Chapter 13: Death Once Again

She sat there silently with drooped eyes stroking the earthen clay surface, it was rough because of the carvings in it but cool to the touch. Humming quietly as she sat there her mind distant as she felt her body burn hotter and hotter. Vlad stood by the door as he looked around her room, it was a plain room filled with nothing but book and hundreds notes and pieces of paper. They were strewn around the floors, tables, chairs, walls and even the ceiling. There was writing even on the walls and the ceiling, covering the floors as well. He understood then this was a sort of obsession she had, gathering all this knowledge just to consume her time and distract her from the boredoms of living. The staggering amount of paper and writing flung around the room was shocking, even though all of this knowledge was probably one of the kind and held secrets to things that humans could only imagine it was treated like trash. It was the same with the rest of the house, a relatively small one with not many furnishings and decorations. Plain and boring.

He took a few steps towards her as she remained sitting on the floor leaning against the wall, still stroking the urn gently. It was a relatively big one, around the size of her torso and it had strange marking all over it written in Latin. The colour of the earth and the smell of ash emitting from it, it made Vlad's spine tingle. It reminded him of the soil from which he awoke from and the small confined space from which he at first tried to escape from. The room stood still for a moment, not a sound could be heard. Her heart beat slowing and slowing with each beat and finally she looked up.

"They were at first going to throw my ashes into the holy river for purification", she murmured softly as she slowly started recalling the day where she had died as a human. "But my husband had managed to steal my ashes away and put me into this urn", she held it up for Vlad to take a closer look. He crouched down to her level and took the urn from her hands, gently holding as he took a closer inspection of it. The carvings and words weren't hand drawn in or even done by human hand, it was burnt in like as if there was something leading the lines to write themselves. She took the urn from him as she hummed softly as if she was cooing the inanimate object.

'Husband? So she did marry when she was human', he thought with a slight scowl. Who was he to judge if she had a husband or not, but it did irritate knowing that she loved a man once. However knowing that she would've married a human means the man has long died ago gave him the sense of victory. Other than that he could understand her attachment to her urn, this was her resting place and where she could rejuvenate her body. It was the last attachment to her human life and the beginning of her immortal one. Vlad had the same sentimental feelings towards his coffin, it was different for his servants as they didn't understand the meaning of the ties of being a former human. Rash and folly they only thought of the coffin as a resting place when they were tired. There was deeper and more intimate meaning than that, but he doubted that any of them would truly understand.

"I have many unknown enemies, some I know. The obvious ones are easily avoidable, but there are so many other. They want my knowledge, my secrets…my blood" She looked up at Vlad with wide eyes, fear. Vlad leaned closer folding his legs as he sat across her, touching her face gently as she shivered. "Even as my body burns, I am so very cold…I don't know how much longer I can keep this up", she let out a long sufferable sigh as slouched against the wall. Vlad was lost, what could he do to make her happy. To make her smile, she was most beautiful when smiling, but now she looked like a shattered doll. Anything to make her happy once more, he would do. Cupping her face gently and pulling her chin up so her eyes were staring at him, he spoke. Not in the elegant French but the soft tongue of Romanian, the rolling of the tongue and curling of vocals. It was something that Seras enjoyed hearing, it was a language she enjoyed than any other, even more than her native tongue which was Latin.

"Ai avut grijă de mine când am avut nici unul, acum i se va avea grijă de tine", he uttered in a soft yet deep resonate voice which held strength and power. She looked up, and just as her body was about to burst in flames she gave him a bright smile. Vlad pulled back for a moment to shield himself from the dazzling flames of the fire, his nose stinging and his flesh burning at the intensity of the fire. In the matter of moments the wall was char burned beyond recognition and the floor was burnt heavily soon showing the earth beneath the wood.

He didn't move away though, bracing all the heat and sensations of being burnt by the flame, his skin healing as it was burnt. And finally the flames stopped leaving only an ashy grey substance on the floor, he leaned in the scoop the ashes into the urn but then suddenly the ash turned liquid. A black viscous substance moving towards the urn, the colour changing as it moved. The substance trailing up around the urn, and dipping into the marking and grooves, slowly it started to resemble a thick rich blood. The urns markings glowing brightly and there was this pounding heat coming from the urn as the liquid slid underneath the lid.

