Ok, first many people complained about the format of the story last chapter. Problem was: the copy-paste seems to be bugged (at least for me), because it completely undo all the formatting I did, forcing me to re-bold and re-italic the entire chapter. I'm now forced to upload the chapters directly into the site.
Anyway, enough of my ranting, time for some Presea-kicking-Nebilim's-ass, action packed chapter, though it will be explained why it happened this way.
Chapter 30
The Warrior of the Deep Abyss
Nebilim was approaching the injured figure of Ratatosk when he suddenly felt a powerful agitation of darkness energy and mana behind him. He turned and, to his surprise, saw the dark cross shrinking itself around Presea, who was enveloped in a cocoon of darkness.
Two red eyes shone in the midst of the darkness as the cocoon soon compressed around the girl, who once more turned into a grown up dark silhouette. With a heartbeat-like pulse from her aura, the darkness that covered Presea's body started to recede even more.
Raine, Ratatosk and Nebilim watched in astonishment as the darkness that covered Presea now showed the pale skin of her arms and face. The darkness in her body turned into a formfitting, dark jumpsuit, without any features. Ratatosk idly noticed that her body now easily rivaled Sheena's; with an hourglass figure, ample bust and long legs. If not for the seriousness of the situation, he would have noticed his other half blushing at the sight.
Two steel boots formed from the darkness on her feet and her now long, pink hair was flowing freely behind, with only a small string tying it on the level of her shoulders, only for her hair to open in a fan again. Her grey, fingerless gloves were replaced by violet ones that reached just until her wrist and covered her fingers with Shadow's crest, the Eye of the Abyss, engraved on their back. The Summon Spirit's symbol appeared on her collarbone, as if it was being drawn through the formfitting, black fabric that covered Presea's body up till her neck. However, Raine was sure she didn't notice any symbol on Presea's collarbone when she had been wearing that black dress which was open on her collar.
The darkness around the pink haired woman's waist agitated and stretched forming a silver belt with a buckle of the same form as Shadow's waist ornament, the red eye in the center opening. A gray skirt sprouted from below the belt, stopping just above the knees. Finally, from her hands came threads of darkness which took the form of two hand axes with purple, serrated blades and a thin extension that stretched to the back of the weapon in the form of a crescent moon and dark handles with two lines of red runes on opposite sides.
Finally, Presea opened her pale blue eyes and four tattoos appeared; two around them and two on her cheeks, resembling war paintings.
Nebilim seemed surprised at this development to say the least. If Presea had freed herself and taken this form it could only mean the girl had somehow overcome her darkness. Plus, the sheer power radiating from her aura that seemed to be amplified by the mana that remained in the Dark Abyss could only mean she had finally merged herself with Shadow. He chuckled at that.
"So, you've accepted Shadow and managed to break my spell…"
Presea didn't speak. She merely looked at Raine and the bloodied unconscious form of Colette. The newly merged Summon Spirit didn't show any reaction to the sight, simply looking back at Nebilim and uttering three words in a smooth, emotionless, adult voice:
"You hurt Colette."
Nebilim merely chuckled again, closing eyes as he spoke:
"So wha… ?" he never managed to finish his line, for in the moment he opened his eyes, Presea was already upon him. The demonic commander had barely sensed the rapid movement of her aura and had even less time to grab the purple, ax blade that swung viciously in the direction of his face.
Nebilim's expression twisted into that of a grunt as he held the blade in place. For the first time in a long time, he was actually being forced to use his strength to hold it back. It was then dark winds were produced from the blade and blew on his face, forcing him to narrow his eyes. Although the darkness emanating from the weapon couldn't harm him, it still limited his vision enough so Presea managed to kick him in his chest, sending him away. The strength of the blow was nowhere near his, but it was enough to make him fly a few feet behind.
Presea kept a straight face during the entire attack and looked down on Nebilim as he regained his balance. She then stood in a battle position as she looked at him once and spoke:
"Prepare to die."
"Heh, good luck on that, child," Nebilim said, despite the situation. "I'm already dead in case you haven't notice," he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, his pupils narrowed in slits as he let that same deranged and gleeful smile surface and charged at Presea, who met him on course.
