Author's Notes:
Yeah, the regular updating streak was too good to last... Anywho, moving on, I forgot to angst how people could care less about the little quiz rotting in my profile. Bygones, bygones...
Anyway, a MAJOR villain is revealed this chapter, to be honest the guy makes my evil side look positively cute. So I want opinions on how the guy was at first glance. Anyone bothering to review, please give a comment on HIM.
Disclaimer: I do not own IE or its characters nor do I own the OCs featured. I only own the plot, the fortune telling system featured, some special mechanics, and my OCs.
DISCLAIMER: THE AUTHOR WOULD LIKE TO WARN READERS THAT THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EXCESSIVE GRAPHIC VIOLENCE. THOSE WHO FIND SUCH THEMES DISTURBING PLEASE SKIP TO THE SECOND PART OF THE CHAPTER.
Chapter 8: Shades of White, Hues of Black
Dorahaido entered the sanctuary, finally breathing a sigh of relief. It felt so comforting to be in a familiar place after a long journey. Especially if the world was your enemy, you can never feel comfortable in the open... Exposed...
But that is the law of the world. But she couldn't waste time on contemplating trifles like those... She had a great purpose, and would never rest until her mission is complete... Her exile will not go amiss...
"Mother! You're back!" Two delighted voices called.
Dorahaido pushed all her thoughts aside and welcomed her two Daughters with open arms. Lydia came rushing into her mother's arms but Sophia stayed back, showing what she thought was maturity as the older of them. "We were both worried sick! I hope none of those monsters tried to harm you!" The emotional blue-black haired girl said rapidly, her equally dark eyes almost shining with tears.
Dorahaido smiled, and said with a dulcet tone "Don't worry about me Lydie, I can take care of myself, you know. I'm more powerful than most of those people."
"I-I know, but still..." Lydia's voice trailed away gently.
"I agree with mother, it is unnecessary for us to be worried too much." Sophie said, adjusting her glasses so her unusually sharp metallic silver eyes showed for a moment.
"Well, you're one to talk! You've been wearing out all of your shoes since Mom left. I'm surprised that your room's floor didn't wear away with all your pacing!" She snapped indignantly. Sophia blushed slightly and was about to answer when Dorahaido intervened. "Now now, no fighting outside of training. Remember that you're ladies, not maidservants. Don't you remember what I taught you?"
'"Ladies never scold, they never stoop, they never curse. They only impart polite words, polite gestures, and when needed, imperial pain."' They both chanted at her with amused expressions.
"Good." The reddish orange haired lady said approvingly. "Oh, and I was expecting someone, has he arrived?" She asked after a round of small chuckles. "You mean the boy who came with Father? Yes, he's waiting for you in the third guest room." Sophia said
"Good. Please come with me you two." She said, beckoning them to follow her. They complied, and followed her to the guest rooms.
"I wonder who he is." Lydia whispered in her sister's ear.
"We'll find out, won't we? Mother is probably taking us there to introduce us to him." She whispered back curtly.
Lydie was very annoyed at her sister's lack of interest in almost everything that isn't on the pages of a book. But she recalled a slight change of tone in her voice when she was talking to the aforementioned person. "He was cute, wasn't he?" She whispered slyly again. As expected, she kept silent (which was against her nature, she contradicted anything and everything that she thought was wrong). "I bet you're totally in lo-" She was cut off mid sentence and nearly jumped when a demonic voice roared in her mind.
"Jeez! Don't go messing around with my mind like that! That's misuse of power." Lydia thought in her head, fully aware that her sister could hear her and was responsible for that.
"I will stop misusing my powers when you stop misusing your right of free speech!" The grumpy voice of her sister rang back in her mind.
"Yeah, yeah." She thought back, rolling her eyes.
They traveled through the long cavernous hallways to the guest rooms, Dorahaido in front, walking gracefully and majestically and the girls at her heels. They opened the door to the third guest room, revealing the lavish interior with a king sized bed, a few large comfortable chairs around a coffee table, velvet curtains, and expensive looking carpet. And to tie the whole scene together was a large painting of the seaside behind the bed, giving the whole room the feeling reminiscent of a five-star hotel.
But the impressive beauty went positively pale in front of the person sitting in a chair near the corner, smiling dazzlingly in welcome. He was a teenage boy of fourteen, around Lydia's age with silky and neat black hair, pale but glowing skin, eyes of a blue that would put the sky and sea to shame and delicate facial features that were slightly feminine, but it seemed that it only made his appearance more sublime and it wouldn't have suited him if he were to look a bit more masculine. He was lean with a slightly taller than average height and wore something like a feathery black shawl around his torso, only revealing his legs and feet that were clad with white trousers and white shoes.
"Good morning!" He said in a beautifully supple voice, getting to his feet politely. "Hello dear, I hope you didn't have to wait long." Dorahaido said kindly.
"Not at all! I had this delightfully beautiful scenery to accompany me." He said, inclining his head graciously. "So, girls," She said, with a slight smile gracing her face, "I'd like you to meet Felix. He will be staying with us from now on. In fact, he will be a part of the family."
