A/N: Once again many thanks to TarakavaTV721 for proofreading.
The echoes of clashing swords, steel being scratched and flesh being nicked spilt over the small circle of battle.
Thrùd fought an Einherjar. He was brave, dressed in fur clothes and a scaled silver armour underneath. With blonde hair, his blue eyes showed some weariness, but he was excited nonetheless; and fought with expected ferocity.
Bjorn Thorsten was his name.
The unit known as Thrùd had not selected him.
Unit Geirskögul, however, had judged him worthy on an apparent whim.
Despite protests, all sisters ended up agreeing, and another addition to Valhalla had been made.
He seemed quite fond of talking to the sisters despite all other pleasures and battles he could engage in.
Thrùd herself supposed that was why her sister Sigrùn had selected him for this little spar.
She dodged the swing of a sword, and her own shield bashed against his, locking them in a struggle for the moment.
Thrùd looked beyond his shoulder for a moment.
At the edge of the circle, her sister Sigrùn looked at her with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.
She would not disappoint her elder.
Bjorn wasn't the physically strongest warrior. His strengths lay in his bravado, his daring and his speed.
She pushed forward with all her strength, breaking his defence.
Then the false Gungnir thrust forward, piercing his armour and spilling his blood.
Retracting the spear, Bjorn keeled over.
"Damn, this is what I get for trying to show off," he said, spitting some blood as his body began glowing and dispersing into motes of light. He turned his head to her, and smiled. "Same time again tomorrow?"
She would normally not give an answer, but all Einerjhar deserved respect.
"If that is your wish," she said.
He chuckled, and then faded away. He would reappear in the halls of Valhalla, to live and feast and fight again.
Thrùd uploaded the battle data to the network, and turned to look at her sisters, watching from the sidelines. Six of them, all expectant.
Then, she turned to Sigrùn, who walked to the centre of the circle. Clad in their usual white swan mystic code, but adorned with additional purplish armour on the arms and legs like their sister Brynhildr. Sigrún was the second Valkyrie produced, a perfected model, and their commander.
However, no matter how different she looked, she was still a Valkyrie, and a sister. In the end, she was like them to the very core.
"Good work, Thrúd, and all of you for assimilating the information," she announced. There was no need for words normally, but Sigrún's programming compelled her to talk and command.
"That was a scary fight!" Ölrun said, hiding at the back of the group of six onlookers.
"Don't worry, Ölrun, humans can never be as strong as us!" Hildr said, lifting her nose a bit.
"Nonsense! Humans can reach great heights!" Sigrún responded, voice booming.
The sisters became quiet, and Sigrún continued, her narrowed eyes scanning each of them. "Humans are adaptable, and cunning. You must be as cunning as they are in order to judge them properly. Tomorrow we'll have another fight."
"But… Sigrún," Rindr spoke up, smiling a bit as if not thinking about what she was saying. "Wouldn't it be more effective to fight amongst ourselves? Would that not be training?"
Thrúd nearly facepalmed, and her reaction compelled her sisters to almost do the same.
"Absolutely not!" Sigrún responded, making Rindr's expression change to one of fear.
"W-Why?"
"Because we are all the same, and we have the same knowledge. If we fought, we would have no advantages over the other, we would follow an eternal loop. Burn these words into the network."
Sigrún crossed her arms then, her eyes relaxing.
She looked as beautiful as Brynhildr.
Thrúd hardly noticed the marks of strain on her expression until they were gone.
"Besides," Sigrún said, voice softening. "Valkyries do not fight against each other. Sisters never fight against each other. Our kin is our most important thing, protecting them and avenging them is what we must do, always."
"Never forget that, Valkyries."
Thrùd continued to stare in paralysis at the being that had appeared to them.
Covered in white clothes like hers, hiding cream coloured hair under her hood, a facsimile of a valkyrie looked straight at her.
Thrùd hesitated as the girl looked straight at her. Her eyes, devoid of light but still showing the power inside her. Her expression didn't move, her lips remained sealed, and every muscle moved without doubt, without thought.
And yet the body itself moved mechanically, but unlike hers, there was nothing graceful in its movements.
She was a newborn Valkyrie at first sight.
The girl of cream hair lunged, body twisting and shaking as if her foundation were weak.
The speed was commendable, closing the distance.
Even as a spear of steel, gold and energy was aimed at her, Thrùd remained still.
She could see her face close now, spear at her throat, a moment away from puncturing her neck.