The two clashed weapons against each other as the other reincarnated Summon Spirits could only watch in amazement. Nebilim was finally being hard pressed with landing a hit on Presea. She had been strong before, the weapon which she carried was a testament to that. However, now that her body was bigger and her weapons were hardly her own weight, the gain in the speed, which she lacked before, was absurd.
Nebilim beat his swords on the ground, creating a pillar of flames, but Presea merely sidestepped it. The red head found it as his chance and tried to hit her with an ignited kick, using his hands on the ground as levers. However, Presea "dived" into the ground, forming a puddle of darkness, which quickly positioned itself on Nebilim's feet. The demonic commander realized the woman's intent and jumped behind as dark tendrils and winds shot out of the hole.
The dark puddle then positioned itself where Nebilim would land, but the demonic commander shot a concentrated fire ball on it, creating a great explosion. The smoke resulting didn't allow Nebilim to see the result, but he thought that it had worked. However, when he landed, Presea suddenly shot from the ground, where the puddle of darkness had been… and was still, completely intact.
The pink haired woman attacked him with a horizontal slash of her two axes, hitting Nebilim dead on. A trail of darkness was left behind as the weapon cut the air and Nebilim could feel it attacking his aura several times, sucking its energies. Nebilim jumped behind, just for Presea to jump after him, curling on herself while stretched her hand axes and spinning in the air.
"Dark Tempest!" Nebilim tried to block by summoning a flame shield with his gauntlets, but it broke apart after several rapid strikes and the purple blades managed to cut him.
Presea landed and turned to him while Nebilim backed a few steps away, feeling more of his energy being drained. He smiled at her:
"Well, you surely bounced back, eh? Even more so… such power."
"It is because we are at the Temple of Darkness and so close to the Dark Abyss that you can't use your powers properly," Presea stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Ratatosk and Raine gasped at the revelation, while Nebilim smiled a simple arrogant smile.
"Ah, so, you've noticed."
"I found it strange my darkness managed to drain part of your reserves so easily. Considering all I've heard about you, your defenses should be better than this. You've probably already burnt some of your power battling against Colette and the others."
"Heh heh heh… you're certainly are an attentive girl, Presea," Nebilim said, positioning himself for combat once more. "However, that doesn't mean I'll simply back away."
"In that case…" Presea disappeared and in the blink of an eye was upon Nebilim again, but this time he was prepared.
"Towering Fear!"
Like he predicted, Presea was caught off guard, not having any way to defend herself after using her power to charge at him. He held his right hand with his left, fire involving it. He then shot it up and a flaming, giant impression of it was produced, grabbing Presea's body and squeezing it.
"Madness Grip!" Nebilim then proceeded to throw his hand down, with its giant copy following the movement, slamming Presea on the ground. However, instead of a dull "thud", she dived into it, forming another puddle of darkness, that quickly positioned itself bellow him.
With his powers and strength diminished, Nebilim couldn't avoid the dark tendrils and winds that shot out of the black hole as Presea emerged, arms crossed on her chest and making a slow turn as she looked up.
Nebilim teleported out of the way of the attack and when he was about to reappear, Presea managed to track down the path he took by observing the agitation of chaos energy against the omnipresent mana of darkness. It was like watching a boat sailing from underwater, observing its bottom causing ripples on the surface. She took position and threw her hand ax, which spun in the air at high-speed while traveling to its destination. When Nebilim reappeared, he just had time to look surprised before the weapon's blade sunk into his chest, cutting through his thin, albeit strong, chest plate.
Raine and Ratatosk gasped and, for a moment, they thought that Nebilim was finally defeated, however their hopes quickly deflated when the red head recovered his equilibrium with the ax still on his chest, where his heart was supposed to be. He looked at it and chuckled.
"Well, this…" he then grasped the ax's handle, which released a burst of darkness to repel his hand, however, he ignored it and pulled the ax out with a grunt. "...certainly hurts," he then threw it away, just for the ax to dissolve into dark wisps. Presea raised her hand, summoning it back.
"Time to end this…" Presea simply said.
"Indeed."
