Chapter Ten : A World to Believe In
Another day passed.
Christina's condition remained steady, but even with regular care she drifted in and out her coma, barely managing to take in water. Tristan and the other children made certain to see her every evening to tell her the things they did that day, or to tell her about the stories that Judith spoke to them about. None of the children asked what happened to Flynn; if Judith had to guess, she assumed that one of the children was listening to their fight atop the stairwell and told the others. If anything, she was thankful they had the sense to not question her about it.
Judith simply kept on going.
However, she was no longer humming.
The chores she did every day were mundane, a mere shadow of the adventures she had riding the wind only a few short years ago. She simply existed, forced smiles, and did what was expected of her: laundry, cooking, telling stories, but the mood around her was completely changed. The children knew this. If Flynn was still around, he would know this.
But Judith wasn't about to admit it to herself.
Wiping down the mirror, Judith took a seat as she stared into it – not too long after, the rippling effect once again occurred, with a glimpse of the Yuzorea continent quite visible. The image shook a bit as she could catch sight of the similar gloved hands of Rita angled the mirror just right, before Rita finally walked into position where Judith could speak with her face to face. "We're here!" Rita saluted, cheerful as ever.
"I'm glad I didn't miss it," Judith forced a smile. The room was empty save for her.
Moving to the side, Rita explained what was going on. Estelle was in sight, positioned near a clearing the Kritya have made so that when Krones landed, Myorzo wouldn't be sitting atop of several trees. Krones' underside was quite visible where the mirror was positioned. "This thing's fully charged, so you shouldn't be missing a thing!"
"I'll keep a close watch," Judith nodded.
"Are you okay, Judith?" Rita interrupted, her eyes narrowing in concern. "You don't seem like yourself today." It was a rare moment of sincerity from Rita that Judith hadn't witnessed much before; with Rita, what you saw was what you got, but this hint of a heart that ultimately cared for others was special.
"We can talk about it later," Judith insisted, "Right now we should be watching this. All eyes on Estelle, right?"
"Don't think I'm going to forget," Rita crossed her arms, resigned to Judith's temporary answer. Rita then took her place next to Estelle, gazing up at the giant Entelexeia.
"Thanks so much for going through all of this trouble, Rita," Estelle smiled down at her friend. "None of this would have been possible without your help."
"Stop thinking about that and focus on the business at hand, all right?" Rita winked at the princess.
All around the Kritya were gathered, as Myorzo was evacuated in preparation for the landing. Several of them cast curious glances at the forest around them, but none of them seemed particularly worried.
"Let's begin," Rita said. Closing her eyes, several formulas manifested in front of her, drawing its power from Estelle. Bright gold adorned the working, as Rita opened her eyes, focused on the task at hand – holding her arms outstretched, she began reciting spell commands causing the formulas to move about the working, resonating with Krones; the body of the grand creature began to display luminescence, positioning itself in the proper place so that when Myorzo fell, it would land in the grooves that the Kritya had prepared so that minimal damage would be sustained to their beloved city. "Now, Estelle!"
Placing herself on the other edge of the working, Estelle closed her eyes as her hands clasped together in front of her, as if in prayer. She began to float in midair, suspended from gravity - her hair emphasized her movements as invisible energy warped itself around her as the working grew ever brighter. From her chest, four bright lights in the colors of red, blue, green, and yellow sparkled about and attached themselves to the working, before the Four Elemental Spirits manifested, taking their place at four corners surrounding Krones. "It's too much," Estelle whispered, straining herself. "Krones' apatheia has absorbed so much aer over the ages, it's overwhelming!"
"Hang in there, Estelle!" Rita shouted over the violent hum of aer being converted to mana. Her eyes darting from corner to corner of the working to see what algorithms she could alter to ease the process, her fingers quickly moving pieces of the formulas from one end of the spectrum to the next, overwriting old commands as energy spilled out to the ground as a flash flood. "Dammit, I was not expecting this!"
Judith stood, tensing up as she watched – she wished that she could have been right by their side.
Out of nowhere, a singing voice was heard – its effect calming those witnessing this phenomenon as the Kritya, Rita, Estelle, and Judith looked up to find the source of the song.
Undine's lips moved, synching with the spell commands being converted as energy from Krones was being directed to the working; workings then appeared in midair underneath the Four Elemental Spirits, as their voices resonated with Undine's, the colors of their mana signatures spiraling into the sky as a pyramid – Krones glowed as a bright white light, the aer conversion spilling over in a controlled manner as Estelle's feet landed onto the floor, the working piercing her torso.
"The Spirits," Rita looked on in amazement, halting her algorithm overrides for a moment. "They're helping Estelle! We can do this! It's possible!" Back to the working, Rita's eyes widened in amazement as the formulas began to shift and reallocate themselves as if of their own volition without her even touching them – it then grew to a massive size, engulfing Krones – the working grew large enough to overwhelm Krones in size as it absorbed the energy signatures from the Four Elemental Spirits, singing their song.
