Mental Disaster
As much as they needed to sleep, they just couldn't get it accomplished.
Simply, they lived with the constant fear of that night be one of those nightmare nights... even if some of them still wore the maid outfit, it was always possible one of the soldiers with that particular liking would be the one to visit them.
For a certain girl, however, this didn't matter at all. Her fight spirit had been broken by this point in her new life she had been forced to.
She wasn't exactly the only one in that condition but she was the only one who had been captured in the battlefield and, instead of being transformed into a living weapon as the other hero archer because of her lack of power, the soldiers decided to put her beauty of young lady to "better" use.
She remained silent and unmovable as she heard the door of her cell be opened. Whatever this man was it didn't matter, it was hopeless trying to fight against the chains that bounded her and transformed her into a toy, she was just let him have his way on her and hope it didn't last much.
Because of all this, it took her some seconds to process the fact this person had thrown a towel to her... in all this time, the only thing that had covered her skin was that green scarf she always had.
She had barely time to blink at this when she heard... something she had given up on the idea of ever hearing, followed by an already strange feeling of freedom on her wrists.
"Get up."
Unfortunately, she couldn't understand what that voice was saying... yet, the fact it had a tone clearly feminine made her raise her head to see...
For a moment she panicked when she noticed the uniform of this soldier was similar to the one of the... Emblians?
It was the white color instead of black that told her something was off...
After some seconds, that woman helped her to stand up and ensure the towel was hiding appropriately every part of the body.
Something of life returned to her eyes as they walked out... and the ex-slave saw how all the other women who had suffered her same destiny... were being... released...
Just like her...
As she finally could see some light coming from the exit... it was like a miracle.
Sobs and tears of happiness, not only from her but all the other women, could be heard through the whole dungeon.
Her sight went even more blurry when another soldier offered what she had almost forgotten how it felt to wear...
Clothes.
She just couldn't articulate even a single word, the relief she felt was incredible...
She could swear her tears had been more at this moment than in all those horrible nights of suffering.
"Uhm... perme... (Um... excuse me...)"
She turned to see... a boy who had a very similar green hair to her... but his facial features brought her memories... more sad ones as the image of the corpse of best friend returned to her mind.
"Yi som Lugh... Podild yoted terme sur nabre? (I'm Lugh... could you please tell us your name?)"
She needed at least five minutes to relax enough. Nothing to be surprised though, she wasn't the only one who could barely talk after such a traumatic experience.
"R-R-Reb-b-becca..."
Her name was written down by one of the soldiers, just like all the other women recently released.
The boy gave her the best smile anybody could force in that kind of context and quickly she was allowed to get dressed in privacy.
Raigh let the dolls lay on the table by his side, he was inside the "lab" tent of the order.
Once more, in front of him were heroes chained up to ensure they wouldn't attack him once their wounds were healed. Although this time they were less many than the last time.
The known survivors by the moment were: Lyn, Florina, and Wil.
It was very curious having an "evil" version of his "aunt"
As he placed his fingers on Lyn's forehead and touched again the dolls... he finally confirmed what he suspected when he finally touched the correct one.
The dark magic inside the doll had a connection with the one flowing in the heart and brain of this woman. Considering what he had learned from Kiran, he could call them a "quantum connection"
The question of how exactly this worked became present... and he decided to try the simple answer.
As he applied pressure over the doll, suddenly Lyndis started struggling even more than before and the dark energy began to get out. At the moment he confirmed this, he quickly dropped the doll.
If he was honest, he was expecting something more complicated as a way to kill the hero... but well, sometimes a simple thing was practical enough to work.
The fundamental question, however, was... how to extract the dark magic without causing any secondary effects on these people? from what part of the body should he attempt it?
Starting near the organ affected might be dangerous...
The boy rubbed his chin as he considered possibilities.
He, however, got interrupted when he heard a voice behind him.
"I'm here to report."
The black mage turned to see the personal protector of his "stepdad"
"Let's talk outside, these guys here cause much noise."
They didn't stop walking once they were far enough though. Perhaps both just wanted to have a nice walk.