Vlad took a step back as he watched the entire process, this would've disgusted another person but he found it mesmerising. Dozens of owl heads appeared from the liquid including their wings, sticking out in strange shapes, their yellow eyes blinking slowly. There was no defining feature for them besides the eyes, mouths and wings. It was mixture of black and red dancing across the viscous form of the ash. This was true manifestations of The Strix, Seras Victoria. The owls staring right at Vlad who could merely watch, they opened their mouths screeching at him as they continued to flood into the urn, the lid fully open. The heat radiating from the urn was simply astonishing, it felt like as if the burning sun was right next to him.

The last owl form from the liquid had startling blue eyes and surrounding it was dozens of hands reaching out to Vlad from the black mass of chaos, flashes of red dancing across the black. Mouths opening and closing, as if they were screaming but there wasn't a single sound to pass their lips and then finally there was nothing. The lid shutting tightly, the marks and carvings glowing brightly as new writing began burning it way through the urn. Vlad took a few slow steps towards to the urn and then gently taking the urn into his arms. It was so hot and warm, the smell of ash and burnt wood and the ashen feel over the urn was just like her. And it was her, she was here inside this clay pot sleeping and reforming. It was an only a matter of days before she would reappear from this urn anew.

He wrapped his outer cloak around the urn protectively, he would protect her while she slept. This was her last sanctuary, her last place to call home and it was hers alone. This was her and no matter what else was in her, this was truly her. "Sleep Seras, I will watch over you. Whatever form you may be", he murmured softly as he faded into the darkness bringing the urn with him. He trusted that she had taken the extra measures to take care of her house, so he left it be, not disturbing a single thing. Outside his servants were waiting for him, they did not question the urn he carried nor his burnt sleeve, only opening the carriage door and awaiting their commands.

'Back to the estate. Prepare a room, we have a guest for a week or two', he thought absentmindedly. His servants mind buzzing in response as the carriage master cracked his whip leading the horse forward. His hand constantly caressing the urn as he looked outside, it was the breaking horizon which he stared at. The sun began emerging from the horizon, leaning over the tall buildings and piercing the darkness. His eyes squinted towards the light and he drew the curtains almost aggressively. He didn't need to sun, looking down at the urn where he could still feel the hum of energy and burning heat, this was his sun and his warmth.

"Kill the witch! Her body must be purified! May a dozen lightning bolts strike upon this heinous demon!"

"Kill her!"

"Burn her!"

"Whip her!"

She felt lost, so soulless and dazed. Her body hurt, her back, her feet, her legs, her arms, her chest; everywhere it hurt. She heard the curses and the slanderous words and despite everything they called she could merely feel sheer happiness. It didn't matter what they called her, what they did to her, she had achieved something that only humans could ever imagine and dream. And she a mere mortal had achieved it.

"Look upon her, this whore of the devil!" A man pulled back her head grabbing her hair, she gritted her teeth, trying to drown down the pain. The man pulled out his sword and thinking her head was going to come off she instinctively closed her eyes but instead she felt the ripping pain of her hair being hacked at. Her long blonde hair which was envied by all was cut off viciously and held up in the air.

"The hair of a witch! Do not touch for it may even curse you with the slightest touch", he threw into the holy fires of the Hestia. Seras barely flinched at all, hair was materialistic anyways; it didn't matter. In all the madness and chaos, she felt a sort of enlightenment, all of these men and women spouting all of these holy things and for the sake of humankind. All of their word so meaningless, they didn't have any true power anyways.

She had seen it. The other world beyond this world. Monsters of all kinds, it was beautiful and yet tragic. They held such power and yet they were so pitiable. These humans telling tales of their conquest and worth through their actions yet they hadn't even conquered the true monsters within them. The monsters within them crying out for freedom an true discord of this illusion of society. A farce to call themselves the most superior race, as if they were born of some sort of privilege.

She embraced this monster, taking it for what it was and not turning away from the truth. She did something she knew was wrong. But she did it for sake of her family, a son without a father would be a hard life. A child needed a paternal figure, not only maternal figure and she couldn't be both. She would accept the death of a man that great. She wouldn't let him die over such a meaningless death like that, a man of his ability would not deserve that.

"Enough!" She roared out in protest, "Enough of this madness! I have had enough of this stupidity! Kill me! Burn me! You ignorant fools cannot even see beyond your arrogance and pride! You will all be consumed by your gluttony and ignorance! I have touched onto something you cannot even comprehend! I HAVE BROUGHT BACK THE DEAD! A living man with his soul and heart still there! He is no monster but just as human as you are! Living and breathing, with a beating heart and the warmth in his blood and flesh! So kill me! And all of my knowledge will be lost!" She was furious, these simple minded people could not even see what she had accomplished and that mankind has taken a step forward.