Nebilim charged at her again, however, Presea's aura pulsed once more as power was accumulated around her. Nebilim noticed too late what her intent was. Another heartbeat-like pulse came from her and the Warrior of the Deep Abyss' aura expanded, leaving behind a thick curtain of darkness that quickly formed a dome around Nebilim.
Ratatosk and Raine couldn't see what was happening inside and Nebilim tried to break through it with fire arrows and beams, but the attacks seemed to vanish in the dark reaches of the dome. He knew it wasn't even that big, but from his point of view it seemed to stretch for miles, not even his enchanted sight could pierce through the magical darkness. When he was about to run, he felt Presea's presence nearby. It was so faint he barely even registered the agitation in her aura as she reunited dark energy in the edge of her ax.
"Feel fear…" she said as she swung her weapon. She was a good two feet away from Nebilim, however, her weapon evoked a dark wind that easily reached the demonic commander and attacked him several times, following the same movement pattern as the reincarnated Shadow's weapon. Nebilim felt her presence again in another point. He tried to teleport away, but discovered that particular spell had been somehow sealed inside this space. "... Bow down to despair…" Presea attacked again and once more a dark wind slashed through space and attacked Nebilim several times, he felt his energy being drained and his aura in complete disarray. "... Give up your dreams…" Presea reappeared once more in another position and attacked again. "...Let sorrow conquer your heart…" the reincarnated Shadow appeared in several points as she spoke, attacking Nebilim each time. Finally, she appeared above him twirling her hand axes in her hands and pressing them together, side by side. "There is no future for you… Hope Shredder!"
Presea then pointed her axes to Nebilim and two thick beams of darkness were shot from the extension of the blades. Nebilim's eyes widened as he did the only thing he could:
"Force Field!" he never thought he would use that kind of magic again, but there was no other option, unless he wanted to end up crippled from the deprivation of magical energy.
The bubble-like shield held for some time as the beams spread darkness around him like they were some kind of liquid. The defensive Arte finally failed and Nebilim was swallowed by a sea of dark matter. The darkness was gone just as fast as it had appeared.
Raine and Ratatosk observed as Nebilim fell on his knees and supported himself with his hands. Presea landed softly on the floor and pointed her hand ax to him. The Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops looked up as he panted, his reserves drained.
"How is it that you don't bleed?" Presea inquired him. "And how come you just used mana to create that shield? What kind of demon are you?"
Ratatosk was so surprised that he gasped at that.
He knows how to utilize mana? How's that possible?
It was a fact some demons had evolved to adapt to the mana of Aselia, giving birth to the demon-type monsters. However, these were not the same as the original demons anymore, becoming a part of Aselia's environment and balance, cutting their servitude ties with the demon lords completely. No true demon could utilize mana, because it was a poison for them.
In that case, what is Nebilim? Ratatosk thought.
"Truly, you are Shadow…" Nebilim said with a mild smile as he struggled to get up. "He never let anything escape his eyes too. Yes, it's true, I'm not a demon, not in a literal sense of the word, at least…" he casted a quick glance at Raine. "Your dear teacher knows who I am, or rather, was…" Presea and Ratatosk looked at Raine and that brief moment of distraction was enough for Nebilim to mutter a quick enchantment, flames raising around him and enveloping his body. Presea and Ratatosk looked back at him in time to hear. "I'll concede the tactical victory for you this time, but remember: outside here, the world itself gives me strength for my vengeance…"
With that, the wraith disappeared between the hellish fires before his voice stopped speaking. Presea didn't move while Nebilim teleported himself away, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop him this time, since he once more used mana for his spell instead of chaotic energy. Her body was enveloped by darkness once more, shrinking as she returned to her teenage appearance. When the shadows dispersed, Presea was back to her human form.
The pink haired woodcutter turned and joined Raine near Colette. Marta was also waking up as Ratatosk gave the control back to Emil. Presea saw Colette's state and a look of worry finally settled at her face. She asked if Colette was okay, to which Raine replied:
"I've managed to stop most of the bleeding and repair the internal damage, but it'll take some time until she can move again, let alone fight."
"In that case, I'll protect her," Presea said. She then looked around and shook her head. "No, not just her. I'll protect her friends too."
Emil helped Marta up, who was still a little dizzy and weak from the battle. The blonde then spoke:
"Anyway, we should leave. None of us are in condition to fight."
