Chapter 21 - Requiem for Departed Souls

Rain drifted in, the heavy clouds rolling slowly across the sky, hiding the glorious sun from the dismal world below. The prisms of water dove to the ground, soaking everything that it came into contact with, creating a glistening sheen of wetness over existence. But as quickly as the rain had come, the ephemeral skies became clear once more.

Ashley wished he had it that easy, that the dark, foreboding clouds that hung over his existence would just melt away. No, it could never be easy for Ashley Riot. It seemed like life was playing with loaded dice, every roll ended with him being thrown ever further down the spiral to hell.

But all that would change today. It was the end of the line, the culmination of the last three weeks work. Today, a lot of people would die...


She knew that they had moved her and she didn't like it, not a single bit. She beat herself into a frenzy, straining against the leather bindings that held her down, but to no avail. She'd never be strong enough to break them; it'd take a blade or the inhuman strength of Ashley...

Ashley...

A disturbance echoed in her mind a mere split second before the voices came, defiling her with their words, scratching away at her soul.

A scream erupted from her lungs as her back arched in pain, her arms stretched out flat either side of her body, the fingers splayed out as far apart as possible. Blood trickled from her ears and nose, the agony coursing through each and every vein and artery.

And then the pain was gone, but not without imparting some knowledge first.

"He's here..."


The screams echo reverberated throughout the halls of what remained of Duke Bardorba's manor, way out in the Graylands. This is where it had all begun just over three weeks ago; Müllenkamp had seized control of it in their fervent search for the Blood Sin, the key to Leá Monde, none of them realising that their leader, Sydney Losstarot, carried it upon the skin of his back. In came the Crimson Blades, led by Romeo Guildenstern, unsanctioned by the VKP. And then there were the last two players in the game; VKP Riskbreaker Ashley Riot and VKP Inquisitor Callo Merlose. As the Crimson Blades moved into the Manor and fighting broke out, Agent Riot used it as cover to get in himself. Stalking through the long halls, he finally found Sydney Losstarot and shot him through the heart with a Bowgun, only for Sydney to get back up and summon a wyrm to hold Ashley off as he escaped towards Leá Monde. This was where the key players had all congregated before moving on into the depths of Leá Monde. This was where the penultimate chapter of the story had begun. And this was to be where it would all end.

As the echo of Callo's screams died out, it was replaced by the sound of thunder rolling over the distant hilltops; the ominous sound booming out far and wide as a lone figure walked across the Graylands in the pouring rain.

From a second floor window, another figure watched the first approach before turning away. Twitching his moustache as he walked, Grand Steward LeSait made his way to the central hall where Callo lay strapped down to a table, Sondra standing over her, pushing the hair from Callo's brow and whispering soothingly to her lover.

The previous day, a runner had tracked them down and delivered a message to LeSait from the VKP high council demanding he returned. He had killed the messenger where he stood and dumped the body in the cellar. Those interfering fools weren't going to get a piece of this and nothing would stop him from getting the power of Leá Monde. Inquisitor Merlose was merely a tool to drag Ashley here, and as for the Pretender... well, he'd just have to dispatch of her...


He leant down low over the horse's neck as it raced across the plains towards the manor. He could see the small copse of trees surrounding it on the horizon, but he had the aching feeling that he just wouldn't make it in time, however fast his horse carried him. He had to help Ashley; he'd saved him from murdering an innocent and it was a debt that Regnak felt he might never be able to fully repay, but he had to at least try. He owed Ashley his soul.

"C'mon, faster girl!" he cried as the wind wrapped around him, rain soaking into his cloak as it billowed out around him


"It's alright Callo, everything will be alright. You don't have to worry anymore, I'll take care of you forever..."

Sondra gently ran a damp cloth over Callo's forehead in a desperate bid to calm her down, but her convulsions were becoming more and more frequent with time. Ever since that scream... the Pretender pushed it from her mind as she shook her head, continuing with the soft wiping of Callo's brow.

