Masquerade
Hey guys, I'm really sorry for not posting the next chapter for the Legend of the Heroes, but I was at my friend's house where we were discussing the quest where Phantom gets to talk to Aria's spirit. I was about to explode with feels and I had to write this. Nikphantom11 of Bera, this story is dedicated to you. I'm sorry you were nerfed (even though I'm internally smirking and thinking that Nexon has sided with me to show yet another reason why the Demon Slayer is superior to the peon you call a hero.)
Phantom was running in the middle of the desert, dehydrated and semiconscious. Stumbling across the Nihal Desert, he followed the twinkling star that outshone all the others in the night sky as his guide. His water was now the refreshing moonlight that he was washed in. His shelter was the black, velvety dome of the sky. He did not know why he continued to run, but he knew that there was something waiting for him, although he knew not how far it was. But, the journey had been taxing upon him. As he fell onto the ground, he willed his eyes to stay open, no matter how much he felt like closing them and basking in the clear moonbeams that shone on him. His eyes were nearly shut and he knew that the sun had set upon his legend.
That was when he saw it - the moon and heavenly bodies of stars that sparkled around it were rippling upon the ground. He looked up and saw the silhouette of an oasis in front of him. With no strength left, he began to crawl towards the grove of trees and the essence of life that flowed around them. He reached as far as he could before he could move no further. With he strength deserting him, he stretched his fingers as far as they could and scooped a few drops of the water in the grove. Most of the water left his hands while retracting his arm, but when he looked down, he saw a small droplet of water in his palm. Looking closer, he saw that the water was deep blue and crystalline. Putting it to his lips, he licked his fingers and felt energized as if all of the moon itself poured its energy into him. He raised himself to his knees and began to scoop for more water. The water receded as he tried to scoop it in his hands. Soon, all of the water had vanished as mysteriously as it had come. Getting up, Phantom proceeded to push his way into the grove of trees, hoping to find more water there.
Instead, he entered a brilliantly gilded room with crystal chandeliers and beautiful paintings on the walls. Looking around in awe, he saw thousands of people dancing in the grand hall. The women wore long, flowing gowns that seemed to float slowly as they spun around. The men wore fine blazers and belts of gold and silver. Curiously, every one of the peoples' faces were hidden in masks of different kinds - dogs, cats, lions, tigers, rabbits, owls, elephants, butterflies, and even peacocks. Phantom felt embarrassed to be in the presence of people of such class while wearing rags and dirt. When he looked down however, he saw to his amazement that he wore not tatters, but an ensemble of clothes that seemed to put the rest of the dancers to shame. Phantom wore a platinum suit with golden buttons on it. He had brown breeches and gilded leather boots. An antique velvet cape of midnight blue hung from his shoulders and a pure gold belt with a crescent moon upon its head. Looking into his pocket, he drew out an eloquent mask of black. It was in the shape of a raven with its beak protruding from the mask. At either side of it were blue feathers held together by a sapphire gem. Slipping the mask on his face, he grinned and entered the crowd.
He walked around the room, looking for a partner to dance with. Many eyes were turning upon him in wonder and girls were leaving their partners to go dance with him. Phantom liked this very much and danced with every girl for a short while until another one pushed the first away to get a turn to dance with this charming stranger. Phantom, however, managed to snatch something shiny from each girl he danced with, whether it be an earring or a necklace. In this fashion, Phantom danced his way to the other side of the room. He was dancing with a rather plump girl when he saw the most beautiful thing he had laid his eyes on. An amethyst jewel that sparkled in the bright lights of the ballroom hung around the neck of a girl. Leaving behind the plump woman, he made his way to the girl with the jewel and offered his hand to her, pushing aside the man next to her. Furiously, the man left and disappeared in the crowd. Reluctantly, she accepted and Phantom spun her towards the center of the room. Absentmindedly dancing, he inched his finger higher above her back in hopes of unfastening the jewel from the girl. He touched the gold chain, when he felt a soft hand closing around his own. The girl who he was dancing with had noticed his trick and caught him in the act. Phantom's eyes opened wide as he expected her to scream.
