Welcome to the next dimension portal, please be my guest and make yourselves at home.
If you do not mind, I have tried a bit of baking myself, would you be so kind to try them?
No...that is not why my hands are covered in burnt marks...actually it is.
Hehe, how did you guess?
Let us thank another guest that shall be joining our memory soon, take a guess at who it might be.
The dices of time have begun to roll, shall we take a look at the outcome?
Moonlight Memories
Chapter 7:
"Where are we?"
"If I knew, we wouldn't be here anymore."
Dreadlord was pissed. In fact, being pissy would not even cover half of what he was feeling now, for they have been wandering in this God forsaken place for heaven knows how long. His face covered in sweat and muck, pain still raged through him from landing on his back in an attempt to cushion his mistress from the fall. They must be several feet underground, but then again they have no way of telling as it was pitch dark, except for the small blue flame now held in his hand. Just in case she made the same error that had caused all of this, he had decided to take the intuitive and not trust Chiliarch with such things. Reasonable? He thought so.
On the other hand, Chiliarch was not as agreeing with that as we probably would be. What now bothered her happened to be the fact why her butler was in charge even though she had more authority. Though, of course she did not consider the well known fact Dreadlord was much more sensible than she was, even if she knew she would not have admitted it anyway. Her small hands wound up in a fist, she stomped along behind the man in a foul mood while trying to make her huffs and puffs as audible as possible so as to frustrate him even more. To her delight, the half demon was fast becoming a bitter man, and she concluded with a childish grin that his constant grunts of irritation could only be said to be a punishment for not trusting his completely capable master.
Trying desperately to ignore his immature partner, Dreadlord lifted his hand further in front of his already weary body to light the seemingly endless path ahead, wincing yet again as one particular muscle complained at the action. His demon instincts were already doing their best to assist its caster, radiating out from his centre form in a circle seven metres away. Another sigh left his mouth, his demon instincts were not helping as there was nothing to be detected except rocky ground, rocky ceiling, and rocky walls. Assassin instincts told him to immediately dismiss this useless skill to save energy for battle if they do encounter danger, his brain was quite likely to oblige to this thought if he did not feel this constant uneasiness never waning nor increasing. All Dreadlord's skill did agree on one bit however- there was definitely something afoot, and Chilarch was being a typical spoiled brat, so much that even him with all patience felt it difficult to suppress the urge of turning around to scream at her.
"Ciel~"
The man was about to turn around, planning on telling the small girl off for her quite inappropriate behavior, he was trying to save their tails and her continuous whining were of no use whatsoever so stop it, until he noticed it.
They were nearing a door, one made of a material very unlike its surroundings, his brows knitted close as he focused the roaming demon instincts to the path ahead. Marble? No no, something more. Is this...?
All motion came to a sudden halt, the butler made sure his mistress was close behind him, groping behind to find her hood as for some reason she had her back to him. A swirl of energy circled his right hand, controlled ever so carefully so as to not create a sudden disturbance. The waves writhed, curling themselves to form the unique outline of his most prized weapon. In a matter of seconds, his right gunblade was held protectively at his side, ready for the slightest sign of danger.
Unless his eyes were playing petty tricks on him, Dreadlord was sure that this door in front of them comprised of the same energy that accompanied that man wearing a half shattered mask. His memory could only trace once where he had encountered this aura, that did not end well at all, and that was when the whole El Search Party had been at its disposal. If this were to open now, when both Lu and him were deprived of energy not to mention focus, he came to the dreadful conclusion that Chiliarch and Dreadlord would become mere legends lost in the endless rifts of Henir's Time and Space.
"Ciel."
