Chapter 59:- Her dream
Disclaimer:- all the characters form the game belong to moonton and this is not a commercial story but just the work of a diehard fan.
Claimer:- the other characters which are not in game of mentioned are mine
It was just one of their days together when Hanabi was still learning what Saya had to teach her.
The day had been long and tiring, thus Hanabi fell heavily upon the bedroll of their camp, while Saya was preparing dinner. Although her body hurt and she felt totally exhausted, Hanabi was very-very happy with herself due to all the progress she was making.
Saya couldn't help but smile seeing the young human become so excited. The Sai'ore agreed that the human was very fast learner, a protégée indeed. However, the way how Hanabi exerted herself really worried her time to time.
"Easy there, Neha. You might break yourself if you push yourself too much."
Hanabi grinned sheepishly at this, "Well, what can I say? I am just happy that I might be able to fulfil my dream after all."
Her words confused Saya, thus she asks, "Your dream?"
The ninja girl nodded happily and declares, "Yes, I am going to be the strongest and greatest ninja ever!"
Saya shook her head, smiling at the contagious cheerfulness that her human possessed. Then Hanabi asks out of the blue, "What about you, Saya-chan? What is your dream?"
The Question was sudden, "My dream?" and Saya had no answer for it. Truthfully for all these years, Saya never really had any dreams to aspire. She had been just too busy being an Empress and now that she had nothing left, she had no idea that she even had one.
However, Hanabi smiled and reassured her, "It's okay, I am sure you will find your dream too. You just need to look for it."
"My dream?" Saya asks.
"Yes, your very own dream, one that will drive you!"
That conversation on that distant past resonated in her mind over and over again. A fool she had been till now for not realizing that what she searched for the most was right before her all this time and Saya felt shame that it was this extreme loss that made her realize this simple truth.
Hanabi had asked her what her dream was. Saya could not answer that question before, but now she had her answer.
She will get Hanabi back and nothing was going to stand in Saya's way.
-X-
"Fall back!" the centaurs cried as they retreated deeper into their sanctum. Their eyes filled with terror as they fled, trying to escape the onslaught of the monster that had came knocking at their door step.
"This can't be happening!"
"There is no time, get outta here!" the soldiers speak amongst each other.
Then followed yet another roar of the enraged woman who tore through their ranks, seeking retribution for the loss she had suffered.
Never had the proud race of Centaurs ever regretted their decision to stand up to someone because God have mercy on them but the Empress would not.
A while ago…..
"So Be It!" roars Saya and charged head on towards the centaur army.
Thinking what a single woman could possibly do against an entire army, the centaurs held back, opting to simply just suppress the woman in pain. They underestimated her severely and easily got their ass handed to them with impossible levels of skills.
Understanding that things would not work out with leniency, the centaurs used full force. They attacked with lances, spears, net and everything that they had. But to their astonishment, Saya shrugged off blows that would mortally wound someone, even the blows that were downright lethal. Her body would simply heal, no matter how many times they broke it. She still stood up and fought on like a cornered animal.
Things got worse when the centaurs ganged up on her, trying to use their superior physics to their advantage to overwhelm her. That was when Saya summoned her Ethereal Serpents who dispatched about ten warriors in a single sweep.
"I will not be merciful again, get out of my way and let me through!" she yells threateningly towards the nervous Guardians of the Fountain.
"Enough!"
Suddenly, Saya was blown backwards by a strong gush of wind and she had to bury her sword on the ground to stay put. However, the wind became stronger by each passing second and even she was having problems to hanging on. Slowly Hylos walked forward with a stern gaze.
"Enough now. While I understand your loss, that gives you no right to decimate our ambience. I, the chief Guardian of the Fountain, banish you!" he declares and the wind grew stronger and Saya started slipping.
'No, I can't lose…..Not right now.' Saya held on despite how hard it was, annoying the centaur with her persistence.
"I know the likes of you, cowards who cannot face the truth."
*Crack* Saya held the ground with her Ethereal serpents, finally getting a good grip. Lowly she utters, "You're right….. I am a coward. I am a coward who no longer wishes to embrace the emptiness that would be left without her…" slowly the woman looks Hylos in the eyes. The Centaur gasps seeing the tear filled eyes of the Sai'ore that held furiosity like never seen before. "Call my tear my weakness all you want for these emotions are that drives me. It is a burden I bare everyday….. And I choose to embrace them!"
Using her serpents, Saya launched herself forward towards the Fountain Guardian. She pulled back her fist, "I am the coward and I embrace it!" with a mighty roar, Saya hit the centaur in the face with a mighty haymaker. The force was enough to send Hylos tumbling away while receiving heavy damage. Feeling very dizzy after the attack, the centaur fell to the ground, "I can't believe this…." he chocks before fainting, leaving the rest of his army shell shocked.
However, it was not over because, the Sai'ore now set her eyes upon them.
Present time….
With their leader down, Saya soared through the remaining forces like hot knife through butter. Hylos had been the strongest among the centaur and since he had been defeated; it was a huge blow to their moral.
The remaining centaurs fled towards the deeper parts of their sanctum, seeking refuge in the only place they could think of, the Fountain chamber. They rushed in and sealed the door, barricading it in hopes of stopping the monster who rampaged outside.
"Do you think it will hold her?"
"That is a metre thick door of limestone, ain't nobody cracking that!"
As soon as the man said this, the door was thrown out of its hinges and crashed several feet away from its original position. Beyond that stood a very angry Saya who looked ready to eat them alive.
Nowhere else to run, the centaurs cowered and begged for mercy.
