A tale of Sword and Shield
Ch6: A Leap of Faith
Act1: Futile Effort
Bordaussie, Capital City: Schwarzwald, Central Plaza
Present: Betakin´s Pov:
"Wow…., seriously…., is this really all you guys got…?
This wasn´t even worth as a mere sparring, you know….., honestly, I thought that now that your minds are out of the gutter and finally into the battle, I could really enjoy fighting with you…
But to think, that as soon as all of your little tricks and strategies are exhausted, and it all comes down on simply exchanging blows…., you just gonna fall down like sticks in the wind?
Seriously…, I am disappointed…., to think that your weaklings have given me such a hard time earlier…, this is almost insulting, you know." We heard Lunnare rambling on and on.
Her endless tirade of disappointment went down for the last ten minutes, while I was struggling to keep my consciousness up, same as Alpharia, Cetala, Yin and Yang as well.
Even though we had been finally pumped up and full of confidence, we weren´t even able to hold out for half an hour before most of us had fallen victim to the brutal beating and attacks of our opponent.
An opponent who, according to her own saying, hasn´t even been truly serious yet.
If this is how strong she is without getting serious, I seriously fear for the time she actually does so.
"What a farce…, I guess it has been fun playing around with you, but I guess all good things have to have an end, also I still got to take over your island, if I cannot even do so much, I don´t need to ever show my face towards my King anymore, and that is a fate I am not willing to accept." She explained as she seemed to have ended her rant, taking up the sword she had stuck into the ground, to inspect the result of her formidable swordsmanship.
"To be honest…, you truly disappointed me most of all, little boy…, I really expected much more from a rumored knight of the order of seven…, then again what is there much to expect from a novice in swordsmanship." She stated as I recognized that she stepped closer to me, her feet inches away from my hands that desperately tried to reach Armatura Impervius.
She squatted to be almost on the same eye-level with me, her eyes fixated me with a most mocking expression on her face.
"Then again, as I have heard right, is this sword nothing but a fake, a sword that only knows how to defend, in all the centuries in which it has existed, not one knight, expect for the original seven managed to ever use its full potential.
Then again, the sword of earth, has always been more of a shield than an actual sword, as far as the few stories, which were ever written about it, were concerned, if anything it is the sword which is the least impressive of all the seven that were crafted." Lunnare stated before she stood back up.
"Anyways, even though as weak as you are now, you might still pose a threat to all of our plans in the future, so I have to take you out right here right now, after all those were the orders of our King, to take out all of the new seven Knights.
This should usually be grunt work, however since we had not that much intel about the newest knights and the remaining members of their family, some of us from the Council, the lower ranks from 6 to 12 were ordered to do so, just in case.
Our newest two additions, which have reached a seat in our council due to their sheer power, were tasked with this foremost, as a trial to them, to prove their worth to our King." Lunnare explained and blurted out precious information, although, as beaten and battered as I was, I doubted that I would still have the opportunity of putting that information to good use.
"The 6th seat `Mad Dog´ Maxy and the new 8th seat Vermillion, were to take out the Ryebread Clan, Chamberlain Clan and the Garland Clan in the Kingdom of Prairie, the new 9th seat, Rouge, was tasked with the Inukyūjo clan in the Nippon Archipelago." She explained and I heard from Father that both Kingdoms were most likely also already attacked by them.
"I´m not sure about the Sacher Clan, but apparently the same was already taken out of commision a decade ago or so, by some operatives of the New Moon Society Branch in Andalusia, during the last civil war.
We have no records of any survivor so far, all of the few that managed to escape the undercover-persecution were mowed down in later incidents, their last Clan-leader was killed alongside his wife during the Civil War, and his child apparently several years later during some Massacre in a Villa in which he served, an incident which came to our operatives benefits as they mixed themselves under the radical opposition of Aegan and killed almost everyone in there…., only a few Children apparently survived but none of them were known to have any affiliation towards the Sacher Clan." She continued and I was confused.
After all Gren Sacher is a member of the Kurvaz and not just a simple soldier but a high-ranking Special Officer, similar to Dalia and Frey for S.I.T.K.A.
It´s almost impossible not to know him, if they try to get involved with the Kurvaz…., then again I think only his closest aids and Comrades know him as Gren Sacher…, I think mom once mentioned that his official name was Gren S. Galahad, after the Family that once adopted him apparently, if that is the case, its no wonder that those operatives had no idea about who he truly was…, mom told us about the Massacre at Kranz Manor…, but also only as much as she knew about it herself.
"The Canine Clan on Basset should have been taken out by someone else…, I think one of the no-rankers, General…., Tokaref, if I remember right…., well it doesn't matter, they might just be a little more capable as our grunts but they still have no forces and powers, not even the noble Name of Wolfenstein, a title which only worthy people earn.
Then there are also Arita, the 11th seat and Marusor, the 12th seat, the Twins that were dispatched towards the Jade Dragon Palace, to conquer it as well as pulling every one of the Kurvaz Soldier, which they could, over to our side.
