~ Chapter One: The Midnight Visitor ~
In the deep darkness of a lonesome forest, just outside the boundaries of the valiant Velder kingdom, you could hear the quiet sobbing of a man, repeating the same name over and over.
"Seris… Seris… Seris…"
The owner of the cries was a tan-skinned young man, no older than 25 at most, with spiked black hair the color of a raven's. His body was battered and scarred from his previous torture session, and his entire left arm was hacked off not too recently. But he did not care. Kneeling down, in his arm was the fresh corpse of a beautiful young lady – his lover, perhaps. The one called "Seris", perhaps. Her bright pink hair and sun-kissed soft face were stained a putrid shade of red. Her eyes were open, but they did not move, did not blink; their former blue glory having lost all its light. Her fallen, cold, limp and lifeless arm occasionally brushed against the handle of a light and dainty, but strong sword, now dull and ugly with scraps of human flesh.
All around her laid the bodies of her fallen comrades, men and women both cut and sliced up mercilessly. But the raven haired man did not seem to care. His only thought was on the woman in his arm, her endless blue eyes, staring into the eternal, midnight sky.
"Seris… Seris..."
The man continued to choke out her name, continued to cry into her neck. His throat hurt from dehydration, his eyes hurt from shedding too many tears. But he did not care. He only wanted to see his beloved filled with life again. To hear her voice. To see her move. To embrace her warmth. Like the good days in the past.
But she was dead. And he knew that no matter what he did, she would stay dead. The fact that he did nothing, and could no longer do anything for her was too overwhelming for his fragile mind.
At last, the raven haired man decided to end everything and rejoin his fallen lover. Laying his beloved down, gently, with his remaining hand, he picked up her rusted sword. The blade was dull and dented, but it could still kill. He flicked it, once, twice, to get some of the remaining flesh off, careful not to harm the body of his lover nearby. The raven haired man lifted his head and brought the blade to his neck. He closed his eyes and let a single tear fall down his cheek.
…I'm sorry, Seris.
"You should put that down. Swords are very dangerous you know?"
The raven haired man jerked his body in surprise at the stranger's calm voice. The cluster of trees made navigation through this forest extremely difficult, making it the perfect place for more discreet executions. To enter and meet someone else in this forest required luck bestowed by ten thousand gods.
That. Or they've been here all along…
The raven haired man slowly brought his blade down and turned to face the newcomer.
A lady.
The lady – no, it was more appropriate to say she was a young girl, 16, 17 years of age maybe – leaned on a tree, legs crossed, one arm around her waist and another twirling a strand of silver colored, shoulder-length hair. Her attire was midnight black, with the occasional pink or white line. Just below her collar blades was a beautiful and pure white flower ornament, with two long ribbons flowing beneath it. Underneath her bright and proud golden eyes were blue, circular tribal markings of sorts. On her forehead protruded a spherical shaped blue gem. But what was most curious about this female was her calm, radiant nature and the contradicting smirk pasted on her pale face. Slowly, she walked over to the man and nodded at his beloved,
"I'm certain this lovely lady here would not have been pleased if she were to find out you were prepared to take your own life. You should treasure it; you only have one, after all."
The man did not respond. Rather, he could not respond. He was far too shocked with the behavior of this... This strange little lady. He could do nothing but stare at her wondering, in both cloudy anger and fear. As if sensing his unease, the girl spoke again,
"Oh! I offer my apologies. I do not wish to harm you or the lady." She said, nodding once more at the red-covered corpse. The man glanced at his beloved with a pained expression and a clenching feeling in his chest. Neither spoke a word.
"…Might I ask for your name?"
The man quickly turned to face the girl, and stared, as if trying to comprehend her foreign-sounding words. He carefully opened his mouth, his name barely a murmur in the dead silent of the night.
"…Raven."
The girl nodded, pleased. She looked at the man named Raven carefully, noticing especially, his cold, amber eyes filled with the hidden greed and despair of… A raven. She chuckled.
"A fitting name." she praised, extending her right arm for a handshake.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I go by many names, but you may call me Eve."
Raven glanced at the girl called Eve and her outstretched arm many times before picking up his dead lover and resting her on his chest, twisting his body awkwardly to connect his remaining right hand with hers. Eve was amused by this gesture. Such diligent protection, for one who no longer needs it. Their handshake was short and brief, but it was enough to let Eve know what kind of state her acquaintance was in.
"Now then. Raven, I know this is a difficult situation for you right now. But I can offer you a chance to fix this. With the right choices, you may even be able to restore life in that lady."
His eyes widened. He looked up at Eve, a mixture of emotions in his mind. He heard his heartbeat vibrating quickly in his ears. Was she lying? A person with such power should be well known throughout the lands of Elrios, especially in the noisy and bustling kingdom of Velder. But here stood such a person, offering him her powers. Was she lying? Raven could not tell, 'nor did he no longer care. His only thought – to see and hear his beloved once more.
Revive… Seris?
As if she read his mind, Eve let out another faint chuckle. "Yes. I have the power to change the flow of time, to rewrite history, for a price. My service lasts for thirty days as most." She started to slowly walk around Raven, glancing down at his small, frail figure. His eyes, wide, following her every motion.
"The price for my service…" she continued. "…Depends entirely on the client." Raven blinked, snapping out of his trance. He looked down at the beautiful body in his arm, hesitant. The girl chuckled.
"Do not worry." The girl's voice perked interest in the raven haired man once again. "The price will not be something silly like exchanging one person's life for another's. That would be unjust." She stopped walking, and turned to face Raven, the previously hidden full moon rising and blaring against her back.
"Now then, Raven. Will you accept my contract? I will take you back to the days where you did not have to worry about any harm being brought to you or your beloved. Your arm will be restored, your pain and unease, forgotten. Your beloved will roam the earths once more, with you." She held her hand out, smiling ever so slightly. Her client was unresponsive, shocked and hesitant, at a loss for words. She frowned.
"Is this not satisfying enough? …Ah, yes, of course. I will, naturally, exterminate those who've taken the lives of your comrades. You will not need to worry about them, 'nor will you ever need to." Raven perked his ears, glancing upwards at the towering figure above him. The silver haired lady smirked.
"I will ask once more. Will you accept my offer?"
She was the queen of a nightmarish race of un-human beings, the mistress of destruction, the goddess of prejudice justice. But he did not know that. He knew nothing. He was like a little raven, allured by a beautiful, golden cage filled with traps. But he did not know that.
Raven was driven by temptation, the chance to 'reset' everything that happened this dreadful evening was too alluring. The chance to make everything… Perfect.
He could not resist the offer, and his mind did not bother to think about the possible consequences, or the 'price' of Eve's service. When he reached his right arm towards Eve's open hand, there was only one thought on his mind.
Seris... I'll be able to meet you again…
~Author's Notes~
Hello hello~! This is my first ever actual story of any sorts (excluding school work), so I'm sure there will be lots of literary mistakes and whatnot, haha...
This story was originally a one-shot, but I decided to separate it into various chapters since it seemed kinda long for a one-shot... ...Though, now that I've separated the text, the chapters seem awfully short, haha...
This is also my first publication on FanFiction so I apologize if the text or formatting is weird or whatnot. Any and all sorts of reviews would be greatly appreciated. c:
I plan on finishing this story, regardless of how many favorites/reviews/etc. it receives. I'm just unsure of when I'll update. XD
Anyhow, thank you for reading this far, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D