Queen of Souls
By Soul Hunter
Chapter Twenty
Harrowing resonance echoed in her mind, the sound of painful tearing and tempestuous unraveling. But despite the mind-rending torment, Quistis held on, persistently tugging at the incubus as they both quivered under the waves of hellish suffering. A loud shriek tore through the din of surging energy as the soul devourer fought for dear life.
But she will not be denied. She must not be denied. The fates decreed for the hundred years carnage to end today. Whether the prophecy was fulfilled or not was immaterial. The threat of the merciless predator of souls must not go further beyond this point.
She felt the spiteful grip of dying fingers dig into her flesh. She sensed the ultimate fear of one who would soon know the dark maws of extinction. Quistis perceived the terror-stricken cries of the incubus, wincing and flailing while feeling the white poison of her pristine essence filling the hateful cells and fibers that cried out for release. The soul devourer continued to struggle desperately as the chosen one's unadulterated spirit penetrated the deepest crevices of his being and slowly destroyed him from the inside. He carried forth helplessly with the muffled voices that begged for mercy as his veins were poisoned by her spirit's toxic radiance.
Quistis pushed on with all her might in continuing to feed her soul to the incubus. She was determined to end it now, no matter what price she had to pay. It didn't matter whether she felt her body being overwhelmed by the immense torment as her spirit unraveled painfully. She didn't care whether she felt her heart, mind and flesh collapsing brutally as they were slowly abandoned by her life-giving essence. She took no heed despite the ominous sensation of cold and darkness that started to besiege her entire being as her physical body was drained of life.
Slowly but surely, the instructor felt her strength leaving her arms and legs. Gradually, she sensed her heart starting to slow down and her blood vessels folding in. Her body became overwhelmed with the merciless pulses of sharp and blunt ache as her muscles deteriorated and internal organs began to shut down. She wanted to scream out the torment, wail in the midst of lethal agony, but she didn't dare release her captive. Streams of hot tears began pouring from her eyes as proof of the unbearable suffering that was slowly killing her. Her hands clenched and burrowed into the soul devourer's flesh, squeezing blackened blood from it. Her vision started to sink in a lake of total darkness.
"Must hurry must hurry!" Hunter repeatedly echoed in his mind as he struggled to reach the cavern opening from where sparks of energy where violently flying off. Braving the frightful conflagration, he shielded his eyes from the blinding light, his other hand extended forward like a guide for a blind man's quest.
In the midst of the bright light, the dark warrior saw a silhouette of two figures fused with each other. He managed to adjust his vision to the radiance, only to be taken by alarm when he recognized the instructor's body quivering with that of the soul reaper's. Confused at first, Hunter subsequently realized what she was trying to do by how she pulled the enemy against her and how her mouth bit into his. He didn't know why, but he didn't have to. He knew that she was surrendering her soul to the incubus for some reason. There was absolutely no way Quistis can survive this.
He attempted to approach, but the crackling energy singed his arms, driving him back. Hunter tried to holler out in an effort to get her attention but Quistis was too far gone into the caliginous abyss. Both she and the incubus convulsed rapidly and violently, both neared the brink of death as one emptied her spirit and the other burned up from inside his.
In the deepening darkness, Quistis struggled to echo a final word. But as with the soul devourer, it was too late for her as the last vestiges of her lifeforce was torn away. The spectacular eruption of light disappeared with a loud hiss and a faint thud as the SeeD and the death-bringer collapsed on the ground.
Deafening silence permeated the suddenly dark chamber, leaving nothing in its wake but the echoing heaves of breath of a stupefied dark knight staring blankly at the two lifeless bodies before him. He was still awash with the shock of the moment, still reeling from the horrendous vision of his beloved giving her life away to land the ultimate blow on the devourer of spirits. Hunter gazed at the quiet form of Quistis, blinking his eyes repeatedly as if he was unable to believe what had just transpired.
He braved a forward step, a step that taxed his strength immensely. The short trek towards the fallen warrior felt like an eternity of biting disbelief. He knelt down beside her, one hand daring to touch her unmoving arms. It was cold as ice and totally limp, with no semblance of life whatsoever. Slowly, Hunter sank to a heart-rending recognition of the events that unfolded before him: a culmination of the shadow war that raged for hundreds of years
And the harrowing fulfillment of a cruel prophecy.