Presea and Raine nodded to him and the pink haired girl proceeded to help the carry the others out of the temple…
- / - / - / - / - / - / -
General Sage and his aides were, contrary to what one might think, drinking tea in a table set up in the plateau of a mountain near the Temple of Darkness. Genis was waiting for Lord Nebilim to return from dealing with the reincarnated Summon Spirits.
Just hope those idiots don't die. It would be a waste to have them killed before I could take a look at their magic. Genis thought.
He had initially scoffed at the group when he saw they had come, even though it was clearly a trap. However, according to the reports his aides managed to collect from the other Desians and demons (he was quite surprised when Reriki presented him one from Narom's encounter with the group, considering how unwillingly the Demon General was to talk about his failures, and that was wording it nicely), the group always fought together, keeping close bonds to each other. There were even suspicions some of them had actually claimed others as mates.
Ah, but there also lies their weakness. Genis thought with a smile. He already fought against squads of Renegades that survived thanks to their team work, but once you disabled one, the others quickly followed. However, they are also strong individually with their spirit forms, but that can be easily countered.
"How long are we going to wait?" Reriki asked, sipping the drink that she herself had made in the cup.
"Until Lord Nebilim is done dealing with them," Rahishi said, she hadn't touched her cup ever since Reriki had poured tea on it.
"But if Lord Nebilim is the one who's going to fight them, they'll be dead by the end of it."
"Nothing we can do there," Genis replied, though in a sad tone. "I also would like to see them in action, but Lord Nebilim's orders are absolute," he took another sip. "Rahishi, you haven't touched your cup even once. You shouldn't waste good tea like this."
"Yeah… but…" she then shot a look at Reriki, who tilted her head to the side in confusion.
Genis sighed. Rahishi really needed to work this grudge she had with Reriki out. He would like nothing more than the two of them getting past that and function more like they were supposed to, however, he knew when it came to grudges between demons an eternity could pass and they would still dislike each other. Good thing it appeared to be one-sided, since Reriki acted like Rahishi was her friend, even though the latter sometimes applied physical punishment on her.
"Just take a drink, will you?" Genis insisted. "Honestly, if Reriki's intent was to poison you, I would be dead by now, considering she served our cups from the same teacup."
Rahishi sighed and decided to accept the advice from her superior, reaching for the cup and taking it to her lips. She took a sip… and soon spat it all out in a jet, coughing afterwards:
"What the hell is this tea made of?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot it tastes different to mortals. So sorry," Reriki said, putting her tongue out in what one could assume was a cute way.
"What did you use to make it? I didn't taste anything like tea," Rahishi asked the question again, holding the table with her hands. She knew Reriki had to have tried to reproduce the one the Aselians drank, since the tea demons normally consumed, like most of their food, was a poison to mortals.
"My milk."
The cheerful smile which Reriki gave while saying it made Rahishi take some time to process the information and understand what the other aide meant with that. Genis' eyes widened as he looked at his cup, which he had even refilled. Two minutes passed before Rahishi finally exclaimed:
"WHAAAAA… ?"
"I didn't have normal milk, so I decided to use mine," Reriki replied with that same cheerful smile she used.
"Ummm… correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't normally put milk in a tea, do you?" Rahishi asked Genis.
"No. You can mix it with coffee at best," Genis said, his expression turning neutral as he looked to Rahishi and then back to his cup. He shrugged before Rahishi turned to her companion and lashed out:
"What kind of brain dead slut are you? You know that demon drinks are poisonous to mortals!"
"For your information, I have tested it before and mortals can consume mine just fine," Reriki said.
"I don't even want to know how you tested it…" Rahishi said, putting her head in her hands.
"Oh, but Master Genis liked it," Reriki pointed out with a sly smirk.
Rahishi looked to their general and saw Genis was once again drinking his cup. Her jaw dropped. The silver haired Desian noticed the look his aide have and looked to her, asking a "what?" towards her direction. He then noticed her look was mainly directed at his cup. Against his will, he felt his cheek taking a minor pink tint as he found himself unable to look at Rahishi's eyes, looking to the side as he said:
"At least it's good."
