"You seem well," he observed with a spark of satisfaction. "Taking time off has done you well." For indeed, Symonne appeared more healthy than he ever saw her before. Her skin took on more colour and she appeared more mature than child-like now. Symonne inclined her head, gaze straying away from him to their surroundings; Heldalf paid it no mind, knowing well enough that this village was long abandoned. He did not recall its name anymore however, which was a shame. Empty houses gaped at worn dirt paths and overgrown vegetation.
When the seraph girl kept her silence, he prompted her gently: "What did you wish to report?" It must be important, that he knew; Symonne would not insist on meeting face to face otherwise. She fidgeted ever so slightly, a sign of being uncomfortable that he worried about. Even with his domain drawn back in, the Malevolence he exuded could still bother her.
"Before I get to that," Symonne began a moment later, "I want to ask you something." Her expression remained carefully blank, he noticed; she stopped fidgeting and her phrasing was different to what he recalled. Yet Heldalf left it uncommented and nodded his assent, awaiting her inquiry: "Why is it that we carry out our plans so slowly? With your power, you could have corrupted the world long ago if you so wanted. You let the shepherd live, too."
It was an unexpected question right now, though he had figured she would ask eventually. Heldalf's gaze wandered skyward as he began to pace. "Putting it into words is difficult, Symonne. Ever since I forced a bond with Maotelus, there is an odd... feeling, deep down in the back of my mind. I do not know if this is natural for a bond with a seraph, but I know he shares this sensation with me." A questioning glance went to Symonne, who shook her head mutely. "I see. Regardless, ever since I began, this feeling persisted. Something unknown is hiding in the shadows, slumbering yet inspiring fear in even a Great Lord. Without having any proof or ever seeing a shred of its existence, I know for certain that acting too fast will wake whatever it is. I already favoured caution and a slow, methodical approach to transition as many people into the future alive and well as possible, but this made me absolutely certain it was the correct idea. Does that answer your question?"
Symonne mulled his words over, posture faltering in an instant. She heaved a sigh that alarmed Heldalf. "I know what it is, then," she declared without any joy about it and unable to meet his gaze. "If only you told me sooner, things may have been different. But the monster in the dark since woke and has been taking up your trail." Her revelation made dread creep into his heart; even the slumbering god he was connected with shuddered when Symonne spoke the creature's name: "Innominat has been sealed atop the heavens for a thousand years, ever since Maotelus took his position as Great Lord."
Her eyes went to the same spot by his side again and Heldalf's instincts began to scream. His own gaze went there to find nothing... and then there was a woman staring at him. Another shock went through his bond with Maotelus at the sight, but not the bone-rending fear he expected; regardless, Symonne brought her here and the stranger stood ready to strike, expression firmed into a stern mask. He had been betrayed.
Without ever taking his eyes off the clear threat, the Lord of Calamity addressed his most trusted with but one word: "Why?" Despair bubbled in his gut together with fear, then turned to anger before being pushed back. Symonne's gaze rested on the ground.
"I started to love this world," she admitted softly, fingers clenched into fists. "I can no longer accept consigning it to oblivion." After a long pause, she forced out a shuddering "I'm sorry".
Heldalf wanted to rage and shout, to tear her apart for betraying him, but he still remembered his own fall from grace. He had sworn himself to never be like those who turned him into what he was now. He always desired to be better and so he forced back the vitriol. Rather, despite the bitter taste his words would leave, he lied: "I forgive you."
Symonne shuddered and sunk to her knees, tears glistening between her fingers. The woman she brought glanced at the sobbing seraph before sizing him up again. "You're different than I expected," she decided a moment later. He had to fight not to bellow still, rather inclining his head in attempted politeness.
"I am Georg Heldalf. Who do I have the honour of speaking with?"
Her eyes narrowed, but she did not attack yet. It would happen eventually, they both knew that. "Velvet Crowe," she introduced herself curtly. "First Lord of Calamity and now goddess of darkness." He was taken aback by that, but even more so when she made her demand: "But from what I've seen, I'm going to give you a choice here: sever your bond with Maotelus and give up on spreading Malevolence. Leave this world at peace so that it can be rebuilt into something greater than it ever was!"
Symonne's sobs cut off, his former confidante just as astonished as Heldalf himself; he had been offered mercy despite Velvet Crowe's clear intentions. All he had to do was to give up his dream of a kinder world in favour of her own. He ground his teeth at that, once again tempted to berate the woman for her insolence; but Heldalf held his tongue, claws and tail tensing. Malevolence began to ooze out of his body. "I am afraid not," he declined. "I have to refuse." She nodded as if she already expected it, once again making no motion to attack despite her own tense body.
"One last thing then: tell me, why do you think birds fly?"
