START OF CHAPTER 19
A year later, in three souls...
Brafez was happy. The original, that is. For a year he had explored the world of Remnant, and was finally ready to travel to Pantheon. He would live a life of peace on the moon, away from war or violence. He would miss his friends and family, terribly so, but he had to leave. Besides, at this point he was a walking abomination of nature to everyone around him, so why stay?
And so, as they traveled to the Dragon Continent, Brafez thought back on his former life, of his friends and family. If he had to do it over, he'd keep it the same, just to be with his friends again, just to see Welsha's smile again, to see everyone safe and protected because of him. But that was impossible now. There was no coming back from the dead, (cough Clement cough), and such an occurrence was lost to the Old Ages, in the time before dust.
On their final stretch, he couldn't help but smile at the beauty of nature. Out there, there were no Grimm, just regular animals. Trees glinted with snow and ice, frozen lakes concealing the horrors of the depths beneath their encrusted surfaces. It truly was beautiful. As the three crested a hill, far beyond humanity's reach, they saw a massive stone structure arranged into two semicircles facing each other, a pillar scraping the sky on an angle, perfectly aligned with the moon.
"Glad we got here in time." Felicity quipped, steering her lumbering frame down the bowl and onto the rock platform. "You know, these ruins are older than me, and that's saying something."
"How young are you?" Brafez inquired, looking through her eyes at the surrounding architecture. She laughed before answering.
"Ever polite. But don't mistake my physical appearance for the truth; in reality, I'm seven thousand years old. There are older ones, from before my time. They were the first sent to Remnant, you met one, the Watcher. She was known as Lilith once, and even after her transformation a select few called her by her birth name. I wasn't one for all the drama, just kept to myself. Well, as much as I could with this sour-puss around."
"Throwing your own sister under the bus; things never change." Felicia snipped, a small hint of anger in her voice. Before the two could start arguing, Felicity reverted to her human state, Brafez joining her.
"I...have a body?" Brafez muttered, looking down at himself. He was still the eleven year old child he had been when he died, but his body felt solid, material.
"No, and yes. That is the image your soul is projecting to help keep you sane. But other than that, you can't really touch anything. Once we get to Pantheon, your body will become solid, since the rules are different on the moon. At least, I hope so. The last time this happened, there were a few complications..." Felicity broke off, walking over to the rock pillar and placing a hand against it. "Ia Ia Azeroyth Dortyx."
Then her sister put her hand on the other side, and began to chant as well.
"Ia Ia Azeroyth Dortyx!"
"IA IA AZEROYTH DORTYX! IA IA AZEROYTH DORTYX! IA IA AZEROYTH DORTYX!"
Brafez felt the air...change, growing heavier with each passing second. The semicircles started to emit a midnight-black sphere around the ruin, and then, with a loud rumble and the crack of splitting rock, a black beam shot from the pillar into the horizon, impacting the moon before stabilizing. After a few seconds, the two sisters retracted their arms and met in the middle with Brafez. The middle of the pillar lowered into a set of stairs, leading to the beam.
"Well Sis, this is goodbye." Felicia stated, walking over to her sister and pulling her close, a few tears brimming under her eyes.
"I'm gonna miss you, you bitch." Felicity replied, patting her on the back.
"Yeah, I am a bitch. But I'm a lovable bitch." After separating, the second sister turned to Brafez and hugged him as well. "Goodbye kiddo. Take good care of your babies and my sister, alright?"
"I promise. And take good care of your children as well. Goodbye Felicia." Brafez said, hugging her back. While the two had had their quarrels, they eventually got over them with time. The words spoken were indeed true; they would miss each other, and the two would take care of their children.
Once the goodbyes were said and done, Brafez turned to his partner and held out his hand. She smiled, grabbing it and leading him up to the beam of Dark.
"So, how does this work?" Brafez inquired, watching the beam with curiosity.
"We take a step forward, and then we're at Pantheon. Quite simple really. But once we're there, we'll be put through a special ceremony before being accepted by the general public. So, are you ready?"
Brafez looked back at the world behind him, giving it one, last glance. He turned to her and nodded. With that, they took a step forward and the Dark swallowed them whole, ushering them to Pantheon. Felicia smiled, walking over to the side of the rock pillar and placing her palm against it, the ruin powering down and settling back into it's state of decay.
With a final, subtle nod, she walked into the forest, and into a world without her sister.
Pantheon...
His senses tingled as a white light blinded him. After a few seconds, the light dimmed down to a level that wouldn't blind him, but that he still couldn't see anything. He could hear a few words being spoken, but couldn't make out the individual sounds. Seconds later he felt something slip on to his ring finger, and then he could see again.
Felicity was standing next to him, wearing a beautiful white dress. A ring of thorns sat on her ring finger, and when he looked at his, he had the same ring.
"Are we...?" He inquired, trailing off as he caught a glimpse of the sky. The sky was broken apart, and then it hit him that he was inside the moon. High up, hovering in the sky, was a giant pulsating mass of black tentacles, or, at least what his mind could make it out to be. In reality, the mass was an indescribable ball of matter, so tightly packed that it struggled to keep itself together.
