Yo, nerds! Ya boi is back and with some character devlopment...again. But you all eat that shit up, and I am willing to provide like the cheap sellout I am! Also, no one has been updating their Arifureta fics, seriously, our boi with the ever-changing name, this time it's Void's Record, author of The worst part being that they closed their PM Boxes so I can't spam them for updates. How cruel. Well, I see now, it's up to me to save this miserable section of fics in FanFiction. I knew the day would come. Now behold, THE GAYEST OF MEMES! Enjoy. Also, I got my hands on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and I'm fucking loving it! Chapter Six: A Queen's Freedom
Her name was Aleytia, that was the only thing she had left.
The was just her, the darkness, and her prison.
Her limbs shackled to the many pillars that made up the architecture in the room, and her body from the shoulders down encased in seemingly unbreakable stone.
She didn't even have any idea how long it had been, all sense of time was lost to her.
It wasn't always like this for her.
Aleytia was a queen, ruling over the Vampire Kingdom of Avatar. She had single-handed led her homeland to prosperity through her tireless work. Through her, the people of Avatar feared no one outside their borders, no one in the world could match their might.
So, was this Hell to be her reward?
She would have preferred death. If someone asked her if she would die or choose this cruel fate, a thousand times over she would have asked for death.
But death would not come for her, it couldn't. How could it when she was immortal?
No weapon of any kind could end her life. Spells of the highest caliber could not fell her. Her time in this Hell had proven that things such as dehydration and starvation could not put her out of her misery.
She was forever fated to stare into the darkness, alone for all eternity.
The only company being her bitter memories of the past.
She was about twelve-years-old when her power activated, or more accurately was forced to activate.
An ambush by unknown assailants had almost cost her her life. It should have ended in her death. A silver spear pierced her heart, but she did not die, did not turn to ash. It hurt, of course, the agony was excruciating, but as soon as her fully armored attacker had pulled the spear out of her body, the wound had closed almost immediately. All but disappeared. Like a bad dream.
The enemies fled thereafter. It would take her longer to learn of her other 'gift'.
Her 'Regeneration' allowed her to survive at the forefront of the battlefield.
"Nobles were meant to lead the troops from the front." Her uncle, Denreed Gardia Wesperitirio, had told her.
And since he had to oversee the strategies and give out orders from the safety of his tent, it only left her to lead the troops, uplift morale, lead the army to victory.
When human forces had encircled her and her troops, she fought like a demonic beast. Casting magic, feeding on the blood of her enemies, a vicious fight for survival.
Most of her guards had been slain by either silver or magical fire. Almost all the friends and loyal retainers she had, even the rest of her family.
End the in, she was all that was left alive. If one could even call it living.
By the time the 'Rescue Platoon' arrived, led by her uncle, Aleytia had discovered that she did not need Magic Circles or even Chants to cast her spells, she was fifteen then, or maybe fourteen, she didn't remember clearly. It had been so long.
It was a most solemn scene, a lonely vampire girl, covered in blood, standing in the middle of a battlefield, fallen foes and allies lying dead around her, observing the allies that had come to rescue her with forlornly.
That tragedy alone was too much for one person to bear, even for one as powerful as she. But the world did not believe so.
After that things changed.
She had become special to her people. A savior. A monster. Some called her a God, others a demonic spirit.
At seventeen she was put on the throne. The ministers decided a strong queen would show the rest of Tortus that the proud Vampires could not be defeated.
The masses rejoiced. They had a living God as their Queen.
But secretly she was feared as a dark goddess, the tempest of the battlefield, Reaper of Enemies and Allies alike. She learned later that that view was what her uncle preferred to spread. Primarily amongst her people.
With Aleytia at the forefront, the war was finally going in their favor. Humans had been pushed back from the borders, and the Devils had sought a peace agreement. That was when her Uncle approached her. They needed something to trade with. Something that would show all the other nations that the Vampires were to be feared and awed. Something beyond just her.
