Chapter 10.
Disclaimer: Standards apply.
Date: 12005 B.C.
Lucca settled on heading to the fields west of the city. They were the most unfrequented, due to their proximity to the Blackbird - meaning one couldn't risk letting a spell go out of hand and catastrophically demolish the plane - and were thus the best place for her to sort out her odd urges. Among these was her hunger to burn something to a crisp. At this point, Lucca didn't care what it was, as long as she could feel the flames licking the surface of her target as it melted into oblivion. Lucca had been getting more and more anxious to fry an object, to see it massacred by her assault, and most of all, to be able to enjoy it. She always enjoyed it, whether it was a fellow human being, metal, an animal…another indication of her insanity.
"Argh… What-" Lucca asked herself out loud. The grass wavered tantalizingly below her feet. Maybe she could burn this whole field down. That would do her some good, as well as releasing the pent up energy inside her. No, that wouldn't work. Burning grass was too basic, and took almost no exertion. Just a little spark would probably set the whole field ablaze, especially since the wind was fairly strong and would spread the embers easily. It would be counterproductive, really. Not being tired and spent after the deed was done would only leave her more disappointed.
"Oh well. It doesn't hurt anyone," Lucca said to herself. She sighed inwardly at having settled on the grass, and knew it would hurt someone for sure. Engineers and workers used this field frequently to conduct experiments in the propulsion system and frame of the Blackbird, even though it was empty right now, and having it charred and blackened wouldn't bode well. Not that Lucca really cared. She just needed to make something catch fire. Her very existence at this point could be defined by the word pyromania.
Muttering under her breath, Lucca formed a sphere of fire in her hand and flung it at the ground, staring in glee at the blaze it would produce. The ball hit the ground, exploded, and threw flames all over the area in a wide radius. Lucca had a red gleam in her purple eyes as she grinned, waiting for the inferno to start; well, inferno wasn't the right word. More like bonfire. She waited, the embers flickered off in the wind, but the grass never burned.
"What the hell…" Lucca mouthed, confused. She felt let down by her very own magic. Perhaps she hadn't tried hard enough. Bringing her palms together and extending them outwards, she propelled a jet of flame that doused the grass and sent hot cinders flying all over the area. Again, the grass was unscathed.
"Why isn't this stupid thing burning!" Lucca screamed to herself. Then it hit her, and the answer revealed to be quite obvious. This grass was impervious to magic. It had to be, or all those people who randomly practiced would have destroyed the islands by now. That would also explain why the grass didn't burn when Lucca orchestrated the fireball stunt that had made her faint, a few days before Queen Zeal began her classes. Though this was annoying, the grass' immunity to such powerful and grandiose forces brought a smile to Lucca's lips. For something to be so small, yet to resist even the most dangerous of circumstances was truly astounding. Lucca felt elated for reasons beyond her understanding.
"You know what…I don't think I'll burn this grass. I'll keep it alive and happy. I like it." She said, in a smug, matter-of-fact tone. Picking herself up from the floor, Lucca stared up at the clouds, and then across the vast expanse of sky surrounding the kingdom. She could see the pillar of light that was the Skygate, the path that had brought her here, but she also saw an identical pillar at an opposite part of the island. It was a Landgate. Apparently, it had been closed for renovation and repair some time past. Lucca recalled Khadgara's words when she confronted the girl on the surface, "Oh really? So, how did you, a Zealian, find your way down here when the Land Bridge has been closed for just over a month now". It must have reopened some time recently.
"Now that I don't have grass to burn…what can I do to pass the time…" Lucca scoured her brain for answers. There were a number of things she could do. The library was always open. She finally had a day to visit and sightsee across the city, something she never got to due to her busy schedule. However, she seemed to favor activities that involved fire, inflicted pain, or a rush of adrenaline.
"I think I'm becoming sadomasochistic." Lucca said. She had settled on the library. She realized now that she had never fully read through he book she first came upon in Zeal, detailing Schala's condition, which closely mimicked her own. Perhaps now she could find out exactly what the myth was. She started for the city, but not before glancing back at the Land Bridge. Something told her she would be using it soon.
There was an old myth, long since disregarded, that referred to such a condition as this. It stated that only two people would ever have this syndrome, and they would be polar opposites. One would be benefited positively, while the other would be affected in the inverse. One would use their newfound power for good, while their counterpart would use it for evil. Though the myth was vague See Myths and Legends of Zeal, Vol. XXXVII, we are convinced that Schala is the first of the two individuals mentioned here. The second has yet to be discovered. The myth goes on to say…
Lucca sighed and turned the page. On it was long text written prophetically, in the form of a poem (A/N: Qyla and Xica are Light and Dark. You may remember Xica from before, in Lucca's textbook on magic application. Yvtra and Utrulo are just names of the mythological character, but phoyniox is Zealian for neverending cycle. Sounds like "phoenix", doesn't it?):
When the world was young, Light and Dark, Qyla and Xica, were all that existed.
The two siblings had children, the day and the night.
These children had their own, man, bird, tree, snow, wind, sun, moon, mountain.
Yet, Qyla and Xica, being opposites, had always been enemies.
They always battled for dominance, and their children did the same.
In this way, sun and moon fight over prominence on the earth. Man and beast fight over survival and a feast.
Qyla and Xica's strongest children,Yvtra and Utrulo, were thus destined to battle, until the end of time, or their parents ending their feud, whichever came first. Yvtra and Utrulo would manifest themselves into beings, be it man or beast, to do battle.
One would be victorious, until various millennia later, the other would rise up, reincarnated into another living being.
Yvtra and Utrulo, obedient to their parents, would battle once again. The defeated would host the body of a man or beast on their sixteenth winter.
By their reincarnation, Yvtra and Utrulo were named the phoyniux (plural for phoyniox), fighting eternally through the souls of man and beast.