Rahishi looked like she wanted to cry, even though it was virtually impossible for a demon. Reriki beamed a large smile to him and spoke:
"If you want, I can give you more… right from the source, Master Genis," she cupped her large breasts for emphasis as she spoke in a sensual tone.
Genis suddenly found the sky seemed pretty interesting right now and that maybe it would hide the scarlet tone that was assaulting his cheek as he felt blood rush to his face and… other parts of his body. Why did he always have to react like this to Reriki's remarks? Damn his teenage body. The only other time he remembered feeling like that was when he walked in on Rahishi taking her armor off. The red haired demoness wore nothing underneath her armor set, if the fact her cleavage, legs and arms' skin showed when she was garbed for battle meant anything.
Rahishi and Genis never talked about the incident, though he could see her blushing during that day and being unable to sustain eye contact with him for more than five seconds. Genis also had to admit that his other aide was quite the beauty: perfect, hourglass figure, curves fitting in all the right places and breasts that were at least a D cup (though he noticed Reriki's were bigger, later wondering why his mind even made the comparison).
The Desian General also didn't tell Reriki any of that, because he knew if she ever thought he had seen Rahishi naked, she would get jealous and immediately strip herself so he could also "admire" her body. Strange thing was she was supposed to be a spiritual demon, thus not having a physical body and should not care about things like appearance. Maybe Rahishi was right and Reriki was a cross-species demon, which was pretty common in Niflheim.
Rahishi looked like she was ready to draw her sword and slice Reriki into bits, but before she could do that a great agitation in the chaos energy around made all activities stop as a pillar of hellish flames rose near them. The three immediately knew who that was and stood, ready to greet Lord Nebilim as he emerged, standing like he had never nearly exhausted his powers before.
"Greetings, Lord Nebilim!" the three uttered at the same time, bowing to their superior.
Nebilim made a motion with his hand as he said for them to stand, which the three did. He then noticed the table set and the tea in it. Smiling he asked with humor:
"May I invite myself for your little tea party?"
Genis looked to Reriki, who nodded and immediately summoned an arm chair out of thin air with her magic. Nebilim took it and sat, while Rahishi looked worried as he asked for a cup and some tea, which Reriki gladly served. The others sat down and waited for their Lord to start speaking:
"They got stronger," Nebilim started with a serious tone. "And the Presea girl managed to merge with Shadow, despite her previous state."
"What? But she was clearly disturbed. How did she manage to bounce back from a suicidal mindset?" Genis asked.
"You still have much to learn, General Sage," Nebilim said. "Humans are notorious for their persistence. They are able to overcome mental obstacles by sheer willpower."
Genis stood quiet at that. He had hoped that at least the Shadow girl had been devoured by her darkness. From what he had seen on her performance in Ozette and what he sensed from her aura, she was the one with most sheer power out of that little group.
And she wasn't even complete at the time. Genis thought. "Was she the one that repelled you, my lord?"
"Yes. Her power was greatly increased. I dare say she could even take a demon of General ranking head on," Nebilim spoke.
"In that case, that takes out five of my plans to deal with them."
"Oh. So you already have an idea of how to deal with them?" Nebilim asked with a smirk.
Nebilim knew that Genis was the kind of person to make plans in advance with the information he gathered on his targets. He never went on battle without a plan if he could help it. Now all that was left was for him to wait for his general to say which resources that he required and Ratatosk and his group would soon find themselves in more trouble than they could handle.
"I also managed to virtually disable at least one of them," Nebilim completed his statement.
"Even so, it's better to play it safe, so I'll utilize the plan which eliminates most of the obstacles. I also have the element of surprise on my side, since they don't know I'm after them."
Nebilim smiled at the thought process of his student. The demonic commander sipped some of the tea and Rahishi seemed to hold her breath as Nebilim drank it. The Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops then lowered the cup and looked at the drink, speaking:
"It tastes good. What kind of tea is this?"
"Oh, I made it with some of my…" Reriki never got to speak, for in that moment Rahishi hastily got up from her seat, making her chair fall back and ran to Reriki, clamping her hands on the demoness' mouth, leaving her mumbling.