Her eyes remained lifeless.
And then, wind blew past her, and an invisible projectile cut her down.
The doll fell, squirmed on the ground, and then stopped moving.
"Sister," Ortlinde shook her slightly.
"Thrùd! Sky to Thrùd! Wake up!" Hildr chose to shake her a lot, yelling into her ear.
Thrùd still stared at the dead girl, even as she shook her head.
A click of heels went past her, and Tristan stepped next to the doll, a small black harp on her hands.
She had killed a sister. That's what her instincts told her.
Her blood boiled, but she held back.
"So… is this one of you?" Tristan asked, looking at it with disgust.
"S-seems like it," Ortlinde replied.
"Man. How disgusting," Hildr said nonchalantly, making Thrùd turn to her. "Using us like that. It makes me…"
"... Angry?" Shirou asked.
"Uh…" Hildr said, embarrassed. "... Anger huh? It doesn't feel good. I shouldn't get angry, right Thrùd!?"
Hildr's expectant eyes landed on her. But she was still in a daze.
How had the emperor produced them?
Were there more?
How many?
Were they… that replaceable?
Of course they were. It was by design. Every sister was precious, but as long as one remained, then everything was fine. They were all the same after all.
Yet, the idea of killing them made her chest warp into itself like a black hole.
And when she transmitted that data, her sister's vitals spiked.
"This isn't the only one. We were looking through the tubes and… they began attacking," Mash said.
"So this asshole is making Valkyries now?" Shirou asked. "That's it. We need to stop him from creating and throwing away more lives."
Ortlinde looked at him, and nodded. Hildr looked away.
Hildr? Thrúd asked her.
We… we can't kill them! They are sisters! She said,
Thrúd pursed her lips.
They all felt the same, an incredible hole in their chests, arms and legs cold, outside regular functions.
The sounds of breaking glass echoed through the cavern.
"More are coming!" Mash announced, lowering her visor and putting herself in front of the others.
"More to kill then," Beryl said, pushing up his glasses, a hint of a smile under his hand.
Shirou clicked his tongue, swords appearing at her side.
Thrúd couldn't bear the thought. And Hildr saw that.
"This must be by design. The emperor is trying to make us malfunction!" Hildr said. "We- we cannot hesitate!"
"Hildr…" Ortlinde said. "... these are still our sisters. Would you go against them?"
"I…" Hildr said, mouth hanging open a little.
"Hey now, if it makes it easier, just think of them as fakes. Well then, better get to killing!" Beryl said. At least twelve Valkyries emerged from behind the tubes, their movements slow and robotic.
With a touch of her harp, Tristan cut down half of them. The others were held back by Mash and Shirou.
They could cut them down easily. They had numbers.
But she couldn't.
Thrúd and Ortlinde were paralyzed, and Hildr was held back by the consensus.
There was only one hope.
"Master! Please, your orders!" Thrúd said.
Shirou slashed at an incoming attacker, and looked back at her. "Thrúd! Can you attack?!" He asked.
That was not what they desired.
More Valkyries came, an overwhelming amount.
She was weak.
"I can't, Master!" Thrúd said, eyes stinging.
Her sisters looked at her, perplexed. Shortly after, Ortlinde let her know of her approval. Hildr simply acknowledged it.
"Great!" Beryl said, dodging an attacker that Shirou quickly dispatched.
"Shut up!" Shirou said, pulling back to them. "Let's look for an exit! Run for it!"
That was something they could do.
The only thing they could do.
The group escaped their attackers, moving to the back of the cavern which now seemed infinitely large. More and more fake Valkyries emerged from behind and above the rows, their expressions blank and communicating nothing to their network.
"I- I can't get a response from them! It's another frequency! They aren't sisters! We can-" Hildr said as another Valkyrie emerged and went for her throat. The attacker was swiftly knocked back by Shielder, crashing them into a row of tubes that began spewing forth a cloud of vapours.
"-no!" Thrúd said, cutting her off. "-we are not killing them!"
"Why?!" Hildr asked back, her smile gone.
Thrúd didn't have an answer, and couldn't think about it in the midst of battle, all her energy rerouted to combat. The thoughts of harming these fakes still sent a row of cold pulses through her.
"Because!" She answered. An intrusive thought came over her. The face of Emiya.
"That?!" Hildr asked.
"Focus!" Ortlinde shouted.