He smiled as he asked her to enter Orcus Dungeon. Promised her that the throne would be waiting for her once she had recovered the powerful magic stones and artifacts.
She didn't care.
Her powers would be useful. She could help her people not by being the tempest of the battlefield.
And so she delved deep into the dungeon. A small group of retainers at her side. Her uncle had discovered a hidden dungeon, beneath the one everyone knew as 'Orcus Dungeon.' She never knew how he had discovered it, didn't even care to ask, but her Uncle told her that below the fiftieth floor would be a treasury. Powerful artifacts and weapons could be found within.
Blinded by trust, she ventured forth, losing a few comrades along the way. The beasts were strong, sure, but even they could not end her life. Neither poison nor brute force could stop her.
She led from the front, as she had learned on the battlefields.
Her retainers, decided upon by her uncle, following behind, observing closely.
When they reached this 'armory' several of the others had fallen. Using a teleportation circle, a lost Synergist art, even amongst her people, her Uncle was summoned.
His familiarity with the entrance and the ease with which he opened the second door, should have been her clue. But she never expected anything.
Aleytia just felt overwhelmed, when her retainers turned on her, and her uncle informed her that she wasn't needed anymore. That she would merely be a disturbance to the peace between the Vampires and the Devils. That she was a blight to him and his people.
He was meant to be the king. Meant to rule them. Eventually even the Devils.
One of the reasons he simply didn't kill her was that she was a useful weapon, a deterrent of sorts. Not that he hadn't tried. Over and over again.
Still, Aleytia did not fight back. The betrayal weighing too heavily on her. She did not resist when they ripped off the remainder of her clothes. Did not resist when they shackled her hands to the pillars. Did not even interfere when they used magic to trap her in stone.
Only after she regained her senses did it finally dawned on her what had happened. That this was not some nightmare she would wake up from.
She pleaded, at first, with no one answering in the dark. Then raged against the shackles and the stone cutting deep into her skin, drawing blood.
She screamed at the doors. Cursed the would-be jailers, told them how she would reduce them to ashes if they did not free her. Did not let her go.
As the years flew by, she started pleading again. Praying. To any god she could think of. First the Vampire one, then the Devil's and finally, even the human god. For freedom, at first.
...And then for death.
Until even that stopped.
Over the years the thirst and hunger clawed at her psyche, but her 'Regeneration' would not even allow her the release of death through starvation.
It did not even allow her to go mad. At least she thought so. How would she know, really?
Maybe she even had, but simply wasn't aware of it? Maybe her mind had finally had enough and she didn't even notice.
But madness did not matter. Nothing mattered. It was just her, and this Hell.
…
…
…
The former Queen of the Vampires stirred as an unfamiliar light pierced through her eyelids. For a moment, she believed it to be a hallucination, but…
"Geez, those bastards were rude," She heard a man's voice as the large doors to her prison were effortlessly kicked open, flooding light into the room. "You play Awaken from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for a pair of cyclops ripping themselves out of the stone wall, and I get football punted for my trouble."
As her eyes had been in the darkness for centuries, it unused to the light. She couldn't make out who was speaking other than a blurry silhouette.
"...Who goes there?" Her voice was faint, and horse, it was the first time she had spoken in centuries.
She cursed how quiet her voice sounded, it was even below what a whisper should be. But thankfully, her fears of not being heard were proven untrue.
The man had her head, his silhouette froze as what she could only assume as surprise his head turned to face her.
"Holy shit..." His voice held a tone of awe. "I-Is that a person!?" She heard hurried his footsteps echo through the room as he approached. "Jesus Christ..." His tone changed to one of concern and shock. "W-Who the fuck does...does something like this to someone!?"
She felt his hands gently hold the sides of her face. Warm, his hands were so warm. It reflected just how cold she had felt all these years.
"Hey, come on, stay with me now."
She honestly couldn't believe what was happening before her. Someone had finally made it to her prison in this Hell. She couldn't let a chance like this pass! This was probably her one and only hope.