It is easy to do so, all it needs is a little pressure and everyone will eventually compile, after all, in war, everybody just looks for ways to save themselves, even if they deny it.
So much to the other Clans of you knights and other people that might go against us, as we all can see, you guys are my prey, and I am about to kill you guys now." She snickered and I really wished to punch her guts out, but I was powerless, almost numb to the pain of my battered body, paralyzed with both fear and my fading consciousness.
"Not much to say anymore, have we…, I wonder, where that spunk of yours from before has vanished to…, right now you look like a blood-soaked, beaten puppy…, I´m sorry, was I perhaps too harsh to you…, but you know, a faithful dog has to listen to its master, otherwise all that awaits is a nice bath from which he might fall asleep forever." Lunnare stated in a mocking tone, as her feet stopped right infront of my hands which still desperately tried to grab the sword.
"C´mon…, just a little…, only a few centimeters and you might touch it…, but what good will it do, you can not even stand anymore and I sure have not the time to watch you try, if it is too painful, then just give up, stop resisting and give up, fall asleep for all eternity, it sure is less painful that what you are going through right now." She mocked as she squatted next to me, looking at me with a crude smile, full of gleeful malice.
I almost reached the sword, only for my force to give in inches before touching it, I nearly lost my consciousness.
"Tsk…, how disappointing…, you sure are wasting my time boy!" She stated and a second later I felt a horrendous pain in my hand.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I shouted in agony, my mind jolted wide awake, I looked fearfully to my hand, which had been pierced straight through by her sword.
"Yes squeal like a bug, that's all you are worth anyways." She snorted as she stabbed my other hand as well.
Intense pain flooded through my body, as I saw the blood gushing out of the wounds like an overflowing pot, as she pulled the sword back out, tears filled my eyes as the pain threatened to evaporate the last bit of strength I had left in my body.
"How funny, its still hard to believe that you are the same little brats that managed to take down 3 of my fleets Airships, the mothership included.
Nonetheless, once your technical devices have been destroyed, you are just brats, seeking for a beating." Lunnare snickered, as I rembered how she literally ripped Ares, Cetala´s Mecha, in pieces, with bare hands, as it attacked her in a fell swoop.
After it was done downloading all the data out of the black boxes of the fallen airships, uploading the saved data towards the Ranch´s Underground base´s Cloud, it had all of its tasks fulfilled but it gave itself a new one, defending his mistress at all costs.
"You really like to hear yourself talking, don´t you?" I muttered in pain as Lunnare was done, she really talked like a waterfall, her dramatism was getting on my nerves, if I had some to spare, which I had not.
"Silence, you stupid little brat, you should know better than to mock grownups!" She exclaimed as she stepped onto one of my hands, of course the pain I felt was exorbitant and my consciousness began to fade again.
"Time to take you your legs now, it would be such a waste of time, if I had to endlessly chase after my prey, you know." Lunnare explained as she proceeded towards my legs.
I closed my eyes in expectation of another bolt of intense pain, but I didn´t come.
"What the…, how dare you trying to stop me…, argh, I have no time for this bullshit…, well I guess you are next then." She stated, I opened my eyes only to see Lunnare stepping away from me, some kind of forcefield around me, which prevented her sword from going through my legs as well.
"You will not harm my siblings and friends any longer." I heard Alpharia´s weak voice, I looked at her, there where she laid on the floor, the shield tightly grasped in her hands, giving off some glow of brownish aura, this forcefield must have been her doing.
There were some more around Cetala and the Twins, everyone was defended by her, everyone but herself.
And now, Lunnare made her way over to finish Alpha off…, I cannot let that happen.
"Alpha…" I mumbled weakly as I tried to get up, though that was easier said than done, the pain in my hands nearly took all the force out of me, next to the intense beating I had received earlier.
Moving them even just a little send bolts of pain through my entire body and let me collapse again and again to the ground.
"Sister…!" I called out as best as I could, but it sounded terribly hoarse, as if I hadn´t spoken in ages, tears began to form in my eyes.
As I saw her there lying on the ground, beaten black and blue and still she did not give up, struggling to keep us all safe….,seeing her so reminded myself of something.
It was like a flashback into the past, a scene that played before my eyes…, I heard people saying that in the moment of their death, their entire life plays before their eyes once more, like a movie in fast-forward.
The scene I remembered was a scene when I was barely 5 years old, Alpha and I had been in the fields of the Ranch playing, as suddenly a ferocious Beast, a Gigas-Mantis, appeared out of nowhere.
I still remember that even though she was terrified of giant bugs back then, she stood infront of me, her arms stretched out, shielding me, with tears in her eyes, I knew she was afraid and yet she did not falter nor did she run away, she stood there defending me, with little regard for her own life.