"You pathetic fools calling yourself a high priest and holy! I see nothing holy about you! You slander the money these fools give you and then you whore yourself to brothel women!" Their expression changing drastically as she cried out. "I cast aside the Gods! No matter what God there is, they are as cruel and merciless as you are!"

"See this blasphemous fool crying out the devils tongue! She is trying to bewitch all of you! Do heed the words of this devil!" The man shouted out pulling at her hair tighter, pulling some of the hair out of roots. She felt so angry, so helpless, so tired. She saw from the corner of her eyes him, her only child who stared at her with wide and terrified eyes. She thought that he was terrified of her but then as tears began sprouting his eyes she realised that he was crying from the fear of losing of his mother. Her son so good natured and so young, to see some something like this would stay with him until his death. Was he ashamed of her, did her hate or was he disgusted. She did not know and perhaps it was better that way.

Her heart ached and burned, the men began bundling her up and taking away to the burning flames of the fire. They wrapped her hands around in chains and did the same with her legs. Dragging her limp body towards the heat of the inferno and finally they threw her in. She wanted to scream but it was a waste of breath, she couldn't move or even run. Her skin was aflame and it hurt like nothing else she had ever felt. It charred her skin and her flesh began falling from the bone. The flames licked upon her skin, the stray flames flying into the sky danced. It reminded her of nymphs singing ans dancing, enchanting her towards something beyond the mortal realm.

With her last breath she cursed, she cursed all, pouring all of her hate into her last words. "I lay upon this curse upon all who witness my death who are not of my blood! You will suffer the same pains and humiliation of which I have felt today and forever more in your bloodline. FOREVER!" She screamed, the flames bursting out into vibrant red, as the silhouette of an owl emerged from the bright flames. Its wings outstretching as the flames burned even brighter, flashing into different colours which couldn't be possible. The bright yellow eyes of the giant bird piercing through the darkness.

"Minerva!" The crowd cried out as they scrambled down to get onto their knees, bowing to the Goddess of Wisdom. But it was not the goddess, but a devil. The owl in all of its glory, opened it beak and let out an ear shattering scream of the hundred tormented souls of accused witches. The onlookers and jeerers covered their ears at the sounds, some actually having blood drip from their ear from the sound. The wails of the damned which had their lives taken away so early, those whose life was ruined because of wrong accusations. And those who had been wrongfully executed for something they had never committed.

"We curse you!"

"We loathe you!"

"Die!"

The hundreds of voices echoed throughout the city and landscape, the flames burning those who were to close and charring the nearby buildings. Seras could no longer feel her body, there was only one regret she had that was being unable to see her son grow up. She felt tears run down her face, but it wasn't water that came from her eyes but blood.

'I have fallen from the heavens, and now I am the devil. Nothing will ever redeem me, so I shall create more chaos. My death is nothing but the acceptance of something that is beyond me', her last image was of the fields of her hometown and the burning sun. What she could see now was simply the dark skies and the moon, what a contrast.

Her mind astray in this form, there was no physical form, just a pool of chaos and manifestations. This was in truest sense was her true self, there was no human body here; that was just a shell to hold in what she really was. If she released her true form, there no knowing what horrors lay within it. She never found out because she never found the need to. She was relaxed and her insides were laying comfortably in the urn, there was the bone and muscles contracting around her and a heavy mess of sinewy flesh mixed with other forms of manifestations.

Her mind tenderly reached out to feel anything other being, she touched onto something familiar and delved a little deeper.

'Seras?'

So it was the little boy, she felt herself smile, not knowing how she really looked. She nudged his mind gently in affirmation, she felt his mind relax and open up to her. She felt a little faint and woozy, her mind was hazy and barely gathered together.

'You have slept for three days', Vlad's voice calming, it was like a crashing wave of the oceans. She liked hearing his voice, she relaxed even more and gently prodded at his mind. He realised that she was tired and slowly withdrew his mind, 'Sleep Seras. When you awake I will be there waiting'.

She hummed softly in response but then she drifted off into a realm where only the dying could touch, the limbo between life and death. But she wasn't dying, it was simply the state of mind which could reach it.

Ai avut grijă de mine când am avut nici unul, acum i se va avea grijă de tine - You took care of me when I had none, now I will take care of you.

I go back to school tomorrow, expect my funeral the following the day. That's all I have to say.

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Peace out.