This chapter is a bit chaotic. But I'll promise it will make more sense with the next one since that will be Subaru's POV and will conclude this part.
She opened her blue eyes to the same world once again.
There was a sense of distortion, she was… uncomfortable. Severed from something.
She saw herself as entitled to all comfort and luxuries she could have as a woman. She thought it was nice to sleep on a comfy, large bed. That wasn't the only luxury she indulged herself with of course. That couldn't be far from the truth. She saw herself worthy of much more. No one close to her would disagree.
The truth of this world, the truth that few observed and also accepted.
Some people were born better, and they were entitled to more…, not just because of their blessings but just because that's what the world believed.
So feeling out of comfort and unnerved… feeling like something bad is going to happen.
This type of feeling would not come out of someone blessed.
Then what did that mean? Mist of uncertainty covering someone with great destiny?
She knew what that meant.
That meant something was coming. Blessings, miracles, increase in power, talent being unfolded. These things were natural… They happen all the time. They can happen, they happen all the time.
But
If something is going against the world, that opposition needs a direct source. That is never normal. The world would correct that.
"That's how it was supposed to be… And yet, it did not happen. The suppression stops as it begins." She spoke to herself with her beautiful voice. She was a woman who gave a heavenly feeling of femininity. One look at her current appearance with her transparent nightgown would shake all men to the core. But she wasn't only her looks and her nature. She was questioning being with immense wisdom. A combination never witnessed by a certain black-haired man with anger issues against literally anything and anyone. If he had heard a few of her thoughts…
He would gain some hope for the people of this world.
Unfortunately, he could not hear her thoughts… nor they could understand each other.
Nonetheless, the state of his understanding of her did not stop her from thinking. Not now.
She was thinking about prophecies.
The echoes of impending possible doom, most of the time.
Beings that threaten the world itself. Usually.
They were meaningless to her. She had enough of seeing people being blinded by them.
The world reacted to such things, fixed them, and sometimes gave blessings to people against them.
She doesn't understand. Why would you be scared of things that the world points out to you… when there are things the world itself turns a blind eye to because it has no choice.
She felt that happened several times in history. From various beings.
Once there was a king, he rejected destined power to reach something beyond, something that can't be defined as 'power'. And yet… he didn't mind he would die striving for something possibly not even real.
Yorna did not understand him.
Before that King. She knew a goddess who knew everything that will happen. Her Clairvoyance shows all the light of the future. Everything the world knew, could see… she could see it too.
But then—once she was giving blessings to the children, one of them asked.
"What happens in darkness?" It was a childish question. He asked that because he couldn't see darkness. So he didn't know what happened in the darkness.
But the Goddess opened her eyes because of that one simple question.
No matter how many possible futures there were…
No matter how grand the world was…
Something was outside of it. So how could the world be right about everything when it could not reach the darkness?
That's when she looked into the abyss. It stole her heart. That was her end. It brought ruin to her.
Yorna did not understand what happened. It was beyond her. Her ability was beyond predicting the future or having visions. The clairvoyance could not be expressed with words. Even being a God did not explain that ability… she wasn't always that strong.
Yet she would say things about the world that no one agreed with nor understood. Including herself.
"All it takes is one choice and darkness makes light reform Fox-chan. The past, the future, and the present we see in the world are true… because the world operates its own memories according to the abyss… heavens recreate themselves to keep up with abbys. Light does not have insignificance"
"I don't understand what you mean. What is written always comes to be." Yorna said.
"World is never wrong. Because when darkness proves the world is wrong, World just changes its history as if nothing has changed or the world was never wrong. The world is a joke. There is fate for us. Not for darkness. If fate is against darkness, then it will reject that fate. And our fate will be changed to not get in the way and prove the world wrong. And then, the world gets to be right. That's how 'World is never wrong' it fools us because the world itself is nothing but a fool."
"'The world is a joke" huh?"
'Ironic, she also proved the world wrong. Ending herself. Changing her race's purpose. And so much more… just to reach that darkness. It was madness.'
Yorna did not understand her. Not after she became obsessed with 'darkness'.
Then came the era of Witches and Heroes.
Witches were supposed to be abominations who can't understand or comprehend the world itself. Yorna would disagree.