Nebilim raised his eyebrow at the two, while Genis scratched behind his head, giving an embarrassed laugh at the behavior of his two aides. The elven-looking red head shrugged and went back to drinking his tea.
- / - / - / - / - / -
The group sat directly outside of the Temple of Darkness, deciding it wouldn't be wise to go down the mountains in their state, Marta was bandaging Zelos' left eye and head while the man winced whenever she touched a particularly painful spot, until she threatened to slap him if he didn't stop complaining.
Most of the group was bandaged in various places and even Emil had made use of Raine's first aid supplies. Colette was still unconscious, her entire torso was bandaged and Raine had made a makeshift stretcher for the blonde with some cloth she had brought. According to her, Colette should move as little as possible to avoid the possibility of her injuries opening.
Presea was sitting a little away from the group, taking the watch. As the group finally settled down to eat something, Aster decided to finally speak:
"Ok Raine, I think it's more than time for you to explain what's going on," part of the group looked from the blonde to the silver haired woman with a confused expression on their faces. "What did Nebilim mean with you knowing him before and about him not being a demon?"
From her position, Presea kept attentive to the group's talk, although she had no intention of joining. The rest of the group looked at Raine, who simply lowered her head. Sheena then spoke up:
"I have the impression that what he meant was that you not only met Nebilim once, but during the Kharlan War, isn't that right?"
Raine gave a dry chuckle as she looked at Sheena. That woman was really sharp. She then spoke in a sad tone:
"What makes you think that?"
"For starters, you are obviously the oldest out of all of us and considering what I know of half-elves, it's pretty possible you lived during the end of the Kharlan War while keeping your youthful appearance. Plus, from the way Nebilim talks, it seems like he truly knew what was going on in our world and I doubt any demon would even care about that."
Raine could only nod at that. She then looked at each member of the group. From her expression, it seemed that she was still deciding whether or not she should tell them what she knew. Lloyd decided to take matters in his hands as he questioned:
"Is it so hard for you to trust us with the truth, Raine?"
"It's not a matter of trust, Lloyd. It's just…" she sighed. "I didn't want his image being tarnished for who he is now… or maybe… I'm the one that still clings to the hope there is some of him left in Nebilim," Raine said and, for the first time her tone sounded sad and tired.
Lloyd and the others could only just look at her, wondering what she was talking about. Raine then finally spoke and when she did, her tone was of one that confessed feelings he kept bottled up for a long time:
"Nebilim isn't a demon, he never was. He's something else entirely; a special soul."
"Are you kidding me?" Zelos said. "The guy uses demonic magic and commands demons. He has to be one."
"One doesn't need to be a demon to command them, it's more of a matter of having a connection with the demons' superiors. He already did that when he was still alive, from what I know," Raine countered.
"'When he was alive?' Are you saying that Nebilim is from Aselia?" Sheena asked.
"Yes. His former name was Neran Illirium, awarded the rank of Lord General by the Elven Council for his performance on the Defense of Sartais Village, which was being harassed by the Sylvaranti army, at the north of Luin. He was considered a magical genius of his time, studying both the mana and even some of manipulation of chaos energy, though the last one was never publicly divulged.
"He also was… my teacher. The one that taught me everything I know about both magic and archeology, which was a hobby of his."
The group gasped at that. So Nebilim had really been an elf. More so, he was somebody of great esteem in their society. But if that was the case, why…?
"Then how come he is who he is now?" Lloyd voiced their doubts. "I mean, weren't the elves considered great enemies of the demons?"
"I think I can explain that," Emil said, making the entire group look at him. Ratatosk was still resting from the fight, so Emil decided to tell them that in his other self's instead. "Nebi… Neran was recruited by Shadow to help the Summon Spirits to stop the war, but… he tried to do so by destroying both ruling structures of the countries, since they wouldn't come to an understanding through dialogue. At least, that is what I can see from Ratatosk's memories. It seems Neran intended to do so by utilizing demons, since it would require an army to assault the two capitals successfully."
"Oh yeah, I think I remember looking up at Mizuho's old records about some incident with a Neran guy," Sheena said. "According to it, the elves discovered what he was doing and asked help from both the armies of the countries and since nobody wanted a demonic invasion at the time, they agreed to stop him."