"So... anything interesting?"
"After lady Tiki got teleported magically by the sacred relic of Kiran to the medical tent, Nino had to clean all the blood that stained her clothes and Kiran's ones. Then, sometime later, Kiran finally awoke... however... he's behaving strangely."
Raigh crossed his arms as he raised his left eyebrow.
"Define strangely."
"I've heard and seen him cry sometimes, usually when he's alone at his tent or room and after middle-night. Whatever is the cause of this is unknown... but he crying in public and hugging Nino is something very off coming from him."
Raigh blinked for three seconds, then, he had a mix between his bastard smile and a confused one displayed by his face. The truth should be told, he could not imagine Kiran letting tears coming out from his eyes, "Vale... (Right...) and what happened after that?"
"He made a declaration of protection to Nino and then he kissed her."
If the dark mage had known how the sound a vinyl disc sounded when it was getting scratched, he perhaps would have compared that to what happened to his mind as he heard that.
"Wait a minute... WHAT?!" he needed at least that a half a second to turn his head to see the ninja in total disbelief.
He completely didn't expect his plan to work... that well...
But wait a minute... why in the hell Kiran would go from the extreme of not wanting to admit his feelings... to the absolute opposite side of the coin and kiss her that fast?!
Something really bad must have happened to his brain!
"It was a kiss on the cheek," Kagero quickly cleared out the misunderstanding. "But once he did that, he seemed to suffer another of those strange migraines. The healers attempted to help him but he just ran away to participate in the battle."
"Considering your voice tone I suppose nothing wrong happened to him." the dark mage narrowed.
"He faced a hero that looks a lot like Roy, If I remember correctly he was his father. There was a moment when he suffered another migraine and let his weapons fall, but he managed to defeat the hero in the end... the surprising factor is the fact he used magic to accomplish that."
Magic?...
Kiran had used magic?
All the times he had attempted it resulted in failure... which made sense considering his nature as an interdimensional alien being who belonged to a universe where the magic didn't exist at all.
Raigh could only imagine that meant the quintessence had granted to him that skill... had it been integrated into his organism positively?
It would still be necessary to confirm the idea that the substance allowed a being to increase his lifespan with the experiment of the flyes though.
"Right... continue."
"I had to drag him back to the medical tent. However, his erratic behavior continues, and even worse, he seems to be depressed because Nino left without saying a word."
Raigh shook his head. "I'll go check him, thanks for your report."
"Always pleased to serve." the ninja bowed and then she left.
The dark mage walked in the tent at the same moment Kiran was receiving a lemon tea from a nurse. Even with that, Kiran still had a hand placed on his hair and a facial expression that denoted pain.
"May I know what the fuck is happening to you?" Raigh sat by Kiran's side. He was using the same chair his mother had been sitting on previously.
Kiran's silence continued for at least a minute, then, he finally responded. "Could you please remind me what were we doing before suddenly everything in my mind is foggy?"
Raigh coughed a little before responding. "You absorbed quintessence from a corpse."
Kiran analyzed his hands for some seconds. "Does that mean this body is the same one I owned before that happened?"
Raigh's confusion increased. "Eh... yes... besides quintessence now being a part of you... what in the hell do you think would change?"
Kiran/Mark reflected at this revelation.
If Kiran and Mark's bodies hadn't fused into a single one and, by extension, that didn't happen to the brains too... and the only thing thing that supposedly happened was that Kiran's body had obtained the quintessence that once belonged to Mark... this could mean the mind was just Kiran.
Or Mark's soul combined with Kiran's fully material mind could be a possibility? this idea, coming from the strong spirituality of Mark, clashed quickly with Kiran's personality as the scientist could not believe in the existence of something immaterial.
The most similar thing that could be described as "really supernatural" by Kiran/Mark was the idea that the "spirits" had granted to Lyn her first "sacred" sword... and to that, Kiran argued it was just that the priest had been the one that truly broke the spell.
How in the hell a being that is not matter works anyway?