"What!?" Lydie thought incredulously.
"Just great, you were suggesting that I'm liable to fall in love with my surrogate brother." Sophia's voice said in her head in a slightly amused and superior tone.
Felix bowed politely to them. Even though the girls were rather taken aback by the suddenness of the situation, but they still returned the polite gesture with courtesies. Well, they did think that the boy might be nice company in the lonely tower they lived in.
"So, here are my two daughters, who will be your sisters from now. Introduce yourselves girls." Dorahaido instructed.
"My name is Nishimura Lydia." Lydia said politely.
"Nishimura Sophia." Sophia said with a curt nod.
While Lydia was happy that there was another person for company, (the girls were usually alone the whole day) but Sophia still had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind she couldn't keep at bay.
She concentrated, her eyes screwed up behind her glasses that hid her efforts. Nothing. She tried again, but still nothing.
The grey haired teen couldn't understand it, was the younger boy blocking her in some way? Or was he one of those rare people who were immune to her abilities? The second thought seemed highly unlikely, because only a few people in the world are born psychically deaf. The chances of him being that were, by her calculation, 0.000000000052831234234%. No, her sense of logic dismissed that possibility.
"Is something the matter Sister?" Felix asked, who noticed her silence through Lydia's polite chatter. "No, I was just contemplating about the Theory of Curse Amplification through Mystical Resonance and Spiritual Implication." She lied easily. Lydia rolled her eyes and said "Typical..."
It was rather common of her to attempt to intimidate people with her sizable intelligence. She thought, like most others, he will be scared away by the complexity of the subject.
But she was surprised when the white haired boy said, "Really? That is an interesting subject. But I daresay the various books over complicate it. It is simply a matter of understanding basic Magical Philosophy that two or more Magica Arma of differing natures, if they are formed of non-contradictory runes and are roughly of the same level, can merge to extend the effects and lifetime of the curse by more than the sum of the components and the curse if further fortified and an extra layer added to the resultant Seal if the curse is siphoned through and or imbibed in an object carrying the same spiritual residues."
Sophia raised her eyebrows, obviously impressed while Lydia cursed mentally. "Great, now I'm stuck with two braniacs..." She thought and sighed.
"I see you have been attentive in your studies. Very good, but let's leave the academics for later. Girls, please go to your rooms for now." Dorahaido said to the two teen girls. "Okay!" Lydia added hastily, and went out of the room after Sophia, who was seemingly thinking about something.
Felix followed, but he and Dorahaido turned the other way, and he started to speak when the girls were out of earshot. "Well, they both are lovely. Sophia has such a good amount of distrust and skepticism in her. It is really useful when a part of the Dominion." He said pleasantly.
"She tried to delve into your mind?" Dorahaido asked, not remotely surprised.
"Yes, now I fully appreciate your decision to wait until I fully learned to feign psychic deafness. But I doubt that she believes that I'm actually psychically deaf." He replied
"I know, she's not the one to be fooled with basic tricks." Dorahaido said.
"But, we cannot press the matter further for now; a certain rat needs to be attended to." Felix said, bringing out his hand from beneath the shawl and running it through his silky hair. A gleam of gold could be noticed from beneath it.
"Is it really necessary?" Dorahaido asked in a slightly uncomfortable voice while looking at the "shawl".
"No, but I prefer it this way, why act to be something I'm not?" he said simply.
They traveled through the large building in silence, meeting stairways after brief pauses. Finally, they were at the ground floor, which was like the lobby of an expensive hotel, but was completely deserted, giving a sinisterly eerie feel.
"After you." Felix said politely at the door, giving Dorahaido the chance to exit first. Felix followed, and they were both now standing under the scarlet sky of the Lost City. The buildings had no signs of life; no sign of inhabitants, the blood-stained roads were littered here and there with half-rotten corpses (mysteriously substantial even after more than six years) some of which were also hanging from lampposts and window-stills. The air was putrid and stuffy, as though it was the air of a room that hasn't been opened for years. The whole city had an aura that would make normal people go insane, or give them some memories and nightmares that would dog them to their graves...
So they both waited, Dorahaido had shed the motherly look she had with a grim expression, while Felix looked around, smiling broadly at the city, as though he was looking at the most ideal place to call his home.
The minutes stretched on, and after five minutes, a woman with a red and a black irised eye appeared out of the ground, leaving nothing but ripples as she ascended from the ground as though it was water.
"Aaaah, you're finally here Haruka..." Dorahaido said coldly. "Yes. I came as soon as possible when I received your message." She replied, "You said that there was important business Dorahaido-dono."
"Indeed. It is very important, Miss Haruka." The raven haired teen said pleasantly. Haruka looked at the ravenette questioningly. "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Felix, the new "surrogate son" of your commanders." He said, courteously bowing.
"Anyway, it seems we have a traitor in the Dominion, someone who has seemingly overcomed or feigned the contract forged when acquiring Anathema. As our most trusted and useful informant, do you have anything to report about it?" Dorahaido said icily.
