The Emperor's nerves still buzzed violently from Chaos's attacks, lingering at the base of his neck and spreading all the way to his fingers and knees. His armor clung to his tingling skin from an enraged sweat that had broken out over him, and his face, neck, and ears burned hot, almost to the point of being uncomfortable. His heart beat wildly out of control inside the tightness of his chest, and the embarrassment he suffered played over and over in his mind. Chaos's attack, the pain he felt, the others' gleeful reactions, and his vicious and unforgiving shame replaced any coherent thoughts he might have had. He traveled the world blindly, his only goal to be entirely alone. Cosmos's realm or Chaos's, he didn't care, but he could barely contemplate going anywhere familiar, where any of the other warriors could find him and gloat.
Pandaemonium was out of the question, then. He instead teleported to a Gateway in the Melmond Fens that he was sure was abandoned by both Cosmos and Chaos - deemed too unimportant to defend or fight over.
A single manikin appeared in the Gateway while he crossed the floor, and the Emperor didn't even break stride. He lifted his staff with his power, vibrating fingers so tense they were locked, and he reared back, hurling it towards the manikin with a throwing motion so hard he staggered through it to keep his balance. The sharp barb on the end of his staff screamed through the air and punched straight through the manikin's stomach, and it doubled over with an empty, warbled sounding grunt. Chunks of grey crystal broke off and scattered with a satisfying clatter, spilling like blood over the ground. The Emperor then slammed the manikin to the ground with force magic from above, and the manikin crumbled entirely, unmoving. He walked past and grabbed his staff, wrenching it free without bothering to note who the manikin had been.
He touched the Stigma of Chaos and was teleported to his destination, the Realm of Darkness, to wallow in his fury. He was too upset to stand still. Pent up antagonism and hostility twitched beneath his muscles, so he paced angrily, dragging his staff along the ground behind him so hard that the metal howled and left a trail of sparks in its wake. He put no faith in gods, let alone a god as weak and ineffective as Chaos. The Emperor's magic had sundered mountains and broken entire worlds, and Chaos could only pretend to it in this world of his. The Emperor knew if he had been prepared and not distracted by Garland's challenge, he could've embarrassed Chaos in the same way that Chaos embarrassed him without raising a finger. It made Chaos's insult all the more upsetting and embarrassing. Chaos deigned to rise to the Emperor's station and attack him, make him look so weak in front of the others, because he was threatened. There was no other reason he could fathom. If any of the others feared the Emperor and his obvious power, surely they were cleared of those notions after Chaos's demonstration, and that was another layer of affront.
He wasn't accustomed to failure. He never put himself in a position to even consider it an option. He moved pieces into place so far ahead of time that no situation was ever out of his control.
"Rrgh!" he growled through his clenched teeth. He called a purple bomb to his hand and hurled it at the nearest pillar, not realizing how close he was to it. The explosion roared in his ears and knocked all other sound away, and the force blew his hair back and threw him to the side. He cried out, staggering back, and quickly touched a hand to his ear to deafen the ringing. Rocks rained down around him, and he was showered in pellets and stones that pinged across his armor and stung his exposed skin. Another silly, uncharacteristic mistake that he made. He threw his staff to the ground so he could hold his head and steady himself, but didn't hear the clang above the roaring in his ears. He had to wait until the ringing died down to move again. Just as he began to make out the natural sounds of the realm, he heard something else clatter over the wind.
Clacking. He heard clacking. Like wood hitting together.
Someone was there.
"Who's there? Is it Exdeath? Sephiroth?" Chaos decided to finish what he had started after all. Take out his biggest competition. "Where are you, you pathetic coward?" he yelled, sweeping his staff threateningly. The silence went unbroken, and he quickly tried to pick up on the presence near him. He was still a bit disoriented from the explosion, and this wasn't his world, it was the Cloud of Darkness's. His power of perception quickly diminished, seemingly sucked into the grey void in the center. "So Chaos sent you to destroy me already, did he? You should know that I am still in an extremely foul mood! Show yourself, and face my power! Whoever dare challenges me, the Emperor Mateus of Palamecia-"
The threat died on his lips as a woman emerged from behind a column near the center of the room. A woman he had never seen before. He paused, momentarily confused out of his anger, and assessed her. Her face was slender with a sharp, contoured jawline. Her lips were arced into a slight frown, and her wide, piercing green eyes were hard and full with a hesitant challenge. She had long, blond hair gathered in a braid over her shoulder, and it framed her face well. The woman was admittedly beautiful. Incredibly so. Almost distractingly so. As he looked more deeply into her eyes he saw dark green with flecks of lighter shades that had a natural magnetism, drawing him into staring. She was dressed in light colors, and had a bow in her hands that she kept low and ready.
