Meiss
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This is one of the rare times I name a chapter before I write it. It's fitting though.
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"While you were out, I had a little talk with Ros-chi. The Arlam villagers are going to be leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow."
The two were near a stream in the woods. Dappled sunlight and the sound of rushing water was all around them. Meiss nodded in response to Subaru's statement, it seemed like people were starting to get to business. Though Meiss had a question for the japanese teen.
"Are you going with them, Subaru?"
"No, Roswaal wants to keep me here. It's under the guise that Emilia-tan'd get lonely without me. While that does make my heart flutter, I would have really liked it if I could have gone with them. He gave you the all clear to return to the mansion though."
That made zero sense to Meiss. He had barely one conversation with the head of the house, Meiss had even threatened him, and he was clear to not only leave before he was evaluated but to also stay at the mansion? This didn't sit well with the blonde. Meiss wouldn't do anything, but Roswaal had no way to know for sure.
Unless…
No, that was a dark road to go down. There was enough distrust between him and the clown already. No need to sow any more. Precognition was a pain, but it was that throbbing kinda pain you got used to. Meiss wasn't about to try and despair about some creepy dude knowing his every move. Precognition… That reminded Meiss he wanted to talk with Subaru about his rewinding.
"Hey, Subaru."
The boy had been walking away, but turned back to face the blonde.
"Yeah?"
"I've been meaning to ask you about something."
Subaru turned to face him fully, he began walking back to the stream. His shoes squelched into a puddle of mud.
"What exactly happened before you had to use black experience?"
Subaru's face scrunched up in confusion at the term black experience. That was a name Meiss came up with for Subaru's Redo, though he probably should have run it over with the owner of Redo first.
"Ah, sorry. Naming things is fun, so I'm calling your Redo power black experience. Ya'know, like G.E.R's 'Return to Zero' power? But since things here kinda want to kill us at every turn it's black experience."
"No no, I get it. It's just that I already had a name for it. Though I have to admit, black experience sounds cool as hell."
"Thanks. So what do you call your Redo?"
The teen scratched at his chest, exactly like the time outside Crusch's mansion before the Hakugei. Seems like Meiss wouldn't get an answer. The blonde waved it off before continuing.
"Back to why I called you back. What happened that made you need to use black experience?"
"Uh…"
Subaru did a quick glance around, looking for something. They had gotten around Subaru's silence with vague ways to regard the power, but this was direct. Suddenly, Subaru spread his arms out as if he was offering himself as a sacrifice. Quickly, but not quietly, though not loudly either, he spoke.
"Roswaaldidn'tletmeleaveandItookthetrialandtheOusagiattackedSanctuary!"
"..."
"Wut?"
Meiss heard him, something about Subaru taking the trial and the Ousagi. That must mean Subaru talked to Echidna too? The blonde wasn't about to delve into that right now, so he let it slip. He was mostly worried about the Ousagi. What was that going to be doing here? Meiss considered pressing further, but decided against it. If Subaru was that scared to mumble things like that, then it was probably for the best he didn't press it.
The teen lowered his arms, he looked to be expecting a blow, but was left looking lost when it never came. Peculiar. Was Subaru, in fact, a masochist? Meiss giggled at the thought before sobering, but maybe he was…
Meiss giggled some more, stupefying Subaru.
"Are we done? That was an extreme display of courage for me and I would really like to see Emilia-tan and Rem's faces to make me feel better."
They concluded the talk and walked back to the village from the stream. Emilia was going to take the trial tonight, and needed some hyping up probably. Minerva said the trial was tailor made for each challenger, so they couldn't really tell her to do good at any one thing.
But what Meiss was certain of, was that it would be hard. With her lineage and appearance, she undoubtedly was on the receiving end of no small amount of hatred and prejudice.
Elf racism was a term Meiss thought he'd ever think of or experience. The notion of alternate fantasy worlds was usually that they were a cleaner, refined version of medieval Earth. While that certainly was true, politics, poverty, cripples, racial dislike, and people sick in the mind usually weren't included in such worlds. They mainly followed the protagonist on his journey to fame and glory, not focusing on the gritty in the slightest. If Meiss had one thing to say about this world, it was gritty. People here were just as critical as they were on the other side of the waterfall, sometimes more so.
—
Crisp, cold nighttime air greeted the small party as they mulled on the barren earth around the tomb. Emilia was in a little group with Subaru and Rem, who were talking to her about how good she'd do on the trial and such. Ram was talking with Otto about something, and Garfiel was there with a short pink-haired girl that Meiss had learned was Lewes. Apparently she talked with Subaru before Meiss woke up. Just how long was I talking with the witches?