"That is impossible. The contract is forged in exchange for a part of one's humanity. And to summon the Mark of the Accursed you have to commit deeds of unimaginable evil that rend one's humanity enough to separate it from the soul. The contract is unavoidable" Haruka said stiffly.
"Then congratulations, Miss Haruka." Felix said pleasantly. "You are the first to accomplish this seizable feat."
Saori walked vigilantly through the forest, the peacock still on her shoulder and looking serenely around. This was, strictly speaking, a ceasefire area.
But she wasn't very trusting of people like them.
There's no real limit to the atrocities they're capable of. Compared to the first step towards their dark paths, the violation of a treaty was really nothing in com parison.
Saori ruminated in the back of her mind. Her unique brand of magic required her to concentrate on different places simultaneously. So diversely diverted thinking has become second nature to her.
It wasn't really about something new, her thoughts simply revolved around the topic that had robbed her of so much...
Anathema, The Mark of the Accursed...
The last refuge for someone who has nothing to lose, but everything to gain...
No, there was something to lose, and that remains the ultimate price for the Mark. It was one's humanity, the part of his soul that makes one truly human...
And...
The price is also blood...
An unspeakable evil...
To gain riches, glory, power... The sacrifice remains...
The blood of 99 people... Or just two people...
But not any people... The two must be your closest kin... Father, Mother, Sibling, Son, Daughter...
Who? Who would be desperate enough to even think of even hurting those people who love you unconditionally? To even think of such...
But there are many people who have done this very thing... Information states that there are more than 10,000 such people worldwide...
She still gets chills when she sees the beasts who were once just like her, or any other person. But they're now unnatural creatures destined for eternal damnation, something you wouldn't even pity after it's death...
Her train of morbid thoughts were disrupted by the sight of the lonely hut she was looking for. She straitened up and walked quickly, reaching out a hand to knock on the door as she approached. But before she could, the door opened, revealing the Hermit, smiling benignly and still holding the rosary.
"Hello there Saori, I was expecting you." He said in his cracked but kindly voice.
"Good evening..." She said, bowing respectfully.
"Please, with all due respect to your wonderful culture, I would like it if you didn't bow to me. I do not think I deserve such extreme forms of respect." The Hermit said seriously.
"If you wish it." Saori said curtly.
"Now, I suppose you are here for the same reason as your dear friend Doradaido was?" He said pleasantly, getting a shocked and then cold look from Saori.
"Indeed... But she was a dear friend, not is." She corrected him respectfully.
"Really? I don't think you two would fight to kill if you were to meet in the near future... But let's not dwell on things to come." He said, shaking his head sagely, "Let us, instead, talk about what has occurred. Let's see if history has anything to teach."
Saori looked at the old man questioningly. His smile widened as he said, "Let's speak outside, it would be a nice change after so many years."
The wise man exited the hut fully and approached a small clearing just beside his abode. Midday sunlight flitted from the gaps between the leaves, softened by the tender leaves.
The narrow beams fell on the gray hair and beard of the old man, making them momentarily glimmer like fine strands of silver.
"Aah... It's such a shame that we sometimes fail to see beauty if it's not somewhere unreachable." The old man said. "I, alas, am unable so see any beauty at all for some time now..."
"Anyway, all things aside, let us speak. I believe that you expect some kind of advise, hint or shortcut to sure success like Dorahaido, but I do not support such things." He continued, turning to face Saori.
"But... We are fighting for the good of the whole world! Even though we outnumber them, they are constantly getting the upper hand because they don't have any problem with using underhanded methods! We must put a stop to them or-" Saori started heatedly when the Hermit raised a hand to silence her.
"Now, I'd like to tell you some things. These will be my last advices to anyone anywhere. But first, you must tell me history as it was, from the beginning. From where started this terrible war." He said seriously.
Saori was rather taken aback by the situation, but she continued nonetheless. "Fine... From the beginning? Aah, yes..."
The true beginning of the discord has its roots dug in history, both magic and non-magic alike. It began when a power beyond human comprehension was discovered in the mystical center of the Earth.
It was miraculous... two forces working to form an equilibrium.
One was Infinity, through which His will flowed into the world, one power that rested so much above all other. The power which we now rightfully call "Taiji", "Taikyoku", "Dominous", "Corona"... The Will of the Lord. The Sacred Crown that grants the right over all.
And the other was Nil... All things unnatural, lawlessness, a pseudo-power created solely to counterbalance the Infinity that was Taiji... Now called "Wuji", "Mukyoku", "Impero" The Tyrant...
The powers were discovered by the oldest of the Mystics, Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh, the first Mystic of Earth in recorded history, used these powers to bring peace to the people of his country Babylonia. His great feats include raising the great magical wall and gates of Babylon, stopping the flood that even the Mystic of Water failed to stop, and imposing a society of absolute law and prosperity.
He soon became filled with so much power that he always emitted a golden luster, and soon was rumored as two-thirds god.
The Babylonians lived in happiness under Gilgamesh, but he soon became corrupted with power. The rumors gave birth to many flatterers, and Gilgamesh soon became a ruthless tyrant under their influence.
