||| THE PATH OF THE DELUGE: LUCIA |||
[The Forest of the Bandit Lord]
[The Land of the Opal Sun]
Lucy could not recall what just happened. The last thing she remembered was bringing down the water sphere unto Aria, and everything after that was just blurry. 'Was it the adrenaline? Or was it the pain and exhaustion finally overwhelming her mind and body?' She thought to herself.
As soon she came to her senses, her ankles were already submerged underwater and the forest was filled with the rhythmic pattering of water dripping from the branches. Lucy’s tired eyes shot forward; all the color drained from her face as she saw the Opal Sun princess lying face-first on the flooded earth.
“Aria!” Lucy exclaimed before she felt an intense searing pain on the right side of her stomach, causing her to drop to her knees. “Damn it!” the younger Nightingale hissed. She glowered down and quickly realized the watery pad covering her waist was gradually breaking down.
SPLASH!
Lucy shuddered at the sudden noise. Casting her eyes forward once again, she noticed the princess’s body twitching unnaturally. A few seconds later, Aria(?) rose to her feet in a single movement as if she was pulled by an invisible string. “A-Aria?” Lucy uttered once again, but the princess stood quietly with her long, raven hair shrouding her entire face. In that instance, Lucy instinctively held her dagger firmly and reluctantly pointed the tip at her friend.
“What’s the matter? You looked awfully tired,” the princess began to speak. “Let me guess, you used up all of your stamina for that one move, didn’t you?”
“That will be outright foolish,” Lucy simply retorted.
Aria(?) brushed her drenched hair aside with her fingers, revealing her pallid face which was nearly covered with black veins. Lucy’s heart instantly sank at the sight of her friend's worsening condition. 'Was she too late? Is Aria beyond saving?' She contemplated silently.
“Why? Why are you doing this?” Lucy muttered absent-mindedly. “Why did you let those Distorted kill the residents in the Edge? And for what purpose does the Empyreans serve you?”
“Why indeed, Miss Nightingale?” Aria(?) smirked as if she was amused by the questions.
“I would say you enjoyed the carnage, but then it occurred to me. The massacre in the Edge was simply a distraction, so you could venture into the Forest of the Bandit Lord without any interruption. You seek something in the Cerulean Mausoleum, and the only way you could enter the place is either through the Inner Circle or through the Empyreans.”
“And what do you think we seek?”
“My guess is one of the Four Royal Jewels – The Harlequin Opal – the same jewel that is currently fitted to the Imperial Crown of the Sun.”
“That is an interesting speculation,” Aria chortled. “But we both know the Imperial Crown is kept behind the Royal Palace Vault.”
“That one is a replica,” Lucy swiftly replied, and the smile across the princess’s face faded away. “The real crown is safely hidden in the Cerulean Mausoleum, and that information is only known by two parties: The Faceless Order and the Inner Circle – I would assume you got it from the latter.”
“You are too smart for your own good, don’t you know that?” said Aria(?) as she scowled at the young Nightingale.
“Thanks,” Lucy spouted before she slowly stood on her feet. She could feel the wound on her shoulder opening up along with a tingling sensation spreading throughout her wounded arm. Furthermore, she was starting to see stars hovering in front of her very eyes.
“Oh dear, it seems you are in a pretty tight spot,” the princess chuckled. “I can make the pain go away; you know?”
“By becoming your puppet? Not interested.”
“Not a puppet – a vessel to true peace – to a world that should have been.”
“A world…that should have been?” Lucy repeated with raised eyebrows, wondering what the princess was talking about. However, before she could find out further, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and an intoxicating aroma of plum blossom soon penetrated her nostrils. “Shit!” was the only word Lucy spoke, shortly before a shadowy mass landed on top of her.
“Someone is being careless,” Aria(?) cackled as she gleefully sat on Lucy’s chest. “I can’t really blame you though. The stress you have to endure for using such a technique plus the injuries you sustained – you sure are persistent. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.”
“You…knew my mother?”
“In a way. That woman has been a thorn in our sides for a long time – constantly sticking her nose in our affairs simply because to her, ‘it was the right thing to do’. What happened to her was quite unfortunate – we could have used someone with her expertise.”
“But, how? My mother never told me about you – whoever you are,” Lucy groaned.
“For good reason. We are, after all, The Faceless Order’s dirty little secret,” Aria(?) replied before grabbing onto Lucy’s wounded shoulder and squeezed as hard as she could.
The young Nightingale let out a bloodcurdling scream as the pain exploded throughout her body; overwhelming her entire senses. She threw her other arm upward, attempting to push the Opal Sun Princess off but her wrist was instantly seized by the long-haired woman.
