From the moment that Leviathan walked into the chamber and first laid his eyes on the "guest"...his heart froze.
No...
It was understandable how the other espers had mistook him. Only he, Starlet, and Odin had seen him in his real form. When he returned to take the kingdom from Bahamut, he had been in human form. Even now, he was barely recognizable. Bahamut had never been a perfect match in appearance with him, but the features on his face that had been different were now broken and burned away, exposing only a massive wound that he could see into, even seeing skull fragments and brains. His scales were blood red...but many of them were twisted and deformed, and it was easy to understand how one would mistake that battle damage and reentry into the Planet's atmosphere had warped them. And now, they were caring for him and attending to him as if he was the true King of All Espers, and not the horrible traitor that had planned such destruction for their people.
Wyvern...
The hideous, blasted skull turned to Leviathan as he entered. The burned out mouth smiled slightly. "Ah, there is my faithful regent. Good day, Leviathan." He addressed in a calm and pleasant tone. His speech was damaged and raspy, but even then Leviathan could still hear the vocal difference between him and Bahamut. He sat in a great stone chair that had been padded for patients, and it could raise and lower into a bed if one wished. The rest of the chamber was empty. However, healing espers swarmed him like bees. They brought out crates of herbs and healing remedies, and three of them at once worked their powers on him. They were healing some of his outer body, but for some reason most of him remained deformed. One arm was a twisted cinder, as was one wing. However, he looked far more energized now, and appeared to be feeling good. There was one other unusual thing out of place. There was a table to one side of the room, where Golem, Ramuh, and several espers were milling about with equipment. They appeared to be setting up what looked like a type of foundry, and all the items and appurtances that were required for it.
"I've returned at last." Wyvern continued. "Unfortunately, I did not escape without incident, as you can see."
Ramuh turned at this, and looked to Leviathan. The sea esper was still frozen in shock, and rendered dumb and speechless. This looked like a horrible twisted version of how reality should be. But it played itself out just the same. Ramuh looked rather pleased that Wyvern was here, but he also seemed rather grim at the same time. "Lord Bahamut has suffered grievous injuries in the fight with his brother, and on returning to our Planet. Apparently, there is a strange strain of bacteria on the moon that prevents injuries from healing. It appears to somehow be nullifying our natural spiritual effects. Because of this, we have been unable to heal Lord Bahamut's deformities. But we have another plan that we are going to put into action right away." With that, he turned behind himself to Golem and the foundry. "Using our talents and skill, we can specially make armor plating to replace Lord Bahamut's old plating. We can embue it with magical devices and actually channel his spirit through it. They will operate and look just like natural limbs and scales. It will take time, but we'll get to work on it right away."
Wyvern calmly continued to look at Leviathan, ignoring this. "Why, whatever is the matter, my friend?" He calmly addressed him...as Leviathan saw behind his pleasant exterior into a deep, sinister, and knowing presence underneath. "...You look a little surprised to see me."
The sea serpent didn't speak. He just stared onward blankly. This couldn't be true. If Wyvern had returned...then that meant either he had other intentions that Bahamut hadn't anticipated...or that...
He didn't dare think of the other one. It couldn't be true. But now, he was taking over. He was masquerading as his brother. And the other espers were falling in behind him right away, not suspecting the truth at all. Fear grasped Leviathan's heart, and in his mind he began to panic... He had to get out of here. He had to call Bahamut immediately back to this world. Then, perhaps with the help of him and Odin, they could destroy this monster. He was already weakened and damaged...but then Leviathan began to fear that he was damaged because he had already fought with Bahamut. But Wyvern was still alive. Bahamut would not have let him live so long as he could finish him off. Did that mean...?
Wyvern seemed to pick up on this. Deep within his eyes...a malicious glee burned forth for only Leviathan to see. He smiled a bit more. "...I am proud to say that my traitorous brother is at long last dead. I became the summon of your little girl while on the moon, and she called me up to destroy him. And I have brought proof of that for all of our kind to see. There is only one King of All Espers now."
With that, Leviathan felt hisheart stop and his mind fill with terror.
Wyvern slowly moved his good hand...and exposed a small shard.
No...
But even as Leviathan tried to deny it, he sensed it where no one else did. He was there. All of his memories...all of his powers...everything that he had been was concentrated and fixed into one small object. And now...that object rested comfortably in the hands of his murderer. He had seen magicite before. He knew what it truly was. And at that moment, he realized he was seeing nothing left but distilled Bahamut. At that, he felt his will smashed and his soul sank within him. If that was there...then it was all over. The worst outcome was true. Wyvern...had won. He had beaten Bahamut...killed him. There was nothing left to save them now. No one left to defend them. All that was left was Wyvern and his wishes. By that one gesture, Leviathan felt as if the future had been dashed to pieces.
He looked back up to Wyvern, and saw him still frozen with that subtle wicked look. At that, Leviathan's anger spiked. He began to open his mouth...
"However," Wyvern continued, cutting him off and knowing what Leviathan was about to say. "I must say that I do fear that some faithless and wicked members of our race will yet rise up in Wyvern's name to avenge him and strike down their king." He made sure to say this slowly...making sure that Leviathan was getting it. "These traitors will have to be dealt with immediately. We cannot afford any more insurrection in our time. As for these people..." He slowed, and narrowed his gaze. "...If any of them step forward..." He accented. "I will personally deal with them. I greatly value your aid, Leviathan... You are a great asset to me... I would hate it if there was such a man as you...with your power and influence...who might try to start such a rebellion. Such a person would have a long and prosperous future in my kingdom...if they would make sure to yield to proper authorities. It would be a shame to have to end their services so abruptly and violently... Don't you agree?"
Leviathan's anger vanished. He felt his sweat beginning to return instead. He swallowed slightly. Wyvern had managed to maneuver him into a rock and a hard place. He was in the perfect position now. Already, he had help from some of Bahamut's supporters. If it came to a rebellion...then he would probably play both sides and get his old supporters who had remained unexposed to aid him as well. It would be a chaotic mess that would hurt all of the esper race. Moreover...Leviathan knew a threat when he saw one. He also understood what blackmail was. Had he been more emotive, he might have thrown his cares to the wind and defied him anyway. His dying breath would gasp to all who would hear the truth. But he knew that was too little. For now...he believed Wyvern underestimated him. He assumed he was a brown-noser like his brother, having no true wisdom or cleverness. And there were yet ways he could upset Wyvern's plans and draw devices against him from his current position...besides having a contest of brute force. But first, he had to get out of here. And so, he smoothed himself out, and spoke.
"I agree wholeheartedly...my Lord Bahamut."
Wyvern's malice faded slightly, and a wide smile went across his face. "Good. Now, if you will excuse us, my attendants need to prepare for this new operation. On its completion..." A bigger smile and a hint of a chuckle. "...I will be even stronger than before. I would ask you to help, what with your intelligence and expertise...but I feel you would serve me better to be away for the moment. Continue your position as Regent until I come to take up the mantle."
Leviathan tightened his jaw. He held for a few seconds with a stoic face. But then, at last, he gave a nod. "Yes, my lord."
Then, without another word, he turned and exited the way he came.
"Hmm..."
Unicorn turned to Starlet anxiously at that comment. "Is everything fine? Will Rydia be ok?"
Starlet didn't answer right away. They were in one of the separate rooms in the medical wing, having laid Rydia down to rest in one of the human beds. She was still under the influence of the sleeping spell, and felt no more pain or agony. Starlet intended to bring in the doctors to see her, but they were all away with Bahamut for the moment. That was a bit odd... Starlet hadn't sensed Bahamut returning, and why he would be was uncertain. That was why Leviathan alone investigated. At any rate, there were no healers ready, so Starlet simply flexed her own healing power. It took no time at all to put Rydia's arm and leg back the way they were before. However...she couldn't help but feel something strange on her. It seemed as if something inside hadn't healed quite right... It confused her, and she looked over the formerly broken limbs again and again to make sure they had knit. They had, and so in the end Starlet couldn't think of anything that could be wrong.
"Yes, she should be." Starlet responded at last. "I'll just let the sleeping spell wear off. It should only take a few more minutes."
