As usual, I own no one in here except Mira, Cedric, Alma, and my version-conception format of Seris. And my brain's wacky ideas of crazy stuff to put these people through.
Check out my boyfriend, who helps me handle this story, at his profile of The Lost Son of Gaia.
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Thank you all for being lovely!
Alternate World Classlist:
Elsword: Lord Knight
Eve: Code: Battle Seraph
Rena: Night Watcher
Raven: Veteran Commander
Chung: Tactical Trooper
Aisha: Elemental Master
Ara: Asura
Elesis: Grand Master
OC Classlist:
Seris: Body of Light
Mira: Code: Future Hope
Alma: Relivu Nightingale
Embracing the Future
~/~
Chapter 8: Soul of a Relivu
'They bear their curse...they bear their burdens...and they bare their hearts to no one.'
"Mama..."
"Hm? Yes Cedric?"
"I miss Daddy, Mama..."
"I do too honey."
"Mama?"
"Yes?"
"Is Alma going to be okay Mama?"
"I think so honey...I think so."
"You'll protect her, right?"
"Of course I will honey, I promise."
"Mama...I feel bad for Alma..."
"Oh?"
"She bears a really scary burden, Mama..."
"I know Ceddy..."
"I don't want anything to happen to her, Mama..."
"Nothing will...I promise..."
"Really Mama?"
"Of course. Even if anger swallows Alma again...I'll give her all the love she needs again."
"I'm glad Mama..."
Seris frowned as she brushed his hair and tears from his eyes, kissing his forehead, and holding him close as she began gently rocking him from side to side. The meeting with the alternate El Gang had finished and everyone had strewn to their rooms to prepare for the missions to get the blade pieces in the morning. Seris and Cedric had been placed in one room, Mira in the next door, and Alma in the door after that, from left to right. The blond felt great concern in her heart again, for these three children. As it already was, the boy would be staying with a maid in the morning, along with Rena's elven brother, Tyrell. Seris and the two girls would be with the rest to the two dungeons, into which they would take four members at a time per dungeon. The only three going for both dungeons would be Seris, Mira, and Alma. Letting out a sigh as the child fell asleep, the blond chose to join him... As the woman slipped to sleep, Alma slowly stood up, her body sore from kneeling for so long. She had dropped to her knees, clasped her hands together, and sunk into approximately two hours of prayer.
"The angels were always falling...I hope mine still stands."
"Every night of my life
I watch angels fall from the sky
Every time that the sun still sets
I pray they don't take mine"
A sudden knock surprised her and she walked to the door slowly, tilting her head when she found Mira slowly opening the door and peeking inside. The little robotic child smiled when she found Alma in her sight. Alma, meanwhile, was quite confused to be visited by Mira, so she tilted her head in surprise.
"Mira?" she asked, "Are you alright?'
The red-white haired woman nodded with a smile, "I am fine. I just had a question."
"Oh?"
Mira stepped inside and leaned on the door then, tilting her head as she walked since the other child was attempting to stretch her muscles out a bit more.
"I just remembered...when you first came to us, you said you didn't know your name. But just earlier you said that your name is Alma Relivu...? There's no way Raven gave you the correct name..."
"I was suffering minor amnesia due to absorbing the anger," Alma replied, "-once I finally absorbed love, I remembered everything about myself. Alma Relivu, aside from the last name, is not my real name at all. However, it is my name now, in my opinion."
"Wow Alma..."
"However, some in the village did call me Alma. Not as a name though, but just as the word since it means soul. They called out to me with that word when trying to direct me about the sword."
"But...what is your name then? The real one?"
"Philomela Livna Relivu..." Alma sighed slowly.
"Philomela...but that's..."
"A minor figure in Greek mythology who was violated and had her tongue cut out by her sister's husband. She got her vengeance and then was turned into a nightingale," the purple haired child replied, walking to the window and putting her hand on it, "-only the male nightingales sing. The females sit in silence, mute as could be."
Mira blinked, tilting her head, "What does Livna mean?"
"White," Alma replied, "-I am the white nightingale of the Relivu bloodline. For I only sing in silence as I try to light the way through the night."
The human-nasod hybrid could only wrap her arms around her...
"Your words still serenade me
Your lullabies won't let me sleep
I've never heard such a haunting melody
Oh, it's killing me
You know I can barely breathe..."
Meanwhile, in the world they were actually from, the El Gang was deeply concerned. Almost no one was going on missions at that point. Raven was watching over his Seris, Cedric, and Alma in their room day in and day out. Elsword and Eve were staying beside Mira, no matter what happened. Rena wouldn't leave Tyrell behind, so she spent her days on cooking duty and carrying him around in her arms, waiting for him to wake up. Since she was on cooking duty all the time, it left Aisha, Ara, Chung, and Elesis to run missions around Elrios together. The parents and babysitter were a set of worried people, so the refusal to leave was clearly understood throughout them. Elsword and Eve could only hold onto each other as they watched Mira lie at rest. Even though the others would often try to comfort him, he would often tell them not to, and request that they leave him alone. The air of the El Gang home was far too thick, far too pained, far too stressed... For them, days had already passed, and they only wanted their loved ones to come home.
"Mira...come back...please..."
"Seris...darling please...I'm not myself without you..."
"Tyrell, my parents will kill me...and I have so much to be a do as a sister Please... come back."
"Cedric honey...come back. Alma...please...both of you please..."
However, one particular day, it just so happened that Aisha and Ara went to Altera Plains. On that same day, Chung and Elesis went to the Underground Chapel. What they found was...
"What are these?"
"This is so weird..."
"That energy is thick..."
"We need to take it with us..."
"Philomela?"
"Yes great-grandfather?"
"Please remember to make friends."
"Wha..."