“No, no, no, don’t try to run away now,” Aria(?) giggled as she tightened her grip on Lucy’s shoulder. “You should realize by now that you couldn’t possibly defeat me with sheer will alone. So, just relax, Lucia Nightingale – I’ll make this quick.”
All of a sudden, Aria’s(?) head jerked backward as if something tugged her hair. The Opal Sun Princess yelped as she was dragged away from the young Nightingale and hurled into the bushes.
“What in the…?” said Lucy at the strange turn of events. Despite the growing heaviness in her body, she slowly seated herself only to see a familiar robed figure standing between her and Aria(?). “You…the Night Terror?”
Brandishing his falchion, the masked vigilante shifted his gaze toward Lucy. His head moved up and down, quietly inspecting the sitting Accursed. Shortly after, he extended out his left hand; a gesture that baffled the young Nightingale.
“You’re helping me? Why?” Lucy inquired, but the Night Terror responded to the question with a grunt. Although hesitant at first, Lucy eventually accepted the vigilante’s aid and she swiftly straightened herself up.
Soon after, Aria(?) emerged from the shadows with a drawn saber and a vexed expression. “You should have been dead,” the Princess growled at the Night Terror. “How is it you are still in the world of the living?”
“As long as the sun and the moon rise from the horizon, I will remain here, in this forest,” the vigilante retorted, his voice slightly distorted. “Return to your master if you know what’s good for you – tell him the thing he seeks will never be his; not now, not even in the future.”
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“Return? In case you haven’t noticed, we have already infiltrated the mausoleum. The Crown will be ours in due time.”
“I’m not talking about the Crown,” the Night Terror interjected.
Aria(?)’s scarlet eyes widened from shock; a reaction that astounded Lucy, who had been watching from the sidelines. “What are you two on about? What is this ‘thing’ his master seeks?”
“It is none of your concern, little Nightingale. At least, not yet,” the Opal Sun Princess interjected. “All you need to know is that every path taken by you and your companions will someday converge and by then, you’ll see what the Order hid from you – hid from the world itself.”
“If you say so,” the Night Terror calmly countered before thrusting his arm forward to grab something in the air. A gasp was heard soon after, followed by Aria(?) appearing out of thin air with her right wrist caught by the vigilante.
“Wha-!” Lucy shuddered; her eyes darted back to the princess’s prior location but found a mound of red wax sinking into the water.
“You may have access to the girl's technique but your execution is sloppy,” the Night Terror chided as he twisted Aria’s(?) hand, prompting the princess to drop her saber. Then, the bandit lord swung his falchion upward, creating a shockwave that split the forest canopy apart and also the transparent veil conjured by Aria(?) earlier.
“That’s…impossible,” the princess gawked at the sight of the torn white curtain fading from existence.
“No, the answer to your impossibility is right in front of your eyes, but your arrogance and cockiness have blinded you,” the Night Terror further remarked before shoving Aria(?) away. “The Opal Sun Princess – the real Opal Sun Princess has perfected Glamour, so much so that only she alone can deactivate it.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is your possession of her mind and body is not as perfect as you initially thought. Even now, she is still resisting you – sabotaging your every move.” The masked vigilante then picked the saber up, its blade emitted a weak glow amidst the dark shadows. “Have you forgotten what one has to go through to get one of these weapons? Five years of rigorous training in the Academy and at the same time, one has to excel in five core subjects. Afterwards, the fledglings will be ordered to participate in the Gristly Gauntlet; to prepare them for the danger of Discordania. Basically, every Faceless is a trained killer – so, it’ll take more than a simple brainwashing to properly control their minds and bodies.”
“I’m afraid you’ve overestimated them,” Aria(?) giggled. “As you can see, compared to these two, the Crown Prince showed no signs of resistance – so much for the so-called prodigy.”
“That is precisely why I said you were blinded by your arrogance and cockiness," the Night Terror scoffed before tossing the saber back into its owner’s hand. Seconds later, the vigilante turned his attention to Lucy and asked, “Can you still use your Hydrokinesis?”
“Pardon me?”
“I said can you still use your Hydrokinesis?”
“Y-Yeah, I think so.”
“When I gave you the signal, tie her down.”
“Signal? Wait, what kind of signal-,” before Lucy could finish her sentence, the Night Terror had already charged toward the Opal Sun Princess. The bandit lord swung his falchion forward which was easily blocked by Aria(?)’s sabre. Then, a blackened hand sprouted out of the Night Terror’s blade and tried to grab the princess by the neck.