As the mantis raised its scissor, I though this were the end of us both, I know that we both screamed, I cowered like a coward behind my big sister, even though I, as a boy, should have been the one to defend her, even if I was one year younger than her…, but before the scissor could make contact with any of us, a wave of energy burst out of me, knocking the mantis backwards, which gave us enough time to bolt.
It had been the day I discovered my paladin forces for the first time and it also marked the day at which I decided that I would no longer cower behind my sister like a weak coward, but to defend her instead, the day I had gained my resolve for the future.
I hardly believe that Alpha still remembers…, but seeing how she defends us all, without having any defense herself right now…, I was reminded of how brave she had been back then.
My brave, strong, stubborn big sister.
And it pained me, that once again I was nothing but useless, hadn´t I sworn to defend her myself the next time and all the times to come.
What did I trained all my life for, if I cannot even defend my own sister?
Act2: Her Feelings
Alpharia´s Pov:
"Gotta keep them safe, all of them." I moaned to myself in pain, the beating we received was intense if anything, brutal as well, I surely knew that several ribs and bones in my body had been broken, others severely fractured, it felt as though my Legs had been broken.
I most likely had inner bleedings and raptured organs, I wouldn´t be surprised, I could literally feel how life was seeping out of me.
And yet I knew that I could not die here, at least not now, I had a job to do, a mission to fulfil….
Not the defeating of Lunnare, or the safe rescuing of any civilian survivor, not the imprisonment of any other Lycanians we could find…
No, my very own mission was to keep my friends and family safe, by every means necessary.
I was the shield to defend them.
"Whatever it takes…, even if it kills me."
Seeing my siblings on the ground reminded me once again of how weak I was, if I were anywhere like them, I could have prevented them from being beaten up.
I could not even keep my brother from needlessly being injured, due to my unconsciousness, I even allowed for Lunnare to stab my brother´s hands, his screams of pain woke me from my fading consciousness, it brought me back into the here and now, but once more as so often…, too late.
I remembered a similar scene from the past, when I was just 6 years old, a Gigas-Mantis had cornered me and Betakin and I tried to defend him, even though I knew that I would most likely not help much as a shield, but even though…, even with knowing that death was certain if not a wonder would happen, I knew I had to try it, back then when Betakin was born and I truly understood that he was my little brother and I his big sister, I told myself that I would defend him with all I got, should he ever be in Big danger.
Same to Cetala, the first time I had a chance to meet her, as she was but a tiny baby sleeping in moms lap, she grabbed unto my hand in her sleep, such precious life, such a precious angel.
In that moment I knew that I would give my life to defend her, whatever it takes.
"If only, I had the strength..." I mumbled as I focused my forces onto everyone…, but doing so not only costed a lot of concentration, rendering me motionless, but it might have been a futile attempt to begin with, as I had no strength to defend myself as well, it took a lot out of me momentarily, just to keep the shields around my family and friends steady and strong, but if I would die, all of these efforts would have been for naught.
This here was just me thwarting the inevitable by mere seconds.
Then again, if only I could keep them safe, long enough for anyone to find a way, to get us all out of this predicament, I wouldn´t mind to trade in my physical health for that.
Most of my hope laid obviously on Cetala, it was just how much smarter she was than the rest of us all, if anybody could find a way, it was her, but of course I also counted on Yin and Yang, the two of them had to defend both Cetala and Betakin, should I have not the force to do so anymore.
For that I fixated them with my glance, and I was certain that Yin would understand me, there was a certain connection between the both of us, sometimes we just knew what the other thought, I knew that she likely will understand what I told her now, without words.
I saw her nodding, while she did her best to muster up her own forces, if she focused on defending me, I could most likely hold out a little longer, but she should only use a very little amount of it for that, just in case.
I looked at Yang, and although I had not such a connection with him as with his sister, I was certain he would understand me just the same.
If I fall, he and his sister will have to defend everyone else, he nodded weakly, as he tried to stand up, same as his sister.
I looked at Cetala and I saw that she had her eyes closed, as if while being deep in thought.
Although I knew that she most likely was just as terrified as we all were, especially after she had to see how Betakin had his hands stabbed by Lunnare, I also knew that right now she blindly trusted us with defending, while she would think of any possible plan.
As I said before, if anyone could think of something it was her…., I just wished she could hurry up some.
Who knows how long our shields will truly hold out?
"You little pests really are going on my nerves here, you know that!" Lunnare exclaimed in sheer frustration, as her sword was unable to pierce the forcefields around our bodies, no matter how hard and wild her swings were, at least for now.
"If I knew that they wouldn´t be defeated by you, I would keep my ghouls here to deal with you, but as it is most likely, that by some flick of fate, you might survive that, you still could go as far as to try and spoil my plans, no if I want to make things sure, I rather kill you guys myself, even if it means that I lose precious time." Lunnare explained, and I knew from the start, that this woman was not dumb, on the contrary, she was smart, far too smart.
