Chapter Three: The Seperation of Souls
She could not believe. One by one, her comrades dropped down dead, some even without realizing it. Yet instead of stopping the multiple attack once and for all, she stood rooted to the ground, at an utter loss of what to do.
If they, the smarter and stronger ones, could not even defend themselves once from whatever it was, what chances did she have of rescuing them? A rational thought, but the bottom line was that she was simply a selfish person.
She would not believe. One of the last few struck down was Jean, hands firmly gripped onto the sword, ever ready to die while doing a warrior's job. Her eyes followed the movement of the falling body, absently reminding her of the time Teresa's head was completely severed by that monster.
Right. She was helpless then. But at least her actions, no matter how weak they maybe, could at least make a little difference. Right. She was useless no more, now, she had more power and chance than that faithful time.
If she could not save, she would kill. One way or the other, she made her decision. Clare unleashed a fraction of her yoki and advanced.
Why must those who were much more worthy than her, die?
Why couldn't it be her instead?
Clare preferred not to think in what presumably was the last few moments of her life, but it was when Jean appeared that the two questions penetrated her mind, admist the whirlpool of emotions within her.
Even in that wrecked form, Jean's inner self managed to shine through, akin to a reliable saviour. Perhaps that was the best of her strength, saved for the last so she could plunge into death with glory. But Clare refused to admire it, for she did not want to see her die for the second time.
Jean raised her bloody hands to caress Clare's cheeks softly, any wince she might have emitted was insignificant.
" You can still be saved," She whispered. " Lets just do what we did last time."
" No," Clare managed to argue. " Just heal your wounds so you can be saved!"
" It's useless," Jean answered. " I'm an offensive warrior..and I don't have much time left. Come on, align your yoki with mine."
Hot tears welled up in Clare's eyes, blurring her vision further. There was the possibility of her failing to reverse back, thus wasting Jean's efforts and in the end, both of them would die.
No, she could not allow that. If the two of them failed, then they would fail as warriors and not defeated ones. She should have done this a long time ago, resolving not to disappoint anyone no matter what.
Jean would want to die with pride, and not in vain. She would want to die knowing she died as a human, for a human, for a friend. It was the least Clare could do.
" Don't regret this," Clare bade her farewell, closing her eyes and aligning her yoki with Jean's.
Jean did the same. " It's what I live for. Now my debt is repayed."
For a brief while they felt a surge of emotions, drawing them close and interlacing their souls. Clare received the warmth generously given to her and before she knew it, Jean was gone.
The first thing Clare did when she regained consciousness, was not even to check if she was back to being human, but instantly hugging onto Jean's corpse. It was getting colder rapidly, all heat and life drained away.
Clare could not even register what she was crying out then, nor did she care. Why must it be you? You don't deserve to die for me. I can only do so little, you could do much more. I wish I was stronger, even if it was just so you could die saving a more worthy person. And so on, and so forth.
Suddenly, Deneve slapped her hard on the cheek.
" Get up," She admonished. " It's still not over. Jean didn't die for this."
Her action was a wake-up call for Clare, as the truth slowly dawned upon her. Indeed, it was still not over. What could kill them was still out there. Jean did not die for this. Jean died, so Clare could fight for herself and her comrades. It was not Clare's time to be done and if she was finished now, her promise was no more of an empty one.
" Thank you," She told Deneve gratefully. " Now I'm ready."
I won't let you down.