A bright flash of light engulfed the entire continent, making Judith and everyone else cover their eyes.
After several seconds of silence, everyone opened their eyes.
"We welcome you, Master." Undine and the other Spirits knelt and bowed respectfully to the new Spirit they gathered around. Even Rem and Shadow took their places among them, as the six spirits then began to line up in front of the Spirit formerly known as Krones.
Everyone stood agape as they witnessed this – in front of them was a Spirit in the shape of a muscular four-armed man with purple legs, crimson and jagged wing-like appendages on his back, and a different weapon in each of his four hands; his presence was unlike any other Spirit they had ever encountered, as he easily towered the other Spirits not only in size, but sheer power – the excess mana from the conversion ritual could still be felt by anyone in range on the continent. His expression stern, he nodded to each of the six spirits in front of him.
"Amazing," Estelle finally spoke, out of breath. "I had no idea that this would happen."
"With this much power, he could easily have been one of the oldest surviving Entelexeia in the world's history," Rita commented, taking her position by Estelle's side, unsure what to make of the situation. This thing was powerful, that much was clear. It was the first time she could definitively say that she encountered something so powerful, she was just a little bit scared.
"Master," Efreet's voice shook the very ground as he spoke. "We welcome you to your new existence."
"I had no idea that Krones was your master," Estelle managed to say.
"Krones was an Entelexeia born before any of us," Sylph explained to the onlookers. "His apatheia dwarves any of ours in comparison, easily. His lifespan makes us look human by contrast."
"That explains why the concentration of aer was so difficult to manage," Rita sighed. "If it weren't for your help, the entire continent could have easily been wiped off of the map." Not to mention the ramifications if such a thing were to happen – without information, the Guilds or the Empire could have considered it a declaration of war as well. "I wasn't expecting it to be so difficult, but we made it!"
"Our Master needs a name," Rem turned her head to Estelle. Shadow nodded in turn.
"Oh, right!" Estelle nervously laughed. "It seems a bit overwhelming." She turned to the new Spirit, humbled by being in its grand presence. "It would do me a great honor to have the privilege of naming you."
The Spirit nodded.
"The Spirit of all things," Estelle tilted her head back with her eyes closed, her hands held tightly to her chest. "The Lord of All Spirits: there is only one suitable name for him - Origin."
"It is so," Origin stated, lowering himself to the ground. In a grand display of light, a stone materialized behind him in the shape of a tombstone, emblazoned with his name. "Young daughter of humanity, with the name you have given to me, will you form a pact with me?"
"A pact?" Estelle tilted her head.
"A pact?" Everyone else seemed to be whispering and mumbling the same question, including Judith from the other side of the mirror.
"The ordeal with the Adephagos has come from both humanity and the Kritya weakness in abusing the power they receive from the earth," Origin stated. "Although such a tragedy has been averted, with the advent of mana into this world, there is no guarantee that such a thing will not happen again."
Judith couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at the mention of the Kritya – she knew that Origin was referring to her father's work.
"You're right," Estelle responded, maintaining eye contact with the grand Origin. "Humanity is weak. We look for the easy way out, and we hide behind excuses. We're divisive and we hurt each other and ourselves; from the sky, you must have seen civilizations rise and fall, in an endless and sad tango."
Rita cast her eyes downward – how could Estelle maintain the dignity and courage to stand face to face with a being as ageless as the world itself?
"Our overreliance on blastia to protect ourselves from the monsters that roam this land and harm each other is inexcusable," Estelle continued. "Our ignorance and selfishness that made us take the land we were mothered on for granted has put us in the predicament that we stood face to face with last year – we are inexcusable."
Her father Hermes, who was the man who cast aside his ties to the Circle to concentrate on blastia research after the loss of his wife. His earnest eyes were one of the clearest memories Judith could ever recall. It was difficult to watch and not feel any pangs of guilt - Judith involuntarily turned to stare at the package that was still by the kitchen counter. Her eyes widening, she thought of her own selfishness. The gift from Flynn she was staring at – were people always going to hurt each other? She knew that expecting something out of Flynn without stating her feelings in words couldn't help the situation.
She was taking his kindness for granted, just like how she could never make up the time that was stolen from her with her father.
Even when she was teasing him, there seemed to be a jolt of electricity between them when she caressed his arm with her fingertips. Flynn couldn't have been that ignorant of her feelings. She wasn't going to take that first step by admitting hers first. But if things continued as they were, all they were going to do was hurt each other. Hadn't humanity suffered enough? That jolt had the potential to be warm and cold at the same time.