"No! Don't look at it!" Felicity exclaimed, pulling his head down. "Sorry. That's the Heart of Dark, the source of all Grimm and their lifeblood. We can't look at it, else our brains would melt out our ears. Now, with that out of the way, someone would like to meet you."
"Who?" Brafez muttered aloud, before looking around and seeing hundreds of thousands of Barsküld Grimm all around them, gathered around the altar where they stood. The crowd in front of them parted to reveal a woman with hair like dead wheat that trailed behind her in waves, a pair of black horns sprouting from her head, and a set of ruby-red eyes directed onto the two.
"Hello, young warrior. I see that you've been through a lot during your time on Remnant. But, worry not, that is a thing of the past. Here, you can have...a, I'm not sure normal is the right word for it, but, a childhood. Something that was taken from you at a very early age. So, with that out of the way, I am Persephone Ragnarök, High Mistress of Dark. Welcome to Pantheon."
"Thank you, Mrs. Ragnarök. I am honored to join you and your kind on the moon. I have a question, however; did Felicity and I just get married?"
"Yes. And thank you for your politeness." Persephone added, bowing at the waist.
"Okay." Brafez replied, taking Felicity by the hand and pulling her into a kiss that she easily returned. Once the two seemed to be getting a bit more than frisky, Persephone cleared her throat loud enough for the heavens to hear her. "Ahhm...uh, sorry."
"Yeah. Our bad." Felicity mumbled, throwing the bouquet off to the side. A random Barsküld caught it, screaming loudy and hugging her girlfriend.
"Hey!" A male Barsküld called out, placing a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "How come we don't get any recognition, huh? Why do lesbians always have the limelight?"
Well, you're being mentioned right now, so, you are prevalent. I just don't use you. Since there are gays couples in this fic, one should assume there are couples of the male race as well.
"Huh. Didn't think about that." The Barsküld muttered, before realizing that everyone was staring at him. "What? The voices are real!"
"Ahhhh..." Persephone cleared her throat again, before a hand grasped her shoulder.
"Where's the boy?" Brafez heard a woman ask, before realizing that he had heard that voice before, a long time ago.
"Summer?!" He exclaimed, watching as the white-cloaked woman ran to him. She picked him up in a hug, nearly leaving him gasping for air before he realized he didn't need to breath.
"Brafez!" Summer said, putting him back down.
"I...I'm very glad to see you." She muttered, looking back at Persephone, who was tapping her foot against the floor.
"Thank you."
"Wait, what happened to your arm?"
"Uh...it's a long story."
"Well, I'm sure these two could use some rest." The High Mistress of Dark stated, gesturing for the two to follow her. The crowd dispersed soon after they left, returning to their festivities. The four approached what appeared to be a massive cathedral that stretched out into the horizon. In reality, the cathedral spanned the entirety of the moon, bridges connecting the broken parts to the mainland.
"So, what does the normal populace do?" Brafez inquired, looking around the Grand Cathedral of Dark as he walked with the three women.
"Well, we are all required to know how to fight, in case the Remnant Grimm try to come back, but other than that, we don't really do much. We kinda just...are. I guess that's a result of living for thousands of years."
"How long do Barsküld live?"
"Well, when Azeroyth crossed the abyss from his world to ours, it took him a millennia to battle his way to what he thought was a safe refuge. He was wrong. And it is for that reason that we exist today. I don't regret what my ancestors did to him, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to have a beautiful little girl. She is very strong-hearted. She's had to be for a long time."
"You have a daughter? Is she down there?"Brafez asked, looking at Remnant through the cracked moon.
"Yes. She's accompanying your copy. Her name is Pandora Ragnarök, daughter of Lilith and mine."
"Wait, the Watcher is her father...mother...umm, help me please."
"In the reproduction terms, she is indeed the father. But, we are her mothers."
"Ah, thank you. Is she here?"
"...yes. Her trial is next week. After that, Lilith will be no more."
"What?! But she only wanted to protect-"
"The Creatures of Grimm. We are Grimm, but not Creatures of. It is unfair, unjust, but in the eyes of Azeroyth, it must be done. Would you defy a god?" Persephone asked, like as if the answer was obvious.
"If it meant protecting others? Yes, I would." Brafez replied with steel in his voice.
"A noble soul. It's a shame you died. Remnant needs more like you."
"Technically, they got them." Summer muttered, clearing her throat.
"Yes. I presume they did. Anyhow, this will be your living quarters for the rest of your existence." Persephone added, walking to a door and opening it, revealing a room with three branches that curved upwards into Gothic architecture. In the middle branch there was a bed, in the left there was a bathtub and a carpet, and in the right was a couch, a boxing ring, and a moonlit view of Remnant. "And Felicity? A few little ones would like to see you."
At that, the door behind them burst open, seven Beowulf Barsküld children rushing towards her and tackling her to the ground.
"MAMA!" They chorused in unison, Felicity smiling and wishing them happy birthdays. They raised their orange-haired mops to look at Brafez, then bolted after him as he jokingly tried to run away.