They get affected by the world easily like any other. They were predictable by visions and readings. They could be killed by humans. She doesn't know how a Witch comes to be. But she knows they have the right to change the world. All witches had such rights. It was something… sensible. Just like magic. But that change always works for the world in the end… regardless of how much damage is done.
They harmed the world but they never distorted the world. They never made her 'feel'. That's why she thought that Witches are not unnatural as many people think. When a Witch of Sin dies… she would be replaced by another.
There was a cycle. There was nature. There were rules and limitations.
Then… something happened.
She did not know what happened. How was that possible? But it happened nonetheless.
But someone or something ended the era of Witches.
And then they appeared.
Sin Archbishops.
All of them.
Every single one of them distorted the world. It was a mystery how there was life in this world… something was stopping them from destroying everything.
Yorna did not know why the world feared the name of the Witch when there wasn't any Sin Archbishop who lost at anyone's hand for 400 years let alone being killed by someone. They died of old age. Out of boredom. They died in each other's hands. But never to someone else. People say heroes never lose but when they lose they aren't counted as heroes. The Sword Saint of the previous generation died to a mindless beast, it's said that no one with the title of Sword Saint could lose. They said that for Volcanica… but he lost so many times. A lot. Really.
The topic of being undefeatable. Yorna did not insult or looked down on anyone for being interested in it. She had times when she marveled at heroes being unstoppable saviors of the world. Then she got smarter… and it seemed like Archbishops were the only type of people never lost in this world, maybe even that would prove wrong. Who knows? Probably no one.
The Witch of Envy was sealed regardless of how much of an anomaly she was. The Witch of Greed moved according to the world. The Witch of Gluttony's death was a mystery. But in the end. They could be stopped, killed, and sealed.
That is why… whoever that person killed Sin Archbishops. He was a Sin Archbishop himself. To Yorna it was clear as day.
And after the Archbishops…
There was someone.
'Witches never distorted the world'
Perhaps… Except for that Witch. If you believed her existence. Yorna certainly did not. But if she was a Witch and the world did not acknowledge her as one then that itself was an anomaly equal to a distortion.
Yorna never met with that one or observed her. She never saw the point of it. There were many reasons for that.
Can someone be rejected enough to be rejected by Witches?
The answer was that 'Witch' was rejected by other Witches… could not be told enough how weird that was.
Can you become so lonely that you are even rejected by the people who are rejected by the world?
She did not know much about that 'Witch'.
She knows that she got rejected by the seven. No matter how many times new Witches appeared. Witches of Sin or other WItches. It didn't matter. She was rejected by them all. The last seven did not even acknowledge her existence most of the time.
She was weird. Rumors about her were weird too.
Perhaps she was the mad woman with some rare bloodline who thought she was a Witch?
Yorna knew that she lived long. That one thing about her was actually true even though most people did not believe that at the time. So her long lifespan was perhaps one thing exceptional about her. But it wasn't enough to become a Witch.
First, they did not like her. No Witch liked her for some reason.
Second. She would claim that she was a Witch of Sin even though she wasn't one of the seven sins. She would claim that she was different.
It's been said that she was the sin of…what?
What was…
Sin?
Her sin…
The sin of what?
What sin?
Yorna forgot what she was thinking about at that moment. Then she thought about the uncomfort she was feeling when she woke up.
Who knew what was the reason?
Either way… there wasn't much she could do.
She had sensually gotten out of her bed and started her day.
How could she not sense any of this?
How can she close her ears to the screams of children?
The paradise she had created, the world she protected. They all turned red.
Rising smoke covered the whole Chaosflame unnaturally, it was as if smoke was trying to cover every part of the sky and surroundings of the city. It succeeded. Nothing could be seen from outside.
Did magic itself betray her? Why can't she sense any of the lives around? The marriage…
She ran and ran… the sound of her geta did not give hope to anyone. The very reality of hope was crushed long ago when she was sleeping without awareness.
But they did not die.
Because the reality of Death being equal to all was a lie.
It was mostly true but it wasn't a fact.
Death loved Natsuki Subaru.
And only Natsuki Subaru.
The devil who would not rest until that day, the day when he is satisfied.
But instead of moving on to the next, he shall spend eternity with Death itself.