He knew better than to not expect this moment. From the first time he saw the embodiment of destiny in her form, Hunter knew that this event was forthcoming. He thought he was prepared for this. In spite of the quagmire he introduced by allowing himself to fall in love with her, he believed that his heart was fortified enough to face the possibility that he would still lose her in the end.
He could never have been any more mistaken than he was now. It was too immense and too unbelievable. His throat bellowed a horrible roar of pain and anguish as he held her lifeless body close to him.
Many moments went by that saw the intruder continue to weep while he held on to the deceased instructor. He didn't know how much time had elapsed but he also didn't care. All he knew was this moment of pain, embracing the body of the woman he loved while grieving in the truth that he will never again feel her embracing back.
Hunter was so immersed in anguish that he failed to notice the flicker of light that came out from the dead incubus' body. The radiance that started with a tiny spark began to grow into a thin sliver that bridged the gap between the ground and the towering ceiling of the vast cave. The ray of light grew even larger, until it became like a solid pillar with tiny specks of brilliance hovering gracefully around it.
The specks then began to expand with resonant hissing sounds that finally caught Hunter's attention. He looked up and saw the magnificent orbs of light that seemed to be dancing in joy. Despite his sorrow, the dark knight subsequently discerned the truth behind the dancing lights, which were in fact the souls that fell prey to the evil soul devourer. In spite of his sadness, he felt a sense of revelry upon realizing that with the ultimate destruction of the soul reaper, the spirits that he consumed had been liberated, and were now free to journey to their final destinations. The awe-struck warrior watched the thousands of light orbs escaping from the bright pillar, rocketing upward like a breathtaking storm of shooting stars before ultimately disappearing into the higher plane.
Hunter was then besieged with wonderment when a number of the light orbs suddenly halted in midair before coming back down, stopping right in front of him. But his confusion was momentary, as his mind was given an understanding of these particular spheres' purpose. He wasn't even surprised when they slowly transformed and took the shape of five warriors that he knew only too well. Hunter smiled as the shapes completed their transformation.
"Brother"
"Kilik Cammy"
"We're so sorry about before" Another voice echoed. "We couldn't resist the power of our enemy, we couldn't prevent him from controlling us."
"Yeah. Hope we didn't beat you too much, stud."
"Liu Kasumi Mary" He gushed. "I I don't know what to say."
"Hey bro, don't worry about it." The supposedly youthful Kilik echoed. "We all know what you did and why you were forced to do that. If you think we're mad at you because of that, you got another thing coming."
"Kilik speaks true, brother." Liu Kang followed. "The fact is, we were already dead the moment the incubus enchanted our spirits. And you did the right thing. It was just unfortunate that he captured us before we could escape to the higher plane. He enslaved us and fed on us for the hundred years that he was incarcerated."
"But thanks to you, dear, we're now free to join the others."
"Others?" Hunter wondered. "You mean"
"Yeah, that's right." Cammy continued. "Our friends were able to escape into the higher plane. Fokker, Jenny, Setsuna, Lu Xun They all made it there, they all slipped through our enemy's grasp. And now we'll finally be able to join them."
"And we have you to thank for that, stud." Blue Mary added. "You and your partner. We're finally free because of you two."
His partner. Were they even aware of how inconsequential that word sounded when pitted against her real worth to him? Hunter's face abruptly became downcast when his heart began to hurt once more. He looked down at Quistis' lifeless form and thought deeply. Seeing the final liberation of his friends after a hundred years of hellish bondage, Hunter thought his joy would be complete had Quistis only survived. He silently uttered a cursing word on the innate cruelty of life.
"Don't worry yourself to death, big bro." Kasumi echoed while landing an ethereal kiss on his forehead. "She's right behind us."
"She's what?"
But instead of replying, the warrior with the comely face simply waved back at him, as did the rest of his oath brethren. Hunter knew then that they were saying goodbye. He felt a tinge of sadness while acknowledging their departure.
"Until we meet again, brother."
"Yes, until we meet again" He softly retorted at the spirits that once again assumed the forms of brilliant white spheres, which then sped upward before vanishing from his sight. As they did, the last traces of the bright light disappeared, leaving the intruder once more in partial darkness. He let out a sigh while training his attention at the dead incubus. Nothing was left of him but a mound of fine ash.
