Episode Nine
Inside the Mind of the Witchblade, Losing My Grasp on Reality?
A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.
Where am I?
It seemed an appropriate question to ask when one wakes up in the middle of a white void. There was literally nothing around him. Nothing below, above, to the side…it was all just: empty. He felt like he was lying on his back on a flat surface but there was nothing tangible to perceive beneath him.
He sat up and took a look around. When he took a closer look, there was a man in the distance standing outside of a hallway that seemed to be disconnected from a house and put into this void-land.
Tsarevich pulled himself to his feet and walked towards the hallway. He had to take it slow. It was incredibly hard to keep his balance when he constantly felt like he would fall into the endless white that surrounded him. Eventually, he got the hang of it, just kept walking and came closer to the man standing outside the hallway.
To his shock and surprise, it was Liir—the Warlock he had fought. What was he doing here? Where was here? He still hadn't answered that first question, had he? He didn't look hostile. He was dressed in jeans and t-shirt and looked particularly bored. He looked up a Tsarevich and wore an expression that said he was just as surprised to see Tsarevich.
"What's going on?" Tsarevich asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," Liir admitted.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"As far I can tell we are in the plain of existence between our minds," Liir replied.
"What?" Tsarevich asked. That was unbelievable.
"Well you see this way leads to my mind, and that hallway behind you leads to your mind. At least, I assume that's where it leads. We are in the space between our minds," Liir said.
"How is that possible? How could our minds be that close together," Tsarevich asked.
"It probably has something to do with the curse that I put on you," Liir replied.
"Curse?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I stabbed you in the chest, and fired a bolt of shadow energy through you. That shadow energy put a curse on you," Liir said, expanding on what he meant.
"That sucks," Tsarevich observed.
"It sucks for you. I didn't imagine that you would have access to me while you were under it. That's a side effect that I didn't foresee. Oh well. It's nice to have some company, I suppose," Liir said.
"Company? You tried to kill me, you bastard! What makes you think I'm going to hang around here and keep you company?" Tsarevich asked.
"It's not like you can just wake up. You're in a coma," Liir replied.
"A coma? A coma! This is a dream? This place isn't even real?" Tsarevich asked.
"It's real, just not in the physical sense of things. The curse that I put on you draws its energy from my mind. As long as it's on you, our minds are connected by this—bridge. That's what we'll call it," Liir said, looking around.
"Great. I'm in a curse-induced coma and my mind is connected to a Witchblade. I must have some kind of luck," he said to himself. He sat down. He wasn't sure what else to do and he was tired of standing. He wondered how he could get tired inside of his own mind. It's not like his body was tired. His body was sound asleep on a hospital bed. It was peculiar to say the least.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Liir asked.
"You're being awfully friendly for someone who tried to kill me, you know," Tsarevich pointed out.
"Do you want to know what's going on with the DWMA?" Liir asked.
"Sure. How is Vyse? You didn't do anything to him did you?" Tsarevich asked.
"No. Vyse is fine. Once I had my tool I decided to leave. There was no point in wasting any energy on him once I had what I cam for," Liir explained.
"What about Hammer and Nail?" Tsarevich asked.
"I don't know who that is. I won't know anyone specifically except you, Vyse, and the professor," Liir said.
"Oh. Well, what are they up to?" Tsarevich asked.
"Currently a team of Meisters and Weapons from the DWMA are chasing me down, trying to capture me," Liir said.
"You're kidding! That's going on right now. And you still are here inside of your mind?" Tsarevich asked.
"The mind is a mysterious thing. I guess there is a part of me that's always been here," Liir said. Tsarevich raised his eyebrow. He didn't understand but he didn't care to take the pains to have the Witchblade elaborate. He wanted to know what was going on in the real world.
"So continue with what's going on. Who's there? If you don't know their names, surprise me," Tsarevich said.
