Midori: Welcome to my third work! The title was made based off of Deemo's two songs, "Magnolia" and "Myosotis." You can listen to it if you want. I don't think they'll fit the later chapters. Magnolia represented life and Myosotis(Forget-me-not) symbolized death. To be more specific on the Myosotis part, this flower shows that this was worn to show a sign of faithfulness and love. They are not yet lovers but, I'm not gonna spoil. :3
Ao: We don't own the cover, we just compiled pictures to show references. We also don't own Elsword or Deemo, its characters or songs, and pictures. Just the plot.
Classes:
Elsword: Infinity Sword
Aisha: Elemental Master
Rena: Wind Sneaker
Raven: Blade Master
Eve: Code: Empress
Ara: Asura
Chung: Tactical Trooper
Add: Mastermind
Elesis: Grand Master
Lu/Ciel: Chiliarch/Dreadlord
Everyone was having a hard time fighting Ran. He keeps summoning clones of himself and uses that chance to attack the party simultaneously.
"Dammit..." Elsword grunts, leaning on Conwell to support himself.
"H-He's... unscathed..." Eve breathes out, her drones trying to maintain her balance.
"B-Brother... D-Don't do this..." Ara had the most injuries. She was already close to collapsing but, not when the very person she wanted to save was right in front of her.
"Hmph." He casted a spell which sent all of them flying. The Asura was crushed on the wall along with the blonde-haired boy.
"A-Ara!" He crawled over to her. "Are... you okay?!"
She coughed up blood. "I-I'm okay." Her eyes widened when Ran went to the Nasod Queen. "Eve!"
Everyone forcefully looked at her.
"S-Stay away from me...!" She couldn't summon Oberon or Ophelia due to her lack of strength.
"Why if isn't the Queen of Nasods! My mistress wanted to corrupt you but sadly, you're very persistent. Such a shame I had to kill you." He says coldly.
"EVE!" She said nothing and shut her eyes tightly. The demon commander smirked and raised his sword.
She waited for the blow, but then felt something wet hit her face. Slowly fluttering her eyes, she saw that Ara (in her celestial fox form) had the sword piercing her stomach. Tears were falling on her face.
Everyone gasped at her action. Eve has never displayed such horror as a Nasod.
"You don't kill the ones I love easily..." She raised her spear with all her might and stabbed her brother in his heart. "Forgive me... Aren..." Gritting her teeth, she pulled it out and the demon's body had fallen.
She could've sworn she saw him smile at her gently.
Returning to her human form, she collapsed. Eve crawled to her and forcefully made herself sit up. "Oberon! Ophelia!" With her remaining strength, the two servants appeared.
Everyone had enough strength to stand up. They saw the both of the Nasods hold Ara as they try to remove the blade from her abdomen.
Before they did, Oberon looked at the party as a sign to look away when they start removing. They all obliged and some of them covered their ears.
They winced as they heard Ara scream in pain while the sword was slowly removed. Tears were pricking their eyes. Aisha, with her eyes shut, bit her lip to prevent herself from crying, but to no avail.
Chung gritted his teeth in pain and tried his best to ease himself of the panic and fear in the situation.
After the sword was removed, the party ran toward them and saw the blackette's poor state. "Isn't there anything to help her heal?! Or at least delay the blood loss until we return?!" Aisha rummaged through their remaining healing items. She found a gauze and some cloth and wrapped them around Ara's stomach. "This won't help much but, it's the best we got. Let's bring her back now!"
Eve tried to make Oberon carry the Asura but, was stopped by the guardian. "Let me carry her. It's my fault for not being able to save her." She hesitantly nods and dismisses her servants.
He gingerly carried her bridal style, his fingers hardly able to hold his cannon. When she didn't flinch, he looked at her and saw that her skin was dangerously pale. "This is bad! We have to go back now!"
Everyone quickly stood up and ran to where the Water Priestess was [1]. "Hm? Back so ear- What happened to her?!" Sasha widened her eyes when she saw Chung hold a blood-covered girl.
"There's no time to explain! Take us to the nearest way back to the castle!" Without thinking twice, Sasha opened a portal and led the party.
As they arrived, the priestess called an emergency and nurses quickly came and brought Ara inside the emergency room.
Everyone was anxious at what was happening. How were they supposed to know that she would've done something that endangered her own life?
A few hours later, everyone had their wounds treated and the doctor still has not come outside to tell the result.
"This is purely my fault... I was unable to respond quickly and I have endangered Ara's life..." Eve tightens her fists. This was the first time she displayed humane qualities but, that wasn't the issue right now.
"No, Eve. It's my fault for not being able to protect her. Don't blame yourself." Chung tried his best to put up a smile.
"This is no one's fault. Stop pinning the blame on yourselves." Rena places her hands on her hips. Everyone went silent.
The doctor emerged from the door. Chung immediately stood up and ran up to him. "How is she?"
"The wound was very fatal. If you could not bring her here sooner, she would not survive. However, right now, she is in a comatose state and we are unsure when she will wake up or if she will ever wake up." He states, examining the clipboard. "Forgive me, your Highness. We have done everything to sustain her life, and there is nothing we can do if she's in this situation."
Horror flashed before the prince's eyes. "You may visit her now, your Majesty."
"I-I see. Thank you. You're dismissed."
He readjusted his glasses. "Excuse me."
He departed quietly. The party was devastated. Eve quickly stood up and went inside the ICU.