Yet, Yvtra and Utrulo were opposite, yet equal.
What made the light engulf darkness, or darkness extinguish the light?
Only the strength of the hosts' souls made the outcome.
There are many theories to what this means, and how it applies to the princess. Firstly, she was afflicted by magical feedback on her 16th year. Secondly, she is well-known for her purity and kindness. Thirdly, she is almost identical to Yvtra in appearance, as seen of the goddess in various frescos found in the early cave drawings of Zeal Kingdom; in addition, she had little to no resemblance to her own mother or father aside from her blue hair. It is assumed that the manifestation of Utrulo would appear like him, be afflicted by the disease at sixteen years, and be particularly evil, negative, or adept in magic with no reliable capability of positive utility. When this person arises, the gods will make sure they and Schala meet and do battle, as it is the order of things.
Lucca blinked as she finished the page. The next chapter discussed the symptoms with more depth, and gave an outline to what steps Queen Zeal took to alleviate the unprecedented growth in Schala's physical being and magic.
There was no longer any doubt in her mind. Schala was the phoenix of light and she the phoenix of darkness. All the evidence pointed towards that fact. Lucca could look like this Utrulo person, though she didn't feel that to be particularly relevant. She was afflicted at sixteen years, just like the book had foretold. But about the magic with no positive utilitiy…fire was used to cook food. Fire could be harnessed to warm one's home. Lucca nearly cheered inwardly. Perhaps, she had nothing to do with the myth, until she reread it. Reliable capability…fire was volatile. A cooking fire would grow out of control, and burn the food. A fire built to warm one's self could grill the person. It was her. Lucca was darkness, Schala was light, and neither could coexist with the other.
"I can't believe this. Victim…illness…syndrome…The loser dies." It all dawned on her. That was why Spekkio was so reluctant to tell her what the problem was. Schala was even more powerful than her mother. Spekkio knew this, and foresaw Lucca, possessed by Utrulo, fighting to the death and being killed.
"I can't die this way. This is stupid. For some stupid myth from some stupid religion I don't even believe in. They're wrong. They don't know anything!" Lucca said, bursting into tears. The library had turned to silence, and some of the nearest people eyes Lucca curiously.
"Yes…that's it…they're wrong. It's not me, it's just a coincidence." Lucca muttered. Just then, a chandelier snapped from its holster, crashed against the table, and sputtered into flame. A blue-haired man near the fallen chandelier sighed, extinguished the flames through a water spell, and replaced the chandelier upon it's holster on the high ceiling. The table it had landed on was not very badly damaged, though it was slightly blackened at the edge.
"No capability of positive utility…it's all true…it's all true!" Lucca muttered. Tears flowed freely from her eyes again. Was this her destiny? To be a puppet for some foreign god of a civilization that would collapse in no longer than five years? Lucca couldn't believe it. It was all a dream. Paranoia, stress, from overworking herself. She would wake up and find herself back in Truce, with her mother reminding her that she was due at the palace to display her new invention, the microwave. Or she would find herself at Crono's side in their bedroom, their child wailing in the nearby room. She would check on the baby, quiet it, lull it to sleep, and return to the warmth and comfort of her beloved's arms. That was her life, her existence. Not this. Not involving herself in a gladiator match with her closest friend in this place because a stupid book hinted at it.
"Fuck…this can't be happening…" Lucca said, running her hands through her hair and giving a hard tug. She winced at the pain, her eyes closed, and spiraled back into sobbing when she realized it wasn't a dream…
Date: 12005 B.C.
Lucca had returned to her room, too much in a daze to ponder over this new discovery, and settled on analyzing every intricacy on the poem before she slept. It was burned into her brain, etched into her soul. She knew every line by heart, but it read the same, and led to the same conclusion. The desire to burn, the urge to see pain and suffering…it was all predicted by the myth. There wasn't any room for argument or discussion, for the poem was completely accurate. Spekkio knew this all along. But…surely, Queen Zeal would have known as well. She wouldn't have taken Lucca under her wing knowing that Schala would be the one to suffer when their battle came. Maybe she was oblivious to all this? No, it didn't make sense. She must have known something, or the Queen wouldn't have allowed Lucca to stay in the Kingdom, being that there was no proof of Lucca being native to this place.
Maybe Queen Zeal wants them to fight? To get rid of both of them, perhaps, because they would be threats in the future? That could be applied to Lucca, since she would assault the palace with her allies in a few years. But why would she try to eliminate Schala? That possibility was out of the question. Even if there was a motive to further her daughter's death, only one of them would die, because there was only one loser.
Nothing made sense, yet the poem was specific and absolutely right. All of its criteria had been met. The condition of sixteen years had been achieved. The light and dark beings had been provided. It was only a matter of time, but what did Zeal have to do with it? She obviously couldn't NOT know, since her recollections had been used to write the book. Either way, Queen Zeal was aware; there was no way she couldn't be. Lucca would have to confront her for answers, and more importantly, for self-assurance.
Date: 12005 B.C.
It must have early the next morning when Lucca woke up. She surprised herself at having slept practically an entire day, but was too preoccupied with running every possible scenario about her eventual confrontation with Queen Zeal to ponder too much on it.
"Maybe Schala knows about all this…she has to. Then, if she knew we were going to kill each other, why did she bother to befriend me?" Lucca muttered. Another inconsistency in this dilemma. It was becoming painfully obvious that someone had been deceiving her, starting from Spekkio and his reluctance to inform her about the nature of the disease. The problem would be to find this person.
Lucca went over to her makeshift sink and stared into the water. Her eyes had bags under then, her cheeks were flushed, and she had an angry expression, reinforced by her mental note to kill whoever had this hidden for so long.
Chapter 11 on the way.