The light was only for a moment, a flash of brilliance that connected her to the cosmic above. It was a singular instance that allowed her to touch the stars through the radiance. The link was absolute, unstopped by the heavens and unmarred by the wickedness of men. When the light sought the unseen celestial splendor, there was nothing it couldn’t pierce.
Rana collapsed to her knees. She expended all her mana and the body she supported through sheer will could no longer stand. The fight was over, and they had obtained the victory. Her Astral Lance soared through the sky, breaking through all and every obstacle that stood in its way. The blue flash appeared for only an instant, but its singular purpose was achieved. It opened a path and carved right through the final moments of Jasmine Aodh.
The guardian monster had her arms raised and continued to gaze at the sky. She maintained her posture, but it was not to continue the fight. The energy swirling around her arms dissipated, and the firestorm was calm. It was as if she simply wanted to take one last look, to offer one final prayer before she perished. Her mouth opened, but there was no sound. Was it a woeful whimper, a sigh of relief? The answer could only be answered by the Queen of the Silver Petals.
Her arms slumped and her head hung. She took one look at the hole in her chest, and as if the sight sealed her defeat, the monster fell. When her back touched the garden of vines, the firestorm disappeared, as if the raging torrent of destruction was nothing more than a dream. The guardian rested beside her staff and slowly began to shimmer. The ashes that formed her body began to glow and fall, and along with the silver petals scattered in the wind, she was carried far into the sky.
It was calm. Jasmine Aodh found peace.
Rana turned around and found her companion. Alpheia was lying in a pool of her own blood and was dying. She crawled to the moon-kin, but she didn’t know what to do. They ran out of healing potions, and there were no herbs that she could find. She owed a fiend a life debt, and it was thanks to her companion that she survived and reached the end of the dungeon. It was regrettable, but she could do nothing about it. It would be a wasted effort.
Could Rana really abandon Alpheia? The moon-kin was of no more use, and the correct choice would be to reach the end so that her sacrifice was not made in vain. The fiend was an enemy to humanity, there was no reason to do more than she had. However, who exactly was the enemy? She knew that at the very least, Alpheia was not one of them. Then, there was only one option.
Rana held out her hand. She closed her eyes and began to generate mana. She channeled the mana into her arm, and while doing so she also began searching for the residue life essence she consumed from Alpheia’s arm. She had to take it slow. The damage to her would not be light, and the rebound might even harm the one she was planning to save.
Her eyes snapped open. There was only one shot. She converted the mana into the light element and steeled her mind in preparation for the incoming pain. It burned, but she gritted her teeth. She quickly constructed the Healing Touch Spell and made sure that it was also coated in life essence. She then grabbed the wounded arm and exploded the mana into the moon-kin. The severed arm began to heal. She saw bone and skin growing back rapidly. She heard a scream, she was sure it was her own, but she didn’t take her hand off of the moon-kin. When the arm was fully restored, she quickly snuffed out her mana, but so too did her conscious disappear.
When Rana awoke, Alpheia was sitting next to her. The moon-kin took had her mask off and her face was pale and tired, but pretty much alive.
“Why? You could’ve left me for dead,” Alpheia said.
“Yes, I could’ve,” Rana replied halfheartedly. She looked at the clear sky above, knowing that it was a fake reality localized within the Dungeon. She pondered why she decided to save the moon-kin. In the end, she didn’t know. “I still need you to fly me out of here.”
“I see,” Alpheia said, clearly not convinced.
Rana didn’t know how long the two sat in silence, but they eventually decided to move on. The core awaited them. They walked towards where the guardian monster fell and found a small blue orb floating in the air. That was what Rana was looking for, and what Alpheia wanted to prevent the Church from taking.