Suddenly, Saya realized where they currently were and looked around the huge chamber and there in the middle, she saw a massive pond with Chrystal clear water and above the pond, hanging from the chamber's ceiling was a deep blue Chrystal.
This was the Fountain of Life!
In her joy, Saya forgot at the moment, her rage and spared the centaurs for she was too distracted by the task she had at hand.
Wasting on time, Saya rushed towards then pond.
She had made it at last!
But now, a new question arose. What was she supposed to do now?
Having no idea what to do, Saya turned towards the Centaurs and spoke, "Hey, you there!"
The colour on their face left and it was only after a good while before one brave fellow mustered up courage to speak out, "Y-yes, Milady?"
"How does the fountain work?" Saya questions sternly, making them all speechless. They looked at her as if she was insane, like as if they wanted to yell, 'You came here without even knowing what to do?' of course no one had the guts to actually say that in her face.
"W-Well, people normally, drink the fountain water but a dip in the water works too." he answered nervously and that was all Saya needed to hear.
Tenderly, Saya laid Hanabi's body in the waters and waited. She waited for something to happen, but all she got was…Nothing. A crippling realization crept in her heart. Something she absolutely didn't want to admit at all, "What if …it's too late?'
No…No, that can't happen. It just can't!
Saya kneels beside her human and whispers, "No, please. You have to come back. What of your dream? You can't go without fulfilling your dream, right? Please, meha Neha, I am not strong enough to do this alone…" she weeps holding Hanabi's cold body.
Her sobs echoing throughout the stone walls of the chamber as the Centaurs watched silently how their assailant cried and strangely, seeing that heart wrenching sight, they too felt sympathy.
The woman just held on to Hanabi like her life depended on it as tears fell down like waters of rain. She pleads, she prays, "Please…...Give me back my Hanabi…"
Silence surrounded them and the only sounds that remained were Saya's sobs as she held on to her human.
Then out of the blue, from above came down a ray of light, shocking all of them. The source of the light was the crystal and it fell directly upon Saya and Hanabi, filling her with a warm sensation.
"You, being of another world…" a feminine voice echoes throughout the chamber, startling everyone in it. With her guard on, Saya demands, "What trickery is this? Who goes there?"
The voice answer loudly, "It is I, the Moon Goddess of this land, ruler of the night sky!" upon this declaration, the centaurs immediately bowed down to pay respects, but Saya stood still, uncertain how to react.
"What do you want from me?" she questions boldly, her voice not faltering even in the presence of a so called Goddess.
"I come because of the strength of your desire. It is you who have, in a way, summoned me." Corrected the voice, causing Saya to perk up. Her prayers had been answered!
"Can you bring my Hanabi back?" Saya asked hopefully.
The voice stood silent for long while before speaking, "You poor-poor soul, Never have I peered into a soul as conflicted such as you, Oh Ancient One. A murderer, a tyrant, an usurper…..a monster. But…. Your selfless deeds weigh just as much as your evil ones. A mother, a protector, a nurturer…." The Goddess say on, "Your souls in heavy with your burden, but as a token of gratitude for saving my children on Moniya, I will heal your beloved…" Saya's spirits got uplifted at this, but then the voice added, "But first you must give a sacrifice …"
"A sacrifice?" Saya asks but then the light faded from existence and went silent even after she called several times. A sacrifice, she demands, but what could Saya possibly give when she had nothing. The Sai'ore looks upon her human with a longing gaze, being so close yet so far. Her heart ached for her and Saya didn't know how she would ever get by without her, especially now when her heart beats only for her.
Slowly, Saya realizes something; her heart, her heart that beats only for her human.
Without a second thought, Saya plunged her dagger into her chest, earning a gasp form the onlookers. Ignoring them, Saya grits her teeth and presses her dagger deeper into her rib cage. The pain was excruciating but she pressed on.
Once deep enough, Saya pulls out her own heart with her hand, shocking each and every one of the spectators, even the Moon Goddess. Slowly Saya kneels beside Hanabi and places her heart upon her, "It had always belonged to you. You asked me, what my dream was that day…You are my dream. Meta meha mahi kara, Meha Jai. I love you."
Never had words been truer by her lips. The seer amount of love that Saya had for Hanabi moved the Moon Goddess and with tearful eyes, the Goddess granted Saya's wish, "May you find eternal happiness…"
Hanabi slowly levitated in the air as her body glowed in a bright blue aura. Saya watched in awe as energy flowed within Hanabi's body from all direction, slowly repairing her damaged body. Saya's heart slowly diffused within the human's chest and even Saya felt how her own traces of Maya energy got mixed within Hanabi. But the Sai'ore could care less because she actually saw Hanabi's fingers twitch.
Her entire being burst in joy as Saya watched how life was being breathed back into her human. Sadly, since Saya had just removed her own heart, her body was starting to give in. Her vision blurred and she fell on the ground. However, she was happy. She was happy that she would see Hanabi again.
-X-
Her vision comes back to her after what felt like years. Saya groans in pain as her body was still a bit sore. Her heart seemed to have regrown by now, meaning that she must've been out for a considerable amount of time.
She looks around and found that she was in a forest area and not the chamber of the Fountain. Making her wonder, 'Was it all just a dream?'
Suddenly a voice calls, "You're finally awake!"
Saya was stunned upon hearing that voice. That oh so familiar voice that she was dying to hear again. Slowly the Sai'ore looked up and gasped. There she stood, her human, standing before her, alive and well with a bright smile on her face.
Tear trickled down her face but not of sorrow, but of joy. Absolute joy. Saya immediately leaped up and scooped the very much surprised Hanabi in her arms, hugging her like there will be no tomorrow.
She was Alive! Her human was alive!...