She still wasn't sure about having Callo bound to the table, but the Grand Steward had said that it was for Callo's own good, so that she couldn't try to kill herself. He spent many an hour with Callo by himself, talking about things, though usually to himself, Sondra believed. Callo hadn't spoken to her in days and she could scarcely believe that LeSait would fare any better.

While Callo looked fairly neat, Sondra having worked hard on keeping her well groomed, the Pretender looked positively dishevelled. Her hair was heavily tangled, her skin almost totally covered in dirt and her nose kept running from a cold she'd caught. She spent all of her time trying to take care of Callo, so much so that she had no time to take care of herself. When Grand Steward LeSait watched over the Inquisitor, Sondra went into the next room and tried to sleep, but always found herself staring up at the ceiling, her mind filled with worries and that image of Callo sat upon her bed, staring at the Pretender with hollow eyes, blood pouring forth, always came to haunt her. What could have pushed her to that? Why couldn't she ask me for help? God knows, I'd do anything I could for her...

"CALLO!" came a voice from somewhere not far away; Sondra wasn't sure, but the voice... it carried such force, such conviction...

The Grand Steward walked into the room, his eyes meeting the Pretender's. "He's here."

Her eyes opened wide as she realised whom LeSait meant: the Riskbreaker. He was here to kill Callo, to take her away. This can't be happening...

"It is," Callo whispered. "It is happening..."

"It's not fair!" Sondra wailed in reply, her hands clenching tightly into fists as they fell by her sides.

"Whoever said death was fair? It comes to us all eventually and now my time is up. Goodbye Sondra; I'll see you in the next world."

Ignoring the fact that Callo had just spoken her first words in days, she turned to the Grand Steward. "Isn't there some way we can stop him from killing Callo!"

LeSait nodded slowly before replying with, "Leave it all up to me. I know just what to do..."


"CALLO!" he cried out as he wrenched the central door from its hinges. While it felt like years, it had only been a little over three weeks since he had sneaked into the manor from the back as the Crimson Blades moved into exterminate the Müllenkamp force that had seized control. Last time he had sneaked through these halls, now he stalked down the corridor, ripping another door away from its frame and casting it away behind him. Nothing could keep him from his purpose, nothing at all.

The pain upon his back was constant now, the Blood Sin etched into his skin flaring up once more. Ever since he had 'awakened', the pain had been with him, but it didn't matter, he could handle it easily. Pain was a friend of his these days, his closest ally. Pain had guided him towards the truth and pain would guide him to freedom from this immortal coil. He liked Callo, he really did and didn't want to have to kill her, but bad things happen to good people; Ashley knew that. Joshua Bardorba was proof enough...

The Riskbreaker didn't bother to unsheathe the sin blade, instead keeping it strapped to his back as he kicked in another door. The room was empty as had been every other one he'd been in before it, but that didn't really surprise him. He could feel her life force, her heartbeat resonating throughout his head, filling his ears with the bass of its pulsations. It had been this that had led him to her; since his awakening, the link had been there and he'd started walking in an undeviating path towards her. No man or woman nor river or mountain would stop him until she died at his hands; it was destined, no escape for either of them. It was as it had always been meant to be.

He knew that Callo was but a mere few rooms away, yet he didn't increase his pace to rush there. It would neither help nor hinder anything by doing so, and as such, he walked as he always had. As the next door swung forcefully on its hinges after yielding to the thrust of his boot, Ashley casually strode through. The pain increased with every step now, but it was not near the level where Ashley would be forced to submit to it, and that he knew. This was his time, his chance, his final reprieve for all the things he'd done in his life. It was already finished.

And at last he came to the final door; this was the one that she was behind. This was the door to his destiny, to his salvation, to the fulfilment of his life's purpose, one that he hadn't even known about for most of his life.

And so he kicked in the door.


She'd heard the doors flying open as the Riskbreaker had approached, but it still came as a shock when the doors came flying off of their hinges, soaring through the room to crash several meters away from the now wide-open doorway. Well, it would have been wide-open if it weren't for the imposing figure standing where the doors were supposed to be.