They kept moving. And far away, Thrúd saw an opening. A metal door on the far side.
"I see it! An opening ahead! Follow me!" She shouted, using magical energy to proper herself forward with her wings of light.
The door moved closer. Her team was separate from her now, she was even separate from her sisters. It was almost like running away. Not a tactical retreat or getting space for a counter attack, she was running away from the fact that someone had reproduced them and that she couldn't bear to kill them.
She arrived at the door and synchronised her thoughts.
There are so many!
I'll open the door. Move!
She turned, saw them approach as a swarm of figures dressed in white harassed them, and then set out to open the door.
Large, heavy, but of man made steel.
It made a sound, and the two sides opened quickly, revealing a squad of three Valkyries that looked the same as the others.
They rushed toward her at an impressive speed. Her systems failed to process, or didn't want to process, the information. Two circled her, grabbing her arms and holding her down to the point she kneeled.
The third raised her spear, and thrust forward.
Mustering her strength, Thrúd kicked one of them away and threw the other at the side, before using her good arm to block the strike.
It pierced her weapon forearm, where her mystic code couldn't protect her fully.
She was face to face with her 'sister'. Cream hair popped up from behind the hood as lifeless, red eyes stared back.
It was undeniably a Valkyrie.
Her mind failed, and only the instinct to keep functioning remained. Thrúd grit her teeth and pushed her forearm, trying her best to materialise her spear in her shield arm. She couldn't kill her. She… her sisters were everything. To have new ones, to meet new ones was nothing short of a miracle. Meeting Hildr and Ortlinde again was something irreplaceable.
Before her strength could give in, the enemy Valkyrie was struck to the ground, impaled by a spear of light.
Standing over her, Hildr was covered in blood, eyes open wide.
"H-hildr…" Thrúd whispered. She synchronised immediately, and was met with a short burst of static that immediately receded.
"I… had to do it!" Hildr shouted, as she usually did. "It was right! Protect my sister… protect the Human Order… I obeyed my orders… right? Right?!"
Thrúd nodded.
The other two Valkyries got up, and were promptly cut down by Shirou and Beryl, sending cold shocks through Thrúd's body.
"You okay you two?" Shirou asked, white clothes stained with blood. They both nodded.
"More enemies are coming!" Mash shouted, as a swarm of mass produced Valkyries approached, united in their purpose to kill them.
"We cannot kill more of them!" Hildr said. Beryl scoffed at her.
"Is a murder machine seriously hesitating NOW!?" He asked, frustrated.
"Regardless we cannot take them all on!" Mash said.
It was then that Ortlinde, who had remained silent, synchronised a plan.
"Everyone stand back!" Ortlinde said. In a second, all three Valkyries summoned the power of the primordial runes, tracing three glowing blue symbols on the ground. The group obeyed and stood behind them.
At the very least, they functioned properly.
The Valkyries launched forward.
"Eis!" They all chanted together, and the runes activated. After a flash of magical energy, a large, thick ice wall was in front of them, blocking the entire hallway in an arc. It wasn't as sturdy or strong as Skadi's magnificent's construction, but it was serviceable and easy to execute.
More importantly, Ortlinde's plan had managed to both protect them, and the fake Valkyries.
Thrúd felt some pride in her sister.
"We… held them back," Shirou said. He looked at the three of them, while the Valkyries continued staring at the wall, which had now fallen silent. The mass produced copies made no effort to break it. "You three ok?"
"I…" Thrúd said. There was a consensus among them, and it was that it was a tragedy.
But the mission remains, right? Save Master… I mean… Ritsuka Fujimaru. Hildr said.
Thrúd nodded silently. "Yes."
"Uh…" Shirou said, and the three sisters turned to him.
"Everything's all right!" Hildr said, jovial as ever.
"You sure?" Shirou asked back, his eyes staring at them with what she identified as the hallmarks of sadness in humans.
"Indeed. Well…" Ortlinde murmured, taking one look back at the wall. "...it is complicated. But…"
"We do not wish to harm more sisters," Thrúd said.
"We can't. That's what dad always told us, what he programmed us to do," Hildr said.
"Yes. But if the order comes, then…" Thrúd said, looking at Shirou's eyes.
"Sister!" Hildr shouted.
"I do not wish to do it either!" Thrúd shouted back, making Hildr flinch. After that short burst, thrúd's mouth hung open.
That wasn't proper. Valkyries didn't succumb to anger, like Hildr had said before.