"Well…"
Meiss jumped, thinking someone had heard his thoughts. No, only Subaru, he was talking about how it being dark was probably good enough for the tomb to start the trial. Meiss wondered if the darkness really was the trigger, or if it was on a timer. If it was sensitive to light, they could probably just hang a really big blanket over it to take it during the day.
Emilia took a step forward, then another. She breathed in, steeling her resolve, then walked confidently inside the iron fence, towards the giant block of stone and the imposing doorless doorway. As soon as her toes crossed the threshold of the fence, the unlit torches flared to life, bathing the waiting party in purple light. Emilia didn't stop to look back, she didn't stop at all. The half-elf walked confidently on until darkness swallowed her up.
…
…
…
Ok, It's been about fifteen minutes. They didn't know how long it would take, or if there was a set time at all. The only information they had was that the trial was tailor made to the challenger. Useful, but not useful enough for Meiss' liking.
Suddenly, the torches sputtered out without warning. They flickered back on for a few seconds before shutting back off. They continued to sporadically turn off and on.
"Hey! Let me through!"
"You believe my amazin' self'll let you in with that stink?"
Meiss snapped his head around to see Garfiel holding Subaru back. The teen was trying to climb over him to get into the tomb. Worried about Emilia, so am I. We don't know if the flickering torches are normal… Well, I know I won't explode if I go in there…
Meiss thought it over for a second. It may be stupid to go in there again, Ram held no reserves in giving him dirty looks after he woke up. Garfiel liked the blonde much more than Subaru, so maybe he would let Meiss go in. He wasn't sure, anything could happen. For all he knows, Meiss may end up taking the trial alongside Emilia and get them both stuck in there. Meiss rubbed his forehead in indecision.
"I'll go."
Subaru stopped struggling to look at the blonde. Garfiel looked at him as well, his grip slackening on Subaru.
"Now jus' hol'on-"
"I'll go, If it's a matter of bursting Stagno's got me covered, and Indifferentia's active all the time."
Meiss stepped over the threshold.
Garfiel let go of Subaru to yank Meiss back, only to stop when he realized the torches stopped flickering when the blonde crossed the threshold. He snapped out of that stupor too late, for Meiss was already halfway to the tomb.
Meiss registered the shocked gazes of everyone behind him, not caring at all. He knew they wouldn't come in after him. With the blessing of the witch he was able to enter and exit the tomb on a whim. At night though, his access to the trial wouldn't go unnoticed.
The blonde hesitated at the door to the tomb proper. He remembered his time with the witches, and the stone tunnel. Meiss stepped into the darkness and it swallowed him greedily.
The tunnel was longer than it looked from the outside, and it was cold. Meiss held his arms against himself and stuffed his hands in his vest pockets. The tunnel was way warmer when he talked with Echidna, but it was a dream then, not reality. There was a corner ahead that Meiss almost hit because it was so dark. Thankfully, a room on the other side of the corner had more purple torchlight spilling forth, allowing Meiss to save himself from the bump. The blonde turned to the side, facing the torchlight.
"Emilia?"
The half-elf was spread out on the floor of the room. She shook every few seconds and was slick with sweat. Tears ran down her sleeping face, which was taut in an expression of grief and worry.
Meiss took a step towards her, but hesitated.
What's the conditions for two people with qualifications? Do we both take the trial, or can one person at a time take it? In the end, Meiss ran forward towards the half-elf in a nightmare.
「Your Immutable Past」
"Wha-"
It was like a whisper from all directions into his ears. Meiss barely registered it before he felt himself careening towards the ground. It was like his motor functions had halted, and he could do nothing to brace himself. The blonde registered himself hitting the ground, yet continuing to fall.
—
Meiss found himself breathing heavily as sudden coldness erupted along his entire body. He rubbed his arms to stave off the cold, wishing that he would've grabbed his actual winter coat instead of the puffer vest and light sweater. God it was snowing out. At least he had the mind to grab his gloves, which were doing some good work.
He walked on a sidewalk with snow packed down by the shoe prints of other people. Some spots were packed down so much that the areas were slippery. A car sluggishly drove past, not daring to go fast on the unplowed road.
Only two more blocks until I reach Connor's house. The kid was a year younger than Meiss, but in the same grade at school. Round face behind a pair of rectangular glasses, and auburn hair so dark it was almost black. See it in sunlight and it looked like dried blood. Anyways, Connor was a smart guy like Meiss, and was one of The blonde's few good friends.
