Hey there! After a short hiatus, I'm back with the second arc of Witches 0! I hope you'll enjoy it ^^
A few months earlier…
Eudial hadn't left Sarushima Island yet after Mimete sabotaged her car. She had no desire to return to the Death Busters- not to this toxic work environment filled with double-faced hypocrites and an incompetent boss. She didn't miss her coworkers talking behind her back, pulling pranks on her, and even trying to murder her. Eudial didn't mind staying on Sarushima a little longer. She was left alone, finally getting the rest she deserved while working to repair her station wagon. They would all come to regret betraying her one day, but today was not that day. Anyway, no one there would actually come for her…
Or she thought so.
As she came out from under her car, having finished fixing the brake, a sudden purple light shined on the beach.
"... What…?"
The light faded away, revealing a silhouette. Standing on the sand was a woman she knew very well.
"No, it's impossible… I thought you were dead!" Eudial exclaimed.
Dressed in her black Magnus dress, Kaolinite stared down at her.
"I could tell you the same, Eudial. I was told you perished, but it seems like you were just hiding here…"
Before Eudial could reply anything, Kaolinite pointed her staff at her, an austere look in her eyes.
"Don't tell me you betrayed the Death Busters, Eudial. I can't believe my own second in command could be a traitor…"
"N-no… no that's not it! I didn't defect! After you… died, everything went south! I tried to take over as the leader of the Witches 5, but they are the ones who betrayed me! Mimete even tried to kill me and I barely managed to survive! All of them are backstabbers who cannot be trusted! But now that you are back, things can get back to normal…"
"I'm afraid that things won't be that easy. Things really changed during my absence. With your departure, what's left of the Witches 5 isn't worth salvaging. They don't respect me anymore. They are indeed lowly backstabbers…"
Then, a soft smile appeared on Kaolinite's face.
"I'm glad to see you're not like them, Eudial. I was worried that you had indeed betrayed the Death Busters- me."
"I… I would never betray you, Kaolinite-sama! All I wanted was to continue your good work among the Death Busters and lead the Witches 5 like you used to! I even managed to locate the Talismen! I would have succeeded if it wasn't for those traitors…!"
"I know. You're not the one at fault. I also know you're the one who told the professor about my death and retrieved my body. Thanks to you, he was able to bring me back."
"The professor did…?"
"Yes. And I won't let the others get in my way. I can't trust any of them… except you. Will you lend me your strength when the moment comes? When I finally get my rightful place by master Pharaoh 90's side? We will crush all those who wronged us, and I'll grant you more power than you can even dream of."
Kaolinite then offered her her hand.
"Will you work for me again, Eudial?"
Eudial had not a single hesitation and immediately accepted her hand. Screw all of those who wronged her, Kaolinite was the only one worthy of her. Together they will get revenge.
"Of course I will, Kaolinite-sama!"
Eudial was sitting down at her computer, keeping track of the increase of energy in Mugen Academy. Their messiah must have been awakened, that was for sure. Kaolinite had succeeded in stealing the strongest pure heart crystal. They were going to win. Everyone who wronged them, those pesky Sailor Senshi, were going to pay…
It has been weeks since she left Sarushima. Kaolinite provided her her own private laboratory, keeping the fact she was still alive a secret from the rest of the Death Busters. Only Kaolinite knew. She was only working for her. The only one worthy of her. Finally, she was useful to someone great.
Then, Kaolinite's signature light flashed in the room. She was teleporting. But something wasn't right. Why was the light on the floor?
"Kaolinite-sama…?"
When the light dissipated, Eudial discovered her master lying on the floor, inert.
"Kaolinite-sama!?"
Eudial immediately rushed towards Kaolinite, crouching near her.
"Ugh… it's… it's over…" Kaolinite weakly mumbled.
"What… what happened?!" Eudial asked, seizing her master's weakened body.
She couldn't conceive that Kaolinite could have been this badly injured- not since she was resurrected even stronger.
"The messiah… Mistress 9… was awakened… and decided to dispose of me…"
"What!? But… why?! Why would our messiah do such a thing!?"