"I- I'm sorry. I… do not wish to hurt them. Even if they are fakes, or lifeless, I…"
"I understand," Shirou said. Dumbfounded, Thrúd stared at him. He had a grave expression, but his eyes were full of life still. "We won't kill them."
Staring at them, Thrúd felt something rise in her cheeks. "Master. If you give the order-"
"- then I won't give it."
The three Valkyries could not say anything to that. Thrúd felt something start beating hard.
"Are you serious?" Beryl asked.
"Yes! Now, Mash, you see anything ahead?" Shirou said, ignoring Beryl as he walked to stand between him and the Shielder.
Mash, who had been stared as if in a daze, nodded and lowered her visor.
The path ahead led to a metal chamber, in the shape of a half circle. Various pillars jutted out in equal intervals, and each had a massive, human sized cylinder attached to it. A container of some sort.
"These look like the capsules the emperor used to send his supplies and army!" Mash said, running to a nearby console. "It's… set to send supplies to the city. We could get directly to the emperor's doorstep."
"I… see? You think every facility has this?" Shirou asked.
"Most likely. He doesn't use humans for anything, and this is the most cost effective he can get without them. No need for accommodations or convenience," Mash said, before turning and looking back at them, a twinkle in her eyes. "They are still functional."
"So we can use them to get to the emperor's fortress," Ortlinde said.
"Yes. Though… no human would be able to survive in this. It will probably break down on the landing, even if the load is as small as one of us," Mash said.
"Maybe we could… use ourselves as dampening? As Servants, our resistance is greater than a normal human's," Ortlinde said. Thrúd looked at her with some curiosity.
Ortlinde, you should run those plans by us.
Oh, sorry, I forgot.
Sure you did sis.
Don't tease me. It's already hard enough to think about this.
"I don't like the idea of squeezing together in… that thing. I'd rather nobody get seriously hurt," Shirou said, crossing his arms.
Thrúd heard something behind them, in the distance. Something striking something else.
"And I'd rather not be together with peasants," Tristan noted.
"So you're a princess," Thrúd noted. "And as fickle as gods."
"Hmph. And not as lowly as yourselves," She replied. They glared at each other for a moment. Thrúd scanned the area, in order to determine if a battle was favourable for her, and her sisters of course, to win.
"I don't think we have another choice," Mash said, touching the tablet again. "Emiya, if you really don't want to-"
"-you'll be alright, yeah?" Shirou asked her.
Mash stared back, her purple eyes betraying hesitation, as if a failure still weighed heavily upon her. A second later they steeled again. "Yes," she said, head nodding with force as if her entire confidence was held in that motion, "I won't let any of you get hurt."
"Aww Mash. I can't resist that, you know? You're too sweet. Maybe save it for someone more special though," Beryl noted, smiling like Loki used to do. "Ok. Let's get on it then."
With a nod, Mash lowered one of the capsules, a set of large and unwieldy mechanical arms prying it open and revealing its bland interior. Beryl climbed first, followed by Tristan who scowled heavily. Shirou followed, and then the three sisters.
By the time Thrúd entered, space was low. Beryl and Baobhan already hogged half the canister by kneeling. Shirou himself had to twist in order to fit in, and Thrúd was left with no choice but to sit in front of him, closely.
As she positioned herself for the most effective way of saving space, she found herself feeling a hot air, and then looked up to see Shirou's face a few centimetres of her own.
"Master. Sorry if this is uncomfortable," Thrúd said.
He was close. Too close. The warmth of his body forcing her against cold steel made her feel strange. It wasn't a battle, it wasn't a fight for survival. Just the two of them there.
"Not at all," he said, before trying to accommodate himself, and by no fault of his own ending up pressed even further into her. He looked away, face red. "S-sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry ab-"
"Make space!" Hildr said, squishing her further into Beryl. He smelled of wild dogs and was cold to the touch. Hildr herself was warm.
"Sorry Emiya," Ortlinde added, now squeezing tightly into Shirou's side.
Even though she should have pressed no mind to his warmth, she found the lack of it distracting.
"Man, you're awfully warm, Thrúd!" Hildr noted, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"N-no I'm not!" She answered, mouth wavering. It wasn't her fault. Her master had been too close.
Yes. She wouldn't allow him to be close again, since doing so would make her malfunction.
"Ok! All set!" Mash said, squeezing with her back to them, the shield acting as a makeshift door.
