Author note: I do not own The Last Story.
Hello! ...Yes, I'm starting ANOTHER fic. Why...? 0_0 Because I really needed to get this out on something. And I wanted to write more stuff for this fandom. XD This fic is inspired by stuff in an RP forum created by zgirl16, but this fic will differ a bit from what it was in the RP. XD
Warning: There are OCs created by yours truly (me, Mystical Authoress) but there are also OCs in this fanfic that are created by zgirl16. I do NOT own them, and YES, I DID ASK PERMISSION TO USE THEM FIRST BEFORE PUTTING THEM IN THIS FIC.
So, to clear things up so no one is confused about which OC belongs to which fanfic author...
OCs owned by Mystical Authoress (me): Azalea, Sebastian, Draven
OCs owned by zgirl16: Iris, Kresa, James, Leia
There. All settled. XD
Warning (for the fic): OCs, violence, various pairings, uh...I'll put up more warnings later on if needed...
Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks! XD
The Last Story: Fighting Against Fate
1. Prophecy
Therius walked through the hallways of Lazulis Castle, alone.
One year.
It had been one year since the war between the Gurak Continent and Lazulis Island ended. And one year since the death of the one closest to him, his mentor. General Asthar.
Therius hadn't visited his tomb in that one year at all. Not since the funeral.
At least this time he brought some flowers with him-white lillies, to be exact. The General always had a liking towards life, after all...it wouldn't hurt to put a bouquet of the blooms at his tomb...
The white knight continued to walk towards General Asthar's tomb (thank goodness that he was given a place to rest-he deserved such a rest after all he'd been through) quietly, without a word.
And then, without warning, Therius swore he heard something.
...That something was a muffled scream.
And it was coming down the corridor, echoing from the crypt below.
"What...?"
The white knight couldn't believe his ears. He nearly dropped the lilies in the process as he kept running, thoughts flying through his head as his footsteps pounded against the floor beneath him.
Is that scream...could it be...but that's impossible, it cannot be...
He finally reached the entrance to the crypt, rushing inside as he heard another muffled scream from inside the room. Inside the crypt were many stone coffins, containing those that had fought bravely in the war a year ago and died. General Asthar was resting among them-his body was resting at the far side of the room.
Where is it coming from...?
Therius hesitated, before calling out.
"Who's there?"
Someone answered back.
"S-sir Therius!?"
...Therius now knew whose voice it was.
"G-General...?"
The white knight was nearly at a loss for words, unsure of what to do, but then regained his composure. If General Asthar was alive and kicking in that stone coffin only to be suffocating, that meant Therius had to get him out of there-fast.
"General Asthar! Hang in there, I'm coming!" The white knight shouted, rushing towards the stone coffin where Asthar was, dropping the lillies and forgetting about them completely. He had to help the General. He had to.
As soon as the white knight got to Asthar's coffin, he immediately tried to lift the lid with his bare hands. No luck. Half cursing, he unsheathed his sword, pushing the tip of it under an open crack between the lid and the rest of the coffin, before pushing the rest of the sword downwards to act as a lever. Slowly, so slowly, it finally opened. Therius kept pushing with all of his might, until the lid finally gave away and was pushed to the side, letting out a loud banging noise as it hit the floor below.
Immediately, General Asthar sat up in the coffin, trying to regain his composure as he took a few breaths. Therius just stared in disbelief, unsure yet again of what to say, before speaking.
"General...you're alive?"
General Asthar blinked, turning towards Therius quietly as he spoke. "I am alive now, Sir Therius...though I have no idea how. I am glad to see you again, and...thank you, for getting me out of that coffin..."
Therius nodded quietly, helping him get out of the coffin, the two now standing. "You are welcome, General." He responded quietly. "How long were you awake...?"
"For a good while. I had no idea where I was, and then I remembered I had died, being stabbed by Master Dagran. That was when I realized I was in a coffin." The General shuddered at this. "I wish not to be in such a confined space again until I am dead again, if that happens."
Therius nodded quietly, just as Zael rushed into the crypt, accompanied by Mirania.
"Therius, are you alright?" Zael started. "Mirania and I heard screams from the crypt, and-" He stopped midsentence as soon as he saw General Asthar, unsure of what to say. Mirania, however, filled it in for him.
"General Asthar...? But how...?"
Therius and Asthar both exchanged glances, before Asthar spoke.
"It's a long story."
Callista Arganan knew that she was the only human that could really be able to discuss anything with Lord Zesha, the newest King of the Gurak. Had it been Zael going to the Gurak Continent instead of her, the two would be more likely to start an argument. Ever since Zepha and Zangurak's deaths, Zesha had been forced to take over the role of King of the Gurak. And Callista knew, with all her heart, that he absolutely abhorred being in such a role. Yet, he was willing to sacrifice his freedom for his people.
The reason she was coming to see Lord Zesha, however, was not because of politics or old wounds. It was because of something else.
Apparently there had been reports of Lord Zesha becoming more and more disturbed over the past few months. At first the other Gurak wrote it off as mourning over Zepha's death-Zepha had been the closest person to him, after all.
But then things got worse. Nightmares, hallucinations...the Gurak were fearing that he was going insane with grief.
Zesha, however, kept denying it.
And now, out of desperation, the Gurak had turned to Callista for help. She couldn't just stand by-she had to accept. After all, despite all that his people had done to her people, they had done the same. And it wasn't fair to just let someone struggle with their darkness alone-Callista knew that very well, of how bad it could get.
What she wasn't expecting, though, was that Zesha greeted her by throwing a knife at her as she entered his office-like quarters.
...Technically, not at her, but in the direction she happened to be in. The Countess of Lazulis let out a quick gasp as the knife hit the door, only milimeters from her face. Zesha's eyes widened at this in surprise, in shock, before speaking.