Unicorn nodded, but still looked a little worried. She turned back to the girl, and then inched a bit closer to her bedside. "...I'll...just wait here until she does."
The queen smiled in response and nodded. After that, she turned and looked back to the doorway to the chamber. She meant to leave as well and see first-hand what was going on. But right as she was about to, the door swung open on its own...and in came Leviathan.
"Oh!" Starlet gaped as she stopped in surprise. "You're here. Good. I wanted to..."
Starlet trailed off. She sensed great trouble on Leviathan's heart, mind, and soul. Even if she didn't, she could tell. He looked stunned as he walked in...almost apoplectic. His eyes gazed emptily at the ground. His breathing was slow, as if he was afraid to do it. He appeared disconnected in his movements, as if he was aimless and not really knowing where he was going. He walked up to her and came to a stop. However, he continued to look to the floor and hung his mouth open slightly, as if not sure what to say or do. Starlet saw all of this, and her face turned to concern soon after. She raised a hand and touched his cheek.
"Leviathan? What's wrong? What's the matter?"
Leviathan didn't answer. He looked at the ground a second longer. Then, he turned and looked over to the woman. His face was still blank and stunned, and he couldn't answer right away. But then, he finally took in a deep breath, and seemed to recover a bit. He closed his mouth and swallowed.
"...We need Odin here, right now."
"...If this is your idea of a joke, it is in very bad taste."
Leviathan merely sighed in response and rubbed his forehead. The oldest espers were now gathered together...at least what was left of them. Phantom Odin had taken some time to get there. He had returned to Baron to see how his young protégé had done for himself, and then had went to Mt. Ordeals to see how Kain was doing. But now, after a few hours, they were all together again. Leviathan had them retreat to one of the higher balconies around the mountain crater. Below them, the din of work and noise to try and clear the rubble masked their sounds, and here they had privacy from any of the lower espers. The acting esper king had taken Starlet and Phantom Odin up here to talk with them about what was going on, and revealed that they had an unwelcomed guest in the mountain...and that he had already made several subtle threats as he carried the illusion that he was Bahamut onward. Now, the stoic mask of Odin glared at Leviathan as a deep-throated growl seemed to echo through his helmet. Starlet's face was worn out with grief and concern, and she had to sit down as she held her own head. Leviathan stayed at the edge of the crater and looked down.
"I'm afraid it isn't." Leviathan simply answered, not turning back. "I couldn't feel his presence before because he was so weak, but thanks to our healers he's getting stronger all the time."
Odin stood for a moment longer, but then turned to him. "Then let's be done with him now. Finish him before he gets too strong."
Leviathan frowned and shook his head. "That won't work. He's already probably gathering his old support to him and making sure nothing rises against him."
Odin merely snorted in response. "The fool was always reckless. Inaction has always ended up ruining us in the end. And I, for one, don't intend to stand by and let it happen again."
"He might be reckless, but he's not a fool." Leviathan simply answered. "He's been planning this for thousands of years, devoting all his time and energy to it. Besides, even as weak as he is, he'd be able to hold us off long enough for a real riot to start."
Starlet raised her own head at this. "Well we just can't sit here and do nothing!" She protested. "He murdered Bahamut! Now he's taking his kingdom! You want us to just let him do that?"
"No." Leviathan answered as he slowly turned back to them. "But I would like us to evaluate our position. One thing he has failed to realize is that we're our own espers, and not just mindless, weak pawns of Bahamut as he has so felt. He wants to keep us around in order to keep things in line for him, and hopefully to win more espers over who won't buy that he's really Bahamut. So long as we remain in his good graces, we have the freedom to do whatever we want right under his nose to thwart him."
"Like what?" Starlet asked.
Leviathan sighed in response. "I don't know right now..." He slowly responded. "I need some more time to think..."
All of the sudden, however, they were interrupted with an approaching noise. It sounded like rapid clicking against the stone and wood ground. They turned and looked over to the source, which was down the hallway leading to them. It was Unicorn. She was rushing up to them at full speed. As she approached, they noticed that a fearful look was on her face, and she seemed panicked and terror-stricken. Soon, she was up to them, and she panted and sweat for a few brief moments to regain her breath.
"Everyone…something terrible is wrong with Rydia!"
Wyvern seethed slightly. The pain was rather sharp, and had he not had such experience with pain he might have needed sedation. But until he was fully "rebuilt", he didn't dare do anything to dull his senses. Leviathan had been shown his place for the time, but he doubted that he'd stay that way forever. He needed to gather more of the faithful to himself…once he was rebuilt.
The withered remains of Wyvern's old arm were being disposed of at the moment. In its place, Golem was slowly carving and manipulating his upper arm bone to become a new "socket". He was inserting other devices, sewing metal into him, and even manipulating his nerves, causing a painful jolt to go through his body. If that wasn't enough, the esper constantly groaned as other espers pulled off one of his old, burned scales and stitched in the new organic ones. Tough as Wyvern was, he was glad he couldn't see this that well. The sight might make him nauseous or go into shock.
For now, he needed all his wits about him. He only hoped that these espers would hurry with his new body, both for the sake of ending the pain…and restoring him to his old position.
Typically, a smile spread across his broken face as a large biomechanical arm, a mirror of his existing arm, was attached to his new socket joint by Ramuh.
"Oh no…"
That was all that Leviathan could utter as he looked over his human friend. Starlet brought a fist to her mouth and anxiously bit on the end of it, her eyes rapidly filling with tears. But Unicorn was the most frantic of all, stomping her hooves nervously and constantly shaking her mane over Rydia's body. Apparently, Leviathan realized, Starlet had been right in her suspicions.
Rydia's temperature was rising and rising quickly. Already, her hair was soaked with sweat. Her forehead was hot to the touch. Yet despite that, it seemed as if the rest of her body was cooling down. Her blood had turned so cold in her veins that the espers could see them criss-crossing her arms and legs. She was turning pale, and quickly. Her breathing was ragged, and she began to moan and turn as if in pain. She had awakened from the sleeping spell, but it no longer mattered. The sickness that now gripped her body had driven her into unconsciousness.
Unicorn trembled in terror. "What's wrong with her!" She nearly demanded.
Leviathan swallowed. He already knew, and the knowledge scared him. It could only be one thing.
"She has an infection, one likely picked up from the moon." The sea esper grimly replied. "Because it is foreign to this world, Starlet's powers had no effect on it. Somehow, the bacteria had to be dormant in her own immune system. Getting injured must have triggered it to become more aggressive…"
"Help her!" Unicorn begged. "Please!"
Starlet looked over her fearfully for a moment longer, overwhelmed at what was happening. However, she didn't halt long. She quickly stretched her own arms over Rydia again and focused. Her power was brought to bear once more, and soon rays of light seemed to come forth from her hands and rain down over Rydia. They quickly gleamed like electricity, and she focused and bathed the summoner with them for a few minutes. Starlet put all of her own healing powerbehind it.Leviathan and Unicorn earnestly waited. The latter nervously stamped her feet and prayed.
At last, the queen cut the power off, unable to sustain it any longer. The other two were left to see the result. On doing so…Leviathan swallowed and cursed inwardly. Unicorn gapedand began to look panicked. Rydia was worse than before. She was beginning to toss and turn. Her head flailed one way and the other as her lips turned blue. Her teeth started to chatter soon after. Starlet, growing tearful and afraid as well, nevertheless quickly pulled up the heavier covers and wrapped Rydia in them.
"It…it's no good…" The queen spoke as she began to grow tears again. "My power has no effect."
"No…" Leviathan corrected, still staring at Rydia with a fearful and faraway look, but also one of frustration. Unicorn and Starlet looked to him at this, the latter as she finished tucking the summoner in. "It is having an effect…but the disease is too aggressive. Rydia's body has no defense against it. It's encountering no resistance as it spreads. If she had the immune system of a healing esper, she could probably fight it off like any normal infection. But now…"
Leviathan trailed off and shook his head. Fear and puzzlement grasped him now. Unicorn swallowed and looked back to him. "She's getting worse! Try again! I'll help this time!"