"There's the Reaper boy on his skateboard with his Weapons, the professor wielding a Death Weapon—a crossbow—and then there's a guy about your size with spiky green hair who thinks that he's hidden from me," Liir explained. Tsarevich was keeping count in his fingers as he named them off: Death the Kid, Elizabeth and Patricia Thompson, Professor Merios, Unknown Death Weapon, and Black Star.
"I hate to break it to you, but you're kind of screwed," Tsarevich said.
"What makes you say that?" Liir asked.
"They sent the DWMA's finest. Black Star and Death the Kid helped defeat the Kishin Ashura after all," Tsarevich said.
"I'm not worried. Not in the slightest," Liir replied confidently. The tone of his voice said he was being genuine.
"And why aren't you?"
"The whole thing is trap. I'm the bait. As soon as they get close enough to me, a half dozen Witches are going to take their soul protect spells off and have a hay day with the DWMA," Liir said.
"Figures that Witches would come up with a crafty plan like that. They're probably banking on it being a trap. It wouldn't surprise me if they have forces lying in wait to match your Witches," Tsarevich said.
"Then it will be a battle to remember, for sure," Liir said.
"So what's your end in this? Why are you trying to obtain all the magic tools?" Tsarevich asked.
"I do as I'm told. My coven leader, Chandra wants them. She plans to use them against the Reaper at some point," Liir said.
"So you're just a middle man? Her puppet on a string?" Tsarevich asked.
"I don't appreciate the analogy, but yes. Even Witches have a hierarchy in place. Are you informed of everything the DWMA is up to? Have they told you why they want the magic tools?" Liir asked. Tsarevich frowned. He was right. They were both pawns in a game that those with greater power were playing.
"I didn't think so," Liir replied after seeing Tsarevich's hesitation.
"So you're a Witchblade, eh? What's that like? Being the only one of your kind?" Tsarevich asked. He was genuinely curious to know.
"It's not a fun life for me to be honest. The Witches have been trying for years for someone like me to be born, and when it finally happened—let's just say that I didn't exactly meet their expectations," Liir said.
"What do your parents think about it?" Tsarevich asked. Liir scoffed.
"I've never met either one of them. When I was born I was adopted by the West Coven. I was born and raised to be a Witch soldier with the soul purpose of overturning the DWMA and its persecution towards Witches," Liir said.
"You view what the DWMA does as persecution?" Tsarevich asked.
"What else would you call it? They hunt us because they fear our power and use our souls to fuel Weapons to become stronger so that they can in turn more easily defeat us. I know that eight hundred years ago there was a falling out between Witches and the Reaper. It just goes to show how dangerous it is to have the same person in power for eight hundred years. Prejudice is a hard demon to slay," Liir said.
"Witches are evil. Lord Death does what he does to maintain the balance in the world," Tsarevich said.
"I'm sure that's what they taught you at the Academy: Witches are evil. Such an absolute statement that bears gravity of weight none seem to be open-minded enough to lift," he said.
"You're not evil?" Tsarevich asked.
"I possess the capacity for evil just like any other person in this world. Before I'm a Witch or Weapon I am a person. A human being just like you. I have the ability to decide what path I walk in life. I don't have to belong to the Witches or the DWMA to be deemed as 'good' or 'evil.' I can just be me," Liir said.
"That's not the world we live in," Tsarevich said simply.
"No, it is not; you are right about that," Liir nodded sadly.
"It's an interesting notion, though. What would you do if the DWMA and Witches could live in peace with each other? What would you do with your time and life?" Tsarevich asked.
"No one has ever asked me that? No one has ever cared enough to ask what I wanted in life," Liir replied.
"That's sad. You must not have very many trustworthy friends in you life," Tsarevich said.
"I don't have any friends. I am all alone in this world fending for myself, trying to do what I know to do best to survive. That is all. I rely on the Witches for food and shelter from the DWMA. I can't go and live an ordinary life. It's not possible. Especially because I'm a Witchblade," Liir said.