Movement was heard as the outside machinery rattled.
"So how long until it launches?" Shirou asked.
"It… didn't say," Mash said sheepishly.
"No alarms either. Maybe it's not that he doesn't care and more like he is a sadistic prick," Beryl commented from the back.
"Even if that were the case," Shirou said, grunting. "The real worry is when- GAH!"
A sudden force pushed them all towards the exit, almost threatening to crush them to Mash's shield.
They were flying at high speeds, but they had no control, no sight and no wind.
She missed her flying mounts.
Galloping.
Galloping.
She heard galloping.
Steady, rhythmic, too rhythmic.
Incredibly inhuman galloping.
"Ophelia," she opened her eyes, looking directly at her Servant. He bore a steely expression, looking at her with seriousness. "Be steady. They are almost here."
"Yes. I can hear them," she said. Her single eye caught sight of them. Xiang Yu and Akuta, running side by side towards them from the low ground. Without stopping and probably also seeing them up there, Ophelia concluded they had the confidence of winning without the need for cover or a more subtle approach.
Her eye wavered. "This will work."
"Yes. Why the re-affirmation?" Sigurd asked simply.
She hummed, unable to look him in the eye. Sigurd was her Servant, a tool. Most beings were tools to a magi, just another way to reach their goal. Whether it was the Root, the perfection of their magecraft, the salvation of humanity or in the Pahmrsolone's case… the ability to alter the future itself, and manipulate the powers of history.
For years, she had done the same things as her parents. Ignored cries and feelings with a metaphorical knife in her chest.
Ritsuka, Mash and Shirou changed that.
Although she was different from the start. She wasn't a proper Magi. Out of nowhere she started to care, despite her upbringing and her very nature as a shy, introverted person who at times wanted to be shut away from people, she couldn't help but care.
And wonderful people cared for her, without asking for anything.
How could she not do the same?
"I… don't want to lose you," she said after a long moment.
Sigurd's voice seemed to get caught in his throat for a second. "I see."
"I'm not less determined than before," she corrected. Even if she had been freed from expectations, some still lingered in her psyche. "But I don't want to lose you again. You are my Knight after all."
Sigurd said nothing, but slowly, a smile crept up on him. "So that's the kind of woman you are. I'm glad to confirm it."
"Oh?" Ophelia asked.
"Yes. I'm quite observant, outside my glasses. Regardless… I'm afraid my wish and desire is for you to go forward. And for that, you must let go of me without regrets," he said, voice grave again.
"But-"
"The fact that you told me this… is enough. And it warms my heart," Sigurd said, giving her a genuine, dashing smile.
It was no wonder Brynhildr was head over heels for him.
"Ok Sigurd," she said, taking a deep breath. "Go. You know the plan."
Akuta and Xiang Yu were close now, just a slide away. Akuta's sights were on her, ready to kill.
Sigurd dashed forward like a meteor.
Xiang Yu galloped like a storm.
When the two, the clash nearly knocked her off her feet. Slashes, crunches, clanks and splatters all occurred in a matter of seconds as a tornado of dust engulfed the battlefield.
Ophelia stood her ground, doing her best to maintain composure, to not look away from the desperate last stand of her Servant.
A single clash of swords sent enough force to clear the battlefield.
Xiang Yu spun his body around, his hind legs not giving up any ground as he continued his offence.
Sigúrd attacked as he always did, with precision and calmness. However, he was slower than before, and Ophelia could see him struggle to hold the slash barrage while hitting him on his own.
Moreover, Sigúrd wasn't using the full extent of his magical energy.
Enhancing his connection to her, to the world, could help. It was only a single ritual.
Ophelia observed beyond Xiang Yu as she began casting the spell. Yu stood there, looking at her straight and not doing anything of note. She seemed content to sit back and let Xiang Yu handle the battle.
Her eyes transmitted a clear message.
Interfere, and I will kill you on the spot.
Seeing that, Ophelia stopped, and continued to look powerless.
Four slashes in quick succession, clashing against Sigurd's emerald blade. Deflected, and then a counterattack from the dragonslayer.
He nicked Xiang Yu's armour, leaving a large gash on him.
The centaur wasn't fazed, and attacked with all four blades at once.
Ophelia felt her throat tighten.
Sigurd was cut across his body, spraying blood along the floor.
He didn't fall down, even though he was heaving.
Ophelia saw something in his eyes, the eyes of someone fighting desperately, someone who wanted to live even if they didn't know it or didn't want it.