That's why he could defy and trample on the death of people. Rules could be broken, but in this rare moment, he was the one loved. Not a hero or someone with great destiny. It was him.
The people with burned bodies that looked like nothing but chalk would still walk like they are alive—but are they?
All this time, it was Yorna's life force they'd been supplied with. Her magical power they used, even when they did wrong things. Yorna turned a blind eye. This was the consequence of all of that. All the mistakes she could get away with doing like all other powerful people and chosen ones. They all crawled on her back and pulled her down. She was suffering.
"Is that why you won't let them die?!" She did not explain what she was talking about… but of course, both of them knew.
But of course one of them knew far more than the other. And that wasn't her.
That was close to the truth. However, it wasn't enough. What understanding she lacked was unknown to her.
Whoever has done this, it's almost as if they could hear her. Because just as she said that, all the victims turned towards her.
It was terrifying. With their burned and unrecognizable bodies, they leaped, ran, and fell toward Yorna from all sides.
It was so fast and unpredictable that Yorna moved unconsciously. If not for instincts it was over. The beings that once she loved now become dangerous beyond her comprehension. Her instinct saved her once but it won't do it again. She knew that fact subconsciously so she had to end this quickly.
She quickly stomped her foot to the ground and created a giant shockwave.
'Her people finished by herself. Not by whoever did this.' It was a self-deprecating and incomprehensible thought. But that was who she truly was. She knew it wasn't her fault. But one thing she never wanted to do would be to take their lives with her own.
But was that the purpose of all of this?
No. The devil does not make her suffer by events alone, he would give her choices. The understanding was the weapon held against her. She could not kill them even if she knew they were attacking. That is why she was put in a position where only her instincts would work. It was the only way to make her kill.
Yorna Mishigure. In her very long life, had never faced such an enemy. She never heard of any power or person capable of such a thing. She didn't even know what that 'thing' was. It was unknown.
The situation is controlled in a way that makes her face her decisions. True, it wasn't a conscious decision for her to move her body. But it was her 'power'. Instinct was a power. She could defeat people no matter how much they outsmarted her. Like other blessed people… Yorna would never make a decision bad enough that it would bring ruin. One could call such power a 'divine instinct' or simply luck.
That 'luck' and 'instinct' she had relied on her entire life… was used against her.
This battle was over. The enemy was madness itself.
"H-huh?" As the dust from the impact she creates dissipates. Yorna could not believe her eyes.
As she saw the 'enemy' wasn't destroyed she received a feeling translated in her mind as:
That was close to the truth, however, it wasn't enough.
If there was an actual devil, then they were probably born for that role.
Every sin would have a punishment decided.
But what if the devil was artificial? Would that devil be inferior to the real deal?
No.
For a faker to be the devil, to give suffering. To understand suffering. He would need to suffer more than anyone else. Never hesitate. To break the rules that even the devil would not dare to break for the sake of giving suffering.
None of that mattered right now.
Because Yorna had no idea what to do. Her body froze.
Once inhabitants of Chaosflame turned into these creatures of the undead with bodies with nothing but ash…
She had just obliterated them.
Her life already ended when she did that… she could not live with that guilt anymore. Even if her life force were to force her… nothing would keep her alive.
And yet…
"Why?" She muttered in a weak voice.
Of course.
They weren't kept alive with some dark magic or authority.
"Ahahaha…" Her heart was in pieces and her mind was pulverized.
They kept coming back. Because it was her life force they were supplied with. Soul Marriage did not dispel.
Everyone in this city couldn't die because of her.
Something… take over the very bond she had formed with everyone.
Trying to keep them alive no matter what.
With this thought… Soul Marriage became something darker with time instead of just a blessing. She wanted to protect them more and more.
Whatever took over their lives. Both her and everyone else's…
It did not cut that bond. It made her wish absolute. Achieved what Yorna could never hope to do and showed it to her face.
They would not die. No matter what.
"Sick… sick…" She felt sick.
If she could. She would keep someone alive regardless of the situation if that person was hers.
But there would always be a limit. Nothing would work. She would not be able to save the life.
But that limit… destroyed.
This.
"This is…not…"
The world would end.
That thought saved Yorna's self from destroying herself because there was no point.
She would be a mindless husk out of suffering if not for that truth.
It was the end of the world.
Life and Death were absolute. Even more than the world itself.