He started to believe that he was far above all other humans, even his fellow Mystics. The Mystic of Light, Ishtar, tried her hardest to reason with him in the name of their love, but even she was cast away in loathing.
With that, the fall of Gilgamesh became inevitable, and that which chose him to hold the immense power of Earth, the element of substance and fertility, cast him away as unfit to be a Mystic.
But, he still held those powers of Taiji and Wuji. Even though his body couldn't release all of those awesome powers, only harness a fraction of them for his use, he was still more powerful than all of the Mystics combined due to having an almost unlimited amount of mana.
But, the mystics could no longer ignore his dictatorship that was nearly ready spread throughout the world.
So the mystics and Gilgamesh finally met, a month after he was relieved of his position of a Mystic.
The mystics tried to reason with him, to convince him about leaving the powers alone for the good of the world.
But Gilgamesh just laughed, deeming their words to be absurd beyond reality. He declared haughtily that he did not know what powers they were talking about, and the only powers he used was his and his alone, for he was almost a god...
Seeing that his mind was completely distorted by his ego, the mystics challenged him to a duel. The High Mystic, Ea ( Mystic of Darkness, his titles include "Lord of Incantations", "Sage above all Sages"), said that he would personally face him, but Gilgamesh told them that they were so beneath him that it was insulting for him to face such weaklings one on one.
But, history bears testament, that was a mistake. The intensity of the battle was such that mountains were leveled by a half-hearted incantation, and the world trembled as if it feared that it would parish in the fray as well.
The battle raged on, lone Gilgamesh versus the other nine, and finally it went to the point that Ishtar was forced to bring out her most powerful magic.
It was a deep magic, an Ethereal Legend, in fact. Astra... The Radiance of Convergence...
With that great spell, the heaven and the earth seemingly melded into one, the light formed a horizon which was once unreachable, and devoured Gilgamesh within it.
Struck down by his own lover...
But with his end he nearly brought about the end of the whole world... As the light faded and the dust settled, the Mystics realized that they overused their powers, leaving the whole world in a state of imbalance.
The waves of the seas had weakened, the trees paled, the earth had started to turn barren, fire lost some of its warmth, ice and snow melted, winds stopped, storms calmed, rain became nonexistent and even metal lost most of its shine...
Worst of all, the bodies of the mystics had also started to break down from over use of their powers. They knew that they, and the world had very little time.
To save the world from the calamity that were to come, the Mystics drew power from Taiji and Wuxiao. They were able to heal the world, but their bodies were beyond healing.
So, performing their last duties as Mystics, they invoked one last ritual. The powers were given perceivable form to mask their true identities, and they both became serpents.
One was a lustrous golden, its scales and claws made all the jewelry of the world look like cheap counterfeit; the other an indescribable and otherworldly shade of amethyst.
And to keep them unreachable from all who would misuse them, they were bestowed with the intelligence and wisdom equal to the sum of the nine Mystics.
The serpentine creatures flew off to the farthest reaches of the world, and the Mystics breathed their last with their minds at peace, leaving a message to the next in line to keep this great secret within the Mystics.
The Gold Dragon took refuge in the bottom of a river at the easternmost point of the world, and in the process unknowingly caused a flood that wiped out nearly all those who inhabited that vast span of land in between mountain ranges and deserts.
The Amethyst Dragon went to the opposite direction, and took refuge in the Earth's womb, a Caldera of immense size. This caused power to swell within the core of the earth, finally leading to an eruption after a few hundred years that created many reservoirs of water in the scarcely populated land and made the earth tremble.
It was an irony that the power of creation caused destruction and vice-versa.
But alas, it wasn't the end, not even close.
The flood of the east had two survivors. A pair of siblings with only mediocre magical ability, Fu Xi and Nuwa. They suffered greatly for their loss, and were soon at the brink of death from starvation.
They went to one of the branches of the river that was now tinted in yellow, which was named Lou. After the catastrophic event, the river was calm once again.
They shed tears at the bank of the river in a place called Chengji, lamenting the dead who were washed into the depths of the flow by the deluge.
As their tears fell into the never-ceasing flow, the Gold Dragon emerged from the depths. It felt sorry for the destruction it had caused, so he gifted the siblings with some of its power, knowledge and wisdom.
Blessed by the new powers, the siblings were able to find a few other survivors. Together they set the basis of an the most powerful and prosperous empire on the face of the world.
He and his descendants carried on the legend of the Golden Dragon, and a few other legends also grew from there.
The belief of the people in the legends gave shape to new creatures, all drawing power from the Gold Dragon. They were the Celestial Four, each holding the power of one Cardinal Element, one Compound Element and one of the two Attributes, while the Gold Dragon held the power of all ten.
The Azure Dragon, The Vermilion Bird, The White Tiger and The Black Turtle.
They each were said to hold two gems, each holding the divine power of one element.
After a few thousand years of peace, a century of calamity ensued.
The Twentieth Century.
Two wars took place in short succession, and they greatly endangered the human race for more than a few reasons.