"I'm just… not needed anymore. The professor… doesn't need me anymore. Mistress 9… is too powerful. I narrowly managed to… escape with my life… I don't think she noticed her attack didn't kill me. They probably… all think I'm dead… it's over, he doesn't need me…"
Kaolinite closed her eyes.
"No! Screw the professor! I still need you! What about our revenge? We were going to make them all pay for how they treated us, remember!?"
But Kaolinite didn't answer. Panicked, Eudial started to shake her up.
"Kaolinite-sama! Wake up!"
Everyone let her down. The Witches 5, the professor, and now even the messiah turned against the only person she still trusted. She couldn't lose the only one she wished to work with, with whom she wanted to achieve a common goal. Just like her, Kaolinite had been cruelly betrayed, and Eudial won't let that pass. She won't let her only ally die.
She will make sure they both get the revenge they well deserved.
Back in present time.
Kaolinite was standing in front of an altar, staring at the crystal fragments laying on it. When she heard footsteps she raised her head, expecting this person to come.
"You've called for me, Kaolinite-sama?" Eudial said, bowing respectfully.
"Yes. How are you feeling, Eudial? Ever since you gained back your pure heart crystal. Have you noticed any side effects?"
"I…"
Eudial suddenly looked down, hesitating to answer.
"Eudial, you don't need to be afraid to tell me the truth. There is no shame if you do have any side effects."
Eudial looked away for a moment before staring back at her master.
"I'm… I'm having those memories… memories of when I used to be this other person… Arimura Yuuko…"
"Hmm…"
Kaolinite took a few steps towards Eudial, her staff hitting on the ground as she walked.
"You mean you're experiencing memories belonging to your host, Eudial?"
"... huh?"
"Arimura Yuuko is nothing more than your meat suit. You might have access to her memories, or worst, her feelings, but you're not her. You're more than this lowly human. You are Eudial, a powerful witch, and one of the strongest daimons. Those memories and emotions are nothing more than a remainder of your host, and the aftertaste of its pure heart crystal you ate. You were born the day this vessel was merged with a daimon egg, and now that you gained back its heart, you experienced the side effect left by this meat suit. You need to remember that these memories don't belong to you, that those… feelings, aren't yours, but your host. Feed from its pure heart, but don't let it mess with your mind."
"Kaolinite-sama…"
The magus put a comforting hand on Eudial's shoulder.
"I know how you feel. It happened to me too. When the professor resurrected me, I gained back my host's heart crystal. Its feelings started to affect me more than I realized. Having those memories is a burden, I get you. But you can't let that stop you. Don't forget they aren't yours. This person to whom they belong no longer exists."
Kaolinite then turned to the altar, picking one of the crystal fragments.
"What's this?" Eudial asked.
"This is what's left of our sacred stone, the Taioron Crystal."
"The Taioron Crystal!?"
"Yes. After the defeat of Master Pharaoh 90, the crystal was shattered. I managed to gather its fragments, but without our master, they are powerless and I thought useless- until now."
Kaolinite turned back to Eudial, still holding the fragment.
"I thought there was no hope for us until, after lots of research about our sacred stone, I discovered that there was a way to rebuild it. Master Pharaoh 90 himself must have thought about this potential outcome."
"A way… to put back together the Taioron Crystal?"
"Indeed. I cannot be sure for a fact, but I do think there's a way to bring it back. And for that, I need you- I need the Witches 5."
"Me? And the Witches 5? But, why…?"
"All of you are no ordinary daimons. You are the only ones who managed to properly fuse with a human host, making you perfect, humanoid daimons. But the reason why is because the eggs used were special. They weren't the same manufactured eggs the professor created, they came from the Tau Star System itself. Those eggs contained the essence of powerful fallen warriors- The 6 Great Daimons. You, as well as the others, are the reincarnation of those. You were born from their essence into those hosts."
"We… we are born from… those great daimons?"
Kaolinite nodded as she handed the shard to Eudial.
"Your energy comes from the Tau Star System, just like our sacred stone. Now that you consumed your host's pure heart crystal, your power has increased greatly. Enough to reignite the magic in one fragment of the Taioron Crystal."
"Can I… really do that?"
"Of course. Try infusing your energy into it."
