Prologue
Premonition
Her golden eyes were fixated on the orb in her right palm. Unmoving, not even blinking, they observed the scene within, blurred by a fog which did not manage to obscure the meaning.
It occurred in her most precious room. The light dim and sparse, the eyes of another her hazed by smears and tears, all she could make out was a woman before her, clad in blue and with hair as raven as hers was silver. As her counterpart staggered and fell, she lost sight of that wide-eyed woman and instead met the marbled floor. Covered in blood. A handful of steps sounded, faint and dulled through the globe, then a sharp call.
"Don't come any closer, it's too dangerous!"
The male voice originated from behind her duplicate, and immediately the steps stopped. The vision trembled. A cough which sent more blood sputtering towards the floor.
"But-!" It had to be the woman's voice, trembling and fearful, and yet radiating with the same power the spectator called her own.
"No buts! I can't lose you again!"
Her replica roared, blood gurgling from the throat, thrashed around herself and the man behind her cursed. The sound of steel cut through the air, tore through pliable flesh and her double jerked, sending the vision into a haze of colors and shapes as everything dimmed.
"Guys!" Another male voice, but she could not locate its origin, could barely catch the words which drifted into a slur. "We gotta hurry the fuck out of here and make our way back to the Garden-"
The black tattoos supplanting eyebrows rose slightly as the performance faded, the sphere left empty save for white swirls which caromed off the perimeter to curl around themselves.
A sigh left her maroon lips as she set the item on its opulent pedestal, the talons at her violet fingertips scraping against the material which looked like glass but in fact was none. She leaned back into her throne, a masterpiece of decadence and luxury, red velvet spanned across an upright backrest and seat, golden decorations adorning the frame and arm rests in endless swirls and turns and globes, and allowed for it to caress her slender figure through her tight dress. A smile twisted her tattooed visage.
She was remarkably collected for a woman who had just witnessed her own death. But perfect composure was of the essence for a goddess, and she would not let her foolish emotions cloud her judgment. Sentiments were but a remnant of the past when she had been human. A past long, long forgotten. So instead Ultimecia lifted her claws, snapped her fingers and waited in perfect stillness for the doors – beautiful, enormous constructs high enough to almost touch the ceiling to the endless expanse of her throne room – to swing open.
A small, miserable creature entered before the sound of her summon had ceased, clad in rags and covered in dried blood. It buckled before her, as close to the ground as possible without scraping its head along the marbled floor, until it reached the base of the podium her throne rested upon, eight meters high. "My goddess..." it whimpered, unable to raise its head and meet her cold stare. But it must have peeked up through its lashes nonetheless, for when Ultimecia elongated her arm and pointed at its pathetic stature, it shivered and whined. Tears streamed down its face, pooling down and soiling her palace.
That was the reason for her to curl her talons, purple and crimson sparks spraying from the gesture, and to send a ball of pure energy towards this foolish thing. It did not even have the time to gasp as the magic surrounded its heart and slowed it. Its blue eyes widened, almost popped out of its head and it began to gurgle, dying sounds leaving its useless throat. "M-my… god—dess… For-gi-"
"Silence." Her voice was velvety steel. She rolled her wrist and drank up the desperation the lowly creature expressed with contorted features, felt in her nerves how its heartbeat fought to pump blood through veins despite the iron-grip her magic pressed against it. With each successful pulse, she increased the pressure until the beating was faint and weak. The head of her slave turned blue, foam smeared across its pleading lips, but she only sneered, holding up her horrible grasp until a final, frail jerk ran through the body before it slumped.
With a flick of her wrist, Ultimecia propelled the corpse aside, burning it to ashes before it could hit one of her ornate pillars supporting the endlessly high ceiling. Seeing the gray particles float through the air, a laugh spilled from her lips, echoing in the empty room, and she threw her head back. Her silver hair, styled into two extravagant horns, pushed against the backrest, her almost fully exposed chest shook as she enjoyed herself quite delectably. But then, the perimeter of her golden eyes caught hold of the inconspicuous orb to her right, and she stilled.
Her death. It was ridiculous, outright ridiculous. Eight hundred years ago, it might have been a feasible outcome, but now, with her powers only ever accelerating, her worshipers and slaves cowering to her feet and the whole world trembling in awe and fear alike, this was merely a farce. She did not even need to take this seriously. Not when she was so close.
And yet, Ultimecia frowned at the sphere within which fog swirled about lazily. Her beautifully handy device had never failed her so far – but then again, she had never seen any need to interfere. Time was such a fickle thing. Easily manipulated. Easily distorted. With her weaving the greatest spell in the world's history, altering but this minor event would be naught but a cinch. Indeed, it was just the opportunity for her to test out her newest creation.
Her smirk returned and she snapped her fingers once again.
The next slave entered. It was just as disgusting, just as ordinary, but it did not make a single sound while crawling across the ground, and when it addressed its master, its voice was nothing but devout and submissive. "My goddess has called for my mundane appearance?"
"Fetch me my most loyal pet," Ultimecia ordered.
This object was remarkably well-trained. It simply nodded, squirmed backwards until even the stray strands of its brown, filthy hair left the circumference of her throne room and closed the door. Ultimecia almost felt like rewarding it.