The king frowned and shook his head. "It's no use, Unicorn. The disease has spread too rapidly. We'll need a room full of healing espers just to arrest its progress."
On hearing this, the fearful and anxious Starlet turned to anger. Her face filled with rage as she looked up to her husband. "Almost all of the healing espers are servicing that traitor…"
Leviathan scowled at this. However, he had no time to give in to emotion or hesitation. The human girl that he loved like his own was dying, and dying quickly. Within as little as a minute, she could perish. That left no time to dilly dally. Quickly, he turned to his wife and beckoned her. Starlet, crying now and yet angry still, saw and followed him before he even began to speak.
"They won't be servicing him long. Starlet, come with me and let's get as many as we can, and hurry. Every second could be her last."
Even while already moving, the queen esper nodded. Leviathan too had taken off, and was moving to the exit already. Both were halfway there when Unicorn, panicked and terror-stricken, turned and looked after the both of them. Her face was streaked with fear, and she desperately called out to them.
"You can't leave her like this! She's going to die!"
Leviathan kept moving out, for he had no time to waste. But he did turn his head behind himself and yell back. "If we don't bring more healing espers here, she's going to die! Unicorn, try to make her hang on until we get back!"
Unicorn would have protested again…begged for them to come back and help her. Sure, Rydia needed to be cured, and only more espers could do that. However, without Starlet working on her, the disease would only spread faster. It was increasing speed exponentially at this point. Rydia could die at any time. But it was too late. The king and queen were both gone soon after.
Unicorn was left alone in the room with the dying summoner.
I can't let this happen.
Unicorn cursed to herself as tears continued to flow from her eyes. Gritting her own teeth, she extended her horn over Rydia and desperately tried to summon her own power. Soon, her horn exploded into a ray of pure white light, and the shine began to wash over the summoner. But even as she did so, even as she struggled to focus through all of her emotions and tears, she knew it was futile. She could only sense Rydia's health continue to fade. Leviathan was right. Her infection was too great. She'd be dead within minutes…maybe shorter.
As Unicorn cut off her healing horn, she grew desperate. When Rydia had first arrived in their world, she had been a terrified, shy child that had no idea where she was or what was happening to her. Unicorn remembered how she had been one of her first friends despite the king and queen. She volunteered to let her live with her in her house. Her innocent and mythical appearance earned the summoner's trust, and soon they got along together fine. They spent their days running around the city, playing and joking, whenever Rydia wasn't in her studies. She was the only human Unicorn ever let ride her. As the years went by, and Rydia continued to get older and stronger, Unicorn had always been there for her to turn to at the end of the day. They always spent their evenings playing together, and their mornings doing the chores and laughing about the other day. Unicorn had been reserved for years among her own kind…but she freely opened up to this human. She was her best friend.
Unicorn had begged her not to go back to the world of humans and dwarves when the time finally came. When she returned to their world, she begged her again to stay with her in their old house. Yet her friend had to leave her and plunge herself into danger time and time again. She had faced one horrific creature after another, barely surviving one just to engage another. Unicorn prayed endlessly for her safety, and cursed herself for not having made herself Rydia's summon as well, so that she could be with her in battle. However, that would have meant that Unicorn would have had to fight Rydia to the death, and she could not, and would never, bring herself to do that.
When she finally came home, when she finally moved back in with her, when the two of them returned to their old way of life, Unicorn was happier than she had been in years. The few months Rydia was gone had been years to her, and seeing her back was a very welcome sight. Now, she believed they could live together for the rest of Rydia's life. Yet now…it was almost as if death that had been meted out for the summoner while she was away had chased her back home. Now it had caught up with her…and she was dying. Her best friend was dying…and despite being one of the greatest healing espers Unicorn could do absolutely nothing to save her.
The esper pranced around angrily on the floor. Rydia continued to grow weaker. Leviathan wasn't fast enough, she knew. The green-haired girl was fading too rapidly. If the infection wasn't halted now…if nothing was done to at least slow it down…then even if Leviathan turned and came back now it would be too late. But what could they do? Even the greatest of all healers, Starlet, had been powerless to stop the infection, and now it was stronger than before.
Unicorn looked down and continued to weep. There had to be something she could do. She loved Rydia more than herself. She'd do anything…anything at all to save her. She'd die if she thought it would save her, because she loved her more than a sister. That couldn't help her though. She began to realize the only thing that could save Rydia now was exactly what Leviathan had said. That…or the other thing. If only there was some way to give Rydia the immune system of a healing esper… There wasn't an infection, virus, or bacteria anywhere that could triumph over one. But what could Unicorn do? She couldn't tear the marrow from her own bones and shove it into Rydia…
Then, however…something did come to mind.
There was still one ray of hope…
Unicorn remembered being shocked and horrified, and later angrily scolding Rydia, the day she earned the right to summon Titan. The girl's body had nearly been broken in half when the huge esper brought her in. Such grievous injuries would have killed any human…should have killed any human. Yet Rydia, broken as she was, seemed to be conscious and only in mild pain. She easily held on until Kirin arrived and stimulated her own healing abilities to increase a hundred fold. Unicorn had been surprised at this, and wondered how she had possessed such power.
When she had asked Leviathan, the great sea esper responded that Titan, after being beaten, saw how much he had hurt Rydia. And so…he did something that Leviathan had only discovered espers were capable of a few hundred years ago: a junction.
A junction was a strange process in which an esper could essentially fuse part of their own life force to another's. In a way, it was like the process that summoners and their friends went through to be capable of being summoned. Only if it was done to a much smaller degree, as Titan had done with Rydia. The esper was in no danger of dying, and the human received an incredibly increase in strength and power. What more, it didn't need to be a summoner. Any non-esper could receive a junction.
The type of junction that Titan had performed was the mildest. The esper would only be hurt if the junctioned individual tried to summon them and their foes attacked the human member of the pair. As for the human, the only side effect was memory loss. Sure enough, after Rydia had recovered, she seemed to have forgotten how to get to some of the esper stores and where Unicorn's secret meditation spot was. However, there were more severe forms.
A full junction was next. In this one, the two individuals would actually join with each other, forming a bizarre chimera creature. Although both individuals now had the full benefit of each other's power and abilities in this form, it was grotesque to behold, and separating the two was almost certain death for both unless it happened soon after the full junction.
Yet there was one other junction even more extreme than that…
A fusion.
The king had told Unicorn that due to the nature of magicite to be able to drastically increase the power of whoever possessed it, he theorized that there were ways to actually fuse the essence of an esper itself into the body of another. This level of junctioning was what he discovered. In this junction, one of the parties would fully surrender their own form and completely unite with the other, not forming a chimera in the monstrous sense of the word but forming a single body. The new creature would share traits of both individuals, and the new personality would effectively be a person who was part of both members of the fusion. Yet Leviathan had said that wasn't necessarily so. One of the parties could willingly give up their personalities and allow just their bodies to unite. The resulting fusion would no longer have the benefit of one of the "component's" knowledge and wisdom, but the remaining party would essentially be unchanged save for their body. Leviathan, however, had cautioned against this, saying that once fused there was no way for the two parties to unfuse without killing each other. Plus, it would be suicide for one or both individuals, as they would cease to exist in favor of the new being.
Unicorn had never thought of doing anything so desperate…until now.
Rydia's heart was already about to give out. She was swollen in all of her lymph nodes as bacterial cells flooded her body. Her lungs were beginning to fill with fluid. Soon, assuming her body didn't give out, she'd choke on her own lungs. There was no time left anymore. Rydia would be dead within moments. And now, Unicorn, her tears stopping but still full of fear, realized she had a choice to make.
This was the only way now. She hoped that her own strong physiology would become a part of Rydia's, and that her new and improved immune system would beat the disease back into submission. However, there was a chance she would be too weak even fused, and then both of them would die. Yet the esper didn't care. She already had agreed to herself she would do anything to save Rydia. She loved her too much. In this sense, she wasn't afraid at all.