The Magi of the world became perplexed about whether to follow their country or whether to stay neutral like the laws of the Magi stated.
These questions gave birth to mistrust and discord between the Magi. The Mystics, being in charge of the laws of the Magi, forbade the Magi from taking any sides at all, and even if they did, they mustn't use magic to influence the war in any way.
So it was decided, and a civil war in the magus community was thwarted.
But the second world war was another story entirely.
The ferocity of the attacks and acts of genocide proved too much for some of the community to bear, especially the Jew Magus and the Rabbi refused to sit calmly.
They all demanded the right to save their brethren from extermination. But the Mystics refused to change the laws.
They heard no reason, and said that the extermination had nothing to do with the Magus community, and it would be against the law for even the Mystics to interfere. (Though some of the Mystics were just as outraged at the atrocities happening.)
This triggered a mass revolt in the community, which quickly grew when a rumor spread that Hitler was financing some power-hungry and greedy Magi to perform sick experiments on the captives to make him immortal.
But, thankfully, the war had ended before the revolt turned into Coup D'etat against the Mystics.
The war also showed the weakening ties of the magus community, so to counteract that, the Mystics decided to create an international organization to strengthen the bonds between the magus around the world.
Many organizations already existed in different parts of the world, most prominently The Order of Merlin of the United Kingdom, The Order of The Sacred Flame of Italy and Spain and Sedna of Egypt.
The Mystics declared that all of the Orders were to be merged into one single Organization that would be henceforth called "The Hand of The Magus".
Thus, the Mystics were able to create a basis for greater trust and strengthen the cracked bonds of the international Magus community.
With the birth of "The Hand of The Magus", the magical treasures and sites kept hidden from non-magic scholars were given much more protection, and Magical Philosophy and Magical Theory progressed beyond belief (in the past, the research and theories of a person was considered the exclusive property of the person and the organization/country the person belonged to, thus limiting the progress of the said subjects since they were kept well within the nationality/community/organization due to mistrust).
It also worked as a pseudo-government and law enforcement organization for the Magi.
But many Nazi Magi and Dark Cults remained as outlaws and were hunted down to face prosecution.
To save themselves, they formed their own organization, which became the basis of what's now known as "The Dominion".
They were able to elude even the most skilled Elite, and since the Mystics were not allowed to interfere directly unless the situation was dire, they slowly developed into something like an "International Magical Mafia".
And to make sure that none of its members betrayed them, they developed "Anathema", or the Mark of The Accursed.
After gaining many numbers, they started looking for what they thought was the ultimate evil power that would surely help them.
Wuji...
And they succeeded...
Unlike the Gold Dragon, the Amethyst Dragon did not have any legend to mold itself into, so it's form started to fade into its original state.
They took advantage of this, and their leader corrupted the power by infusing his own soul with it.
Wuji and the soul marked by Anathema transmuted... And thus created a creature rightfully named Behemoth, after the beast that rebelled against heaven.
26th July, 1996...
That day, the Dominion challenged the Mystics and the whole world...
But, the Mystics were unable to stop it, even with their awesome power and all of the Elite Magi from around the world.
And it initiated its true plans when it saw the Mystics retreat...
It attempted to create a Curse Field around the whole world that would bar the passage of the souls of the deceased to the hereafter.
And then used the accumulating chaos created by the souls unable to pass on as fuel to exterminate all living things on the planet...
The Mystics, seeing no alternative, sought the help of the Gold Dragon and the Four Celestial Ones.
Thus, the superpowers met in the battleground Merlin created millennia ago, the Plane of Thoughts.
The battle was fierce, and the world threatened to crumble from the sheer power radiating from the area.
Unfortunately, the Mystics and Gold Dragon were losing...
In a last-ditch effort, they all combined their powers to form a single, omnipotent spell.
The power of Taiji merged Light and Darkness to form the Eleventh Element, Aether...
It enveloped the Behemoth and the Mystics created a "Seal of Eternal Rest".
In the end, the Behemoth was trapped within the Prison of Aether, and the prison was transferred to a Magical Deadzone.
Thus, mankind survived another apocalyptic force...
But, The Dominion still exists to this day, and have set up headquarters in the Lost City...
The Lost City... A ruthless and pointless display of power...
They are still active, and attempting to resurrect the Behemoth...
"Very well narrated, Saori." The Hermit said kindly.
Saori sighed, and without hesitation, asked him "My answers are in the story, aren't they?" trying her hardest to keep the bluntness and exasperation out of her voice.
"In essence, yes." The old man said with an amused smile.
"But, I have one last advise for you, and you alone." He said again, his voice more serious.
"Yes?" She asked, intrigued.
"You must realize that you are first and foremost Takanashi Saori, then the mother of two wonderful children, then Kamiya Saori, the wife of Kamiya Ryutero, and last of all the Elite of the Japanese Hand of The Magus. Never get those priorities mixed up..."
Saori's eyes widened, and after that she gave a curt nod.
"Good girl... Now, if you please, I'd like to make my last request." The Hermit said softly.
"What!?" Saori exclaimed.