While she waited, her gaze turned to the giant clock above the doors to her residuum. The hands did not move, never have since five hundred years, but she still enjoyed marveling at its immense dimensions, the golden ring and the diamond letters. They caught the sparse moonlight which dipped in through the roof, reflected it in gorgeous glimmers and flickers which danced across Ultimecia and her flawless skin and got caught in the tattoos that covered her legs and abdomen. She arched her back against this light, lips slightly springing open as she basked in it.
Close. She was so, so close. Soon, she would not have to deal with these lowly creatures anymore. She would ascend to something even higher than a god. Take the place that was rightfully hers, as it had always been, escaping this repugnant, vile space which she could never quite form perfectly to her liking. Not with the teeth of time gnawing endlessly, mercilessly. Her eyes darted down to that one spot beneath her right wrist, and she clicked her tongue. Tugged her blood-red sleeve over it.
Exactly eight minutes passed before a metallic roar shook the entire castle. Stucco crumbled from the walls and ceiling, but she easily created a barrier to shield herself from the dirt. She did not need to wait long until the faint, rumbling steps thundered louder and louder, and when the majestic doors swung open and revealed her prized pet, Ultimecia opened her arms.
A monster of light and dark and death neared her on its clawed feet. Despite its mass and the pointed tail it dragged after itself, the only sound it made was the flapping of wings at its upper back. A morbid fusion of a rider and a wild beast, it had four legs, two arms, two mouths – both partially open to exhale steaming breath – and two pairs of red glowing eyes void of any sentiment. The top head, of a triangular shape, twitched restlessly, the horn atop sharp and deadly like a spear and lowered in submission; the lower head, beneath the torso, was a squashed and brutal thing, teeth endlessly gnawing. The moonlight reflected on the silver mythril, was devoured by the black voidil and enhanced the deep blue of the peiril she had fetched from another world.
It was a wonder of creation – her creation. It was a horrific synthesis of two entities forced to become one filled with pain and misery and hate, and it was all hers. The strong arms which had no need for swords but only pure, vigorous magic, laid flat against the torso, wrists crossed devoutly. Each movement was performed quickly and yet with unmistakable pain, and the closer the monstrosity got, the more it lowered its heads, until it finally stood before her, reaching up to her pedestal with ease. Releasing a metallic, dreadful sound, it offered its horn to its master's clawed feet.
"My Omega Weapon," Ultimecia purred as she stepped on the offering with one foot. "So swiftly by my side. So obedient." The lower mouth, remnant of the former beast, panted, and a shred of human skin dangled from teeth that could crush diamonds between them. She laughed. "Oh, and so greedy. It was quite a docile variant, too."
Omega Weapon flinched, as much as it could with its body consisting of unearthly material that allowed for no bents and jerks. Armies had fought against her masterpiece without leaving even a scratch. It spread its arms, taloned palms directed downwards, and opened both mouths.
"God-dess..." It was its only word. The only word it would ever need.
Ultimecia howled a laugh. "Oh, my Omega. Do not fret. It was a replaceable item. I will not punish you for feeding on it. The strong devour the weak, and so you shall devour them all. Soon, you can ravish the lands again, crush their last slums and bask in their blood, polishing this perfect armor."
She removed her foot from the horn and the creature looked up with impassive eyes that could not tell the pain, and Ultimecia cradled a cheek the size of her head with her claws, relishing the scraping sound. "Ah. But today, I called you here to watch. You are my grandest creation, and you ought to witness my next divine masterpiece." She leaned over to take the spherical device into her palm again, rubbing one violet digit across the surface. Immediately, the object lit up, colors and shapes swirling before her narrow eyes. A feral sneer lifted the corners of her maroon lips and she whispered a simple command.
While the whirl slowed down, Ultimecia leaned back. The two silver rings at her fingers clacked unpleasantly against the golden arm rests and her pet growled. "I know," Ultimecia uttered with the slightest of frowns. "I hate it, too." She stroked the creation's head in an almost comforting manner and set her gaze back on the object that could grant her every desire, if only she knew how to utilize it correctly.
Of course she did.
"First, we gather our tools..."
A/N: I'm aliiiive! What's even better, this story is, too. And not only is it still alive - it has been reborn. Believe it or not, I spent almost four months working on the plot and its outline, and I finally reached a stage where I am comfortable enough to publish again. I know that for some of you, this might appear tedious; you may think the first few chapters will be exactly like the old version. But I am telling you: They won't. Sure, major elements will remain the same, but there will be a lot of new content, deeper characters and, hopefully, a better style as well. I mean, hey, we're starting off with a prologue you would have never been able to guess from the old version. I regretted not implementing Ultimecia almost immediately, and now I finally have an excuse to do so. Not wanting to spoiler you, but rest assured: She will not be the shallow villain she was in canon.
This prologue may be rather short, but I worked really hard on it, so if you enjoyed it - or if it raised questions, curiosity, anything really - please do leave a review. Even just a word or two makes my day; it shows me you took the time to express your opinion about my humble work and motivates me incredibly much to write more and faster.
I will make no promises on the frequency of updates because that never works - but in this very moment, I am highly pumped for the plot and characters, university is on break until April and my move is more or less done with, so... It's now or never!
~ Ruska