The girl did not scream. She merely smiled and continued to hold Phantom's other hand. It was then that Phantom looked at the girl with full attention. She was willowy and he skin was smooth and snow-white. She wore a periwinkle dress with frills and laces. A blue sash was draped around her arms, decorated with gold. Her hair was soft and blonde, flowing as they circled around the ballroom. Her eyes were blue and sad as a teardrop, as if she had seen things that a girl her age should never be exposed to. However, the most alluring of her face was her smile - with pink lips that glinted with life. Her aura was beautiful and big, and her actions sang a wondrous tune.
Like a melody. An aria...
Aria - in his tongue, it meant a melody, or a note held for quite a while. Phantom was never much for music and often left before the piece had ended. Her mask matched Phantom's name for her perfectly. It was a white dove - what he believed symbolized purity and beauty. Aria lifted a finger and put it on Phantom's lips, showing that she wouldn't tell. Phantom smiled as his pocket felt heavy all of a sudden. Reaching into it, he pulled out a bewitching red rose, its petals twinkling in the light. He offered the rose to her, which she accepted gratefully. She put the rose in her hairband and began to give off the fragrance of roses. Aria smiled and offered her hand. Phantom accepted and they began to dance. At this point, the crowd had stopped dancing and watched the two circling around the ballroom. Phantom paid no attention to them, lost in the dance.
One, two, three...
One, two, three...
One, two, three...
Slowly, people began to dance once more. Phantom could not take his eyes off of Aria even for a second. Her lovely smile enhanced her beauty as he leaned in closer towards them. Suddenly, she was pulled back by an unknown force and was lost in the sea of people dancing. Phantom ran in after her, pushing aside desperately for her. He caught a flash of purple, the gem he tried to steal from her, and ran towards it. The people suddenly vanished one by one and the lights began turning off. All the dancers had gone and a single light remained. Phantom spun around maniacally, trying to find his newfound love. He saw her on the other side of the room, her eyes shining in fear. A shadow towered over her, a dagger in his hand.
Time seemed to slow down as Phantom rushed as hard as he could. Try as he might, the harder he ran, the slower he went. The dagger tantalizingly fell upon her slowly as Phantom reached mere inches from her. As he reached his arm to stop the dagger, blood spurted from Aria's heart and stained her gown and the dagger. Phantom opened his mouth to scream, but it was never heard. The shadow ran away, but not before Phantom had pulled the mask from its face. Hidden in the darkness, the shadow melted away, leaving behind only a snake mask with a forked tongue. Turning back to Aria, Phantom shook her shoulders, tears streaming down his face. Aria smiled weakly, a tear in her eye as well. Phantom hugged her limp figure as her eyes closed and stilled. Phantom's face was now mixed with tears and blood as he leaned down towards her lips that had a ghost of a smile upon them. He kissed them with his own, hoping that the warmth of his lips would enter hers, preventing what he could not believe to be true. Her lips, strangely ice cold, did not twitch as he hoped. Her blue eyes did not open to see Phantom sobbing profusely upon her body.
The rose he had given her had fallen out of her hairband. He picked it up and put it back on her head. It still gleamed as brightly as when he gave it to her. As he hugged her, Aria's body grew lighter and lighter until it slowly faded away into mist. Phantom groped into the mist desperately, trying to get her back and never letting go. The mist disappeared, leaving a heartbroken Phantom in the middle of the darkness. He looked down at something glinting in the small orb of light in the air. The jewel he tried to steal remained - a sick parting gift that he had desired from the faceless woman. He picked it up with trembling fingers, looking at his reflection. Shaking with rage, he flung it upon the ground, but it did not break as he had hoped. He looked at it on the ground. It was purple - a mixture of blue and red.
Tears and blood...
He picked it up again and looked at the snake mask. Rage as he never knew filled him and he vowed that wherever it was, the raven would search for and destroy the serpent that sunk its fangs into his beautiful dove...