to this, so I’m sorry if it hurts a little bit.” Andromeda said.
“No worries, I have faith in you.” Entai said.
Andromeda’s hands were enveloped in a red light, that light itself was ringed with an even brighter white light, and she gently placed her hands over the open wound. All around witnessed in real time as the open slash across his stomach sealed itself, the blood coating his robes dissolved into nothing by air, and even the robes repaired themselves to the state were in before. Even though they could not believe it, not a single person who played witness to this event could deny what they saw. She healed him.
“Utterly amazing.” Entai said, rubbing the space where the gash in his stomach used to be.
“You should be good now, do you feel okay?” Andromeda asked.
“Better then ever, I’m glad to see you’re alright as well.” Entai said. Andromeda smiled and scratched her head.
“It was a little touch and go for a second there, but I got out in the end.” She said, there was a tense moment between them and Entai leaned in.
“Be honest, did you really die?” He asked.
Andromeda paused before answering, wondering how to even answer the question, “I don’t know if I was really dead, or if I was saved at the last minute, but I know that I plan on living from now on.” She said.
“I must admit, when I first discovered your true nature. I was afraid of what you might be, or what you might have become, but never in a millions years would I have expected you to become a White Mage.” Entai said.
“A what?” Andromeda said.
“Oh my, forgive my saying. It’s a phrase we mages use to describe a mage with aspirations to heal. Its a name used in old Magi story books, but It can be seen by some as calling a person naive, or reckless. But I meant no harm in saying it.” Entai said.
Andromeda was quite for a moment, and looked away into the middle distance. “No, that’s fine. I think… I think I like that name. White Mage. It sounds… I don’t know… It sounds right.” Andromeda said, turning back to the open yard as more Magister’s landed and Ferdinand started coordinated what they all knew would be a massive debacle to navigate.
Entai stepped beside her and looked over the crowd. “If there is anyone in this world that could wear that title with honor and dignity. I believe it would be you. The One White Mage.”