Her voice had become much smaller now, little more than a whisper. She too was occupied with worries of her own, this time not about how to annoy her partner of course, but rather how to deal with the sweeping wave of darkness that had shadowed their footsteps ever since the centre of Ciel's instinct concentrated on the path ahead. Thank you Ciel, quite useful to not tell me you were going to look further ahead Chiliarch thought irritably. She had not yet told her butler that Demon Instincts had another ability apart from detecting the area around them, it proved to be an almost impenetrable shield if one could learn to use it to its full extent. Her own energy had conveniently been drained by a large degree during this long walk, evident when she felt drawing the very last drops of magic becoming increasingly difficult. Nevertheless, her instincts still managed to maintain a radius of ten metres, quarter her usual size but that will have to do for now.
The only reason the demon lady had not forced her butler to improve his ability to wield his instincts, was fear. Whenever they came back from a mission, seeing Dreadlord covered with cuts and bruises here and there played a hypnotising tune to her, strengthened by the frustration with herself for not aiding him well enough. Quite often, her thoughts were close to leaving fluently from her mouth into his keen ears, which would lead to him pushing himself to the limits just to please her. She did not want that, she did not want the man who had given her his hand when she craved for a being that understood her to fully become a demon, a being almost always associated with bad connotations. Dreadlord deserved more than that, Chiliarch wanted him to stay as he ever was by her side.
That being the case, she will admit she was not entirely in favor of him right now. Her Demon Instincts had managed to keep the wave of darkness at bay, very well as it turns out they were actually retreating. Another few more minutes granted, then the duo would be free of their company, ideally. What she did not foresee was that he had snatched at her hood with a sharpness a butler would never demonstrate to his master. Now that went too far, just way too far. A full days worth of walking not to mention an empty stomach spurred the hissing rage within to greater heights, yet as the lady of terror was about to explode, she sensed something that made her blood run cold.
Chiliarch loved the times when they would go on a trip together, the reason being the warmth that would sneak along their held hands into her heart and surely into his as well. The warmth of his rough but gentle palm, the feeling of their fingers entwined, this was what made her so certain, so brave whenever they faced trouble time and time again.
"Ciel...?"
All frustration forgotten, the small girl thrust everything aside to turn to her partner. Being normally the ones who installed fear in another being, it was a long since experienced sensation that radiated from him now. She did not like it one bit, what was more the feeling now melded with her too, slithering eagerly along her guard that slipped in that split second.
Because Dreadlord, the lord of terror so feared on the battlefield, was grasping her hood with trembling hands.
It was rather like playing a game, hide-and-seek more specifically, where Noblesse played the role of the hunter desperately trying to find Demonio's deepest secrets. Not as if he had many of course, having the mind of an innocent child reduced him to not tell his mistress the most insignificant of things if any, such as him adding one extra teaspoon of sugar in her tea this morning or he may or may not have accidentally sneezed in her direction without covering his mouth.
That was what Noblesse originally thought.
A curl lingered on the edges of her mouth, tugging at them playfully so that she could not resist displaying a smile. She was absolutely certain that the man standing in front of her now trying his best to look like an innocent puppy, which obviously was not having an effect otherwise she would have let if passed unnoticed, was hiding something more serious than mere matters of incidentally brushing his coat against her dress. This was a good sign, Demonio clearly retained some of his instincts or what others would define in this case as "common sense", to not spill the beans whenever she asked him for it. Nevertheless, she thought guiltily, she would like to know what exactly he was hiding because so far he had proved to only keep things from her should he determine them to bother her mind in the slightest of ways.
Mentally making a silent apology, Noblesse willed her soul to flurry while summoning a thin ray of light from within the endless swirls of power. She gazed intently into his dark orbs, careful not to break eye contact even if he was showing signs of discomfort. The thin beam of light made its way with great difficulty to her tips, pacing to and fro in order to find a way past the great barrier that posed as an obstacle. A slight frown furrowed her brows, said so called "child" clearly had Demon Instincts that could rival her own, in fact to her surprise and concern, the shield did its job too well in causing all her attempts to ricochet as if they were gentle nudges.