What she was afraid for now was herself. She was terrified of what would happen to her. She could allow their personalities to be fused as well…so that at least a part of her would remain. However, she didn't want that. If she was going to save Rydia, then she wanted her to be the Rydia she loved. She wanted her to be her own person. There was no question about it…if she did this she would surrender her own personality. But that was effectively suicide. That meant that she would indeed be killing herself to chance saving Rydia. It might not even work. And if she did…she would be gone forever, until judgment day itself… Did she really want to do that? Could she really bring herself to die for this? She was scared and quivering. She didn't want to die. She was too afraid of what lied beyond, and she loved too much of the world as it was. She wanted to see so much still…
But in the end, her heart was too big. Much as she loved the world, her friends, her family, and Terratopolis…she loved her friend most of all. None of the world would matter to her anymore without her best friend at her side. Rydia…so much younger than her…so much more mortal and temporal…she deserved to have more time to see the world herself, and to enjoy what was there. And in a way…Unicorn knew that she would always be with her now, and that the two of them would never be apart again. Now, whenever she fought, she would fight with her. Whenever she wept, she would cry with her. Whenever she hurt, she would feel her pain. And whenever she laughed or loved…she would share her joy.
The hesitation was over. She had decided.
The esper blinked over Rydia's dying body once, and then slowly and gently raised a hoof and set it on her chest.
"…Goodbye, Rydia. This is my last gift to you."
"It is done, my lord."
Wyvern slowly exhaled, pushing out the last of the pain. His scales were still being attached, but his arm was now replaced. He turned his almost sightless eyes over to it and looked as best as he could at the blur where the new limb was. Slowly, he lifted it off of the chair, and began to rotate it. He extended his claws and flexed them, and they responded in turn. He was a bit irritated to find that he could not feel his limb moving. It was almost as if he was controlling it from outside of his body, despite the fact that the neural motor connections were all made. Yet in the end, he supposed he would simply have to deal with it.
"Perfect, Ramuh. You and Golem have outdone yourselves." Wyvern responded with a crooked smile.
"We've almost perfected the material to repair your wings. It should flex and move just like your old wings did. But as for your head…well…there's a problem."
"Problem?"
"Your bones have been too heavily damaged, and because of your infection most of the wounds have scarred and become irrepairable. Most of what is on your head now is simply dead tissue. Your eyes can barely function as it is now, and they will not recover."
Wyvern felt himself grow angry at this, but only a little. He clenched both his old and new hands into fists and then spoke back. "How do you plan to deal with this?"
"We will have to operate to remove the dead portions of your crest and skull. After that, we shall replace it with a new crest made of special metal that will serve as new skull and armor. It will be like the rest of your new scales, in that it will be durable and charged with your power."
"Good. What about my vision?"
"We lack the ability to perfectly build you new eyes, master. But we do have the ability to attach receptors into the front of the skull crest that we will give you. As far as straight vision goes, you will only be able to see in shades of black and white. But it will include your ability to key in on heat signatures."
"That is all I require. Do it immediately."
Leviathan and Starlet both prayed it wasn't too late to save their beloved human. It had taken far too long to get back to the medical wing, and even longer to get enough espers to have a chance for success. Most of them were running around doing duties for their "king", and cared only about him and his recovery. But after they had heard that Rydia was in trouble, many of them were torn for a moment before abandoning their posts and coming with their seniors. Still, it had taken too long. Leviathan feared the worst already. He had made a gamble by leaving Rydia's side in the first place. In all honesty…he feared the poor girl would be dead by the time he returned. Yet this had been her only chance, and waiting at her side for her to die definitely wouldn't have helped her.
The king struggled to scan ahead, hoping that he wouldn't find her dead. What he got in response was confusing. He could only sense one presence in Rydia's room now…meaning that the other was gone. What presence he could sense, however, was confusing. It seemed to be similar to both Unicorn and Rydia. Now, Rydia was the only one who couldn't have left the room, so, despite as ridiculous as it seemed, if Rydia still lived then it was Unicorn who abandoned her. If Rydia was dead, then it had to be Unicorn…but it felt far too weak to be her. What was going on?
At last, the door to Rydia's room loomed ahead. Leviathan and Starlet increased their speed and bolted for it, the other healing espers flying in behind. Within moments, they were through the door. Leviathan and Starlet both wheeled around to face Rydia's bed, with the latter of the two already preparing her strongest healing spell…
However, they both immediately froze. As the other espers came in behind them and looked to see what it was, they too stopped and stared. Starlet's recovery spell was immediately forgotten, and she cupped a hand to her mouth in amazement.
"What…what in the world…?"
Leviathan, however, needed only stare for a second before his own wisdom told him what had happened. Immediately, his own heart began to ache, and he mentally swore to Unicorn that she was a fool. He knew he never should have told anyone about the technique he discovered. He feared that one day an esper would do it. And now, it looked as if it had happened.
Unicorn was gone, and Rydia remained. She was still tucked into bed, but she had changed. Her breathing was calmer. She coughed a bit, and it sounded horrible as she did, but she wasn't breathing worse. Her flesh was still pale and her veins still showed up, but they were somewhat faded now. Her temperature was hot, but it grew no hotter. Her lymph nodes were swollen but grew no larger. All in all, her out of control infection seemed to have stopped. That, however, wasn't the most distinct thing.
The summoner now had a great spiraled horn rising from the middle of her forehead.
"Oh my god…what happened to Rydia?" One of the younger espers spoke, frozen and stunned at seeing this.
Leviathan stared at her for a few moments longer. As he did, he slowly closed his own eyes and sighed slowly. This would mean more misery for Starlet. And it was yet another terrible surprise on this insane morning. He hoped it would be the last of them. His heart was heavier now, and deep concern weighed on his mind. Slowly, he turned his head to Starlet. His wife continued to blink and stare at Rydia for a moment longer. But when she saw Leviathan looking to her, she turned and looked to him as well.
"…I think we've kept Odin waiting long enough to come back."
"Oh, Unicorn…"
Starlet could only get this out before closing her own eyes and bowing her head. It pained Leviathan to see her cry, but if she wanted to know the truth then there was little choice. He had given her the bad news second, hoping to soften the blow with the good news first. That was that Rydia was no longer in danger of dying. Every healing esper in the room saw that the disease had stopped progressing. Of course, they still needed to help. They immediately dipped Rydia's head in cold water to help break the fever, then doubled the blankets on her to keep her chills away. Kirin had come forward again and used her technique of increasing one's own natural healing ability at once. This time, it worked. Slowly but surely, Rydia's body began to beat back the disease that had been eating her alive minutes earlier.
But then Leviathan told them the terrible price that had been paid. Unicorn had essentially given her life to save Rydia. By now, the king had the ability to more closely monitor Rydia's mind, and as a result he saw that she was still essentially herself. That meant that Unicorn had willingly given up her personality so that Rydia would still be herself after the fusion. That also meant, however, that Unicorn had died.
It was not an easy thing being nearly the matriarch of the esper world. Again, she had lost another child. In truth, they both had. Unicorn was one of the first two children Leviathan and Starlet had bore. Leviathan felt a weight in his heart as well. He just wasn't as prone to crying and sadness. He didn't respond to tragedy with tears. And unfortunately, given their current circumstances, he couldn't. But Starlet…she had to see another one of her children die. She had lived a long life, and had enjoyed the presence of her children more than any other mother on the Planet had. But it still didn't make it easier on her. Leviathan was able to reassure his own pain by realizing this. Foolish as it may have been, Unicorn had loved Rydia so much she had readily done it. Not for years had Leviathan thought that there was an esper alive willing to give up their life for a human. He was wrong. And in truth…he was proud. Proud that Unicorn had been brave enough to lay down her life for a friend. That was a very special thing.
However, it would not help Starlet. She continued to bow her head and cry softly. The sea serpent bowed his own human head and sighed slowly. Then, he made his way over to his wife and sat down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her body, and in response she turned and placed her head against his chest. He held her like that, and for a few moments he let her cry against him. There was silence in the room, save for Starlet's tears.
At last, she did manage something in a small quivering voice.
"Rydia…she will live at least, won't she?"
"I can feel her life force, and it's already doubled in power." Leviathan gently responded. "By tomorrow morning, she'll be fine."