"That's a really sad existence," Tsarevich said.
"Do you have any friends?" Liir asked.
"A few," Tsarevich said with a nod.
"Tell me about them. Tell me what role they play in your life," Liir said.
"Really? Wow…I suppose I haven't really given it to much thought. I don't even know who to start with…I suppose I should talk about the professor first," Tsarevich said.
"You consider your teacher your friend?" Liir asked.
"Yes," Tsarevich said, realizing it for himself.
"Is that strange?" Liir asked.
"Yes. Let me give you some back story on me. Everyone thought that I was going to be a prodigy as a Meister. From a very young age I have been able to control my wavelength to do things that most Meisters cannot.
"When I arrived at the Academy, we found out that I could change my wavelength to match any Weapon. In short, there is no Weapon in existence that I cannot wield," Tsarevich said.
"I wonder if you could wield me," Liir pondered aloud. Tsarevich had been wondering the same thing. No one had ever wielded a Witchblade before. If he did, the two of them would make history. He decided that was neither here nor now and continued with his back story.
"The problem is, I can't seem to find a compatible Weapon partner. No matter who I pair with, something seems to go wrong," he said.
"What about the guy who was with you in the observatory?" Liir asked.
"That's Vyse."
"Is he your friend?"
"Yeah, but I met him last so I'm going to save him for last," Tsarevich explained.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I interrupted you. Please continue," Liir said.
"The professor has taken me under his wing. There are just a handful of Meisters who are gifted enough that they do not need a Weapon partner to fight effectively. Since I seem unable to find a suitable Weapon partner, he is trying to train me to do what he does," Tsarevich explained.
"Tell me about your other friends," Liir said.
"Well, there's Hammer and Nail. I have to group them together because they are attached at the hip. They are Weapon and Meister partner. They're the worse kind of student's but the best kind of people," Tsarevich said with a laugh.
"How do you mean?"
"They skip class, don't study, and spend their days playing video games instead of doing anything productive. But they are friendly and love to have fun. They are my roommates now…or…they were…" Tsarevich began to think about whether or not he would ever wake up. He had heard stories of people who spent the rest of their lives in a coma. Would he be one who was so unlucky? If he did wake up how long would it be? Weeks? Months? Years? Would he live an entire lifetime in his mind connected to Liir? That didn't sound like a very good prospect.
At least I'm not alone.
"What about your Weapon friend?" Liir asked.
"Vyse Rosemont. He was new to the Academy and it was my job to welcome him. I saw him as a fresh start. None of the other Weapons in my class will pair with me. He was my chance to finally find a good partner. I was overly friendly, trying to convince him to team up with me, and I think I scared him off," Tsarevich said.
"You fight well together; it's a shame it didn't work out," Liir said.
"You think so? You think we fight well together?" Tsarevich asked.
"I've fought the two of you so I would know. I probably shouldn't admit this, but the two of you had me on the ropes for a while. If it weren't for my sneak attack, you might have beaten me," Liir said.
Tsarevich burst out laughing until tears streamed down his face. He doubled over and pointed at Liir with such hilarious laughter, the Witchblade couldn't help but to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"If Vyse and I had you on the ropes, what do you think our teachers are going to do to you? I'm a one-star Meister—one star—all of the Meisters you're fighting are two-or-three-star Meisters," Tsarevich said.
"You think it's funny that they might kill me, eh?" Liir said.
"Don't take offense to it. You tried to kill me, remember?" Tsarevich said.
"I succeeded. You're just not dead yet," Liir shot back. Now Tsarevich was serious. The laughter melted off of his face like ice cream from a cone on a particularly hot day.
"So that's it then; I'm a dead man," Tsarevich said.
"I'm afraid so. I'm sure that your physicians at the academy will be able to mend your broken body, but they will never mend your soul. My curse will eat away at it slowly until you slip into the void," Liir said.