She needed to do something.
Her heart couldn't take it.
She still had two command spells.
But as she grabbed her hand, she hesitated.
Follow the plan, or give up her knight?
What would Kirschtaria do?
The moment those thoughts began, she squashed them not even a heartbeat later.
It was still too slow to keep up with a Servant battle.
Sigurd's sword ignited, and with a grunt an emerald slash of energy broke Xiang Yu's swords, along with one of his arms.
Xiang Yu didn't flinch as he slashed downwards.
Sigurd fell to the ground, a red pool forming under him, almost mimicking Fafnir's defeat against his other self, Siegfried.
But he didn't fade away, he still twitched, the muscles under the torn armour straining to lift him up.
However, Xiang Yu trotted forward towards her, and without a glance stabbed one of his remaining swords into Sigurd's back.
Ophelia flinched, not at the violence, but at the fact that she stood by and watched it happen, willingly.
"Looks like this is the end," A voice said. Ophelia saw crimson eyes in front of her, burning with hatred and curses.
It was the terrifying, paralysing feeling of being in front of something much greater than a mere human.
But Ophelia held her gaze.
"You're wrong," she told her.
"Your Servant and his human love failed you. Your love failed you. Humans cannot make the sacrifices for true love, and that is why they, and you, are worthless," the words were supposed to stab, but instead they rang hollow.
"Again you're wrong. Your love is powerful, but you only love and care for one thing and one thing only. I admire that, and admire your willpower," she said, trying her best to prevent her voice from cracking.
The burning in Akut- Yu's eyes became so intense Ophelia felt like she was actually going to be set on fire.
"And I despise your hypocrisy. You only care for your beloved Kirschtaria, even though you say you care for everyone. You only got this far because you got saved by others, because you are a coward who runs away whenever things get hard. Wasn't that the reason you came to Chaldea?" Yu asked.
Another cold stab, but this one gave birth to a silent, powerful flame in her interior. "Funny you should say that. All you did was run and hide from humanity for years, unable to try and be accepted, not even trying to find the people that are born among us who are worth a thing, like your beloved Saber," it was an unfair, untrue and cruel statement. But she said it, and as expected, Yu reacted.
"Die," was her only response, and in a second she dashed toward her and inserted a sharp, thick dagger reminiscent of those used by the burial agency into her chest.
She took a second to look at it, before a hot pain made her way through her body.
"Make it quick, Lady Akuta. No additional pain is necessary, as requested by the emperor," Xiang Yu said.
Yu sighed. "Yes, darling."
"Darling?" Asked the centaur, raising an eyebrow.
"N-nothing. Just… I'll tell you later. And call me Yu-"
"You know, Akuta," Ophelia said. The fairy looked at her, bewildered.
"How are you-?"
"You are right, I AM a coward, and that is why I can't afford to die here," she felt her consciousness stretch along a line, towards someplace else, her mind and spirit returning to her body.
"What the-?"
"See you later…" her consciousness continued to stretch along a tunnel. Her body morphed and bloated until it was one of the many black masses assaulting China, which leapt onto Akuta's arm engulfing it, devouring it.
The fairy yelled in pain while Xiang Yu moved quickly and dispatched the creature, and cut the engulfed arm.
"Ah! Lord-"
"To prevent infection," he said.
Akuta held her arm, which this time didn't heal fast, a darkness taking hold of the stump. Through teeth about to break from being held too long, Akuta screamed something.
But Ophelia didn't hear, she was travelling somewhere else.
She crashed onto grass, her chest feeling like it was being stabbed by needles every time she took a breath. Of course it did, Akuta stabbed her seconds ago and her spirit felt it.
Projecting her own body onto a suitable spirit was a hard, well kept secret of the Phamrsolone family, and her last trick up her sleeve. Or at least, her last trick that wouldn't severely endanger her life.
She uprighted herself, heaving.
Her body had been unconsciously running through the fields, and now she was almost at the walls of the city, holding the cloaking sphere Da Vinci had built for her.
She could see the Mors, also travelling towards it in the distance.
Time was short.
Sigurd had bought her some.
Sigurd.
She had thrown his life away, and that thought made her chest ache in a different way.
"Forgive me," she said, holding back the stinging of her eyes, and settling towards the fortress ahead of her.
A/N: Alright, we're approaching the final steps. Nothing more to say this time sadly. As always any comments are welcome.