"I hate to seem cold…but that may be more than I can say for the rest of us."
Starlet looked up from her tears to Phantom Odin at that. Leviathan did as well. The warrior esper had taken in most of this news with either coldness or seeming indifference. Leviathan knew better. There were people that Odin cared about. It was just that he hadn't been that close to Unicorn. He had pledged himself to be Rydia's summon because of his loyalty and friendship with Cecil, not with her.
"Wyvern is still being repaired, and we still are without a ways of beating him." The esper reminded. "At this point, it would probably be useless to challenge him. By tomorrow, he too will be ready to take his place as our king. Based on what you told me, Leviathan, it seems likely that the true Bahamut became Rydia's summon at one point, and that it was when Rydia summoned him to fight Wyvern that our traitorous brother became so heavily damaged. Perhaps they even thought he was dead and moved on. But now that he is back, Rydia is in mortal danger. He is the most prideful, arrogant creature I've ever seen before. If thousands of years couldn't erase the maddening grudge he had for Bahamut just for making a wise decision, then you can be sure he'll never forgive the summoners or the rest of humanity. The moment he is recovered, he'll kill her and then get revenge on mankind for challenging him."
Starlet looked up from this, her face growing fearful again but her tears drying. "But…he once helped us save humanity. Doesn't he still bear them any love?"
Leviathan frowned. "Odin's right. Wyvern has become too warped by his own evil and hard-heartedness. He's quickly becoming as bad as Griever was. Now, he only sees humanity and all of its accomplishments as things meant to irritate him and keep him from ruling the world. He'd be all too happy to grind them under his foot. Even if he didn't, he'll never forgive Rydia or her people. What the lunar Four Fiends of the Elements started, he'll be more than happy to complete."
Starlet now forgot her fear and sadness. In its place, her face blazed with passion and determination. "I'll never let him touch her."
"I doubt you have much choice in the matter." Odin grimly replied. "He'll easily be able to kill all three of us if we get in his way."
Leviathan sighed deeply, struck with more problems. But before he could formulate a response to Odin, much less a plan for what they could do now, another dreaded sound rang out through the meeting room. The sound of a door knocking. Once the three heard it, they immediately turned and looked to the entrance to their chamber. Odin groaned and rolled his eyes.
"What new devilry now…"
Leviathan, composed as he was, agreed with the esper. He had his fill of bad news for one day…or one millennia, for that matter. He nevertheless reached out to the door and beckoned at it, undoing the lock. "Come in."
The door was soon opened, and a new esper entered. The others quickly recognized her as Shiva. She was calm, cool, and collected, which was a relief to them. Perhaps that meant it wasn't too serious. But then, they realized that Shiva was always this way, never betraying her real feelings. At any rate, the esper soon came before the three of them and stood tall. She gave a short bow and then spoke.
"I am sorry to disturb you, my lords. But something very unexpected has happened."
A unified sigh went through the three of them. More trouble. "What is it?" Leviathan asked Shiva after a moment, struggling not to ask, "What is it now?"
"As you know, my lords, Rydia has many friends in Terratopolis." Shiva began calmly. "Few of them are actually her summons, however. Anyway, the healers tell me that as Rydia began to slowly emerge from her illness, she started to call out the names of her friends. At first, she did so for Unicorn. The healers tell me that they tried to tell her that she was gone and wouldn't be coming. Naturally, Rydia was in such a delusion that she was unable to understand. However, the healers tell me that she grew thirsty afterward, and started calling out to Bismark next.
"At the time, I was talking with Bismark. Yet as I did, and as Rydia began to call out to him, the healing espers tell me that they saw Rydia's new…appendage…start to glow and shimmer. At the same time, Bismark bowed his head to me, and told me that he felt someone calling him and that he had to obey its power. He vanished moments later, but I followed him to the source. I found him at Rydia's bedside, giving her a drink of water he generated."
On hearing that, Leviathan's eyes widened. He wasn't alone. Starlet likewise turned to him and stared in puzzlement, as if he could somehow give the answer. But the esper could not. He merely stared ahead. Odin, on his part, crossed his arms and snorted. "So she made him her summon without telling us. No big deal."
To this, Leviathan shook his head. "No, Odin. Rydia has been perfectly honest with me, and I've been monitoring her development. She's been sharing with me every esper that has submitted to her beck and call. Besides, they themselves would have told me."
The warrior esper merely snorted. "Well, that can't be right. She wouldn't have been able to call Bismark to her if she hadn't beat him." Odin paused for a moment after that. But then, when he saw that Leviathan's face hadn't reacted to that, and that he was growing more puzzled, he turned to the others. Starlet likewise looked a bit anxious, and Shiva herself was colder than usual. For once…the warrior esper found himself a bit surprised.
"…Could she?"
"Leviathan," Starlet began, her voice growing wary. "Are you absolutely sure that Bismark was not Rydia's summon?"
"You know the answer to that as well as I do." The king answered, beginning to stroke his beard and bend his head.
"That's not possible." Odin immediately protested. "A summoner can only bring forth an esper who passed the ceremony, who exchanged blood with each other." He turned to Shiva. "Are you sure she he didn't just get up and leave to see her?"
"He faded away into thin air." Shiva answered. "I thought something bad had happened to him at first, that he had been erased from existence. Then I traced him to Rydia. It was as if he had been summoned without generating the gate."
The four were silent. This was quite a surprise indeed. Never had anything been heard like this before. Leviathan himself thought there had to be a catch somewhere. Something had to have been wrong. Perhaps a fluke, an accident… Maybe Bismark and Rydia had swapped blood for fun one time…although that was the stupidest thing that Leviathan had ever heard before. Yet what other option could there be? There was only one…and it was amazing to think of…
"I do have one theory."
The others immediately turned and looked to their king. Leviathan's head was still down and he still stroked his beard, and a deep thoughtful expression was on his face. Slowly, however, he made his assumptions known.
"…We all know that Unicorn fused herself to Rydia so that Rydia would have the immune system of a healing esper, and would be able to beat the infection. But that wasn't all. You can easily see that she also gave Rydia her horn. Now, in the past, to channel her own Omniapex, Unicorn focused her healing strength into her horn. It served to focus and concentrate her power so that she could use it to its full ability.
"Now Rydia shares things of Unicorn's physiology. Her immune system is stronger, but she also now has Unicorn's horn. That means she too is able to focus her natural abilities. In this case, because Rydia is a summoner, that means she has the ability to focus her summoning ability. Because of this she has gone to a new level of summoning. Before, summoners needed to engage in the blood sharing ceremony. But now, with her ability to focus her power…I think Rydia has transcended that. She can actually summon creatures without having to best them in battle."
The four in the room froze on hearing that. They looked to each other, their faces containing awe…but mostly anxiety, even fear. This was something incredible, but it also was very serious for them. It meant that Rydia essentially had some power over them. In a sense…a human could now command an esper…potentially against their wishes. That was something very serious indeed. And that possibility began to go through all of their minds as they stood in the room in silence…
Until, however, Starlet broke it. Abruptly, her head perked up. Her eyes widened and she looked straight out. On seeing this, the others in the room turned and looked to her, but she was still and straight-faced.
"…She's doing it now."
"Doing what?" A puzzled Odin retorted.
"She's calling me." Starlet answered. "She's still delusional…but I can hear her calling out to me. She wants me to come to her. I can even feel her…almost as if her will is coming out and trying to pull me to her…"
Leviathan's own eyes went wide and he stared at his wife. Even the stoic Shiva began to grow uneasy at this. She already was Rydia's summon as well, which meant she could be pulled at any time too. And yet, after a few moments, they saw that Starlet hadn't moved. She continued to stand there and stay still. After a moment or so longer, however, she suddenly blinked. Then, she winced slightly and bowed her head, and after a moment shook it.