“What the fuck!” Aria(?) exclaimed as she staggered backward. However, the charred arm then burst into flower petals; blasting the princess directly in the face. “Enough with this cheap parlor trick!” Aria(?) angrily bellowed; her left hand frantically brushing the petals away. As she regained her vision, she caught a glimpse of a grey, horizontal line inching toward her eyes; prompting the princess to fall on her back -- to watch in alarming silence as the falchion swept over her head.
“No, no, no, don’t try to run away now.”
Aria(?) grimaced as soon as she heard her own words being thrown at her but her face immediately contorted into horror as her whole body slowly sunk into the flooded ground.
“What’s the matter?” the Night Terror questioned as he slithered out of the shadows in front of the princess. “You seemed perturbed by something.”
“What the hell is this? What did you do?” said Aria(?).
“Do what?”
“Wha-?” the princess darted her head left and right, only to realize the ground had stopped moving. Or did it even move at all?
“You must be wondering whether what you see and feel just now was real or otherwise,” the masked vigilante chided. “So, you seemed to think you’re being engulfed by the ground, huh? Fascinating.”
Aria(?) quickly got to her feet with a soured expression. Much to her surprise, cold sweats started to trickle down her back; her hands were quaking, making it difficult for her to even hold the saber up. “I will not be defeated by a mere illusion,” the princess snarled before storming toward her opponent.
Blades clashed as both parties refused to surrender to each other. The princess swung her sword relentlessly but she soon discovered she was no match for the Night Terror’s superior experience and skill. “You have superb technique but sadly, you lack the conviction to win,” said the vigilante as his falchion knocked the saber out of Aria’s(?) hand.
“NOW!” The Night Terror cried out and in the blink of an eye, dozens of blue tendrils climbed up her legs and arms, subsequently chaining the princess down to her knees.
“Whatever it is you’re planning to do, better hurry it up! I can’t hold her forever!” Lucy roared; both of her hands rested against the surface of the water.
The Night Terror proceeded to place the palm of his hand against Aria’s(?) forehead and with a breathy voice, enunciated a single word, “Shatter.”
The Opal Sun Princess's eyes snapped wide open; she let out a deafening scream that disrupted Lucy’s focus, forcing her to release her grip on Aria(?). However, the Night Terror was undeterred by the shrieking and continued to hold the princess up. Slowly but surely, the black visible veins on Aria’s face diminished and her blood-red eyes returned to their former shade of tangerine.
“Aria!” said Lucy as she rushed forward as the Night Terror released his hold on the princess. The young Nightingale swiftly caught her friend by the shoulders; her azure eyes swiftly inspected Aria’s entire body, making sure the black veins were completely gone.
“It is done,” said the Night Terror before sliding his weapon back into its sheath. “She won’t be a problem to you anymore.”
As the vigilante started to walk away from the two women, he was stopped by Lucy’s sudden inquiry, “You still haven’t answered my question.” The Night Terror looked over his shoulder and for a fleeting moment, Lucy swore she could see a pair of normal human eyes peering through the bird-shaped mask.
“Settling an old debt,” the bandit lord stated. “Beware of those who lurk in the dark, Nightingale – those who spread the seeds of chaos across the land ever since this world rose from the ashes.”
“And these lurkers in the dark, who are they exactly?”
“They are called many things – The Nameless, The Whispers in the Shadows, The Unseen Wings. But there is one name that stood above the rest – the Harbingers.”
Lucy could feel chills running down her spine at the mere mention of the name. Her mind began to race as she tried to remember every clandestine organization that had ever existed in the Discordania, but none of them were called the Harbingers. “How do I know you’re not lying?” Lucy asked.
“You've already witnessed some of their works with your own eyes, experienced what they are capable of. Everything you know, everything you've seen -- it will all change. But even then, you mustn't lose heart, little Nightingale, for the Faceless Order is built on the foundation of hope,” the Night Terror replied before disappearing into the darkness.
“L-Lucy?”
The young Nightingale gasped as she heard the princess murmuring her name. “Aria? ARIA!” Lucy called out in return.
“I’m sorry, Lucy…for everything…those people in the Edge…I…I...,” Aria sobbed; her eyes welled up with tears.
“Don’t. Whatever happened back there, it wasn’t your fault – it wasn’t anyone’s fault,” said Lucy as she slung one of the princess's arms over her shoulder. "Can you get up?"
"I...I think so."
"Alright. On the count of three -- one, two...," both women managed to stand up despite their injuries. Soon after, they heard footsteps heading toward their direction and three familiar figures marched out from between the trees, causing Lucy to let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, well, well. Look at who we have here?" said Rupert; a wide, joyful smile appeared across his exhausted face.
"For God's sake, what took you guys so long?" Lucy exhaled.
||| THE END OF THE PATH OF THE DELUGE |||