Meiss used a hand to hold down his golden hair, it was flapping wildly in the freezing wind and stinging his face. He turned a corner, closing his eyes and sighing in relief when it seemed to warm up. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds more. Ok, is it just me or is it unnaturally hot for the weather right now? Meiss opened his eyes.
A world unlike his own greeted him.
—
Five Days Later
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Knock knock.
"I'm closer, I'll get it Eura!"
Meiss saw the red haired woman poke her head out from behind a corner. She would probably come with him to the door anyways. The blonde stood up from the table where he was practicing this world's written language and made his way over to the door. As expected, Eura walked over as well to peer over his shoulder as he opened the door.
What greeted him was a scraggly and disheveled boy with long brown hair and a dirt colored cloak. He was holding two books, one of which was open and being read. Upon the opening of the door he shut the book and looked up.
"My my my, what have we here? Short and blonde, the gospel details your significance to the witch."
Meiss furrowed his brows. Witch? The Jealous Witch? This guy was crazy. Meiss glanced over his shoulder to see Eura's reaction. The blonde was met with horror and hatred, and a little fear. Unbecoming of the usual chipper personality that Eura had.
"Hmmm hmmmm hmmmm, red hair… Unimportant to the writ."
The boy reached forward and around Meiss, trying to touch Eura. The woman flinched away and started to back up. The boy was grinning madly.
"Yo, what the hell man?"
Meiss angrily shoved at the boy, who dodged and twirled around Meiss to be inside the house. He lightly hopped and skipped around, getting closer to Eura.
"My my, your existence truly tickles my tastebuds! It looks so tasty!"
Eura backed away from the crazed boy, only for her back to hit a wall. The boy was advancing on her, twirling his hands about. Meiss sprang over and threw himself at the boy, sending him stumbling into a wall. There was a loud thud, and the inkwell Meiss was using fell off the table. The boy rose slowly, rubbing his shoulder where he hit the wall.
"Ooooooh, your devotion will make her taste even better! For now though… you need to lie down."
The boy sprang at Meiss so fast that his eyes had trouble registering it. Meiss put up his arms to defend himself before he was sent flying. Up, over the table and onto the ground next to the fireplace. The blonde heard Eura shout, and the familiar twinkling sound of water magic.
"El Huma!"
The wooden floors creaked as ice shot up from below them. The solid shapes of spikes missed their target as the boy jumped closer to Eura. Meiss raised his torso off the ground with his arms and turned just in time to see Eura crumple to the ground with a hoarse cry. The boy was licking one of his hands, and giggling quietly to himself. He took a glance at Meiss, before tossing a book to him and making for the exit.
"Al Huma."
Eura was propping herself up with one hand, the other outstretched to cast Al Huma. Meiss noticed her eyes beginning to water as she looked at him, though he didn't understand why. The boy looked at the wall of ice blocking his exit, before turning around to glare at the redhead. He was met with Meiss, who had grabbed a fire poker from the fireplace. The blonde thrusted out, sinking the metal into the boy. The point tore through the boy's cloak, but failed to pierce flesh. Meiss tried to withdraw the poker, only for a crisp blow to be struck against his head.
Meiss collided with the ground, stars dancing in his eyes. The poker flew from his hands, out of reach. The boy was leisurely walking over to the prone Eura. Meiss screamed at himself internally, why was his body so sluggish! Move. MovemoveMOVE!
Meiss brought himself to a crouching position and threw himself at the boy again, but this time the glint of metal greeted him. The blonde yelled out as lancing pain erupted down his left arm, which he had used to guard himself against the blade. He hit the ground hard next to Eura, flipping over to be on his knees again. He held his arm, which had blood streaming down it from the long gash in the forearm. It's not spraying out, which means he didn't cut any veins I think.
The boy looked at Meiss curiously, as if him protecting the girl was interesting. Meiss tried to move his injured arm. Upper arm has no problems, my forearm… I can barely make a fist now. Thinking like this distracted Meiss from panicking because of the boy before him. This guy could murder them as an afterthought.
Without any warning, the boy sprung into action. The glint of metal erupted from both of his arms as he rushed at Meiss. The blonde reacted by raising his forearm as a shield. The strikes after the first few hurt less and less, and Meiss reacted less and less as well. He had gone from flinching away and screaming his agony, to grunting as metal tore open his ruined arm. Thanks… Adrenaline… Thank you…
Only a few seconds had passed, and the boy stood there silently as he drove his blades into Meiss' arm one last time. He didn't remove them, instead closing the small distance and grabbing Meiss' wrist. He yanked the blonde up, earning a startled cry, before throwing him away. The boy's eyes regained their wild gleam and his mouth salivated as he looked at Eura.