"You're a bastard," Tsarevich said. He couldn't help the tears from coming. He didn't want to die. He was young and had a promising life ahead of him. The prospect of passing away was scary and not something that he wanted to deal with.
"You're crying? Why? Tears don't change anything," Liir said.
"Tears are just a means of expressing emotion. There's nothing wrong with that. It's better than bottling it up inside," Tsarevich said, wiping them away and standing up to face the Witchblade.
"I hope they beat you," Tsarevich said.
"I'm sure you do," Liir replied. Then he turned his head and frowned.
"What?" Tsarevich said, wiping residual tears from his cheeks.
"I was kind of hoping that the two of us could be friends," Liir said.
"You're kidding right? You tried to kill me. You did kill me. I'm just waiting for your curse to get to it. Friends don't kill each other, Liir. It doesn't work that way," Tsarevich said.
"It's just that, you're going to be here with me for a long time. It's lonely in here all by myself…I know you can't stay forever, but I had hoped that we could get along while you were," Liir said. Tsarevich was speechless. What the hell was the matter with this guy? He seemed so sinister when Tsarevich had fought him, now he seemed like a lost, lonely little boy who was desperately reaching out, begging for someone to care.
"I don't know about that Liir. How do you befriend the person who killed you?" Tsarevich asked rhetorically.
"I don't know…" Liir said.
And so the two of them sat in silence, deliberating on what was going to happen next. They were in the quite solitude of the bridge in their mind. Meanwhile…
Keep running! Keep running! Keep running!
Liir was running for his life. Every now and then a burst of soul energy would explode beside him, behind him or flash past his head. All the while, surges of soul energy from above, tiny little bolts rained down on him like lightning bolts.
Almost there. If I can just get to the spot then I'll be okay.
Just as he was about to jump and get to the rendezvous point, he saw something approaching in his peripheral. It was fast. It was just as fast as he was—no—it was faster. As it got closer he could see that it was a short man in his twenties with spiky green hair, a Meister if Liir had to guess.
"Now I've got you!" the man dove towards Liir, fists outstretched and ready to strike. Liir rolled his body in a corkscrew, grabbing his assailant by the wrists and using his momentum to keep propelling him far past him. The assailant twirled through the air, landed feet first against a tree before kicking off and propelling himself back at Liir at the speed of a missile.
"I don't think so! You're not getting away from me!" he said. Liir pretended like he was going to brace himself before doing a backwards kick-flip into the guy's face, sending him flying backwards again. He rolled over and braced himself on the ground, kicking up dirt as he came to a skidding stop.
"So you're fast, eh! I like that. I'm fast too! FASTER THAN YOU!"
His movements were only a blur, but Liir's eyes were quicker. He would not be confused as to were his opponent would attack from.
"Shadow port."
"Gotcha! What the?"
"Shadow cannon!"
Liir teleported at the last possible second, reappeared right behind the little assailant giving him a taste of his own medicine. His spell was a particularly powerful one that he could only do when his hand was transformed into its gunblade mode. But his attack missed. The little Meister jumped out of the way at the last possible second. He was cart-wheeling to the left.
I have six chambers in this revolver little Meister.
"Shadow cannon!"
Liir took aim again and fired. This time the Meister jumped up and dove for Liir from above. It didn't give him enough time to take aim and fire again with any kind of accuracy so he decided on a different kind of ammunition.
"Shadow scattershot!"
He fired a hundred tiny little orbs of shadow energy at the Meister. Far too many to dodge. The Meister tucked and covered his face instinctively. Being out of his line of site was the perfect opportunity. He teleported a short distance away, to the right of where he was standing and loaded another shadow bullet into his gunblade. The little Meister landed right where he had been standing a moment ago, his fist obliterated the ground beneath him.
He's strong. Really strong! I'm going to have to stay on the defensive. As long as he can't touch me I should be okay.