"However, we also have strength in the ability to change," Estelle smiled. "Perhaps one person can't do much, but one person can change themselves. By touching other peoples' lives, we can help change each other and grow. I promise in my short lifespan which may only be a drop of water in the vast ocean of your existence that I will fight for change. Change not only for myself, but for changing the lives of everyone that I can. Not as an Empress, not as a woman, not as a human, but as myself – on the name of Estellise Sidos Heurassein, I swear to you, I will honor our pact to change humanity: for the better."
"Young daughter of humanity," Origin lowered his gaze at the tiny creature before him. "Your eyes shine with wisdom beyond your lifetime."
The Kritya continued to murmur among themselves. It crossed Judith's mind to look for Christina's parents, but she didn't think now was the time to bring it up.
"Lord Origin," Estelle spoke with clarity and confidence, "Will you form a pact with me? Should humanity ever break this promise to you, with your authority, you may strip us of the gift of mana use."
"It is done." With those words, on the tablet behind Origin was emblazoned a new script from an ancient language, as the energy about them dissipated – the entire area was changed forever due to his mana signature, but now it wasn't so overwhelming that everyone couldn't breathe.
"Oh! There's one more thing!" Estelle happily trotted off to stand right in front of the grand Spirit. As she whispered in his ear as close as she could get by standing on her toes, the smile never left her face; after a few seconds, she took a step back, her arms folded behind her dress. "How does that sound?"
The Spirit's expression remained stoic, though a hint of a smile was present in his tone. "I shall grant you this favor."
With those words, Origin and the other Spirits were aglow with light, and disappeared.
"You certainly held your own there," Rita crossed her arms, proud of Estelle. "What was so secret about that last bit, anyway?"
"I'll tell you later," Estelle reassured Rita, walking away from the tablet. The Kritya around them continued to chat indistinctly as they cautiously wandered back into the landed Myorzo, some even taking a look and inspecting the new tablet lodged in the middle of the clearing. The two human women then approached the mirror. "That was quite something, wasn't it, Judith?"
"I can't disagree with you there," Judith smiled. "I'm proud of you."
"So, what's up with you, Judith?" Rita asked, certainly not forgetting their prior conversation.
"I wanted to congratulate Estelle on her pending nuptials," Judith forced a smile at the princess. "Flynn is a good man. I'm certain the two of you will be able to fulfill the pact that you instigated with Origin."
"Wait, what?" Estelle took a step back, obviously surprised. "What are you talking about, Judith?"
"We've been on the road for a while," Rita thought aloud. "Did the Council make their final decision?"
"I didn't realize that you didn't hear the news," Judith side-stepped apologizing. "Flynn told me that the Council appointed him to be Estelle's fiancé."
"No," Estelle whispered, as if trying to find the right words. Torn between what she wanted to say and what was expected of her, she was rendered speechless.
"Well, he's not a bad guy," Rita said. "It's better that it's him than some stuck-up jerk three times your age, right?"
"It's most likely a political decision," Judith mused. "Flynn is well-liked among both the Empire and the Guilds. Even though Estelle would be Empress, having her married to Flynn would create only good relations all around the world among the different people groups. I doubt Brave Vesperia, much less the Five Master Guilds, would tolerate anybody else taking that position."
"What about you?"
Both Rita and Judith turned and stared at the princess.
"How do you feel about this, Judith?" Estelle asked once again, her eyes locked with Judith's.
"What kind of question is that?" Rita lifted an eyebrow.
"I'm not leaving without your answer!" Estelle sternly spoke, on the verge of yelling. "Tell me, Judith," Estelle's voice softened in tone, her eyes filled with sadness.
Judith was very well aware of that fact. After a moment's silence, Judith shook her head. "Don't ask me this," she finally replied. "Don't ask me to make this decision for you."
"I'm not," Estelle lowered her head. "I have my responsibilities, as well as my newly formed pact with Origin. This is not something I can be selfish in."
"The Hell you can't!" Rita snapped, making Estelle flinch once again. "What does that have to do with anything, anyway? It's your life!"
"Don't worry about me," Judith softly spoke, her words piercing the silence after Rita's outburst. "You do what you feel is right, all right?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Rita then closed off the connection between the two mirrors, abruptly cutting Judith out of the conversation.
Continuing to stare at the mirror now only seeing a reflection of her hesitant face, Estelle stood silent. Catching Rita staring at her in their reflection, Estelle sighed before facing the younger woman. "We need to make a stop before we head back to Zaphias," she declared, her lips trembling.
"It's just as well," Rita shook her hand, as if dismissing the situation with a wave. "I figured out the last bit of the formula we were working on when I saw a bunch of the algorithms shift when we created Origin – it's entirely possible now. Not to mention the aer supply we were considering before; it just might work."
"Thank goodness," Estelle gave a sigh of relief.
"At least one good thing should come out of all of this," Rita agreed, patting Estelle's shoulder. "I may not agree with your decision, but I'm going to support you whether you like it or not."
"I know," Estelle responded.