"F-fu…la…!"
The second that word was said, splitting agony bust from every pore of Meiss' body. It was like someone was rubbing the rough part of velcro across his body with unparalleled vigor and strength. There was also this glassy feeling that had Meiss scared to even cry out in pain, as if his body would shatter upon the slightest movement. Then…
Crack!
Like cracking a joint, or the sudden release of a held breath, the pain dissipated. Along with it was a pressure Meiss hadn't even noticed. A bent blade of wind whistled through the air towards the boy, who turned to face it too late. Blood sprayed out behind the attacker as the wind blade cut through his shoulder, leaving a gash that cut to the bone. Because Meiss had never had proper magic training, the force of the blade wasn't as strong as it could have been. With proper training, that would have severed the arm. Nevertheless, the wind blade was strong enough to incapacitate the boy's arm.
The attacker recoiled, reaching a hand to his shoulder, before rethinking his action.
"Not as tasty, not worthwhile, of lower quality, poor ingredients, but the tiring effect is the same."
Instead, he licked his hand that had grasped Meiss' wrist.
Hitched breath, Meiss felt his strength plummet. The arm that was holding him up ceased to function, and he hit the ground once more. It didn't hurt, instead it was like the energy required to run three marathons was simply removed. The blonde's breath came fast and shallow as he tried to regain his energy. There was a hoarse shout, and then sunlight burst into his vision as the roof of the building was torn off. Meiss looked up to see a large spike of ice, ten-ish meters if he had to guess, soar away with the roof and part of the wall. The attacking boy wailed as he was flung outside. Eura was next to him suddenly, with her hands hovering over his forearm. Blue light bathed the injured appendage and flesh began to knit together. It felt rather itchy.
"Eu...ra?"
"Shh, stay still stranger, I'll have ya fixed up soon."
Halfway through healing, Eura looked up and jumped away. The boy appeared in her place, nearly stepping on Meiss before he jumped away again. The blonde tried his best, but whatever the boy did to him had sapped so much of his strength that it was hard to keep his eyes open. Also, Eura's choice of words. Stranger?
Meiss sluggishly tried to move his arms. Gotta… get up. They responded to instruction, but painfully slow and weak. It was a miracle that Eura had recovered so quickly. Spikes of ice and drops of blood swirled above him as he shakily clawed his way over to a chair and onto his feet. Meiss registered the boy twirling around Eura, who dodged his attacks barely. The boy increased the speed of his leaping and spinning, catching Eura off-guard. Her face, contorted in anger, fear, and desperation, gained a glimmer of smugness.
"Ql huma!"
In this world, there are two types of magic that can be cast. Spirit and elemental magic. Spirit magic is abstract, and if one has the mana capacity and imagination, almost anything is possible. The complete opposite of this is elemental magic, a system of hard magic that governs the four elements. Water, earth, fire, and wind; there is also light and dark, represented by yang and yin respectively. Within elemental magic, there are several prefixes that change the power of the magic cast. They start with the base chant, a single word. In order to increase the power, one of several prefixes are attached to the word, these are El, Ul, Al, and Ql, in ascending order of strength. El is the main form of attack, with Ul being stronger attacks, Al tended to be a short area-of-effect attack, while Ql was a long lasting AOE attack. There are some variations, but this is the general pattern.
Ql huma…
A blast of freezing air erupted from the form of Eura. This sent Meiss flying, shocking his nerves. He heard the still intact windows crack because of the sudden drop in temperature. The blonde hit a wall, sliding down it and forcing his eyes open a crack to see what had happened. He saw Eura with her arms spread up, and to Meiss' utter disbelief, the boy was holding on to one of her arms. Meiss tried to yell out, but the ice-cold wind shocked his vocal cords, and all that was released was a small squeak.
Eura couldn't feel the hand clasping her arm until it was too late. The effects of Ql huma besides the blast still affected the user, so the biting cold numbed her skin, making her unable to feel anything. The weight of the boy though, brought her arm down prematurely. Eura tried to yank her arm away to no avail. The boy thrust forward with his blade, piercing her breast and skewering her lung. Meiss heard the audible release of air from Eura's lung as the boy retracted his blade, licking his opposite hand. Eura collapsed to the ground, not even trying to stop her fall.
The boy savored the taste of his hand for a moment, before rubbing his body as if in immense pleasure. He danced around Eura before standing over her head.
"Oops."
The boy dropped one of his blades, the bloodstained metal sinking into Eura's neck.
