~The Third Kingdom~

My Goddess of Death

Tragedy begins when a person waits for the Goddess of Death at her doorstep.
The fate of that person is inevitable
And that fate is Death.

High above the landscape of a world that is still unknown even to this day, here lies two kingdoms fighting for one Crystal, the only one left in this world.

Long ago, Crystals ruled over this world and gave power to many others. It was that kind of power that people became mad, fully drunk with the Crystal's power. Those who were chosen by the Crystal killed indiscriminately, and people began to fear them. To stop the monsters, they destroyed the Crystals, wiping them off this world until there was one more left. The warring kingdoms soon regretted their actions, remembering an old saying,"Destroying a Crystal means destroying the World.

To forget their mistake, the frighten masses created a myth about the wars from before. It was that of a Goddess Etro, a deity who chose powerful humans to fight for her and the Crystals. These 'special' humans were granted magical abilities beyond those who studied magic for years. They were granted to have superhuman strength, be masters of agility, and have the forbidden 'Sight'.

How Etro marked them was unknown and why she chose that specific person was also unknown. The only disadvantage of being one of her servants was this: When you use more of her power, you slowly drain your own life source. Once she knows that you are not of use to her, she will begin to drive you insane to the brink of death. This begins with the slaughtering of the precious humans close to you, killing any connection you have with any being on this world, then finally killing innocent humans until the body wastes away into nothing but rotting flesh.

The Crystal was just the first stage into meeting with the Goddess. Once you came into contact with them, you were Lady Etro's servant until your death. The instinct to protect of the Crystal was instantly branded into you. For the one who had the last Crystal was given the powers of a deity. Those who went against the Crystal was punished to the fullest extent: Death.

Thus, this action on behalf of the Crystal began the Cold War. Nations from around the world began mass producing firearms and hired Mages to fight against the only kingdom with that one, remaining Crystal. Only one kingdom had the power to fight against them: Tenebrae. The same people who created the Goddess Etro myth. It was the myth they created for themselves to explain what happened before, about a Deity without a Heart, and how the Cold War began.

Little did they know, that myth they created during the Chaos of War was actually true.

The book closed with a quick thwap! A smooth hand touched the cover of Tenebrae's Then and Now and paused at the author's name. The person chuckled at the handwritten mythology book and tossed it casually over his shoulder.

"Who the hell wrote this?" he questioned to himself and smiled as he walked with his hands in his pockets. The room contained a wooden bed, a small coffee table, and two chairs at the corner of the room. The quietness of the room comforted him to an extent until it became too unbearable to handle. He glanced at the clock and blinked several times.

It was noon. It took him that long to finish a passage of a book? 'I was always a slow reader. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised.' he thought to himself, his ego bruised slightly. Scratching the back his head, the man touhed his doorknob and opened the door.

He walked down the hallway and turned his head to the left. He was instantly greeted at the desk by the elderly innkeeper. "Why, hello there! Did you have a goodnight's rest, Sir?" the elderly woman asked with a cheerful voice. The man smiled at her gently and nodded.

"As always Mrs. Sola. You know when to put in the good in a good night's rest!" He winked at her while she laughed. "Now, now young man! You know I have a husband do you?" she asked, slightly flattered at his flirtatious advances. The man grinned as he pushed away his bangs with a shake of his head.

"He doesn't have to know Mrs. Sola. I'm good at keeping secrets." The man leaned forward with a seductive smile while the elderly woman blushed. Turning her eyes away from his face, she waved him back and he complied. "You're trying not getting away from paying the bill are you, young man?" she asked, suspicious of him.

The man smiled again and shook his head. "Mrs. Sola, I've always paid haven't I? Why would I foot the bill now?" Mrs. Sola smiled slightly and rang up his bill. "That'll be 150 Gill." The man handed her the money and waved goodbye as he walked out the door.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, young man." Mrs. Sola said. The man smirked at her direction which caused Mrs. Sola to blush yet again. He smiled at her reaction and winced at the bright sunlight that invaded his eyes. Giving his eyes a moment to adjust, he heard children laughing with excitement in the background. Suddenly, he felt a grab his shirt. He jumped with a start and heard a giggle from a child.

"Oh! Sorry Mr. Seth! I didn't mean to scare you!" the child exclaimed, her blue eyes stared at his green orbs. The man called Seth sighed and picked the child up. He made a mock frown and tutted her,"Now, now, young ladies like yourself shouldn't scare men like that! Men like me act like wimps when we get scared." The young girl giggled as he made a face full of fear.

"Okay, okay. I won't scare you anymore Mr. Seth! Now put me down, please." Her voice polite and kind as a proper lady. Setting her down, the girl smiled once more at the man and pranced towards her play group. Seth watched the girl walk away, putting his hands in his pockets and began to make his way towards his destination.

'I know there's a good cafe here somewhere. Where is it?' The young man thought as he scanned the streets up and down. Tenebrae streets always confused him. The streets were worded in such a confusing language, even the dictionary didn't helped him. Seth groaned and covered his hands on his face. Hunger gripped him in his grasp and the determination to find the cafe was restored within him.