"PAPA!" They cried again, nearly suffocating him with their love.
"Hello my beautiful babies, how are we doing?" Brafez asked from under them, his voice muffled under their skin.
All at once they started to speak, each clamouring for attention and trying to speak louder than the last, until soon enough they rivaled the sound of an orchestral choir. Persephone clicked her tongue, silencing them.
"Now, children, why don't you go play with the others?"
"OKAY!" They exclaimed, running over to Felicity and hugging her, then going back to Brafez and doing the same, shouting goodbye as they left.
"They certainly are a handful." Summer added, smiling.
"You think?" Felicity replied, brushing her dress smooth before starting to tear into it with her fingers, the cloth falling to shreds in seconds. Persephone nodded her head, taking Summer's hand and leading her out of the room whilst the Grimm wolf threw Brafez onto the bed and began to ravage him.
Two weeks later...
After seven days, the Mistress had finally been able to get the two newlyweds out of their room, though it had taken some convincing. Most notably, a bowl of the freshest bacon this side of Pantheon, as requested by Brafez. The sad part was that there were no pigs on the moon, because the Barsküld didn't need to eat. And, well, neither did he, but it was bacon.
So, the High Mistress of Dark went to her chief cook, and asked him to make the boy some bacon. And, of course, I obliged. Yes, I was actually on the moon the entire time! So, with my expert cooking knowledge, I made the best bacon ever known in this universe.
As soon as Brafez had been handed the bacon, Felicity pushed Persephone out of the room and closed the door, locking it. Then, another seven days passed before the door finally opened to reveal an empty bowl of bacon, and the bride and groom curled up together under their sheets.
It had taken Persephone literally throwing the two out of the room to get them to explore the rest of the planet-wide building. And even then she occasionally caught them having sex in the hallways. She'd spank both of them if she didn't know Felicity was a masochist, and, well, she just didn't have it in her to hurt the boy. He'd been through too much already.
And so, as the exhausted High Mistress plopped down on her bed, her thoughts drifted to her daughter. Pan was young, and broken, but she hoped, somehow, that her heart could be mended. She deserved that much. Oh how she longed to see her once again, to hold her in her arms and banish her demons to the darkest pits of Elsewyre.
Persephone let out a wretched sob before she felt the coiled-steel muscles of Summer's arms wrapped around her waist, her wife beginning to sing. She'd always found it to be the purest form of joy in the universe, except for when they (rarely) had sex, then it was second-best.
"Let's go see them. Okay?" Summer asked, pulling her out of the bed with a gentleness only a mother could know. The High Mistress of Dark nodded her head, leaning on her wife as the two women headed to the Lense Vivicarium. When they arrived, the door was slightly ajar, a dark glow filling the corridor.
Minutes before...
Brafez opened the door with his only hand, intrigued by the dark glow from under the door. The doorway lead to a massive domed room, a giant lense, about forty meters wide and tall, angled straight at the wall, where another lense was angled at the dome, where a third caught the second lense's light and directed it through the dome and into the...sky? Atmosphere? Whateverthefuck?
"This is...huge. I wonder what it does..."
"Well, I'm here to tell you that." I said from up on my perch, legs crossed over the first lenses thorned frame.
"Who are you?" Brafez inquired, looking up at me.
"I am Xeñoirê Dealphene, your friendly universe-wide narrator. I've been...waiting for you. So, know that you're here, let's get started." I hopped from my roost, impacting the floor and denting the obsidian into the shape of my soles. I winced as I looked at it, whistling innocently. "Oh dear. I can fix that."
Unlike Felicity, Persephone had no problems spanking me, a being ten thousand years her elder. Well, give or take a single digit, but the point was given.
"Can you?"
"Yes." I replied, snapping my fingers, the floor returning to normal. I gestured to what appeared to be a throne made of thorns, facing the lense. "Please, take a seat."
"What's going to happen once I sit down?" Brafez asked, hesitantly inching his way towards the throne.
"The Lense Vivicarium will show you what you want to see." I stated, walking over to the lense and rotating the hand crank until the first lense faced the third lense. Brafez slowly sat down in the throne, the thorns immediately tightening around him and holding him in place. He didn't struggle, surprisingly. A few seconds later, the lense struggled to life, showing an image of Welsha on her bed.
"W-Welsh..." Brafez gasped, tears of joy running down his cheeks. The view of Welsha muddied before clearing, showing Katie having a picnic in the snow with his first clone. "Katie..." The view muddied again, this time showing Ariad running down a corridor, followed by several faunus in white uniforms with red wolves on their backs, guns discharging in her direction. "Oh, Ariad...I...I can't thank you enough."
"I know." I replied, taking a breath before blinking and snapping my head towards the door. "Ah, Persephone, Summer. I was waiting for you to arrive."
The two nodded their heads, waiting patiently as the boy recovered. Once he had, Persephone sat in the throne, followed by Summer. They comforted the others with their shared losses, recounting tales and stories of long ago, from happier days. I just stood off to the side and smiled; soon it would all come together. But until that day, I would wait on the moon, a watchful eye in the universe.
END OF CHAPTER 19