"Please...help me." It had been too long to remember the last time she actually spoke. Her throat was parched. It was painful to speak, but she had to endure the pain, she couldn't let this chance to escape this damned darkness pass.
"That's the plan." He assured. "We're going to get you out of here."
As her eyes finally adjusted to the light she could finally make out what the man looked like.
Through her dirty golden locks, she stared at him, her gaze drinking in his appearance like someone lost in a vast desert and finally found an oasis.
He looked younger than his rather deep voice pertained, he was a tall, handsome young man. His red eyes filled with concern peered through his long, snow-white hair, on the right side of his head was a dark red, segmented, demonic looking horn that shined with an almost metallic polish. His clothes were torn up and dirty making him look like a commonplace beggar. But, she guessed it must have been because of the many hardships he'd have to pull through to reach this place. Over his shoulders, he carried a large black and blue scythe, fresh blood dripping from the blade.
She continued to stare at him in shock. His appearance finally driving home the one thing she hopped. This was real. Tears she didn't know she had fallen from her eyes as hope surged through her heart at full force. She was finally going to be free!
"...Thank you." She said through the tears.
The young man, gave her a somber, but nevertheless, easy-going smile and winked. Her savior traced his eyes over her prison of stone and chains.
"Astaroth," He called out. "Any idea how we're going to break this?"
She was confused as to who he was talking to. No one else had entered the chamber with him.
Her question was answered when his scythe burst into a mass of black and blue flames. The young man didn't seem bothered by the flames at all as they raged on his shoulder. Suddenly, the flames dissipated, and a small girl riding the young man's shoulders took its place.
The girl, Astaroth, was riding his shoulders and seemed to be just entering her teenage years. She had long snow-white hair with pointed ears sticking out of her snowy locks, and pale-blue eyes that gazed at her curiously. On her head were two blue horns that were structured the same way the young man's singular horn, but half the size. She had moon-pale skin and wore a black and blue sundress with detached sleeves. Below her neck was tied a large, white ribbon, she wore blue leggings that stopped halfway up her thighs and wore black shoes. A thin blue tail that ended in a spade tip came from under her dress.
"Hmmm, vampiric sealing magic, how nostalgic." The Astaroth muttered as she looked at the former queen. "I'm rather curious as to why they'd use such a complex sealing algorithm on one of their own."
The young man gave the girl a curious look. "She's a vampire…? Didn't they go extinct three-hundred years ago?"
The former queen let out a raspy, empty chuckle. "...That long?"
She'd been stuck in this horrid place for three-hundred years, and from the sound of things, the kingdom she worked so hard for had crumbled in her absence. She couldn't even go back for revenge. How pitiful.
The young man gave her another look of shock. "...Good Lord."
Even the little girl's eyes widened slightly. "Huh? This is different, usually, your average vampire would shrivel up and die after at least five months without any blood. But she claims to have survived three-hundred years. Alright, I was originally against freeing her, but she has caught my interest. Zachary, put me down, I'm going to look at this seal from all different angles. If I had my full power, I would have been able to brute force such a seal easily, but now I'll have to solve this puzzle the old fashioned way."
At long last, she knew both of their names, Zachary and Astaroth. The names of her saviors.
"Alright," Zachary complied, kneeling down, allowing his companion to climb down. Just before she was about to walk away, he patted her head affectionately. "You be careful now, there could be some traps in this room."
Astaroth pouted. "Stop treating me like a child!"
"You stop being adorable." Zachary smirked. "Besides, the only reason you're complaining now is it because we have company."
Astaroth glared at him without any real anger. She sighed before walking off to observe the other sides of the seal.
Zachary, for his part, leaned against the stone cube that imprisoned Aleytia, keeping her company as his companion did her part in cracking the prison.
"So, how'd you get stuck in this hell hole?" He asked.
How did she end up in such disparity? Wasn't that a painful question. As if she herself hadn't asked herself the same question over and over throughout the years. She didn't even have the will to try and stop the tears as the memories assaulted her mind once again.
"H-Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He apologised, as if he'd been the cause of her tears. "It's fine really, you don't have to tell me anything."