What she saw was heart-breaking. There she is, multiple contraptions attached to her. A respirator over her mouth. Skin deathly pale, and bandages wrapped around her. A heart rate monitor is showing a steady beat.
She walked toward her and gently placed her hand above Ara's heart. "Humans can hear words even if they are in this state, correct? Then, allow me to convey my words. Forgive me, Ara. Because of me, you endangered your own life. I truly thank you as the Queen of Nasods."
Everyone entered the room. Aisha, Rena, Elesis, and Lu gasped at the sight. Elsword tried his best not to cry, Raven and Add looked away, Ciel rubbed Lu's back in sorrow, and Chung raced to her.
He couldn't forgive himself for this. He held her hand tightly. "I'm so sorry, Ara... Forgive me..." He sobs.
The day ended with them leaving in sorrow.
Everyone was constantly visiting her. Especially Chung. They wanted to make sure that she's still breathing.
Elsword and Aisha opened the door to her room and placed a basket of fruits on the desk close to the entrance. Taking a seat on both sides of her bed, Elsword spoke.
"Hey, Ara. How are you? Well, I can see that you're still sleeping. When will you wake up? Everyone's getting really worried." Aisha sighed. "Elsword! We're not yet sure if she ever... wakes up..." She falters and starts crying.
"It's gonna be okay, Aisha." He moves toward her and hugs her. "She's going to wake up. Just have faith."
She silently cries on his shoulder. "Hey, didn't Eve say that she can hear you? C'mon, Ara wouldn't want it if she heard you cry, right?"
She sniffed. "I hate to admit it but, you're right." She wipes her tears away and looks at Ara. "Hey, if you can hear us, come back soon, okay?" She smiles sadly.
"That's the spirit. Well, I guess it's time for us to leave. Bye, Ara. Continue fighting back."
The two departed silently.
Ara still hasn't shown any signs of awakening. Her condition never changed.
Rena, along with Raven, entered her room.
"Hello, Ara! It's been five days, huh? I know it's not that long but, we miss you. Missions are not fun when you're not around." She pouts.
"Rena, it's okay to show how much it hurts." Raven says.
Almost immediately, she broke down. He just hugged her. "S-She was like a s-sister I n-never had..."She sobs.
"I feel exactly the same way but, Ara would want us all to be strong, right?" He whispers.
"Y-Yeah." She wipes her tears away. "Ne, Ara, stay strong and fight, okay? We'll always wait for you." She takes the unconscious girl's hand as she says that.
Raven grasped her other hand. "You'll never be alone. We're family and we support each other. Come back soon."
They both looked at her and the elf nearly screamed out of joy when she saw a tear fall from Ara's eye. "It's a good sign...!" She happily states.
"We'll be going now. Stay safe."
They both released her hand and went outside to spread the news. The others were overjoyed by the news.
A report about Ara's condition had arrived and it certainly was not good. Her life was rapidly decreasing and her chances of awakening had gotten even slimmer. Her cardiac arrests had been getting more and more frequent. It was never easy returning her consciousness.
The doctor from before approached the party. "Your Majesty. I'm afraid that Miss Ara's life can no longer be sustained. Forgive me, we have decided to pull the plug."
Chung widened his eyes. "What?! What do you mean, pull the plug?!"
He lowers his head. "We'll remove the respirator. If we do that, her misery will end..."
Elsword ran up to him and pulled his collar. "Can't you do anything to save her?!"
"I apologize... We have done what we can and all of our efforts were futile..."
He gritted his teeth. Aisha placed her hand on his shoulder. "Elsword..." He grimly looks down and releases his hold on the man.
"I'm sorry... Ara's just a really good friend... She still had so much to live for..." The magician rubs his back gently.
"...Tomorrow is the day. I'm very sorry for the loss..." Everyone nods weakly.
Chung woke up earlier than the others and entered Ara's room without them knowing, bringing something with him. It pained him to see her fragile state. It made him want to protect her more but... how could he when she was stuck like this? Tears began to flow as he goes to her and holds her hand tightly.
"Ara... Please, forgive me..." He places the unconscious girl's hand on his cheek. "I couldn't protect you... Look at what happened. I wasn't strong enough..." He cries harder. "I need you to come back... I didn't even get the chance to tell you that I love you..."
He wasn't expecting a response as he laughed bitterly. "No one expected this... It hurts to see you like this... Come back for us... For me..." Looking at her pale face, he leans in to plant a kiss on her forehead.
His tears dropped on her cheeks. "It's not the time to say this but... I love you." Chung tries his best to crack a smile.
He remembers the item he had brought earlier. It was single, nimble flower. The blonde then places this in between her hands. He was hesitant to let her go. He didn't want to, it would be too painful.
To be continued...
Magnolia - Chapter 2 (Coming soon...)
Myosotis - Chapter 3 (Coming soon...)
Clarifications:
[1] I made Sasha safe before they confronted Ran. I'm not sure if she was okay before or after the battle. -_-ll
Midori: This was pre-written months ago and I want to try my angst on you peeps. This certainly made my friends cry, though. And, in case you were wondering why there's a Magnolia and a Forget-me-not option above, hehe~! Two different endings! I'm sorry I wasn't able to update my other book. *hides face* Don't hurt me, please!
Ao: I swear... Too much angst, sis.
Midori: Meh. I was in the mood to make someone cry. The endings will not be spoiled and the clarifications will be made after the chapters! Bye!