Before she could say anything else, he forestalled her words and said, "I would like to be buried near the graves of my family... The High Mystic knows where it is... It has been a long journey, and it has now come to an end..."
Saori inclined her head in agreement, sadness showing in her usually cold eyes.
Haruka ran through the city full of corpses, the words she had heard earlier still ringing in her mind.
"It was unfair of you to deceive us like that, Miss Haruka. But I'm not really fond of seeing other people hurt, so let's play a game! You run and hide, and I'll try to find you! If you make it out of the Lost City, you can leave without being followed. But I can't really promise that you'll be safe outside, though..." The ravenette said with almost childish innocence playing on his face.
"Damn!" she muttered when she slowly descended into the ground but was thrown back out. All shortcuts and transportation spells had been nullified...
"Come out, come out where ever you are!" His cheery voice came from faraway.
She ran harder, and for good measure, started reciting the incantation to increase her speed...
"Divine Motion!" She said the last words loudly, and her speed doubled in a fraction of a second.
But just when she thought she was safe, she felt something rock-hard hit the back of her head. She fell face flat on the ground, doing some midair front-rolls due to her momentum and smashing into the wall of a building in front of her.
She groggily got up, while feeling the back of her head. Something hot and sticky indicated that she was bleeding copiously... Dorahaido must've cursed her as she was running away.
The beautifully supple voice was still approaching, but was thankfully very far away.
"Black, benevolent,
Peaceful, silent,
Grant solace, relieve,
Nocturne Repose!"
She chanted in a pained voice, trying to concentrate. She felt a familiar cool sensation as fluid black substance covered her wounds, and they started to heal in an exponential rate. She stood up, still dazed by the pain that was slowly subsiding and started running again.
But this time, she created a barrier around her like armor to protect herself from more of the attacks.
The voice was coming closer and closer, and dread was rising rapidly in her... She decided to use the Divine Motion spell again...
And in a flash, she surged forward like a bullet. Hopefully, she would be able to outrun the Bludgeoning Curse at that speed.
She ran for almost five minutes, but the constant fear of death made it seem like an eternity.
And she saw it, what she was yearning to see... Faraway, the buildings stopped, and the sky steadily turned azure from the border of the city...
She was saved...
But she was wrong... Suddenly, she felt multiple heavy blows on her body, and she again crumpled under them. She was thrown painfully to the ground by her own momentum, and rolled ten feet before stopping on her side. She painstakingly tried to stand up, but no sooner she had gotten to her feet shakily, another blow from the invisible force hit her leg.
She screamed in agony and fell down; her femur had snapped, and her right leg got bent in the wrong direction. She collapsed on her good leg while sobbing, the pain was making it impossible to concentrate and incant a healing spell.
Another invisible hit on her jaw sent her flying; two nearby bloody lampposts distorted and turned into spikes the size of a man's arm flew after her and impaled her shoulders onto the wall of a building nearby.
The blood-stained wall was stained with scarlet again, and the putrid air was filled with agonized screams.
As Haruka lost consciousness, she saw a blurry figure sprinting towards her...
"Dinner time! Come down Koichi-kun!" Natasha chimed sweetly from the dining room.
"Coming!" A cheerful child's voice called back.
Natasha wiped the sweat from her brow, sitting down herself while fanning herself with her hand.
Doing so many things was tiring, but a sense of satisfaction also came with it.
No wonder housewives still have the highest job satisfaction rate even though they're under the most pressure.
Nothing beats making a house into a home!
And the house really did feel like a home. The dining space was rather simple, with a plain black highly polished table, and matching ebony straight-backed chairs. The floor was a simple western-style wooden floor, slightly more elevated than the floor of the adjoining open kitchen and the hallway leading to the living room. The dining space also had a dresser for keeping cutlery and cooking tools right beside opening of the kitchen counter.
Natasha was wondering if she should keep a flower vase with flowers from the backyard garden when the sound of someone climbing down the stairs came. After a few moments, her little brother Hikari Koichi came into sight.
He was a small six year old boy with brown short hair falling to the sides, a strand of it sticking out like an antenna (an ahoge) and eyes like shining ambers sprinted to her with an adorable smile, which was almost more captivatingly innocent than his sister's.
"O-nee-chan!" he chimed as he hopped to a stop on the slightly elevated deck of the dining table.
"Koichi-kun! That's dangerous!" Natasha scolded.
"No it isn't! Look!" He said brightly as he stepped back down to the hallway and hopped on to the deck again.
"Koichi-kun!" Natasha said again exasperatedly as Koichi just laughed. The sound of his laughter echoed a bit through the empty house.
He sat down beside his sister, grinning at her sweetly. Although Natasha wasn't the one to be swept off her feet by sweetness.
"I'm very disappointed in you Koichi-kun." Natasha said with a distinct parent-like air.
"Awww... But I didn't get hurt, did I?" The amber eyed child whined.
"You could've." Natasha said reprovingly. "It's always better to be safe than sorry."
"Okay..." He said, getting to his feet and then bowing, "Gomenosai Onee-chan!"
