A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I'll be trying to update regularly and as much as I can. The OCs in this story are mine, but the Tsubasa characters and plot of course belong to CLAMP.
There is one thing I care about above all else. For that one thing, I take the world's pain. I keep no bonds. I give my life to a contract that would give me hope. All for that one promise that the world once stole away from me. A promise that may never be fulfilled, no matter how long I wait. I will soon discover that the end, be it favorable or not, of my long journey is upon me.
It isn't my duty to stop the man, but I can't tolerate people like him. When he dies, I certainly can't allow his soul to stick around in this world longer than it has to. I just hope that when I reap his soul, he is not reborn any time soon.
My grip around my scythe tightens as I think about all the families he has broken. All the loved ones that have been lost. It makes me want to give him a painful death, even though it will be harder on me as well.
I arrive at his new palace now. The fact that he even has one is revolting, and the fact that he forced innocent people to work day and night to build it is even worse.
When I approach the gates, the guards cross their spears in front of me, blocking my way.
"Do you have business in the palace?" one of them questions, eying my weapon with a mixture of caution and fear. My scythe isn't really something to be messed with. The staff portion – a good couple feet longer than I am tall—is a dark, silvery-gray with streaks of red and orange fire. Actual fire. They flicker and dance around the staff harmlessly for me, but I can easily turn the fire on any living thing. The curved blade, about half the length of the staff, is similar with its silvery-gray shining through the light flames. It isn't an evil or menacing weapon, though. Yes, it keeps most people far away, but in reality it commands respect. After all, it is godly. Heavenly. Otherworldly. Divine. There are many words for it. And of course, such a powerful weapon is only borrowed.
"I do. And if you insist on standing in my way, I can't guarantee your safety."
I truly don't want to kill unnecessarily. While some of the power-hungry guards that work for Senir are loyal to him, there are others who simply fear him and want to avoid his wrath by staying on his good side. I don't want to accidentally bring someone an undeserved death.
"We cannot allow you to enter," the other guard states.
I waste no time in jumping over the gates. Though they are at least twenty feet tall, I easily clear them using some magic to carry me through the air. My own magic is wind-based, so manipulating air and flying are second-nature to me.
As I land in the courtyard, I discover that the guards from the gate have triggered some sort of magical security system. Waves of magical energy pulse through the air and converge on me, branding me a target and leading hundreds of guards out from who knows where to surround me.
The magic weakens me, suppressing my power. Still, it isn't enough to stop me, and I allow no weakness to show.
"I'm looking for Senir!" I shout to all the underlings.
One of them, who I presume to be the head guard, steps forward, pointing a magic-imbued sword at me. The sword glows with a dark purple light. A hit from that probably wouldn't be good. However, I don't fear death, and I can tolerate pain well.
"His highness needs not bother with scum like you," Mr. Lead Guard says. "An imbecile that has the nerve to step foot here without invitation deserves death."
I sigh. "You brought this upon yourselves."
All at once, they charge towards me with their leader at the head. I swipe my scythe up, blocking his sword before swinging my weapon in a circle around me. As I do, I send a wave of magic forward which throws all the guards back. I feel their injuries—the cuts in their bodies and the impacts with the ground— but am able to easily ignore the pain. The most unfortunate of them die, and I instinctively use my power to reap their souls. My scythe glows with a mystical golden power, and again I swing the weapon which launches a wave of shimmering golden light that envelops the fallen soldiers. This severs the ties between soul and body so that they may move on to the afterlife before being reborn again, but the still-living soldiers are unaffected. For them, I prompt fire to completely engulf the blade of my scythe and slash it in a wide arc, causing the fire to shoot out towards the foolish soldiers. Only a handful, the lead guard included, manage to block the attack. I notice that they all seem to have that same strange magic imbedded in their weapons.
It is not their own power but Senir's.
I snort. "Come at me," I say. These people have no hope of defeating me, and once I'm done dealing with them, I'll be able to move on to hunt down Senir.
The guards run towards me again, and our weapons collide. I am sidestepping and slashing, blocking with my scythe and guarding with magic barriers. Every wound I inflict on the guards is another bit of pain I have to ignore in the midst of battle.
Suddenly, there is a powerful wave of magic from the main entrance to the palace.
A powerful voice resonates in the courtyard. "Enough."
My foes and I have pulled apart, and we are all looking towards the man who has emerged from the palace. Senir himself.
"Your highness! We will dispose of this woman immediately," the lead guard quickly says.
Senir laughs disdainfully. "She will dispose of you useless worms first. I will take care of this myself." Then he addresses me. "Miss, you have really been a thorn in my side. I think it's time I get rid of you."