Even if she was also rather impulsive as well as easy to provoke, that still did not meant, that she then just blindly charged into the enemies' hands…, no she carefully planned her moves, just like now, instead of staying with me, she rapidly switched between her targets and I had a quite hard time to always strengthen the shields in time on the respective person she attacked.
It was my luck, for now, that she, beyond her strategic smartness and most likely a great deal due to her own pride, did not thought about using ghouls to attack, if she did, I would not know whom to defend more than others.
It was hard enough to stay conscious, with the pain cruising through every fiber of my being.
"I´m so tired of this, guess I will just burn you and this town to ashes instead." She stated as she flew up high with her mighty wings, pointing the muzzle of her Rano-empowered Flame-thrower as us.
It was as if all the fire around suddenly flared up and was sucked into the flamethrower through pillars of fire, forming an ever-growing ball of fire.
Due to her finally being out of range for a quick attack, allowed me to stand back up, under massive pain of course, and walked, more slumped, over towards Betakin, while the others came to regroup as well, each of us still under a shield of course.
Yang and I helped him back to his feet, while Cetala did her best to provisionally heal Betakin´s wounds, while the same used Nono, from within his body, to do so as well.
Of course, without the right amount of magic as well as the finesse needed, such a deed was anything but easy to accomplish, healing wounds as deep as that, was in no way as easy as it might sound, especially reconnecting nerves and veins, it required precise control over one´s own forces, in that regard Cetala excelled, leading far ahead, in comparison to all of us.
"We need to do something, if this thing hits, the whole town will be set ablaze, more than it already does." Yin exclaimed as she looked up to Lunnare in terror.
"Sure, and what shall we do?
It´s plainly to see, that we haven´t much time nor power anymore, we haven´t been a match to her before, and now we are even less.
She is too high up anyway, as if we could shoot her down and Ares has been destroyed earlier, even if we would construct a new Mecha like him would that most likely last too long, as to be done by the time she unleashes that ball of fire." I explained and Cetala nodded.
"Yes, it was pure luck that no one managed to get in our way as I constructed Ares but who knows, she might just decide to shoot, if she recognizes our plan, I think all that is left is to put up a shield and hold out as long as possible until help arrives." Cetala replied.
"So, we are back to square one then, we barely made any progress from our stance from before, we still can only defend." Yang groaned.
"Not really, sure our attack power has been reduced back, close to zero, but we still might get a chance for a counter attack, but for now we should focus on a defensive stance, rather than an offensive one.
Fortunately, we only have to deal with one enemy here, rather than many Airships, who bombard from all over the place, like before…, this time, I am certain, the attacks should only come out of one direction and that direction is to be defended.
If we combine our forces, we should hold out for quite some time." Cetala explained.
"Sure but who knows how strong her attack is by now, if it overpowers our shield, we surely are doing nothing but risking our life here, instead of stopping her.
If our defense is being breached, we need to have enough power to reconstruct another shield or to attack her instantly, one of both, and if we have any luck, we might just hold out long enough for Father, as well as Dahlia and Frey to return to our side." Betakin explained and nodded.
"Indeed, our deaths would be in vain, if no one would be left to somehow stop that crazy pyromaniac!" Yin stated as she looked back up to the dark figure in the light of the Full Moon.
The fireball had long grown to the size of a Wrecking Ball and it was still growing, when will she shoot, it…, by the time it was as big as a house?
"Let´s lay our forces together, we will safe this town!" I stated, having no other option left to me, nor any more encouraging words, it all came down to a matter of believe, the others nodded, knowing fully well what was going on inside of my mind right now.
Survive as long as possible.
We had to create a shield together, which was strong enough, how we did that you might ask….?
By Cetala´s suggestion, we stood in a circle, holding hands, all focused on a single thought.
"Protect this town." I thought as I felt how Betakin and Cetala´s forces began to circulate through my hands.
Synchronizing two different waves of Nono with your own was hard to begin with, however, it helped much that the both of them were my direct siblings, at the very least we had much similar in the simple biological field, on the other hand, it was the hardest to do with the powers of the twins, as their wavelength as well as personality and biology was completely different from ours, even if a slight similarity was existent, although just minimal.
I guess the reason why it still worked was because we trusted in each other, trust was most essential if you try to use the force of combined energy.
However, our greatest enemy here was not Lunnare with her overwhelming cruelty and brutality, no it was ourselves, our fading self-esteem as well as our fading forces, not to mention our own mental state right now.
Despair was in all of us for sure, the real question was, how much each of us currently possessed, a shield of such a level…, I was certain that we can only use it twice, if it wouldn´t already being breached by the first impact.
Lunnare was strong, we all knew that and right now she was seriously determined to execute us, together with the entire town, she had chosen to restrain herself no longer, which made her even more dangerous.
There was one though, which I had, which I felt my siblings had as well.
"If only Brother Red were here…, i´m sure with him we would certainly win." I thought to myself, although I have never met him before, was I sure that he was that type, who would not long ponder about the reason or the merit for him, he would just jump right into the action, even if he at first denies so.