How can you store memories obtained by material methods inside something that, by definition, isn't matter?
How it was possible that, in the case the souls existed, the personality of anyone could be changed by brain damage?
What was the difference between something that was spaceless and timeless... with something that just didn't exist at all?
The thoughts of a person were inside their head and they had a beginning and an ending, so, as much as people dislike the idea, the mind was ligated to the matter!
He had obtained these memories by a substance that had a place and mass! that wasn't a soul!
Mark's faithful life personality was being brutally and mercilessly questioned by Kiran's personality. All this caused mental pain which Kiran's side considered a weakness.
"Let's... let's... let's just say I feel different right now." he placed his other hand on the head.
"I heard you were able to cast a spell."
"Yeah... that wasn't complicated..." all Mark's knowledge regarding the subject would have been welcomed had it not caused this whole mental mess.
"And how is that thing about you kissing my mom?" Raigh's bastard smile became more prominent.
However, at this, Kiran's facial expression changed... instead of displaying the fury and frustration of always that had been potentiated recently... it was showing an emotion Kiran hadn't been so open to denote since that day his parents had interned him into that mental hospital...
Depression.
"I don't know what the fuck what I was thinking... or well, I guess I wasn't doing any mental process at all... because I screwed up everything at a legendary level! and everything because... urgh!" he suffered another migraine. By this moment, the nurses thought it had been enough. "Urgh!... it's like... try to imagine your personality and Lugh's one sharing a mind."
Raigh grimaced. "Sounds like torture."
"That's what is happening! uuuuurgh!" if this continued, Kiran could argue he was about to die by a stroke. A coincidentally funny way to end the life for a guy as intelligent as him.
Raigh took a while to comprehend what Kiran was implying. "... you mean?..."
"I inherited the memories of that fucking corpse!"
As the pain reached critical levels, Kiran received a new cup of tea... which the nurses had adulterated with the same "sleeping pill" Sharena and Anna had used on him before. As result, it didn't take too much until Kiran's sight became blurry, and then he was lying on the bed with the consciousness off.
Clara sighed as she rubbed her forehead. She hoped this would help him...
"I-Is it really possible?..." Raigh wondered, his mouth very opened.
The quintessence had even more characteristics than they had predicted?
Was it possible... that effect of accumulating memories from other beings... which seemed to result in personality clashes as Kiran described... could be an explanation for why the previous dark mage that used the substance had lost his sanity? as a result of mixing multiple personalities constantly after every absorption?
"Where did he get a soul?"
"Uh?" Raigh turned to see Tiki.
Nino was lying inside her tent. Her blankets covered completely, hiding her from the rest of the world as if the dark of the night wasn't enough.
To say she was confused would be a euphemism...
The image of Kiran looking at her in that... unusual way... those eyes usually filled with rage or stress in the least bad of the cases... now so relaxed, denoting love... that so beautiful promise... and finally...
She had to shake her head so many times and so quickly after she noted that unconsciously she had placed her hand on the cheek where she had received such a sweet kiss.
Even though she didn't a mirror at hand and even the darkness wouldn't allow her to see her now very red face... she could feel perfectly the warm by each side of her mouth...
Just... just... why did he do that?!
She attempted to rationalize everything and calm herself down... it was true she knew that in some countries, for example, a kiss on the cheek was a method of saluting... but Kiran had never kissed her there before! he had always gone for her forehead! not to mention that context had nothing to do with saluting at all!
Then there were his tears... it had been like he thought she had died or something!
Could it be possible?... was that the reason he became so emotional at the tent?...
The principal problem was that Nino could claim that the kiss was with romantic intentions! it felt totally like that!
But... didn't he consider her his little sister?!
Well... technically speaking... she wasn't... but she also didn't have a blood relation with Linus or Lyod... although it was true the circumstances that had happened between Kiran and her were very different... that without mentioning they had raised for years...
Had he never genuinely considered her his little sister?... did he just decide to say yes to her when she suggested the idea?
This recalled her how had been his reaction when she asked about it.
"Kiran... if I'm staying with you... does that make us siblings?"