About that time a blast of soul energy came from deep inside the woods. In being caught up with fighting the little Meister, he forgot about his unseen attackers shooting at him from a distance. He used the blade of his hand divide the energy in two, sending it to his right and left. Then, the pain began.
Whoever was firing at him from above began to zap him with tiny bolts of soul energy, knocking him off balance. They ruined his shot to take out the little Meister. Strong as he was, taking a shot from his shadow cannon and short range was a sure kill for virtually any opponent—he wouldn't have stood a chance.
Liir was on the run again, pushing himself to move faster. The little Meister was hot on his heels and gaining ground. That solved that mystery; the Meister was faster. If he had any further to go the Meister would have caught him. Fortunately, he was in position. The trap could be sprung. Liir turned and faced the Meister head-on, transforming both hands and firing shadow energy at him to slow him down.
"You're mine now!" he exclaimed. Just as he got in range, the defensive spells went off, exploding in the Meisters face and sending him flying Liir could not see where. Six Witches emerged from the shadows and came to his aid. Liir turned his attention to the sky and decided it was time to return fire.
He could see now that there was a person on a flying skateboard wielding two pistols. They must have been worried about their comrade because they were descending in to the trap. Liir smiled as he hit the man and knocked him off of the skateboard, sending him falling to the ground. He landed on his feet and Liir finally recognized him.
"So the Reaper sent his son out to do me in. I must have really pissed you off," Liir said, keeping his twin gun-arms pointed at the Meister who had his pistols trained at Liir as well.
"Liir! Let them handle this. We are going to the observatory," Scarlet said, coming to his side.
"You're not getting past me," the young Reaper said, training one of the pistols at Scarlet.
"We'll see about that," Liir said. He and Scarlet rushed together. Liir decided to run straight on, only dodging or deflecting soul shots when necessary. He could sense magic surge in the air as Scarlet charged for a spell. Liir closed his eyes and jumped in the air, attempting to sail over the Reaper.
"Flash bang!"
There was a bright flash that Liir could see even with his eyes closed, and a bang that he probably should have closed his ears for. The spell must have hit the Reaper head on. When Liir landed and looked back he was rubbing his eyes, unable to maintain his balance due to the loss of equilibrium. The other five Witches closed in on him. He was toast. Reaper or not, five West Coven Witches was more than anyone could handle.
Liir sprinted ahead and kept moving. They had fallen right into the trap—just like he planned.
"The battle's not fairing well for your friends," Liir said, breaking the silence between them. Tsarevich shifted uneasily. He had resorted to giving him the silent treatment. After all, he could be lying about the whole thing. He decided that he was not going to despair over the prospect that he might die. He wasn't dead yet so he was not going to give up. Still, his curiosity couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"What's happening?" Tsarevich inquired.
"I led them right into a trap. The spiky-headed Meister tripped a magic landmine. If there's anything left of him I would be surprised. Death Jr. took a flash bang bomb to the face and is at the mercy of five of our deadliest Witches. My associate and I are en route the laboratory as planned where we will retrieve the magic tool our mistress has been looking for," Liir explained. Tsarevich had to admit that sounded pretty bad. He was not going to let that show though.
"Black Star defeated the Kishin Ashura. I doubt one magic landmine is going to do him in. Reapers excel at killing Witches. You also forgot about the professor and the Death Weapon he's wielding. He'll make quick work of those Witches before they knew what hit them," Tsarevich countered.
"You put a lot of faith in your comrades," Liir observed.
"We're the best. The DWMA only trains the best," Tsarevich confirmed.
"Well your best seems to be no match for the Witchblade," Liir countered. Tsarevich was starting to see a little more of the cocky, sinister person that he had encountered when he was awake. Good. The change in Liir's personality was giving him whiplash. At least he knew how to deal with him before.
C'mon, guys! Show him what the DWMA can do!