Eudial looked at the piece of the Taioron Crystal she was holding. She closed her eyes, focusing her magic into her hands, slowly spreading it in the fragment…
The latter started changing in both colour and form. It took a more reddish colour and instead of looking like a broken piece, turned into a crystallized stone.
"Yes, it worked… You did good, Eudial."
Eudial opened her eyes and nearly dropped to her knees, exhausted. She had to pour so much of her energy into the fragment- luckily, now that she had her pure heart crystal back, she would soon replenish her magic.
"This… what is it…?" Eudial asked weakly.
"This is an actual part of the Taioron Crystal, reawaken thanks to you. It is connected to your energy and life force now, providing you with a new source of magic. This is your own sacred crystal- your sorceress stone."
"My own… crystal… My sorceress stone…"
Eudial gazed at the now red crystal, almost mesmerized. She then looked at the remaining fragments.
"What about those?" Eudial asked.
"This is when the other Witches 5 become relevant. Each piece needs to be reawakened by a different Great Daimon," Kaolinite replied. "So, you know what you have left to do in order to rebuild our sacred Taioron Crystal."
Still holding her sorceress stone, Eudial nodded.
"Yes, Kaolinite-sama."
The machine was finally operational and ready to get used for its purpose. The device consisted of a metallic platform with four pillars built on at each corner. In the middle was a circle where the energy could convert. The platform was connected to a computer in the same room, a little bit afar from the machine, protected by a glass. Eudial was behind the protective glass, sitting at the computer, finishing up with the last equations in order to complete her program.
"... And then, for the last finishing touch," Eudial mumbled, putting a key to upload something within her program.
Now that it was done, it was time to activate the machine. Eudial stood up, reaching for two particular items: a flask containing what appeared to be some gray powder, and a pure heart crystal. But this was no mere powder- inside of it were micro-particles invisible to the human eyes. Those and the heart crystal were what mattered. Eudial had found the former the first time she went on a scavenger hunt on the site of the now-destroyed Mugen Academy.
Eudial walked to the center of the platform and put down both the pure heart crystal and the grey powder, pilling the latter. She then went back behind the protective glass, sitting down at her computer. It was great time to begin the experiment.
"Here goes nothing."
She activated the device. It let out a soft humming as the pillar lightened up and the circle in the middle. The pure heart crystal started to lift from the ground, shining more brightly. The grey powder also started to get lifted, swirling around the heart crystal. Then, each pillar sent an electrical pulse toward the heart. The shock spread to the powder and every grain started emitting statics.
Then, a red liquid mass started to spread from the powder, fully covering the pure heart crystal. The red goo looked like a mixture of blood and liquified muscles, slowly taking a more humanoid shape around the heart crystal. Then the red goo started to get more define with the tendons, arteries, veins and muscles starting to form.
Eudial remained still as she watched with a mix of horror and fascination this gruesome spectacle. This was like witnessing a body getting slowly dissolved but in reverse. Then, as if the vocal cords had finally been fully assembled, a cry of agony escaped from the still incomplete body.
The skin finally grew and covered all of the body, followed by the hair. The pure heart crystal was nowhere to be seen, being now inside the individual at its rightful place. The reconstruction being over, the device turned off, and the now completed body fell to the ground.
It was a young woman around Eudial's age, with shoulder-length white-silverish hair. On her knees, hands on the platform, she was panting and her body was shivering like it was still under some sort of phantom pain.
The experiment had been a success- Eudial had successfully reconstructed a body to its original form, alive and well on top of that. She smirked with satisfaction, walking towards the other woman.
Eudial then felt a little bit embarrassed for her upon realizing her naked state. Out of pity, she removed her lab coat and delicately put it on the woman's shoulders, in order to preserve some of her dignity and decency. The woman raised her head, her icy blue eyes meeting with Eudial's, then flashing red as a black star appeared on her forehead.
"Welcome back to the world of the land, Viluy."
Finally, after 10 chapters, I introduced the third witch! I really was doing like the anime and only focusing on Mimete and Eudial huh xD
I also completely forgot the Taioron Crystal was not in the 90s anime, it was manga and crystal inclusive- oops. Anyway, it's part of my fic already so whatever xD