Sondra stood on the other side of the table Callo was bound to, forty paces away from where Ashley Riot stood, LeSait beside her, but neither the distance between her and the Riskbreaker nor the Grand Stewarts presence nearby set her at ease. This man was here to take away the woman she loved more than anything else on the planet, and she was afraid, afraid of what would be left for her without Callo in her life.

"Ah, so you've finally arrived Ashley," the Grand Stewart remarked calmly. "Please, make yourself at home my good man. I'm afraid the upholstery seems to have taken somewhat of a battering, but the place is comely enough."

The Riskbreaker was rather more succinct with his words: "Cut the small talk you worm LeSait. You know why I'm here so just hand her over before things get messy."

"And unfortunately, this is where the niceties must come to an end. See, you have something I want, and I have something you want. However, if I give you what you want, I can't get what I want. Ever. Now, that's not really fair, is it? You expect me to give so unselfishly for nothing in return?"

"True, but I'll only take Callo; I'll leave you your life if you just hand her over."

Sondra watched the two of them placidly negotiating, her head snapping between the two of them as they took turns to speak. What the hell was LeSait doing? Was he really considering just trading Callo away?

"Well, it seems we have reached an impasse here Ashley, but I know just the thing to settle this." The Grand Stewart pulled out a dagger from his waistband and held it to Callo's throat, as she lay motionless upon the table.

"What do you think you're doing LeSait? Have you lost your mind!" the Observer screeched.

Quick as a flash, the Grand Stewart delivered a backhand to Sondra's face, knocking her to the floor, before turning his attention back to Ashley, still stood in the doorway, forty paces away.

"If you don't give me what I want Ashley, I'll simply slit Callo's pretty little neck, thus killing both her and your plans. Oh yes, I know what you're after Ashley, and I know you have to be the one to end Callo's life to rid yourself of the power within you. I understand it's a terrible burden to carry, but I'm willing to unburden you, to take the power of Leá Monde, of the Gran Grimoire and to set you free of this mortal coil... Save yourself Ashley, save your soul by helping me achieve what I set out to..."

Ashley looked down at his feet, his shoulders trembling as he shook his head. Moments later, his laughter rung out through the crumbling halls.

"People like you are the very reason I was given the power, and why I must destroy it. No one in their right mind would want this curse, would be willing to shoulder the awesome responsibility that comes with it. Why, you'd have to have lost your mind to want it... lost it to the wellspring of Leá Monde, right LeSait?"

"NO!" the Grand Stewart howled, pressing the dagger tighter to Callo's neck; some blood welling up underneath its edge. "NO! NEVER! Leá Monde won't take me like it did Batiste! I'm SANE!"

Riot turned and looked at the cowering Observer. "I hope you're taking notes on this, it's why Callo has done these things to herself. The magic of Leá Monde was never meant for the untrained mind. With every use of the dark arts, it saps a part of that person's soul away, siphoning it off as energy to feed the wellspring, and thus infect more people with its taint. The Iocus brotherhood trained daily to be able to use the powers properly, so that their minds wouldn't become corrupted and fall to insanity. Callo has never trained, and as such, every time she used her heartseer gift, it stole away another part of her essence, turning her into... this," he said as he gestured to the Inquisitor, still bound to the table, a thin rivulet of blood running down her neck. "And the same happened to Cardinal Batiste, as it has Grand Stewart LeSait here," he continued, before Sondra interrupted.

"B... but what about you? Why haven't you gone crazy either?"

"The power of Leá Monde is not just the command of the dark arts, but also all of the knowledge that has gone before. I know how to use the arcane magicks and how to protect myself from the negative aspects. In becoming the bearer of the blood sin, I have effectively undergone all of the training necessary. I am immune to the powers that seek to rid me of my soul. No, that is for me alone to do..."

"Enough of this foolishness!" roared LeSait. "Give me the power or the bitch dies now!"

