Author: Shadow's Hand
Title: Godslaying Demon
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nope. Rose belongs to The Legend of Dragoon, which belongs to Sony. I just love to write about her.
Rose walked onto a small bluff above the village of Neet, waiting calmly for night to fall. She always hunted by night, as the blood red light of the Moon seemed somehow fitting as she slew its child and spilled the blood of innocents. No. Not innocents. Servants to the God of Destruction by now, as the Moon Child was undoubtedly here. Or had been. Add to the innate power that turns people to serve Soa's will the fact that she was these people's beloved princess....All of Mille Seasue would rise up to aid the birth of the Virage Embryo, unwittingly but willingly destroying themselves and the rest of Endiness. Glancing up, she noticed there were heavy clouds to the east, still far off, but gaining quickly. Stormclouds. They would be upon Neet by late afternoon tomorrow, snuffing whatever bit of dark fire remained after the deed was done.
The dark warrior remembered something. How very, very
appropriate. It was on this very day, 11,556 years ago, the evil known as Melbu
Frahma was vanquished....And the lives of her friends, of her troops, of her enemies,
and most of all, her love, were taken away.
With a toss of her raven hair and a small snarl, she cut off
those thoughts before they could lead to where she knew they eventually would.
There was no way she could bear those thoughts of despair and anguish, not when
the monster was barely being restrained. "When night falls....Then, and only
then, will I allow my emotions to fuel my actions." Came the quiet remark. She
sighed slightly. "Might as well get some sleep. Nothing much better to do."
Rose grasped a nearby tree branch with her left hand and swung up, arranging
herself comfortably with her sword in her hand.
~~::{Dream}::~~
"Rose!"
~What?~
"Rose!"
~Who...?~
"ROSE! Wake up!"
Her eyes opened; she could feel it. But nothing changed. It was
still darkness, darker than anything she had ever seen. It wasn't HER darkness,
the kind she commanded with ease. It was foreign, malevolent....Perhaps even
frightening.
"I told you to wake up! Come on already!"
~But I am awake....My eyes are open.~
A sigh. "Rose, just because you think your eyes are open does mean they truly ARE. And just because your eyes are open doesn't mean you're awake."
Only one person could be that philosophical. ~Syuveil...? But...You're dead.~
"Too true. I'm merely trying to warn you. You need to awaken, before it is too late."
~I don't understand....~
"My time here is up. Sorry, Rose. Bye."
~Syuveil! Wait!~
"Come visit me sometime."
~SYUVEIL!~
~~::{End Dream}::~~
Rose awoke with a start. The dream she had experienced was fading
fast from memory, as was the daylight from the sky. ~It is time!~ A voice from
somewhere inside her screamed.
"Not yet. Just a little longer."
Sullen quiet met her spoken response. Nodding, Rose watching the
sky fade from pink to blue, and finally, to deep purple. The moon that always
hung in the sky began to glow more fiercely red, signaling that it was time.
~NOW! It is time now!~
Rose sighed. "Yes, it is time."
The hated demon that lived inside her flesh rose to the surface,
hungry for blood. Her Darkness dragoon spirit changed from a deep blue/purple
to darkest crimson, the color of spilled blood in the moonlight. The armor of
the legendary Dragoon formed on her body, then abruptly changed to the horrific
armor of the Black Monster, ending with her sunset wings disappearing and being
replaced by dark flames. Blinking slightly glowing eyes, the demon that was
once called 'Rose' flew out to Neet, anticipating the death and destruction
that would begin there in earnest.
A woman down in the village screamed and pointed up. She was
immediately consumed by black fire, followed quickly by several others. Gliding
low to the ground, the monster ignited the wooden buildings with a single
thought. Several knights came running towards her. She torched all but one and
grabbed him by the throat. "Where is she!?" The demon's harsh voice rang out.
"Where is the princess!? The chance to kill the Moon Child comes only every 108
years, when the moon glows a blood color!"
"We will never give you Princess Louvia! AHHHHH!" The soldier
was consumed in the dark flames and thrown to the side. The demon torched
everything in sight, until, on a whim, she came to a small house in the center
of the village.
She could hear, over the crackle of the flames and screams of
the people, a young girl speaking in a panicked voice, and her mother's calm
answer. The Black Monster threw open the door of their house and the woman
became wide-eyed with fright. The little girl did nothing but complain about
the heat and dark. Catching a glimpse of the girl's eyes, a small shred of Rose
came to the surface, whispered ~She is blind....Spare her.~ and was quickly
smashed by the demon. "Where are you hiding the Moon Child!?"
The mother looked at her in defiance. "We will never tell you!"
"Do you wish to die with your daughter?"
With a pained look filled with hatred, the mother nodded.
"Princess Louvia has taken to the sea. Now leave our village!" Those words were
her last, as she, too, died by the hand of the demon, leaving an orphaned and
blind daughter behind.
The entire village was burning. The demon prepared to leave,
knowing her task was finished, when a blonde man ran up to her, sword in hand.
Turning to face this pitiful human, the demon was shocked. He looked like Zieg!
But Zieg was dead, and damn this man for bringing him to mind! Snarling in
fury, the monster prepared to dispatch him when a woman, obviously his wife by
the way he told her to go back, to stay with their son. She went first, exactly
like all the others, except that instead of burning from the outside, then in,
the woman's internal organs caught fire first, then spread to her outer flesh.
"CLAIRE! How dare you, you monster!" The man shrieked at her as the demon
smirked. Suddenly a red light flared, and when it died, the man who so reminded
her of Zieg was gone. Without a backward look, the Black Monster flew into the
lightening sky, in the direction of Illisa Bay, leaving only two children and
the ashes of a village.
~*End of Part 1 – Flames of
Neet*~
AN: This is just going to be a little bitty two-parter, maybe
kinda as an epilogue to Sliced Strings. I dunno. And yes, I know, I'm obsessed.
So sue me. *Shrugs* Read and review please. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS
welcomed.