Noblesse, hailed mistress to the Castle of Abbadon, was well known for her deadly calm even in the worst of situations. The way she would direct her fingers towards the servant in command of something so simple, seeming so out of place still with that elegant manner always put most in wonder. It was with these intelligent directions however, that her followers find themselves sipping tea with her in the courtyard while their enemies were stumbling painfully on their own tails. By no means a rash thinker, she was one that calculated each step with cunning, never putting too much at risk. If we were to guess her actions now, the rational choice would be her retreating from Demonio's mind as continuing onwards may lead to a losing battle.
Demonio however, chose at this very moment to disagree by letting out a pained howl that echoed around the misty trees.
And it turns out we are very wrong.
She immediately retreated from her astral form, a force field sending her tumbling back into her own mind like an uninvited guest. Hands immediately shot out to grasp the fragile head, intending with enormous effort to piece the wounded insides together. Her legs were almost crumbling beneath her, so weak like lead, so shaken from the impact they did not respond to her commands to stand straight. Breath still crumbling out in rags, she forcefully slammed her mind's eye shut before its vision dyed completely scarlet.
Her victim was not fairing any better, the blast had sent him backwards even further almost knocking him off his feet. Unbearable pain erupted inside his brain which, to no avail, tried to stop itself from spinning on the spot. Like Noblesse, Demonio clutched at his head, clawing at the soft white hair with his sharp, darkened fingers. Unlike his mistress, the butler's legs found it easier to just give way without a fight, letting its owner fall to the harsh ground with a sickening crash. Knees instinctively folded themselves close to his heavily heaving chest, even breathing became a problem as the body acted on the unvoiced command to shrink away from whatever caused all this pain. Like a wounded puppy, the man curled into a ball still trembling feebly accompanied by barely audible moans.
At long last when she felt words could be made into a complete sentence, Noblesse finally regained a firm grip on herself and decided gratefully not to let go of it anymore. With renewed haste, she quickly made her way towards her fallen companion still writhing and twitching on the ground. How could she have done this? Terror overwrote all other emotions in her heart, bringing up the realisation that she was foolish, too foolish to have pushed so far into his fragile mind. She should have known, the light would only have hurt his soul and yet...Pushing aside these thoughts, she decided that bringing Demonio back on his feet was the most important matter at hand.
The guilt however, still slithered slyly along her as she moved closer.
He had stopped moving all together now, if it weren't for his barely noticeable winces she would have been ready to assume the worst. Perhaps it was the anticipation, the fear, the guilt all building upon one another that caused her heart to pound faster, speeding along her thoughts that reached a conclusion that something wrong, terribly wrong was going to happen. Noblesse trusted her instincts, they have only failed her on the rarest of occasions, usually in situations where choice did not make that much of a difference. Even so she edged closer, willing her muscles to move her right hand closer, closer still to his shoulders.
Then.
It was as if time took pity on the demoness, taking care to move at a slower pace so as to increase the given reaction time. For what happened next, as her brain will soon catch up to, took place in a split second that it was practically impossible.
Demonio's blade, dark and sharp like an extension of his claws, had clashed with a still half formed spectral spear.
"Wha-"
But the words had not left her mouth before another experienced twirl of his blade sent it crashing with intense force down on her own weapon once more. The light blue spear just, just managed to make its way protectively above the head to stop the oncoming offense.
As time stopped at exactly this scene, Noblesse's mind was blessed with the opportunity of processing the events that whizzed past its grasp with no return. His gunblade had recoulored itself pitch black, losing its function to act as a long ranged weapon in the process. As if to play a game of matching up, the hand grasping the sword had tainted itself in the same colour, only up to the body however, his light blue shirt lined with black stripes were still invisible. That came as a relief, but as her eyes traveled further upwards, it came to her that his fringe had conveniently lifted itself from his face in the motion, revealing that both his eyes were pitch black.
Like eternal abyss, where salvation was merely a distant dream.