"Kid! You have to keep moving!" Liz said to him from her Weapon form. If she weren't speaking to his mind, he might not have heard her. The explosion had made him temporarily blind and deaf.
"I can't see or hear anything, Liz…" he said, gritting his teeth in a mixture of pain and frustration. The solution came to him. He kept his eyes closed and opened his mind's eyes to see. Sure enough, the arrogant Witches and Warlocks had taken their soul protect off. He may not have been able to see them with his real eyes, but he could see their souls plain as day.
He jumped into the air, doing an aerial flip, shooting and spinning at the same time and fight was on. Trying to take them all on at once would be nigh impossible. He would have to adopt a strategy he had learned from a good friend named Black Star.
He dashed forward, fast as he dared to move with his eyes closed, flipping again through the air and bringing the heel of his boot crashing into the nearest Warlock. He fired indiscriminately a the surrounded Witches, landed on the ground and put the barrel of Patty into the Warlock's mouth and pulled the trigger.
The other four gasped as they watched the body of their comrade disintegrate, leaving only a floating purple soul in the wake of his death. Shortly after a spell hit him in the face, slicing into his flesh and sending him sprawling on the ground. He kept a grip on his Weapons, they were his only hope to survive. The group of Witches had underestimated his abilities, got cocky when they thought he was helpless and his first kill was lucky. He knew that, but he needed to make them think otherwise.
Still relying on his soul perception as his only means of seeing his opponents, he began to move around and shoot at the Witches. There were six of them and one of them was particularly good at an area-of-effect spell that kept Kid from getting close. A point blank shot may have been his only chance for a sure kill.
Boom!
One of the Witches was hit with a soul blast from Merios and Azuha, distracting them from the briefest moment. Kid watched as a particularly powerful soul emerged from the forest, into the clearing and blasted the same Witch with it's own wavelength.
Black Star…you're right on time.
"It was awfully rude of you to start this party without me, Kid. I don't want to miss out on all the action. You know how much I love killing Witches!" he said. Thought Kid couldn't see it, he knew that he was grinning from ear-to-ear. Death dared to open his eyes. The world was a little fuzzy, but his vision and hearing was coming back to him more quickly than expected.
"I would hate to keep you from your favorite hobby," Kid said. About that time Merios piped up perched in a tree, aiming Azuha directly at the Witches.
"Why don't we show them what they're getting into by picking a fight with the executive faculty members at the DWMA?" Merios asked, one eye closed as he stared down the sites of his crossbow.
"As much as I would love to do that, we're going to change the plan. You and Black Star need to keep these Witches busy while I chase down the other two. We can't let them get their hands on the magic tool," Kid said.
No sooner than the words escaped his mouth he wished he had not set them aloud. One of the Witches threw a spherical barrier around the clearing, keeping them all inside. The other three surrounded her and each faced one of the Meisters in the clearing.
"You're not going anywhere," the Witch said. So long as I can maintain this spell, no one gets out," she taunted.
"You've got to be the biggest fool in the world. You just locked yourself up with two sharpshooters wielding Death Weapons, and me. You don't have a chance in hell of surviving this. Do you know who you're dealing with? I am the great assassin Black Star! I don't even need my Weapon to tear you apart! Four lousy little Witches. This will be like a warm-up!"
When the barrier went up, Merios had just enough time to shoot off a signal. He could only hope that Hammer, Nail and Vyse saw it and understood it. Liir was getting away and despite any boasts that Black Star said. He and the others were about to have the fight of their life caught inside of a magic barrier with four Witches.
"I figured you would have some sort of contingency plan up your sleeve," Azuha said to him.
"You going to rat me out?" Merios asked.
"No. It turns out that we needed one. I'll let your Meisters know exactly where Liir is heading. That should give them an edge. Are you sure they can handle this?" Azuha asked.
"No. It's barely more than we can handle, but if they can buy some time and keep Liir from obtaining whatever magic tool he's after, then I'm going to let them do it," Merios said.