Time seemed to stand still for Meiss. In slow motion he registered his eyes widening in shock, the quickening of his pulse, the pounding of his head. There was something else too, a feeling of having cogs out of place in a machine. With one simple adjustment, the machine would start working. Meiss had to make that adjustment though, and the feeling of that much power was intimidating.
Meiss' eyes flitted over the form of the boy. That boy had killed Eura upon a whim, squalor ratshit like him deserved to pay for their actions. The blonde's decision was already made. His grief was firm and resolute.
He pushed the cog into pace.
At once, a mixture of grief, anguish, and wrath escaped his lips as the world faded to red. Meiss can barely recall what happened after that. Only remembering that the boy fled when faced with Meiss' grief. It was kind of like falling asleep, with Meiss awakening kneeling next to Eura's body. Destruction was the only thing visible for at least fifteen meters. All the fruit of Meiss.
Nothing like this should happen to anyone. Nothing like this will happen to anyone, if I can do anything to stop it. I resolved to become a light in the darkness for others, for my melancholy to become a sanctuary. Reliving this… It hurts, but only reaffirms this goal. Nothing like what happened to Eura will happen to my friends. For Rem and Crusch, I'll do anything in my power to right that fault.
…
"So, is this it?"
Voice shaky, filled with emotion, Meiss addresses the witch.
"Yup, and if I'm being honest that was a lot faster than I thought."
Hand on her hip, the Witch of Greed slowly walks from the treeline. Her white hair painfully reflects the sun, and Meiss thinks she may already be getting a sunburn because her skin is so fair.
"The trial is over."
"The trial is over? So that's it then…"
Meiss reaches his hand over Eura's face, closing her eyes. The blonde reminisces about the coming week and two days before he will meet Subaru and Rem atop that sun-soaked platform. His life from now until then was filled with such anger and grief, masked with only a thin shell. The death of Gluttony relieved Meiss of most of that anger and grief, allowing him to move on. Unfortunately, he was unable to prevent what happened to Rem and Crusch, and as a result has been acting more self-critical of himself. So self-critical it could be called self-depreciative, not even mentioning the past that comes up to haunt him every once in a while.
The blonde gets overly anxious, has trouble sleeping, feels extreme guilt… All these things stemming from the experiences with Ley and the Witch Cult. Meiss spends the next week in stagnation, pursuing something out of pure revenge and hatred. He really needs to thank Subaru and Rem someday for lifting him from that.
"Heh. So what now? Do I just poof awake?"
"Yeah, unless you have any questions…?"
Meiss shuts his eyes, scanning his brain for a proper question. Concerning the trial…
"Is this the end? Is Sanctuary free?"
"No, after this there are two more trials, this one was your past, so the next ones are your present and future."
"Damn."
Meiss finally rises, taking a look at the destruction around him. Eura's little house in the woods has been destroyed, and further scorched by Meiss' authority. Barely anything remains of the building the two had stayed in. Tomorrow, Meiss would bury Eura and set out on his path of revenge.
The world is fading.
Meiss clicks his tongue, before turning to face Echidna. The two lock eyes for a moment as the world fades to only them. A smile dances across the witch's face as darkness covers Meiss' vision.
—
Waking, Meiss tries to draw in breath, only to hack out his lungs. Thick dust had settled in his mouth, and the blonde spits it up. Sitting up, Meiss feels blood rush down his face from his forehead. He must've hit the ground hard. He struggles to his feet, wiping away a lingering tear as he remembers why he ran into the tomb in the first place.
"Emilia."
Holding his head, which had begun to throb, Meiss made his way over to the half-elf. She was still in the nightmare, still struggling with her past. It may have been easier for Meiss to overcome his trial because he had already resolved himself, but the blonde didn't know if anything like that had happened to Emilia. He kneeled down next to her sleeping form, lightly touching her shoulder.
"Suu… ba… Meiss?"
Meiss chuckled lightly, moving his hand under her head to lift her into a sitting position.
"I won't tell him you said that. Heh."
Emilia didn't protest or resist as he lifted her bridal-style. It was quite weird and awkward, since Emilia was taller than him. The blonde carried her out of the room and into the tunnel, where he let her down onto her feet.
"Can you walk?"
Emilia weakly nodded, slowly putting one foot in front of the other. It hurt Meiss to see her this weak and uncertain, yet still pushing on despite being at a limit of sorts. Emilia looked back to see if he was following, and Meiss jogged to catch up to her. Side-by-side, the two walked out of the tomb and into the moonlight.
—
Ah, nothing better than having a snow day. That let me finish this two days before it needed to be uploaded. Thank you, Mother Nature. SKA, signing off for now.