"Only to later go back to waging war amongst themselves," Raine said in a sour tone. "Honestly, sometimes I find myself being forced to agree with him."
"So you think it was okay for him to summon demons and kill off the two Royal Families of both countries and whoever else was working for them?" Lloyd asked. The idea of solving things through such method made his stomach churn.
"Name one alternative that would work, then," Zelos said, surprising Lloyd.
"Zelos! Aren't you Tethe'allan?"
"I am, but that doesn't mean I hold any love for my country, even if it wasn't in shambles today," he said with his typical carefree tone, like he hadn't just said that he wouldn't mind if his rulers were devoured by otherworldly beings.
Lloyd wanted to protest, but knew there was nothing he could say. He knew if Neran's plan had succeeded, both countries would be thrown into chaos, but at least that would halt the war and open space for negotiations, if only because nobody wanted to go into a battlefield without somebody to direct them.
"But why would he come up with such an idea?" Marta asked. "I mean, if he was somebody who defended his people like that and was your teacher, it just doesn't make sense," she looked at Raine, who nodded.
"That's right. For as long as I knew him, Neran was nothing but kind and caring. He was like a father to me and many others, always looking out for our well-being, disregarding the fact we were half-elves. He believed that people shouldn't be judged by their birth or blood, but rather, by their actions. Actually, you and him are a lot alike in that aspect, Lloyd and Emil," Raine added.
Both boys blanched, not knowing what to think of that. The image Raine was painting of Nebilim's former identity was a stark contrast to what he was today. She continued:
"However, he knew how the world worked. He always said that in the real world, 'good' and 'evil' start to look a lot alike, to the point you can be evil by doing good and utilizing evil becomes one of the methods of doing good. It was even worse when nobles were involved, since these notions matter nothing to them as long as their own desires were fulfilled.
"They said that in battle he was the worst adversary you could ever ask for; cunning and ruthless as he judged necessary, but also merciful when he felt his adversary deserved. I once witnessed an example of that when a group of deserted soldiers came to harass us, half-elves who lived in his lands. He stopped them without as much as a drop of sweat and only didn't kill them because there were children around and he didn't want to start an incident with Tethe'alla."
Most of the group lowered their head at that and Marta suddenly felt very childish by asking that question. If Nebilim was once like that, then it was very possible he didn't just come up with that decision of vanquishing the two countries from day to night. Zelos then said:
"That's a little too much to believe in, Raine."
"I'm not asking you to believe in me. Actually, I don't expect any of you to understand at all, since you weren't even alive to know who he was," there was some venom, although concealed, in Raine's tone, but that was enough to make Zelos lean back slightly. It was clear this was a sore subject for her.
"Then why did he become what he is today?" Marta asked.
It was then the Centurions decided to appear. Tenebrae was the first to speak:
"I believe it had something to do with the prophecy."
"Prophecy?" Sheena repeated.
"It happen right when Lord Neran was in his dying hours. It was spoken by he himself," Ventus spoke. "The prophecy was as it follows:"
If the war continues, should mana perish, should we, elves, leave this world with scars on our spirits… when the last of us draw his last breath, the wrath of mana, the sorrow, the pain and desperation of our race will descend upon this world… and the form it takes shall be one of ultimate and absolute vengeance…
The group felt a shiver on their spines at hearing that, as if the phrase itself carried some kind of enchantment on it. After some time, Lloyd asked what that meant. Aqua was the one to answer:
"We don't know. Prophecies are things that come on a whim and are gone just as fast. We and the Summon Spirits hear them no matter where we are because most of the time they have a direct effect on the world. Only special souls may utter such prophecies and even so, it's impossible to tell in which one of them this gift will manifest."
"The last one heard told about a thousand year war that would tear the very foundations of the world," Solum said. "Roughly ten years later, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant declared war on each other, giving beginning to the Kharlan War."
"Wait. Doesn't that vengeance thing this prophecy talked about sounds familiar to you?" Sheena interrupted, looking to everybody present.
"Oh, yeah. Nebilim talks about it all the time," Lloyd said.
"Do you think he knew he would come back as what he is today?" Emil suggested.