"I like your line of thinking. I'll let them know," Azuha said. There was no more time for chatter. The fight was on!
"That's the signal," Vyse said. His eyes never left the sky. He had been waiting for it. Hammer and Nail followed his gaze as the soul energy sparkled brightly and then dissipated.
"Are you sure?" Nail asked.
"I'm sure," Vyse said. Suddenly a presence invaded their minds and souls with ease. It was from a long way off. Because their souls were resonated, the presence did not need an introduction. Azuha: Death Weapon, that's all that Vyse needed.
"I'm sending you a mental picture of where Liir is and where he is heading. Engage with caution, use lethal force if necessary," she said to them. Vyse felt a flood of thoughts as he saw exactly where Liir was, running with another unidentified Witch dressed in red. Shortly after, it showed they were still about a mile and half away from the observatory. From their position, Hammer and Nail were about a mile away coming from the other direction.
"Come on!" Vyse said, sprinting towards the forest. "If we hurry we can head them off before they get to the observatory! Thanks, Azuha!"
She didn't reply with words, but her emotions told them that they were welcome and that she wished them safety and success. Above all, her sentiment was clear: stop the Witchblade at all costs.
You don't have to worry about that Azuha. Liir's got a world of pain coming his way.
"Vyse! Wait up! I can't run that fast!" Nail complained. Vyse looked back in frustration.
"Keep your eyes on me and get there as fast you can. I can't afford to wait on you or they will reach the observatory before we do!"
"Okay! Go!" he said. There was a tone of frustration in his voice, but he could tell that it was frustration at his own self, not at Vyse. Vyse pushed his body to the limits, every stride threatened to send his body tumbling forward. He didn't have the luxury of a leisurely run right now. He had to get there first. That's all there was to it.
"Now what's happening?" Tsarevich asked. Liir looked at him with sad eyes. He wondered what sadness lie behind those eyes, but he had other things to worry about now.
"The Meisters fell for the trap and they're dealing with five of the Witches from our coven. Scarlet and I are moving to the observatory to retrieve the tool like planned. They're stuck inside of an impenetrable barrier. Even if they fight their way out and kill the Witches from my coven, I'll be long-gone by then," Liir said.
"Congratulations on your victory. Even if you win today, the DWMA will still be around tomorrow, you know?" Tsarevich said.
"I know that. My entire life will be like this. I will always be used by the Coven, and always be hunted by the DWMA. Until both are gone I will never know peace," Liir said. Now Tsarevich was starting to see the reason behind the sadness.
"So why do you do it? Why don't you just leave the coven?" Tsarevich asked.
"Where would I go? What would I do? I'm a Witchblade who was trained to be a soldier since birth. I don't know any other life but fighting. I don't even think I would know what to do with myself if there was nothing to fight for," Liir admitted. Tsarevich saw his dilemma. It was a lot to ask someone to leave behind everything that they had ever known.
"I guess that's something you would have to figure out. Who knows? It might be worth it. Give you something to think about," Tsarevich pointed out.
"Thanks for being nice to me," Liir said.
"You're welcome, I guess," Tsarevich replied.
"I got to thinking about the concept of friends. The more and more that I thought about it I realized something. Even though you and I are enemies, and I killed you, you are the closest thing to a friend that I have ever had," Liir said.
"That's pretty warped," Tsarevich said.
"Is it? I wouldn't know. Like I said: I have nothing and no one. No family. No friends. You know more about me than anyone alive," Liir said.
"It doesn't have to be that way. You can leave the coven and go make a life for yourself somewhere. You can use your soul protect to hide who you really are and just live an ordinary life," Tsarevich said.
"Then I would be living a lie. I don't want to live in a world where no one accepts me for who I am. Why can't I be a Witch and you be a Meister and that be okay with everyone? Why are we fighting? Does anyone remember?" Liir asked.