He holds up a hand up above his head and accumulates magic in it. The magical orb above his hand explodes into beams, and I raise a barrier before me. Except none of the beams are aimed at me, I realize. They all hit his guards. When the men fall to the ground, I know that they are dead. They did not even feel pain as the magic pierced their chests. Anger wells up inside me. I will not let this go unpunished. Senir begins forming a powerful spell directed at me this time. Using magic, I launch myself through the air, my feet not touching the ground. I cross a few hundred feet in only seconds, and when I am within a few meters of him, I pull my scythe back.
But when I swing it forward, I only make contact with a barrier. I am paused in the air, trying to cut through it with my momentum to back me.
My eyes catch Senir's, and I can see cruelty and arrogance. His confident gaze says that he has won, and I suddenly realize that magic chains are appearing around me. Immediately, I back off, form a barrier around myself, and try to jump out of the way.
But I am too late. The restraints wrap around me, easily piercing through my barrier. They dig into my wrists, my arms, my legs. My waist and torso. Whatever power he is controlling is unimaginable. I am suspended in the air by the chains, and I cannot move. I curse at myself for letting my guard down.
My scythe has become useless to me, so I let it vanish into flames and particles of light. "Kill me then," I say.
Senir speaks to me in a low voice. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know, there's a legend. A legend about a phoenix."
Dread overcomes me. He knows. I have never met anyone else besides the witch and myself, in all the time I have lived, who also knows. Who exactly is this man…?
I usually have no reason to fear for my life, but now, I do.
Senir continues, "I have been looking for a way to obtain the phoenix's power. I didn't know if it was anything but legend, however it seems that there is some truth to such a thing, isn't there." He smiles slyly at me.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say harshly. "Now let me go if you aren't going to kill me."
"If you have the phoenix's power, then all I need to do is kill you to confirm it." He snaps his fingers and a magic bullet whizzes by my face, leaving behind a cut on my right cheek. He is showing me that he can kill me as he pleases. The chains tighten, and the smirk on his face disgusts me. "And once I do…" He leaves me hanging, but I know whatever he is planning isn't going to be good news.
We are staring each other in the eyes, neither of us breaking away, both us trying to read the other.
Falkira. I call telepathically to the phoenix currently residing within my soul.
Airia, says a voice in my head, if he has a feather from an older phoenix, he can override our contract.
My heart races and my hands tremble. I absolutely cannot let that happen. If there's even the slightest chance—and it seems like there's more than just a slight chance—that Senir could break the contract, then I have to break free. The wind picks up around me as I try to form a vicious whirlwind, but his strange power protects him with ease.
"Don't think you can hurt me," Senir says. He takes a step towards me, holding his palm towards my face. Magical energy is accumulating in his palm, and I am certain his attack will kill me instantly if it hits.
I am running out of time. I have to get out, and I have to get out now.
Closing my eyes, I start to chant under my breath.
"Oh sacred time, oh sacred space, take me away from here, I plead. Take my life, and let me be reborn." Magic courses through my entire body like fire, charging me with immense energy. When I open my eyes, everything has slowed down. Half a second. A tenth of a second. A hundredth. Thousandths. A ball of dark purple light is in front of his hand now, and I see it starting to form into a beam that heads straight towards me.
"Kal kura nomin Yuuko," I finish.
Many, many beads of shimmering light shoot out from my body and grow larger. The light is dark, yet it shines brightly with every color. Mysterious, yes. But time and space is quite mysterious.
Senir's beam is only a couple feet from me now.
The shimmering light of space and time comes back to converge on me.
A couple more inches and I will die before the spell completes.
I see Senir's expression begin to change as he reacts to the sudden appearance of the light. I do not know if he is surprised, or frustrated, or what. Before I can tell, everything is gone.
Rain. There is rain. It feels cold on my skin and makes the cut on my cheek sting. I recognize Yuuko's magical power.
Now that I am fully reborn into this world, I fall to my hands and knees because I don't have the strength to stand. Dimensional travel always takes a large toll on me. I essentially die and am reborn in a different place, though it isn't quite the same as a normal rebirth. My body and soul in the previous location disappear and are reformed at the destination. However, dying and being reborn are very difficult things. It takes a massive amount of life energy from you, and you are left vulnerable just after being reborn. And so, I can barely keep myself awake.
"Yuuko," I mutter.
I sense more magic that comes and then fades. There is now another, very strong source of magic near me. A few feet away to my right. It is familiar. The magic is so familiar. There are two voices, both coming from my right, but I can't comprehend what they say. I force my eyes open as tears begin to form for some reason I don't understand, as I have not cried in hundreds of years. I need to see. I need to turn my head just slightly. I absolutely need to, but just as I manage to catch a blurry glimpse of the man, I fall into darkness.