What an odd question to ask. He knew that there were philosophical aspects to it, but disregarded thinking about it for long. "It does not matter why, they are birds and they fly. That is all there is to it."
On the last word, he charged.
Heldalf expected Velvet to be surprised, but she leaned under of his swipe smoothly, pulling out his leg with the same motion; she was faster than even him, delivering two swift kicks that sent Heldalf flying. He steadied himself and made to land, having to deflect a blade of Malevolence moments before contact; the force in her strike tore through the village's center, leaving a gaping wound. More kicks kept Heldalf on the defensive as he found no openings to exploit before she closed them.
Velvet was like wind, ever in motion. She was like water, flowing from one stance to the next without pause. She was like fire, relentless in her assault. She was like earth, holding steady against even the strongest of blows. But more than all of that, she was darkness incarnate; the world screamed as she rent reality itself asunder, bridging any distance he took in an instant. Her might forced it all to contort, his own domain drawn away to fuel her dark artes. The soil melted and began to entangle him, forcing Heldalf to block. He took a knee to his left claw and felt it shatter just as black flames encircled him.
He managed a single step back before being held tight, barely enough to evade Velvet's haymaker; then he saw her arm contort and form into a vicious, crimson claw mid-swing; it was more than long enough to reach, a single glance at it enough to see death. Velvet screamed at him and he noticed the single scratch on her cheek in that moment. The only wound she had taken despite his power. Heldalf could not dodge and could not block, no, so rather he leaned into the strike with his own claw, hammering it into her face just as half his body was torn away. More than that, something reached into his very soul to sever the bond with Maotelus.
Velvet stumbled while he hit the ground in shock; a trickle of blood rolled down her nose and forehead, he saw in his fading vision. Heldalf nodded to himself, content with having at least landed a solid blow on the goddess. Then a flurry of red beams split space and himself apart.
Elsewhere, in a maelstrom of Malevolence that warped the very world around it, Maotelus shuddered in fitful slumber. For but a moment, he could think clearly, beheld through the eyes of another that which he never thought to see again; his very being ached to see her once more, but he already forgot who he saw. His mind was clouded, yet the aching in his seven hearts did not subside.
Flame fluttered over his curled-up body again, divine silver meaning to burn away his shackles. It sputtered out before more than a smidgen was removed. Yet despite the renewed failure, this terrible pressure on his mind was gone; the Malevolence barely grew stronger now and despite the agony, he could hold against it. Even steeped in darkness, he could rest in the confines of his heart's flame. He hoped for something he no longer remembered, certain that all would be well.
. .
. .
Velvet breathed slow and steady, staring down at what was left of her enemy. They did not fight for long, but a large swath of land was broken and ravaged. Pursuing Heldalf left holes in reality that would take months to close up, plains were currently warped into spirals reaching for the heavens, and the like. She would have to fix that before leaving, same as the hellions her rampage created.
First of all however, Velvet devoured the pieces of Heldalf and felt his soul pass through her body; to be stripped clean of Malevolence and be returned to the world.
Next, she made the trek back to where it all started; Symonne was still there, curled into a ball and sobbing quietly for what she had done. Velvet scooped her up and held her tightly, giving the girl time to cry it all out as she whispered soft reassurances. She had loved Heldalf like a father and Velvet could see why; yet traveling with Margaret and Alisha, being with Nica, Laphicet, and Edna returned something to this seraph that she likely never knew she had: a conscience.
"I'm not sorry I did this, Symonne," she whispered once the girl calmed down somewhat. "But I am sorry that it had to be." With Heldalf dead, the Bloodwing Butterflies could get to work tearing into his agents and allies from within; his own secrecy would be his undoing as only his most trusted knew the full expanse of his supporters. Therefore, his death could be kept a secret.
"It's okay," Symonne assured her softly. "I made this choice. Thank you for giving him a chance, at least."
"It felt right." Velvet admitted, having been moved by how much humanity there still was in Georg Heldalf; she expected a monster, not a gentleman. Perhaps in other circumstances, they would have even been allies. Seeing how devastated the seraph girl was, she carded through her hair a while longer. Morbid curiousity welled up as the minutes passed. "Did you love him?"
"I don't know." Symonne hesitated before pushing out of the embrace with a lost look. "Can we go home now?"
Home, she said. Her defeated tone made Velvet's heart clench, but that one word gave her hope it would turn out well in the end. "Alright," she agreed and picked Symonne up, letting her ride piggyback; she was lighter than expected. "Let's go. I'll make you something nice to eat and we can talk a little." Symonne just hugged her from behind, completely silent. "Or would you rather be with Laphi for a bit?"
"...I don't know."
"That's alright, we can figure it out."