"We're fighting your coven because your mistress has sinister plans to use magic tools to harm the DWMA," Tsarevich said.
"She's only doing that because she can't even come out of hiding with a Meister from the DWMA trying to kill her and feed her soul to their Weapon. She is tired of living in captivity and persecution; we all are. Yes, we are going to strike back at the DWMA until the leave us alone and let us live in peace," Liir said.
"Those are lofty ideals that will never happen. Every time a Witch has stood against Lord Death—every single one—has failed. Chandra will be no exception," Tsarevich said.
"Is it wrong to fight for freedom? Is it wrong to fight for what you believe in?" Liir asked.
"No, of course not. Freedom is a good thing. The Witches use their freedom and their power to hurt others. They consider anyone less powerful than them insignificant in their schemes. They don't care who gets in their way. If left unchecked, the Witches would see this world slip into darkness, chaos and fire," Tsarevich said. He was getting emotional. He never imagined himself having a philosophical debate about the state of the world with Witchblade.
Yet, here I am.
"Then a brave new world would be born where the bonds of rules, and law would not longer strain the free spirit that lives inside of us all. We would be as nature intended. The strong survive and the rest die off," Liir said.
"Does that sound like the kind of place that you want to live? To never know love, peace, friendship, or community! Living in constant fear that any day might be your last?" Tsarevich asked.
"That's the world I live in now. I don't get the luxury of friends, an education and a family. The only difference between the two of us is our souls. Simply because I have a Witch soul, I am hated and feared by your community.
"They don't know me. They have never taken the time to see me for who I really am. They don't look beyond the stereotype or see beyond the stigma that those who have gone before me left in their wake. The just see a Witch and decide it would be best if I didn't exist at all," Liir said.
Tsarevich was speechless. He hated to admit it, but he was right. Was it really possible that all Witches were evil? Regular humans had good and evil people living in great numbers in the whole population spread over the entire globe. They didn't have good track record either. Wars. Human trafficking. Slavery. The list could go on and on.
Why should the Witch population be any different? Could some of them be good and the DWMA is just hunting them for more power? To maintain control? Was all of this true or was Liir just twisting him? Manipulating him? Should he stick to what he believes?
"What then, would be your ideal world?" Tsarevich asked.
"A place where everyone could live in peace and harmony with one another," Liir replied simply.
"What about this brave, new world you were talking about earlier?" he asked.
"That's a viable alternative that is more favorable than the current state of things. If I had my way, I would say that we all just put the fighting aside and try to come to some sort of agreement," Liir said.
"I'm so surprised to hear you say that. You've given me a lot to think about, Liir," Tsarevich said. Before he could say anything else, Tsarevich noticed the expression on his face. It was one of concern, mingled with just a touch of fear. Tsarevich wished he could see souls in this place. It was a lot easier for him to understand souls than facial expressions.
"What's the matter?" Tsarevich asked.
"Your friends Vyse, Hammer and Nail are here now. They're blocking my way into the observatory," Liir said.
"What? Why are they there? Surely they wouldn't have been chosen for the mission," Tsarevich said aloud.
"They're telling me that they are here to get revenge for what I did to you. They tell me that they are not concerned with bringing me in alive. They will kill me if they have to," Liir said.
"What are you going to do?" Tsarevich asked.
"The only thing that I can: fight to survive," Liir said.
"Please! Don't! Don't hurt my friends!" Tsarevich said.
"They leave me no choice. They are trying to hurt me," Liir countered.
"Please! I'm begging you! Don't kill them," Tsarevich pleaded.
"I'm sorry, but they leave me no choice. Don't worry though. I won't make them suffer like you. I will kill them quickly and as painlessly as possible," Liir said.
Tsarevich stood there in the void bridging their consciousnesses, helpless to do anything but to sit, and wait for the outcome.
Vyse! Hammer! Nail! You have to win! Stay alive! Please! For me! Stay alive!