His hopeful eyes then went back to the gentle visage of his beloved. He didn't know what Kasumi meant but for some reason, it gave him new hope that everything will turn out fine. Hunter removed his gloves and ran his hand along her soft hair. His fingers then caressed her gentle face.
Hunter's heart leaped. Her face felt warm to his touch.
"Quisty?"
"Unhhh" She moaned faintly. Her voice was still weak but it didn't prevent a relieved smile from being painted on Hunter's face. Grasping her hand, he brought it up to his lips and tenderly kissed it before pressing it against his face. It took some time but Quistis finally managed to open her eyes. Though gripped with exhaustion, a fond smile crossed her lips upon gazing at his face.
"I can't stay away. I just can't"
The next moments transpired in silence as the intruder and the instructor held each other tight.
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The sun had just made a breakthrough over the horizon when the two warriors emerged from the cave. They were both exhausted, both aching from the inside and out after that final chapter in a war that spanned centuries. But the hurt didn't prevent the two from admiring the coming of a brand new day. Quistis and Hunter gazed at the morning rays with wispy eyes, both sighing in relief while thanking the deities for seeing them through.
She groped to her side, holding his hands tight. Quistis looked at Hunter as his eyes continued to wander along the eastern horizon. She watched him heave a deep breath, observed the look on his face that seemed to be dwelling on some profound thoughts that only he could know.
Hunter was indeed contemplating on the past. For him, this was the end of everything that he lived and trained for. The war was over, and his destiny had been punctuated with success.
For Quistis, this was merely the beginning of the rest of her life. She had previously doubted the opportunity of actually seeing this hour, a doubt that almost bore fruit with her apparent demise when she gave up her soul to destroy the soul devourer. A moment of darkness and coldness that stabbed her with a whole life's worth of loneliness ultimately made up her mind. As she gazed at her dark knight, she resolved to give up everything to be with him.
"I don't know about you, Hunter. But I am dead tired, starving, and could certainly use a shower right about now." Quistis stated. "So your place or mine?"
He didn't answer, and instead turned his back toward her. The dark knight's gesture gave the SeeD a haunting sense of perplexity that she nevertheless opted to ignore. Frigid air bit into her skin when she took off the damaged upper portion of her battlesuit, replacing it with the spare suit she pulled out from her utility pack.
"Quisty There's uh There's something that you ought to know." Hunter broke out. "There's something that I need to tell you about myself."
There was an ominous tone in the way he stated those words. Quistis felt it immediately, making her wonder what else about him she needed to know. But the concern about hearing his revelation was overshadowed by the anxiety of giving her own. She bit her lips after recalling a conflict that had been punishing her during the last two months. Hunter wasn't the only one who needed to divulge a truth.
"So is this the part when we reveal our innermost, darkest secrets?" She interjected. "Alright, let me go first."
The intruder looked at his beloved instructor to allow her to continue. But the thought of subjecting her to possible shame changed his mind when he saw the look of timid embarrassment on her face.
"You see, I I'm"
"I know." Hunter interrupted. "I know all about it. Even before we got together, I already know."
"Y-You do?" Quistis stuttered, her face turning red with shame, almost forgetting that he had already run an extensive background check on her even before they first met. She subsequently felt a terrible discomfort, rendering her unable to look straight into his eyes.
"Why did you" She labored heavily. " Why did you still?"
"Quisty, I don't care. Whatever mistakes you did in the past don't matter to me. All I care about is you us"
She couldn't believe her ears, and didn't know what to think after hearing his words. But the look on his face inadvertently gave her an understanding of the extent of his affection for her. Quistis was rendered unable to express the happiness that she subsequently felt. Here she was, face to face with a man who loved her so much that he was willing to overlook the fruit of a past mistake that she had committed. A man who loved her with such intensity as to accept her in spite of everything. All her life, she had been longing for such a love and now it was here, staring her in the face. The flood of joy totally overwhelmed her that she couldn't help but cry.
Quistis expended a few moments of silence, drying her tears with her hands before coming back with a response. "Okay, your turn." In her mind, she didn't care whatever it was that Hunter had to reveal. He loved her enough to accept her, past mistakes and all. And she just couldn't do anything less for him.
Hunter's next words came like an explosion that brutally assaulted her senses.
"I I can't marry you."
To Be Concluded