"…No…no, I won't come, Rydia. Not like this. I'll be there in a second, but not like this…"
Leviathan by this point was scanning his wife. Indeed, he could see that a great force had come forth and enclosed her, and now was pulling on her, attempting to bring her to the source. He was very glad that this force had good intentions…and hated to think what would happen if it was an evil person who did this. However, he was more amazed by what happened next. The force continued to pull on Starlet a moment after she said this…but then it seemed to get pushed back. The power of Starlet's own aura shoved it away and cast it off of her. When it did, the force recoiled like a hurt animal…and then dissipated. When it did, Starlet opened her eyes, relaxed, and sighed. All were silent again for a moment.
"…What happened?" Odin finally asked.
Starlet inhaled deeply again, but just to smooth herself out. "Rydia. She's still calling out to her friends. She was calling out to me, wanting me to be at her side. When she did…" The esper hesitated a moment, seeming to grow more faraway in voice and appearance. "I…I could see her. I could see her lying in bed. And I could see space around her. It was almost like…I could reach out and be there if I wanted. And she wanted me there. I could feel her nudging me and tugging on my body, wanting me to be with her. She tried harder when I refused to come, and she was strong…but I refused in my mind to come. Finally, she gave up, and when she did the vision vanished."
"What does that mean?" Shiva asked, now fully engrossed in what was happening.
Everyone turned to Leviathan for answers. After all, he was the wise one. The great sea esper himself mused a bit longer, stroking his beard and thinking this over. But in the end, he merely gave a shrug as he continued to stare out into space.
"Well…it means that we might not be in as dangerous a situation as we're all thinking." He responded. "Even a summoner of Rydia's caliber seems unable to pull strong espers to herself unless they agree. If that's the case, then…"
Leviathan, however, was abruptly cut off. At that moment, Starlet suddenly spasmed. She bent over and her face looked in a mixture of agony. She grasped at her body in pain. The other espers turned and looked to her at this. Leviathan instantly forgot about his calculations and looked in fear instead. Starlet began to sweat and strain, and she looked far more agonized than before. Yet through clenched teeth, she managed to slowly grit out some words.
"Rydia… No… I'll come…but…on my own…"
Leviathan immediately rose and began to rush to the side of his wife, while the others stared in shock. But before the king could make it to her, it was over. Abruptly, Starlet faded away into nothingness. Her body turned clear at first, but soon it disappeared all together. A great cracking sound went through the air as she did, like thunder or a quake. It seemed as if reality itself was vanishing. Yet soon, it had passed. And in its wake, Starlet was gone. There was nothing but air where she was a moment earlier.
Odin tensed up and balled his armored hands into fists. Shiva started to express fear, a rare occurance. But Leviathan was the most fearful of all. In disbelief, he rushed forward to where Starlet had been and looked around. He felt the air as if she had gone invisible. But she wasn't there, and he sensed no power. Growing anxious, he began to turn around and look wildly through the room.
"Starlet! Starlet!"
Sigh…I'm right here, Leviathan.
Everyone in the room received the telepathic message. The moment they did, they all froze and looked up to the air. They were all still very anxious, however, and receiving communication from Starlet did little to allay that. The king called out again.
"Where are you?"
Where else? At Rydia's bedside. She wouldn't take "no" for an answer this time. She wanted me there…and this time she called out to the blood that we share. I think the situation is a bit more complicated than before…
"Urk… Ugh! Augh!"
Ramuh trembled a bit in feelings of fear as he pulled away the latest part of Bahamut's smashed skull. A healing esper quickly spread a salve over the fresh innards of his head to keep it protected, but it was still a horrible sight. He and the others had disinfected the skull the best they could, spread sterile cloths over it, and were now using delicate procedures and tools to slowly remove the dead, useless parts of it. And yet, despite all this, their master was in agony.
Even now, Bahamut clenched his crooked teeth together as hard as he could. His new arm and old one were balled into fists. His talons clawed into the ground, and he constantly stiffened. Ramuh swallowed at all this, growing nervous. Slowly, trying not to quiver, he lowered his tweezers to another part of burned, dead skull. He slowly took the edge of it as Bahamut panted and struggled to recover from the pain of the last one. But the moment he pulled, the flesh connected, and he cried out in pain once again. In fear, Ramuh let it go and let it fall back against his head.
"Sir, please reconsider us sedating you."
"Just do it!" Bahamut hissed behind clenched teeth. "Get it over with!"
"My lord, just a few drops from a mountain poppy would put you out for just a few minutes. It would only be-"
"I said shut up and do it! Urk!"
The strain of screaming only served to further agitate Bahamut's wounds. Now, he was in more misery than before, and began to writhe against his chair. Ramuh couldn't believe this. Bahamut had never been this irrational before. He was determined not to be knocked out for any reason. He wanted to stay conscious through all of his painful operations. To be honest, Ramuh was shocked he stayed awake for the arm surgery. But this was even worse. Here, he didn't need him moving around complicating matters. And his howls of pain were only serving to make him nervous. This was extremely delicate.
The old man slowly exhaled. He hated to have to do this. But as a person capable of medicine, he knew that at times there could be points in which the patient didn't always know best. There were further times when their clear judgment was hampered. And now was one of those times. If Bahamut wanted this operation done right, then the old esper was afraid he would have to disobey his orders. He might incur punishment later, but he had no choice.
At this point, Bahamut was totally sightless. His useless eyeballs had been clothed over in lieu of surgical removal. He could only hear now. And that was enough for Ramuh. The esper looked down to his assisting espers. They had much the same mindset he did now. They looked up to him coolly. Ramuh, not saying a word, merely gestured over to the table of (until now) unused chemicals and liquors. One of the espers nodded, although they too sweat a little at the thought of disobeying their master, and then turned and went over to it. Ramuh waited patiently, not operating any more, as Bahamut breathed heavily and deeply in an attempt to stifle his pain. Moments later, the esper returned, this time bearing a properly measured out vial of strong medicine. Taking care not to smell it, Ramuh slowly took it and turned back to his patient. Bahamut was still gasping, and his mouth was wide open.
"Well, get on with it! I don't feel any-"
Bahamut was cut off as Ramuh poured the contents of the vial onto his tongue. Immediately, the liquid began to vaporize, and a potent cloud of smoke began to be generated. Triggered into a gag reflex, the dragon esper immediately inhaled it. He continued to gag a moment, before his tone turned violent.
"You idiot! You damn imbecile! I told you not to…sed…ate…"
Then, all at once, the fast acting drug knocked Bahamut out. His anger faded, and he immediately went limp in the chair. Despite feeling very nervous at how Bahamut had suddenly screamed at him, Ramuh still sighed in relief once he heard him quiet down. Now, at least, he would be unconscious long enough for him to finish, and he wouldn't have to worry about doing this painlessly anymore.
Taking a moment to compose himself first, Ramuh lowered his tweezers again and took the edge of the burned skull fragment again. He soon pulled it off, and then turned and placed it in a waiting tray of other amputated pieces of their king.
"So much for being able to resist her." Odin grumbled.
Shiva, Leviathan, and Odin had rejoined with Starlet. It was getting late now, though it hardly mattered in the underground world. It was always the same "sun" there. Starlet, to ensure that Rydia wouldn't call anyone else, reinstated her sleeping spell on her, this time making it potent enough to ensure the summoner wouldn't wake up until tomorrow morning. She was doing better, however. Her temperature was definitely lowering, and her swelling had gone down quite a bit. Nevertheless…it wasn't Rydia's welfare that the espers were too concerned with at the moment.
They were silent now, pondering over this latest turn of events. This could be very serious. Leviathan himself thought about it for some time, thinking over all of these latest things and taking them into consideration. He knew much of how both physical and spiritual forces worked, and he tried to bring that to bear to decipher this latest enigma. He reached only some conclusions, but what he did reveal was more of a relief to him than a danger. Perhaps even now things were not as bad as they seemed.
"I wouldn't say that, Odin."
The others turned to him at this. Their faces were plain, but not optimistic. "How can you say that, Leviathan?" Phantom Odin nearly sneered. "Starlet is one of the strongest among us. If she couldn't resist her call, then none of us can."
"But you did resist her call." Leviathan reminded, ignoring Odin and turning to Starlet instead. His wife blinked a little at this sudden turn. "Remember? You said you felt her pulling on you, but you told her you wouldn't come."