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Dungeons were the abominable offspring spawned from ancient evil. There was a reason that it was unheard of that humans were capable of becoming cores. The amount of power and the depth of the hatred needed was something that could only be achieved by those who waged wars with the gods. However, what if the core was deliberately created, one not born from evil but made by evil? There was only one individual capable of such a feat. It was someone who stole the gift of the gods and corrupted them through atrocities and treachery. Someone who waged a war against humans with items that were created to protect them
Rana did not know why, but there was little doubt that Mara destroyed the inquisitor orders so that she could obtain the Foundation Rings and use them to raise Dungeons throughout the kingdom. She was killed by Mara so that Mara could betray humanity.
Rana stepped forward and the moon-kin did not stop her. She extended her hand and reached for the orb, but she stopped just right before her fingers touched it. She hesitated. What if it rejected her? What if she was unsuited to take up the mantle again? There was a chance that she was mistaken, that her undead state meant that she was no longer herself. There was a tiny whisper in her mind that she should just leave. No. The truth did not care about her. The truth stayed true regardless of her actions. She could lie to herself and believe she could run from it, but there was actually no escape.
Rana faced the truth head-on.
The orb shined, releasing light into the sky and revealed a small and inconspicuous ring within. It looked ordinary, just a reflective silver ring with no decorative engravings or superfluous extensions. However, when she slotted the ring into her fourth digit, there was an unmistakable soft blue shine. The ring recognized her. Rana was still the Grand Inquisitor of the Sapphire Order.
There was no doubt that the sword that plunged through her body belonged to her sister. It was a memory she suppressed, but no longer. Her calling was before her. She could no longer lie to herself.
The Church was also looking for the Foundation Rings. The power they contained was immense, and could no doubt swing the war in the favor of humans. However, Rana had no interest in the war or the survival of humanity at this point. This war had been waged for far too long and the truth of it was already forgotten. The moon-kin also seemed satisfied, knowing that her enemies, the humans, would not be able to strike a blow against them. This was what her kin was preventing, and she managed to accomplish it.
Rana and Alpheia descended the Dungeon in silence. They encountered no resistance. Without the core, the Dungeon was truly dead. She did not know what would happen to one that was made artificially, but normally when Dungeons lost their core, they ceased to be Dungeons. Their localized realities collapsed, and whatever remained became part of the landscape. They either become part of the Boundary Forest or home to wandering monsters. However, they would not stay to see The Tree of Ashen Fall’s conclusion.
Then, the two stood before the exit
“What now?” Alpheia asked.
“I guess we part ways,” Rana said. It had been several days since they entered the Dungeon. The guards the moon-kin left alive should’ve already awoken and reported their sighting to the Aodh council. The invaders had gone after their Dungeon. It was their lifeline and they would no doubt believe that an enemy force was going to attack there. If Aodh deployed their forces with faulty information, they were sure to suffer defeat. The little rumor Rana wanted the guards to spread was to simply weaken their defensive lines, so that the invaders could push further inward, past the Dungeon. With the final battle drawing near, there was no doubt at this point neither side has enough manpower to scout around. “If the worst-case scenario happened, the amount of blood being shed should allow you to do your whisper.”
“I meant afterward. Will you stand with humans or will you stand against them?”
“Neither. My mission is clear. I do not know what my sister is planning, but I have to stop her,” Rana replied. She looked at the moon-kin, to see if her companion would object and become her enemy. She did not know why, but the idea of having to fight Alpheia stung, especially after all they went through. However, the moon-kin simply nodded. “You are not against it?”
“The Dark Paladin is someone most kin revere. However, she took your life and the right to vengeance is yours to claim,” Alpheia said with a wayward smile. “Yet I have not heard of the deceased being the one to set out for vengeance.”
“I too doubt my situation is normal. However, I still have a duty to carry out, and I will see that it is fulfilled,” Rana said. She then held out her hand. The moon-kin was confused, but after some instructing she shook it. “You have my thanks. May the next time we meet not be as enemies.”
“If so, then you should pray you aren’t as frail as you are now,” Alpheia replied with a smirk.
With that said, Rana parted ways with the confident moon-kin. With her convictions renewed and her goal now determined, she only had one path she needed to take.