That's the image I had of him, ever since mother told us about him.
Someone you can trust, when push comes to shoving.
Someone who would not cower before evil minds, not even when facing the giant fireball which was currently directed to us and in the next second unleashed by Lunnare with some inaudible war-cry.
"If only we would have had the chance to meet him…, at least once." I thought to myself, as I began to construct a shield, same as the others too.
"I wonder what he would think of me?" I mumbled under my breath, blushing deep red.
I always had the fear that Red would detest us, hate us for what we are, more hybrids, more uncertain factors…, but even more so, the children of his Birth- Mother, Merveille Million, we were his step-siblings, same as Nero and Blank used to be.
If I shall be honest, then we nearly had anything he never had during his childhood…, then again, he had the freedom to do what he wanted to do, a freedom we hardly knew, because of us having to keep so many secrets before others, even our purpose in life had been predestined for the longest time.
"Red, if only you could hear me…., please, please I beg you, if you can find it in your heart…, please help us." I though as the fireball came ever so closer, the tears I had cried earlier and which I wished to cry now, all dried up due to the intense heat, I almost could feel how my skin began to peel or how my cells began to boil.
"Please…, I beg of you!" I kept mumbling my throat dry from the heat around us, I didn´t dared to look up anymore, for I knew my heart and courage would sack to the deepest pit if I did so.
The scorching heat of the fireball began to hurt, more than anything else, mostly because of the knowledge that it wasn´t enough, our forces were not enough, we…, were not enough to safe this town, just like my skin, my hopes for victory, or at the very least a draw, burned to ashes.
Against my better judgment I did looked up and it came as I predicted, my courage dropped, my heart was painfully crushed, my eyes were dried of their tears before they could form, my face burned, it was as though my whole body stood in flames, the fireball was only inches away from the meager shield we managed to erect, I was certain it would not even hold out.
"Please…, if there is a god…, if there is someone who can hear me…, at least save my siblings and friends, all of them, I don´t care if you take me, but don´t take away Betakin and Cetala, and Yin and Yang….!" I shouted in despair, or at least I wished I could, but my voice was almost a faint whisper, so hoarse made me the heat, as the Fireball hit the shield and pierced right through it, as if it was thin glass.
"RED…, HELP US!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my eyes closed in fear, as I felt how the Fire engulfed us all.
I thought, that I was going to burn alive…, but surprisingly I didn´t felt a thing…, was I already dead…, reduced to ashes?
I dared not to open my eyes, for I feared what I would see.
.
.
.
"I can hear you loud and clear, dear Alpharia!" I heard a voice echoing in my head all of a sudden…, it was so sudden and unreal that my eyes jerked wide open and I was in astonishment of what I saw before me, it was as though the world stopped dead in its tracks, along with time…, my surroundings were frozen in time.
"What is this?" I wondered unsure, even though the world had been plunged into a chrono stasis, I was able to move around just fine.
"I see…, I guess I am dead then." I kept wondering, although in quite a neutral mood, I knew that I could not win against that woman, it was a futile attempt…, so maybe…, maybe I already had come to terms with my own inevitable demise, being dead didn´t sounded nor felt as surprising as it might should have.
If anything I felt regret…, regret not to have been able to defend my younger siblings and friends.
"Well that sucks…, one fine older sister I am, letting myself getting killed and most likely my siblings and friends die as well…., what a fool…, I sure as hell am unworthy of this power, the name of our family….
But more over am I unworthy the title of a knight…, I cannot even defend those dear to me…, maybe it is a good thing I died, if I cannot save anyone with the forces I possess, I am better off dead anyways…, it won´t really make a difference whether I live or not." I muttered as I looked at the frozen scene before me.
"I highly doubt, that this is the case at all." The voice from earlier stated and although I didn´t turned towards it, was I well aware whose voice it was.
"You think so…, have you ever felt like this…, that your death is worthless, that you could have achieved so much in live, reached so many goals and just because you were a coward or not strong enough, you never were able to accomplish them by the time you died?" I asked, half miserable, half annoyed, how could he ever feel like me, he was a hero, a strong warrior, he could do anything.
A short while passed in which none of us spoke, I thought that my accusation had hit home to him…, but I did not expect what he said then.
"The first time I died…, was when I was sacrificed by Bruno Dondurma, to Lares in the Ritual of Feasting…., I thought back then that I would do anything if it meant that I could just save Elh, that it wouldn´t matter if Bruno gets the Medallion needed to awaken or reseal Lares, of course back then I wasn´t sure why the same wanted it so badly, I only understood roughly that the Medallion was important and since Elh failed to kill me in the Rite of Forfeit due to her own unwillingness to sacrifice me in the end, I thought that with that the Medallion served no more purpose.
Since I only knew about that side of the Medallion, I thought that, if Bruno sought to seal Lares, he could have just let Elh or Beluga do so.
Why bother going to such lengths…, was he so darn set on playing the hero to the Public, that he would deliberately cause chaos?