After asking the locals, Seth finally found the place he was looking for, Etro's Cafe and was instantly reminded of the mythology. "Do they really do respect her here? Whatever. Man, I'm hungry." Rubbing his stomach to calm the growling, he walked through the door and the small bell above him chimed indicating that the store had a customer.

A woman with brown hair and brown eyes glanced at Seth and rushed behind the cash register smiling at him brightly,"Welcome to Etro's Cafe! What can I get for you, sir?" Seth looked at the menu and ordered a slice of apple pie, an ice cream sundae, two slices of chocolate cake and a hot chocolate to top off the sugary sweets. The cashier nodded and rang up his order. "That will be 700 Gil." she replied.

Seth couldn't stop his surprise and the cashier giggled,"They always look like that until they've eaten our food. Then, they understand why it's so pricey." Seth smiled and dug into his pockets for Gil. As soon as he found it he handed her the money and said with embarrassment,"I see. Well, it's my first time here in this cafe. I had to ask the locals where this place was. I gotta admit, it's hard to navigate these streets without some guide to help you." The cashier smiled and handed him back his change.

"So you're a tourist? Don't worry, Tenebrae may be big on the inside, but everyone's friendly here. Where are you from?" Her eyes noticed the customer cough once in his hand, his green eyes averted to the ground then at the counter. "I'm from- Well. . . " he paused and saw the tray full of food being carried towards the front counter. The man placed it in front of him and the cashier woman smiled thanks.

"Ah, well enjoy your food, sir." Seth nodded in reply and found a table near a window. His stomach rumbled as he began to eat the apple pie. The warm apple slice was tender to the touch and sent his taste-buds into heaven. Now he understood why. Taking a sip from his hot chocolate, he began to eat with vigor.

*~$%&~*

Violet eyes glanced out from the car window watching the people pass her by without a glance at her direction. The princess smiled. "Being a nobody feels ... good. No assassinations, murder attempts, or fighting would ever happen if I was just another 'someone' in this place." Smiling slightly, she turned her head towards the road.

Spotting a parking space, she veered left and carefully pulled it into parking. Getting out of the car, the blond woman looked at the sign Etro's Cafe and walked towards the entrance. Ding! She head the ring above her head chime. The smell of sweet confetti and hot beverages invaded her nose. Calm and serene, she walked towards the counter and a brown haired woman came rushing out.

"Welcome to Etro's Cafe! What would you like...-?" The cashier's brown eyes widened at her customer and she started to bow. "Your Majesty!" she exclaimed, blushing furiously. The princess's violet eyes wavered, but began to put on an amused front.

"Please, no formalities. I'm just here to purchase something. What's your special for today?" Stella asked sweetly. The woman was flustered for a moment until she came to her senses. "Our special for today is..." Then cashier began to talk about the special while Stella listened with one ear.

"I'll get that then. How much will it be?" Looking down at her purse, she fished out her wallet as the woman replied back. The food came as quickly as she expected and turned her head to the tables. Not wanting to be noticed, she found a table at the corner of the room with another customer while devouring, Stella would politely say, 'stuffing ones face with sweets'. Turning her back away from the man, she looked at her food and poked it with a fork.

'So many things running through my mind. Oh, Etro. What do I do?' Her thoughts invaded her mind as she absentmindedly ate her food. She sighed,"Just thinking about it won't help. I need to take things one step at a time." Then Stella heard a cough behind her.

She turned around as the man behind her coughed again. She heard him pound his chest hard against his fist and then saw him stand up quickly, using both of his hands to press against the cave of his stomach. Stella's eyes widened.

'Oh, Etro! He's choking!' Getting up from her seat and without a second thought, she went behind the man and wrapped her arms around his waist. Using his hands as a wedge she held her hands on top of them, and then used a bit of her magic, sharply jolted it through the man's body and forced it towards his throat.

"Arck!" The man threw up the lodged piece of cake that landed on the table. The customers and staff who all watched the event cheered and some shouted,"HURRAY!" and "DID YOU SEE PRINCESS STELLA SAVED THAT MAN!" Stella gently removed her arms away from him and looked at him carefully. The man had messy, white hair and green, dazed eyes.

"Are you all right?" Stella asked, concerned. The man suddenly took notice of her and backed away a few steps. "I-I'm fine! W-why did you save me? I could have done it by myself." The man's eyes watched Stella as she smiled. "Really? I don't think you could have done the Heimlich Maneuver by yourself. As long as your all right, then it's fine with me."

He heard the amusement in her tone of voice and smirked,"How am I going to tell my friends that I had my butt saved by a blonde?" With that comment, Stella's smile turned into a cold one. "Oh? Well, without my help you could have choked on that sliver of cake you were wolfing down. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave." Turning away, Stella held her chin up high and walked out of the cafe leaving a stunned man standing in the middle of the cafe while the audience turned around, suddenly preoccupied with eating their food.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Please review!

~Yuki M.~