"Philomela, one day you may forget who you are. That's why you need friends."
"I don't understand..."
"You will someday."
Daybreak parted the sky with color far too soon for most of the group. Raven was haunted, Seris had been hard pressed to sleep with worry, and Alma had been given only a fitful rest. It had been a very destructive night for most of them, and so their will to get up was low. Finally though, they all met in the dining room for breakfast and the plan that Eve had created with Elsword well into the night. Normally, that would have been Raven's job as army commander, but since the king and his royal knight were going, the plan was thus theirs to make. Once everyone was around the table, Eve began to lay out the plan to everyone.
"Okay everyone," Eve began in her toneless voice, "-we will all go to Altera together, to drop off Seris, Alma, Mira, Elesis, Chung, Aisha, and Ara. Rena, Raven, Lord Elsword, and I will all go Feita in order to wait for Seris and the girls to meet us there. Ara is to bring them to Feita, the other three are to return to the castle to relieve the servants of Tyrell and Cedric's care. Is this understood?"
Elsword chuckled, "Under no circumstances is Elesis to cook for the children when you guys relieve the servants."
Elesis nodded, "Got it. Wait, hey-! That's not nice!"
"Understood!" Chung responded.
"Works for me," Raven replied.
"Sounds good," Ara chirped.
"My cooking is not that bad!"
Rena sighed, "It is. Anyway, I understand the plan."
"Our mission," Eve responded, "-is to help Alma recover her family blade, so her party may be sent home."
Seris gently patted Alma and Mira's shoulders, while Cedric sat in her lap and kept his arms around his mother. Tyrell was currently on the woman's shoulders, resting sleepily against her head, as the baby boy was tired. Mira seemed disturbed with worry, and Alma was disturbed with burden.
"Alma..."
"Yeah, Mira?"
"It's...going to be okay."
Cedric flailed, "Of course it will! Alma has us and we all love Alma very much!"
Alma smiled, closing her eyes, "Thank you..."
"Everyone! Eat your breakfast and prepare to move out!"
It didn't take much longer before the Altera party was watching the Feita party leave. It also wasn't long before they were being attacked by nasods and having to fight back with all their might in order to get through the plains. The destructive and perilous ruins were cruel upon the group. Seris' alert nature and Body of Light abilities continued to keep everyone healed, while Alma stayed behind the woman, not having the ability to fight for herself. Mira wielded Starshine Future with all of her might. Her stabbing of the blade into the ground in order to swing her body for attack began to become useful as the others fought on through. Elesis, Chung, Ara, and Aisha soon got them to the end, where Seris fought alongside Mira to help the four achieve the defeat of Ignis and Leviathan. The battle was long, with many attacks as Aisha used her magical girl transformation with electrocute, Elesis cut enemies down, Ara worked hard with Eun, and Chung provided cannonball support.
However, Alma soon showed distress. Seris noticed immediately as she continued healing the small party once the battle was over. She reached out and touched Alma's shoulder, worriedly.
"The sword blade...it's not here."
"N-Not here?" Aisha stammered, confused.
"What do you mean? You said it was, you little shrimp!" shouted Elesis.
"How could that be?" asked Chung.
"That can't be...!" Ara whined.
"Someone's been here...someone took it..." Alma murmured.
Before anyone could stop her, Alma's eyes went wide and she suddenly ran from the plains, "I need to get to Feita, now!"
"Alma!" screamed Seris in deep concern.
She dashed after her daughter, as Ara screamed at the others to head back to the castle before dashing after the pair, followed immediately by Mira. Chung, Elesis, and Aisha huffed in confusion before going back to the castle. Mira sheathed Starshine Future, frowning deeply as she ran after her mother, who drew her claymore as well to use with her cutlass. She did so in order to fight anything that came near herself, Alma, or Mira while Ara tailed them. With all of this, it did not take long for them to reach Feita, and not much more beyond that to reach the Underground Chapel. The sight that waited them there...horrified them immediately. Eve was cradling a extremely bloodied Elsword in her arms, leaning against a post with anger in her usually inexpressive face. A dark laugh was heard as a severely injured Rena and Raven continued to fight harshly against an enemy. That was...an enemy that looked far too familiar... Alma wasted no time in snatching Seris' cutlass and quickly jamming the blade into the offender's back immediately.
"So I have an alternate too...I should have known..."
"Oh my goodness!" gasped Seris.
"Eun, the presence!"
"This is bad," Raven gasped, pulling Rena and stepping back.
"You said it..." she murmured, falling back against a tree.
"Your majesty...please return...please hurry..." Eve murmured.
"Alma! You found...another Alma..." gaped Mira.
"Everyone stand back! Get away from here!" shouted Alma, as the alternate began to laugh darkly, "Seris, I require this blade! This or your claymore! Make your choice."
"J-Just use the claymore..." Seris gasped, trading the child swords quickly before backing off.
"Alma, what are you doing?" cried the nasod-human hybrid as Seris pulled her.
"My alternate has been possessed by a demon wanting control of the blade," Alma stated.
"What!" cried Raven.
"I thought the other pieces were..." Rena tried.
"She came ahead of us and stole them and reassembled the blade," Alma stated.
"My king is injured! We need to leave!" Eve demanded.
"Then all of you leave," Alma stated, "-I will not."
"Alma!" cried Seris.
"I will fight..."
"Alma you can't!" shrieked Mira.
Alma chuckled lowly, "I can, and will. For I am the white nightingale of the Relivu bloodline. For I only sing in silence as I try to light the way through the night."
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and will review!
For more information about Alma's "real" name, please do research or ask me!
I'd be happy to explain!
The song inserts are Diamond Eyes and The Crow and Butterfly, both by Shinedown.
Let me know what you all think!