Natasha suppressed a giggle before saying, "You're forgiven. Now go and wash your hands."
"How did you-" Koichi started, wide-eyed but Natasha cut across him,
"I'm your Onee-san, of course I know!" she said sweetly.
"That's... um..." Koichi tried to find a word for it, but couldn't so went to wash his hands.
He returned and showed his spotless hands to his sister.
"Good!" She said, ruffling his hair a bit.
They both sat down on the table and said Itadakemasu before digging in.
"Onee-chan! I almost forgot to tell you, I almost have my first hisstsu perfected!" He said excitedly after a few mouthfuls.
"Really? That's great! I know you'll be a great soccer player like your Nii-san!" Natasha said dotingly.
Koichi gave a huge and proud grin, "I'll be even better!"
"I know you will!" She said.
"Although, I wish Nii-san and 'Tou-san could watch me play sometimes." He said after a few moments.
Natasha's heart gave an unpleasant twinge. "D-don't worry... Both of them will... One day." She said quietly.
"Today's practice went really well, no?" Aphrodi was saying to Hera while walking home.
"Yes it was, it seems it's nearly time to challenge Raimon again." Hera replied with a half glance at the blonde.
"Yes, I look forward to seeing how much stronger Endou has gotten." Aphrodi said with a haughty flip of his hair.
"Are you sure that's the particular goalkeeper you're eager to meet?" Her asked rather smugly.
"And what are you implying?" Aphrodi snapped at the redhead. (Blushing just slightly)
"Nothing remotely explicit." Hera said evasively.
"Hera, I would prefer it if you-" The teen started when suddenly something like a black meteor slammed into him and Hera from the back, nearly making him fall on their faces.
Pale arms entwined around their neck and a peppy voice said, "Teru-kun! Tadashi-kun!"
"Er... Good afternoon Nell-chan." Hera said uncomfortably while Aphrodi blushed tomato red (she was almost strangling them both.)
"So, how are my two favorite Bisho- I mean boys?" She asked teasingly while tightening her strangle hold-cum-hug.
"Tha-that's not funny!" They both stated breathlessly. Helen let go of them promptly and said, "What's not funny?" in a mock-innocent voice.
"The Bishouen joke has gotten stale." Aphrodi sated grudgingly while rubbing his neck.
Helen gave a dramatic gasp, "How could I even think of insulting and ridiculing people of godly caliber like yourself?" She said melodramatically.
"That's not nice! You all agreed that you guys won't joke about that business anymore!" They both said forcefully.
"Chillax dudes!" Helen said with a playful wink, "You shouldn't take jokes so seriously!"
"And you shouldn't make jokes that we can't help taking seriously!" Hera said with a scowl on his face.
"Okay, okay, jeez!" She said with an airy wave of her hand, "Sorry, I had a bad day and needed a bit of cheering up."
"So you'll just brighten your own mood in our expense?" Hera asked heatedly.
Helen sighed and said, "Sorry..." again. (But this time very seriously.)
Aphrodi put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "No need to be so harsh Hera, she was only joking..." Aphrodi said to his friend softly.
"Oh yeah, take her side instead." Hera scoffed, and it was evident by the look in his gray eyes that he was having another one of his bouts of envy.
"I'll be going now..." Helen said and tuned to leave without a further word.
"Hey! Nell-chan!" Aphrodi caught her from behind.
"What now?" she asked in a low voice.
"What's the matter?" He asked seriously.
"Yes, it usually takes a lot more to depress you." Herra said, a bit less aggresively.
Helen sighed again and said, "It's nothing... Just a bit down 'cause everyone's busy with their lives."
She looked up into the sky which was steadily turning a brighter orange. The soft light of evening danced on her pale skin and black eyes.
"Nats-chan has her own problems, Addie's busy with trying to make her spit out what's the matter and manage two separate clubs at once, you guys are busy with preparing for the Football Frontier All-stars. It makes me feel like I'm just lazily sitting on my backside and doing nothing." She said despairingly.
"So, you're depressed that you don't have something to occupy you?" Aphrodi asked her incredulously.
"More or less... No, honestly speaking, I feel like I'm useless to everyone. I still can't perform to the standards I want to, and everyone seems to be annoyed around me..." She replied, averting her eyes.
"Don't worry, nobody's annoyed with you..." Aphrodi said kindly. "And it really doesn't matter what people say." He said again with his usual haughty flair, "People tell me that I'm annoying sometimes as well, but do I care?"
"You should..." Hera whispered to himself.
"What was that?" Aphrodi snapped.
"Nothing, captain." Hera replied with an sarcastic stress on the word "captain".
Aphrodi narrowed his eyes, but they softened when he heard Helen snicker softly beside him.
"There we go," Aphrodi said with a graceful smile, "This suits you better than the frown."
"Awww~ How sweet!" A familiar voice spoke from behind them.
Aphrodi whipped around, only to have something white jabbed into his face like a knife.
The object stopped only a fraction of an inch away from his face, but Aphrodi didn't even flinch.
Because he was very familiar with that voice.