"A-apologies...Lady Callista..." He quickly walked around his desk, taking out the knife from the door and putting it back on the desk, before facing her. "I wasn't paying attention."
Lady Callista looked at him sadly, realizing that he was still wearing the same attire as last year. His Gurak armor, chestplate and all, had shifted straight to something more regal-which was obvious, since he was now King of the Gurak-but his clothing attire was still in the same mourning black and red, with hints of blue on the handles of both the sheathed East Wing and West Wing as a reminder of Zepha. The North Wing and South Wing hung on the wall in the office quarters, to Callista's far left.
"It's alright." Callista tried to reassure him. "I should have knocked first, before entering."
There was silence between them for a moment, before Zesha spoke up again.
"You came because my people asked you to, didn't they?" He let out a grim laugh at this. "Claiming I'm going mad out of grief...if only that could be so..."
Callista raised an eyebrow at this, confused. "What...?"
"Mad out of grief. That would be a fitting end to one who has lost many of his people, his only relative, and the greatest leader of all the Gurak." Zesha repeated quietly, his eyes locking with hers. They looked bloodshot, filled to the brim with defeat and longing. "But I will tell you this-I'm not mad. I can feel it. Someone is using me, but I don't know why or who. And I cannot tell anyone-if word got out that their King was being driven to madness, some might assume it is a human's work and try to attack Lazulis based on a mere assumption."
"Oh." Callista winced at this. Zesha did have a point there. Before she could say anything else, another voice spoke up out of nowhere.
"Who is driving you mad, Lord Zesha? Oh, that's me. And it's because I absolutely adore messing with memories. That's why..." There was a brief chuckle that came from the voice. Zesha's eyes narrowed, before he picked up the knife and threw it at the intruder. Callista turned to see the intruder let out a yelp, the knife cutting through the skin of the back of his right hand, before he gazed at the wound. Pausing, he licked the wound curiously, before speaking. "Oh. I thought blood would taste better than that. But oh well, I suppose that doesn't matter..."
Callista was disgusted at the sight of this intruder. He was a male human, in his early to mid-thirties, with long, dark brown hair that was tied back in a braid like Therius' own, except a bit thicker. Dark amber eyes gazed at the two quietly, a smirk on his face. The long, brown coat he wore over his white tunic was splattered with darker brown stains (blood?) and he wore black trousers and boots to finish off the look.
"Who are you?" The Countess of Lazulis Island asked, glaring at the man.
The older man merely smiled. "My name, Lady Callista Arganan, is Belladonna. Draven Belladonna. 'Tis a pleasure to meet you, finally." He then turned towards Zesha, still smiling. "And same goes for you, Lord Zesha."
Zesha took out both the East Wing and West Wing, his eyes sharpening into a glare at this human intruder. "What do you want?" He snapped.
The other laughed, his eyes glittering with absolute delight. "I thought I would give you a little warning, though I think you already know. The witness and the victim draw close to the next tragedy that shall befall the Arganans..."
Callista was confused at this. "What..what do you mean...?"
Draven laughed at this, at her lack of knowledge.
"A tragedy will surely happen, of course! In what way, I do not know...it could be in any way possible..." He started to back out of the room, but Zesha had other plans.
"You're not running away yet."
Before Draven could speak, he was thrown against the wall, and he slumped into a sitting position, letting out a pained groan as Zesha got on a knee, now pointing the East Wing at his neck.
"Tell me why you're here besides the bloody message," Zesha snapped, eyes glowing with anger, "Or I'll slit your throat."
Callista froze. She wanted to tell Zesha not to kill this man, that he hadn't even done anything. But if he really was the man that was messing with Zesha's mind...
Zesha was immediately blasted backwards by a dark light, and Draven stood, looking at Zesha with an apathetic expression.
"Goodness, Lord Zesha, I thought you would act more civil than this. Then again...socializing with anyone was never much of a strong point for you." Draven smiled a bit, glancing at Callista. "Perhaps I'll make you into a life-sized marionette after you're dead, if the master permits it. You're too lovely to be buried in a grave..." He glanced at Zesha. "And what to do with you? When you break after witnessing the tragedy, you'll be pretty lifeless, too. I could do whatever I want, torment you to the point of insanity with magic of light and dark, throwing knives at your being and letting them just barely miss the most fatal areas...maybe I could even rip you apart with your very own memories, and the memories of others...I've been doing that quite the while now, and it's quite entertaining to me."
Zesha coughed, trying his best to stand. "Not...happening..." He rasped quietly. The other just kept that unnerving grin.
Callista had enough of this.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I do not intend to die, nor do I intend to become some...some marionette of yours!" She spat out, summoning a Shining spell and blasting Draven with it. "Get out of here, or...or I'll destroy you myself!"
Draven let out a pained groan, glancing at Callista, and then at Zesha, weakly smiling at them still.
"I will depart...for now. Though it's an absolute shame, Lady Callista, that you deny such beauty to be kept from wilting. Mark my words, I will get the newest one in my collection... I swear that completely. Now, adieu. Until next time."
With that being said, Draven was gone instantly before their eyes. Zesha let out a quiet breath, and there was silence betweent the two of them before he spoke again.
"Are you alright? Lady Arganan...?"
Callista paused, before speaking. "I'm fine. But what about you?"
Zesha still looked a bit unnerved, but he did his best to stay calm. "I'll be fine."
Callista knew, in her heart, that Zesha was definitely not fine. Not with this mysterious man running around and messing with his memories.
But...what exactly did he mean by the witness and victim? The next tragedy to befall the Arganans? What was this all about...?
The Countess of Lazulis had a feeling that she had to do a little research once she got back to Lazulis Castle from the Gurak Continent.