"Vampire...special...atavistic power...regeneration..." She explained despite his apology, it was only fair he knew what events had trapped her in this Hell. "Couldn't...be...killed...silver...even de-" Her dry throat couldn't take it anymore and she ended having a coughing fit.
"Stop trying to strain yourself so much, storytime can wait." Zachary chastised. "God damn, you haven't had anything to drink or eat in three-hundred years. Alright, vampires drink blood," He held out his wrist to her. "I hope you don't mind my blood, I have no doubt it's more than a bit salty."
The former queen stared Zachary's wrist, then at his face, his concerned eyes and ever-present smile still there.
He was offering his blood to her, willing too.
As far as she was concerned, he was a saint.
Her fangs sunk into his wrist as blood, for the first time in centuries, flooded her mouth. Her eyes widened at the taste, not even trying to hide the moan of bliss she had, the former vampire queen had no idea if it was because of being sealed for so long or if it was something exclusive to him, but he tasted heavenly.
He let out a nervous chuckle. "Guess I pass the taste test..?"
She ignored his comment as she kept drinking what she considered liquid bliss.
In the span of a few moments, her emaciated body had become healthy, and her porcelain-white skin glowed with new vitality. Her cheeks, once gaunt, were now a rosy pink. A warm, gentle light dwelled within her crimson eyes.
She didn't know how long she kept drinking, but at some point, she realized that no one person should have this much blood. There seemed to be no end in sight, not that she was complaining...or that she could even stop herself at this point. But, alas, the subconscious need to breathe made its unwanted presence known.
Aleytia removed her fangs from Zachary's wrists and took in large breaths of air. "I'm...sorry about that."
"Geez, drank enough blood from me to kill twenty men!" He exclaimed, grinning in contrast to his dark words. "Certainly a lot more pleasant than those blood-sucking spiders in floor fifteen."
Her eyes widened. "H-How...?"
"Well, it's a long story, the short version is that I basically sold my soul to the loli devil-"
"I heard that!" Astaroth shouted from the other side of the stone cube.
"To get my arms back, now I literally can't die until my end of the bargain is fulfilled or she lets me."
The vampire queen blinked. "What?"
"Yeah, I know, it's really dumb." He sighed. "So, you can continue where you left off if you feel up to it."
Ah, yes, she still had her shameful tale to tell. But now it was made much more bearable to do now that her centuries-long hungry had been sated.
"Things like decapitation could not kill me." She explained. "I worked so hard for the land I loved, I lead wars in its name against the humans and devils that threaten to destroy it and brought pace, I was eventually made queen too." She let out a rueful laugh. "One day my uncle," She spat the word out venomously. "Asked me to take an expedition into Orcus Dungeon, explaining that there had been another dungeon underneath it, one filled with many powerful artifacts and riches at a certain floor."
Zachary's eyes widened. "A-Ah, yeah, I...I think I put the pieces together. God damn, you need a hug."
Honestly, she'd very much love a hug right about now. Unfortunately, everything from her shoulders down was encased in stone. But, at the very least, she wasn't hungry anymore.
"Hey," His tone turned somber. "I wouldn't be able to say I understand just how much you've been through. But...I know what it's like getting stabbed in the back."
So, he was just like her then. Betrayed and left to rot in this Hell.
The sound of footsteps came from the left side of the cube. "I must be getting rustier than I thought," came the voice of Astaroth. "It took me much longer to decipher the algorithm than expected."
Zachary grinned. "Sweet, let's free her and get the hell out of here. This floor wore out its welcome two days ago."
Astaroth placed her finger on the cube, and to the former queen's surprise, an assortment of glowing blue lines run up and down the prison. All around her body she felt a warm sensation as if the cube itself had been heated up...But she used no incantation or magic circle to achieve such a feat.
How? She knew no one outside of herself that could do such a thing!
"I've corrupted the cracks in the algorithm with my own mana, just pour your own into where the lines are and this seal will break apart easily." Astaroth explained.