"Wow, have I been doing this very often?" A young woman with long amethyst hair, lavender eyes and fair skin asked in her sweet voice, impressed. Her face had a delicate feel to it, and her hair tied in a side ponytail made her look like a teenager instead of a young woman.
"Yes." Aphrodi said as the woman drew back the "thing" which turned out to be an innocent dikon radish and placed it into her shopping bag with a flourish like a rapier.
"Amaya-chan!" Helen squealed, and ran to hug her. "What are you doing here!? I didn't know you and Nii-chan were coming!"
"I'll explain everything after getting home." She said after exchanging a hug.
"Nice to meet you after so long Mikazuki-san." Aphrodi said politely, smiling slightly.
But in only a fraction of a second, she drew back the white vegetable and jabbed it before in his face threateningly.
"You know, every girl has a certain affection for her maiden name," Amaya said playfully, "But it's rude to call her by it!"
"Sorry! Er... Amaya-san." He said, improvising rather nervously.
"Good boy!" She said, drawing back the radish again. "Now if only you'd stop hitting on my sister-in-law!" She added with a wink.
"Amaya-chan!" Helen exclaimed exasperatedly as she giggled with Hera at the deep blush on Aphrodi's face.
Haruka slowly returned to consciousness...
She had lost consciousness... And saw someone was approaching her...
So why wasn't she already dead? Or was she already dead?
No... She felt solid ground under her, the air was still putrid and stuffy...
But she felt no pain...
Why would anyone bother to heal her?
She tried to open her eyes. It was hard, her eyelids felt like lead.
But she was able to slowly open her eyes. And she saw the most beautiful blue she had ever seen...
They were the eyes of Felix. He was on his knees beside her, slightly hunched over. His palms were resting on his knees from beneath his shawl, and a bit of his white shirt was also peeking from beneath it.
She shot up into a sitting position in alarm.
"Don't get up so quickly." He said gently, "The blood replenishing spell takes time to fully take effect."
"Bu-but why aren't you-" Haruka started in a bewildered voice.
But he hushed her, a graceful and uncannily innocent smile on his face. "Please, let's not speak of this. I'll lead you out of the Lost City, but that only. After leaving the Curse Field, I cannot guarantee anything."
"Why are you doing this?" Haruka asked, almost not daring to believe him.
"For personal reasons." He said, "But not unselfish ones. I would like to ask you why anathema wasn't able to bind you."
Haruka stayed silent for several moments.
"Let me lead you to the exit." He said, braking the silence before getting up.
Haruka thought for a moment before following him silently.
And they walked through the blood-stained streets again, passing silent or slightly stirring corpses in puddles of long-dried blood. Unlike normal corpses, they didn't have any kind of infestation of insects or vermin. Some blood-stained cars were also lay abandoned here or there.
"If you don't mind me asking, how are you able to stay so calm while walking through a place like this?" Haruka asked in a detached voice after a while. "And the way you talk makes it clear that you aren't under an enchantment like the other two girls."
Felix grunted a bit, and teetered on the edge of speech for moments before saying, "I also have one, but it only creates a mental barrier that prevents me from acknowledging all these things around me and going insane." He said softly with his eyes closed in a pensive way.
"I see..." Haruka said softly.
They neared a place where the buildings thinned out and the scarlet sky abruptly turned azure.
"Here we are..." Felix said with a smile, "You're free to go."
"O-OK..." Haruka said usurely before stepping towards the boundary of the city, where the buildings ended and green fields started. A huge wall could be seen about a mile away, erected by the Government so many years ago.
She paused before stepping out off the curse field and said without turning, "My mother died giving birth to me... And I'm the one who gave my father a mercy death when he was suffering from his sickness by the court's permission." She said quietly.
And she tried to get out of that hell on earth, but...
Two wings, a spiky demonic one of golden color and a black angelic one, came from behind her and surrounded her. She whipped around, and felt cold blades on the either side of her throat.
"You... You're a homonoculus..." She said, seeing the two wings sprouting from his back...
She understood .The "shawl" was actually the black wing wrapped around his torso, and beneath it was the gold wing also wrapped around his torso, hidden from sight...
"Yes, you could say that, Miss Haruka." He said in his innocent voice. He was hovering in mid air so he could reach Haruka's throat with his two short knives.
"So, Anathema can only bind those absolutely who have willingly spilled the blood of their kin with the desire to obtain it... A very valuable piece of information." He said softly.
"P-please!" Haruka choked out as Felix put a small amount of pressure on the knives, "K-kill me outside the c-curse field!" she pleaded.
Felix tilted his head a bit, "It seems it's true that a Magus loses his or her powers when in sever shock or despair..."
Just one swift move, the insides of his wings and his torso were painted a shocking scarlet...
A thump was heard...
Felix crouched and looked at her still shocked face, and whispered, "What a pity..."
Smiling sweetly again, he took flight with his bloodstained wings, not even glancing back at Haruka's face, nor her body lying a feet away...
WHEW! My fingers feel like they'll fall off! Anyway, I think you guys realize why it took so long to update!
Please review! Really! I'm serious!