If something can ignore it, defy it. Then… world's protection would not matter. Blessings of nature could stand against it. What could?
Blessings? Darker means to stop? Prophecies? What can be done? Nothing.
Because this is something that came as a reaction.
Yorna's wisdom could comprehend this. None else.
The world is over. Now or later. It mattered less.
When the Witch of Envy prevailed against all odds. Prevailed against beings more powerful than her. Yorna accepted the end of the world.
Her question.
Now she would ask again.
How will her story end?
"Ah—…." A big figure with dark skin bit her arm and she was being restrained.
Her limbs were gone, so quickly. But the finishing blow never came.
'It will never come' She accepted to herself after realizing what was happening.
Because these beings did not try to kill her. They wanted to live.
They were creations of pure suffering. Nothing from their old personalities left. There was no curse forcing them to live either. They should seek death.
Yet…
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh … pleas…peasl.. Please…."
Kill me.
Kill me.
That was her greatest wish. Any desire or wish she ever had in her long life would not come close to her wish to die right at this moment if all of them were combined.
She wasn't even shouting anymore… because she did not have the power to shout any longer.
These creatures… regardless of their state of suffering would make anyone want to kill themselves regardless of the method. Their greatest wish was to continue.
This was the power that would destroy the world.
Her life was being sucked. She was having these thoughts.
The pain was impossible and…she could no longer feel it. It was nothing but cold. Her body got used to the unimaginable pain of Od being sucked out of her.
Her tails ripped, her skull crushed, her limbs eaten.
She was their life source. Before and now.
Yorna had way more life force than your average long life-spanned being. She had no equal. She had no 'Life Span' anymore.
But… it was as if the very concept of life was being sucked out of her in various ways.
She was living every violation imaginable.
I am not even conscious anymore.
Ah, I see.
To think anyone could go that far to make hell for someone.
I wasn't even allowed to be 'angry' because I lost so many people and everything I cared for was taken from me.
It felt like I was wrong to be angry… that was what that person showed in me forcefully. But where did I go wrong? What caused this? Questions that would never get answered.
It was hell created for me, calling this pure evil did not describe it. Pure evil wasn't enough to do this. There was a purpose behind this grand hate. It should be impossible… but there it was. There was a being hateful enough to pull this off, watch it and make sure she understood and loved every bit of it.
I am looking around… it's nothing but black… void, nothingness.
I don't have arms, I don't have tails. I loved my tails. It was a symbol of my being that I hated but even so I loved them. And they ripped my tails. My own people.
I called them mindless. I called them 'no longer themselves' but is that even true?
No. They are conscious.
Not that I have any reason to believe that. It's just… if they were conscious that they consumed me just to live longer. That would be way more heartbreaking. That would hurt. That's why that was the case.
I was given every possible suffering. So suffering that I do not realize or am not sure of is surely real as well.
Did I have a head? I don't feel like I have eyes even though I believe I can see. But there is nothing to see in this nothingness so why do I believe I have eyes?
Nothing mattered.
I was turned into a thing that was to be used as a source of life for a very long time.
I was not myself anymore.
I did not want to see myself anyway.
They violated my body. Biting and consuming my flesh wasn't the only thing they did while sucking the 'life' out of me.
As they got more and more life from me, desire also appeared.
…
Why?
…
Why do they get to live?
Why do they get to be themselves?
What I do not understand is what kind of living being would want to continue regardless of suffering. This much suffering! When every single part of yourself wants to be gone and be nothing.
The idea of continuing was beautiful but it wasn't possible.
…
How do they do it then?
How do the new captives that once prayed to her… do that?
They were dependent on her. They were strong in ways… but even so…
No.
They did not have such… power.
But somewhat. They did have it.
I want that power too.
Power to be me.
Even if that means it will bring ruin to you?
Yes.
Determination to preserve yourself is not an idealistic path. You will need to destroy your people can you truly do that—
I CAN. THEY DESTROYED ME. THEY EAT ME. TOUCHED ME. SUCKED THE LIFE I HATE OUT OF ME! BUT IT WAS MY LIFE.
She had no eyes but…
She turned her eyes above… someone was looking down at her.
"I don't understand."
She understood now.
Those black eyes had made the choice of moving forward no matter what.