And that was where Sondra snapped. Rising quickly to her feet, she crash-tackled LeSait, the two of them falling to the floor. A struggle ensued as they rolled about, the dagger still in the Grand Stewart's hand as the Observer tried to wrest it away from him, her left hand tightly gripping the wrist that held the blade. Twisting it as hard she could to force LeSait to drop it; Sondra knew she was fighting a losing battle. She threw a few quick jabs with her free hand into his side but nothing could make him relinquish his grip upon the dagger as he slowly brought it down and around to her side. Grabbing her by the throat, he pushed her upwards, away from his body, her back arching to compensate for the immense force at her neck as he slowly crushed her windpipe, laughing all the while.

Suddenly LeSait's eyes flickered away from her own to something above and behind her, moments before a blade flashed before her eyes, spearing the Grand Stewart through the forehead, a thick gout of blood flying out to cover both her face and chest. His grip upon the dagger and her throat slackened, his arms falling away to lie upon the cold stone floor.

Placing her hands on the floor to steady herself, she stared wide-eyed at the blade before, slowly lifting her head to take it all in; the way it intersected with four other blades before reaching the hilt around which two strong hands were wrapped, hands belonging to Ashley Riot. She scuttled out from underneath the arch of the Riskbreakers body over both her and the late Grand Stewart, to the table where Callo lay. Quickly undoing the leather buckles which held her lover to the table, she threw her arms around Inquisitor Merlose's neck, burying her head into Callo's chest as she wept.

"I didn't know! I didn't know!" she wailed piteously, again and again before a gentle touch upon her cheek brought her back to awareness. Callo slowly wiped away a tear that was running down Sondra's face as she gazed upon her, a small smile upon her face.

"I understand Sunny, I understand. It's not your fault. It's all over now, nothing to worry about anymore..."

Slowly Callo brought Sondra's face up to hers, their lips meeting softly as Callo's hands cupped Sondra's face to hers. With a violent twist, she snapped the Pretender's neck, releasing the corpse and letting it fall limply to the floor.

"No more pain Sunny, that was the least I could do for you..." she whispered quietly, before turning her head to where Ashley stood impassively, watching her closely. "It is time."

"Indeed it is Inquisitor Merlose," he replied calmly, sheathing his sword as he took her hand in his gently, helping her onto her feet. Laying her left arm over his shoulders, she rested her head against his chest as she wearily walked with him through the scarred hallways, out into the open air. The rain had stopped and the skies overhead were now calm, but still overcast with dark and gloomy clouds.

As thunder rumbled towards them with no lightning echoing its rage in the sky, Ashley peered into the gloomy woods that surrounded the destroyed manor. "We have a visitor it seems, but it is time for us to go Callo."


As Regnak crested the hill, he stopped his horse, pulling on the reins as he looked down upon the two figures standing under the archway that led into the manor's courtyard, solitude wrapped in and around them, partaking in their very essence. Digging his heels in, he spurred the horse into a gallop down the hill towards the figures he knew to be those of Callo Merlose and Ashley Riot, but he already knew it was futile. They watched him approach as the ether slowly enveloped them within its tender embrace, taking them away into the gloom of day that forestalled the inevitable coming of night and the end of the day, the end of everything...

Regnak eased the horse down into a slow walking pace just as he reached the place where they had been standing. The horse was visibly spooked, it's ears flattened down upon its skull, baring its teeth as it brayed to all that would hear him that something unnatural had just happened.

"Is this how it is meant to be Ashley," Regnak whispered to himself, before raising his voice into a hoarse bellow, thrusting his arms out towards the rapidly darkening sky. "Am I to always be chasing after you, after some shade that carries your likeness, but not your true essence? But then... I never really knew you at all, did I? This has all been... futile... meaningless, but still..."

Cutting himself off, he turned his horse around and they cantered back up the incline on their way back to the cold comfort of Valein, only stopping once at the hill's peak. Swivelling in the saddle, Regnak whispered two last words... "Thank you."


As the evening dusk entwined itself around his heavy limbs, he sat down, his back against a tree as she lay resting against his chest, her eyes closed; a content, serene expression drifting across her face.