"Alright," Zachary walked a good distance back, Astaroth following him. The girl turned into a mass of black and blue flames and leapt into his arms. He swiped both of his arms to the sides horizontally, the flames transforming into what looked like...piano keys? "Let's get started."
The vampire let out a silent sigh. Zachary was a bard, wasn't he?
She didn't have anything against bards, but didn't really like them either. Bards were of the heavily religious sort, not that religion was her the black mark she had on them, it was more because they all had what amounted to be the same song. Only slight variations depending on the god the song was about. As such, bards were only really seen gospels of their respective church.
It was stagnant, dull, a whole lot of other things. One of the many reasons why only the churches accepted them.
From what she was told growing up this is how the bard class had been for millenniums. They were the voices of god.
Only the Demi-Humans of the far east actually advanced in any kind of musical culture, but that was due to the fact that they were a godless race.
Well, it didn't matter now. She could put up with constant religious songs that all sounded the same. It was better than the constant silence. Much better.
Song: Lament by Myuu
Her eyes widened as his playing started. Already just a few seconds in and it was unlike anything she had ever heard. A somber melody found nowhere even in the darkest corners of Tortus.
Zachary's eyes were closed as his hands moved across the firey set of piano keys Astaroth had become. His fingers gracefully gliding across with practiced ease. His lips curled into a small smile as he played, he was a showman that enjoyed his own work.
As the song unlike anything she had ever heard continued, the tone of the melody shifted, but it did so gradually. It was as if someone had been plunged into despair, fighting a battle that could not be won, but slowly finding a hope that glowed brighter by the second.
What was this!? This...This work of audible beauty…? This thing that made her broken heart soar.
The former queen had been so entranced by the beautiful melody that she didn't notice the blue lines of prison glow brighter as the song continued.
Snap!
But that sound had caught her attention. One of the shackles her jailers attached to her had been broken and turned into ashes.
Snap!
Another one broke. But this time she bearly even noticed, her attention fully on Zachary
Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!
The rest of the shackles had broken off in quick succession, but once again, she was too focused on Zachary to notice. All she could do was stare in muted amazement as he played. The music just as much his world as he was her's in that moment.
The cube now had countless cracks running through it, blue flames leaking out from them. Ashes fell from the cube like a gentle waterfall, the magic and the song eroding the seal at a gradual pace.
Little by little, she was being released from her shackles. Soon, more and more parts of her were freed, and more and more snow white skin was revealed. Her swelling chest became fully visible. Next came her waist, then her hands, her thighs, and finally the cube was fully turned to ash and she was free.
Only once she was free did the song come to an end.
She sat there, in the ashes of her former prison. Bewildered at what had actually happened.
She shakily raised up her hand to eye level, the movement of her own body feeling somewhat foreign to her.
Freedom.
What she longed for years was now her's thanks to the kindness of a stranger. The kindness from someone asked for nothing but still went out of his way to help her.
Before she knew it, he was already at her side.
Kneeling down beside her, Zachary gave her a kind smile. Taking off the blazer he wore, he wrapped it around her and picked her up in a princess carry. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
Unconsciously, she reached up, her hand holding the side of his face. He stopped his stride, his attention fully on her.
Feelings rampaged in her mind. She felt the need to say something, anything to show her gratitude, but she didn't know what she could say to show the depths of how thankful she was.
She stared into his eyes, tears streaming down her's. And, in a small and trembling, but powerful voice, she conveyed her feelings.
"Thank you." She could only hope it was enough.
Zachary's eyes widened as he stared back at her.
He smiled. "Heh, no problem. So, you never told us your name."
Her name…
Complicated feelings grew as she thought about her name.
She was Aleytia, Queen of the Vampires. But that name held such bitter memories. She wanted to start anew, with him.
With him…
That particular thought played over and over in her head.
Something stirred in her. She didn't know if it was admiration or something else, but one thing was clear.
Zachary was just like her. Someone who couldn't die, someone who could control mana directly, someone who had been betrayed and left to rot.