The queen merely shrugged. "That was the first time. The second time she simply pulled me more strongly than before."
To this, the king merely shook his head. "Oh no, that's not what you told me. You said she called out to the very blood that you shared. And you do share blood with her, as do the rest of us in this room. Remember, that establishes a link between us as well. She did try pulling you on her own at first. But the second time, she merely summoned you through the link between you, only this time she didn't do the normal chanting but used her new horn."
Shiva shrugged. "So?"
"So I have a new theory." Leviathan explained. "It is possible for espers to be strong enough to resist her even with her new physiology. The only reason that she ended up pulling us was because she had undergone the ceremony for exchanging blood. But another strong esper would be able to resist the summoning."
"Interesting. And with that in mind, it appears as if we are completely thwarted."
Leviathan and the others turned to Odin again. However, this time the warrior esper had drawn himself up more, and was far darker than before. Rather than be reassured by Leviathan's news, he was more upset than ever.
"So ends our great day." He sneered. "This is what becomes of us in twenty-four short hours. Rather than have an upside to one thing, we have a downside to everything. First, before we forget, let us remember that Bahamut is dead. He's been replaced by that wolf in sheep's clothing, who as we speak is being rebuilt stronger than ever. Soon, we will all have to bow down to him or perish. The moment that Wyvern has recovered, he will band us together and lead us in a war against humanity. And when he does, he will make sure to first destroy Rydia and her friends.
"Rydia, on her part, has been blessed with an incredible new power. She has gone from being a special breed of human to a new type of creature all together in the wake of her fusion with Unicorn. But now, we are robbed of one of our own kind and in its place we have a human subspecies that can command us far greater than before. If Rydia has offspring, it will be likely that they too will be horned as well, and share the ability to command us. And yet the one esper she needs to command more than any other is free of her control. And tomorrow, she will awaken only to face destruction at his hands.
"Hence, here we are. Our race is under a mad tyrant. Humanity that we have sworn to serve is doomed, too weakened in the aftermath of this last war. And the human child that all espers have called a greater friend than Palad will die within a few hours. And to all this, I ask one thing. What hope do we have now? What options are there? Is there anything we can do to avoid the doom issued for our race in the span of a single day?"
The room was silent after that. The members bowed their heads. Leviathan continued to stare out in space and rub his chin. Odin, in many ways, was right. This latest issue with Rydia only served to complicate things and dissuade them from the true problems they faced. They still had no way to stop Wyvern. No one could stand against him. And as for Rydia, even if somehow she managed to hide from Wyvern and survive him, the rest of humanity would suffer. And she would bear a race of children that would be a threat to their people. Rydia herself, they well knew, would never use them for any foul purpose. And until now, all summoners had done the same. But what if they failed? What if their line too became corrupt with time? And how would that save any of them from Wyvern?
Yet slowly, as Leviathan considered this, his mind began to stir up new possibilities. All of the new information was thrown together as if in a big melting pot and began to generate ideas for him. And slowly and surely, one began to come to mind. Even as he thought of it, a part of his mind said no to it. It depended too much on others…others that they couldn't be sure of. And it was very risky. However, as time went on, he realized there was no other choice. What happened today might be providence. And if so, he couldn't afford to pass it up. There was no time for debate.
At last, he raised his head and cleared his throat. This was just to get attention. As intended, the others turned and looked to him once more. The sea esper looked over them for a moment, making sure they were focused on him and his words. Then, he began grimly.
"Unless anyone has any other objections, I have one possibility. And I make this based on several factors. The first is that the summoners have been our closest friends for years. They treat us as equals, not as gods or monsters. They have my trust, just as the Paladin have our trust. I strongly believe that as they continue to develop through history they will continue to speak with us and interact with us, and every new child will grow up as our friend. I trust Rydia as much as if she was my own daughter. I know her children will be faithful to us as she was.
"Second, we all know that we will never be able to contend with Wyvern. With the death of Bahamut, a new era is going to take place in our world. Many changes will happen, some for good as well as ill. It is something we will have to deal with or die. And die we shall if we intend to fight Wyvern. Even all the espers in the world united would probably fail to destroy him. Someday perhaps a true hero will rise among us, but until that day we remain under his boot, and we know that we cannot contend with him. We must serve him.
"And third, there is one thing that sticks out in my mind now. Wyvern can never be made to serve us, and he never will. However, there is one that he can be made to serve, and in light of recent events, I believe it would be possible to make him serve unwillingly. Rydia's new powers transcend the necessity for ceremony and testing. In terms of doing that straight, we know that Rydia could never contest with Wyvern. But he can be forced into submission. Though if we wish to do that, we must act now or lose the chance forever. With that in mind, and all these things, I tell you all that there is a way, which will involve great sacrifice on our part, that can make Wyvern not only the servant of Rydia but of all her generations to come.
"Now I know already what you are thinking. You are concerned with the risk. We will be giving the humans the reins to a creature that not even we can contend with. The mightiest among us, the king of all espers and dragons, will now be the slave of a much weaker human. However, I urge you all to consider this. We can never make Wyvern subservient to us. We all know this. We can only make him beneath the human race. And if he was, wouldn't that be for the best? Is there any among us who has not trusted Rydia with her life? All of us gathered here…have we not all seen for ourselves what a great and pure heart she has? Have we not seen the power of light within her? Who else would we trust with such a responsibility? Only another of our kind. But now, you all know that we see Rydia as being more esper than human herself. There is no other human in a thousand years we will see that we can feel confident to grant this power.
"Furthermore, if we still do have faith in humanity…if we still believe there is goodness in them that we can trust…then we cannot risk not doing this. Wyvern, unrestrained, will destroy all goodness left in the human race. Then he will rule us with an iron fist. But now we have a way to put a check on his power. Wyvern is not Rydia's friend, but we are. She alone can be made to keep him in line and to make sure that he does as his brother did.
"This is our chance…and we would be fools not to take it. It will indeed require sacrifice on our part, but it is a sacrifice that I am willing to live with. I for one trust Rydia with my life and the lives of our people. And I intend to act on that trust. If the rest of you truly believe in humanity and the summoners, if you truly believe what Bahamut taught us all…that humans and espers could live together in peace…then you must act on this trust as well. Bahamut believed that Rydia and her friends were worth dying for. I think that turnabout is fair play. But if we are to seize this chance, we must act now. There is no time for consulting or sleeping on this. We must go immediately while we still have time. I move to seize this chance. Who is with me?"
The espers in the room were silent. They heard Leviathan's proposal…and it scared them. They still would not be the masters of Wyvern. The summoners would now. That would ensure their safety as long as Rydia lived, but what then? There was a chance, of course, that in the future, if evil summoners did arrive, good summoners would still be there to keep their power in check, to keep them from taking over the esper kingdom. But that future was still a dark possibility.
And yet…they were already in a dark future. There was already trouble ahead. There was already the threat of war. An immediate threat causes much more fear than a potential one. What more, they did trust Rydia. The summoners had always been their friends, working and interacting with their summons like equals. There wasn't a race on the Planet that the espers trusted more…save for maybe the Cetra. Didn't it make sense to try? To risk it? To gamble on this, dire as it may be? The chance would not come again, and irreversible as these results may be, it was their only chance. And Odin was not the only one who had realized by now that being patient had cost the esper race far too much…
The room was silent a bit longer…before hands slowly started to rise.
Wyvern was still deeply under the effects of the drug when the last of his remaining skull was shaped to lock in the new plate. His teeth had been repositioned, his jaws reconstructed, his old eyes removed, and everything washed and covered with disinfectant to prevent any problems from happening. He was totally blind to the world when Ramuh and Golem engaged the last part of their operation…
Slowly, a great helm was lowered onto his exposed head. Two great horns, like from a giant longhorn cattle only broader, extended from the sides. The middle was solid metal, or so it seemed. In reality, the metal was charged with magical power, and would channel Wyvern's own power into it to give the sensory images that Ramuh had promised. Now, the great esper merely had no eyes which an enemy could use to exploit as a weakness. Just the solid metal helm. And slowly, with great care, it was overlaid over the ruins of his head.