That´s what I thought back then, if only I knew…, but once I knew, once Bruno revealed his entire sick plan, that there was a second and most different side to the medallion´s forces…, I thought that, even if I died, as long as Elh lived, it would be fine, she surely would find a way to survive and to reseal Lares…, how foolish that thought was…!" Red stated, his ghostly form next to me.
"Why foolish?" I asked unsure of why he would have felt like that, instead of being convinced that saving Elh was righteous and the best course of action if it meant to save the world…, then again in hindsight…, if Red truly would have died back then, our world wouldn´t even be the same it is right now…, if it even would have carried on existing as it is.
"In the moment I died, I looked into Elhize´s face and the expression she showed me was one of endless sorrow and eternal regret, mortification and lost hope as well as a lost will to live in that moment I finally understood how much Elh meant to me, that I was deeply in love with her already, but even more than that, it told me that I did the wrong choice.
It didn´t mattered if I sacrificed myself for Elh, if I let Bruno kill me…, even I was unsure, if I could have even stopped him before he would have recited the entire Incantation, even if I wanted to…, for doing so gave way for the inevitable, Lares Resurrection, which in hindsight could have also meant the end of Elhize and everybody I cared for, acting when it was wrong to do so, and not acting when it was required, these two things almost spelled the fate of our world once….
I made the mistake of pretending that I was ready to die, if my death meant something, if it did something good, but all it did was igniting the flames of chaos even more than they already had.
In that split second, before my soul left my Body, all the regret I should feel came crashing at me all at once, the clearest thought however amongst all the predications of doom, was that I left both Elhize and Chocolat behind, that I betrayed them, that I let myself be killed off, for the false believe of their security.
I died in vain, that was the one thought which came clearest to mind in the seconds I fell to the ground dead.
It was also then, as my soul asked itself what would have happened if I chose not to sacrifice myself, if I chose to resist, to try and stop Bruno before he could recite the incantation, would he had found another way to control Lares, or would he have just let it rampage, uncaring for the destruction it caused…, would it have saved Elhize instead or would it have doomed her either way.
What if I had resisted…, I was certain that Bruno would have shot me with a gun and later on Elh, taking out anyone who stood between him and his goal
Although the end-result might have been the same, was the choices I had, what made the difference.
The choice of sacrificing oneself, unsure if it helps anyone, or of resisting, with the prospect of deliberately endangering someone else, or doing so as a consequence of one's own actions." Red explained and little I got the gist of what he meant.
It didn´t mattered if I gave up and stopped resisting, getting killed and losing everybody, or if I resisted and still lost everybody…, it did not mattered, to the world at least…, to myself it would have been a whole sky-wide difference.
"To remain true to oneself…, it is the hardest to execute in life, many people eventually lose their way along the path of life.
I did so several times myself, but I somehow always managed to return to it eventually…, because I had friends and family that helped me…, that's why, sacrificing one´s self for someone, thinking that they will be fine, is a most selfish thought…., because surely you mean something similar to them, a guide through life, without such they are doomed to get lost.
If I hadn´t met Elhize, I wouldn´t have become the man I am today, for sure…, likewise, if she had never met me, she would still live her life in solitude and crippling, cold loneliness.
She showed me love as well as the importance of setting yourself a goal, no matter what the same looks like…, on the other hand I thought her what it means to enjoy life and that living life does not always mean to blindly follow the rules.
That there is so much more to life, especially if it is to be connected with someone else." Red explained as the view I saw before me faded away, as if someone turned the page of a book.
"Red…?" I asked usure if my question would be answered.
"Yes, what is it, sister?" He asked and suddenly my nonexistent failing heart was filled with warmth upon hearing him say so.
"How did you… you know, how did you survived, how did you come back to life if the Rite should have killed you?" I asked him, and perhaps I asked a question which numerous people asked him before…, did they ever got a truthful answer to it.., I wonder.
"I guess you could say that it was thanks to him…" Red stated as he trailed off, looking in the far distance.
"Him… you mean your father?" I asked, father and mother told us about Maranell Wolvenra and what Red had to do with him, as unbelievable as it sounded.
"Back then he appeared to me, of course I had back then no idea who he was and I do had better things to think about that…, about why some stranger appeared to me after my untimely death…, maybe I just thought that this must be god, it would have been easier to think so" Red explained and I nodded.
"What did he tell you?" I asked.
"The truth…, the truth I knew myself, that if things remained, my attempt to protect Elh was in vain.
That Bruno, as long as he hadn´t the Medallion wouldn´t have done anything to Elh, at least not something grave, he knew that Elh was ready to die to keep me alive, and so sparing the world, but he also knew that I was vulnerable because of Elh, at least he hoped so, and as my stupid but in my eyes rightful action showed it, was I just that.
I was vulnerable, as long as I did not accepted myself as being the one to defeat Bruno and Lares, the only one to do so, my death would mean nothing, but my life could make all the difference between the flourishment and enslavement of the place I called home.