With a disinterested face, he responded. "I guess we are."
It was true... he probably had never thought it until that moment...
Remembering more, she had to admit Kiran treated her in a way sweeter than her stepdad or her siblings...
It's not like they didn't hug her... but Kiran really did that much more frequently... and then she thought more deeply about it... the kisses on the forehead and caressing her hair so gently... that was something a boy would normally do with his girlfriend... well... he caressed the hair of other girls too... but she couldn't believe he could be a womanizer somehow... and she was sure she was the only one he had kissed on the forehead... and so gently...
Was it possible that kind of kisses had more emotional value in his culture?
Wait...
She shook her head again as she got up to be sitting rather than lying there.
Why she was so obsessed about getting an answer regarding this?!
P-Perhaps she was just overthinking all this...
Why she allowed that to affect her that much?
It was a fact she could describe Kiran as a gentleman... and even though he probably wasn't inside the top 10 of most handsome men of the order... or even the Lycian league... he wasn't bad... without to mention his extreme intelligence and determination to share his knowledge with the most worlds as possible... how much he cared about not only his friends but their descendants...
She stopped her train of thought as she realized everything she was thinking.
However, her doubts about what Kiran actually felt for her didn't disappear just for "throwing away" what she liked of him.
Even more bizarre ideas appeared in her mind.
Had his "heart attack" been because of how cute he thought she was?... did he really consider her that beautiful?
He had mentioned something called diabetes... but she had no idea what it was...
As much as she had desired to sleep... that whole night she never managed to do it.
Something the writers of the game seem to have forgotten regarding Veronica and the Empire is that scene at the prologue part 3 where Veronica says: Steal for me. Spread destruction, Kill all those who stand in your way. All that garbage... and then you mean to tell me that later Veronica says she does not want to kill civilians because "the Askarians will be part of my empire"...? I mean, what the hell? She's not gonna kill them! she's stealing their supplies and mercilessly killing the members of countless families... but she's not gonna kill them, no!
I mean, if the Emblians are that bad and nationalists to the point they would commit suicide if their king dies... they seem like the local version of the Nazis... then you can not later try to make me feel sympathy for them! they are not fighting to get rid of a clerical power or something like that! they just fucking want conquest!
And all this brings us to something that would inevitably happen because it's a horrible war crime that has been happening since the very first invasion... something that was done in Berlin by the Soviets and by the Nazis too in their conquested territories... and by many other armies anyway...
Even if Veronica herself does not order this, it's just inevitable the soldiers of lower rank would start "playing" with captured women... and unfortunately, some of the heroines would suffer this...
Actually... now I think about it, an even crueler concept as an idea for this story is crossing my mind right now...
Don't get me wrong, some Askarians are doing that too, obviously, but you'll see that later.
Anyway, you have now a better comprehension of why I included that first scene (that and the fact that, as I've said, by now the story is going to be darker, especially because I'm gonna start introducing the first details of the Muspell arc). Because Rebecca was enslaved rather than transformed into a puppet by a contract, she didn't receive a magic translator and that's why she didn't "speak" in English.
I just hope that, because "that" wasn't actually showed I won't have to raise this story to M rank... but well... time will be the one with the final definition... and the website.
Man, we're about to reach the 50 chapters... that makes me wonder if my plan of 100 chapters is actually gonna be like that since... well, we'll have an arc between this world and the world of Birthright... then the world of Conquest... the world of Radiance... then the arc of Muspell... man XD. I don't want to imagine how bad this would be if I hadn't decided to leave out the other books... Although perhaps I could merge the worlds of Conquest and Birthright as a corrupted version of the Revelations timeline.
Probably, in the end, I'm actually going to need 150 chapters XD. Are you guys thinking this is degenerating into the trope called Arc fatigue? if you don't know what is that, read it on TV Tropes.
That kinda would explain why there are fewer reviews than before...
Anyway... let's answer the review.
Half-BeastDragonSoul2013
Yeah... that ticket is particularly bad...
Nice! wish you more luck!