"That's highly improbable," Ventus shook his head in negative. "Although he did make a contract with a demon of Lord ranking to be able to summon troops of Niflheim, he should have ended up a slave to this Lord. I'm afraid nobody knows what happened during his brief stay in the underworld, but Nebilim himself."
"Either way. Who he was before doesn't change what he has done now," Sheena said. "Raine, we need to know; are you capable of fighting him, or not?"
There was silence as the entire group looked at her. Raine knew they wouldn't let the subject lay down while they didn't get an answer out of her and she couldn't really blame them for that. From all that she told them, it was obvious she once admired who Nebilim was, even looked up to him. But he was now a completely different person.
"Yes, I'll fight him. If only because I have a motive to be against him," Raine said to her friends.
"What motive?" Ignis asked.
"That's…" Raine started, the entire group leaned in forward, in anticipation. "A personal matter," they all groaned and leaned back.
Should have known... she was giving way too much away. Stubborn teacher. was the thought that went through everybody's heads.
Special souls are, as the name implies, exceptional individuals, that lived and become renowned researches, warriors, etc. History lists a great variety of these figures, though science is quite skeptical about their existence as such. However, it is undeniable the effect their mere presence had in Aselia.
Many of these individuals are remembered as charismatic people, capable of attracting others of like mind or with similar ideals, others became powerful authorities, highly respected in their fields of expertise, but there is another parcel that became feared and terrible villains. One could say the Summon Spirit are special souls themselves, however, according to mana scholars, the Summon Spirits are a unique category, far above the normal scope of spirits.
It is not known what it takes to become a special soul, though ancient religions claimed the person had to have passed through several incarnations and reached a certain level of enlightenment and comprehension about the world, life and existence itself. Whether it is just speculation or the truth, it remains unclear to this day.
...
I had the opportunity to know some of these so called special souls, great men and women who came in defense of the world when it needed the most, and I can say that such gift isn't limited to race, social class, or any other of the so called social standards, for these things matter not in the eyes of spirits...
- Excerpt from "The Mysteries of Aselia, Vol. II", by Raine Sage -
A short chapter, I know. But next we will have The PartyXGenis, so I'll end it here.
Oh, by the way, a new skit people! This one between Ratatosk and Presea:
Ratatosk and Presea
Ratatosk: So, we meet once again, Shadow. Must say you picked an interesting form this time.
Presea: I don't know what you're talking about. I'm Presea. Shadow doesn't exist anymore.
Ratatosk: If that's the case, why did you take his place? I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with us.
Presea: I did what I judged necessary to save Colette and all of you. I… simply couldn't let you all be killed like this.
Ratatosk: Do you regret it?
Presea: Not really. If that is who I am supposed to be, at least, this way, my existence will have some meaning. I'll use this new life to protect Colette and all of her friends.
Ratatosk: So, you intent to live for others? You do know that might come back to bite your ass, don't you?
Presea: Shadow also told me that.
Ratatosk *surprised*: You talked to him?
Presea: We met while I was under Nebilim's spell. He showed me many things… scenes that weren't even of this world, or rather, this reality.
Ratatosk: That doesn't surprise me. For us, spirits, time and space mean little. Sometimes, we can even gaze into our existence in other realities. Maybe it was also an effect due to your proximity to the Dark Abyss, which is said to connect a multitude of worlds in its depths, so much that when you fall into it, you stay suspended between these worlds through all eternity.
Presea: So, darkness divides these worlds in the Dark Abyss.
Ratatosk: … I've spoke too much. You'll probably learn these things along the way.
Presea: Ratatosk, was it? You're… a different personality inside Emil, right? Even so, you seem to share some traits with him.
Ratatosk: Me? Like that wimp? Don't be ridiculous.
Presea: I can tell, you're actually a kind person. *smiles* The proof is that you were worried about my well-being just now and if I wasn't going to fall back in despair.
Ratatosk: …
Presea: I won't lie, I know I can still be hurt, but… if that is the price I have to pay, then so be it. I think you all deserve to live, if only because you have each other to care for. I just want to do something good out of my existence.
Ratatosk: … huh, we're not that different… Presea… both of us want to do something useful with our cursed existence. The only difference is…. I cursed mine by myself.