Even Demons Cry
Author's note: Always wondered what happened when Illyana regained her soul. Just how did that go? This takes place right after she has regained the blood stones but before she gives Megan's stones to her. Rather pleased how I made it come full circle with the original Magik series. You will only fully understand the ending if you have read the original series. Prize for the first one to identify the ladies. After additional review I find the story to be too "easy" a path; which has resulted in a completely different story (Bloodstone Ghosts) but I decided to publish this one for Illyana fans.
Darkchilde sat cross legged at the base of a flaming silver pentagon, which was within a burning white circle. Illyana's three blood stones are at the three upper points of the pentagram; Darkchilde is facing away from the stones. She was not in her human form but is in her true demon form. Above her head the soul sword is floating point down. The sky is a featureless grey, the ground a featureless flat light brown dusty plain. There is nothing in sight, no people, no ruins, no mountains, nothing. Everyone had been returned to Utopia two days ago and the debris of battle had faded away under Darkchilde's stern gaze. Outside of the circle there is a glowing box holding Megan's two blood stones and her soul dagger.
Darkchilde finished the casting of her master spell. "Sit lapides relaxare. Sit fieri electiones". The sky grew black; there was no light except for the white burning circle, sword, and pentagram. The light was white but somehow Darkchilde was only illuminated in shades of red. A light breeze started to blow and one could almost hear the ghost of scattered leaves blowing gently across the ground. A bit of Darkchilde's blond hair lightly danced in the breeze. Darkchilde bowed her head. Limbo itself appeared to hold its breath.
Behind Darkchilde the three red blood stones started to glow, then grew into elongated red ellipses that slowly shifted to white, and then morphed into three transparent children. The children were each of a different age, the age being the age of Illyana when that particular stone had been made from her soul. Each child looked and was dressed just as Illyana had been at the time of the bloodstone creation. Silently they stood facing Darkchilde's back. Tears began to stream down Darkchilde's face and drip off her chin and nose onto the dusty ground. Nothing was said for a time.
The youngest child spoke "We are again". The second child spoke "We are now free". The third and oldest child spoke "Free to finally leave this place". Again nothing was said for a time.
"Could I go with you" Darkchilde whispered as she raised her head, "I'm so tired of being empty". Again nothing was said for a time.
The spirit fragments frowned and all asked, "Why did you not include the two remaining stones"? Darkchilde answered after a long pause, "They are not mine. They belong to another. One who was harmed by me. The first stone when I was but new and confused. The second stone by another". Darkchilde continued, "This spell can done but once, I fell to temptation before, I fell ..., I had to insure that I could not act upon my temptations".
There was a pause, after a time Darkchilde finished "You are not mine as well".
"No we are not" the spirit fragments replied, "We are hers". The spirit fragments looked up "And she is gone, we should go home". Again nothing was said for a time.
"Can I come too" Darkchilde quietly asked again? "No" they replied. "You would not be welcomed. You are not her. You never were. You are simply a demon cursed with her memories and the knowledge of what you are not". Darkchilde said nothing and bowed her head, her face wet with tears.
"What will you do" the fragments inquired? "I will end myself" Darkchilde responded, head still bowed, "I will return to the nothing I was pulled from". Nothing was said for a time.
"We can take your memories of her with us". The fragments at last responded. "This would allow you to endure your existence. It would remove the pain". Again nothing was said for a time.
"No, she is all I have, all that I want, all that I am" Darkchilde whispered. "I would rather not be then lose what little I am. I was never meant to be. I don't want to be this, this... thing. I would rather not be then continue as such". Again nothing was said for a time.
"You are not worthy of us" the spirits announced as they began to grow indistinct. "No, I am not" the sobbing answer.
"You don't deserve us" the spirits replied as they continued to fade. "No, I do not".
"Why did you not try to force us" the spirit fragments asked as they finally vanished. The red tones of light illuminating Darkchilde faded away as well, leaving Darkchilde illuminated with just gentle white light, tears dripping from her face. After a while Darkchilde faintly answered, "Because if I had then I still wouldn't be the me I had wished to become. I would still just be this".
"Then I guess we're home" a voice whispered in Darkchilde's ears. Darkchilde began to glow white; the demon form slowly fading to reveal Illyana collapsed on the ground wracked with sobs.
The sky gradually lightened, returning to the featureless gray sky. After awhile Illyana stood up, drying the tears from her face with her hands, leaving streaks of muddy dust on her face. She stepped forth from the pentagram and circle, which for some odd reason did not full fade away.
"I'm truly me" Illyana thought for the first time. "I wonder just what the heck happened in there" she thought as she looked back upon the circle and pentagram (The nature of the spell did not allow her to remember). "It actually worked; I guess the ladies really were right". There had been different rituals that could have been done to integrate the soul, but Illyana had deliberately chosen the one that actually had a high chance of failure. "I had to change my fate, I was born in violence and pain, and I lived inflicting such. I needed to see if I it was possible to walk another road, there had to be choice involved. I wonder though, who chose who"?
She bent down and collected the magic box for Megan and then port'd away, hoping to never return.
...
...
...
Some time later:
The pentagram within the circle continued to lightly burn. The ground at the center remained wet with tears. Then the wet dust slowly started to move and shape itself into a ball. The ball briefly glowed white as the pentagram and circle faded away; leaving behind an acorn. After a time the acorn cracked and ...