Words alone were not enough to express how Noblesse felt now. Sadness? Guilt? Perhaps regret for her actions, for pushing him this far that he had transcended half way into darkness. It occurred to her that it had happened so quickly as well, as if, as if his body was too well accustomed to doing so. Another one of her heart strings twang, signifying her counters of confidence had yet again let another one slip. A feeling of doubt tugged at her insides.
Was her choice of crossing dimensions to Demonio, actually giving him a chance to return? To regain what he had lost, to become what he had sought?
For the first time since her arrival, she found, surprisingly, that she was unsure of the answer.
As emotions got the better of her mind, she did not realise that her clutch on her spear had slackened. If he had applied more force, just enough to lift a little finger, the blade would have sliced clean through. In fact it would have done so, the sword already laced with murderous intent ready to bring the onslaught. Not before hesitation, as the silent tears that Noblesse had failed to acknowledge made themselves visible on her pale white cheeks. The warmth drew some part of her back to reality, and she blinked. Then blinked once more to hide it all with no success, the image of the entity of death in her eyes became distorted, blotched here and there as more tears welled in her eyes.
Much to her own surprise, the elegant monarch could only close her eyes as another wave of emotions singed on the inside. Wrong wrong thing to do, especially in front of a madness consumed demon who could not, and would not, be limited to moral restraints. He however, had other things planned instead of plunging his weapon to reap her soul. A clatter, the sound of something metallic falling to the floor. A tender feeling brushed against her eyelids, trailing the trickle of saltiness with it so they would not irritate her anymore.
Bright orbs met with his when courage willed itself into her soul once more, filled with the element of surprise and sorrow. Demonio had let his blade fall to the floor, black whisps of dust retreating from it as it once again resumed the form of a shorter gunblade. The silhouette of his arm also evaporated, leaving once again the black sleeves to be visible, accompanied by flesh coloured hands.
And his eyes.
Noblesse never thought she would be so happy to see the odd eyes again, one bright one dark. Not what she preferred when compared to normal ones of course, but definitely better than those that only radiated pure murderous intent. The butler lifted the edges of his thin lips to form a smile that would reassure her, achieving his goal as she replied with a shaky smile of her own. Well formed words left his mouth, only to be received by her ears as incoherent mumbling. The latter's smile waned, morphing into one of concern when the weight fell onto her arms, almost setting her off balance.
She did not know how she found the strength to move them back to the Castle of Abbadon, let alone how she still felt that Demonio needed her. The truth was that he did, and he decided to voice it while being unconscious in his bed just as Noblesse left through the bedroom door oblivious to his call. Not long after, she found herself in her own room, sinking into the soft white duvet as thoughts failed to trouble her further. Lost in an uneasy drowse, her body instinctively curled into a small ball. The last sensible thought happened to be that Lanox would have to wait for later, both of them not in a state to wake up anytime soon.
Unbeknownst to them as Elrios bid their consciousness to sleep, flickers of emotion traveled down the invisible contract between them. They of course would be ignored for now, but as the unsaid words revealed themselves to a closed mind, it read over and over the same thoughts.
"Lu...are you alright? I'm fine...so please don't take back your hand..."
"Have I gone to far? Ciel...will you still let me in?"
To be continued...
I really enjoy crafting memories regarding dear Dreadlord and Chiliarch,
though they probably are not enjoying the fact I have put them in quite a tight situation.
I have been receiving quite a few comments on the previous memory being a bit depressing, and I sincerely apologise for making it so.
However, the sun rises to a new dawn everyday, take it as a hint that our journey will have an happy ending.
Perhaps.
Thank you for joining me tonight, your company is what I desire.
Just before you leave through the dimension portal, spare me a moment of thought, throw some of your comments to me.
Your words are what allows me to improve my crafting skills OwO/~
I will show you a sweet dream the next night~
Sendo Erika 28.04.2017