When the Emperor regained his senses, his anger returned. He left to prevent the others from gloating. He refused to be embarrassed again, no matter what form the others took. He looked the woman over from head to toe once more before he spoke. "Trying out a new form, Ultimecia?" He squared his shoulders to her and called his staff from the ground, snatching it out of the air. "And who is this?"
She only stared, mouth opening as though she wanted to reply, but out of Ultimecia's character she seemed to be struck speechless. Her lack of response didn't bother the Emperor. It was irrelevant who she was meant to be.
"No matter. You cannot intimidate me with her image. I know you cannot use others's powers in battle, so this woman cannot help you." The Emperor raised his staff and pointed it at her, and she took a step back. "Already afraid? I admit, I was not expecting you to be my assassin," he continued. "Chaos has taken leave of his senses, sending one so powerful to rid himself of me. And I'm surprised you agreed! You know of my power, and you know I will give no quarter, especially to you! It only works out in my favor! Eliminating you would surely remove you from my opposition!"
"I am not Ult- . . . Ultimecia," the woman said carefully, her voice light and smooth despite her tension. Nothing like Ultimecia's rattling purr that grated on his nerves. He scanned her closer, and sure enough her very energy was different. Her aura was one of magic like Ultimecia, but gentle and pink around her, not red or purple. In her heart there was White Magic, and it was powerful. Far more powerful than Ultimecia.
" . . . No, it appears you are not," the Emperor sighed. He would've like to tear her soul from her body. He lowered his staff, resting the tip on the ground. The woman shifted, eyes flicking over his shoulder to the Stigma of Chaos behind him. He was blocking her exit. "If you wish to leave, girl, do so quickly. My quarrel is not with you." He sat back again on an invisible throne made of his magic. The woman took a few steps to the side, intending to give him a wide berth, and he watched her, staring at her hands as one clenched around the grip of her bow and the other trailed to her back, where he saw for the first time that she had a quiver of arrows. She didn't trust him not to attack her as she passed. His patience quickly evaporated, and irritability and rage surged in his heart. He decided not to let her go. This warrior was new, inexperienced by the look of her, and he wanted an easy battle. He wanted to work off all of the pain Chaos caused him and win a battle in the new cycle. She would do. "Stop," he said, throwing his staff to the side and blocking the path she intended to take. The woman gasped and jumped back.
The Emperor stood from his throne and strolled towards her, and the woman stepped away from him in sync, keeping the distance. "What is your name?" he asked her. She darted to her left and the Emperor disappeared and reappeared in her path.
Her face went white and she swallowed hard, realizing he wasn't going to let her walk away. "Rosa," she said, adjusting her grip on the bow. She finally dragged an arrow from the quiver and rested it on the bow. The alarm sat thick in her eyes, no longer wide with challenge.
"Rosa," the Emperor repeated. "Welcome to the war of the gods," he said, spreading his arms. He took a few more steps towards her, intending to get close enough to look into her eyes when he trapped her and destroyed her. He could imagine she was Chaos, or even Ultimecia. It would bring him joy to destroy Ultimecia.
"No closer," the woman warned him, half-drawing her bow but keeping it low. Too hesitant to raise it, like she wasn't confident enough in her skills to be able to use it. "Who are you?"
"Mateus, Emperor of Palamecia, my dear," he said, dropping into a low bow. "And unfortunately for you, you've caught me in a rather poor mood. I am in need of a warrior to destroy, and I've decided that you will be an adequate diversion." Her eyebrows furrowed and she shuddered violently, fully understanding his intentions.
"P-please do not do this," she stammered, and her palpable fear empowered him, bringing a rare smile to his face. This was the sensation he craved, making others who were beneath him realize their place. He would demolish her, if only to relieve the humiliation he felt. Then he would begin planning against Chaos. "I have no quarrel with you either," she tried. "Just let me go."
"I think not, Rosa."
"I do not want to hurt you. Or anyone," she added. He flourished his staff, twirling it through the air with his magic to watch her reaction. She finally raised her bow, holding the string taut. She was physically strong, it seemed, the muscles in her arms clenched and unwavering.
"Unimpressive," he taunted. "Indulge me, if you would, and try to put up somewhat of a fight."
A/N: Don't forget to leave a review if you have time!
I got a CuriousCat! Keyblader41996! Ask me anything about Petal! Just remove the spaces between the link to head there!
www. curiouscat. me/Keyblader41996
EDIT 5/25/21: So this chapter went through a massive revamp. As I come upon the end of this story I am going back through and editing chapters that I dislike or think lack the quality that my writing possesses. I took out tons of material that I wasn't crazy about, particularly the Emperor's infatuation with Rosa. It shouldn't have been why the Emperor decided to target Rosa, but at the time I wrote it I lacked the characterization skills to make the difference between an arbitrary decision and a calculated one. I'm much happier with this now than I was with it then, and will continue to work through chapter by chapter to make the narrative more cohesive.
My CuriousCat is still open! Ask me anything about Petal!
~Keyblader