He told me that in order to gain the force to not only rise up again from where I fell, but to also beat Bruno who had fused with Lares in order to control the same, I had to accept myself, the way I was, accept the fact that I wasn´t alone in my body, that there was an aspect of my being, which had laid dormant for such a long time and which was ready to be awakened.
That I should put it in place of the me that was dying…, instead of my soul fading, being ripped out of my body, I would use this second soul within me as an anchor-point, to chain and link my current soul together with it, rendering it unable to leave without the other, which is fastened on my body, this is how I survived.
By linking my usual self with my dormant Hybrid self, two souls one body, one cannot live nor exist without the other anymore.
The dormant Soul slowly began to awaken and in the presence of utter terror and malevolence, it awakened temporary, to enable me to overcome my weaknesses and my fright before anything.
But doing so also gave way for Baion to manipulate me later on, not for the least with the order, my Hybrid-self almost executed the order completely, it cost the lives of Nero and Blank, lives which might could have been saved, they could have redeem for their crimes if only my usual self, Red Savarin, would have been strong enough to prevent the order from ever taking control of me.
Fortunately, I managed to regain control over my body, before it was too late, before I would have killed Elh, it was pure luck that wishing to disobey the Order caused pain to my Hybrid soul, making it waking up from the brainwashing which it experienced.
In that moment, it returned the reins over my body back to me instead, stepping aside, letting me taking control over my body again, after the Battle against Baion, it thanked me as it no longer would fall victim to such manipulation and went back to lay dormant, in order to recuperating from the pain and damage inflected on it.
A damaged soul is something which isn´t easy to be healed and it needs quite some time, I was only ever able to trance again only recently, but not with Hybrid-Red but with another aspect of myself…
Lupycan-Red, aka Prince of 10 moons, another part of me which awakened in order to save me and my beloved from danger, when my simple self is too weak.
However, is that soul-part far easier to control than my Hybrid self.
As my body is far more adapted to being Lupycan than a Human, as you know, Caninus are the successors of the Lupycans of olden times, so the connection between that Soul and my usual soul is far shorter than that of Hybrid-Red.
Especially since the molecules, out of which my body consists, have not much to change or rearrange, beside some minor things, like strength and appearance.
But having awakened that soul gave me one more extra life so to say, but the circle is long not closed, I wonder how many more parts of my soul will have to awaken and if I don´t one day lose myself, in the question of who exactly I am.
I´m wondering about that since quite a while now…, but in the end I am just glad to have so many chances to defend what is dear and most precious to me." Red explained and I was in awe.
"And it did not frightened you…, this other self of you…, after all it is so different from your usual self?" I asked.
"Sure it is…, but it still belongs to me…, its not as if it is something totally foreign to me, its just a side of me I haven´t yet uncovered, it is part of me, and with accepting it, I can draw strength and wisdom from it, so it is only beneficial to me.
Sure the way I act and do things might differ greatly from what I am usually doing, but it just means that I don't use that side so often.
If I would, it would just seem natural to me, over short or long." Red stated and I was in utter shock…, I never thought about it that way.
I only ever saw my Hybrid self as something different, as something that exists beside me, rather than with me.
If Hybrid-Alpharia is part of myself, then it just means that it is the strength I always wished myself to possess…, but because I treat it as a disease, as an outcast, it lashes out violently once released, to vent of steam for being forgotten and abandoned, for being hated by the body it belongs to, treated like nothing but a parasite.
That outlashing of it made me afraid of using its forces, and so left me constantly vulnerable to opponents stronger than my usual self.
It was not that I was weak or lacked strength…, I just didn´t accepted that strength I always possessed.
It was the first time I thought about this…, and it left me ashamed of myself for missing something so obvious.
Act 3: Her Strength
"How could I ever have been so foolish?" I mumbled under my breath, too shocked as to speak loud and clear.
"It´s as the saying goes, true strength comes from within…, if you accept yourself, everything, just the way you are, I´m sure that you will become stronger, you will gain an ally that never will leave nor fail you.
But you must always remember, to treat it the way you want to be treated yourself, even if it seems a little different, it is still you yourself." Red explained, I nodded as I looked at him.
"From here on out I must leave you, for now, but know that I am with you, I will not leave you alone in this fight, but you sure ain't the only one, who has some issues of broken self-esteem and self-doubt." He explained and I nodded gratefully.
"Thanks, I truly appreciate your help, if you are here I am sure we can defeat Lunnare!" I replied and he grinned at me.
"I think you give me too much credit, still I will do as much as possible in this form" He replied, before he waved with his hand into the air…
"This here is a door, a door you must choose to either pass, or to keep it closed…, to move on towards your deepest self, or to remain here and everything will play out like it currently does, the choice of how your life is going to go on from here, is yours to take." Red stated before he began to fade away.
As he was saying, I was not the only one who was helped in such a way by Red, but I knew that I would forever be grateful to him for doing so.