Even if it's a drop of that power… she needed it.
She needed that to have an ending she can accept.
Her eyes opened… no, she had no eyes. They were taken from her.
Her lips were connected to someone else's.
She had bitten, she had bitten with the hope of taking that something out of those disgusting people that made them move forward.
It was a pathetic attempt and yet.
She felt something dark and impossibly focused coursing through her.
A power that she had not chosen, she could not have chosen.
She felt she was 'able'.
Because her life and everyone's choices were manipulated. But she was also connected to that person.
No matter how disgusting that was.
She asked for love.
And it was answered instantly.
A pillar of golden light appears in his vision.
"A single moment." He muttered to himself.
She suffered as he suffered, and because of that, she ended up being connected to the emptiness of his consciousness. He could not kick her.
Return by Death did not— No.
His Determination did not allow it.
Stopping her was against him. Why? He did not know. But that was how it was.
But there was no coming back for her anyway. She would fade away and become one with nothingness.
He wanted to witness that. He would never fade away. He knows that with his every being. But he wanted to witness it. He was the anomaly who would not cease to exist for some reason he didn't know just yet, but what was the norm?
He was drawn to her end.
But… with his arrival in that dark lonely place.
She was able to leave.
When she looked into his eyes.
She chose to return to hell.
And she persisted.
Golden light started to pull everything to itself… consuming Chaosflame like a black hole.
"What's the point…"
He doesn't understand.
It wasn't meant to be… like this.
What is the point of trying for her?
"Why? Why do you try!?" He shouted at the light without holding back.
"It's meaningless. There is no revenge or retribution. Your power doesn't matter. It's just an insignificant thing added to the equation. THE ANSWER WILL NOT CHANGE. I WILL NOT STOP! STAND DOWN! You won't have anything even if you win!"
As if answering him. Golden light become a pillar and extended to the whole Chaosflame, taking everything with it.
Yes. The implications of Yorna being violated in certain ways are just what you think. And for your info, this is not me pulling an Ayamatsu here, it's extremely similar and yes, it's something to compare with. But Subaru pulled this off without piling off his own corpses enough times that it would make a hill and he isn't making it look like he is doing it for someone else(Looking at you Pridebaru) but himself. The death count is extremely low and Yorna and Subaru share some true connection and their personalities actually can clash. Unlike Emilia which Pridebaru used to satisfy himself and then just went away. She didn't even know him. Yorna here saw Subaru before.
I will not use canon Yorna's backstory. I just refuse to add that thing. It's extremely shitty. Some guy makes a curse and now she can't die? What the fuck? What about getting stuck with Louise? What about having your Od emptied? I didn't need such a fast-developed ass-pull like Priscilla's backstory either. Instead of having Emilia camp there, I would rather Priscilla have all fucking chapters while Subaru just wins the war behind.
Arc 7 is getting worse so I got determined to keep writing this fic, which I never dropped to begin with!
Yorna, while has a different backstory here. She is not weaker. It's the opposite. Yorna is fucking ancient! You can see her being casual about past events and YES, her knowledge is VAST. So much that I would put her above Echidna in some aspects of having history knowledge. Echidna's laziness of just sucking the knowledge out of the world has consequences in this story.
Yes. She got Vaingloried, I will make Pandora strong by the way but I do not agree with her being so fucking weak but also I don't see her resetting the fucking world. What happened to Yorna was a passive effect. Pandora knew old Yorna but she did not make the connection between the current one. She would know if she saw her once but things she heard about Yorna made it so that she was disgusted enough to never want to see her. You will understand when I introduce her anyway.
The Goddess is Oni God.
The King is OC but also important.
I am so fucking excited when I reach the Oni God part. AND OF COURSE, SHE IS NOT LIKE RAM. If she was I wouldn't be excited.
I also loved writing zombie Chaosflame folk. It was so fucking fun to make them suffer. I hate the whole Chaosflame. They are depicted as poor victims but they try to kill Subaru and the group because Tanza manipulates them. It's crazy for them to be called 'innocents' but Tappei is that crazy.
Yorna will be the most important character excluding Subaru until the end of the prologue. Louise is getting shadowed… I know. But that's Subaru's fault. He just doesn't use Louise since he is unleashed now and believes he can do much more without getting help.