Why is it I always find myself returning here, to this place, this juncture of the two points of my life? I don't even know if it was real or not, whether either even happened at all...

"What is this place Ashley? What is it to you? I can... sense a feeling of belonging from you here..."

Why did I bring her here? This place was mine, Tia's and Marco's... that day... NO! SHE DOESN'T BELONG HERE! NOT WITH THEM!

"Is this... to be the end of it all Ashley? I... think this place would be a nice play to be finally put to rest, to finish my existence once and for all...

Why is it everyone I love must die here? Why must this grass be continually soaked in the blood of those who have meant something to me; that actually made me care, even in the slightest? Too long have I been devoid of emotion, too long a dead spirit wandering this god-forsaken earth...

"I don't even know what I'm saying... I can't even see this place; my eyes... I..."

At least I can do some good things here, a final act of atonement... though it seems to me that attrition is rather more fitting...

She felt fingers rest upon her closed eyelids, and then... a tingle, building up into blinding pain before it faded away.

"W...what have you--"

"Open your eyes Callo."

"I..." She opened her eyes. "I see nothing..."

"Are you so sure? What we assume to be nothing often conceals many things we knew naught about..."

She swivelled in his lap, turning to look at his face. While his mouth held firm, giving no show of emotion, she could see apathy in his eyes, pathos he had kept covered for a long time.

And then it hit her

"I... see you... I see you!"

"'Tis only the darkness of night that covers and blinds you Callo, but even that can be undone."

With a gesture of his hand, the sun rose up into the sky, bathing the fields around them in light, while she sat in the shade of a large oak tree atop a small incline. Ashley's arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her gently against his chest so that she could feel the rise and fall of his lungs as he inhaled and exhaled. Overhead, a nest of birds awoke, confused by the rising of the sun when there should have been none. But still, it was there... so they rose and took to the sky, singing their sweet morning song.

"It's... it's beautiful Ashley..."

Beauty... yes, that's what it is, natural and elegant in its simplicity. Simple things happen here; things are born, things die, things live, breathe and eat...

"I... I'm afraid Ashley. I know why you've brought me here and I... I am ready to go. I have nothing keeping me here, binding me to this existence, but still... I am afraid. A part of me clings fervently to life and doesn't want to go to whatever is awaiting me on the other side, if there is even an other side..."

"I understand Callo; I feel exactly the same way. One week from now, my time comes as well, and a part of me doesn't want to go. But that is the nature of all living things; we cling tenaciously to that which we accept as our lives and we can never truly part from that longing, but fate is inevitable. What will happen will happen, that is the only real truth. As much as we may want to believe that we can change our destinies, to change what was meant to be, to believe so is to lie to ourselves. We can only hope that our hearts desires can be fulfilled in the short time that we have upon this plane of existence. That is all that man can truly hope for..."

"If that's how you feel Ashley, then I am sorry for you," Callo said as she hung her head, shaking it; long brown locks gliding serenely through the air. "Life is what we make of it; that is the very tenet of existence that we must cling to for it to mean anything at all. Otherwise, what is the point of living? If we cannot love, if we cannot feel joy, happiness or sorrow, if we must proclaim that whatever happens was meant to be, then what was the point of any of it? The future must be fluid, constantly shifting, our destinies within our own hands for us to make our own decisions... I refuse to believe it can be anything else. Joseph, the Duke, Sydney, Hardin, Alex, Sondra, LeSait... they did not die for nothing, I cannot accept that! There must be meaning, can't you see that Ashley? Yet I was the one who cut my own eyes from my face... You are a fool Agent Riot, a stupid, ignorant, arrogant fool who thinks he knows everything, but knows nothing at all!"

A frigid silence hung over the still air between them, before Ashley finally broke it: "So be it."

A fire built up within Callo, the pain exploding throughout every vein and artery, venule and arteriole, capillary and fibre of her body, rapturous pain, exquisite pain that she couldn't get enough of, running riot within her. Eyelids fluttering, she closed her eyes and took one last breath, before fading away...