I grabbed and pushed down the handle of the door, before I walked right through it, after passing it, it seemed to vanish in thin air and suddenly my surrounding changed…, the place I was at now, looked like a meadow, a vast meadow darkened by heavy clouds and only one single tree was to find everywhere.
Not sure what to do, I walked up to the same.
The closer, I came the more details about the tree I took in.
It wasn´t really a tree in the sense of a plant, more so evidently by the time I arrived infront of its trunk, right under its crown, if I looked closely, every leaf seemed to consist out of a picture, looking even closer I could see myself in those pictures.
"Is this….my life?" I wondered as I remembered some of the scenes.
I walked around the tree but came to a sudden halt, as I recognized that I wasn´t alone in this place…
There, beside the trunk underneath the tree, sat a dark hooded figure.
Who are you…, this might have been the question I would have asked, if I never got to talk to Brother Red before, but now, I knew just which words to say, what to feel and to truly mean.
The figure sitting there was myself, my Hybrids-Self, existent, here and yet not part of this place, excluded from my life, looking at it with a lone and melancholic glance.
"I should have been more open to the idea…, of having you in my life." I stated and the figure simply remained still.
"I always though that trancing and losing control was my lot, my burden to carry…, I thought you were a burden, whereas in reality you just had been the deepest desire of myself…" I continued.
The figure remained silent but I recognized that she indeed did listen.
She had spoken so much, whenever she appeared, so much but I didn´t listened, whenever I wasn´t able to remember what happened after I tranced, was it in reality the me that refused to listen, shutting my soul away from it all.
"The wish for strength, the strength to defend what is mine, my dearest and my most precious, the things and people I wanted to defend, for ages I sought for it, cried when I thought I could not obtain it…, but in reality I possessed it all along…, I just had to accept it." I continued and for the first time the figure began to move, it turned its head towards me, and although the hood was shading the face, was I certain that she was crying, crying in pain from the loneliness she felt, the anger in herself for being cast away.
"I am strength, I am unrestrained, unbound, I am wild and raw, if I am not careful, I could destroy us both…, I know so, but I still want to be with you, I can´t stand the loneliness, having nothing but myself, sitting here, looking at a life I could have, as though as if I was a stranger, looking through the window of a house I had no place within." She explained.
"Maybe so…, but thanks to Brother Red I learned, that I will never be complete when I do not trust you, when I do not accept you, I can search my whole life for power and strength and never will be able to obtain it, because the one I have accumulated for so long, is the one I would not have the guts to accept.
If I do however, I am certain, that I can do so much good with you together.
You are me and I am you, we are two sides of the same coin, and although different are we still one.
I lived my whole life with half myself…, I believe it is high time for me to finally become whole, just as it was intended.
Hybrid and Caninu, power and reason, Strength and compassion.
What one doesn´t know, he can learn from the other and if we both don´t know it yet, we just going to learn it together…
I ask of you, can you forgive my stupid self…, my stupid me that needed so long to accept you, would you still walk beside me and be a part of me, rather than a mere onlooker…, would you like to be part of this tree?" I asked as I stretched out my hand, standing infront of her.
A Strong gust of wind stirred up the photograph-leaves as well as blew off the Figures´ hood, underneath I could see myself, furless, human, different…, but also with eyes full of passion, with a smile that looked determined.
"I have waited so long for this day, the day that you will accept me." She said with tears in her eyes.
"I´m most ashamed to have let you wait for so long, from now on we walk this life´s path together!" I exclaimed proudly.
"We rise together, we fall together, we are one." She said as she grabbed my hands and stood up.
Seeing her up close for the first time in my life, rather than just the raging beast on the cam-recordings in the underground Base, let me see that she was not as different as I thought at first, sure, a Human and a Caninu still looked different, but aside from the obvious, was this here me, we smiled the same, our eyes glimmered the same, our motions were in perfect sync.
The hand we held against each other was the same, one with fur one without and yet they were twins.
We stood at the same place, we breathed the same air.
"We are we, never one without the other." We exclaimed in unison and suddenly it was as if the place was illuminated by sunlight.
As the light hit the tree I suddenly noticed a particular picture, it was from that time as the Gigas-Mantis attacked both me and Betakin…., and in this picture I could see that I stood not alone, that it wasn´t just me who defended Betakin…, it was us, we both had the same desire, we both wanted the same, in that moment, the both of us had been one.
"We were one all along." I thought as I walked with myself, hand in hand, towards the bright light that appeared.
Towards a future unknown and a battle which was yet to be won.
To be continued…
A/N, few this was hard, I actually intended to make this chapter part of the final chapter, but in looking of how much I had to write about Alpharia, it ended up becoming a chapter of it´s own.
So there is still a Chapter coming (maybe two) before the next Story, Valhalla Rising, starts.
Nevertheless, I hope you had fun reading and are eager to read more.
Yours truly, The Storyteller and his Books.