The moment it connected, the magical technology inside burst out a blast of air, depressurizing the insides and expulsing all foreign particles. The helm formed an airtight lock, and the espers went to work. They began to bolt it to his head with large metal nubs, but also stiched it in so that it would, in time, heal and fuse to his existing skull. Wyvern didn't react to this as they went to work putting the finishing touches on his body, while the rest tested out his new wings, freshly repaired.
As they did…none of them noticed, or at least minded, as Leviathan slipped in and over to the tray holding the damaged parts of Wyvern. He maneuvered a small glass vial over them only for a moment, and then turned and left.
Starlet didn't like this.
It was late now. Night had fallen. And she hated the fact that this had to happen at night. This whole thing was bad. She had a feeling of it right off the bat. She didn't like it. Too much secrecy. Too much danger involved. It had all the trappings of something evil. She took it all as an omen…and feared what would result from it. It wasn't enough that she wasn't sure that they should even do this irreversible act. It was everything else.
After they had agreed, Starlet had been given an assignment. Drawing herself up as best as she could, she had gone to see one of the few espers that couldn't live in Terratopolis: Atomos. The colossal monstrosity drove fear into the hearts of all espers, despite the fact that he was one. He had power over gravity…and as a result he could cause massive devastation to entire cities with little effort. His own kind had to use caution when around him. Starlet had mostly been sent because she was a powerful esper, able to resist his tremendous might. When she reached him, he had soon become one of the few other participants in their small fellowship of "traitors". Starlet had wanted desperately to do this without him, but Leviathan said they had to use him. He was the only one strong enough to make this work. What more…if this worked, then he too would be under Rydia's power. And frankly, they all would rather have Atomos be under Rydia's control than Wyvern's.
Yet there were more anxieties when Starlet returned. Poor Rydia…she was still unconscious. She had recovered enough from her sickness to sleep peacefully and without pain now, but under Starlet's own spell she continued to dream. And here she was…as Leviathan constructed special symbols around her and prepared her for this ceremony…like some helpless sacrifice waiting to be slaughtered. And she could only stand and wait and hope for it to be over with.
It was nearly time now. The lights in the room had been dimmed, save for an ethereal fire that Leviathan had generated. That was the finishing touch. This whole process looked insidious to Starlet now. The fire was green and burning in mid-air, as Leviathan poured over one of his own ancient books that he held open before him. This ceremony had been built by him years earlier, and he needed it to be refreshed. Rydia continued to sleep peaceful and unaware as he hovered the green flame over her and read. Starlet stood to one side, trembling as she held her vial containing Atomos' contribution. Shiva, to her right, was cold as always, yet she could sense her anxiety as well. Odin, to her other side, likewise was growing more uneasy by the second. He had been last to raise his hand, especially knowing what he would have to contribute. Now he held a cloth-covered package uneasily. But he had given in at last. Starlet uneasily held on, and hoped this would be over soon.
Leviathan looked over his book a moment longer, and then looked up. His eyes were cold and hard, determined to carry this out. With that, he turned to Odin, beckoning to him to begin. The warrior esper hesitated and swallowed, knowing this was his last chance to turn back. But then, he slowly exhaled and stepped forward, over Rydia. The small light of green flame descended, and hovered over her body. When it did, he unwrapped his cloth and held up his package. What he revealed was none other than the rotting hand of his old body.
The warrior swallowed, looking at his own desiccated remains, and then raised it over the green flame and broke one of the fingers off of it. When it did, old black blood began to run out of it, and slowly it dribbled down and into the flame.
"Blood of the dead, freely granted by the ghost."
Once he was done, he pulled back his own rotting hand and stepped back into the ring. A moment later, Starlet, trembling and nervous came forward. She raised the hand containing her own vial, and with trembling fingers uncorked it. Slowly, she tipped it and let it fall into the flame as well.
"B-B-Blood of the free esper, p-p-presented as a gift."
Starlet nearly threw down the vial once she was done, and very quickly went back and trembled. Shiva was next, and as she stepped forward she held nothing. Yet as she stood over the green flame, she raised her hand over it, and with her other she tightened her fist. A moment later, a blade made of ice materialized in it. Using this knife, she cut the end of her finger, and let the drops of her own blue blood fall onto the flame.
"Blood of the summoned esper, cut fresh from the body."
Shiva stepped back afterward. With a wave of her hand, the knife vanished, and the blood from the cut, on touching her flesh, was instantly frozen solid and clotted.
Leviathan at last stepped forward after that. His look was grim and serious. He held his book open in one hand, but with his other he held his own vial. He uncorked it with his thumb, and proceeded to empty the contents into the green flame as well.
"Unite now…and bind the blood of the enemy, taken by force."
The flame flared up at this. The green flames burst as if oil had been thrown on them, and instantly the whole room was enveloped in green. The other espers shrank back from the sudden glow as the flames burned more intently. Leviathan finished his vial, and then threw it aside. As he did, he called over the flames again.
"Let the four servants fall under the power of the one master. Let their blood be her property and her children's property."
In response, the flames began to swirl around. A great wind seemed to have taken hold of them, and now spun them like on a clay wheel or a whirlpool. The flames continued to burn forth, and now they united to form a flaming tornado. The espers watched this. Starlet's eyes filled with fear, while the others stared coldly on, waiting for it to end. The flames continued to spin for a few brief moments, forming this new funnel shape and twisting back and forth. But then, the flames suddenly melted away. The tunnel seemed to collapse in on itself, and suddenly the flames combined into one united force. A great burst went out, blinding the espers and making them look away for a moment. When theylooked back,they saw that the flames were gone. In their place was only a green orb of light.
The orb shimmered and hovered there for a moment. Starlet had, herself, seen the Lifestream before now. She knew what it looked like. And now, she was seeing something like it again.The faint green orb wasshimmering as the Lifestream did. Just as the Lifestream was the physical unity of spirits, this orb was the unity of four spirits. It had become physical as well now, and was now a piece of the mysterious material that the Cetra called "materia".
The orb only hovered a moment…and then slowly descended over Rydia's sleeping body. The girl didn't stir even as her body was bathed in the pale green light. Even as it neared her head, still she did not react. Slowly, the materia hovered low over her head, to slowly and lightly touch the very tip of her horn. The moment it did, the orb melted like glass over a fire. It distorted and ran down the spiraled horn rising from Rydia's forehead, and slowly spread over and down the sides until it covered it. Once a shimmering layer covered the horn, the materia slowly sank into it. As it did, the green light faded, and the intensity through the air vanished. Within moments, the materiawas gone. It now ran through her veins.
Starlet swallowed, still nervous at what had just happened.
It was done.
Leviathan stared at Rydia a moment longer. Then, he calmly shut his book. Still staring at her, he leaned over to the side and put it down. When he rose, he waved his hands at the lights, and his own telekinetic power turned them back on once again. Soon, the room was illuminated in the normal lights of Terratopolis. Starlet swallowed and looked to her husband. The sea esper slowly turned back to her, and gave a slow nod. When he did, Starlet slowly sighed, and then turned back. She waved a hand over Rydia's sleeping body, and sparkles once again slowly fell down over her.
As the sparkles fell and faded, Rydia finally reacted. She moaned once, but then her eyes fluttered and slowly opened. The green-haired summoner turned her head slowly, looking around at where she was. Her look was groggy and sleepy, but after a moment she turned to confusion and slowly spoke to them.
"King Leviathan…? Queen Starlet…? What are you doing here?" Moaning slightly, she raised a hand to wipe her forehead. "Where am I…? Why do I feel so strange…so weak…? Why-"
At that moment, Rydia froze. Her friends were still staring down at her coldly, none of them looking happy or welcoming. They merely stared. Rydia was too sleepy to intercept their coldness…but not anymore. Her eyes widened now, for her hand had been wiping her forehead…and had just touched the horn now protruding from it. At that, the sound caught in her throat. Her new surprised gaze looked up and out in confusion for a moment, at first focusing on nothing. But then, realizing what it was, she turned to the king and queen.
Sadly, they could only look darkly back.
"…There is a lot we need to tell you, my dear."
To be continued...