At that moment, she recalled what her master who was also her friend and confidante told her. She needed a partner in the future to give her kingdom an heir. However, she couldn't randomly choose a partner. Her partner should at least be just as special as her.
And after hundreds of years of being sealed, she had finally met someone who met her criteria to a T. She felt their meeting in this Hell was something fated to happen.
Her admiration had turned into obsession at an almost unhealthy level. But she cared not for what others may think. She had no clue if she would meet another person like him again.
But, to throw away the bitter memories of the past, she would need a new name.
"...Give me one." A new name for her new life. "I don't need a name from the past. I'm fine with whatever name you give me, Zachary."
He raised an eyebrow. "You want me to give you a name?" He snorted in amusement. "Oh, I am the last person you want to give that kind of power, but I'll try my best." Zachary, stared at her, his eyes narrowed in concentration. "How does...Rosana sound?"
"Rosana…?" She repeated, testing how the name sounded. "Rosana… Rosana..."
"Yeah, as you can guess, it means roses. When I first came into this room your eyes caught my attention first. Red like roses, they were beautiful."
The newly named Rosana blinked in surprise at his words. She hadn't expected him to have a reason behind picking the name. Her lips curled into a slight smile as her eyes sparkled with happiness.
"...Hmm. Then from today onwards, I will be Rosana, the name Zachary bestowed for me. Thank you."
A giggle was heard above them. "Well, aren't you two getting along swimmingly."
It was Astaroth, and she was riding Zachary's shoulders once again. The demonic looking girl smirked, staring down at her. Her amused gaze stared back at Rosana, almost as if she'd found a new toy to play with.
Rosana blinked, she had almost forgotten about her. This girl, Astaroth, seemed particularly close with Zachary.
"Zachary, is this girl your lover?" She asked bluntly.
"Yes!" Astaroth exclaimed.
"She wishes." Zachary deadpanned.
"Aw, come one, Zach, don't be like that..." The demonic looking girl pouted, playing with Zachary's hair. "Haven't I told you that you need to live a little?"
"And haven't I told you to go through puberty?" He rolled his eyes. "I've already laid down the law, Astaroth, I don't date lolis. Now, short stacks, on the other hand, that's in my strike zone."
Astaroth sighed. "You shameless pervert."
Zachary smirked. "And proud of it!"
Rosana raised an eyebrow at the interaction. It answered her question for the most part. But since her own body had deteriorated to this child-like state over the years, Zachary wouldn't see her as a romantic partner. Hopefully, drinking more of his delicious blood fixed that minor issue.
...But she did have one more question.
"Why are we still here?" Honestly, she'd very much like to be anywhere other than this room now that she was free.
"Uh, I don't know, but let's get hell out of here." Zachary said.
As he took one step forward though…
Crash!
The monster the crashed down was scorpion-like in nature. Nearly five meters long and possessed four arms that all ended in razor-sharp pincers. Its eight legs clacked noisily as it scuttled around. Its two stingers were poised, ready to strike and dripping with venom.
"Alright, who called in the pain in the ass sub-boss?" Zachary asked dryly.
With great irritation, Rosana pointed her hand at the monster. Her golden mana lashing around her.
"Azure Blaze." She muttered as a massive blue-white fireball, at least seven meters in diameter consumed the scorpion in its entirety. It screamed in agony as the flames melted its shell and cooked it on an open flame.
Rosana narrowed her eyes. She would not be denied her freedom any longer.
The flames died down as the monster's movements stopped.
"Okay," Zachary began. "On one hand, that was pretty anti-climactic, on the other, easy meal, I haven't had a roasted scorpion in a while. Also, Rosana, I knew you said you packing some serious heat, but god damn."
Astaroth lightly smacked him upside the head. "Bad Zach, what have I told you about puns."
"What have I told you about trying to seduce me?"
"Oh grow up!"
"You first!"
Rosana gave a wry smile at their shenanigans. This seemed to be the start of a very amusing adventure.
Chapter End.